Chapter 31: Beliscas

The group crossed over the border, out of the Kingdom of Jusral, and entered the eastern land of Beliscas.

This country did have a king, but it didn’t operate under an absolute monarchical system. It was actually more like a republic, though it wasn’t fully considered one, nor was it a complete democracy either.

That was why it didn’t have a particular appellation, and was simply referred to as Beliscas. Its capital, Jammus, was located roughly in the center of the country.

“What should we do, Kaoru? We already crossed the border, but if you want to go to the capital city, we’ll need to head northeast...”

“Oh, we’ll keep going along the ocean for now...” Kaoru said, cutting off Francette’s comment. It had been a while since Kaoru had seen the ocean, so she wanted to maintain that view for a little while longer.

Since marine transportation and the fishing industry still hadn’t flourished on this continent, there weren’t many countries with their capitals on the land near the coast, so you needed to go inland to get to the royal and imperial capitals. And now that they were on the main section of the continent, rather than on the peninsulas, there was a lot of internal territory that didn’t face the sea. Therefore, they would’ve had to leave the coastline eventually, anyway.

Although, they didn’t necessarily have to move inland, unless there was some specific reason to go to the capital... Regardless, Kaoru and her party continued down the coastal road.

“Oh, there’s a city up ahead,” Emile called out from the head of the group, and sure enough, a cluster of buildings could be seen in the distance.

They could see a substantial distance from the bend in the road they were walking on, and thus could tell that it would still be some time before they arrived at the town. They were in no particular hurry, of course, and continued moving at a leisurely pace.

“It seems to be a fairly big place. What do you think, Kaoru?”

“Hmm, we already crossed the border, so maybe we’ll stay there. I wouldn’t mind living there for a while, if it’s a nice place.” Kaoru replied to Francette.

Roland frowned slightly, since it would be unfortunate if she actually decided to take up permanent residence elsewhere.

Emile and Belle actually wanted Kaoru to return to Balmore and live with the other orphans in the Eyes of the Goddess, but they had no intention of pushing their own desires onto her, or trying to influence her decisions.

As for Francette, Kaoru was her main priority. She wanted to follow Kaoru wherever she went, but knew she likely couldn’t keep that up with Roland tagging along, given that he was royalty.

If only I had come alone.

If only Roland wasn’t here.

Francette couldn’t stop those thoughts from lingering in her mind.

Maybe I got married too quickly...

No, we aren’t married quite yet.

I could still call off the marriage...

Roland would likely fall unconscious if he ever found out those thoughts were in her head.

Kaoru had given Francette a chance at marriage after she had given up, and now Francette was considering abandoning her future partner to stay by Kaoru’s side. She was completely at a loss as to what her priorities were.

“Kaoru, I wanted to ask you for a favor...” Francette approached Kaoru to make a direct appeal.

“What is it?”

“I want to be someone who can live with you in your next ‘backstory.’ It’s a bit too difficult to keep watch over you at all times when we live in separate residences...”

“Of course it would be difficult! What did... Wait, why were you watching me at all times in the first place?!” Kaoru yelled with exasperation, but didn’t notice Francette hadn’t used the phrase ‘we’ or ‘us’ in her proposal.

But Roland, who had noticed this little detail, turned pale at the realization.

＊　　　＊

We finally arrived at the entrance of the city. It had taken some time to get here after we had first spotted the buildings in the distance.

Hmm, what sort of job would let me have interactions with the locals...

The medicine shop idea ended up being a failure. I mean, it made a decent profit, but it failed to assist with my main objective of having a quiet life, blending in with the residents of the city, and finding a good husband. The boxed lunch business had been a hit, but the prep needed to mass-produce them every day was a bit too much work.

This time, I wanted to take it easy.

But then again, most jobs weren’t easy, and I wouldn’t have opportunities to meet guys outside of the workplace if I worked every day.

Since I didn’t have skills that translated into anything that might get me hired as a professional in this world, my only options for working normally, without standing out by using my cheat abilities, were things like clerking, factory jobs, and other straightforward labor.

A clerk might have some opportunities to meet men, but the other jobs, not so much...

A maid? That’s actually pretty hard work, and requires a decent amount of skill. Plus, there were very few chances to meet men other than colleagues and residents of the employer’s house. Besides, my daily workload would be far too much to bear.

I wanted a job that allowed me to do as I pleased, and one that didn’t require me to be too concerned about interpersonal relations, which meant self-employment was the best option.

First, I’ll make ten tank-type potion containers and... No, that’s the ‘Self-Defense Force!’

“Anyway, after having learned important lessons from my previous mistakes, I’ve decided to go with this setup!” I declared in front of the city’s entrance, to the group of unimpressed faces.

I continued my explanation anyway.

“First, our jobs... We will be running a normal shop.”

“...” Roland and Francette gave me their best dubious expressions, apparently hung up on the “normal” part.

...Shaddup!

“It’s not going to be a boxed lunch shop?” Belle asked, but...

“No, that’s too much work. Far too much work for food that doesn’t keep well. Pass!”

I did have the Item Box, but the meals degraded while they were on display, and doing the prep work every night and making lots of meals early in the morning was hell.

Francette, who I had forced to help us out in a tight spot, was obviously relieved.

“So, we’ll be selling something other than food. Something that’s easy to make, that doesn’t spoil, and that doesn’t require unnecessary hard work on our part!”

Selling things like general goods and ornaments would be so much easier. Especially when compared to a fish shop or a fruit and vegetable shop...

Everyone in the perishable foods industry, thank you for your hard work! No night-time prepping, early morning work, or kitchen work. Even if we didn’t sell out our stock each day, we could just leave it on the shelves. We wouldn’t need to store the items in the fridge or dispose of them. If we had to take time off out of nowhere, the business wouldn’t be affected. No worries about food poisoning or food going bad either. And when I’m putting discount stickers on the stock before opening time, I wouldn’t be harassed by a mob of old ladies to hurry up.

Hooray, non-food items!

“So, our story is that Layette, Belle, and I are sisters, and Emile is Belle’s lover, who just recently became a hunter. Roland and Francette are a knightly couple, and they watch over us because they made an oath to our late parents. Francette might get away with it, but Roland’s speech and mannerisms give him away as a noble, so he couldn’t pass as our commoner brother. And Francette’s a bit too young to be an elite common-born knight, so her backstory wouldn’t work unless she was a noble. Besides, her equipment’s a bit too nice for a commoner.”

I decided not to make her Emile’s sister because, well... If he and Belle started getting all lovey-dovey in public, people would think we’re a family of weirdos, which would hurt my chances of finding a romantic partner. And if Francette and Belle were already taken, the young bachelors’ attentions would naturally gravitate toward me.

Muahaha, it was the perfect plan!

...But if the men start paying attention to Layette instead of me, I’ll cry!

“Okay then, let’s do this!”

Nobody responded to my call, and they all moved their horses forward with their shoulders slumped.

Well, I wasn’t expecting them to shout together or anything. The guards probably would’ve come running if they did. And of course, I had put the chariot back into my Item Box and was riding Ed, with Layette sitting in front of me. We moved forward at a casual pace toward the city.

