SWNOVELXO Chapter 7
**Chapter 7.**
The night sky is very dark, and just as empty.
It’s cold.
And quiet.
It resembles a stage hidden behind a massive curtain after a theater performance.
In the alley where the ashen girl huddles, it takes away even a handful of light, leaving nothing behind.
“….”
In such a dark alley, the girl is mumbling to herself.
It’s sweet.
So sweet that it’s strangely sticky, and she keeps rolling the small lump around with her tongue.
It’s candy given to her by a boy whose name she still doesn’t know.
The ashen girl hides them tightly so that nobody can take them away, and when night falls and the air becomes chilly, she takes them out one by one to eat.
Each piece is very precious.
Filling her mouth with sweetness and staring blankly at the sky, she feels as though she can endure the day with a strange sense of fullness.
As if intoxicated by it, her mind drifts lazily, and leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, she feels as if she can’t even feel the pain of her infected wounds.
Memories can be faint, but just one small piece of candy can bring them back into sharp focus.
Storing them carefully in the gaps of a wooden plank, she rolls them around with her tongue slowly only after the night is cloaked in darkness.
After a while of rolling it around in her mouth, it eventually disappears.
Even the aftertaste of candy is sweet.
Thus, the girl reminisces about that day’s events.
She recalls the scene where she had blurted out words to the boy’s departing back.
“…, If you don’t go, can’t you stay…?”
In truth, when the girl said that, her mind was filled not with the idea that she had expressed her feelings, but rather, with the thought that she had made a mistake in front of him.
The boy who did not see her as a person.
So, despite looking down at her as if to say he would vanish forever,
suddenly blurting out such whiny words to someone whose heart could slip away like that fills the girl with an uncharacteristic sense of embarrassment.
Apology.
No.
Again, a whine.
That’s not right either.
Then what words, what actions could soothe the blunder she made?
The girl gazes blankly at the boy, her mind racing with such thoughts, when suddenly,
“…, I’ll come again next time.”
The memory of that one phrase the boy let slip made her heart thud.
So, she carries those words within her and keeps recalling them.
Next.
He has promised her a next time.
So,
there is now a reason for her to stay here.
********
If I wanted to do what I wanted, the most important thing was just one.
The witch’s feelings, parental permission, and the storm of plausibility caused by the settings of the story.
But more important than all of that, just one.
“Mom, I want to make money.”
“Hmm…? So suddenly?”
There’s no money, you see.
I have many desires, but there’s no money to make them happen.
It may seem strange for a child to need money, but besides wanting to help the ashen girl, I also have grand plans to travel in the future.
From the beginning, I plan to leave the empire and head to the principality as soon as I become an adult.
The principality has practical reasons, like cheap living costs and low registration fees for adventurers.
So, it’s a bit tight on time.
In the empire, adulthood is reached at the age of sixteen.
And I’m currently eight, halfway there.
It may seem long, but eight years isn’t much; even the mountains and rivers won’t change.
“I think I should start making money little by little for my future travels.”
“Um… is this what you were talking about to your dad last night…?”
“Yes, since Dad gave his permission.”
He had clearly told me to pursue what I wanted, so I figured it was time to start with odd jobs.
“No, no. I don’t know if there are things a son of your age can do…”
“If there aren’t, I can at least deliver newspapers. There are more jobs than you’d think.”
“Son, don’t talk so casually about that!”
My mom looked at me in disbelief and put her hand on her forehead as she shouted.
Why not?
Aren’t I just grown enough at eight?
After quite a conversation with my mom, we reached a consensus to look for places to work together.
“… I mean, I could just deliver newspapers in the morning.”
“Son, hush! You can’t even wake up properly in the morning; why would you deliver newspapers?!”
“No…, that’s…”
It’s not because I’m a child; it’s because I sleep straight through the morning with nothing to do.
Even if I were an adult, a jobless person would normally wake up at 2 PM, right?
And if that’s the case, why is my mom the one nagging me?
“Well, I only sleep late on weekends! Don’t give me that look, son!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“That look! That look is very impure! No one can see that and not think you’re cursing your mom?!”
“… Probably not.”
“Once you add ‘probably’ at the end, that’s already the end…”
My mother seems to have an uncanny ability to read my thoughts.
I think every time this happens; I don’t know who came up with the saying that children can’t outsmart parents.
Just look at the scene in front of us;
today also ended with each of us leaving wounds on one another.
After a brief commotion, we set out together.
With the somewhat strange and ridiculous purpose of finding a job for my eight-year-old self, but I had promised her last night, so what can I do?
“Zvezan, I’ve had it after today, seriously….”
Hmm.
