After Starting a Thread as a Reincarnated in an Unknown Otome Game, I Got Caught in a Battlefield of Beauties - Chapter 06: The Overpriced Bomb Salesman and the Mysterious Clerk

Chapter 06: The Overpriced Bomb Salesman and the Mysterious Clerk

“—Does anyone need a bomb that can easily destroy 10-meter rocks? Only 5000 Mani each! With these, you can defeat most monsters!”

The day after my engagement with Leticia was set, I found myself in a corner of the academy, standing in front of a box filled with bombs, shouting to start selling them. However…

“What’s with those black things…”

“Bombs…? There’s no way something that small could be so powerful…”

“What is he trying to do…?”

“Who knows? He must be crazy.”

Even in an academy, a nesting ground for the wildly extravagant nobles, no one seemed interested in buying something so suspicious.

“Hmm… that sounds interesting. But… is the power you mentioned real?”

Unless the first buyer was a great noble.

Leticia’s interest caused a stir among the other students. 

I had previously begged Leticia, and now I responded loudly enough for everyone around to hear.

“Of course! Why not try it out? I’ve set up a target for intermediate magic spells over there, please throw it at that.”

“And how do I use it?”

“Just channel magic into the bomb and throw it at the target. It will explode on impact.”

“Hmm… that sounds easy.”

With that, Leticia channeled magic into the bomb and casually tossed it toward the target. As the bomb flew, all eyes followed it, drawn to the target.

—Boooom!

When the bomb hit the target, it exploded with a loud bang and flames shot up. The explosion sent dirt flying, covering the target with a cloud of dust. 

Let’s see…! If my guess is right, the target should be destroyed—Yes!

As the dust settled and the shattered remains of the target scattered around, I let out a cheer inside. At the same time, a murmur ran through the students who were watching the demonstration.

“No way…! The target for intermediate magic spells is completely destroyed!”

“A small thing like that has more power than our magic…!?”

“That’s really amazing…”

It looks like I just need one more push… Alright, here goes the final push!

Heh heh… I’m going to make your wallets empty!

“Dear customer, how was it?”

“It’s good… I’ll take ten.”

Huh? Wasn’t it supposed to be just one?

I thought for a moment… but well, if she’s buying, I might as well not think too much about it and just exchange the money and bombs.

“Thank you for your purchase!”

“Yes, I’ll buy again.”

But it didn’t end with those words… After I bowed, Leticia whispered in my ear, “Keep it up, Alto.” 

Surprised, I looked at Leticia, who was smiling mischievously in a way no one else could see, and then contentedly walked back to the school building.

As she left, a crowd of students started gathering around me.

“I’ll buy one!”

“I’ll take two!”

“I want one too! I’ll send this to my parents!”

“I’ll take five!”

“Three for me, please…”

Leticia… what did you want to achieve?

Well, anyway—Heh, they all fell for it… these fools.

I pushed aside my questions in an instant and chuckled to myself as I collected the money being handed to me.

I might have been showing it on my face, but that’s understandable.

Actually, these bombs… they cost nothing to make and are surprisingly easy to produce.

If someone taught you how, you could probably learn in about half an hour. So, yeah… it’s a total rip-off.

Ahh, I’m going to make a fortune!

I promised myself that I would return the money to only Leticia later, and with an excited heart, I continued to serve the customers.

The sales went so well that students ignored the start of classes to line up, and I ended up having to deal with the student council for two days in a row.

As a punishment, I was banned from selling bombs on campus. 

Well, at least I made 2.1 million Mani, so it’s all good.

“Is this the place…?”

After being made to write about ten pages of reflection, I came to the location a forum member who had completed all game endings had told me to buy a spirit stone, but the place looked incredibly shabby. It looked like it might collapse if you pushed it a bit.

“Wait, is this really the place?”

Despite my doubts, the address on my smartphone map app was definitely here, and it matched exactly with the address written in the forum thread.

“Guess it’s right then…? Well, I’ll just go in and see.”

I stepped into the almost crumbling wooden building. Inside, contrary to its exterior, was a beautifully clean room filled with a large array of spirit stones of various sizes.

“What kind of setup is this?”

“—A customer…?”

As I expressed my confusion about the interior, a young man, apparently a clerk, suddenly appeared beside me. 

He greeted me with a gentle smile.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a customer. What are you here to buy?”

“I need, uh, 21 spirit stones, each costing 100,000 Mani…”

As I spoke, the young man snapped his fingers, and from a pile of numerous spirit stones, 21 stones floated up on their own. 

Not only that, but suddenly, a chair and a desk appeared in front of me, with the spirit stones laid out on the desk.

“If one costs 100,000 Mani, this would be it. I’m not sure why you need 21, but this one is the best in that price range.”

“Uh, okay…”

“Ah, just pay 1 million Mani, and use the rest for living expenses. That money is valuable for someone living in debt, right?”

“Uh, what, eh…?”

“See you again then.”

With the clerk’s words, I found myself outside the shop before I knew it.

Not only that, but the spirit stones were somehow packed in a bag, and a million Mani was missing from my wallet. I’m completely confused.

“Could that guy really be some kind of saint or something?”

This makes me, who overcharged for bombs, look even worse. Well, I need the money and can’t afford to care about appearances, so it’s okay, right?

“…Maybe I should ask the forum people about this.”

Feeling unusually out of sorts and wanting to uncover the true identity of this odd shopkeeper, I opened the forum, trying to shake off this strange feeling of defeat.

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