Chapter 30

The town is getting an adventurer's guild.

The residents of Niorich were greatly excited by this announcement.

According to what Karen told me, the town hall is buzzing with plans for the town’s development, with debates over whether to build a tavern first or an inn.

Niorich, though on the frontier, has plenty of unused land.

With the branch of the adventurer's guild ‘Apostles of the Silver Moon’ set to be completed, several inns, taverns, blacksmiths, and equipment shops are planned to open.

As a result, even before construction has begun, the town is brimming with vitality.

And as for me...

“Thank you very much!”

I was working hard at my business today.

The number of adventurers coming to town seems to be increasing day by day, perhaps having heard about the new branch.

According to Ria, some of the adventurers even belong to the ‘Apostles of the Silver Moon.’

The town is bustling, and the store’s sales are steadily rising.

Amidst these smooth-sailing days, there is one thing that worries me.

“Aina, can you get the big match over there?”

“...”

“Aina?”

“...”

“Hey!”

“Ah!? S-Sorry, Shiro-niisan. Um... the broom?”

“No, the match. The big match.”

“O-Okay, I’ll get it right away.”

Lately, Aina has been spacing out a lot.

It’s unusual for her, who used to be so dedicated to her work.

Is she troubled by something?

“Thank you very much.”

The last customer left the store.

It’s a bit early, but I think I’ll close the shop for today.

“Aina, shall we close the shop for today?”

“...”

“Aina!”

“Ah, eh, a... Y-Yes!”

She seems to have been lost in thought again.

As the shop owner, I should take the time to listen to her concerns.

“Alright, I’ll close up. Aina, can you clean the shop?”

“Okay.”

I hung a sign on the entrance door that read, “Today’s business has ended,” and returned to the shop.

Next, I need to calculate the sales.

I entered the counter and began counting the coins one by one.

Today’s sales are 52 silver coins and 4,560 copper coins.

In Japanese yen, that’s 9,760,000 yen.

Lately, I’ve been maintaining this level of sales every day.

Almost 10 million yen. 10 million yen.

If this can be sustained for a year, it would be 360 million yen...

This is like a dream in another world.

“Alright then.”

Just as I was putting the sales money into my spatial storage, Aina had finished cleaning the shop.

Good. Now I’ll listen to Aina’s troubles and give her mature and appropriate advice.

But just as I was thinking that,

“Um, Shiro-niisan...”

Aina actually spoke to me first.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Um... well... that...”

Aina hesitated, trying to say something, and looked down with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.

But then, gripping the hem of her dress tightly, she lifted her head with a determined look.

“A, a, an, Shiro-niisan!”

“Yeah?”

“Um, Aina...”

“Yeah?”

“Aina... Aina...”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice trembled.

Still, Aina looked straight at me, mustered her courage, and continued.

“Aina... please, lend me some money.”