Meikyuu Toshi no Antique Shop

In front of the store I haven't visited in a long time, there was a black cat.

"Where the hell did you come from?

When I stroke your back, I narrow my eyes, and then I squeal, and I rub over.

He was an adorable cat.

As Anemone opened the door to enter the store, the cat soaked up.

Then he enters the store from the gap he's about to open.

"Ah here!

Anemone rushed after him.

◆

"I'm sorry. The cat's gone in."

I spoke up, but I didn't hear back.

If the product is vandalized, it's a problem, and Anemone looks for the cat.

The air in the store wanted to smoke somewhere.

It also smells very sweet.

As we proceeded to the back, there was a whitewash, bewildered by the unusual atmosphere of the store.

"Uh... Um...?

"Hey armored lady. How are you doing?"

There was a strange woman at the counter.

She has brown skin and her ears are slightly pointed, so she would be a dark elf.

She was puffing her water cigarettes and stroking them to soften the black cat sleeping on the table.

This is attacked by the suspicion that maybe I got into the wrong store.

"I thought this was definitely a granting tool store (antique shop)?

"Oh yeah. This is The Age of the Good Old Mages. It's an old tool shop that sells all the dust and mold."

Good.

Seems pretty sure it's in a store I know well.

But who the hell is this woman in front of me?

Where has that long-haired eyeglass young man gone, who is supposed to be at the counter?

"I know exactly who you are. Mr. Anemone L. Amberlight."

……

"Adonis' sister, the Knights leader who led the Expeditionary Army. And then, you know, like, an expeditionary crusade hero, right?

"Why did you..."

The woman in the dark elf is smiling, turning her eyes this way to see everything through.

I should be meeting her for the first time.

How do you know who you are that you have never even met?

"You're here to see our idiot apprentice, aren't you? I'm sorry, but he was away for a while."

"... what about you?

"I am the owner of this store. Eine Kleine, the master of Fujiwara."

Anemone was finally able to swallow the situation.

As long as it was done, I heard from Fujiwara that he had a husband in this store.

But somehow I imagined an elderly man, so I didn't think she would.

Anemone greets her again when she corrects her posture.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Anemone. Sorry for the delay in greeting you"

"Let's skip that kind of firmness.... Come here and have a seat. I was just doing my spare time, so guests are welcome."

"Really? Now if you'll excuse me."

I sat back on the couch at the office and workplace as prompted.

Stretch your spine nervously that something must not fail.

"Well, you don't look like that. I don't eat anything else." Eine laughs funny and hands me the glass. "Here, still drink this."

I'll take it as I'm told.

What's in the glass is an amber drink. I don't know, but I was nervous and thirsty, so thank you. I put my mouth on it.

"... so what did you like about our apprentice?

"Buh."

I choked unintentionally.

But it wasn't just because of the abrupt question.

It's hot as a burning throat.

What is this drink?

"Oh, could I have had a drink? I've got something expensive for you, and I'm sorry to hear that."

"Uh, hey... oh... sassa...?

What are you giving him to drink?

I didn't think I could suddenly recommend booze in my first meeting.

Speaking of which, I recall that Fujiwara, when talking about this man, had a face that crushed the bitter bug and called him 'the kind of person who painted a picture of a bystander'.

This may indeed be true.

"Um... Fujiwara... are you out?

"Yeah. That idiot went to the dungeon."

"... to? Is that guy in the dungeon?

"If I don't get to what, I'll be right back. I used to go by like every day when I was this little girl."

Anemone was raising her voice of surprise.

Even Fujiwara today was very hard to believe that he had been exploring at an early age, even though he was unlikely to think of being in a dungeon.

Wasn't he a sprouts boy?

"I was fucking busy back then but there was still some cuteness...... But now it's all about the graphics, and the second thing is," Please work, "" Please clean up the mess, "" Please refrain from drinking, "" Please clean up what you've taken off, "and" Let's not waste it "... oh, I won't do that if I go busy anymore"

Eine is shaking her head.

Anemone imagined Fujiwara as a child.

With those glasses, that boy with long hair - he must have been cute.

"What the hell did Anemone like about him?

"Ha... huh?

"Face? Are you smart? Well, I guess not."

"Ah... no... not... what did Mr. Fujiwara go to the dungeon to do?

Eine threw a hell of a question at us like intrigue, so I forcefully changed the subject.

But of course, it wasn't a lie to be concerned about his whereabouts.

"You know what caused the Hundred Nights?

Anemone nods.

I have heard from the union (guild).

They say all the phenomena that the dead undead in the dungeons are caused by the granting tool 'Orgol of the Corpse'.

But even the Hundred Ghost Hunt carried out a search, but they ended up leaving everything to their successors without finding it.

"After that, he must be in on it. As an appraiser analyzing grant tools."

……

Anemone had an idea.

I remember seeing someone similar to Fujiwara on the fourteenth basement floor.

Maybe that was him.

"... why didn't you speak to me"

If you'd told me, I would have followed you forcefully. You could have done anything with an escort.

But he didn't.

I thought it would be an extra burden.

Usually he was a dull guy, but he was a distraction at the heart of it.

The reason he went to the dungeon was probably also because he tried to help Anemone.

... then I won't say anything.

Anemone thought.

I'll keep my mouth shut until then, when this matter will come out of his own mouth.

Instead, I will carve this grace into my chest.

Whatever happens, I'll never forget it.

And even if it takes a lifetime, let's reward him.

"And I wonder what... He wasn't really the type to go and do that. I don't care about this city, I don't know what happens to others. This way. He thinks he can do the best he can."

That's what Eine says in a sigh.

It was also like a mother upset with my child, who at some point began to show a side she didn't know.

"He's very mean, but I think he's very sweet."

"... right," Eine nodded. "Then you've grown that blur, too. I met all kinds of guests, and I met Anemone."

He had a smile on his mouth that seemed somewhere happy and somewhere lonely.

"Hey Anemone. Are you free now?

That's what Eine asks me as she rises from her chair.

"Yeah, I don't have any business."

"Then you'll stick with a little old story. I wanted to talk to him about it when he got here."

Let me ask you something.

I'm interested in what kind of child Fujiwara was.

How the hell could he have explored the dungeon?

What did he seek to become an explorer in the first place, and what prompted him to become an appraiser by apprenticing Eine?

"Before we do that, shall we prepare some drinks and sweets?"

When Eine stood up saying so, she went on like this, remembering a joke she'd kept.

"Right. How about cafe ole and biscuits, for example?

"I love it," Anemone said, laughing unexpectedly and painfully.

Probably everything is foreseen for Eine.

Then I said, "I'll help you" and it followed.

◆

"Alchemist's (Alchemist's) Flue Pipe (Pipe) (Good)"

It's a master's favorite, smoking appliance for smoking water tobacco.

It's not just a hobby, it's something that pharmacists, alchemists, etc. use to explore, and if you throw magic medicine in a vitreous container (flask), you can get it to your surroundings without diminishing its effect.

Incidentally, the scent that my master often smokes in the store (Freiber) is apples. They say this sweet smell has the effect of relieving others of tension and letting the conversation bounce.

Well, of course, in her case, she's just smoking because she wants to.