episode_0447

“Why did you cut in line when I was here first?”

“If you didn’t want to be cut in line, you should have spoken up first. We’re not even waiting in line, so why should we follow the order of who arrived first?”

“Boss! Please sell it to me. I can offer more. My family is much wealthier.”

The students, unaware of my lack of intention to sell, were already fiercely fighting each other, trying to outbid each other.

“Is everything about money to you?! There are things in this world that money can’t buy, you know?”

“There’s nothing that can’t be bought with money. If something can’t be done, it’s because of a lack of money!”

“Enough! It’s better to stop fighting before I report you for disrupting business. And I don’t know where you heard strange rumors from, but since we don’t sell items to students, please leave.”

“The rumors have already spread throughout the academy, so it’s not something you can stop by being stubborn. It’s not just something we know.”

I felt like I should know what kind of rumors had spread throughout the academy to feel less unjust.

“What kind of rumor has spread that you’re here like a thug demanding items?”

“The rumor is that you have a lot of valuable items.”

“It’s also known that if you get hold of those items, your skills will increase tremendously.”

It seems that rumors about me enhancing SSR characters while spreading throughout the school.

Since it wasn’t just one or two people, it was very easy for rumors to spread from mouth to mouth.

I never specifically asked the kids to keep it a secret.

“Just to get to the point, we don’t sell items to students.”

“Of course, you want something other than money, right?”

The student’s arrogant attitude seemed to imply that they could fulfill any other demand I had.

“It seems like you missed the important part of the rumor and acted recklessly. Selling items to anyone is not something I do. If I wanted money, I would have auctioned them off.”

“I’m not just anyone.”

The student’s statement that they don’t sell to just anyone seemed to touch their pride, but that didn’t change the conditions.

“If it doesn’t meet the criteria, I can’t give it to you.”

“Will you give it to me if I participate in the subjugation force?”

Do they even know about the subjugation force?

“That was given as a reward to students who participated in the subjugation force, despite the risks.”

“What do I have to do to get it?”

The student seemed to have their own urgent reasons.

It wasn’t strange for students with insufficient skills to be drawn to visible growth through unique equipment.

“From the start, it was wrong. Supporting students and giving equipment are both things I do as I please. I decide who to give it to and who not to, based on my own preferences.”

It was a cold statement, but unless it was an SSR character, there was no suitable item I could give to the students.

What can I do if I don’t have anything to give?

“And as you can see, there’s nothing I want to sell to the students.”

“!!”

Even if they were hurt emotionally, I couldn’t take responsibility.

Didn’t they just come to my store demanding items on their own accord?

“Even if I propose something in return, does that mean you won’t sell me the item?”

“I don’t know about the future, but as of now, I have no intention of doing that. It’s not because the students are lacking, it’s just a matter of personal preference. There’s no reason why it should be a problem for me to give my items to the people I want to give them to. It’s not the students’ fault that they can’t have the items.”

“….”

It would be nice if they just thought of it as bad luck.

How disappointed would a student be if they were told that they couldn’t sell equipment because they weren’t an SSR character?

The talent gap was already so wide that they had come all the way here to ask me to sell something.

“I understand. I’ll give up for today and go back.”

“I haven’t given up yet!”

“No, let’s stop and go back.”

“Why did you wait here for days just to say a few words?”

“Look around. Don’t you see everyone leaving?”

“!!”

I realized a fact that I didn’t know before, as the students who were watching me carefully were slowly leaving the store.

They must have realized that there was no way they could demand to sell items owned by nobles.

“I will go. I apologize for the intrusion.”

“Sigh….”

Even the clueless student seemed to sense the shifting atmosphere and reluctantly gave up.

“Phew, finally gone.”

Once all the students left, the general store became quiet.

Nae-gi let out a relieved sigh after confirming that the students had all disappeared.

“Did the students bother you often? Were they rude?”

“No! They didn’t cause any trouble. They just waited quietly for the shopkeeper and left when the time passed. I was just nervous being alone. After all, you are a noble.”

That part was inevitable for Nae-gi, who was of commoner origin.

It was normal for commoners to have difficulty dealing with nobles.

