SWNOVELXO Chapter 88 - A Suspiciously Well-Stocked General Store (3)
EP.88 A Suspiciously Well-Stocked General Store (3)
“You really surprised me, man. To think that a high and mighty duke would come to apologize to someone like me. Does that even make sense? How much love did you grow up with at home?”
“Hehe, my daddy does love me very much.”
Seeing her shrug her shoulders and look pleased, it seems she’s very happy that her father apologized properly.
If I were a duke with a daughter so pretty you couldn’t bear to hurt her, I might have swallowed my pride and made such a request too.
‘That doesn’t mean his unpleasant image disappears though. After all, he didn’t apologize to me properly in the end.’
Ariane seemed incredibly proud and satisfied after hearing that he had apologized properly.
A daughter like this…
Might not be so bad.
“Anyway, we’ve resolved things between us, and I’ve received a satisfactory compensation. So don’t worry about it.”
“It’s only natural since Daddy was in the wrong. Hmph! If he hadn’t apologized, I was going to give him a piece of my mind.”
Despite her words, I suspect she’ll probably act quite cute when she gets home.
Her face is already full of satisfaction.
Since I’ve gone this far with the lip service, she’ll probably listen to my request well.
“So, is everything resolved now?”
“It’s resolved. What could possibly be an issue now?”
I won’t have to deal with that troublesome woman anymore either.
“Excuse me. Can I pay for these?”
At that moment, Vine approached the counter and set down her items.
There was more than I expected.
Two baskets provided for customers to hold items were filled to the brim with scrolls and various other goods.
“Eek! Are you buying all of this?”
“I heard from the others that the products here are of good quality.”
“Yeah, that’s right. The owner’s items are all good.”
“So I thought I’d buy plenty and stock up while I’m at it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Good thinking. Oh right, I have something I need to buy too!”
As Ariane disappeared to choose some items.
While calculating Vine’s purchases, I casually brought up the topic.
“By any chance, would you be interested in seeing a good item?”
“…A good item?”
“Yeah, I have something that would suit you perfectly.”
“What kind of item are you talking about? If you’re referring to illegal drugs, I’ll have to decline. I’m not so lacking in ability that I need to resort to such things.”
“I don’t deal with such low-grade items either. How about just taking a look? I think you’ll really like it when you see it in person.”
“It’s surprising that you say it’ll suit me when you’ve only just met me today.”
She’s speaking quite skeptically now, but once she sees the item I’m offering, her thoughts will completely change.
I could be confident because I had already confirmed this several times through the SSR kids.
“You’re not going to force me to buy after I see it, are you?”
“Of course not. If you don’t like it after seeing it, you don’t have to buy it.”
Though I’m not sure if that’ll be possible.
“If I were the kind of crazy person who forced nobles to buy things, wouldn’t it be a miracle that I’m still alive?”
“Alright then. I’ll take a look.”
Although she seemed uneasy, Vine eventually agreed to see the item.
“Wait here.”
I immediately went into the storage room.
I took out Vine’s exclusive weapon, a magic wand, from the inventory.
Vine, who uses water magic, was a character who could deal ranged damage to enemies with this magic wand.
She has skills like
When I came out with the item, Vine said, looking at what I held in my hand.
“Don’t tell me it’s this? This is just a toy.”
It was the first time someone had shown such an indifferent attitude towards their own unique equipment.
I suppose it was unavoidable given that the appearance of the magic wand wasn’t easily approachable.
“Try holding it first before you say anything. The performance will blow your mind.”
“…..”
Although she had belittled her own unique equipment as a toy, Vine’s languid eyes hadn’t left the magic wand since earlier.
The difference in reaction was probably due to personality differences.
It’s not like a haughty noble lady like Vine would jump around excitedly like Ariane upon seeing her unique equipment, right?
As if the magic wand wasn’t so displeasing after all, she readily extended her hand when I told her to hold it.
When I placed the magic wand in that hand, a flush spread across Vine’s face.
“It fits perfectly in my hand.”
“You like it, don’t you?”
I’ve never seen a character reject their own unique equipment.
“I don’t understand why my heart is racing over such a childish-looking toy.”
“It’s your power instinctively recognizing it. It knows that this will enhance your abilities.”
“I want to try using it. Is there a place where I can?”
“If you use your ability here, everything will be destroyed. At least go outside to an open space to use it.”
Vine didn’t hesitate and went outside holding the magic wand.
I followed along, curious to see how effective it would be for her.
“Where are you going?”
“Huh? Why are you suddenly going out?”
“What’s going on?”
Shine, Ariane, and Fran followed behind us.
“Oh! Mister, did you give that to Vine?”
“!!”
“??”
Ariane looked puzzled since I hadn’t given her her unique equipment yet, while Shine and Fran seemed to have caught on to the situation immediately.
“Are you going to try using it now?”
“Yes. He suddenly said he had an item that suited me well.”
“I bought a weapon from the mister too. I can vouch for the products he sells. You’ll probably love it!”
“An item? What kind of item?”
While Ariane was expressing her curiosity.
Vine held the magic wand in her hand and used a skill in the air.
【 Water Power Shot 】
KWAAANG!!!!!
