Entrepreneurial Spirit - Chapter 4 (Patreon)

I clapped my hands. “Okay! First day for my new part-timer!”

Izuku, caught off-guard by the noise, jumped slightly. “A-ah! Yes-Sir! Boss!”

I cocked my head to one side, then shrugged. “We'll workshop it.” I clapped again. “Anyway, first rule of the store.” I pointed to where the door had just closed behind and there was now empty wall, then looked Izuku directly in the eyes. “Do not, for any reason, leave the store without my explicit permission. Ever.”

He shivered under my gaze. “Y-yes sir!”

“A little old lady comes in, buys something big and I have to go see to another customer. She asks you to help her take this back to her home. What do you do?” I asked levelly.

Izuku twitched, fighting down the impulse to do a good deed. It was obvious. I could see it forming behind his eyes. “I-ah... don't?”

“You do not.” I confirmed. “Because that little old lady might actually be a giant spider monster that can shapeshift and has a habit of looking defenseless to attract easy prey. In which case, once you got her package home, she'd poison you, tie you up in webbing, and wait until your innards liquified before either eating you or feeding you to her children.”

Horror shown through on Izuku's face.

“The sleek-looking businessman who asks you to help bring in something from his car to sell? That's actually a yakuza thug who's going to hold you hostage to try and extort goods and services from me before selling you to a black market organ harvesting group.” Izuku, if anything, whitened further, but I wasn't done. “The talking monkey? Yeah, that guy's civilization is actually built on enslaved humans. Do you understand what I'm getting at?”

Izuku nodded rapidly. “D-don't leave the store!”

“For any reason. Even if someone begs you on their knees to help their dying family just three steps outside the portal,” I hissed, narrowing my gaze while maintaining eye contact. “You come get me, you ask me if you can do something, and I tell you whether or not you can leave. Am I perfectly crystal clear on this?”

Izuku impersonated a bobble-head again.

“Repeat it back to me,” I insisted.

Izuku, stuttering as he went, did so.

When he was done, I instantly smiled and backed off as my whole demeanor changed. “Excellent. Once we awaken your magic circuits, I'll be giving you an item that will make it impossible for you to go through the portal while it's on your person. Until then, however, just stay clear of any portal while it's open and you'll be okay.”

Izuku nodded jerkily, swallowing. “A-ah, bu-but Mr. Sterling, sir! Um... if those kinds of people and um-creatures are going to come into the shop, won't I be in danger here? Of them, like, kidnapping me or attacking me here?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Don't worry about that, Izuku. Within this store, I am the final arbiter of decisions. I would not say I am quite a god or anything so silly and pompous, but I am very powerful. If someone violates the rules of my store, and attacking my employees is most assuredly against those rules, then I would instantly eject them. Perhaps banning them for an extended period of time as well, if that isn't their first offense.”

Izuku sighed, seeming relieved at that revelation.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, now that that's out of the way... we need to have a talk about how we're going to prepare you for your magic-awakening ritual.”

The teen snapped to attention with such a laser-like focus that I almost laughed at him. “A-are we going to do it soon?”

I smiled and nodded, then sobered. “Yes, we'll do it as soon as possible. The sooner we get your magic circuits activated, the sooner I can get you trained and start sending you out on a few easy missions to cut your teeth on.”

Izuku's chest inflated, eager pride welling up inside of him.

“The problem is,” and it amused me to no end as his shoulder slumped on cue, “that I may have accidentally omitted a few details when I spoke to your mother on the subject. Specifically, what I'm going to have to do in order to activate your circuits. Due to the fact that you are not a human native to the world this magic system originates from, we're going to have to do a little light surgery.”

The greenette's Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped. “Su-surgery? Wh-what kind of surgery?”

I reached behind the counter and pulled out a vial of liquid, his eyes fixed on it as the potion inside swirled back and forth. “This is an elixir designed to activate your magic circuits just enough to allow me to properly trace them on your skin.” I set the bottle down and pulled out a long knife that made the boy back up half a step. It was a wicked and ancient-looking thing with a bone and leather handle, a cross-piece of silver, and a long stalk of swirling metal you could occasionally see starlight through if you looked into its depths long enough.

“This is an athame,” I instructed him, showing the long knife off as he got over his surprise and took a closer look. “It's a ritual dagger for ceremonial purposes, though it can be used as a casting tool in a pinch as well. This is what I'll be using to trace your magical circuits with.”

Izuku laughed awkwardly as he paled and looked up to me. “Ah... th-that's a big blade. C-couldn't you just use a small knife? Li-like a doctor's scalpel or something?”

