Chapter 32. You, Me, And The Nameless Store II
It’s common sense to assume that those who wear the same uniform, belong to the same organization. Furthermore, they would share the same principles.
What lies as the subject of our attention was a group of men wearing the same collared clothing gathered in a building. The reason why there were so many coming in and out was that Dase is a big town. These men armed with swords on their waists are the patrolmen of the town. It may be a small one for a station, but even so, its functions remained unchanged.
“My Lady, can I make a confession?”
“Go ahead.”
With his gaze fixed onto the building, Kaid continued with a nearly inaudible voice.
“I’m actually not that blessed with good luck.”
“That’s just…”
“It’s the truth. Though it’s not that I’m not blessed with happiness, I just have terrible luck of sorts.”
“Kaid…”
“The proof of my words is… as you can see yourself…”
Kaid, who had said those words with a depressed tone, was staring towards the station, no – to be exact, the store without any signage that was just right beside it. It all started with a wallet that was picked up.
It was Jasmine, who said, “Ah,” and ran towards us. The wallet that had fallen into the shadows seemed to have belonged to a man. The reason being that women would generally put their wallets in their bags whereas men tend to put theirs in their pockets. Hence, most of the wallets found on the streets belong to men. Although, I’ve heard that there was a recent trend in stores where they started to sell products aimed towards women. That’s because women tend to drop or forget the items whenever they put them in or take them out from their bags.
As I was never the one being involved when buying items in both my previous and current life, so I wasn’t familiar with the trends nor situations. Now when I heard the explanation, it finally made sense to me.
With a troubled expression on her face, Jasmine passed the wallet over to Kaid. He did a quick check to see if there were any indications of a pickpocketed wallet. Luckily, the wallet was just a simple case of it being lost. However, there weren’t any appropriate locations for us to hand the wallet over, so we decided to bring it to the patrol station.
Who would have expected that the store of interest that was deemed earlier better off not found stood right beside the station?
Just as we had heard, there weren’t any signboards being placed either.
But just now, I saw a young lady in a beautiful dress come out with several of her attendants. Only when I saw a well-dressed young boy seeing them off that I knew that this was – in fact, a store. I managed to take a quick glance inside the store before the door could fully close – I saw that there were a few glass cases.
The shop has a stable customer base as it was originally opened by an artisan from the Capital. There weren’t many products that were being displayed at the front of the shop. Of course, there are cases where the merchandise would be at the back of the store. But those are the ones that were made according to their client’s preferences. That is because, fundamentally, the higher the cost of the product is, the more likely it will be catered towards the client’s requirements.
Judging from the appearance of the store, it wasn’t that big. If that’s the case, it is wiser for them to maintain their stable relationship with their regular clients. As compared to having a large signboard displayed and chased by customers that were in it due to mere curiosity.
Despite handling expensive items such as jewelry itself, there weren’t any security guards standing by the shop’s entrance. I don’t know if it’s due to the lack of manpower; or if it’s because the next door is a patrol station where they have a sense of security.
“It’s amazing how lucky we can be! Look! When we were about to return the wallet, we reached the shop itself!”
“Seriously. You’re something. Speaking of which, you constantly strike at lotteries too. You are truly blessed with Lady Luck on your side. I am so envious of you. Whenever I try any lucky draw at any store, I always get flower seeds as a participation prize. So, I ended up giving those to the gardener which he was quite pleased with. In return, I got snacks though.”
“Eh, that’s nice… Could it be that it was the snacks that you shared with us last time?”
“Yes. That’s the one. It was quite delicious… But my luck couldn’t hold a candle to yours.”
Not realizing the slightly depressed Kaid, Jasmine puffed out her chest with pride.
“To lose against Jasmine’s luck… Could this be due to the difference in one’s virtue…?”
“What are you talking about, Kaid? You too are a fine and wonderful person. I really really respect you as well as I like you very much. Despite this, you still speak such depressing words. Don’t say such things.”
