Ch.18Chapter 18 – Meeting the First Client (2)

I couldn’t distinguish whether what I was seeing before my eyes was a dream or reality.

Brown hair that fell to her shoulders.

Sapphire-like blue eyes, meticulously carved out by a master craftsman.

A bosom that couldn’t be compared to Serin’s, perhaps similar to or slightly larger than Epitrina’s.

A pure face with downturned eyes and large pupils that made it seem like she couldn’t say harsh words to anyone.

Yet a woman who exuded a strange charm that seduced people.

The heroine I loved most in Erasto Chronicle, and the goddess of free-to-play players who accompanied me during my novice days.

“Mina” had opened the door to my shop and walked in.

The first customer to open my shop door was Mina.

I couldn’t believe it.

I even pinched my forearm to see if this was a dream or reality, but judging by the pain I felt, it was undoubtedly real.

“Excuse me, could you possibly repair this item as well?”

“Ah, yes. Please come in first.”

Seeing Mina standing there with the item she wanted repaired, I came to my senses and guided her into the shop.

There were several tables and chairs inside the shop, so I gestured for her to sit in one of them.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. I should be thanking you for visiting our shop. What item did you come to repair?”

I responded to the customer with the best smile I could manage.

I had planned to give my best smile to customers anyway, but perhaps because Mina was my first customer, I found myself smiling more than usual.

Moreover, this wasn’t the Mina I only knew from illustrations, but a real Mina breathing and moving with me, exuding a new charm that couldn’t be felt from illustrations.

Mina untied the leather pouch she was holding and took out the item she wanted to repair.

“Is this…?”

I couldn’t hide my shock at the item she pulled from the leather pouch.

In Mina’s hand was a crystal orb with a crack running through its entire surface.

Its size appeared similar to two of Mina’s fists put together.

“This is a crystal orb that attaches to a magic wand.”

What Mina had brought was the crystal orb attached to her default weapon, “Mina’s Magic Wand.”

Someone might say all crystal orbs are the same, but I can boldly say they’re not.

In an art book that was once sold on the official website, there were brief descriptions of the equipment used by the heroines.

The content I paid the most attention to was about the magic wand.

Since Mina was my favorite heroine, I naturally had some interest in her weapon, the magic wand.

Oh, but I’ve forgotten all the details about the magic wand mentioned in the art book.

I don’t have perfect memory, and since I only saw screenshots posted on community forums long ago, my memories aren’t accurate.

“The crystal orb has a crack that makes it look like it’s about to split in half?”

However, unlike my memory, the crystal orb in Mina’s hand now had a large crack running through it.

From a distance, it looked like the crystal orb was on the verge of splitting.

“Yes. It hasn’t split yet, but with the crack there, even a small impact could…”

What could have happened to make the crystal orb nearly split in half?

I quickly searched my memory for any similar content in Erasto Chronicle’s story where a crystal orb splits in half, but sadly, there was no such content.

It could be that I don’t remember. After all, I couldn’t see the story for some events due to lack of combat power.

So there are limits to my memory.

But now is not the time to worry about that.

“What was the original state of the crystal orb?”

“Well… it wasn’t cloudy with cracks like it is now. It was so clear that you could see through to the other side of the crystal orb.”

According to Mina, the crystal orb in her hand shouldn’t look like an amethyst orb with cracks and cloudiness, but should be as transparent as a glass orb where you can clearly see through to the other side.

“Could you hand me the item first? I need to check its condition in the workshop and then work on it.”

I asked Mina if she could hand over the item.

I could fix it, but I didn’t want to reveal to others how I repair things yet.

“Oh, so you can fix it? If you can, how long will it take? And if you fix it, how much will it cost? Is it very expensive? Or can you add some functions to the crystal orb? If it’s too expensive, could I pay with something else instead? Or…”

When I asked her to hand over the item, Mina suddenly stood up, came right up to me, put her face close to mine, and started asking all sorts of questions.

W-what? Was Mina such a talkative heroine? If my memory serves me right, she wasn’t this talkative.

More importantly, her face is too close…

“Ah!”

Mina seemed to realize she had gotten too close, as she blushed and hastily stepped back.

Hmm. I didn’t mind Mina approaching me. I was just surprised by her sudden closeness.