“There’s no need to be nervous. Whether they are nobles or commoners, they are just guests to us.”

“Yes, students will continue to come as guests, so we need to adapt. I’m trying my best to adapt as quickly as possible.”

It wouldn’t be easy to change just because they made up their minds.

Judging by the way their shoulders slumped in that brief moment, it seemed like they had gone through a lot of mental anguish.

“Isn’t it a natural instinct to be afraid of nobles?”

Commoners grow up with a mixture of respect and fear towards nobles.

From a young age, they were taught not to be disrespectful to nobles.

Even though Nae-gi grew up in the same environment, it was not easy to shake off the deep-rooted fear of nobles.

“Just the effort alone is remarkable. It must have been difficult to make up your mind.”

“All I can do is run the general store and do my best to make a living. If I can’t even do that, what will I do? If I cause trouble, I shouldn’t stay here. I’ll try to adapt so I can deal with guests without being nervous.”

“Let’s do that.”

As a general store owner in the Academy City, dealing with nobles as guests was a problem Nae-gi had to adapt to.

Seeing them trying to fix it without being pointed out made me smile contentedly.

“By the way, you said you wouldn’t sell what the students wanted?”

“Yes. I didn’t have the items to sell anyway.”

“Is it okay? The students have been coming regularly. Not just that student, but others as well. If you give up like this, they might have come every day like attending class…”

“It’s fine even if they don’t give up easily. What can I do if I don’t want to sell my items?”

It’s nice to be close to those in power in times like this.

Even if those students wanted to retaliate against me, knowing that I had Lady Mona and Lady Hwanta above me would make it impossible for them to act.

“This is the taste of power.”

And when the sponsored students who heard that I had returned started bustling back into the store, the students lingering around would naturally have to be pushed aside.

“SSR characters are all top-tier students.”

They were talented students who didn’t miss a beat.

※ ※ ※

The day after my return.

The news of my return seemed to have spread quickly among the students.

As the after-school hours approached, the door of the general store creaked open, and a familiar male student walked in.

Sponsor students began visiting the store to enhance their equipment.

“Boss!! Why are you coming so late!”

Furthermore, there were a few students who lingered around, still holding onto the desire to purchase items from me. They emitted a subtle presence inside the store as they watched the sponsor students take out their unique equipment.

“I really wanted to see you.”

“It must be Kang Hwa who wanted to see you, not me.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“Please enhance this for me quickly. You need to be fully prepared today. Many students are coming prepared specifically for enhancement.”

“They’ll probably start flocking in soon, right? We came straight here without even eating. By the way, we didn’t even eat, we came straight here.”

“Then let’s hurry up since we’re short on time.”

With enhancements falling behind schedule, there was no time to waste.

I wanted to quickly dismiss these students, but as I was about to speak, one of them extended their hand and said,

“Wait, wait! I have something to ask before that!”

“What is it.”

“Do you have any plans in the future where you have to suddenly leave your post like this?”

“My schedule?”

It seemed that their sudden absence had shocked them.

In the midst of being flustered about enhancements, suddenly not being able to proceed must have been frustrating for them.

“I don’t have any specific plans yet… Why do I have to tell you about my schedule? It’s ridiculous even having to answer that.”

“Oh~ Aren’t you being too harsh between us? It’s not like we’re paying you to talk. We just wanted to coordinate our enhancement schedule.”

If I had a schedule, they were determined to visit the general store every day without fail for enhancements.

“How long are you going to keep enhancing? You need to stop after reaching level 12 and start working at the general store.”

“Well, of course, I want to do that too. But it’s not sticking. Ugh!”

Already feeling down because it wasn’t sticking, the student pouted with a mix of aegyo.

Despite being a male character, he had a cute personality with a lot of aegyo.

He was small in stature, with a round face, making him quite adorable.

So, his aegyo was quite effective.

Among the students who were watching us, one blushed and giggled at his aegyo.

‘These guys seem to be quite popular.’

Well, being SSR characters, they were all good-looking and pretty, so it’s not surprising that they were popular.

However, the issue was not that he used aegyo on someone, but that he used it on me.