“The door isn’t locked…
Please come in~” As Furina spoke, a faint blue glow emanated from the wooden door of the shop.
The knocking ceased, the door opened, and an old man wearing a bamboo hat walked in, his back hunched.
“Ho ho ho~ The General Store is finally open…
Hmm?
Young lady, are you the Manager?” “Yes, that’s right.
Could you be a regular customer of the General Store?” “Indeed…
The tea leaves, herbs, and such for the shop are all sourced from me.” The old man leaned on his cane as he approached the counter, acting quite familiar.
He glanced around, nodded, and seemed to have formed a general impression.
“It looks like you’ve only been open for a short while~ You don’t have much for sale…
Tell me, do you have any wine?” Standing up, Furina shook her head with a hint of apology on her face.
“I’m sorry~ Not yet…” “What a shame…
I’ve just collected three types of tea leaves.
Manager, would you like to see if you can exchange them for some Wish Coins?” The Elder in a Bamboo Hat reached into the cloth bag on his back and placed three rings on the counter.
Taking them, Furina put on her monocle and looked through the Storage Rings to inspect the tea leaves inside.
[A Storage Ring filled with Heavenly Dew Flower Tea Leaves] Quality: Rare Selling Price: 133 Wish Coins [A Storage Ring filled with Holy Fruit Tea Leaves] Quality: Rare Selling Price: 153 Wish Coins [A Storage Ring filled with Clear Water Wind Tea Leaves] Quality: Rare Selling Price: 121 Wish Coins Let’s round it off, I’m too lazy to do the exact math…
A little greed is fine, right?
“This one is 130, this one is 150, and this one is 120…
That’s 400 Wish Coins in total…” “Oh my~ It seems your tea farming skills have improved…
I remember the previous Manager only gave a combined price of barely over 200 for these three teas, but this time it’s 400…” “Is that so?
Then congratulations.
Perhaps next time you can buy my entire shop with the tea you grow~” Responding with a smile, Furina tucked away the three Storage Rings and handed the old man a bag of Wish Coins.
“Haha…
Sigh…
You’re quite a pleasant girl.
Alright…
I won’t stay any longer.
I hope there will be wine to drink next time I visit…
See you next time, girl.” “Mm-hmm~ Take care on your way…” Cradling the money pouch in his hands, the old man waved and tottered away on his cane.
After he left, Furina looked at the three Storage Rings filled with tea leaves in her hand, feeling a bit troubled.
“So much tea…
Who am I going to sell it to?” “What is tea?
Can you eat it?” Cissia leaned in, picked up a Storage Ring, sniffed it, and then stuffed it into her mouth to chew.
Crunch~ “Pah, pah, pah…
What is this thing?
Why does it taste so bad…
I don’t understand why it’s called tea leaves, this is clearly a ring no matter how you look at it!” Seeing the little snake holding the spat-out ring and examining it with a face full of doubt, Furina couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
She reached out and tapped Cissia on the head.
“This is a Storage Ring, the tea leaves are kept inside…
Alright, give it back to me.
Go to the warehouse and bring back a few shelves and small iron buckets, I’ll put the tea leaves on them.” “Okay…” Just like that, a shelf was added next to the recovery potions, with three iron buckets containing three different types of tea leaves.
“It smells quite fragrant.
How about we brew a cup and try it next time we have afternoon tea?” “Eh~ Okay, okay, I love afternoon tea the most.
Furina…
I want to eat baked pudding.” “What is baked pudding?
Is it a new product…?” “Yes, yes, yes, it looks so delicious~” “Alright, let’s go check it out tomorrow~ I want to try it too.” “Yay~!” The two of them, chatting and laughing, returned to their upstairs bedroom.
After a simple wash, they each lay down in their beds and fell into a sweet sleep.
All things considered, this kind of life wasn’t bad at all.
The next morning, the General Store did not open for business.
Furina had made an appointment with Victoria Housekeeping to come and help clean the store’s main hall, and there was a magic show in the afternoon.
Tap~ “Manager Furina, excuse me.” Lycaon’s voice rang out as he gently pushed the door open and stepped inside, followed by two adorable little maids.
“Your Housekeeping Package A has arrived…
Please leave the rest to us.” “Mm~ Okay…” Lycaon turned to the black-haired maid with the short hair, who looked completely unmotivated.
