Episode 75

I snapped back to my senses, realizing I had been standing there in a daze.

“Ah, hello! I’m Belze!”

I hurriedly bowed, greeting them with a deep, polite bow.

The noblewomen chuckled softly at my formality.

“Well, nice to meet you. So, you’re also a saint candidate like Diana?”

“You must have other talents aside from healing, I suppose.”

They were clearly more refined in how they spoke, gently referencing the rumors they’d heard about me. It was far more pleasant than the condescending remarks I’d endured from the Marquis and the headmistress.

“Child, would you show us what you gave to Madam?”

One of the women asked.

“Of course! This way, please!”

I quickly led the ladies behind the booth, where I demonstrated the product just as I had done for Madam Cloud. After showing them how to use the hair mist and handing it to them discreetly, I was soon rewarded with a hefty 100 talents.

“Mmm~ the scent is lovely!”

“So, we just wait for an hour now?”

After completing the smooth transaction, I held back my excitement and courteously saw them off from the booth.

However, one of the women’s eyes landed on another item.

“And what’s this?”

“Universal… elixir?”

They hadn’t noticed it before, but now their attention turned to Grandpa Gordon’s potions.

“Ahem! Ladies, let me explain,” Grandpa began, his voice lowering in a theatrical way as he took on a more serious tone.

“One sip of this elixir will restore your energy, clear your mind, and rejuvenate your spirit…”

Watching him try to sound sophisticated in front of the noblewomen, I figured it was a good time to offer a freebie or two to build some customer loyalty. After all, loyal customers came from acts of generosity.

Just as I was about to hand them a few recovery potions, Madam Cloud suddenly spoke up.

“Buy some of those as well.”

“Excuse me? We’ve already spent quite a lot…”

“They’re effective. You think just having good skin is enough? If you want to live younger, you need vitality! Do you think I feel this refreshed today by chance? It’s all thanks to these products!”

“Really?!”

Madam Cloud, to my surprise, had started promoting the elixirs for me, and the women immediately opened their purses again.

“Child, give me one bottle.”

“I’ll take two!”

“Yes, right away…!”

But then, Madam clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“One or two bottles? After I introduced you, shouldn’t you be buying at least ten?”

The women rolled their eyes but couldn’t argue with her persistence.

“Goodness, I’ve spent all my money here today! Fine, Madam.”

“Child, give them ten bottles each.”

“Yes, yes!”

My head spun from Madam Cloud’s assertive sales pitch, and after packing ten bottles for each of the ladies, I was left holding a whopping 120 talents.

“Now that we’ve made our purchases, let’s leave.”

Having successfully made the women spend extravagantly, Madam Cloud turned to walk away without a second thought.

“Madam! Wait a moment!”

I hurried after her, grabbing a few bottles as quickly as I could. Unfortunately, with my small hands, I could only carry four.

I rushed to catch up to her, offering the bottles with both hands.

“Here…!”

“What is this?”

She asked, looking down at the bottles.

“It’s my token of appreciation for you, Madam!”

Madam silently observed the recovery potions I handed her for a while. I stood there, nervously fidgeting under her gaze, and spoke softly.

“I-I have small hands, so this is all I could bring… I wanted to give you more, but if you could wait for a moment, I can bring the rest…”

“It’s fine.”

She stopped me before I could turn around, taking the four bottles from my hands.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“You know how to do business.”

With that, she gave me a faint smile—not a mocking one, but a warm, genuine smile.

As I stood there in a daze, staring at her unexpected kindness, the noblewomen who had accompanied her burst into laughter.

“Well, isn’t she charming? It seems you’ve made quite the impression on Madam.”

“Me? Really?”

“Yes. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see you at our next gathering.”

“Enough with the idle chatter.”

Madam Cloud said, giving them a sharp look before turning to walk away.

I stood there, watching the noblewomen walk off in a stupor before finally heading back to the booth.

Grandpa Gordon, who had just sold 20 bottles, was practically beaming as he hurried over.

“So, how much did you make, huh?”

“Grandpa, come here.”

Ensuring absolute secrecy, I leaned in and whispered the amount into his ear.

Naturally, Grandpa was floored.

“Wh-what?! A-a hundred…!”

“Shh!”