“Thank you, My Lady – Wait!”
Kaid cut his words short as he reached out both of his hands to grab Jasmine who was about to dash off and Samua, who was chasing after her. They had already taken a few steps ahead but Kaid caught both of them with a large step forward, he grabbed onto their wrists and pulled them back, and returned to his original position.
“Since it is very likely for the store owner to be dissatisfied with Laius, I’ll be the first one to go. Please, do act with caution. I am entrusted by your parents to take care of their precious children, both here and back at the mansion. What am I supposed to do if anything were to happen to you?”
Both Jasmine and Samua apologized with their heads tilted down and then shifted themselves behind me. With them secured both my left and right side, they whispered.
“Hey… Shirley, in such situations, shouldn’t we be the ones to go first?”
“Isn’t it? It would be more of a problem if something happens to the Master instead. Right? Shirley?”
I understand their point of view, and I wanted to say ‘You’re right’ to them. Yet, at the same time, I want to tell them, ‘It’s not like that.’ No matter how much I wracked my head, I couldn’t find the answer to this dilemma.
“Erm…”
The one who called out was none other than our initial target – one of the patrolmen.
He looked like he was nearing retirement and showed up from the station. With his hat being out of place, he walked over towards us across the street.
“Thank goodness you’re still around. It’s about the wallet which you passed over. After checking the identifications in the wallet, it belongs to the Young Master next door!”
“Eh?! Really?!”
Jasmine exclaimed. Samua and her had the same shocked expression where their eyes widened in surprise.
“So, it belonged to one of the store’s employees…”
“Ah. It’s that boy who was holding a broom. Oi! Namon!”
A sound of a bell giving a quick and heavy trinkle was then heard. A boy that was carrying a broom came out from inside the store. It was the same boy who had seen the young lady off earlier.
He looked like he was about the same age as Jasmine and Samua. Since he seemed too young to be the artisan, I guess he might be the assistant or an apprentice of sorts.
With his eyes wide open, the boy whose name got called, searched for the source. Finally, his eyes noticed the man across the street who was waving his wallet in the air. Instantly, he let out an ‘Ah!’ with a relieved tone. Flustered, he quickly put his broom aside and charged across the street. Then, the man handed over the wallet to the boy.
“M-My wallet!”
“Just as I thought. Do thank them. These are the people who had picked it and had brought it over.”
“Thank you, Mister.”
“Please be careful next time. See you.”
The two of them seemed to know each other, as they were standing next to each other. The man returned to his duties with a wave of his hand, and the boy lowered his head. Jasmine gave a small wave.
After seeing the man off, the boy spun himself to face us.
“I was troubled since I just got my pay recently. Thank you so much!”
“If you wish to express your gratitude, say it to her instead.”
He must have discerned who was the person in charge of the group. The boy was right in his observation when he faced Kaid to express his thanks. However, without even looking back, Kaid pointed his thumb at Jasmine, who was standing a step behind me.
The boy nodded understandingly and bowed his head towards Jasmine.
“Thank you very much.”
“No problem. It’s a good thing that you’ve found your wallet, isn’t it?”
Jasmine was smiling widely with happiness. She is really a kind-hearted girl that is capable of taking in joy from someone else’s happiness as if it were her own.
After thanking Jasmine many times, he then interjected.
“I can’t offer much hospitality, but you are welcome to have a cup of tea if you like. I just received some delicious sweets.”
“Eh?! Is it okay?! Ah… no, but…”
“Are there… some complications?”
Jasmine looked in our direction with a troubled look pasted on her face. Then, Samua, who was standing beside her, offered his helping hand.
“I’m sorry. We’ve already heard a few situations about your store from the Gift Shop. And, we are from Laius.”
Jasmine nodded awkwardly beside Samua, who had made an honest exclamation. Seriously, the two of them are quite straightforward. On the other hand, Kaid was trying to see how the situation would unfold and remained silent as he watched over them.