This city wasn’t the kind surrounded by walls, so everyone was free to enter and leave as they pleased. I wondered if they just weren’t worried about enemy attacks, but then I realized this place was located off in a distant corner of the country, in a completely different direction from the capital, so it was highly unlikely an opposing faction would send their armies here. You can take down an opposing nation by taking their capital, so no idiot would waste their time taking an out-of-the-way location that wouldn’t give them an advantage in battle.

Makes sense to me!

And since it was so far from the capital, I didn’t have to worry about kings and princes bothering me, either. So, as long as I was careful with whatever lord ruled this place, I’d be totally fine...

...There was a time when I believed that.

“Huh? The king in this country is just a diplomatic ornament, and it’s actually run by a council? It’s not a real monarchy?”

According to Roland, this kingdom had a king and nobility, but the high-ranking nobles conducted meetings where they made all the important decisions, rather than the king doing it himself. And although it wasn’t exactly a democracy or a republic, it was a bit different from other kingdoms and empires, since the voices of powerful commoners, especially the rich and important merchants, were quite influential.

“So I don’t have to worry about lords and nobles here?”

“Of course you do! Lords are still lords, and nobles are still nobles. The nobles of this land are properly greedy and entitled and consider commoners to be nothing more than livestock, so don’t worry.”

Thought sooo!

Death Crimson!

I mean, King Crimson!

We were currently at the house—no, the shop we had signed a contract to rent.

Fortunately, all I needed to rent it was an up-front payment, and it didn’t require any annoying certificates or guarantors. This wasn’t the capital, but some out-of-the-way location off in the corner of the country, so the rent wasn’t that high, despite it being a reasonably-sized town. The shop area of the building wasn’t very big, but the living area was a decent size. After all, not only was I living with Emile and the others, but Roland and Francette would be joining as well.

I was going to have Emile and Belle share a room, and have Roland and Francette take another, but Francette adamantly refused, her face as red as a tomato.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Whaaat?! An unmarried man and woman in the same room? You can’t be serious!!!”

Huh? Whaaat?

“D-Don’t tell me...”

Shocked, I glanced in the direction of Roland, who averted his eyes.

Ohhh... I had figured everyone but royalty and nobles in this world were loose about that sort of thing... Wait, Francette is a noble now! And she did say she had never dated a man before. Wait... So have they been staying in different rooms at the inns we stopped at all this time?

“When it comes to inns, we had to keep traveling expenses low, and I had my duty to protect him. That was work! This is different!”

I see... So she didn’t mind staying in a camp or inn together, since it’s part of her job as a knight, but when it comes to living in the same room, it’s a different story...

What a pain!

On the other hand, Emile and Belle were acting as if being separated was out of the question, so I had them stay in the same room. I would be sharing my room with Layette, of course.

As for what this shop was going to be for...

“A utility shop?” everyone asked me.

Yes, it was going to be a ‘utility shop.’ The shop would be open from the first morning bell (6 a.m.) to the second morning bell (9 a.m.), then from the second daytime bell (3 p.m.) to the first evening bell (6 p.m.). It would only be open while everyone was leaving for work and coming back from work. I wasn’t in dire need of money, so I didn’t want to work more than was necessary. I’d rather use that time trying to find a marriage partner.

And for the product for our shop...

I pulled out the shelves and display stands we had used at Layette’s Atelier from the Item Box and put them out in the shop area. And there, I placed the products I had picked out personally. Hard bread, jerky, cubes of dehydrated soup, dried vegetables and dried fruits. I would only be selling food that wouldn’t spoil easily.

In addition, I laid out canteens, knives, capes, and hats for those who had sudden travel needs and had to buy some equipment. There were also spices, herbs, underwear, and even some disposable cosmetics. I added those emergency items little by little, from a broad range of categories.

“...Why would underwear and cosmetics be considered emergency items, you ask? Let’s talk about that when Belle and Layette aren’t here, Francette.”

＊　　　＊

As soon as we arrived in the city, the first thing we did was secure a room at an inn. After that, we began gathering information from bored-looking people at the inn and the other guests staying there. Information was incredibly valuable, after all.

From what we gathered, merchants had a lot of rights in this country, and there was a merchant’s association—in other words, a guild—that gathered taxes from other merchants and made payments to the government. So, in order to open a shop, we first needed to register with the Commerce Guild. I needed someone to introduce me to the right people if I was to rent out a shop anyway, so going to the guild and asking around was the fastest way to get what I wanted.

And so, I headed to the guild first thing in the morning, bringing Roland and Francette with me. After all, having adults with me would ensure that things went a lot smoother, rather than me going by myself, given that I looked like an underage child.

Francette looked to be 15 or 16 years old, so even though she was technically an adult, it wasn’t quite enough to get by. That was why I had Roland tag along too. Anyone who saw Roland would assume correctly that he was an upper-class rich boy. Moreover, while wearing his sword, he cut something of an imposing figure.

As such, people would assume that Roland would hold the rights to the shop and be the shop owner, both in name only, while leaving the actual work to me and Francette. That was fine by me.

If a rumor went around about a child shopkeeper, a bunch of unwelcome types might have decided to come bug me. There are those who try to take from the weak in every world, after all. If an argument broke out, something terrible could happen... to the other party, that is.

I doubted Roland would be conscious of the danger posed to me or Francette, since he could just reveal his identity in a pinch and thus get out of trouble. And would Francette, Emile and Belle even think to go easy on someone who tried to cause me harm? I wouldn’t show mercy to anyone who laid hands on Layette, after all. Absolutely not!

In any case... the fewer sources of conflict, the better. That’s what it came down to.

“Excuse me, we’d like to open a new business...” I had asked for directions at the inn and, upon arrival at the Guild, spoke to the young reception girl at the desk.

“Oh... Y-Yes!” Yeah, she was looking right over my head and right at Roland’s face...

Well, Roland was an ex-prince, after all, and he had the appearance to match. If he dressed up and rode in on a white horse, it’d be quite the regal picture. It wasn’t so strange for a reception girl from a local city to swoon over him.

“...So, h-how may I help you?”

Th-This girl was too busy gawking at Roland to even listen to me! Wait, was Roland that popular with the ladies? Even without his royal title?

I looked over at Francette, who shrugged. Huh... So this happened pretty often.

“We! Would like! To open! A new business!!!”

“You don’t have to shout! I can hear you!”

Shut it!

When I was an office worker, there was a time when I had to cover for the receptionists when they all fell ill with the flu. Though, for some reason, I was released from my duties in the middle of my first day... Anyway, a receptionist is the face of the company! When they don’t put their all into their work...

Smack!

“Pardon me. I’d like to discuss your inquiry in detail, so please come right this way,” a woman who was a little older than the first receptionist said, smiling, and guided us toward a separate meeting room.

“How mean! I was helping that handso— customer! You can’t just come in and take... Hey, what are you doing?! Stop, I must help that handsome man...” The receptionist girl got her head smacked with rolled-up documents, then protested vigorously as her co-workers dragged her away.

Maybe this happened often, because they were pretty efficient in removing her. I was glad we didn’t end up being assigned to that weirdo. Seriously...

“Well then. I am Irene, and I will be taking care of you today. I understand you are looking to open a new business. Please turn in a written request with the location, shop name, products handled and/or business form, as well as the size of your business. Your taxes and membership fees will be based on this information... Please note that if you report false information in an attempt to reduce the taxes owed, there will be issues later on...”