Seeing my mom mumble quietly, I thought it might be necessary to wish for Dad’s well-being.
So.
“…”
I don’t know.
In any case.
My mom and I began wandering around.
“Um… so you’re saying the child wants to work, not the wife?”
“Yes, is there a job our child can do….”
“Hmm… we don’t have any jobs suitable for children.”
“Y-yes… thank you…”
It feels like we’ve already visited ten places, and usually, we get rejected like this.
With a slight suspicious glance at my mom, seeing adults who send me pleading looks for help is quite heartwarming.
But it seems this was quite grueling for my mom.
Bong—
She lightly tapped my head, looking at me with tearful eyes.
“…, That hurts.”
“I told you! No one would want to hire an eight-year-old kid! Everyone looks at you strangely…!”
Well, that’s unfortunate, I thought as I spoke to my mom.
“Then let’s just visit a few more places.”
“Ugh… son. How about I just give you some allowance instead, okay?”
“How much?”
Let’s see.
How much money will you offer to entice me and make me a filial imp?
Let’s hear how much she thinks is enough for me to endure watching my father, who wakes up early every day, work hard.
“Um… twenty deras a month…?”
“Okay, let’s hurry to find a job.”
“Three hundred deras…!”
“Got it. Now let’s hurry to the next store, Mom.”
Twenty deras would roughly equal the price of a handful of candy I gave to the witch last time.
A handful of candy a month.
So, twelve months would roughly be ten bags of candy.
Oh, with that much, I could save up diligently and afford to travel.
“….”
Such a miserly mom.
After visiting about five more places.
We finally found a place willing to hire me.
“Haha! Rain, you look terrible! Why didn’t you just come here to ask from the start!”
“Yes… I guess I should have. Then I’d like to request that you hire our Ain….”
“Sure, don’t worry about it; just head back home! You look ready to collapse, haha!”
It was a familiar grocery store, a place that felt almost obvious.
Since we had been wandering around, my mom, now exhausted, led me to this last stop, and the man who was sitting at the counter serving customers heard our explanation and laughed heartily, saying he understood.
“Son… your mom is going home to prepare dinner first, so you’ll be able to come back alright, right?”
“Yes, I’ll go first. Don’t get lost.”
When she asked with a truly tired expression, half her eyes closed, I nodded and sent her off.
“Okay, I’ll go home first. I really feel like I’m going to collapse…”
With that, my mom staggered out of the grocery store, and the first to speak when we were left alone was the grocery store man.
“Haha! I’ve hired several employees, but I’ve never had such a young one!”
“Please take good care of me, sir.”
I’ve never worked at such a young age either.
As I bow my head a bit, the man bursts into another laugh, finding it amusing.
“Ha! So, kid, how much do you want to be paid, and what can you do?”
Though it seemed said with a grin, I knew I needed to answer seriously.
If I give a childish response now, I felt he might dismiss my plans and aspirations as just a child’s curiosity.
I don’t want my plans and determinations to be treated as mere child’s play.
So, I decided to give a realistic answer.
Looking up at the man, I said,
“Well, since I’m still a child, I think I’d like to begin with around 2000 deras a month. If I do well, you can raise it later.”
2000 deras would be approximately 500,000 won, which may seem like a small amount to an adult, but for a child, given the limited capabilities to execute tasks, it was quite a hefty sum.
“Hmm? Well then, what do you think you can do?”
“The grocery store opens at 10 AM, so I can come in early to organize the shelves and the storage. I can also help by putting products on the shelves from the storage.”
As I said this and looked intently at him, he chuckled again, seeming amused.
“Ha! For a kid, you certainly know your stuff, but that still feels a bit lacking!”
“And I think having me sitting at the counter instead of the scary-looking man could help sales a bit too. Moms usually tend to be weak towards children.”
“Ha! You’re quite bold for a kid! What would happen if sales remained the same despite you at the counter? Are you okay with your wages being cut?”
What a funny uncle.
Doesn’t he remember that he used to give me discounts and a handful of candy when I came by?
“Alright, then. If sales really increase, then my wages will go up accordingly. Are we betting on that?”
“Haha! Sounds good! Let’s see whether the kid wins or I win; let’s place a bet!”
The man laughed heartily, then extended his huge hand toward me, and I grinned and shook it back.
If it means money, I can be as cute and charming as any child.
Capitalism runs that way; there’s no shame when it comes to earning money.
So, let’s open that uncle’s wallet,
and just take what’s inside.
I’ll clean everything out.
Yeah.
I am a child.
Not an adult; just an eight-year-old cute child.
I can charm and amuse.
And receive affection from adults.
…
Screw it, I’m a baby.
Thus, I kneel to capitalism.