TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 75
“…”
Pascal, who was bound by the Military Police, was looking at me with Coy Eyes. It seemed like he wanted to talk more with the Insect Doctor he hadn’t seen in a while.
He looked at me with teary eyes, resembling a Female Mantis, which made me feel uncomfortable.
“Don’t cry. It makes me want to spray pesticide on your face.”
“Son of a b*…”
“Woof.”
If only there were Home Keeper here, I could’ve moisturized Pascal’s face, but unfortunately, Home Keeper did not exist in this world.
‘What a pity.’
I clicked my tongue and offered some words of encouragement to the dejected Pascal.
Telling him not to feel down.
That he would go to a Good Place.
I spoke with Hope, telling him not to worry.
“When you return to the Breeding Facility, the facilities should be better than before, so don’t lose heart.”
“There are more caretakers now, and more people to admire you.”
“Sniff…! Son of a b*…!”
“Seeing how much you like it makes me feel proud.”
The emotional Pascal lowered his head. As he expressed his gratitude, I felt a surge of emotion as an Insect Collector.
I gave Pascal’s frail body a firm hug.
“I’ll miss you.”
Pascal bit his lip tightly.
“Sniff… Sob… I won’t miss you…!”
A Mantis with such a rich sensitivity.
Pascal, nestled in my arms, spoke in a Timid Voice I had never heard before.
“Can’t you just leave me alone?”
Pascal, who was saying something absurd. I politely declined Pascal’s request to quit my Side Job as an Insect Collector.
“What if you get caught by another Insect Collector? At least I let you live; other collectors might preserve you.”
“Preservation is fine, so please… I’ll quit all this art nonsense and live a good life, so please, just get out of my life. Okay? I’m begging you like this.”
“Oh, come now…! An artist shouldn’t say such weak things.”
How could someone who calls themselves an artist lack such determination? Someone who lives by Art.
As an Insect Collector, I couldn’t forgive Pascal for breaking the Artistic Soul. At the same time, I couldn’t believe his words about living a good life.
“Try living a good life. Then you won’t catch my attention.”
When I affectionately patted Pascal’s shoulder, he shed tears of emotion.
“Sob… Hic… Why is it always me..?”
Taking the Money Pouch held by the Military Police, I bid him farewell.
“Well then, Mr. Mantis, watch out for parasites, and let’s meet again next time.”
Pascal cried.
“Damn….”
Wailing.
*
On the way to the Jewelry Shop with the Money Pouch in hand, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Relieved that I could buy the bracelet the Young Lady wanted and excited about how happy she would be to receive the gift.
I couldn’t hide the smile that kept creeping up.
“Should I buy the bracelet and some chocolate too?”
While one should be cautious about indulgence, the generous reward for donating the rare Mantis Pascal to the prison exhibition felt like enough justification for this level of extravagance.
Looking down at the hefty bundle of money, I nodded.
‘Let’s prepare properly for this birthday.’
Because I couldn’t do so last year.
For 13 years, I had celebrated the Young Lady’s birthday without fail. When I first came to her house, I gifted her a hand-knitted scarf.
-Lame.
I had realized early on that I couldn’t satisfy the Young Lady’s taste, which had been refined by the finest flavors of capitalism.
Since it was only natural that she preferred money infused with sincerity over mere sincerity, I had sulked in the corner of the estate for a day but felt fortunate to realize it early. That’s why I wanted to prepare grandly for this birthday.
Last year, I couldn’t attend the Young Lady’s birthday party due to my Social Status as a Commoner, and there had been an unfortunate incident.
This time, I wanted to prepare it all on my own.
I always wanted to give the Young Lady The Greatest Gift.
Even if it ended up as Miscellaneous Items tucked away in a corner, I wanted to give it my Best Effort.
Even though she had so much.
And had enjoyed so much, I wanted to give her a gift that, even if she didn’t like it, was my absolute Best Effort.
Though I was a lacking Butler with nothing in my hands, this was the one Stubbornness I couldn’t compromise on. It was also the only way for someone as shy as me to express my feelings.
“Sigh…”
Holding the Money Pouch in my hand, I adjusted my attire.
Before entering the store, I wanted to appear as an elegant Guest, as it made haggling easier and helped me disguise myself as a Regular.
As I swept back my hair and was about to enter the store, I frowned at the spot where the bracelet had been displayed until yesterday.
“Huh…?”
-Sold Out.
The bracelet that had been there until yesterday had disappeared along with a small sign.
The bracelet had left in someone else’s hands.
Pressing my face against the glass, I checked the spot where the bracelet had been once more.
-Sold Out.
The empty display case greeted me. The Young Lady’s gift had been sold, leaving only the black display case behind.
Feeling empty, I put down the Money Pouch I was holding.
“This is a disaster.”
Sold? I hadn’t even considered that.
I never imagined it would sell so quickly here in Hamel, not in the Capital City. After all, there were few Nobles in Hamel, and the customer base for jewelry was limited.
At most, it would be Nobles visiting for a meal at Friends of Forest… but that’s just a meaningless excuse.
I realized I had been short-sighted.
I should have placed a reservation. Regret washed over me, but yesterday’s financial situation hadn’t been sufficient to pay a deposit.
I couldn’t help but blame myself, thinking that if I had had money then, I could have bought it.
Even though regretting the past wouldn’t change anything, I couldn’t help but feel a lingering disappointment at missing out on the bracelet right before my eyes.
Just as I was about to leave the Jewelry Shop with a heavy heart.
Through the glass wall, I saw the familiar shape of the bracelet in the clerk’s hand.
The bracelet the Young Lady wanted.
The clerk was heading to the counter with the bracelet in hand.
