“Um … my shoes”

　“Look on your own around the store, bastard! You are not some spoiled…!” (Jack)

　When I asked him, He made a harsh instantaneous rejection. Scary.

“It is only normal for strangers to choose on their own equipment to protect their own lives-Ah!” (Jack)

“Do not do it sloppily. Toru is my companion. Please do not start a fight.” (Esther)

“Gunu…” (Jack)

　Jack, whose head was hit by Esther, glared grudgingly at me.

　His attitude is pretty obvious, no wonder he was hit.

　I opened my mouth while snickering a little at Jack’s actions.

“Then, let’s look for my shoes-whaa!?”

　–suddenly.

　Jack threw a wooden box at me.

　I hurriedly caught it.

“I will sell it to you for cheap. It is enough for a bastard.” (Jack)

Advertisements

“Huh…”

　The box is one of the ones he brought to the office earlier.

　The box shows its age.

　The color has changed so much that the original color is unidentifiable.

(I am sure there is nothing weird in there, right.)

　I opened the box with extreme caution.

　Inside, contrary to my expectations, were normal-looking shoes.

(I thought it had some material equipment, but it was Matomo)

　From his attitude towards me, I thought that Jack brought in “a weird equipment that no one would buy.”

　However, even though he is a doting parent, he is still a merchant.

　It seems that he brought me some decent equipment.

“It is a devil’s skin, from a Giant Cyclops These shoes are made from their tanned guts. The material got cursed for a bit during the production process, but it is okay because it was purified in the temple for five years. “

　–correction. Jack really did bring me a piece of weird equipment.

“Purified over five years”, in other words, “it took five years to purify.”

　The fact that the curse was so powerful is already giving me quite the scare.

Advertisements

(Is it really fine…?)

“Devil’s leather? How did you manage to get hold of such a rare material?” (Esther)

“Yeah, it is a very rare product that you can only get once in a hundred years. I thought it would sell well…” (Jack)

　Jack tilted his head and wondered why it did not sell, but no one in their right mind would buy it.

“The material may be a bit unpleasant, to say the least, but the durability is far superior to any other product in the store.” (Jack)

　I smiled bitterly. It seems that he was aware that it was not a piece of normal equipment.

　The curse can be scary, but the extremely high durability is attractive.

“You can get a discount of one hundred gold coins from being my daughter’s acquaintance, so just one gold coin as the price. What do you say?” (Jack)

　Jack asks me, but I have already decided on my answer.

○

~Jack’s Perspective~

　The daughter I have not met for a long time looked more energetic than I have ever seen her.

　As soon as I was reacquainted with my beloved daughter Esther, I am quite relieved to see her healthy appearance.

　After leaving our house, I blamed myself.

　I blamed myself for pushing Esther so hard that she decided to run away from her home.

　After Esther ran away.

　I immediately used my information network as a merchant to follow Esther’s whereabouts.

　It was not long before I heard that Esther had become an adventurer at Finlis.

　More than anything else, she is chosen to be an adventurer.

　It is a job that you do not know when you will die.

　I did not mind.

　However, I had never thought that my daughter would go for such a dangerous profession.

　I wanted to bring Esther back as soon as possible.

　Nevertheless, if Esther were brought back, she would be married to another family.

　For us merchants, aristocratic marriages cannot be refused unless there is a good enough cause.

　For example, the other man is infertile, is about to lose their nobility, or is involved in criminal activities.

　If Esther is too weak to leave a child, or if she is dying of an illness, we can decline the marriage.

　However, he was a partner who did not fall under any of those categories.

　Although I received the surname of “Regulus” from the king and rock-solid in my position as a merchant, I still could not refuse marriage proposals from aristocrats.

　However, which is better for Esther?

　I pondered and decided that Esther had already died.

　If Esther is dead, the marriage proposal can be canceled.

　She will be nothing but a stranger to me, but she would be happier than marrying a nobleman.

　Therefore, I sorrowfully made up my mind.

　Still, was not it better to bring her back? There was no day when I did not think about it.

　Adventurers do not know when they will die. It is a dangerous profession.

　The lower the rank, the less money they earn, and the poorer you are. Some adventurers could only drink muddy water.

　However the higher the rank, the more often they will fight strong monsters. No matter how strong an adventurer is, a little carelessness can easily lead them to their death.

　No parent is not worried about a daughter in such a profession.

　However, I had already informed the aristocrats of Esther’s unexpected death.

　I could have supported Esther from behind the scenes so that she would not be troubled when she became an adventurer. Nevertheless, if I did that and the information got out to the nobility, it would be bad…

　For someone like me who made a false report, I would surely be hanged after having my company crushed.

　I could not let the store that had been in business for generations come to an end in my own generation.

　Therefore, I could only watch and wait.

　Even if Esther was about to be killed by a horde of goblins, and even if she got lost in the Finlis forest for three days and three nights, I could only endure it.

　Oh, it was quite painful…

(I chose the wrong path, did not I? Maybe it was better for Esther if I brought her back even if I had to…) (Jack)

　However, when I finally saw Esther again, I truly felt that this path was the right choice.

　Just before running away from our house, Esther stopped laughing.

　Our relationship had started to crumble.

　Now she was laughing naturally.

　She also treated me like before.

(I am … sure, I did not choose wrongly…) (Jack)

　Being an adventurer is a dangerous profession.

　Nevertheless, for Esther Regulus, this was the right path.

　Therefore, I saw Esther off in her new shoes, and my chest tightened slightly.

　After leaving the store, Esther was no longer my daughter.

　She was just a stranger.

　Even if she came to the store again, I would have to treat her as a mere customer.

　However, this time it is special.

　This time was special because it was the one and only time that the god of fate had given him a chance to say goodbye to his daughter…

　Jack prays for his daughter as she walks down the path of happiness.

　He prays that she will be happy in her future…

　In addition, Jack prays.

(Do not let her go for that person! He is no good!) (Jack)

　Whether it is because of his observation as a merchant or his jealousy as a father?

　Unfortunately, Jack’s wish did not reach any god.