After Lyra, Talia, and Aria left, the shop went quiet again.
Rowen checked the time. 5:38 PM.
The wilderness gate had closed at five. That meant no more hunters or students passing by. No more customers were going to come.
He looked out the window. The street was empty now—just dust and late sunlight.
After a short pause, he walked to the door and flipped the hanging sign to CLOSED.
Fern floated near the counter, moving slowly.
Rowen walked back behind the wooden counter and pulled open the bottom drawer.
Inside the drawer, he'd been placing the day's mana stones.
He started counting them, stacking them by hand.
Ten low-grade mana stones from Darian. Five low-grade mana stones from the teacher. Three low-grade mana stones from Lyra. One low-grade mana stone from Aria.
Total: nineteen low-grade mana stones.
He double-checked, then separated fifteen from the stack and placed them on the counter.
"Ten for your upgrade," he said to Fern. "Five to recharge the land."