She finished her explanation quickly enough, but I wasn’t even at that step yet.

“I’m sorry, but we still haven’t worked out a location for our store. We came here hoping you could give us some guidance...”

“Oh, I see. Not to worry, there are quite a few people who do the same thing. This gives us an opportunity to collect a favor later from the estate agents for having referred you, and they also happen to be members of our guild.”

I thought she would have gotten upset, but that wasn’t the case at all. We were introduced to an estate agent, then we secured a store location, all thanks to the help of the guild.

After officially completing the registration process, I asked her something that was on my mind.

“Um, that receptionist we first talked to...”

“Oh, she’s the granddaughter of our lord’s nursemaid, so she won’t get fired no matter what she does. She’s not a bad girl... I suppose you could say she’s honest, pure, true to her desires, or just unmannerly...”

That didn’t sound like a good girl to me!

So, on the documents I submitted, I wrote:

Shop Location: Commercial Ward, 3rd Street

Products Handled: Anything

Business Size: 3 employees

Store Name: Belle

I didn’t want to use the same shop name as last time, so I changed it up. The employees of record would be me, Belle, and Francette. I was going to have Belle train as a hunter with Emile again, but she would be helping out every so often, and I was afraid of being penalized for under-reporting, so I added her, just in case. It wasn’t like I was hurting for money, and the difference in fees between two employees and three wasn’t too different anyway.

I was planning on putting “Convenience Store Belle” on the sign. I wasn’t going to call it a conbini. If I did, anyone who got transported here from Japan would immediately be able to tell some other Japanese person was already here. And what if that person made a move before me... Wait, what am I even fighting against?!

Anyway, preparations for shooting down UFOs—I mean, opening the shop—were complete! Now I just needed to order the sign! I had changed the shop name, so I couldn’t reuse the old one.

...But first, I had to lay out the products and tell everyone about the shop.

＊　　　＊

And with the sign now complete, it was time to open the doors!

But it ended up being a quiet opening, since I hadn’t really advertised at all. I wasn’t planning on doing any heavy marketing. Honestly, I didn’t want too many people coming in, and I wasn’t selling anything particularly interesting anyway. Just a small shop where customers would occasionally stop by; that was what I wanted Convenience Store Belle to be.

This store was nothing more than a front to make it seem like my main source of income, after all. If word got out that I had a lot of money, enough to live comfortably on, it would attract the unsavory types and affect my search for a marriage partner. I wasn’t interested in men who were after my wallet.

Plus, I needed something that would give me an opportunity to meet people. My mistake last time was thinking that I had to make money through my business. That had led to the idea that I needed good medicine to sell at a profit. I didn’t need my business to be booming in order to find a man; I really only needed people to think I was just getting by with my shop.

Being in the red would be a bit much, though, so I would be satisfied with breaking even after living expenses, or making a slight profit. Big profits were completely unnecessary. Oh, maybe I could scrape up the costs for Ed’s care too, though I didn’t mind using my savings in the Item Box for that.

Emile and Belle were at the Hunter’s Guild. They would likely just be introducing themselves and gathering info for today. They planned on taking on real tasks starting tomorrow.

Francette and Roland were relaxing in their rooms upstairs. They would come down in seconds if I rang the call bell, shouted for them, or pulled the string under the counter. So, for now, Francette could rest as much as she liked.

It was a far cry from keeping watch all day from the alley like last time. I felt bad for that. Really... Sorry about that...

I’d have Francette swap in for my breaks, but I would do the majority of the shopkeeping. Otherwise, it would defeat the purpose of running a shop to find a marriage partner. Layette would be there too, of course. Three-hour shifts, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Six-hour work days, with free time during the day. No late night prep work or early mornings.

Sold goods could be easily replenished as long as I had a few days’ worth of stock stored in the Item Box. Ahh, this was a dream compared to the boxed meal shop or being a corporate slave like in my last life! I could even neglect my health and eat like crap and not worry about getting sick as long as I had my potions!

This is it! This is the life I’ve always wanteddd!!!

...Wait. If I got married, wouldn’t I lose this dream life and have to make meals for my husband every day? If I had to deal with that, I might as well... No! No, no, no, no! Don’t think about it! Don’t think, just feel!

＊　　　＊

Even without any advertising on my part, people came to check out the new shop out of sheer curiosity.

No one came in on the morning of the first day, but there were a decent number of locals and people coming home from work who stopped by in the evening. Ever since then, several people had started coming by, here and there, in the mornings and evenings alike.

“A ‘convenient’ store? You could find this stuff pretty much anywhere...”

When people pointed this out, I provided them with an explanation.

“It’s true that these items can be found at other shops. Canteens at item shops, knives at blade shops, nonperishables at food stores, capes at clothing stores... But if you suddenly needed to travel someplace far away, you would need to stop by multiple stores to get all of those things, wouldn’t you? And if you needed to leave first thing in the morning, you would have to wait until the second morning bell or first daytime bell to get them. But if you come here, you can get everything in one visit, and we open at the first morning bell! Wouldn’t you say that’s a convenient store?”

“Y-You’re right...”

After hearing my explanation, most customers seemed to agree.

The prices for my wares weren’t particularly cheap, but they weren’t too high either. We put out a few things we liked, like cookies baked by yours truly, Belle’s bamboo wares, and Emile’s wood-carved animals, all sold at a very low price. As such, our run-of-the-mill shop, a shop that wasn’t exactly thriving or in a horrible slump, quietly continued to do business.

＊　　　＊

“Hey mister, do you have anything weird in stock?”

“Weird, you say...?”

The shop is closed from the second morning bell (9 a.m.) to the second daytime bell (3 p.m.) This means that we have free time between those hours, but... I was getting a full eight hours of sleep—from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.—so I couldn’t really take a midday nap.

That’s why I decided to go visit my supplier, taking Layette and Francette with me.

Roland said he was writing a letter to let his family know that he’d stayed safe during his travels... Wait, he was writing to the king! He was telling him about me, wasn’t he?!

It wasn’t like I was using my powers to make all of my wares. In fact, I had limited myself to using my powers exclusively for products I really wanted but was unable to get through normal means. Yes, I was buying most of my standard wares at other stores.

I still had plenty of money from what I had earned in Balmore, and I didn’t want to disrupt the laws of the universe here... Though, I guess it was a bit too late for that. Anyway, this store was one of the places where I stocked up on general goods. It was a wholesale store, and it stocked a few interesting items once in a while, so I had to check in from time to time.

“How about this one? It’s a specialty item from the faraway land of Aligot: a doll of the angel with scary-looking eyes.”

“No, I don’t want that!”

“If you collect all six, you’ll be blessed by the angel with scary eyes...”

“Shut iiit!!!”

“Have you heard any other interesting things?”

My next stop was the Commerce Guild. As a merchant, I had to keep an ear open for news at all times.

“You were just here yesterday, Miss Kaoru... It’s unusual to come by every day, you know. If we get any urgent news or information that could greatly affect business, we’ll send a runner to alert the guild members.”

But I was bored! So bored! I needed to do something to keep me occupied! It seemed that having a lot of free time had its disadvantages. It’d been nearly five years and my corporate slave mentality still hadn’t left me! Damn it...

I was lying around at home a lot back in Balmore when I lived with the Eyes of the Goddess, but with all the potion stuff, development of new products with the Abili Trade Company, providing sailing technology to the Aligot Empire, and dealing with other countries, I had kept pretty busy...

Anyway, it was time for my evening shift.

Finding myself bored each day, I was beginning to wonder if I had made a mistake. I had done all that yearning for a safe and peaceful life, sure, but once it became a reality, it was just so unexciting. And to be honest, I wasn’t in that big of a rush to get married either. If I wasn’t going to get any older, maybe I could travel the world and enjoy myself for a while. At least for a little while longer, I could live how I pleased... I could always settle down somewhere and have kids later...

I was daydreaming thoughts like those, when...

“Excuse me, do you have any hemort seeds?”

Hemort? I’d never heard of it, but it must come from a plant, considering that it’s a seed. The girl was around 16-17 years old, with a look of half-desperation and half-resignation. She was considered an adult by this world’s standards, but seeing the young girl’s face, a thought crossed my still-hazy mind.

How can I call this a “convenience store” if I can’t provide a customer with something they really need?

My mind had been up in the clouds for so long, it took awhile for the cogs in my head to start turning. So, I decided to just hurry up and give her what she wanted.

...A double-layered container with a potion in the bottom half and hemort seeds in the top half!

I made a container appear in my hand under the counter, then I placed it on the counter.

“Here you go, hemort seeds.”

I didn’t know what kind of plant a hemort was, but this would probably do. I had to believe in the Goddess’s factory. The seed looked like a soybean, but I figured it was completely different. There were about 20 of them.

I couldn’t give her the healing potion, so I only gave her the contents of the top half of the container.

How much should I charge her...

“Wh-Whaaat? T-They really are hemort seeds...”

She was flabbergasted. I thought that’s what she wanted?

“I-I didn’t think you’d actually have them...”

It seemed she wasn’t expecting much in the first place. Don’t take the “convenience store” lightly.

It’s just a vegetable seed...

Though, to be fair, I didn’t actually have it in stock.

Well, it was almost time for the first night bell, so the other stores had been closed for a while already. Maybe she was a farmer’s daughter, and she was going back to the country tonight or first thing in the morning.

“Th-Then, do you have a mortgul fruit or a kurcul leaf?

Hmm, maybe pulling everything out from under the counter would be a bit suspicious.

“One moment, please.”

With that, I went into the storage room, which was about the size of a closet...

“Double-layered containers with healing potions in the bottom compartment, with a mortgul fruit in the top layer of one container and a kurcul leaf in the other!”

It struck me that the mortgul fruit thing could’ve been the size of a watermelon, coconut, or durian...but it was only the size of a piece of gum.

Whew!

I removed the upper compartment of each container and brought them over to the counter.

“Here you go, a mortgul fruit and a kurcul leaf.”

Huh? She’s not moving...

“Wh-Wh-Wha...”

The girl was stricken with even greater shock than earlier, before finally coming back to reality.

“Wh-Why is this heeere?!”

What kind of question was that...?

“Because we’re a convenience store!”

Yes, this was the only answer I could give in this situation. This shop is convenient, hence the name.

Even if the other shops were closed, and regardless of the fact that we weren’t a specialty seed store... We sell that stuff here, and that’s why we’re so convenient! Muahahaha!

“So, h-how much will it be...?”

Oh. This was bad. I didn’t know the market price. But it was just a vegetable seed, a small fruit, and a leaf. How pricey could it possibly be?

If a customer thought I was trying to rip them off, it could destroy my business. So...

“That will be six small silver coins.”

Yeah, that should do it.

Two small silver coins each, equivalent to about 600 Japanese yen. That shouldn’t be too much.

Why did she look like it was the end of the world? Was six small silver coins really so much? Did she actually come shopping without 600 yen worth of money?!

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t have quite enough on me right now, but I’ll definitely be back tomorrow! So please, accept this as payment for now!”

With that, the girl removed the pendant around her neck and gently placed it on the counter.

...Wait, this was definitely worth more than six small silver coins. In fact, its value was probably off by two, no, maybe even three digits...

But seriously, why was she running around town trying to do emergency shopping without even six small silver coins on her?

Oh, while I was standing there in shock, the girl had shoved the three containers into her pocket and ran off.

This wasn’t theft... was it? Maybe she took my silence as acceptance. Like that saying, “If you have no objections, answer with silence.” Or maybe she was in such a hurry that she couldn’t even wait for an answer...

Oh well, it wasn’t a big deal. She would likely be back tomorrow to retrieve the pendant, hopefully with six small silver coins this time...

＊　　　＊

“Excuse me!”

“You are not excused!”

“Wha...?” a girl and an old man said as they stood in the entrance, mouths agape.

“Oh, uh, never mind! Welcome!”

The pendant girl from yesterday and an elderly man with a white beard entered the shop.

“I am Oredeim, an apothecary. I understand this girl visited your establishment yesterday. I would like to purchase her pendant back from you. That was her late mother’s keepsake...”

What the heck, why was he looking at me like I was the bad guy?! She was the one who left it because she couldn’t pay six measly small silver coins...

In any case, I took the pendant from under the counter and placed it on the counter. Seeing this, the old man produced a pouch from his chest pocket and reached into it for some coins.

“I understand this is business, but to take advantage of her like this...” he said, placing the six coins on the counter.

Huh? Did he really go that far over six small silver coins? The glass containers that held the seeds and leaves cost more than that... Wait, hold up!

“What is this?! You’ve got some nerve trying to pawn off counterfeit money, geezer!”

“Huh?”

“Whaa?”

A guy like this deserved to be called a geezer... The girl was brazenly acting as if she was surprised, but even I knew the currency of this country, foreigner or not. It wasn’t as if I had just opened up yesterday.

So, it was glaringly obvious that the objects on the table weren’t small silver coins... And it goes without saying that they weren’t silver coins, gold coins, or small gold coins either.

“If you can’t even pay six small silver coins, fine. Just take that and go. I don’t want you stepping foot in this shop again. You’re banned!”

With that, I pushed the pendant and counterfeit coins on the table toward them.

“Whaaaaaat?!” they yelled in unison.

What were they so surprised about? They couldn’t have expected to fool me with those fake coins...

Then, looking a bit shaken, the geezer said, “Umm... Those are mithril coins, not counterfeit small silver coins...”

Wha?

He explained that the 6 coins here were “mithril coins,” and as the name implied, they were coins mainly made of mithril, with each one being worth 10 gold coins.

...Which made each one equivalent to about a million Japanese yen.

I mean, I knew of the existence of mithril coins. But I’d never actually seen one in person. It wasn’t used by the commoners, and I heard that they were only really used among the nobility, or in religious ceremonies.

It wasn’t that they were particularly hard to acquire, but most people only needed to use gold coins. Mithril coins were hard to use because of their high value, and since they weren’t commonly seen, most people didn’t have the ability to discern between real ones and fakes. So, you’d normally use 60 gold coins rather than 6 mithril coins.

