Chapter 194 — The Shop Plaza

Chapter 194: Chapter 194 — The Shop Plaza

Chapter 194 — The Shop Plaza

Victor and Lyra finally arrived at the area they had marked on their map.

It was a small shopping district nestled between several residential buildings. Seven or eight shops lined both sides of the street before the pathway eventually gave way to rows of apartments farther back.

The street itself was extremely busy.

Hundreds of people passed through the area, moving between the different establishments.

A meat market stood nearby, with several large cuts of meat slowly roasting over an open flame outside. Fat dripped onto the fire every few seconds, sending up small bursts of smoke. The smell of roasted meat and spices drifted through the street.

Farther down was a martial arts school. Through the large front window, Victor could see a group of people practicing while an instructor walked among them, correcting their movements.

Then there was an armorsmith.

Even from outside, Victor could hear the rhythmic banging of metal.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

The sound carried through the district as the smith worked somewhere in the back.

Victor slowly took in the street.

Something didn’t make sense.

Four people had disappeared from this area in four days, yet there were people everywhere.

How did someone abduct another person in a place this crowded without anyone noticing?

Someone should have seen something.

Unless the perpetrator waited until later in the day.

Maybe they acted at night, when the businesses closed and the streets emptied.

Victor glanced at Lyra.

Judging by her expression, she seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Why don’t we check the establishments?" Lyra suggested. "Talk to the owners and see what they know."

Victor nodded.

"That’s a really good idea. Let’s do that."

They started with the armorsmith.

The moment they stepped inside, a wave of heat washed over them.

Several pieces of armor hung along the stone walls, from simple breastplates and helmets to heavier sets that looked far more expensive. The smell of coal and hot metal filled the air, while a faint orange glow spilled through an open doorway leading into the workshop.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The hammering was almost deafening from inside.

"Hello?" Victor called.

The hammering stopped.

A moment later, an old man emerged from the back.

Victor blinked.

The man couldn’t have been much taller than four feet. He was stout, with a noticeable belly and a long gray beard hanging down his chest. A thick leather apron covered most of his clothes, and dark streaks of soot marked his arms.

Victor stared at him for a second.

Is he a dwarf?

He hadn’t even realized dwarves existed in this world.

The old man stared back.

"What do you want?"

Victor nearly laughed.

Is that how you talk to customers?

He brushed it off.

"Excuse me, sir. We just have a few questions. We’re looking into some people who’ve gone missing around this area."

Victor pulled out the pictures of the four missing people.

"Have you seen any of them?"

The old man frowned.

"Does it look like I’ve seen them? I’m in the back of my workshop beating on metal all day. When would I have time to see missing people?"

Victor paused.

That actually made sense.

"Could you at least take a look at the pictures? It’ll only take a second."

The old man stared at him before letting out an irritated sigh.

"Fine. If it’ll get you out of my shop. I’m already behind."

"We’ll be brief."

"Good. Let me see them."

Victor handed him the pictures.

The old man looked through them one by one, rubbing his beard.

"No... no..."

He reached the last picture and paused.

"Hmm."

Victor’s attention sharpened.

"You recognize her?"

The old man studied the picture of a young woman with green eyes and black hair.

"I don’t know her, but I think I saw her yesterday."

"Where?"

"Across the street. In front of the meat market." He handed the picture back. "I took a ten-minute break toward the end of the day. Pretty sure I saw her standing there."

Victor looked at the picture.

"You’re sure?"

"Pretty sure. Don’t know what happened to her afterward, though."

Victor nodded.

"Thank you. We’ll check with the meat market."

"Good. Now get out of my shop."

Victor looked up.

The old man pointed toward the entrance.

"Unless you’re ordering armor or buying something, don’t bother me again. I have work to do."

Victor shook his head slightly.

What a character.

He and Lyra headed for the door.

Once they were almost outside, Victor glanced at her.

"What do you think?"

"I don’t think he did anything," Lyra said. "He just looks like an angry old man."

Victor nodded.

"I’d be angry too if I was stuck in the back of a workshop hitting armor with a hammer all day."

Victor laughed.

