[So that's a total of 4750R... but since you bought so much, I'll just leave it to 4700R.]
I took out the five silver coins from my purse and handed them to Alice, who looks like she's in a good mood when she said that with a smile on her face.
In the end, I ended up buying just until I used up the budget I told her earlier. It's not really because of Alice's super sales talk, but simply because all the products in this store are very good.
Not only did I buy shoes, a knife, a water bottle and some survival magic tools in preparation for the Sacred Tree Festival, but I also bought some clothes.
All of the clothes are of comparable quality to the ones I'm wearing now, and the designs might be simple, but they are also what you would call casual wear back in my previous world. I don't know if Alice has good taste or not, but I couldn't help but buy them because they were all elegant and made to look good even if it were nobles who were wearing them.
[Well~~ This is the first time I've sold this much since I've opened my store! Kaito-san, please visit our store again!]
[Unnn. All of these "items that I never thought were made by the shopkeeper" are quite good, and I'd like to see more of the magic tools next time.]
[Whoaa, I somehow feel like I'm being slightly insulted there, but I'm so happy now that I will forgive you.]
[Ahaha.]
Well, I didn't really know what to expect at first, but when it was all over, I think I got a good deal and found a good store to buy stuff.
As they said they have everything but foodstuff, there were also a variety of interesting trinkets and magic tools, so I'll come back to look around again.
When I finished shopping, I thanked Alice and was about to leave the store, but at that moment, Alice spoke.
[Ahh~ Kaito-san. Can I have a moment?]
[Unnn?]
[...As thanks for all the things you bought, I'd like to give you a warning.]
[A warning?]
At those words, I turned around and looked at Alice, but her expression was hidden behind her mask, so I couldn't read it.
The emotions I felt from my Sympathy Magic also seem to be calm, it's as if she was just making small talk, but I somehow feel like there's something strange in the mood.
[I think there is also one story that's like this back in your world, Kaito-san. That a hero who gets too close to the sun, would get their wings burned and crash to the ground...]
[...…]
If I remember correctly, wasn't she talking about the story of Icarus of Greek mythology? The story is about Icarus, who flew through the sky on wings made of wax, but he got too close to the sun, so his wings made of wax melted and he fell to the ground.
But why did she suddenly bring up such a story? She said that it was a warning, so I guess this is the message she probably wants to tell me.
[The closer you are to great beings, the greater the chance of risks suddenly coming from unexpected places... Please keep this in mind. This world isn't just filled with good people, and if those wings of yours were just born from hubris... Those fake wings will just melt and you may end up crashing on the ground, you know?]
[...…]
[...Or something like that~~ Well, Just keep in mind that humility is the best policy.]
[O- Okay...]
I don't know. I feel like there's meaning in her words, but it's like I strangely can't understand Alice at all.
One minute she's throwing out a warning like her sharp eyes could see through everything, but she would suddenly be smiling like a fool in the next minute.
It feels really strange. It's as if I'm peering into a hole that I can't see the bottom of, as if I can somehow understand her, but the words to describe it were caught behind the back of my throat.
However, it doesn't seem like Alice wants to say anything else, so she removes her gaze from me and sits down on the counter again.
Thinking that I probably wouldn't arrive at any answers even if I keep thinking about it, I gave Alice a slight wave before leaving the shop.
Dear Mom, Dad——- the shopping at Alice's store ended well, but the last words Alice said—– strangely stayed in my mind.
After Kaito left the store, Alice slowly shifted her gaze to the door where Kaito left from and muttered.
[The Underworld King, the Death King... And on top of those two, the Supreme God of the God Realm... For him to intermingle with those three, I thought he was some kind of monster... Turns out he's just a normal, slightly good-natured, but a normal person.]
Absent-mindedly muttering to herself, some kind of noise rang out before Alice's figure blurs and her appearance changes back to the stuffed cat costume she's wearing before.
Then, Alice sits down on the seat near the counter and out of boredom, began lining up and counting coins.
Yes, she knows. About how Kaito is an otherworlder and about how Kaito interacted with Kuromueina and Isis, knowing all of it from her own network of information, she feigned ignorance and approached him.
[You have to be careful, Kaito-san. The world isn't as bright as the theaters, for there are always people lurking around in the backstage... Sooner than you may think, there will be some people who will start seeing the value of who you are.]
Muttering to herself, in a mocking tone to Kaito who isn't here. No one can see her expression because of the stuffed costume she's wearing, but the atmosphere around here is completely different from the carefree shopkeeper she was until a while ago.
As if waiting for Alice's atmosphere to change to one that contained sharpness, she heard the sound of a door opening in the quiet shop and a man clad in a black robe hiding his face walked in.
The man quietly moves to the shelves in front of the row of weapons, and after grabbing a small dagger, like a flowing stream, moved towards the shelves where the clothing was placed, and after grabbing the black clothing and wrapping it around the dagger, he placed them on the counter.
Alice, who had been unresponsive and counting pennies all that time, looks at the dagger wrapped in black clothes, and as if she's letting out a sigh, she moved her head.
[You're the "Shadow Edge", aren't you?]
[...Haahhh… how come my core business isn't doing well at all, but my "side job" is this thriving? Or rather, I wish you lot would stop calling me with that embarrassing pseudonym.]
[There's someone I need you to deal with.]
[...Depends on how much and who it is.]
The man quietly announced Alice's other name... The pseudonym she was known in the underworld.
The act of wrapping the black cloth around the dagger is a sign of a request for her about a job related to the underworld. Requests that wouldn't be brought to the light, things that could only be done by those who dwell in the darkness of the world.
[One white gold coin for an advance... An additional three after your success.]
[Heehhh, that ain't too bad. The person must have been someone troublesome huh?]
[I need you to deal with the whole family of a baron.]
[Hmmm. A noble in this country huh?]
[Yeah, here's the list.]
The man places a single white gold coin on the counter before holding out a stack of papers.
Alice reads what is written on the paper for a while, and when she finishes reading, she hands the stack of paper back to the man.
[Alrighty~~. Then, regarding this request... the deadline is?]
[If possible, within 10 days.]
[Method of death?]
[It's best if you were to kill him in a way that would look like he committed suicide.]
[Okay, okay. Well then, please come back in 10 days with the 3 white gold coins.]
[...Yeah.]
After that short conversation, the man leaves the shop.
After seeing him off while still wearing her stuffed costume, Alice began flipping the white gold coin she received with her finger and muttered.
[...Kaito-san. Human life is something that can be bought cheap. Just for these few coins, it would disappear like a fleeing dream...]
After catching the falling white gold coin and casually tossing it into the counter's drawer, Alice takes one of the silver coins that Kaito used to pay her, and smiles.
[Well, but I guess I can only pray today... that a "murder request" for you won't come...]
The sun was setting and the shop looked gloomy, but the girl living within that house had a peaceful smile on her face.
Ten days later... The day when Kaito and the others left the capital for the Sacred Tree Festival—— only she and her client knew at the time, that the whole family of a certain barony would commit suicide, causing a bit of a stir in the royal capital.
**********
{Author's Notes}
Let's go talk about this again...
This webnovel is basically a leisurely, heartwarming slow-life story. You basically can't find any seriousness here.
The protagonist isn't some kind of peerless warrior...
The protagonist isn't in some kind of desperate situation, where he suddenly awakens to a new power...
The protagonist is liked by several women...
The protagonist quickly became friends with the incarnation of death which had an exaggerated entrance...