“The door isn’t locked…
please come in~”
As soon as Furina spoke, the wooden door of the General Store began to Bloom with a faint blue halo.
The knocking stopped, the door opened, and an old man wearing a bamboo hat walked in with a hunched back.
“Ho ho ho~ The General Store is finally open…
Hmm?
Little girl, are you the shopkeeper?”
“Yes, that’s right.
Are you a regular customer of the General Store?”
“That’s right…
The tea leaves and herbs for the store were all sourced from me.”
The old man leaned on his cane and came to the counter, acting quite familiar.
He looked around and nodded, seemingly getting a rough idea of the place.
“It seems the shop hasn’t been open for long~ There aren’t many things for sale…
May I ask, do you have any alcohol?”
Standing up, Furina shook her head with a slightly apologetic look on her face.
“Sorry~ Not yet…”
“That’s a real pity…
I’ve just harvested three types of tea leaves.
Shopkeeper, see if you can exchange them for some Hydro coins.”
The old man in the bamboo hat reached into the cloth bag on his back, took out three rings, and placed them on the counter.
Taking them, Furina put on a monocle and inspected the tea leaves inside the storage rings.
[A storage ring filled with Heavenly Dew Flower tea leaves] Quality: Rare.
Price: 133 Hydro coins.
[A storage ring filled with Holy Fruit tea leaves] Quality: Rare.
Price: 153 Hydro coins.
[A storage ring filled with Clear Water Wind tea leaves] Quality: Rare.
Price: 121 Hydro coins.
I’ll round it off; I’m too lazy to do the math…
Being a little greedy is fine, right~
“This one 130, this one 150, this one 120…
That’s 400 Hydro coins in total…”
“Oh my~ It seems my tea-growing skills have improved…
I remember the previous shopkeeper’s combined price for these three teas barely exceeded two hundred.
This time it’s four hundred…”
“Is that so?
Well, congratulations to you.
Maybe next time you come, you’ll be able to buy my entire shop with the tea leaves you’ve grown~”
Responding with a smile, Furina put away the three storage rings and handed a bag of Hydro coins to the other party.
“Haha…
Hey~ You’re quite a likable kid.
Alright…
I won’t stay long.
I hope there will be alcohol when I come next time~ See you next time, kid.”
“Mm-hmm~ Take care…”
Clutching the money bag, the old man waved his hand and left, tottering on his cane.
After the man left, Furina looked at the three storage rings filled with tea leaves in her hand, feeling a bit troubled.
“So many tea leaves…
Who should I sell them to~”
“What are tea leaves?
Can you eat them…”
Cissia came over, picked up a storage ring, sniffed it, and then stuffed it into her mouth and chewed on it.
Crunch~
“Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey…
What is this?
Why is it so disgusting…
I don’t understand why it’s called tea leaves; it looks like a ring no matter how you look at it~”
Watching the little silly snake hold up the spat-out ring and inspect it with a puzzled expression, Furina couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
She reached out and tapped Cissia on the head.
“This is a storage ring; the tea leaves are inside…
Alright, give it back to me.
Go to the warehouse and get a few shelves and small iron buckets; I’m going to display the tea leaves.”
“Okay…”
Just like that, a shelf was added next to the recovery potions, and three iron buckets were filled with the three types of tea leaves.
“It smells quite fragrant.
How about we brew a cup and try it during afternoon tea another day?”
“Eh~ Yes, yes, yes, I love afternoon tea the most.
Furina…
I want to eat baked pudding.”
“What is baked pudding?
A new product…”
“Yes, yes, yes, it looks super delicious~”
“Alright, let’s go check it out tomorrow~ I want to try it too.”
“Yay~!”
The two of them returned to the upstairs bedroom, chatting and laughing.
After a simple wash, they both lay down in their beds and slept soundly.
It had to be said, this kind of life wasn’t bad at all.
The next morning, the General Store did not open.
Store Manager Furina had arranged for Victoria Housekeeping to come over and help clean the store’s main hall, as there was a magic performance in the afternoon.
Patta~
“Store Manager Furina, excuse the intrusion—”
Lycaon’s voice rang out, and then he gently pushed the door open and entered, followed by two cute little maids.
“The Housekeeping Package A you ordered has arrived…
Please feel free to leave it to us.”
“Mm~ Good…”
Lycaon turned his head and spoke to the black-short-haired maid who looked unmotivated.
“Ellen…
It’s work time now, cheer up.”
