AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 144
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Maria : Mebius World Online
Ouren/Yuuzen : I Was a Small Fish
Episode 12-1
This is my 34th day as the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
I had left the store in the care of Barbera, Colette, Francine-san, and the Peddler-san family, and was heading toward the nearest town.
To be exact, though, my destination wasn’t… the nearest town.
“Kufufu, I’m pumped up! Just wait to see the amazing feats of Chloe, the holy knight!”
“This is worrying. When Chloe’s all fired up, it only ever means trouble. We’re not going to run into monsters like goblins or orcs, are we?”
“G-Goblins and orcs!? C-Could it be that Naoya plans to have me attacked by such monsters, overflowing with desire, just so he can watch me… d-do things!?”
“What kind of pervert are you, and how did you even get that idea? And why does it have to be me controlling the monsters? Yeah, I might always be giving orders to dragons, lich, skeletons, and ghosts, but…”
“Rest assured, Naoya-san. Goblins and orcs won’t be appearing.”
“Oh, good. I’m counting on you, Anna-san. I’m really no good in a fight, so I’m relying on you here.”
Joining me were Chloe and Anna-san. And for some reason, there was someone fully armored in full plate mail. Ah, there was a cloak covering the armor—a surcoat, I think?—and through a gap, I could see a bit of black mist. It seemed a ghost had come along sneakily too, so that made two.
“Is this really okay, though? I’m counting on you, Anna-san.”
“There’s no need to worry, Naoya-san. We won’t be going into the town, so it’s all right. Right, everyone?”
At Anna-san’s cue, the person in full armor rattled, as if affirming it with the sound of their armor and what was inside.
I was still anxious.
I looked at the person, and the mohawk on their helmet nodded. It was as if they were saying, “Don’t worry.”
The person inside the full plate mail with the hidden face was actually the Skeleton Captain. His face wasn’t visible today because he was wearing a menpo, a face guard. Not that his face is ever visible, being a skeleton and all.
“Ah! I see it, Naoya!”
Chloe, who was leading, suddenly pointed forward.
It had been just under an hour since we left the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
Chloe was pointing in a direction away from the nearest town.
Ahead of us, close to town yet unused as farmland, was an empty grassland.
“Is it really okay to have something like that so close to both the town and the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store?”
Looking closer, I noticed piles of stones scattered around the grassland. Probably ruins of some kind.
“Don’t worry, Naoya! The knight order sometimes takes care of it for training!”
“Huh, I see. Wait, what about adventurers? Don’t they come to take it down?”
“Adventurers don’t seem to find it popular. They say, ‘Sure, it’s close to town, but it doesn’t make us much money.’”
“Ah, so it’s like that. Adventurers can be pretty particular.”
“Also, well… this place is…”
“This is the remains of the ‘Cursed Town’! Adventurers avoid it because they consider it bad luck!”
“Ah, Anna-san’s… Are you all right, Anna-san? This place must hold some difficult memories.”
“Thank you for your concern. But I’m fine.”
Anna-san gave a gentle smile.
She didn’t seem to be forcing herself.
“Hey, Naoya! I see it!”
Up ahead, Chloe pointed with renewed enthusiasm.
Ahead of us, past the waist-high grass and the rubble of collapsed buildings, there was a hole in the ground.
No, it was hard to tell with the grass and dirt around it, but the area around the hole was decorated with stones.
“Is this… a stone burial chamber? …Could it be?”
Our destination today wasn’t… the nearest town.
“Hm? What’s up, Naoya? You’re the one who said you wanted to come here, right?”
“There’s no need to worry, Naoya-san. Chloe-san is a holy knight, and the captain is strong. Plus, I’m here too.”
Even as they encouraged me, my feet wouldn’t budge.
Even when the fully-armored Skeleton Captain placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, I couldn’t move.
Even with the ghost looking up at me, I remained frozen.
