Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Interlude 4. Her Monologue Part 1

Business was going well.

New technologies and products—all of them seemed to greatly develop the Veliero Trading Company. But there is always something that weighs on my mind like sediment.

The lighter.

What he produced was so attractive it almost drove me to madness. Yet, he was completely unaware of its brilliance. So, as usual, I maneuvered things in my favor. In reality, it ended up being the opposite, but still…

I regret it now for two reasons. First, it turned out to be more difficult to circulate the product than I thought. Selling something resembling an out-of-place artifact is risky.

And the other reason. Why did I lump him in with all the other mediocre merchants? He trusts me so much.

I don’t intend to return trust with trust. Merchants return trust with the greatest traps.

So, what is this feeling?

Unable to find an answer, I continued with my days.

More than the excitement from the wonderful technology of washi paper he brought, this feeling overwhelmed me. What on earth has become of me…?

Even in the later interaction at Baron Retter’s mansion, he abandoned me and tried to leave!

It infuriates me!

Not knowing why I’m so angry makes it even worse.

Then the next day, Akira asked me.

Whether I liked the baron, saying that the feeling was entirely missing.

I hadn’t noticed until he mentioned it.

I thought my aversion was due to the baron’s ugly appearance, but that wasn’t all. If I truly valued the company more, I might have endured it.

But the reason I had rejected the baron’s feelings until now…

Yes, it’s because I don’t love the baron.

That’s all there is to it.

I don’t dislike him. As a merchant, his talent for recruiting people is something to emulate.

After Blow Thor left, I thought the baron would fall into ruin, but everyone he brought in turned out to be remarkable.

Thinking about it, it was inevitable that he and Akira would get along.

For some reason, realizing this calmed my heart.

I apologize to the baron, but I shall formally reject him soon.

Akira’s words always reach the core of my heart. He seems unaware of it.

Later, there was trouble related to Kurigu.

It was an event that reaffirmed Akira’s absurdity.

Seeing the effects of the lighting and light sword, I held my head in my hands.

He’s absurd!

….

At the same time, for some reason, I felt a bit happy. He’s special, and I am by his side.

Did I manage to hide the smile within my sighs?

On another day,

we were on our way back from the experiment site outside the city.

We must have been followed. They didn’t attack at the site because of the heavy security.

It was bandits.

They used to appear often, but it’s rare nowadays. With my two highly skilled bodyguards, six bandits were no match.

Observing for a while, the enemies’ movements seemed off.

This is…

I jumped off the carriage.

Crawling waves like a snake to watch the surroundings.

I sensed something wrong. Surely, enemies were hiding.

When I shouted, a man with a crossbow hurriedly appeared. His arrow missed and flew past.

I vented my stress by hitting the enemy with a chain. Stomping on his face made me feel a bit better.

But I let my guard down there.

Despite knowing there were enemies through the waves, I assumed there was only one. My level couldn’t detect the exact number.

Before I knew it, Akira had pushed me down.

His face was right in front of mine. I couldn’t think straight.

But the warm sensation on my cheek instantly snapped me back.

“Akira-sama?!”

Yes, blood was dripping from his cheek.

Probably an attack from another hidden person. Akira is not a man who can fight.

I must buy time!

I tried to stand, but Akira hugged me tightly. He was protecting me with his body.

No logical feelings like “he’s in the way” or “he doesn’t understand the situation” arose.

I forgot about the enemy, just feeling his warmth and strong embrace.

In the end, we repelled the enemies without issue.

But all the business talks and bandit incidents were forgotten, my thoughts consumed by him.

The next day, I learned that Akira was attacked again.

I was careless.

From the testimony of a captured bandit, we learned their employer aimed to capture me alive.

I hadn’t expected Akira to be targeted immediately after.

I’m having them search for their employer, but they probably won’t find them. Some as many people want to capture me as there are rocks in the wilderness, making it difficult to predict.

But to be saved by the rumored elf shows Akira’s virtue.

…. That elf is now with him as a bodyguard all the time.

Interrupting my time with Akira.

My calming heart started bubbling again.

Why am I so irritated?

Looking back, the reason was obvious…

After that, