EP.129 The General Store Owner is a Treasure Goblin (8)
“Boss, please, just hear us out.”
According to Ariane, this trip is meant to be a kind of filial piety journey, designed for my relaxation and healing.
‘Filial piety~?’
Do these kids even know what that means?
They tried to sway me by saying that they know exactly what I’m worried about, and that none of those troublesome things would happen because the hired help would take care of everything.
Of course, I wasn’t swayed by their words.
“I’m not going.”
What would I even do there?
Enjoy the natural scenery?
I’ve seen enough of that during my mercenary days to last a lifetime. I actually prefer the scenery of the Academy City.
Green mountains and trees? If I miss them, I can just visit a waterfall. That would be more peaceful.
Realizing that Ariane’s words weren’t working, Shine chimed in.
“You just need to bring yourself, Mister! We’ll handle everything else. All you have to do is come and enjoy!”
“Should we invite Teacher Rebecca too? You’re close with her, right?”
“No matter how much you say, it’s useless. Give up. I’m not going.”
Appealing to emotions would only backfire.
“Oh, you’re so mean.”
“Doesn’t it seem strange to you? You could just have fun on your own, so why drag me along? Besides, this place is already a healing space for me. Leaving here would just be tiring.”
Why do I dislike having too many guests?
This place is more about living my retired life than working.
‘Just being here is healing, so why go out and make things difficult for myself?’
I never intended to make money from the general store.
But thanks to Rebecca, I ended up making money from it anyway.
‘It’s a sweet gig—just taking orders and delivering them.’
Incidentally, the Academy asked if I could supply goods in the same way next semester. It seems Ash’s General Store is declining, and the Academy needed another way to provide students with supplies.
Unexpected as it was, this situation was overwhelmingly advantageous for me.
And because I could secure a certain amount from the Academy, I didn’t need customers at the store.
‘This place, where I can earn money effortlessly, is my resort and paradise.’
The kids pouted when they heard me call this place my utopia.
“But this is home. Healing through travel feels different.”
“If I wanted that kind of healing, I’d go alone. Why should I go with you guys?”
Carrying a bunch of luggage wouldn’t be relaxing at all.
My blunt words left the kids speechless.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
All four of them clammed up, and silence filled the air.
I started to worry if I had rejected them too harshly after hearing such nonsense.
Aren’t they at an age where they’re quite sensitive?
“Why are you so upset? You know this is how I am.”
I was never particularly kind to them, so they should be used to this kind of reaction, right?
“We knew it would be hard to convince you, but we didn’t expect such a firm refusal.”
Shine spoke dejectedly.
Ariane also chimed in, almost in tears.
“We prepared so much. We could really make it fun for you. We wanted to pamper you!”
“I even got special underwear for the occasion… oops!”
“What are you talking about, you little rascal!”
The other kids seemed hurt that their efforts to do something nice for me were rejected.
I covered Fran’s mouth with my hand to stop her strange comment and sighed deeply.
The kids looked at me with moist, twinkling eyes.
I could immediately tell what they were trying to do.
“Did you think I’d feel guilty and agree to go just because of those puppy eyes? Nope, not happening.”
Their eyes, which had been sparkling like stars, dimmed instantly.
“Sigh, this isn’t working.”
“Darn it! Even the secret weapon didn’t work.”
The kids were getting desperate.
Then Vine stepped forward.
“Is it my turn now?”
“Please, you’re our last hope!”
“What are you planning to do?”
It seemed they each had their own strategy.
Shine’s approach was probably straightforward pleading, Ariane’s was playing the sympathy card, and Fran’s ridiculous method involved special underwear.
Now it was Vine’s turn.
I was curious about what method he would use, so I watched him closely.
“If you don’t like healing, how about going for work purposes?”
“Going for work?”
“Yes! A business trip for enhancement. Please, we beg you.”
Enhancement again, huh.
“This time, both Ariane and I want to reach level 12 enhancement. We’ll prepare the travel expenses sincerely.”
It was an honest and straightforward proposal, and it was the most tempting offer I’d heard from the kids so far.
If anyone among these kids was mature and smart, it would be Vine, right?