I clamped my hand over his mouth, glancing quickly in the direction of Diana’s booth. As expected, Marquis Barelotte was staring intently at us.

‘I knew it. My instincts were right.’

Madam Cloud was a huge spender. Seeing the Marquis so visibly anxious confirmed that I had made the right move.

In the end, Diana had lost Madam Cloud, one of the most influential customers, to me once again.

A surge of exhilaration coursed through me. It was petty and childish, but the fact that I had, even for a moment, outdone Diana filled me with an almost unbearable thrill.

* * *

After that, more and more customers sent by Madam Cloud flocked to our booth.

“Is this the place? The one selling the hair mist that can make us look like fairies?”

“Are you the child Madam spoke of?”

The high-ranking noblewomen, all of whom seemed vaguely familiar from my past life, came in droves. Thanks to them, my ten bottles of hair mist were sold out in no time.

And that wasn’t all.

“Give me ten of those elixirs as well. I heard using them together doubles the effect, right?”

I wasn’t sure how that rumor had started, but thanks to it, the recovery potions were also flying off the shelves, and talents were piling up like a mountain.

“Belze! We’ve only got about 180 bottles left!”

Grandpa Gordon exclaimed, barely able to contain his excitement.

I wanted to jump for joy myself.

‘I thought it would take all day just to reach the 250-bottle mark…’

But I had met my goal much faster than expected. After roughly calculating, I realized I had already surpassed 700 talents.

‘…I did it. I’m first place now! Thank you, Duke, Madam Cloud! May you both live long and enjoy all the elixirs!’

At this point, no matter how hard Diana tried, she wouldn’t be able to catch up. Not unless she somehow managed to handle over 70 customers in such a short time.

Glancing at Diana’s still-crowded booth, I turned to Grandpa and said, “Grandpa, we can stop selling now!”

“Pah! Stop selling? Why would we do that? As long as we’ve got more to sell, we should keep going… Oh! Welcome, welcome!” he said, already caught up in the excitement of making more talents.

He was more enthusiastic than I was now, completely immersed in the thrill of earning talents.

Even though the hair mist was sold out, I felt surprisingly lighthearted.

When I checked the time, I saw that there was still about an hour left before the volunteer event ended.

After a brief moment of hesitation, I made my decision.

“Thank you! May you live long and prosper!”

I said, bowing deeply to a customer who had just bought some recovery potions.

Grandpa turned to me, surprised.

“Hm? Will you be alright going alone?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine!”

“Alright then. Be careful not to get lost. If you’re unsure, just head for the busiest area—like Diana’s booth.”

It stung my pride, but he was right. I laughed a little.

“Keep our talents safe, Grandpa! I’ll be back soon!”

“Go on, then.”

With that, I quickly left the booth and dashed off in a hurry.

Grandpa’s concern about me getting lost was unfounded; I knew the layout of the temple like the back of my hand.

Of course, I wasn’t really headed to the bathroom.

Pretending to be on my way there, I slipped away unnoticed by the headmistress and the priests, ducking into a hidden path.

I walked for some time along the familiar route, until I saw it—an old building painted a dull yellow.

Passing through the round entrance woven from branches, I found myself in an empty courtyard.

The silence of the place felt heavy, making my heart race a little.

‘Nothing’s changed here.’

I had come to this secluded place, where nothing had changed since I was last here. This was the orphanage where I had been abandoned by my parents and had lived until I was five.

As I wandered, checking to see if anyone else was around, my gaze suddenly landed on an old seesaw in one corner of the playground.

*Creaaak, creaaak…*

The rusty squeak of metal rang in my ears, and in my mind’s eye, I saw a small, scowling version of myself, alone, riding the seesaw while glaring off into the distance.

No doubt I had been staring at Diana and the other kids playing on the jungle gym.

“Diana! Let’s see who can climb up first!”

“Hey! She’s staring again!”

“Headmistress! Belze is going to hit us again!”

 

The children’s laughter would ring out, and I, always filled with envy and jealousy, would watch, fuming.

*Flash—*

I blinked, and the vivid memory vanished as quickly as it had come.

The seesaw now stood empty in the deserted playground.

After a moment’s pause, I turned away.

And then, disappearing into the empty orphanage building was a small girl, running swiftly inside.