60 gold coins wouldn’t even weigh 500 grams, and they weren’t particularly cumbersome to carry around. They assumed I had asked for 6 mithril coins, so they went through the trouble of exchanging 60 gold coins for 6 mithril ones.

Wait, wait, wait, wait, waaait! How the heck did 600 yen turn into 6,000,000 yen?!

Th-This was bad... My hands were shaking... Oh no, I accidentally hit the hand bell for calling Francette and Emile, and it fell to the floor...

“You will pay for your crimes with your blood, scoundrel!”

Francette and Emile’s blades were pressed against the old man’s neck. At the same time, Roland’s sword and Belle’s knife were held to the girl’s neck. They were completely frozen in place, faces pale and sweat erupting from their faces.

＊　　　＊

“...So, when I said ‘six small silver coins,’ you thought I meant ‘six mithril coins,’ and tried to pay that amount.”

“Th-That’s right!”

Afterwards, I hurriedly got everyone to put their weapons away, switched the “Open” sign to “Be Back Soon,” then took everyone upstairs. I gave the pendant and mithril coins back to the little girl and the old man, respectively, for now. And after I had questioned them, the girl began to explain her situation, with desperation in her expression.

“But there’s no way hemort seeds, mortgul fruits, and kurcul leaves could be bought for six small silver coins! This time of year, even low-quality varieties would cost twenty gold coins, and could be up to forty gold coins if they were of high quality! How could I not think you meant mithril coins when you mumbled six silver coins?!”

“Indeed, I would have assumed that she was a crooked merchant, and was trying to take advantage of you, if that was the case. That is a million times more likely than believing some mad merchant put an absurd price like six small silver coins on such rare items!”

The girl and old man took turns making their point.

Hearing this, Roland and Francette held their heads in their hands.

Then, staying in that position, Francette let out a groan and asked, “Umm... Kaoru, do you know what hemort seeds, mortgul fruits, and kurcul leaves are used for, where and when they’re produced, or their market prices?”

“... No...”

The old man immediately took out his pouch, pulled out six small silver coins, then placed them on the table.

“Well, we’ll be heading out now!”

With that, he took the bewildered girl by her arm and rose, preparing to leave.

“Now hold on just a minute!” Francette, Roland, and I cried out, raising our voices all at once.

They were used to this reaction by now...

And so we stopped the old man and the girl from leaving the six silver coins and taking off.

“I paid the price you asked for. I see no problem here!”

I couldn’t argue with that...

“I asked for your price, and paid appropriately. Are you telling me this shop is in the habit of raising its prices after selling its products and then charging additional fees to its customers?”

“Uuu...” we all moaned, quietly.

A valid point. I just needed some tea to calm myself down. It would have to be ceylon tea, of course... Wait, shut up!

“But that’s a bit too...”

“It’s fine, Fran,” I stopped Francette as she began to retort.

Then...

“You’re absolutely right. This was a business transaction, after all.”

“Y-Yes, exactly. I’m glad you seem to understand...”

The old man seemed to calm down a bit upon seeing my smiling face. Oredeim the apothecary, was it?

“So, I’ll just take the six small silver coins, as per the price I quoted originally. But since I won’t be able to explain the sale at such a price to my supplier, and because I want to avoid a situation in which you ask for the same price again, or even others who have heard about this incident requesting the same thing, I will have to return all of my remaining plant-based ingredients and stop carrying them altogether. Therefore, if anyone comes in requesting such products from here on, I will have to refuse the sale, after explaining what transpired here in great detail.”

“What?!”

Yes, this was convenient for me too. This way, I could avoid this place being known as a shop that carries valuable ingredients and sells them for dirt cheap. I was glad the old man decided to take up the attitude he did. My overhead cost for those items was zero anyway, so it wasn’t like my wallet was going to suffer.

“You still have remaining stock?!”

...Huh? That’s what he was concerned about? I thought he would change his mind and want to pay the six mithril coins instead. Don’t tell me he planned on buying up the rest for cheap, too... What if he started claiming, ‘You said they were six silver coins!’?

Oh man... No way would I put up with that. But saying there was still remaining stock was my critical mistake. How could I get through this...

Then, all at once, I had it.

“Of course, it’s not here, at this particular moment. The stock is stored in a different building, one that has the appropriate humidity and temperature. The seeds may be fine for dry storage, but fruits and leaves are delicate, after all. Normal vegetables, seeds, and fruits are also stored there, so when I ordered products in bulk, some expensive ones must have been mixed in with my order. The person I put in charge of ordering and separating the products must have made a mistake, and since I don’t have in-depth knowledge of such goods, well... Assuming they were common products, I priced them on a whim, which was my mistake... Anyway, I’ll be returning everything in the storage area too, so those items won’t be stocked here in the future.”

There, that just explained why I don’t have stock here, and why the price ended up being so ridiculous the last time. Peace at my shop had been preserved!

“Wha... Th-Then, you won’t be restocking...?”

“I will not. Besides, I wouldn’t want to continue selling high-priced items to a customer who demands to buy those goods at an absurdly cheap price, fully aware that it was the result of a pricing error. It’s far too risky for me, considering that you could use some careless mistake or comment as a lever to make another such purchase, losing us dozens of gold coins in the process. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that you’ve taken up such an exploitative attitude with us if you intended on doing business with us in the future. What, did you think I’m an idiot?”

Well... I mean, I was pretty aloof and stupid that first time...

“What?! But I didn’t think you had more stock...”

“So you took advantage of my mistake and tried to buy it for one-ten-thousandth of the market price, right? You got it for the price you wanted. Congratulations. While you only had to give up a small amount of money for this sale, you also lost the most crucial element for anyone who deals with other people on a regular basis: confidence and trust. But I’m sure you’re well aware of that.”

The old man seemed quite flustered.

For me, though, I had to avoid people thinking that this shop had valuable goods for sale at all costs, so I had to make it clear that those items would never be available here again. It wasn’t as if the old man was losing access to something he had been getting here regularly, anyway. He just so happened to acquire something that was already hard to get. I’m sure it wasn’t a big deal if he continued to have trouble finding it, and even if it was an issue, it wasn’t one that concerned me.

“And you?” I asked the girl who had been watching all of this happen.

She seemed nervous to be called out so suddenly.

“Huh? M-Me? I-I’m the master’s disciple, Taona...”

The old man had called himself an apothecary, so I thought there was a chance she could have been his client, but he had spoken on the girl’s behalf earlier, so I guess she was with him after all. So, she was just as guilty... I mean, she hadn’t really done anything wrong, but she was this jerk’s companion...

“I suppose we are done here...”

“W-Wait! I may be the only one in this city who knows how to make Longevity Medicine! You wouldn’t want to lose a regular customer...”

“Regular customer? You mean the first-timer who only paid six silver coins? The one who profited off of us losing nearly forty gold coins, at that?”

“Urgh... But, for our transactions from here on out...”

“Here on? We are no longer handling plant-based ingredients. Do you intend on buying enough portable foods and daily wares to earn us forty gold coins in profits?”

The old man closed his mouth.

“Our customers are leaving now. Francette, Emile, please see them out.”

“Right away!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Francette and Emile responded, expressions serious.