“Ellen…
This is working time.
Pull yourself together.” “Yes, yes, yes…
I get it, Boss~” The maid with matcha-colored twin tails, holding a broom with both hands, approached Furina.
“Um, uh…
Good morning, Manager~ I’m Corin.” “Hello there, little cutie…” “Um…
Yes, hello.” Meeting Furina’s gentle face, Corin’s cheeks flushed red as she hurriedly bowed in response.
The three divided their work clearly: Lycaon was responsible for wiping the shelves and the counter—the important areas where goods were displayed; Corin was responsible for cleaning the floor; and Ellen leaned against the doorframe with a mop, waiting for Corin to finish.
Holding a special cleaning wipe, Lycaon elegantly yet efficiently swept away the dust on the shelves.
When he reached the section where the tea leaves were displayed, he slowly came to a stop.
A distinct, refreshing fragrance wafted out, making him unconsciously twitch his nose.
“Is this…
tea?
What a unique aroma…
It seems the Manager has received some excellent stock again.” Nodding, Furina walked over in her little leather shoes, smiling as she reached out her hand.
“Would you like to buy some?
The flavors are all quite good, whether for work or for drinking yourself…” Stroking his chin, Lycaon nodded.
“Your offer is excellent, but we should prioritize our commission.
May we discuss the purchase of tea later, Manager Furina?” “Of course~” Before coming, Lycaon had instructed the other two that there were many valuable items in the shop, and they must be extremely careful while cleaning.
Therefore, Corin, the little cutie, was very cautious to avoid causing any trouble.
Sitting on the lounge chair behind the counter, Furina didn’t rush them at all.
After all, watching the cute little things clean was quite pleasing to the eye.
“Awoo~ Mm…
Hmph hmph!” In the lounge area on the other side, Cissia was sprawled on the sofa eating snacks with great contentment.
The tail behind her curled up, bringing a can of soda from the tea table to her hand.
A manga book was also spread open in front of her.
Ellen, who already lacked motivation, froze for a moment when she saw Cissia.
She unconsciously moved closer.
She flopped down onto the soft single-person sofa, casually hugging a nearby pillow as she looked up at the blonde Snakey.
It must be said that our Snakey’s senses are still very keen.
After noticing someone was watching her, she quickly sat up, glanced around, and met Ellen’s eyes.
Cissia was stunned for a moment, then blinked before handing over a bag of potato chips.
“Do you want some?” “Thanks…” Ellen accepted without hesitation, naturally taking the bag, tearing open the packaging, and eating.
Over here, after Lycaon had finished cleaning all the shelves and the counter, he clapped his hands and turned his head elegantly to look over, only to feel the sky fall down instantly.
“Ellen~!
What are you doing…
This is working time, how can you slack off in the client’s shop?” “Uh uh uh, I’ve been caught…
Sigh…
Boss, Corin still has a while before she finishes cleaning, it’s fine for me to rest for a bit~” Setting the pillow aside, Ellen dumped the rest of the potato chips into her mouth, stood up, and spoke casually with her cheeks stuffed.
Lycaon sighed helplessly.
He didn’t lecture her any further, but instead turned to apologize to Furina.
“Well, it’s fine, it’s fine.
As long as you can finish the job, I don’t have any time constraints.
If Ellen wants to rest in the shop for a while, she can~” “Thank you for your generosity, Manager Furina.
To show our apology, we will only charge half the commission fee this time…” “Oh well, alright, alright…” Seeing his serious expression, Furina didn’t want to say any more polite words.
She looked at Ellen and asked curiously.
“Do you go to the school nearby~?
I feel like I’ve seen you before.” “Ah…
um…
I guess so~” Scratching her cheek, Ellen spoke in a very lazy tone.
“Hmm, that’s great~ If you have time, you’re welcome to come to the shop and play anytime!
We sell a lot of snacks in the rest area here every day.
If Cissia eats them all alone, I’m really afraid she’ll become a little fat snake.” “What do you mean!
Furina~ I’m not fat, okay…” Hearing the protest of the blonde Silly Little Snake in her ear, Ellen blinked.
She first looked at Lycaon, and seeing that he had no objections, she simply agreed.
“Alright~ Then I’ll have to trouble you, Manager…” This white-haired cat girl is so nice~ From now on, I won’t have to go and crash on the infirmary beds during my lunch break…