Ah, what can I say about my beloved shop? I remember when it was just a small house for my family and me to live in. But when I first went into the Magic Dungeon, so long ago, to first find the Joy Chest, I discovered enough treasures to build up my store. It grew so much that I had to hire Gon and Polly to help me. As the carpenters, Ed and Mondo, allowed the shop to grow, my pride in my work and my family grew with it. Nina and Paulo did such a good job in keeping things up while I was gone. And it's demonstrated one thing that all my old mentors have told me throughout the years, but never believed until I struck out on my own: some people will buy anything. I have no idea why someone would want a cursed Club -1, or a Bronze Shield -12, but if they wish to buy it, who am I to stop them? But I suppose I'll never understand some people…

It wasn't a nice place to visit even before it filled with ghosts and monsters. I've never liked cemeteries. They're so… dead. It's rather an unpleasant place to be. When it became a magic dungeon, it turned into an even more unpleasant place to be. While I'm used to dealing with undead beings, it's not something I like to do very often. It takes forever to get Hork vomit out of linen, for one. At any rate, it's an interesting place for another reason: the damp, nutrient-rich earth is the perfect place to grow herbs. Of course, most people would shudder at the thought of picking herbs from a graveyard, but it's absolutely true. Any visitor to the cemetery these days would find dozens of herbs of different types sprouting up all around him. Try it sometime… if you don't mind the ghosts.

Ah, what to say about the venerable Royal Castle? It has stood there longer that even the eldest residents of the village can remember. For such a small kingdom, it really is a magnificent sight; it's huge and impressive, but not ostentatious (I'm not really used to that word; Nina taught it to me a few months back). It's more a symbol than a real castle, sometimes; it reassures the people that the King will watch over them and protect them, no matter what happens. Still, the King has said to me that he sometimes feels uncomfortable in such a lavish place. He certainly enjoys living there, though; who wouldn't? The Castle also serves another purpose: to safeguard the magical Sacred Flame, which the King's family has been protecting for many generations now. It's said that the Flame is the sword's greatest friend, so of course it must be protected against evil. I wonder what will happen to it now that…? Well, that's another story.

Every time I pass by this place, I shake my head in disbelief that someone actually wanted this to be my home! For one thing, with an active child in the house, it would never keep clean. Secondly, what have I ever done to deserve such opulent surroundings? Third, would you trust a merchant who lived in such grandeur? I certainly wouldn't! While I certainly enjoy luxury as much as anyone, I love my family, and my job, more than riches. So the mansion lay empty for quite a few months, until a banker from the western city bought it, intending to open a bank. Though… unfortunate circumstances kept him from doing so, the villagers still think of it as "the banker's mansion." Still, despite my lack of regrets in not making it my home, I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to have that magnificent kitchen and huge dining room… That must really help the digestion! "

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