Vine seemed to have the basic skills for negotiation, so I decided to talk a bit more.
I had a feeling it would be a mutually beneficial conversation.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
“Hello, Gabriel.”
“…Oh, Vine. What’s up?”
The Academy was noisy with the sounds of students lamenting their exams.
Even Class A wasn’t immune to this phenomenon.
Regrets about mistakes they made, things they couldn’t recall at the time, and so on.
These regrets led to students lamenting.
In the midst of this, I approached Gabriel, with whom I wasn’t particularly close, so it must have been surprising.
“Is it surprising that I suddenly talked to you?”
“It’s a bit unexpected, but it’s fine. We’re in the same class, after all.”
“I wanted to have a chat. There’s something I need to say.”
“Something to say?”
“Yeah. But can we talk somewhere else? There are too many ears here.”
As soon as I spoke to Gabriel, many of our classmates started paying attention to us.
Ariane was noticed for her skills and family, and I was noticed because my mother is a commander. Gabriel was noticed for her steadfast personality and skills.
Especially, Gabriel had a lot of female fans.
Underclassmen even formed a fan club, calling her their big sister.
“Alright. Let’s step out for a bit.”
“See you later, Gabriel.”
“Take care.”
Gabriel excused herself from her friends and followed me.
When we entered an empty training ground, our friends greeted us.
“Welcome!”
“You brought her. Hi, Gabriel. Is this the first time we’re talking separately like this?”
“Welcome.”
It was Ariane, Shine, and Fran.
“Um… could someone explain what’s going on? I thought we were going to talk one-on-one.”
Gabriel seemed surprised to see others there.
“Oh, that’s a misunderstanding. We wanted to talk among ourselves without the class knowing.”
“Is it something serious?”
Gabriel asked, her expression turning serious due to the ominous tone.
“No. At least for you, it’s good news. You’ll get something precious that you can’t find anywhere else.”
“Something precious?”
“Yeah, the boss asked us to bring you. He’s such a flirt, a real flirt!”
Gabriel looked puzzled.
Meanwhile, the other kids seemed quite unsettled.
“I didn’t expect the boss to be so unreserved.”
Both Ariane and Shine seemed visibly uncomfortable.
“Fran, are you okay with this? He seems to be gathering more women; shouldn’t you do something?”
“…I’m not in a position to do that.”
Fran, who declared she’d marry the boss after being discharged in ten years.
Gabriel was the only one here unaware of that fact.
The problem was that Fran wasn’t in a position to raise her voice to the boss.
“He’ll never find a wife like you, but he just keeps being so mean.”
“No, don’t say that. He’s my lifesaver.”
“Is that all because he’s your lifesaver?”
“To me, it was really important help. Without him, I wouldn’t be here laughing and talking with you all.”
“????”
Gabriel, unable to understand the conversation, finally couldn’t hold back and interrupted.
“Didn’t you call me because you had something to say?”
“Oh! Sorry. We started talking about something else.”
“Let me explain now.”
Finally, with the kids regaining their focus, we explained why we had called Gabriel.
We wanted to tell her about the source of the shining weapons that had become a hot topic among the class.
We wanted to take her to that place.
“But you have to keep the location a secret. Especially from the other classmates.”
“Just like Ariane said, even if they ask, please don’t reveal it, just like Shine did.”
“Hmm, you’re saying strange things.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t particularly need equipment. Well, there are things I need, but I don’t want to buy from a suspicious place.”
“It’s not a suspicious place.”
“At least to me, it is. If I tell my family, they’ll get me good equipment, so why should I buy from a strange place?”
“Because the performance is great! You know it’s not something just anyone can get.”
Neither the kids nor I expected Gabriel to react this way, so we were a bit flustered.
“Don’t you remember the trouble other kids went through just to find out where we got ours?”
“Right. It’s a rare opportunity. You can get something amazing like we have.”
“If you’re really doubtful, want to check out mine?”
We thought Gabriel didn’t understand the value of the weapon.
If she saw my proud magic wand up close, she’d change her mind.
I offered my magic wand to Gabriel with great anticipation.
Even though it’s only level 10, I’m sure seeing this lovely item would change her perspective.