A water cannon, thicker and faster than expected, shoots straight ahead.
CRACK!
When it directly hit a tree, even a fairly thick one couldn’t withstand it for long, breaking and falling to the ground.
“Wow!”
“Whoa!”
“Oh!”
Clap clap clap!
The girls clapped their hands and cheered.
“Was Vine always this strong?”
“She must be several times stronger now that she’s using what the mister gave her. It was the same for me.”
“Ah…?”
Vine stared at the result of what she had done, looking dazed.
The way she blankly stared at the magic wand in her hand suggested her mind was quite conflicted.
“How is it?”
“Where did you get this item? It’s the first time I’ve experienced this level of power while using so little effort. Plus, it’s much easier to control.”
She shows a quietly excited demeanor as she explains how using her ability has become much smoother overall.
Given Vine’s personality, even this level of improvement must be extremely surprising and delightful for her.
“I’ll definitely buy it. Please give it to me.”
Before I knew it, the magic wand had slipped between Vine’s chest, held preciously.
Her eyes were also intense, as if she had no intention of ever letting it go.
“You don’t think you can buy such a high-performance weapon for just a penny or two, do you?”
Even though she could have stayed quiet, Shine started to stir things up from the side.
And Vine, true to her noble status, wasn’t one to back down when it came to money matters.
“I’ll contact my family and try to arrange it.”
“Mm-hmm. Also, the mister prefers items over money. He likes collecting monster by-products and interesting things. Keep that in mind when you’re trading.”
“Okay, I will.”
Thanks to Shine, without me saying a word, a high price had been set without any need for negotiation.
“What about me?”
“Huh?”
“What about meeeee!!! Boss, what about me?”
And then Ariane, who had been momentarily forgotten, raised one hand high and looked at me.
“What?”
I know why she’s acting like that.
She probably wants me to sell her something too.
“I have money too!!! Sell me a weapon like that!!!”
“There’s nothing that suits you yet.”
“How do you know that!! I want to see and choose with my own eyes!”
“No matter how long you look, you won’t be drawn to something that’s not meant for you. Just wait a bit. I’m trying to find something that will suit you well.”
I need to quickly draw a unique equipment for Ariane before she gets upset.
The money from this deal with Vine should be more than enough to do that and have some left over.
“Really? I’ll keep praying and waiting.”
“Alright. Whether you pray or do whatever, I’ll try to get you something you’ll absolutely love, so don’t worry.”
“Fran, do you also have something the mister sold you?”
Ariane asked Fran, who had been quiet all this time.
Fran answered with an awkward smile.
“Yes.”
“Ah, what? So I’m the only one who hasn’t received anything? Boo-hoo….”
An unintended situation.
As if recent subtle issues with Ariane weren’t enough, I didn’t expect this situation to arise because of unique equipment.
If it’s to resolve this awkward situation…
It’s a shame, but there’s no helping it.
“I’ll make you tteokbokki.”
“Tteokbokki!”
Stars began to twinkle again in Ariane’s eyes, which had been gloomy.
“Tteokbokki? What’s that?”
Some hadn’t tried it, while others had – a mixed situation.
“It’s super delicious! Spicy and sweet. The texture is really unique, and the boss says it’s chewy.”
“Alright, I’ll make that for you. Come in. We also need to talk about the price of the item.”
As I said this looking at Vine, she awkwardly nodded slightly.
The ingredients for making tteok (rice cakes) were easily available in this world too.
You mix rice flour and water appropriately, steam it once in a steamer, and then knead the dough.
For reference, the more you knead, the finer the particles become and the chewier it gets.
‘And I have telekinesis.’
Kneading the dough with telekinesis was easier than I thought.
After diligently kneading the dough with telekinesis and dividing it into appropriate sizes, you shape it into something similar to garaetteok with a suitable thickness, and the tteok for tteokbokki is complete.
While there’s no gochujang in this world, there was a spicy seasoning sauce that tasted similar.
While trying to make various seasonings to create Korean food, I managed to make a seasoning sauce that tasted similar, allowing me to recreate tteokbokki.
And that secret seasoning sauce was so delicious that the girls went crazy for it.
“Mmm~ So good!”
“The texture really is unique.”
“Mister, you should eat too.”
“It’s fine, you guys eat. I eat well enough on my own.”
I refused just once, and the kids don’t offer a second time, just continuing to eat.
Even Vine, despite her face turning bright red, kept eating the tteokbokki persistently.
“Is it that delicious?”
Nod nod —!
This tteokbokki was also a perfect success, receiving applause from the girls.
Then I started telling Vine in earnest about the trading conditions I wanted.
“The trading conditions are for you to choose one of two options. One is rental, the other is purchase.”
“There’s a rental option too?”
“Yes, you choose depending on your ability to pay. If you purchase, it’s good because I can get a lump sum, and if you rent, it’s good because I can receive steady payments.”
Hearing that either was fine, Vine said she would carefully consider it.
“I think I need to tell my family and consult with the adults.”
“Alright.”
I held out my hand.
“??”
Vine didn’t understand the meaning of my outstretched hand.
“Give it to me.”
“What?”
“The thing in your possession.”