The Troublesome General Store (Book 2)

Three roads meet at a supposedly abandoned waystation. Someone has kept the drains clear.

With Milepost Nine in trusted hands, Arthur Smith heads north with Nalia, a highland hunter who trusts tracks more than maps, and Hanna, a young records keeper who likes her numbers checked. The roads don't go where the old markers say they should. The station is battered, yet somebody has kept parts of it working. In a kingdom where ordinary people risk punishment for reading, those quiet caretakers have good reasons to avoid official notice.

There are wagon ruts to repair, honest weights to restore, water to make safe, and knotted route tokens that must guide travelers without revealing protected paths. Arthur's private System rewards proven service, but no magical notification can tell him who should be in charge. Every improvement costs time, local supplies, and the occasional apology. Fortunately, there are hot meals to share when the work is done, assuming Arthur remembers to stop working.

Can he help the hidden keepers work together without turning their waystation into another branch of his store?

No dungeon grinding. No romance subplot. Just dry humor, earned LitRPG progression, and capable people building something worth relying on together.

Book 2 of The Troublesome General Store series. Best read in series order.