Chapter 20

"About a month, huh..."

I was prepared for a certain amount of stay, but a month is certainly unexpected.

Perhaps it was a mistake to negotiate for a short-term stay.

No, I could just go to another merchant besides the Veriello Trading Company.

I had planned to be cautious with my business at first, but it gradually became a hassle, so I was considering switching to a full-on SHOP power mode to make some money.

Since I have nothing to do now, I'll head back to the inn.

"Huh, a guest?"

When I entered the room, Miss Narnia was there. This time, she wasn't just in her underwear.

Of course, I have no particular feelings about a young girl being naked, so it doesn't matter.

"I'm back. ...Are you cleaning?"

"Yes, I'm cleaning. This room is the last one."

"Thanks for your hard work."

To avoid getting in the way, I stepped out into the hallway. Narnia took out what looked like a lollipop and muttered, "Be clean." The room flashed for a moment, which was still a mysterious phenomenon.

Narnia straightened the bed sheets, swept the floor, and cheerfully declared, "Done!"

"Are you not changing the sheets?"

"I just cleaned them with an aetheric tool."

She said something strange, but her face showed that she thought I was the one saying something strange.

"Can you clean fabrics with that too?"

"Yes, it can clean the toilet and even horse droppings on the road, so the main streets are always clean."

"Wow."

It seems that the aetheric cleaning tool is more capable than I thought.

"Hey, can I borrow that for a moment?"

"Eh? That's a bit..."

"I want to try something. Ah, right, here, I'll give you this. I took out two lollipops and handed them to Narnia.

"What is this?"

"It's a lollipop. Have you never had one?"

"Is this food?"

The girl examined the translucent, colored lollipop in its plastic packaging closely.

"Yeah, but don't bite it. Let it dissolve in your mouth."

"Ah, then..."

"Wait! Don't eat the wrapper! Just the candy inside!"

I grabbed the lollipop that Narnia was about to put in her mouth with the wrapper still on.

"This transparent wrapper isn't edible, so open your mouth."

I took the lollipop out of the wrapper and put it in Narnia's mouth.

"Mmm... hmm... hmm!"

At first, she looked puzzled, but gradually her expression melted like the lollipop. She put her hands to her cheeks and jumped up, shouting,

"Sweet! Delicious!"

It's heartwarming to see a young girl enjoying a lollipop so wholeheartedly. I hope she doesn't grow up to be a bad woman.

Since she's so engrossed in licking it, I'll wait without disturbing her.

"Aaa... it's gone..."

After a while, it seemed to have disappeared from her mouth, and a dejected young girl appeared.

"If you let me use that aetheric tool, I'll give you another one."

"Really!? Uh... will you steal it and run away?"

"Are you worried about that! I wouldn't do such a despicable thing! I was thinking of buying one if I could use it!"

"Oh, you should have said that from the start. Here you go."

"Thanks..."

I looked closely at the mysterious object that looked like a metal lollipop. It wasn't as heavy as I thought.

Just holding it, I couldn't figure out how it worked. I thought it might have a switch, but there was nothing like that.

"So, how do you use it?"

"Imagine what you want to clean and say, 'Be clean.'"

Maybe the lollipop made us closer, as Narnia's speech became more casual. Of course, it doesn't bother me.

I took off my shirt and held it. It was a Y-shirt that I hadn't changed for days, soaked with sweat and covered in dust, quite visibly dirty. It's amazing that I managed to conduct negotiations in such a state.

I hesitated.

Saying "Be clean" feels really embarrassing... Can't I just think it?

I decided to try anyway and imagined the Y-shirt becoming a freshly cleaned, starched, and ironed shirt as I brought the aetheric tool close.

Then, with a slight sensation of something flowing into the aetheric tool, the shirt flashed for a moment.

It had transformed into the exact shirt I had imagined, but with a bit of sand on the surface.

It seems it doesn't make things completely clean, I thought, looking at the shirt with mixed feelings. Narnia lightly tapped the sand off the shirt, and it fell to the ground, leaving the shirt clean.

"Wow."

"Sir, the dirt turns into sand, so just tap it off. You can pay extra at the laundry to have them do it, though."

"Hmm, what happens if you don't pay extra?"

"Regular foot-pedal washing in river water."

"I see."

It would be better for the environment to use this aetheric tool for everything, but it's probably set up this way for business reasons.

"Thanks, here's the promised lollipop, a different flavor this time."

I returned the aetheric tool and put the lollipop in her mouth. The first one was strawberry, and this one is lemon.

"Mmm~"

She started to dissolve the lollipop with all her concentration.

It seems giving her lollipops is better than copper coins as a tip.

"About the aetheric tool... Hey, where can I buy one? Preferably a place that won't overcharge me."

"..."

The young girl looked up at me with incredibly sad eyes.

"You can tell me after you finish..."

After waiting a few minutes in the chair, Narnia, who had a sad expression, seemed to have finished.

"Then it's on the main street near the square. Go straight down the main street to the square, and it's on the left just before the square. The sign is black with three white lines."

"I think I've seen it before. Got it. I'll go check it out."

"Have a nice trip."

I thought about giving her a lollipop as a tip, but I don't want her to get cavities, so I'll leave it at this.

I left the room.

After walking for a while, I arrived at the store with a wooden sign hanging outside, black with three white lines. Upon closer inspection, the sign had fist-sized glass pieces embedded in place of bricks, giving it a much more luxurious feel compared to other stores. The glass was frosted, so I couldn't see inside, but it was probably for lighting.

I was about to reach for the door when it opened from the inside.

"...Huh? Cherina... Oh, my apologies, what a coincidence, Miss Veriello."

The person who came out was none other than Cherina Veriello, the well-endowed young lady in a bright red dress.

"Oh, it's you, Akira-sama. Hello. You can call me Cherina."

"No, no, I apologize for the sudden greeting. I'm just a country bumpkin."

I bowed slightly and was greeted with a smile.

"So, Akira-sama, are you here for a business meeting?"

I thought Cherina's eyes sharpened a bit.

"No, not a business meeting, just regular shopping. I heard they sell a convenient item called an aetheric tool here, so I came to take a look."

"Is that so? Some of the aetheric tools here are supplied by our trading company, so the quality is reliable."

"That's great. In that case..."

"But our business is wholesale. We don't do retail."

She read my mind and laughed. Women are unpredictable.

"In that case, I'll take a look here."

I said that and entered the store, but for some reason, Miss Cherina followed me inside.