AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 93
Episode 9-2
“It seems the time has come.”
“…Huh?”
“It’s been a week since Naoya-san consumed the meat of the Ancient Dragon and gained magical power. It appears that the magic has finally settled into your body.”
“…What?”
“What do you mean, Anna? Has something happened to Naoya?”
Both Chloe and I tilted our heads in confusion.
It was the 22nd day since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
I saw a glowing thread in the skeleton, and Chloe’s hair seemed to change to a light blue color, while her eyes appeared to turn gold or yellow.
I didn’t understand what it meant, but Anna-san seemed to know something.
“Naoya-san is from another world and hasn’t had any magical power within him until now. In this world, that’s something unheard of.”
“Yes, you mentioned that before. That’s why I couldn’t use magic. Then, when I ate Barbera Papa’s meat, I fainted, and that’s when the magical power was instilled in me.”
“…Papa?”
“Good morning, Barbera. You can relax for now because Papa isn’t here. Although you’d want to see him, he’d likely come in his dragon form.”
Barbera, who approached us, was the same as always.
With her usual expressionless face, silent demeanor, and vacant eyes, her red hair, horns, and the tail sticking out from the hem of her dress were all unchanged. The tip of her tail was still lit with some sort of fire.
“But isn’t this too much of a change? Your tail! You didn’t have a tail in your human form before! And now it’s even on fire!”
“…Normal?”
“Yeah, I guess it’s normal for a dragon to have a tail and horns! Aaaahhhh!”
I, Taniguchi Naoya, 24 years old, held my head in my hands and writhed in agony.
It made me remember the time when I first came to this world.
Those shocking days felt like a distant past, even though it hasn’t even been a month yet.
“Naoya-san, in this world, everything possesses magical power. The air, the living beings.”
But unlike back then, I have someone to explain things to me now.
Thank you, Anna-san. Also, the black mist? Aura? It’s gone now, which is a relief.
“However, there was no magical power within Naoya-san’s body. So, do you think the world seen through eyes without magic would look the same as the world seen through eyes with magic?”
“…What?”
“The hair of elves, a race skilled in magic and abundant in magical power, is famously used as an alchemical catalyst.”
“I-I see.”
“The body of a dragon, a fantastical species, is both physical and not physical.”
“You mentioned this when we started selling dragon meat. That if the magical power was restored, the tail would grow back.”
“Yes. The tail of a dragon, or rather the entire body, is essentially a manifestation of magical power.”
“So until now, you couldn’t see Barbera’s tail in her human form? And Chloe’s hair color appeared differently to you?”
“Yes. However, I can’t say for certain that the world you see and the world I see are the same.”
“Well, that’s true. It’s difficult to judge such things even in Japan, and there’s a field of study that deals with those concepts.”
“Is that so? If you’re curious, shall we exchange eyes? Or perhaps possess—”
“No, thank you! I’m not curious at all! Your undead ideas are too scary!”
I instinctively took a step back.
Anna-san chuckled softly.
Barbera tilted her head, and so did Chloe.
Apparently, it was Anna-san’s undead joke meant to surprise me. Not funny at all.
“Good morning, Manager, everyone!”
“Good morning, Naoya-san, Apothecary-sama, Holy Knight-sama, Barbera-chan. Is something the matter?”
I quickly turned around.
Colette.
She had brown, or perhaps chestnut-colored hair, with dog ears on her head.
Her tail was gently swaying.
No change. Good. Or maybe not good. How do her dog ears fit into her skull? And what about the tail? Is it growing from her tailbone? How does that work?
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I should be glad there aren’t any drastic changes. It’s nothing new. More importantly—”
I steeled myself and shifted my gaze.
Francine-san.
She had fine blonde hair and a slender body. Her cheeks were a bit sunken, but she looked healthier compared to Anna-san, the undead.
She had no tail, her ears were normal, and there were no horns. Her hair and eyes hadn’t changed color.
“Alright! Alright, alright, alright!”
“Um, is something wrong, Naoya-san?”
“It’s nothing, really. I’m just glad! Really glad!”
Francine-san was unchanged.
In other words, she was human. A proper member of the human race.
Unlike me, an otherworlder, Chloe the elf, Anna-san the undead, Barbera the dragon, and Colette the canine beastman, she was an ordinary human.
“I was worried about what would happen if the precious common sense person disappeared. The only normal humans are the peddler family and Francine-san. I’m really glad!”
Chloe, Anna-san, and Barbera all work well, but the majority in the nearest town and this area are humans.
Most of our customers are human too, so Francine-san and the peddler family can communicate more easily with them.
“If Francine-san had turned out to be something else, it would have been a problem. Compared to that, Chloe’s hair color changing or Barbera having a tail is no big deal. Right, right, haha.”
“Um, Holy Knight-sama, this is…”
“Hmm? Don’t worry about it, Francine! Naoya sometimes gets like this!”
“Um…”
“Preparation.”
“Yes, Barbera-chan, let’s get ready to open! I’m worried about the manager, though…”
“Please, Colette-chan. I’ll take care of things here.”
“Yes! Please take care of it, Apothecary-sama! Come on, Barbera-chan!”
Everyone started working, leaving me with Anna-san.
I’m grateful they work without needing directions, but—
“Naoya-san, should we investigate what other changes have occurred due to the magical power settling in? I’m very interested. If you’d like, we can do it thoroughly in the basement.”
“Is that really okay? I’m curious too, but…”
“It’s fine. I can use healing magic, and there are beds in the basement.”
“Here we go again. Something that’s not okay when you start with ‘I can use healing magic.’ I’ll pass.”
“I see… That’s unfortunate… It might have been the first and last chance to study what happens when a person without magical power gains it…”
“Anna-san? Did you say ‘last’ instead of ‘final’? Was that the translation ring’s fault?”
Anna-san averted her eyes.
From the shadows of her robe, black mist appeared.
For a moment, I thought I saw a child’s round eyes.
I rubbed my eyes.
It was the same black mist as always.
“Hmm? Hmm—?”
“Still, is it because you consumed a lot of Ancient Dragon meat or dragon meat? Or perhaps because you had the capacity for it? Your magical power seems comparable to that of an average mage.”
“What!? Then maybe! I can use magic too!”
“With this amount of magical power, it wouldn’t be strange if you could.”
“Ohhhhh! Thank you, Barbera Papa! Compared to being able to use magic, Chloe’s hair or Barbera’s tail or the glowing thread in the skeleton are nothing!”
I raised my fist in the air.
It was the 22nd day since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
I might be able to become a mage. Before turning 30. No, it’s not like that, I’m just busy with work and don’t have a girlfriend, and it’s not like I was going to become that kind of mage.