I quickly opened the store door and entered.
Willing to pay double, I wanted to ask if they would sell the bracelet to me.
-Ding.
As the bell rang and I entered, I took a deep breath and shouted at the clerk holding the bracelet.
“Th-that bracelet!”
“Yes?!”
“I was planning to buy that…!”
The startled clerk looked at me.
And.
The Man trying to buy the bracelet also looked at me.
It was a familiar The Man.
The Man with hair like faded Green Tea. Ruin. Ruin, who was about to become the bracelet’s owner, looked at me and spoke.
“What? Isn’t that Ricardo?”
“Good to see you, Mr. Green Algae.”
“Good to see you? There’s nothing good about seeing you.”
Ruin, with his hands in his pockets, smirked as he watched me staring blankly at the bracelet in the clerk’s hand.
“Ah…”
Ruin wore an arrogant Smile.
“Were you planning to buy this?”
Ruin, with a mocking smile and a disdainful look, sneered as he spoke.
“What should I do? I bought it for Yuria.”
Ruin shrugged his shoulders, speaking as if there was no other choice.
“You should’ve come a little earlier. I already bought it. Ah… even if you had come earlier, could you have afforded it? It’s more expensive than it looks.”
“…”
“Live within your means.”
My fist clenched on its own.
Seizing the momentum, Ruin provoked me as if he wanted to strip me of all remaining fortuitous encounters.
‘Should I steal it…?’
It would save money and be convenient, but I didn’t want to do something like that for a gift meant for the Young Lady.
I wanted to pay the proper price and give a gift that I could proudly present to others.
So I decided to swallow my pride.
Thinking that if I bowed my head just this once, Ruin might comply, I lowered my head and politely spoke to him.
“If you don’t want to say goodbye to this world, leave it behind quietly.”
“What?”
“Leave it. That.”
This was the best courtesy I could offer to the Green-haired Head. If it didn’t work, I could knock him out and steal it.
Even if I couldn’t gift it to the Young Lady, hitting the arrogant Green Head and achieving creative economics didn’t seem like a bad conclusion to me.
At my polite request, Ruin’s expression hardened in real time. He turned to the clerk, as if to confirm what he had just heard.
“What did that beggar just say?”
Despite being in his early twenties, Ruin seemed to suffer from hearing loss.
Realizing there was no hope left in the dice I had already cast, I clenched my fist and prepared to walk toward Ruin, thinking I’d just buy another bracelet.
“What’s all this commotion?”
With the sound of a door labeled [Workshop] opening, a dust-covered craftsman began walking briskly toward us.
The Man, wearing a black apron, approached us briskly.
The clerk, seeing The Man, bowed their head.
“P-…Proprietress! It’s just that…”
The Proprietress shook their head, stopping the clerk’s apology. Then, with a deep sigh, they looked at me and spoke.
“I wish you’d control your temper, Ricardo.”
The Man with brown hair.
Surprised by the unexpected appearance of The Man, I asked in a flustered voice.
“How many jobs do you have, exactly?”
“I just do this as a hobby because I get bored.”
Histania Malik.
He was the Proprietress of this store.
Malik let out a sigh and looked at the bracelet in the clerk’s hand.
“Is it because of that?”
And with a simple remark, he ended our dispute.
“Hey, Green Head.”
“Green Head?”
“Isn’t it Green Head? Anyway.”
Malik spoke expressionlessly.
“I won’t sell it to you, so leave it behind.”
The Proprietress’s tyranny was absolute.
***
Three days later.
Morning arrived at Olivia’s estate.
Olivia woke up earlier than usual. Perhaps because it was her birthday, she had clocked out of Dreamland earlier than expected.
“Yawn… Birthday… Today’s my birthday…”
Starting her birthday with a reverent heart, Olivia decided not to shout an Air Raid Alarm today.
Birthdays should be peaceful.
“Haaah… Ricardo.”
Olivia rubbed her sleepy eyes and called out the familiar name of her Butler.
“It’s my birthday today…”
An empty room.
It felt lonely.
“Does he not know?”
The Butler, who used to greet her every birthday morning with a bright smile and a gift, was nowhere to be seen.
Starting her birthday morning in the Dark Room with drawn curtains, Olivia wore a gloomy expression.
“I guess he’s still asleep…”
Olivia rubbed her sleepy eyes and sighed.
With a bitter expression, Olivia nodded to herself.
“It’s possible to forget.”
She had once celebrated Devotee Ricardo’s birthday late. Though it upset her, she couldn’t help but accept it.
With a heavy heart, Olivia opened the curtains that had covered the window.
And then.
A brightly decorated tree came into view.
Green, red, yellow.
A tree full of colorful decorations. And hanging from the tree was Ricardo.
Dressed in red. Wearing an ill-fitting False Mustache.
Ricardo, flustered, stammered as he spoke to her.
“Why are you up so early, Young Lady!”
The Butler, hanging from the tree, adorned with strange ornaments.
Placing a star on the top of the tree.
Wrapping glittering strings around the tree.
Suspended from the lavishly decorated tree, the Butler’s comical appearance made Olivia let out a small chuckle.
“Hehe…”
Ricardo shouted at her as she leaned out of the window.
“It’s not ready yet… Oh no, oh no!”
The tree swayed as the wind blew.
Ricardo, hanging from the tree, gradually grew more distant. Watching him, Olivia whispered shyly.
“That looks dangerous…”
But it’s fine, go back to sleep, Ricardo.
Olivia smiled and pulled the blanket up.
“Yeah. I’ll go back to sleep.”
Olivia, who had pulled the blanket up to her head, blushed furiously.
“Idiot.”