episode_0064

Training began again.

Fortunately, last night’s special training was not in vain.

Even a talentless older man, after swinging a sword in the same stance over a hundred times, started to look quite presentable.

It seemed like with a little more fine-tuning, it would work out somehow.

“Huff, huff.”

“Wait, Mister.”

I went behind him and grabbed his arm tightly.

“Agh-?!”

“Hold it this tightly. Put proper strength into your hand and arm. It’s dangerous if you’re limp.”

“Ugh… ughhh…”

“With this much strength, can you stand up to the people who torment you, Mister?”

“I-It’s fine if Tia is there…”

“I can’t always be by your side, can I? You need to know how to protect yourself when it’s dangerous.”

“Ugh…”

Because the older man was so large, correcting his posture was twice as difficult.

I had no choice but to press my body completely against his, almost hugging him to hold him steady.

“Now, follow my hand. Slowly raise it…”

Then, raising the older man’s arm together.

“Hard!”

We even performed the motion of clashing swords.

“Ack! Huff-! Huff-!”

As I tried to move to the next motion, strangely, the older man was sweating more than usual.

Heat was rising from his body, and his breathing became rougher.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

“N-No… I’m fine…”

“Focus. Push straight like this—”

Holding his left hand firmly.

I pressed my chest firmly against the older man’s slumped shoulder, providing strong support.

“Ugh…!”

This time, the older man made a strange sound and stumbled backward.

Huh, why is he acting like this?

Did he overdo it?

“What’s wrong? Tell me if you’re tired.”

“N-No, it’s not that…. Ngh…”

The older man was clutching his lower abdomen.

Is his side aching because he moved immediately after lunch?

Or an upset stomach? His injury from yesterday?

“Your wound hasn’t worsened, has it? Move your hand.”

“N-No…”

“It could be serious, you know!”

“W-Wait, Ti-Tia…!”

I grabbed the hesitating older man’s hand.

The moment I yanked it aside.

Flash!

Suddenly, something enormous rose before my eyes.

“……!”

It was bigger and thicker than what I had seen this morning.

Now, without even trying to hide it, a massive mountain peak was created in his pants.

Its tip was pointed at my face.

Fosao stammered an explanation.

“This is… th-that is to say… because Ti-Tia’s ch-chest touched me… it’s a natural th-thing for m-men… th-that…”

“……”

I swallowed hard.

So surprised, I barely managed to exhale the breath that had been caught in my throat.

“…Y-You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Nn-ng…”

“Then it’s fine.”

I got up and pretended it was nothing, but.

My heart refused to calm down.

Was it because I’d been conscious of ‘that’ of the older man’s since this morning?

For some reason, my chest felt heavy today.

Let’s not mind it.

It must have been embarrassing for the older man too.

“……”

When the awkward atmosphere had somewhat settled.

I shook it off as if I’d forgotten everything and spoke.

“Let’s start again now!”

“U-Uh-huh!”

And finally, when evening arrived.

The special training had achieved splendid results.

Although it couldn’t be called perfect yet, he had successfully managed to put proper strength into his steps.

It was truly a huge leap forward.

“You did it! Mister, you’ve become someone who can protect himself!”

“Eheheh… Th-Thank you, Tia…”

“Be proud. You learned swordsmanship from me. From now on, you’ll definitely show ‘the bad guys’ what for with this counter-attack.”

“But Tia… how do you… tell ‘the bad guys’ apart?”

“Anyone who tries to harm you, Mister! Anyone who tries to hurt you is definitely a ‘bad guy.’ Understood?”

“Oh, I understand…”

Afterwards, we rehearsed a few times and even playfully sparred with our swords.

Seeing Fosao, who had gained so much confidence, I finally felt a little relieved.

At this rate… he’ll be able to protect himself even without me.

He’ll be able to stand up to any ‘bad guy’ who tries to harm the kind Fosao.

Thinking that made me proud too.

***

After much deliberation, Fosao decided to steer the business towards ‘hardware.’

However, the ‘Modaless Merchant Guild’ was merely a guild in name only.

To expand the guild’s transaction volume beyond 500 gold, it needed to be officially registered with the magistrate’s office.

So, as soon as the rain stopped, we went straight to the Deseo Magistrate’s Office.

We heard that the agency’s processing was very slow, so even though we had been queuing since morning, it seemed it would take a long time for our turn to come.

I squatted on the roadside and sighed.

“Haa- Mister. Will we even be able to enter the magistrate’s office?”

“There are m-more people than I thought…. I-It must be because the ‘Autumn Festival’ is coming soon…”

Autumn Festival.

Around mid-autumn every year.

Deseo holds its largest festival, grandly enjoyed by everyone from royalty to commoners for three days.

I heard it was originally a festival held in conjunction with the tribute acceptance ceremony.

However, the date was postponed when the tribute delegation suffered an unexpected accident, and it was ultimately changed to coincide with the Harvest Festival.

Because of this, the area in front of the magistrate’s office was bustling with people who had come for the festival.

“Yawn- It’s going to take a long time.”

“If you’re bored, Ti-Tia, you can wander around a bit. I’ll g-guard our spot…”

“No. We promised to be together wherever we go, didn’t we?”

As we waited tediously.

Suddenly, I saw a strange sight.

