As they strolled through the market, Lukas found himself with a constant smile on his face.
He walked with the money chest tucked under one arm and his eyes moving constantly. Not out of anxiety but out of habit.
A man carrying a chest in an open market was an advertisement, so he kept the chest as close to his body as he could.
Melody kept up with a stream of commentary, and he could tell that she'd never been to a market before.
He'd figured it out within the first two minutes by the way her head turned at every stall or shop, her feet slowing without her seeming to notice, and of course, her eyes catching on things before her brain had finished processing them.
But the most obvious tell was how she kept stopping to look at whatever caught her eye, forcing Lukas to pull her away whenever she stayed for too long.
"But they're just too beautiful," she pouted as Lukas dragged her away from a stall selling necklaces. Some were made of metal with different gemstones on them, and others were decorated with colored glass.
"We have other things to do, remember?" Lukas chuckled. "Maybe we'll even come back later."
"And I'm sure taking a minute more to appreciate the necklaces wouldn't have stopped us from doing what we want to do."
"And if we stop at sixty different places for a minute each, that's an hour wasted, you know."
She sighed, her arms crossed, and her mouth set in a pout that she was clearly aware of and had decided to deploy anyway.
To Lukas, she simply looked cute. He kept that thought to himself as they moved through the crowd.
He kept smiling as he led the way through the market. He could feel the gazes of those he passed on them.
Their eyes first found Melody, who possessed the kind of beauty that made men stop and stare.
In Havenhart, drows were a known presence, along with humans, elves, and tieflings, so Melody's race didn't particularly stand out.
Drows were also known as dark elves, because they were exactly like elves, with the exception of having a light violet skin tone, which made them look more exotic.
But a drow with a face like Melody's and wearing a sword on her back like it was a natural part of getting dressed, was the kind of sight that made people pause mid sentence.
And when the people finished appreciating Melody's beauty, their eyes slid to him, taking in his tall and handsome form, their faces immediately twisting with envy.
If Lukas had been average looking, they would have at least been able to comfort themselves that they could find a beautiful girl like Melody by being funny or having lots of money. Something to hold onto.
But Lukas' face didn't even give them that option. He literally looked perfect. How were they supposed to compete with that?
He deliberately met the eyes of one of the guys standing with a group of friends, holding the gaze for a second, before giving him a superior smirk.
The man's face went red with anger and he immediately attempted to attack Lukas but was held back by the rest of his friends.
Lukas chuckled at the sight, then to add insult to injury, reached out and took Melody's hand and began pulling her along with him.
"Oh my," Melody giggled, letting him pull her along without any resistance.
A minute later, they arrived at their destination, a small shop wedged between a tailor and food stall.
A small wooden board hung above the door with the words 'Shelby's' painted in bright red letters.
The bell above the door jingled to announce their presence as Lukas pushed it open.
Behind the counter, a man looked up at the sound of the bell. He was older, somewhere in his fifties, with salt and pepper hair and a neat moustache.
He stood up at the sight of them, leaving the counter and walking towards them, a smile appearing on his face.
"Welcome to Shelby's, I am Mr. Shelby. How can I help you today?"
Lukas looked around the shop, to see each wall covered from floor to by bags and pouches of different kinds.
Some were normal bags, and the others were [Items] from the dungeons or were enchanted by an [Artificer].
"We're here for a money pouch." He said. "An [Item] one.
"Perfect choice, young gentleman." Mr. Shelby grinned. "May I interest you in our new deluxe, luxury model, which comes with an interior volume equivalent to a large hall, embroidered lining, and a locking mechanism that requires only the owner's mana signature to—"
"Don't bother." Lukas immediately stopped the man. "Give me the cheapest one you have."
"Oh." Mr. Shelby blinked, before nodding and moved to a part of the wall to retrieve one of the pouches that hung on it. "Of course."
There were different types of spatial [Items] like spatial rings, but most of them were very expensive and were usually the first thing a skilled thief would target.
However, money pouches were different, and this was because they could only store money. That restriction was also their protection.
There was nothing else inside to steal, and a dedicated thief looking for high value targets would move past a plain leather money pouch without a second look.
The more expensive pouches usually had unlimited space inside for one's money, but the cheapest came with limited space. But even that small space was enough for a small fortune.
Mr. Shelby returned with a nondescript brown leather money pouch. The kind that could be clipped to one's belt or held in the hand. "Here you go, the best quality for the cheapest price."
"How much?"
"100 gold coins."
Even the cheapest one was expensive in his current financial state, but he couldn't deny that it was a necessity.
"Give me one more." He nodded, accepting the pouch from the man. He then turned to Melody.
"Here. This is for you."
Melody stared at the pouch, then up at him.
"For me?" She asked quietly.
"Of course. You'll need somewhere to keep your money, won't you?"
Her hands came up to cover her mouth for half a second before she squealed and threw herself at Lukas, her arms encircling his neck in a brief, genuine hug.
Then she released him, taking her new pouch, and began to clip it in place.
Lukas shared a grin with Mr. Shelby, who had returned with another pouch. He headed to a nearby table, opened the chest, and counted out two hundred gold coins for Mr. Shelby.
The man collected the coins, transferring them to his own money pouch, a beautiful piece embroidered with golden thread.
With the five hundred gold coins he had left, he put four hundred coins in his money pouch and gave the remaining hundred coins to Melody, who gave him another hug of excitement.
With that done, he closed the now empty chest, tucking it under one arm, and they left the store.
This time, Melody took the initiative, looping her hands around his arm and smiling up at him.
He returned the smile. "Are you that happy about the pouch?"
She nodded. "It's a gift from you. Why won't I be happy about it?"
He had no answer to that, so he said nothing. They continued walking in comfortable silence, till they got to the weapons store.
It was larger than Shelby's, with wide display glass windows that showed different ornate weapons that could be seen from the outside.
The moment they entered, they were greeted by one of the store assistants, but Melody immediately waved them away.
"This is my area of expertise." She said proudly. "Leave the choice to me, Lukas. I'll find you the best sword that suits you."
"Very well. I bow to your superior knowledge, my lady." He gave her a theatrical bow.
She giggled in response, immediately taking off to the swords section, forcing Lukas to jog after her.
What followed was several minutes of Melody pulling swords from their racks and handing them to Lukas to swing.
She watched him carefully, taking note of his grip and his habits, and after a few minutes, she finally stopped in front of a new sword.
"This is it, Lukas." She whispered. "Your cursed blade."