By the way, Mina has a fresh scent.

No, no, no, what am I thinking? Get a grip!

“I-I’m sorry! I got too close and made you uncomfortable, didn’t I?”

“Haha, it’s fine. You must care deeply about the item, so you probably had a lot of questions.”

I waved my hands and told Mina, who was apologizing, that it was okay.

Only after she calmed down was I finally able to receive the item.

“Um, how long will it take?”

“If you’re not in a hurry, could you wait here for a while? It won’t take long.”

“Then I’ll wait here.”

Mina accepted my suggestion and sat quietly in the chair.

Honestly, I wished she would stay here longer, but Mina was currently a student at Glesius Academy.

How did I know? Because the emblem on the clothes she’s wearing right now is the emblem representing Glesius Academy.

The emblem symbolizing Glesius Academy was also used as an in-game icon, so it was impossible not to recognize it.

I took the crystal orb from Mina and entered the workshop.

Actually, this place is called a workshop, but it’s really just a space I created as an excuse to make customers think I’m doing something.

Mr. Marcus seemed to question why such a space was necessary, but I explained that it was to establish a minimum level of plausibility since people might not believe in my abilities.

Of course, he didn’t seem to understand what “plausibility” meant, so I explained it as “a place to pass time since it would be awkward to send customers away immediately.”

Only then did Mr. Marcus nod repeatedly with an expression of understanding.

That’s how this workshop came to be.

I entered the workshop and placed Mina’s crystal orb on the workbench.

Looking at the crystal orb that seemed about to split in half, I picked up a hammer.

I had put that old hammer I used before in a sack, and what I now held in my hand was a blacksmith’s hammer I purchased from a blacksmith in this city.

It had a suitable handle length and a small hammer head, making it comfortable to wield with one hand.

I struck the crystal orb on the workbench three times with the hammer.

—Tak! Tak! Dak!

The first two times produced a dull sound, and the last time made a sharp sound.

Naturally, the crystal orb was enveloped in a swirl of light, and when the light disappeared, the crystal orb had become clear enough to see through to the other side.

Of course, since the crystal orb was purple, it looked as if it had a purple filter, but still.

I took the repaired crystal orb and went outside the workshop.

“Repair complete.”

As I came out of the workshop, I informed Mina, who was sitting in the chair, that the repair was complete.

She got up from her seat and approached me.

“Really, the crystal orb is fixed…?”

“It was a bit difficult, but I was able to repair it perfectly.”

Of course, that’s a lie. It wasn’t difficult at all. I just hit it three times with a hammer and it was fixed.

But Mina seemed to believe my words.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you for fixing my parents’ gift! It was a gift from my parents, so I couldn’t throw it away. I sincerely thank you. How much is the repair fee? Is it a lot?”

Ah, what? It was a gift from her parents? Really? No wonder she kept it instead of throwing it away.

I was wondering why Mina brought the crystal orb instead of discarding it, but there was such a reason.

She said it was a gift from her parents, and seeing my favorite heroine Mina so happy, I almost told her to just go without paying.

But I was able to resist with superhuman patience.

Meeting my favorite heroine is one thing, but money is money.

If Mina becomes a regular customer, I could repair things cheaply for her or offer free repairs as a service.

But she’s still my first customer, and my foundation is too weak to provide excessive service.

“I should charge fifty silver coins, but since you’re my first customer, just give me five silver coins.”

Five silver coins is about 50,000 won.

“Th-thank you. Here’s the repair fee.”

Mina held out five silver coins with slightly trembling eyes.

I couldn’t tell if her eyes were trembling because the repair fee was expensive or because she was happy it was cheap.

“And since you’re my first customer, I’ll give you this as a gift.”

Instead, I decided to give Mina a present.

I handed her about three glass bottles with blue liquid sloshing inside from under the counter.

“Wh-what is this?”

“It’s mana recovery potion. I got it from an alchemist I know, and I’ll give it to you as a service.”

“Th-thank you! Goodbye! I’ll spread the word about your shop! Thank you!”

Mina packed the crystal orb and mana potions in her leather pouch and left the shop.

Before leaving the shop, she smiled brightly, which unconsciously made me feel good.

Meeting Mina as my first customer, I felt like things were going to go well.