I snorted and shook my head. “Afraid not. Firstly, because those aren't magical. If I stuck one of those into you, all you'd do is bleed. This?” I twirled the blade for emphasis, drawing his gaze back to it. “A blade like this cuts spirit just as much as it does flesh. Magic circuits are the conduit for the soul to interact with the physical world using the body as a medium. Your body isn't... aware of them, I guess you could say? We have to open up the pathways for your spirit's energy to leak into the material world and, from that, allow you to do magic.”

Izuku's eyes never strayed from the athame, lingering there for a long moment after I finished.

He took a deep breath and looked up at me, fear and anxiety heavy in his gaze, but backed by the kind of steel that allowed him to do the things necessary to become a true hero. “It's... going to hurt, isn't it?”

I nodded, meeting his gaze directly. “I sincerely hope this will be the single most painful experience of your entire life.”

Green orbs widened, shock lacing his features. “Why would you say that?!”

“Because, having gone through this surgery myself?” I asked demonstrably, lines of light bleeding through my suit. “If you find something more painful than this, you've truly been cursed by a higher power.”

Izuku blinked, his head twisting around the logic of my statement before his shoulders slumped, laughing awkwardly again. “I... kinda' get why you didn't tell my mom about this part.”

I shrugged. “This is the magical style that's the best fit for the criteria you wanted as a hero. At least, that I have access to currently. It's not too late to back out, though.”

I already knew what his answer would be before making the offer.

Izuku's expression firmed and he shook his head. “No, I-I can take the pain, if it's to be a hero. I'll do it.”

Sighing, I nodded. “Alright, let's get you to the clinic area and get you something to bite down on so you won't bite your tongue off or shatter your teeth. It should also help me concentrate while I'm working if it's blocking some of the sound. After that, we'll get you stripped and tied down before I get to work.”

“Tied down?” Izuku asked weakly, his earlier determination fading slightly as he paled again.

“If you try to pull away while I'm tracing your circuits to open them up, I could cut your soul very badly. Honestly, I'd prefer to just knock you out for the entire thing, but that always results in weaker connections and less powerful circuits.” I grunted in disgust. “Something about the conscious mind being necessary for the procedure. Magic can be finicky like that.”

Izuku steadied himself. “Alright, I'm ready. L-let's do this.”

He was, in fact, not ready.

But the gag at least worked to cut down the screaming and I got the entire thing done in a single sitting, so there was something to be thankful for at least.

…

“Thanks again, Nova, I really couldn't keep the business running without you,” the young-looking elf giggled as she grabbed her bag, then pecked me on the cheek. “I really appreciate you allowing me to use the bath like you do.”

“Hmm, I do appreciate a happy customer, Selene,” I stated, sliding a hand to her tight backside and squeezing once. “Maybe next time you won't be in such a rush? We could make a night of it.”

The blonde laughed, the sound like perfect tinkling bells in the summer as she flipped her hair. “I'll think about it. Maybe if you get in some of that special chocolate I'd consider it.”

Selene and I exchanged a few more flirtatious pleasantries before she left. In the wake of her passage, the pleasant scent of a dew-covered forest morning wafted. I sighed and stretched.

“E-everything okay with Ms. Selene, Boss?” Izuku asked, still moving around gingerly as the literally soul-deep aches and pains had yet to fully fade over the past week.

“More or less. She's a strange one. Most elves, of her type at least, prefer to live in elven communities isolated from everyone else. She likes the idea of economics, though, and loves trading with humans and other races. It's just a bit of a dangerous hobby,” I shook my head and turned back to the counter to make for my comfy seat.

Izuku looked torn between the open text in his lap and asking another question, only yielding when I gave him the go-ahead with a roll of my hand. “Why is it dangerous?”

I smiled sadly. “I'm sure there are people on your world who don't take kindly to those with mutant-type quirks?'

Izuku's eyes widened in realization and he frowned as his expression saddened. “Oh, it's like that, then...”

“It's like that, then,” I repeated and nodded. “That's one of the reasons I don't want you going out anywhere, either. Beyond the obvious danger, you're going to stand out like a sore thumb in a lot of cultures. There are a great many worlds where green isn't a natural hair color, just for instance.”

Izuku blinked, cocking his head as he self-consciously reached up to touch his emerald locks. “T-there are? Huh.”

“And that's just the obvious,” I chuckled. “There will be situations where you'll be expected to know fashion styles, cultural norms, standards of politeness, current political trends... it's a lot of information to have.”