“Come on, Naoya! Let’s go! To the dungeon… the Catacombs of the Old City Underground Tomb!”
Today’s destination wasn’t just near the nearest town; it was the dungeon closest to the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
“When I heard it was the remains of the old city, I thought it’d be safe… But a stone burial site? An underground tomb? Uh, Chloe, Anna-san, is there any other dungeon nearby?”
“There is a forest a day’s walk from here, but… it wouldn’t serve Naoya-san’s purpose, I’d imagine.”
“Indeed, that one’s more of an outdoor march than an actual dungeon!”
The reason I wanted to visit a dungeon was to research what might sell well to adventurers. It’s like a market survey, if you will.
Field-type dungeons, where you just roam around outside, wouldn’t give me the insight I needed.
So…
“Of all things, it had to be a tomb-type dungeon…”
But I have to go.
To find new items to sell, beyond just prepared foods, fresh produce, and seasonings.
Into a dark, damp, possibly haunted tomb-type dungeon.
“Hah! Could it be, Naoya, that you’re thinking, ‘There’s no escape here,’ and plan to corner me, taking advantage of me in this dungeon!? Fine, kill me if you must!”
“The one thinking ‘no escape’ here should be me, don’t you think? I can’t fight, you know! Besides, a tomb-type dungeon… So, the monsters here would likely be…”
“Now that you mention it, Naoya-san, you did once tell me not to let ghosts or skeletons get too close at night. Could it be…”
“Oh, not at all, Anna-san. No problem whatsoever! I even do night patrols now and then, you know? And look, I’m quite friendly with the Captain and the ghost here!”
I tapped the fully-armored Skeleton Captain lightly. It made a nice, metallic clank, with a faint rattling of bones.
Then, I glanced to the side and saw that the Captain had removed his helmet, leaning close. From his empty eye sockets, the ghost gave a little “hello.”
“Gyaaaaah!”
“What’s wrong, Naoya? A monster?”
“Calm down, Naoya-san! Captain, please, don’t tease him like that!”
“My heart… It’s bad for my heart… I see them all the time, and yet…”
I dropped to my hands and knees.
The laughing Captain and the ghost got a mild scolding from Anna-san. I guess they’ve grown comfortable around me, showing a bit of playfulness. It’s already my 34th day working with them. I truly appreciate all their help.
“Yeah, I mean, I see skeletons and ghosts all the time. And, Anna-san here, she’s an undead too. This is nothing new… nothing at all.”
I collected myself and looked up.
Three skeletons emerged from the entrance to the stone burial site, the Catacombs of the Old City Underground Tomb. They rattled as they walked, with a faint, misty presence that seemed to be a ghost swirling around them.
“Oh, thank you for your hard—”
It hit me mid-sentence.
Accompanying us were only the Skeleton Captain and the ghost. Both were right beside me.
Moreover, these ghosts were faint, and the skeletons wore battered, round armor with rusty, reddish-brown swords.
Wait, don’t tell me these are…
“Step back, Naoya! I, Chloe, the holy knight, shall cut them down with a single stroke!”
“Wait, Chloe-san! As usual, let me handle the first attack.”
“We haven’t worked together before, and they’re… monsters! Skeletons and ghosts that attack us!”
On my 34th day as manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store branch, my market research—this hands-on survey to figure out what adventurers might need—looked set to be a challenge.
Well, it’s a dungeon. And it’s a tomb-type dungeon, at that. So of course the monsters would be undead. Naturally. The kind that attacks us. Please, no zombies or other decomposing creatures… please.
“I want to go back. Back to Japan. This otherworldly stuff is just too much. But wait… my sales have been going up; everyone’s starting to get excited. I can do this. I can. Stay positive, stay positive…”
My lament was drowned out by the sounds of battle.
The fight ended swiftly, in a single stroke.
As expected of Anna-san, the Queen of the Dead.
And Chloe, being a holy knight, seems to be a perfect match for fighting the undead.