A voice immediately roared behind them.

"I HEARD THAT! GET OUT OF MY SHOP!"

Victor and Lyra quickly stepped outside.

Victor was still laughing as they crossed the street toward the meat market.

Several pieces of meat rotated slowly over the fire outside, their surfaces browned and glistening.

Victor glanced at Lyra.

"You hungry?"

"Not really."

They had eaten before leaving the apartment.

Victor looked toward Nala.

She chirped at him from his shoulder in a way that somehow made her answer obvious.

Victor was mildly hungry himself, but he could wait.

They stepped inside.

A small bell chimed above the door.

The smell of roasted meat was even stronger inside, mixed with spices and a faint trace of smoke.

A long glass counter stretched across most of the shop, displaying rows of fresh meat alongside cheeses and several other foods. Some of the cuts clearly came from beasts Victor didn’t recognize. Shelves along the walls held jars of sauces, spices, and preserved foods.

Near the back of the shop was a wooden door leading deeper into the building.

Victor had to admit, everything looked amazing.

"Welcome to the shop!"

Victor looked up.

The accent caught him completely off guard.

For a moment, it reminded him of something between a New York and New Jersey accent from Earth.

The man behind the counter was equally distinctive.

He had curly orange hair, pale skin covered in freckles, and bright features. A strange cap sat on his head that reminded Victor slightly of an old detective’s hat.

Victor stared at him for half a second too long.

There’s no way this guy is from New York, right?

With everything Victor had experienced since arriving in this world, another transmigrator didn’t seem completely impossible.

He quickly pushed the thought aside.

"Excuse me, sir. We’re looking into a few people who’ve gone missing around this area."

The man’s friendly expression shifted slightly.

"You’re Tower Law Enforcement or something?"

Victor shook his head.

"No. We’re just citizens of the Tower looking into it."

"Oh. All right." The man leaned against the counter. "Name’s Jimmy. I run the shop. But I’ll be honest with you, I haven’t seen any missing people around here."

Victor pulled out the pictures.

"Are you sure?"

Jimmy glanced through them.

Victor pointed toward the picture of the woman with green eyes and black hair.

"The old man at the armor shop across the street said he saw this woman standing outside your establishment yesterday."

Jimmy squinted.

"That old man’s always trying to start something with me."

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"We’ve had problems since the day I moved in," Jimmy continued. "He’s still mad because the sweet shop that used to be here got replaced by me after the lady couldn’t afford the rent."

"Oh."

Victor looked at the picture again.

"But you haven’t seen her at all? He’s pretty sure she came in here."

For the first time, Jimmy hesitated.

It lasted barely a second.

His eyes shifted away from Victor.

Toward the wooden door at the back of the shop.

The storage room.

Then he looked back.

"No. No, I haven’t seen her. Sorry."

Victor said nothing for a moment.

Jimmy’s smile returned, though it didn’t look quite as natural as before.

"But if you two want to order something, I’d be more than happy to serve you."

"No, we’re not hungry right now."

Victor put the pictures away.

"Thanks for your time."

He and Lyra walked out.

Neither spoke until they were farther down the street.

Then they looked at each other.

"He looked suspicious," Victor said.

"Very."

"He looked directly at the storage room."

Victor glanced back toward the meat market.

From the outside, nothing seemed unusual. Customers continued moving in and out while the meat slowly rotated over the fire.

Lyra crossed her arms.

"But what can we do? We can’t just break into his establishment and search his storage room."

Victor looked at her.

Lyra looked back.

"Yeah," Victor said slowly. "You’re right. We can’t just break in."

He was silent for a moment.

Then a smile appeared on his face.

"But what if I put on a mask and go straight to the storage room before he can even say anything to me?"

Lyra stared at him.

Victor continued.

"If there’s nothing there, I’ll just leave afterward."

Victor smiled.

"What do you think?"

Lyra looked toward the meat market.

Then back at Victor.

"I’ll wait out here."

Victor laughed.

"You go ahead and do that. Let me know what happens. I’ll stay with Nala."

"Okay."

Victor glanced toward the meat market one more time.

"Just give me a minute."