“H-how do you handle it?” Izuku asked curiously, absently reaching for a bookmark and closing the tome in his lap as he was drawn into the conversation.

I blinked, cocking my head at the young man. “I... hmm, no I guess I didn't mention it? Huh. Well, Izuku, the answer to that question is simple. I don't. I don't handle it because I can't leave the store.”

I tapped the counter for emphasis.

Izuku stared.

“There's a price for everything, Izuku, and the price for me being able to run this store is not being able to leave it. The store needs an owner and it's hard to wriggle free once it gets its hook into you.” I smiled, a haze of melancholy sliding over me.

“Th-that's awful,” Izuku breathed empathetically, his shoulders slumping.

I chuckled. “It's not that bad, green-bean. I've met people from all walks of life that I never would have if I hadn't taken the job. I've helped a lot of people, too. Even done some real good on a rare occasion or two.”

“S-still!” Izuku cried, slapping the armrests on his seat in a fit of surprising ardor and instantly wincing. “Y-you shouldn't have to never be able to leave! There's got to be a way!”

I outright laughed at the earnest expression on the young hero's face. “Izuku, it really is okay.” His face didn't change and I sighed, shaking my head with a fond smile. “Then think about this. If you really do impress me over the next few years while you're training and learning the business, I'll let you run things while I take a vacation at least part of the time during your last year, okay?”

Izuku's face lit up and he nodded eagerly. “I'll study hard, Boss!”

Smirking, I looked over his notes. “You're off to a good head start, at least. Now... do you want another lesson on magic or a lesson on running the shop?”

Izuku opened his mouth to reply, looking torn, when my ears and tails perked up and I turned to where the chime came from. “Looks like fate's decided for us. We've got a newbie in the... classic magic department. Interesting.”

I turned to my surprised employee and clapped my hands. “Alright Izuku, you feeling up to handling a new customer?”

Izuku took a deep breath and nodded, easing himself out of the chair, hissing as he did so. “I'm ready, Boss!”

“Very good!” I grinned and ushered him forward. “So, we're going to one of the classic magic rooms. We had a lesson a few days ago about what it means when someone new shows up in a specific room. Remind me what we covered.”

“Oh, ah... it means that they're in that frame of mind, or at least looking for a solution to their problem that fits the theme of the room they're appearing in.” Izuku babbled and I gestured for him to continue. “Umm... that doesn't mean they're right, though. Some customers have limited frames of reference and think that their problems need to be solved magically rather than using technology because they're from a less-scientifically developed society.”

“Or they could just be wrong,” I interjected.

Izuku chuckled nervously, the bluntness of my statement edging a bit too far into rudeness for his polite Japanese mindset. Ah well, he'd learn. “Or that, yes. Let's see... you also said to be careful not to form preconceptions based on the room they're in and to open a conversation as if you didn't know anything about them. Let the customer talk, let them tell you what they want, and think critically about how you can help them.”

“Very good,” I nodded, steering Izuku through a curtained doorway and into the magic room. Immediately, a girl about his age perked up from where she was browsing the myriad bottles of potions and turned to look at us. Her wide honey-brown eyes were set in a face that was either very tan or a few shades darker than white. Black hair, a t-shirt and short-cut jeans with violet leggings and white slip-on shoes.

“Oh, uh... hi! I think I'm in the wrong place? I was trying to find a storage room in the back of the school and accidentally walked in here? Is this a store? In Hexside?” She chattered, spinning to look at all of the various bits and bobs that were hanging in the thematic gloom lit only by multicolor gemstones hanging from the ceiling.

Say what you will, but I do good interior design work.

“I'll assume Hexside is some kind of school?” I asked with a grin, raising an eyebrow as the girl nodded, her eyes rather wide. Almost owlishly so, really. “Well, young lady, you've actually wandered into an interdimensional storefront catering to any and all who can find their way here. I'm Nova Sterling, welcome to Nova's Emporium!”

Clapping my employee on the back gently, I pushed him forward a bit.

“Oh! I-I'm Midoriya Izuku-er, Izuku Midoriya if we're using western conventions! I'm a recently-hired part-timer! We'll be happy to help you in any way we can!” Izuku belted out, then bowed deeply.

I met the girl's eyes and winked, making her giggle. “Uhh, hi! In that case, my name's Luz! Luz Noceda! I'm a human currently training to be a witch under Eda the Owl Lady. Oh, I'm originally from Earth, but I'm currently in the demon realm on the Boiling Isles, if that helps.”

