Chapter 43

Jecos finished loading the matches onto the cart. From atop the driver's seat, he smiled at me.

"Well, Mr. Shiro, thank you for the good transaction. Once I sell all the matches, I'll come back to buy more."

"Hehe, I'll be waiting."

"Next time, I'll bring some fruit wine from the south as a token of gratitude for the tea leaves. Well, I'll be on my way."

"Yep. Take care."

Jecos left Niorich with his escort of adventurers. In my hand were five gold coins from the transaction.

Considering that each of these is worth 1 million yen, it takes a lot of courage to carry them around. I put the gold coins in my bag and headed back to the store. As soon as I entered, Aina greeted me.

"Welcome back, Shiro-niichan."

"Thanks, Aina. Sorry for leaving you to watch the store."

"No, it's okay. Aina is a shop assistant, so it's my job."

Aina said this and puffed out her chest proudly.

"I'm glad to have such a reliable shop assistant."

"Hehe."

Aina smiled, blushing from the compliment.

"While I was away, did any strange customers come in?"

"Yeah, everything was fine today."

Aina, who works hard, is trusted and well-liked by the regular customers. Everyone knows that she works to support Stella.

However, not everyone is a good person. In the nature of business, there are bound to be unpleasant customers. For example, there was an incident with a new adventurer who came to Niorich.

Once, when I happened to be away, an adventurer verbally abused Aina. The adventurer, who demanded that the item be cheaper, was unreasonable. Aina, who is only 8 years old, didn't back down. The adventurer, angry that his demands weren't met, hurled insults at Aina and left the store.

Aina, who had endured the abuse, burst into tears the moment she saw me return. After hearing the story from Aina, I felt a surge of anger. I told the familiar adventurers about the incident and started a search immediately. Unfortunately, the adventurer was on a quest, and we couldn't find him that day.

However, something strange happened the next day. The adventurer in question was found hanging naked from a tree in the center of town. The adventurer, whose face was bruised, claimed that he woke up like that and refused to name the culprit. The bizarre incident was eventually attributed to the fairies and considered resolved.

Since then, it has been whispered that if you mess with Aina, the fairies will take revenge. As a result, no one dares to mistreat Aina anymore.

"Shiro-niichan, did you sell a lot of matches?"

Aina, who is blessed by the fairies, asked. As the minister in charge of the survival matches, she must be curious about the sales.

I nodded and proudly took out the gold coins from my bag.

"Wha!? Is that gold?"

"Hehe. Correct. These are gold coins!"

"Wow!! Amazing. Aina has never seen gold coins before."

"Really? Do you want to touch one as a memento?"

"Eh? No, no. I don't want to lose them!"

Aina shook her head vigorously. She seemed hesitant because of the value.

Actually, it was my first time seeing gold coins too. Our store doesn't have high-priced items, so we mostly accumulated copper and silver coins.

"Each one is worth 1 million yen—no, each one is worth 100 silver coins. That's amazing, right?"

"Five gold coins... Shiro-niichan, you're so rich."

Aina's eyes sparkled. She looked at me with genuine admiration, unlike the greedy look I sometimes have.

"The matches sold well because Aina worked hard. I should give a special bonus."

"Special bonus... What's that?"

Aina tilted her head, curious.

"Well, a special bonus is extra pay you get for working hard, in addition to your regular salary."

It's something I never received even when I worked at a black company.

"Wow!? No, that's not right. Aina is fine with her current salary."

"It's part of being a good business owner—though you might not understand. Anyway, it's something I need to do to be a good businessman. After all, wouldn't you be happier with more money?"

I asked, and Aina pondered for a few seconds before answering.

"...Aina is happier being with her mom and Shiro-niichan."

What a good kid. Aina's innocence is blinding.

"Right. There are things money can't buy."

"Yep!"

Aina nodded energetically. Indeed, my memories with my grandmother are priceless. I would love to see her again if I could.

"Is there anything you want instead of money?"

"Aina is very 'happy' right now, so I don't need anything."

Aina emphasized the word "happy," and her smile was genuinely happy.

"Really? You don't need anything?"

"No, I don't."

"Hmm... This means I'm the only one benefiting. Is there anything I can do to thank you?"

It's important to reward hard work fairly. I folded my arms and thought.

"Hmm..."

"Shiro-niichan?"

"Hmmmm..."

"Shiro-niichan, Shiro-niichan!"

Aina gently tugged at my arm. At that moment,

"I've got it!"

A spark of inspiration hit me.

"Aina, listen."

"Y-Yes!"

Aina jumped at my sudden loud voice.

"Aina, would you like to live here with your mom?"

"Here? You mean... here?"

Aina pointed at the floor.

"Upstairs. There's an extra room. Plus, if you live here, you won't have to commute from the outskirts of town, and you'll get to spend more time with your mom."

Aina fell silent, and after a while, her small shoulders began to tremble.

"Can Aina really live here?"

"Sure."

Aina looked down, and tears fell to the floor.

"Can my mom live here too?"

"Of course."

"Would it be a bother...?"

"Not at all. You're very welcome."

Aina fell silent again. Is she okay?

Just as I was about to check on her,

"Shiro-niichan!!"

"Whoa!?"

Aina suddenly hugged me with incredible force.

"Are you that happy?"

"Yeah... Aina is so happy."

"That's great."

Aina looked up and smiled.

"Shiro-niichan... thank you."

"You're welcome."

And so, Aina and Stella moved into the second floor of the store. However, at that moment, I had forgotten something important.

"Shiro-niichan, I'll do my best from now on!"

Aina bowed.

"Sure. I'll do my best too."

"Living with Shiro-niichan is going to be so much fun!"

"..."

Aina bounced around excitedly, while I felt my face turn pale.

Right. Living upstairs means "I'm asking you to live with me!" I had completely forgotten about this.

"Mom will be surprised, won't she?"

Watching Aina's excitement, I muttered to myself,

"What do I do?"

And so, the story of Aina and Stella moving into the store's second floor began, with me completely unaware of the implications.