Episode 4
Come to think of it, we didn’t really need to walk. With Dominique, a skilled individual in this universe, by my side, there was no need.
“Dominique.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know how to use teleportation magic?”
He looked at me with a wary expression for some reason, then nodded reluctantly.
I looked up at his hair and spoke.
“We’re going to the stationery store building in the Fabric Empire, where we are.”
To be precise, it was the building that would become our stationery store.
“Stationery store? Sure, then give me the coordinates.”
I whispered the coordinates to Dominique.
The coordinates were in the estate of the former Duchess, an old and worn-out building left to Mel Denis by her mother.
“Now close your eyes.”
I tightly closed my eyes.
As Bill’s voice filled the air, the sensation of wind swirling around me suddenly stopped. With a pleasant feeling, I heard Dominique’s voice in my ears.
“We’ve arrived.”
When I opened my eyes, I saw the Maltend Academy in front of me.
Maltend Academy was a prestigious place where nobles and aristocrats graduated, as well as the top academy in the empire that also nurtured exceptional common talents. Perhaps that’s why the academy looked magnificent, adorned with lavish gold decorations, like a castle.
“Is this the place?”
Dominique said as he gazed at the splendid tower and elegant main gate made of ivory.
“It is.”
Looking satisfied, Dominique nodded his head as if he were saying, “It’s good enough for someone like me.”
“It lacks a bit of grandeur, but it’ll do for accommodating me.”
“…?”
What is he talking about? Dominique immediately walked towards the closed gate of the academy.
Instead of following him, I decided to speak to him quietly from behind.
“You know, Dominique?”
“Mel, what should we do instead of going into the building where we’ll be living in the future?”
I looked at Dominique, puzzled.
“Not there.”
Dominique’s gaze fixed on me.
“There’s no other building besides this one.”
“Why not? There’s another building over there, Dominique.”
I pointed my finger at a very humble and old building about five blocks away from the academy.
Dominique’s gaze, now focused on the building, would undoubtedly have captured it accurately.
“That’s where we’ll be living.”
Near the magnificent academy. A two-story stone building that marred the aesthetics of the distinguished academy. It looked like an old, decrepit building covered in moss, giving the impression that it could collapse at any moment.
I thought as I urged him to walk in that direction.
“Hmm… I didn’t know it would be this dilapidated. Well, it can’t be helped; this is all my mother left behind.”
After the death of Mel Denis’s mother, who was the last daughter of the Kinowa Marquis and the former marchioness, her title was temporarily assigned to the imperial family. Her fortune became the property of the Vaveloa Marquis, but there was one thing her mother left behind for her, and that was this building.
“Clean it up and make repairs, and it’ll be perfect for a stationery store.”
Without walking along, I stopped and spoke to Dominique, who was following me.
“Probably use the first floor as a stationery store and the second floor as a residence. What do you think, Dominique?”
Dominique, frozen, looked like a warrior who had just seen the corpse of a fallen comrade.
“Living in this shabby room, eating and sleeping?”
“Yeah, I have plans.”
After Dominique muttered that it was a scam contract, I raised my fist and pounded my chest.
“I’ve been scammed. This is a scam contract.”
Even though he had the innocent appearance of a young boy, it didn’t seem threatening at all.
While pounding my chest with my fist, Dominique let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping.
“Scammers always say that… Well, this time, it’s okay. I’m sure it’ll be a huge success, something like that.”
“Exactly! It’s going to be okay this time! I’m going to hit the jackpot! Now, let’s go inside!”
Unfortunately, Dominique was already tied to me.
I tapped his shoulder as he sighed and followed him.
“I’ll treat you well if things go well later!”
Whether he knew my thoughts or not, Dominique, who followed me, swallowed his sighs.
I opened the creaking door of the abandoned building.
Dust had already piled up on the first floor. If it was like this on the first floor, I didn’t even want to see the second floor.
It was probably a place where local delinquent boys came for a ghost experience.
“This place has been completely neglected.”
I whispered to Dominique, who was silently shocked from behind.
“Dominique, it’s not here.”
Dominique’s gaze was fixed on me.
“…There’s no other building here.”
“Why isn’t there? Look, there’s another building over there, Dominique.”
I pointed to a very modest, old building about five blocks away from the academy.
Although it was dark and my face couldn’t be seen clearly, Dominique looked at me as if he could see all of my expressions, nodding his head slightly.
“… What expression are you making?”
Dominique, rubbing the back of his neck, looked down with a somewhat shy expression.
“That expression means you’re cute.”
“… What expression?”
Dominique scratched his head, looking down with embarrassment.
“Cute, I said.”
Did he notice? Dominique’s sharp eyes slowly, cautiously moved to where I had pointed.
His keen eyes must have definitely caught the building.
“That’s where we’re going to live.”
Near the magnificent academy. A two-story stone building that marred the aesthetics of the distinguished academy. It looked like an old, decrepit building covered in moss, giving the impression that it could collapse at any moment.
I glanced at Dominique, who was still staring at the building in disbelief.
“We’re going to live there.”
Although I was an orphan before my possession and had never experienced the warmth of a real family, Mel Denis had also never experienced the true love of a family. Perhaps that’s why Dominique, who had lived much longer than me, felt like a cute little brother.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“What look?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Dominique lowered his eyes, acting shyly.
“That look means you’re cute.”
“Got it.”
I grinned, and as if he understood, Dominique nodded his head slightly.
“Alright, let’s talk about how to make this stationery store.”
At Dominique’s serious words, I vigorously nodded my head.
With a crackling sound, a large light bulb appeared in Dominique’s hand.
As the sparkling light appeared in the dark, the view became clear.
“Great! First, I want a big sign outside so that the kids can see it.”
“And?”
“I want it to always be an ‘open door,’ welcoming anyone, whether commoners or nobles.”
“An open door, huh?”
“Since there’s a garden in front, I want that to be beautifully decorated too.”
As I spoke to Dominique, I recalled my past self.
A child without a home, unable to attend school without a scholarship, an orphan like me
.
The reason I could grow into a strong adult was because there were adults who supported me in my childhood.
The teacher who paid for my math field trip instead, the director of the orphanage who corrected me when I was about to go astray from being teased by friends, and…
The owner of the stationery store in front of my school, Mr. and Mrs. Kim.
They remembered the names of all the children and called them one by one. Their voices sounded gentle in my ears.
“Want to eat this, sweetheart?”
“It’s fascinating. My tongue turned blue!”
“Still, don’t eat too much. It’s not good for your health.”
Recalling my childhood, I smiled warmly.
‘I hope that, like my past self, all the children who visit this stationery store will grow up happily with an innocent heart.’
What emotions do the children in this world have, and how are they growing up?
While quietly daydreaming, Dominique nodded his head.
I was filled with a joyful heart and, with Dominique, began planning the remodeling of the stationery store.
Even though we were just making plans, it became enjoyable. I felt excited and elated, as if I were getting closer to achieving my simple dream.
As the long night passed and dawn began to break, I couldn’t fall asleep until the morning.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧
