Ray finally got to the location.

  “Roxy’s Workshop”

  He was reading the sign on top of the building.

  “I think I found the place.”

  As he walked up to open the door, he saw a notice on it.

  “I’m not here at the moment! I’m out getting materials but I’ll be back soon!”

  The store looked dark and cluttered unlike a normal workshop.

  “Materials? So she’s at a market right now. Well, it won’t hurt to check.”

  The market here was huge. It was many times bigger here than Waltz. So big that it felt daunting to even check it in the first place. First he looked around the open stalls. The smell of freshly cooked food was too much for Ray to bear.

  “Maybe I’ll just get something small as a snack.”

  As that thought was on his mind he saw something green out of the corner of his eye.

  “Roxy?”

  He instantly turned to view it. It was a bulbous light green fruit with a green stalk coming out the top.

  “Hey, can I get one of whatever this is?”

  A young man with brown hair replied.

  “You mean a lotus melon?”

  “A lotus melon? Where is it from?”

  As the man at the stall put it in a bag he explained.

  “It’s a new import from the Demis. Apparently it’s a crop that only grows in those conditions. A week ago was the first time I saw it myself actually.”

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  “How is it still in this condition if it was brought from over there?”

  Ray brought out some coins.

  “You do know about ice magic right?”

  “Of course. But I thought changing the temperature of water magic was quite an ancient technique that took many years to master.”

  “It is. But a new supposed prodigy mage changed jobs I hear, she started working for the merchants I got this from.”

  “Who is she?”

  “Nadia, in the Chrysalis Merchant Company.”

  Ray took the bag and left a silver coin in the man's hand.

  “Keep the change.”

  “Thank you for your business!”

  He searched from top to bottom, checking every corner of every major material seller on the way.

  “I’m never going to find her like this, she might already be gone anyway… I should probably head back.”

  Nearing the end of the market Ray made his way through a dark alleyway. A girl in a hood darted past him. From only a glance he saw her face.

  "That face… Wait!"

  She only kept on running, so he ran after her.

  "Maybe she didn't hear? Wait a second!"

  She seemed to ignore everything he said and ran away even faster. But Ray was used to this. Now in a deserted alleyway she went to turn away through to another-

  "-Aqua! Wait!"

  She stopped for a second and turned around to face him.

  "How do you… know that name??"

  From the voice he could tell she was just putting on a higher pitched accent.

  "What? We were just taking earli-"

  She suddenly grabbed him by the arm and tugged him into an open door of an abandoned house.

  "What are you do-"

  "-Shh!"

  Ray decided to stay quiet for a second and try to figure out the situation, when he could hear a group of footsteps outside passing them. He looked over while whispering.

  "Who were they?"

  She whispered back.

  "Bandits. They set me up good this time."

  She took down her hood, revealing flowing green hair but without the signature merfolk ears sticking out. He didn't notice before but up close he could see this girl had green eyes, unlike Aqua's.

  "Green hair… Green eyes… It can't be…"

  "Huh?"

  In a flash he figured out what had happened.

  "Roxy?"