They seemed to be happy to be doing bodyguard-like work for the first time in a while. But they were just kicking out a tired old man and a helpless little girl, so it wasn’t all that knightly of a task...

Mainly, I figured they were glad to get an order from me and sort of reconfirm their place and sense of purpose here. Belle looked regretful about not being chosen for the task, but she was just as weak as the two we were kicking out.

Emile ignored the girl, who was closer to him, and approached the old man. It seemed he had reservations about laying hands on and using force with a young girl, and so, Francette went with her instead.

I hoped they wouldn’t break any bones by accident.

“Unhand me, I’m not done talking here! Who do you think I am...?”

The old man resisted and was dragged out of the room by Emile, while the girl simply followed after them, without Francette needing to touch her at all.

I was exhausted...

But, thanks to the old man’s attitude, I was able to play off my mistake of selling some odd products for a horribly abnormal price. Now it was like that ‘mysterious triple plant set’ never existed. Good.

...So, what the heck is Longevity Medicine?

＊　　　＊

I explained the whole ordeal to the others after we’d kicked out the two guests. When I told them, “I handled it, so now everything’s a-okay!” Roland and Francette gave me an incredulous look.

But Emile and Belle were nodding in agreement...

“...There’s no way that’s the end of it,” Roland muttered quietly, and Francette nodded in response.

Why?

“Francette, what’s Longevity Medicine?”

I was talking about the medicine that the old apothecary guy, Oredeim, had mentioned.

He had said he might be the only person in the city who could make it, so it must have been quite valuable. It also likely meant that the old man was very skilled. He must’ve been, if he was one of the top apothecaries around, although this was just a provincial city. His haughty attitude made it all the more likely, too.

“Kaoru, you don’t even know that...? Well, I suppose it’s not your fault. It has nothing to do with the Goddess, and you wouldn’t need anything like that, since you can make the Tears of the Goddess. And you’re not the Goddess of this world in the first place...”

She was right.

Then Francette straightened her back and began explaining the situation to me with a serious look on her face.

Apparently, she was in ‘normal mode’ earlier, and her explanation would now be carried out in ‘work mode.’

“Longevity Medicine is, as the name implies, medicine that’s said to prolong one’s life. Its method of creation is passed down from master to disciple, and it’s often mentioned in old stories, too. It’s said to use all sorts of rare ingredients, cure all sorts of ailments, and extend one’s lifespan...”

“But, in reality, it’s just normal medicine,” Roland said, interrupting Francette.

“Wha...?” Francette and I trailed off, gaping.

Francette is surprised too?!

“It’s not that it doesn’t work. It’s very effective for certain ailments, and if given to someone who’s on the verge of death, it’ll even slightly increase their chances of survival. So it’s true that some people have been saved and lived longer thanks to Longevity Medicine, and it’s understandable why it’s so sought after, even when it goes for an extremely high price. It certainly isn’t foolish to do so. But this isn’t a magical drug that cures all ailments, or the medicine of the gods. Just an expensive and effective medicine. It’s not anything like Kaoru’s potions. Word of Kaoru’s potions has probably only reached the top officials around here, so most people would think of Longevity Medicine if they were asked what the ultimate medicine is.”

Huh, so it was like ginseng in the Edo period. Ginseng later became available for wealthier commoners too, but in places like China and Korea, only the emperor, royals, and nobles could purchase it, and in Japan’s case, it was only accessible for the shoguns, daimyo, and powerful families. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that was worth millions of yen.

But instead of a magical elixir that could immediately cure all symptoms upon consumption, it made the user more healthy over time, gradually improving their condition... So instead of curing your symptoms and thus making you healthy, it makes you healthy, so the symptoms are eventually cured. Kind of like vitamins and nutrients.

“And the price is so high because those three plants are essential ingredients, but they’re also hard to obtain. They can only be harvested in distant countries, and they’re hard to come by because they can’t be cultivated. The hemort seeds are one thing, but the mortgul fruits and kurcul leaves can only be harvested during certain seasons, and their effectiveness declines sharply when they’re dried out... and Kaoru sold all three of them, fresh, for six small silver coins total. Mortgul fruits can’t be harvested this time of year, by the way. They likely ran low on hemort seeds and were searching high and low for more, and although they were unlikely to find them here, they stopped by, without really expecting anything, because we handle plant-based products here. When the girl found out we had them, she must have asked about the mortgul fruit and kurcul leaves as a kind of joke. The ones they have must be dried and low-quality. But you...”

Gah! I’d made a terrible mistake. I couldn’t be mad at Taona for mistaking ‘six small silver coins’ for ‘six mithril coins.’ She was expecting to be quoted a ridiculously high price, so it was natural to hear it the way she did.

I’ve experienced something similar myself. And that Oredeim guy didn’t seem to blame Taona for her mistake. This all could’ve been avoided if she just paid the six silver coins and pretended not to notice anything. He probably couldn’t have blamed her then, either.

Well, that may have been the case this time, but I probably would have looked up the market price for next time, so I would’ve found out about the appropriate pricing eventually. But I would have been upset about her not mentioning the fact that the price was ridiculously low, and upset at myself for selling such a thing so carelessly, and removed that type of product from our inventory. So, in the end, the result would’ve been the same.

But...

“Why do you know so much about Longevity Medicine, Roland? You even know about the ingredients... I thought only a select few apothecaries know about it?”

I was curious as to why he was so knowledgeable on the subject. It was almost as if he could mix it himself.

“I was forced to take it. For a long time, too, after I was injured and I couldn’t move my arm. I insisted there was no point in taking it, because I wasn’t weakened by any kind of sickness, but my parents and retainers wouldn’t listen. To think, how much of the kingdom’s funds they wasted... So, I intently questioned the apothecaries and researched everything there is to know about the medicine, all to convince everyone that it was pointless to take it for my injury.”

Wow. I felt bad for asking. He probably couldn’t allow himself to waste funds that were supposed to be used for the people. It must have been a painful memory for him.

“...Sorry.”

Roland waved his hand lightly, telling me not to worry about it. But my question had been answered, and I found out that this Longevity Medicine wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Case closed!

I had a little too much free time here, but it was way better than abandoning everything and running away. All I needed was a decent number of customers and a steady income. And meeting people! That was all I was asking for!

Honestly, though, I wasn’t in any kind of rush. My body wouldn’t get any older, so I didn’t need to worry about being a suitable age for marriage. Francette and the others probably assumed I was tens of thousands of years old anyway, so a few more years weren’t going to change anything.

50,019 years old, 50,024 years old... It didn’t matter. Maybe I could even travel around some, then return to Balmore once I was done, and have Francette and Roland marry. While I’m at it, have Emile and Belle get married, and maybe find Layette a husband, too. Then I could go on a solo adventure from there...

Actually, going on a journey with just Layette might be better. Then I could depart right away, without waiting around too long. Being alone would be a bit lonely.

When we get back to Balmore, I can always find an Aligot ship at some port town and hop on... There was a time when I thought about things like that.

＊　　　＊

“Is this the place that sells materials for the Longevity Medicine?!”

Here we go! Why did they come at all?! I clearly told that old man that I wouldn’t be restocking any more of those ingredients...

Besides, there shouldn’t have been any reason for him to tell anyone else about them. How annoying...