Unlike the people waiting in the long queue, some individuals were entering through the back door.

I called out to the older man.

“What’s that place where they’re not queuing?”

“Ah, that’s the path the ri-rich people use.”

“Hmm… Then shall we go that way too?”

“Wh-What-?! If we g-get caught… it’ll be a big problem…”

“We just need not to get caught, right?”

We couldn’t wait here all day.

For us, the festival wasn’t important; the business to earn ‘1,000 gold’ was more crucial.

…I know I shouldn’t do this, but.

Well, we’re going to be rich soon anyway!

“We’re just going to take a peek.”

“Ti-Tia…!”

I immediately left the queue and headed towards the back door.

The older man, with a frightened expression, followed me closely.

Fortunately, no one was watching.

The more awkwardly you act, the more suspicion you draw.

I straightened my back and walked into the back door.

“Phew-”

We had successfully entered the building, but now what?

Where should we go now?

Following my intuition, I moved to the right.

This side felt more luxurious. There also seemed to be more muddy footprints.

While tiptoeing down the corridor with the older man.

Suddenly, a man who appeared to be a magistrate’s office employee emerged from a path on the left.

“Hmm?”

“Ah!”

This is bad.

The moment I tried to quickly flee to the opposite side.

Another man came out from there as well.

“M-Move!”

Thump.

In the end, I couldn’t avoid it and collided.

I tumbled to the floor, embraced by the man’s coat.

The man pinned beneath me spoke.

“Oh dear! I apologize, young lady. Are you alright?”

“Yes. But…”

Casually looking at the man, my expression stiffened at the ‘familiar’ face that flashed in my memory.

It was the same for him.

Seeing my face, the man’s eyes widened.

“You are…?”

“C-Customer?”

The day I first worked at ‘De Clasio Bar.’

It was the male customer I had met then.

He had come to the bar to soothe the sorrow of losing a friend.

The man who had specifically requested me, a newcomer, and had an interesting conversation with me.

He even remembered my name.

“Tia… it’s Tia, right?”

“Yes. That’s right!”

“My goodness. How did you end up here?”

“Ah, I… I apologize, but right now…”

It was a chance encounter, but there was no time for this.

Already, employees had rushed over and were holding Fosao.

Perhaps sensing my urgent expression, the male customer immediately got up and shouted.

“Release that man! They are my invited guests.”

The employees who were restraining the older man were startled and let go.

Freed, the older man hurried over to me.

“Puff, puff- Th-That was dangerous.”

The male customer in the brown coat adjusted his fedora.

“Are either of you hurt?”

“No. Thanks to you. Thank you very much for your help.”

“Haha. It’s nothing.”

He waved his hand, smiling.

“By the way, it seems you have some circumstances. Can you spare a moment? I’d like to talk a bit.”

“……Yes.”

“Follow me.”

We moved somewhere.

It was a reception room connected to a long corridor.

It was small, but it had everything necessary.

He guided us to seats, telling us to sit comfortably.

“It’s truly been a long time, Tia.”

“Eheheh- It’s been a long time for you too, customer.”

“Did you quit the bar?”

“Yes. It didn’t suit me well.”

“I see. You made a good decision. I thought that place didn’t suit you.”

The male customer took off his fedora.

“Since we met outside, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Aban Verdunando. I’m in the clothing business.”

“I’m Tia Anshier. This is Mr. Fosao Modaless. Nice to meet you, Mr. Verdunando.”

“Just call me ‘Aban’ comfortably.”

Mr. Aban also exchanged greetings with Fosao.

“I’ve heard stories from young Tia. She said you helped her a lot in various ways, didn’t you?”

“Ah, ah… yes…”

“You’re a good person. Haha.”

I felt it when I met him at the bar too, but he was a very kind person.

The rich people of Deseo were generally gloomy snobs who cared only about money, but there was no such aura from Mr. Aban at all.

He was like… a man who reminded me of Robert-nim.

After the brief greetings concluded, Mr. Aban was the first to ask.

“By the way, Tia. What brings you to the Deseo Magistrate’s Office?”

“Well. It’s like this…”

I told him what had happened so far.

I explained that I had been kicked out of the bar and tried various jobs, but still needed more money, so I was now planning a business.

Mr. Aban, having heard the general story, nodded carefully.

“So you’re thinking of a business because you need money. Specifically, how much are you aiming for?”

“1,000 gold.”

“1,000 gold, you say. And if you need it within the shortest possible time…”

He thought for a moment, then soon wore an intrigued smile.

“Perhaps it’s quite possible.”

“Really?”

“Of course, as it is now, it’s impossible. Mr. Modaless’s idea of reviving the hardware business, which has entered a recession, and making it successful is excellent, but it purely has the problem of having to wait endlessly for a time that may never come. Isn’t that right?”

“…Th-That’s right.”

As expected of a wealthy man who had achieved great success in business, he pinpointed exactly what even Fosao hadn’t realized.

We only had vague hopes.

There was no guarantee at all that it would be a business that could yield a profit of 1,000 gold.

Up until now, we had just been planning to set things in motion and see what happened.

“However, if we can directly decide ‘that time’ when the hardware business will boom again, there would be no problem.”

“We decide? How?”

Mr. Aban said quietly.

“…The ‘Autumn Festival’.”