The boy gave a surprised “Eh?” before starting to groan in thought.
“Laius… Hmm… Laius… Quite true that Master was… Hmm…”
“You know… I’m concerned about the issue of trading with us which can be solved, but you don’t need to force yourself. We are here merely to deliver your wallet, we don’t have any intention to trouble you.”
The boy was stunned at Jasmine’s words and huffed out a breath. Then, a smile was seen.
“You guys are such good people. If you had known about our stand, why did you keep quiet about who you are and enter? Sure, come in, come in. If anything, I’ll explain it to Master.”
“However, wouldn’t you get reprimanded instead? In that case, we will just leave.”
“Don’t worry. The Master isn’t the kind of person that would be rude to someone that had helped him.”
The boy tucked his wallet that he had been holding onto so openly and fixed his clothes. Then, he straightened his back and held out one hand.
“Once again, my name is Namon. Thank you for delivering my lost wallet!”
“I’m Jasmine!”
“I am Samua. And the person here is my Master and his fiancée, Lady Shirley.”
I gave a quick bow when Samua introduced me. Namon gave an excellent bow that was befitting of an employee working with jewelry. Despite being so young, I could tell that he is a well-trained employee.
“Coincidentally, there won’t be any visitors at the moment. So please do make yourselves comfortable.”
We then proceeded to cross the street while being careful of the passing carriages. The boy then took the broom he had placed earlier and held it behind him with a hand. The other hand opened the store’s door then, Jasmine and Samua nervously walked in.
“The Lord as well. Do sit whichever you like.”
Both Kaid and I went through the door that Namon had held open for us. He then went on to keep his broom further back from the store. Inside the store itself, there wasn’t anyone else. I was worried about the shop’s security, but because the glass box containing the jewelry and silverware was locked and secured, so I guess it was safe.
Compared to the big stores, it is quite a small store. Even so, it doesn’t have many unnecessary items. This, in turn, helped in making the store appear like it wasn’t that small. Typically, you can determine the current trend of the shop by looking at the shelves. This store has many beautiful items that are elegant, yet very glamorous, but not too flashy as well.
Caron always used to say that it suited me. I would be happy if it looked good on me. However, even if that wasn’t the case, the items in the store match my taste very well.
It has been a long time since I’ve been to a jewelry store. Most of the stores that I used to frequent were big and mostly already completed products. But, in this store, they don’t have many items. In addition, they didn’t show much either other than the current trends for that product.
While watching Jasmine and Samua peering through the glass boxes and shelves with so much interest, I chose a random seat to sit in. On the other hand, Kaid took a seat beside me. He covered his face with one hand and let his head hang
“Such people do exist… Those who get things done smoothly using their own pace… I would never have thought we would be able to get in using a straightforward approach.”
“Well. Both of them are good people.”
“Maybe it’s because they don’t have any opposite sides, or just that they’re innocent, or it’s because people will know in one glance that the two are harmless people… Since honest children are all so cute…!”
“Kaid, I do think that you are quite a cute person.”
The fact that she gets depressed over something so cute like that is very adorable.
After I said that, I heard Kaid took a gulp.
“If you had told me that I’m cute, I don’t think I’d ever be able to recover. My Lady, you tend to do that in the past, but haven’t there been an increase of moments where you told me of your honest thoughts recently?”
“Is that so…?”
I thought about it for a bit while Kaid was staring at me with a somewhat pouty look. I placed a finger to my mouth to think for a while, and the moment a reason came to mind, my face flushed red!
I instantly felt embarrassed and hid my reddened cheeks by turning over.
The reason why I am becoming more honest with my thoughts… There is no other reason than that. Aaah! I’m so embarrassed!!
“My lady?”
“…Ah… I was… acting spoiled… Please forgive…me…”
“……………Understood.”
As I was looking down, wallowing in embarrassment, I finally heard Kaid’s response after a long, long silence. However, in return, I will never know what kind of expression Kaid was making when he had said those words.