“No, it isn’t. Please look elsewhere.”

“But this is Convenience Store Belle, is it not?!”

Hmm... He seemed like a nobleman’s middle-aged retainer, or maybe a rich merchant’s protégé, but where had he heard about this...? I needed to confirm that first to figure out how to proceed.

I had to find out what he did and didn’t know, or I could end up giving him unnecessary information and making things worse.

But first...

*pull, pull*

I gave the string under the counter a few light tugs, in a specific rhythm.

The string was for calling Francette, who was relaxing upstairs. Pulling the string would ring the bell in everyone’s rooms and make their lights blink. We had a system so that information could be relayed by the number of and intervals between the blinking lights. The signal this time indicated, “Urgency level: four, threat level: four, number of people: 1.”

This should be low enough that she would come down the stairs normally instead of skipping three steps at a time...

*thud thud thud thud thud!*

Never mind.

Emile and Belle were out for hunter training and earning money. They tried to give me all of their earnings, but I only accepted half of what they made and stored their wages in a container inside the Item Box for when they got married.

Roland was out somewhere, so he was also absent. It wasn’t as if he was cooped up in his room all day, every day. I sometimes went out with Francette while Emile and Belle were home. So, that left...

“You there! Prepare yourself!”

Yup, just Francette.

“Francette, the signal was for urgency level four and threat level four...”

But that didn’t matter to Francette. In her eyes, everything was either harmless or a serious potential danger to me. It was one or the other, and she would face the latter with full force, regardless of how low the threat appeared to be. And the thought of handling things in a controlled or peaceful manner never really occurred to her.

Yeah, I knew that.

“Wha...” The middle-aged man cringed in surprise.

It was only natural, considering he had only gone out shopping and now he had an armed swordswoman pointing her blade at him. Maybe he was planning on leading up to threats and the use of force, but we weren’t quite there yet, and he probably didn’t expect a guard at a small store like this one. That explained why he came alone, despite having that high-handed attitude.

Judging by how he couldn’t react coherently to Francette’s sword, I could tell he wasn’t very strong... But compared to Francette, most people would probably fall into that category. But now I could take my time and calmly get the information I wanted.

＊　　　＊

“So, you’re saying the child of this Baron Dorivell is in danger...”

“D-Don’t say such nonsense out loud!”

The middle-aged man, the one who had denied my words while getting all flustered, introduced himself as the knightly retainer of the baronial family.

Well, it wasn’t as if all knights had to be young and handsome. They could accomplish feats in their youth and leave the field for a managerial position, eventually ending up with a big belly and bald head. The passage of time can be a cruel thing indeed...

“But isn’t that what you just said? Besides, unless this is the crown prince we’re talking about, you wouldn’t use such a medicine unless he was dying, right?”

I’d already learned about this stuff from Roland. You know, just in case.

“B-Be that as it may, what if your careless, inappropriate comments reach someone’s ears?! There is a big difference between being in poor health and being in danger!”

Ah, he was right... Especially when it came to the son and heir of a noble family, such rumors spreading around could lead to internal trouble, or worse. I was in the wrong here.

“...I’m sorry.”

I had no choice but to apologize. And by apologizing, my mistake was wiped clean. It was my turn to go on the offensive again.

“So, where and how did you hear about these rare medicine ingredients being sold here?”

It could only be that old man, but conjecture and confirmation were very different things. Plus, I had to find out just how much he had revealed.

“I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, but I heard from Oredeim, the apothecary. The baron heard the child of a merchant family had taken this Longevity Medicine, and threa— convinced the merchant to tell him where he obtained it. He found out the merchant had requested Oredeim, who obtained the highest-quality materials for eighty gold coins, and thus made him the medicine for a hundred gold coins. Then, the baron prayed for the safety of Oredeim and his disciple, and for some reason, he revealed the source of his materials, despite resisting so much at first... By the way, Oredeim said to tell you, ‘If you’re going to that store, please tell her I didn’t want to tell you where I obtained the ingredients,’ so there you are.”

...I didn’t know where to begin. First of all, that damned geezer! He was up-charging like crazy!! Roland had told me that medicine’s price mostly came from the cost to obtain those three ingredients. The other ingredients were far more reasonably priced, and comparatively easy to obtain. Which means... He was charging eighty gold coins for something he acquired for six small silver coins. Plus, a twenty-gold fee on top just to make it! Dirty old geezer...

Wait, but maybe this was a good thing? The price he’d sold his medicine for had no effect on me, and maybe this was far better than him blabbing about buying the ingredients for six small silver coins... That price was less suspicious, considering the time of year and the quality of the goods, and considering the high price, resellers wouldn’t be tempted to flock here, even if the source was leaked to the general public.

Had the geezer actually done a good job? If so, then there was no need for me to go out of my way to tell them I sold the ingredients for six silver coins... Wait, that must have been that geezer’s plan all along!

“Has he informed you we no longer carry them here?”

“He has. However, you were able to obtain the items at such a high quality before... It should be possible for you to use the same route to get more. Please, I beg of you. Help us, for the sake of Master Challotte...”

I was surprised. This proud-looking, portly, middle-aged man, a man who served a noble family, was bowing his head to some girl like me...

But at the same time, I was conflicted. I would have treated him coldly if he had come in here acting all high-and-mighty and trying to order me around, but I couldn’t just turn down a nice, middle-aged man lowering his head to a little girl for the sake of his master’s son.

Urrrgh...

Francette saw my struggle and gave me an exasperated look. Damn it Francette, aren’t you a protector of middle-aged men too?! Well, she did admire Roland, so pretty princes and young knights were probably more her type. She still didn’t understand how good the grizzled ones are. So young...

Wait, now’s not the time to be thinking about this!

Hmm...

But there was only one answer I could give...

“I no longer have access to that connection. When we decided to stop selling plant-based items as a consequence of this particular case, I had my connection change their location, so that I could avoid a situation where a person of power could pressure me into giving up that information. So, even if I were to send an order now, it would just get sent back to me, as there would be no one to receive it. I wouldn’t be able to find them, either. Also, I’ve already told them that if someone tried reaching out using my name, it would be an imposter faking my identity, so it would be best to make an excuse to cut contact, or assume it’s coming from scoundrels who had threatened or tortured me, and act accordingly.”

He let out an exclamation of surprise at hearing about my thorough preparation. As for Francette, she was giving me a suspicious look. I’d have thought she was used to my top-of-the-head remarks by now...

“S-So, the ingredients for the medicine...”

“Will never be stocked again, as the apothecary has told you. There is also no way for me to restock them, even if I wanted to. This store won’t be handling any medical supplies other than common medicine, bandages, and the like. This is just a ‘convenience store’ for supplying basic goods on short notice, and it’s our policy to leave any professional-grade items to their respective specialty stores...”

This should have gone without saying. What sort of convenience store would be better stocked than a specialty store?! But the man’s dejected and disquieted look was hard to see. It would’ve been easier if he flew into a rage and started yelling. The guilt was starting to get to me...

But if I told him I could get the items, it would be the same result as last time. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Even if the man was giving me an imploring look, like a rain-soaked chihuahua...

Urrrgh!

“...Kaoru, is there nothing you can do for him?” Francette suddenly spoke up, and the man’s eyes lit up at the unexpected support.