“Yes, yes, yes…
I understand, Boss~”
The matcha-colored twin-tailed maid next to him held a broom in both hands and came to Store Manager Furina’s side.
“Th-that…
Good morning, Shopkeeper~ I am Corin.”
“Hello there~ Little cutie…”
“Mm…
Good morning.”
Facing Store Manager Furina’s gentle little face, Corin blushed and hurriedly bowed in response.
The three divided the work clearly.
Lycaon was responsible for wiping the shelves and the counter, the important places where goods were placed.
Corin was responsible for sweeping the floor, and Ellen held a mop and leaned against the door frame, waiting for Corin to finish.
Holding a special cleaning tissue, Lycaon wiped away the dust on the shelves with elegance and efficiency.
When he came to the side where the tea leaves were placed, he slowly stopped.
A quite unique fragrance wafted out, making him twitch his nose involuntarily.
“This is…
tea leaves?
What a unique aroma…
It seems the shopkeeper has received good goods again.”
Nodding, Store Manager Furina walked over in her little leather shoes and reached out with a smile.
“Would you like to buy some~ The taste is quite good, whether it’s for work or for drinking yourself…”
Rubbing his chin, Lycaon nodded.
“Your suggestion is excellent, but let’s prioritize the commission first.
Can we discuss purchasing tea leaves later, Store Manager Furina?”
“Of course~.”
Before coming, Lycaon had instructed the two that there were many valuable items in the store, so they must be careful when cleaning.
Therefore, to avoid causing trouble, the little cutie Corin was very careful.
Sitting on the recliner behind the counter, Store Manager Furina didn’t urge them on.
Watching cute things clean up was quite pleasing to the eye.
“Awoo~ Mmm…
Hmph-hmph—”
In the rest area on the other side, Cissia, who was lying on the sofa eating snacks, was very comfortable.
Her tail curled up a can of soda from the tea table and brought it to her hand.
She also had a manga spread out in front of her.
Ellen, who was already unmotivated, was stunned for a moment when she saw Cissia.
She subconsciously moved over.
She plopped down on the soft single sofa, grabbed a pillow from the side, and looked up at the blonde snake.
It must be said that our silly snake has very sharp senses.
After noticing someone watching her, she quickly sat up, looked around, and made eye contact with Ellen.
Cissia was stunned for a moment, blinked, and then handed over a bag of potato chips.
“Do you want to eat some?”
“Thanks…”
Ellen wasn’t one to refuse, so she took it naturally, opened the package, and started eating.
On this side, when Lycaon finished cleaning all the shelves and the counter, clapped her hands, and turned around elegantly, she instantly felt like the sky had collapsed.
“Ellen~!
What are you doing…
It’s work time now; how can you slack off in the client’s shop?”
“Uh, uh, uh, I’ve been caught…
Hey~ Boss, it’ll be a while before Corin finishes cleaning; it’s nothing if I rest for a bit~”
Putting the pillow aside, Ellen poured all the chips into her mouth, stood up, and said casually with her mouth puffed out while eating.
Lycaon sighed helplessly.
He didn’t lecture him again, but turned to apologize to Store Manager Furina.
“Well~ It’s fine, it’s fine.
As long as you can finish the work, it’s okay.
I don’t have any time limits.
If Ellen wants to rest in the shop, he can rest for a while~”
“Thank you for your tolerance, Store Manager Furina.
As an apology, we will only charge half the commission fee this time…”
“Oh my~ Alright, alright…”
Seeing the serious look on his face, Store Manager Furina didn’t want to say any more polite words.
She looked at Ellen and asked curiously.
“Do you go to school nearby~ I think I’ve seen you before.”
“Ah…
um…
I suppose so~”
Scratching his cheek, Ellen said in a very lazy tone.
“Mm, that’s great~ If you have time, you are welcome to come to the shop and hang out anytime~ The rest area here sells a lot of snacks every day.
If Cissia eats them all by herself, I’m really afraid she’ll become a little fat snake.”
“What do you mean!
Store Manager Furina~ I’m not fat, okay…”
The blonde little silly snake’s protest rang in his ears.
Ellen blinked, looked at Lycaon first, and seeing that he had no objections, simply agreed.
“Okay~ Then I’ll trouble you, Shopkeeper…”
This White-haired Cat Girl is a very nice person~ In the future, I won’t have to go to the infirmary bed to nap during lunch breaks…
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”