“Nice to meet you, Luz,” I smiled. “It's good to have a new customer who seems to have a little experience traveling between worlds. Izuku here had only been on the world he lived in before he found his way to my store.”

The greenette teen blushed and ducked his head.

“Whoa! That must have been a surprise,” Luz chirped, coming closer to the counter and leaning on it. “I remember when I followed my teacher, Eda, into the Boiling Isles from Earth. It was a total shock!”

Izuku did his best impression of a bobble-head. “I know, right! I was just opening my closet to look for one of my All Might figurines and then there was this huge alleyway stretching into the distance! I thought it was someone's quirk misfiring at first, but then I met Mr. Sterling and he explained dthings.”

Luz's eyes lit up in curiosity. “Oooh, what's a quirk? Is it like magic?”

I watched in amusement as Luz and Izuku became fast friends, pretty much getting along like a house on fire from the moment of their introduction. Izuku explained the world he came from, to which Luz's jaw dropped and she expressed immense jealousy even as Izuku asked about both her homeworld and the Boiling Isles she was now living on. Luz, in turn, asked about what working in the store was like, both of them accepting the drinks that I put out on the counter even as they continued conversing with each other.

Moments like this... they make it worth the trouble. Seeing two people who would never have met otherwise get along so well, become so close so quickly... Heh, it warms even my blackened capitalist heart.

Eventually, though, I cleared my throat pointedly and the both looked over towards me, double-taking as they realized how wrapped up they'd become. “Go ahead and give her a doorknocker, Izuku. Even if she doesn't buy anything this time around, it'll be good for her to have a way back.”

My employee perked up, reaching underneath the counter and removing a small metal token on a chain. “Ah, here, Noceda-san. It's actually really difficult to make it here without help, so you got really lucky. If you take this, though, you can open any door while pressing this against it and you'll find yourself back here.”

“So coooool,” Luz cooed, slipping the chain over her head and around her neck with a grin. Then, abruptly, she stopped as her eyes widened and her hands gripped the chain tightly. “Wait! You opened a door between worlds! Can you do that to any world?! Can you get me home!?”

I grinned, clapping my hands as I smiled. “That seems like an interesting question, Ms. Noceda. And a good opportunity to move on to business matters. So, why don't you explain your situation in detail and we'll see if we can help, okay?”

…

“Hmm... so you're simultaneously trying to combat this 'Emperor Belos' person, whom you recently discovered was actually a human named Philip Whittebane, who has some sinister plan for the Boiling Isles and make your way back to your mother, who has likely noticed your absence since you should have returned from your summer camp by now.” My summary caused Luz to grimace and nod, rubbing at the dark circles under her eyes that her skin tone hid well. “Did I get all that?”

Izuku sniffled off to the side, having burst into tears multiple times over the course of the long story, Luz having also come close to it as well.

“Pretty much,” Luz nodded, visibly drooping. “Do... do you have anything that can help me fix my mistake? Like, go back in time and stop myself from helping Philip?”

There was that compulsion again, the pressure on my free will pushing me to satisfy a desire that someone hadn't quite thought through. I sighed and shook my head. “I'm going to give you some advice, Luz. I can call you Luz, right?” She nodded, leaning forward. “So, first off, time travel is almost never the answer. Even if it is an answer, though, it's a bad one, and you've already experienced why.”

“What do you mean?” Luz asked, frowning.

“The naturally-occurring phenomenon you used to go back into the past... Well, I'd have to examine it in-person to be sure, but those kinds of things almost always have some sort of innate paradox protection woven into their existence.” She blinked, showing no comprehension. “You can't actually change the past. You can only go back and do what you've already done. Closed time loop.”

I took a long draw from my drink and continued. “And god help you if you don't do something you were already supposed to have done, because you better do it.”

Luz and Izuku blinked at me.

“Don't worry about it,” I waved them off. “My point is that time travel creates more problems than it solves. For instance, if you actually did something like going back in time and stopping this Whittebane character from becoming Emperor Belos, your actions could have a lot of knock-on effects, like stopping the parents of your friends from meeting and making them never be born.”

Luz gasped as her eyes widened in shock.

“Just... take my word for it, time travel is almost always more trouble than its worth. The important part is that you understand what happened was very much not your fault. If you hadn't helped Philip when you did, time would have radically changed and you would have returned to a very different world.” I shook my head. “Instead... let's focus on what you know about Belos and how to stop him in the here and now, okay?”