Why would you shoot your ally in the back at a time like this, Fran?

It was pointless to think about.

“Just ask, and they’ll sell you rare materials.”

If such a rumor got around, it would all be over. Even if I insisted on keeping this a secret, what if another member of the baron’s family got sick, like his wife or his daughter?

What about other noble dependents? Their families? A retainer close to the baron, or the baron’s family? What if an upper-class noble above them asked for it? What if their kin ordered it? I suspected the chance of him keeping a promise to stay quiet, a promise that he made with some commoner girl, at that, was zero. The only possible option was to have him give up and leave.

“I’m sorry, but there is nothing I can do.”

And so, the man plodded away, wearily. What’s that judging look for, Francette?!

“...And that’s what happened.”

After our meal, I explained what happened to the others. I mean, if I had brought up that story while eating, it would have made the food taste bad. I had to wait until we were done.

“Francette, you...”

Roland gave Francette an exasperated look. Emile and Belle looked at Francette reproachfully.

“N-No, I didn’t give her a judging look... That’s just how Kaoru took it. This is a false accusation!”

Francette desperately tried to explain herself. However...

“But you were looking at me just like that!”

With that, I pointed at Emile and Belle, who were looking at Francette, and Francette looked down in shame.

“...I’m sorry. I couldn’t help but remember the time I brought Lord Hector and Lady Yunith to their grandmother, after she had fallen ill...”

Francette was talking about Earl Adan’s family, who she had served before serving Roland. The air in the carriage with those four—the siblings, the maid, and Francette—must have been quite heavy before she received the potion from me.

Francette was too kind for her own good to begin with. She couldn’t just abandon someone who she had the ability to help... assuming that someone wasn’t considered an enemy by her, her friends, or me, that is.

This time, I saw anyone who wanted me to do something that could draw the attention of the rich and powerful as being my enemy, but that wasn’t the case for Francette. Well, she wanted me to be worshiped by the people as a goddess, so I supposed she was all for having me do goddess-like deeds. But with Roland trying to interfere with me finding a marriage partner, and Francette trying to get me to show off my goddess powers and draw attention...

I had enemies all around me! What the hell!!

“Emile, Belle. I have a divine order for you two, as members of the Eyes of the Goddess.”

“Yes!” they replied, earnestly.

Whenever I spoke with a formal and serious attitude like this, it meant I wasn’t messing around. They would take it as an absolute order. Therefore, I had to be very careful about the exact orders I gave out. Otherwise, they would put their lives on the line, even if it was something dumb.

“You are to find out more about that visitor’s master, the so-called Baron Dorivell, and his son, Challotte. However, you must prioritize your safety above all else while conducting your investigation. My servants are millions of times more important to me than the child of some unknown noble. Should you be careless with your own lives, you would be looking down upon and putting my servants in danger. Your lives belong to me. I will not allow you to die without my permission!”

Since that time at the well, this was the second time I had told them they weren’t allowed to die without my permission.

Emile and Belle replied energetically, then ran out the door.

“M-Me too!”

Francette tried to follow, but I grabbed her by the arm.

“Not you, Francette.”

“Wh-Why...? I-I want a divine order too...”

Ah... ‘A knight who had taken up a divine order.’ Sounded like a title Francette would die for.

“M-Me either?”

I turned around to find Roland standing there. Right... Come to think of it, he really, really wanted that divine sword. Maybe Roland had a lot of admiration for those things, too...

“No. Those two have done these sorts of jobs in the past, so they’re used to it. You two have combat abilities that are far greater than theirs, but gathering information about someone without being caught isn’t your forte. Besides, you two stand out way too much.”

Francette and Roland couldn’t argue back, and just slumped their shoulders. I felt a little bad for them...

“Okay, then. Francette, massage my shoulders! That is my divine order!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

I meant it as a joke, but Francette pounced on the opportunity. She swiftly came up behind me and...

“Gyaaa! Ow ow owww!”

Forgetting to curb her strength out of excitement, Francette squeezed my shoulders with a vice-like grip.

“Gyaaa!”

Then, Layette leaped forth and bit Francette’s neck to protect me. That was the only exposed part of her skin while attacking from behind.

“Gyaaaaaa! Gwaaaaaah!!!”

Francette instinctively squeezed my shoulders harder from the pain and surprise of being bitten. Then, she swung her body around in an attempt to get Layette off of her, making Layette’s teeth sink into her neck even deeper. Layette clung onto Francette, continuing to bite as if her life depended on it. Francette crushed my shoulders with an even stronger grip.

“Gyaaaaaaaaagh!!!”

It was a scene straight from a nightmare...

“Haah... Haah... Haah...” we all panted, winded.

The look in Roland’s eyes as he stared down at the three of us, laying on the ground and exhausted, was painful to see...

＊　　　＊

“Reporting the results of our investigation...”

Once evening rolled around, Emile and Belle came home. According to them, Baron Dorivell had one boy and two girls. They had been born in the order of ‘boy, girl, girl,’ and they were ten, seven, and five years old, respectively. Challotte, the boy that the servant had mentioned, was the eldest son.

No wonder he seemed so desperate...

Well, not that he would have put any less effort into it if he had another successor lined up. Besides, the baron’s wife wasn’t too old to have more children... but I guess that didn’t matter to a parent who cared for their child.

In any case, this Challotte was the only boy in the Dorivell house. And he was in critical condition, due to his illness...

“Baron Dorivell is Rank B. The Challotte boy is Rank B Plus. Of course, this is based solely on rumors from outside sources...”

Oho, those are pretty high ranks.

These “ranks” were a rating system the Eyes of the Goddess had used when I was in the Kingdom of Balmore, mainly to determine whether the target was worth saving.

“C” meant they were average nobles, not particularly good nor bad.

“D” meant that they were somewhat bad nobles.

“E” meant that they were garbage.

“B” meant they were pretty good for nobles, and “A” was reserved for the very good ones.

These five levels also had plus and minus variants, leaving a total of fifteen ranks.

There were exceptions to the rule, of course, but a Rank B adult and a Rank B Plus child were well within the range for being worthy of receiving the goddess’s mercy.

“All right, it’s time for phase two of the investigation. I want you to keep it up tomorrow.”

This is the first task I’ve given them in my role as the angel since we left Balmore.

Oh, and I’d given up on claiming I wasn’t the angel long ago. There was no point in continually repeating myself, and if I brought it up, I risked Francette claiming I was a goddess instead of an angel.

“Thank you, Lady Kaoru...”

Francette usually just called me Kaoru, but when there were no outsiders around and the topic was related to the angel or goddess, she addressed me as Lady Kaoru. I figured there wasn’t much that could be done about that, and let her do as she pleased.

“I’m not doing this because you wished for it, Francette. I’d already decided to continue saving people back when I left Balmore. And the one granting salvation to the people is the angel, and not the girl known as Kaoru, who runs Convenience Store Belle, so there’s no problem there!”

“Lady Kaoru...” Francette stared at me with a look of reverence, but she had always worshiped me in the first place, so that was business as usual.

Add ninety-degree water to water that’s ninety degrees, and it’d remain ninety degrees. That was just how she was.

Now, how should I handle this job...