Luz frowned and rubbed at her chin with a sigh. “I... think I understand. So... I know that Belos... that Philip has the Titan blood he needs to open a doorway back to Earth. I know that he's using the coven tattoos as part of his scheme during the Day of Unity.”

As the girl grunt-groaned in frustration, I nodded as I felt out how much I could safely guide her without violating The Rules. The best way forward was... “If you can get me someone who has one of these coven marks, I might be able to devise something that could remove them. Outside of that, we know that some part of this Belos' plan involves returning to Earth. Given that, do you think there might be something in your town he might have hidden or stored there?”

...and no metaphysical pressure, because the vial of Titan's blood in Gravesfield almost certainly wasn't Philip Wittebane's. If it was anyone's, it was likely Caleb's. Or perhaps one of the Cawthorne family's ancestors? Possibly. Maybe even both.

I also didn't get in trouble for lying, either, because I'd asked a question.

The Rules were powerful, yes, but not absolute.

Luz nodded her head. “That makes sense, but to beat him there, we'd need a functioning gate. Eda, Lilith, and I are working on one, but... can you make it instead?”

I leaned back and hummed thoughtfully, then looked to Izuku. “This is a good lesson, Izuku. Whenever someone asks you for something complicated, always make sure you understand exactly what they want before you agree to it.”

I turned back to Luz. “Now, you just asked for a gate between your demon realm and your version of Earth, correct?” She nodded. “I can, in theory, build one, but it would run on a different magic system than yours, so I can't guarantee you would be able to use it. It would also be very expensive, so if you couldn't use it, you'd be wasting a lot of trade value to get something pointless.”

She sagged. “Thanks for warning me, at least.”

“The other options,” I held up a hand as she began to rise from her chair, halting her, “would be giving me resources on your system of magic and me trying to use that to create a doorway for you, but that might take too much time and could also be expensive and fruitless.” I paused, narrowing my eyes at her as she squirmed. “However, I think the best possibility for accomplishing your goal would be for you to use this store as a kind of gateway between worlds.”

Luz's eyes shot wide in hope. “You can do that?”

“I can... if you can get someone from your world to open the door from their side.” My statement made Luz grimace and bite her bottom lip. “But... you mentioned you had a cellphone.”

She pulled the device free from a pocket and held it up. “Well, yeah, but I haven't been able to send messages or get internet since the portal was destroyed.”

I grinned. “Now that's something I can remedy fairly easily. And cheaply! Sending a message across a reality boundary is much easier than sending a person.” I fished out a brochure. “So, here's what we can do. You get me a few samples of the flora and fauna of the Boiling Isles and I'll let you send your mother a picture of this brochure, which will allow her to open the door from her end.”

Luz drew a deep breath, swallowing as she stared at the simple ritual outlined in careful diagrams. “I'll be able to s-see my mom again?”

I nodded and Luz wiped at her eyes.

“I can go home...” Luz breathed.

“Not... quite,” I winced, her red-rimmed eyes snapping up to my regretful stare. “I can let you come into the store from the Boiling Isles. I can let your mother come in from her side on Earth. I can't let you go through each other's doors. Not without payment. Dimensional travel is very expensive as a rule. And I can't break The Rules.”

One day, when Mark trusts me a bit more, I'll open the option to him. He should be able to at least see his parents. If only I can work out a way to send them a message that won't tell everyone on his Earth how to access the store. I'm all for business opportunities, but that would be a little extreme.

“Oh,” Luz took a deep breath, internalizing my caution. “I... yeah, I understand. How much are we talking? If I wanted to go back to Earth with my mom? A-and come back to the isles after, of course!”

I whetted my lips, thinking over the matter. “Perhaps... as much of the magical knowledge you can get me from the Boiling Isles as possible. Samples of as many plants and animals as you can, too. I'd be especially interested in bile from any witches you can get to volunteer. That... might be enough. Maybe.”

Luz nodded, seemingly in a daze as she took the brochure and held it close to the doorknocker around her neck. “I... I need to think about some things. Th-thank you, Mr. Sterling. I... I really appreciate it.”

~~~

A new chapter of ES!  Woo!  Some Izuku, a sexy elf pops up briefly, and a new customer with a complicated request makes the scene!

I got this one out fast, so I'll be working on a new chapter of The New Ron next, likely to have that out with the March poll in a few days.

After that, I think I'll be returning to Nexus Event briefly before doing whatever the poll says.  Very likely Industrious in some form.

Thanks again for all the support you give me, I'm trying to crank up the speed on my writing to offer a little bit more bang for your buck.  Hope everyone is having a great day and a good week!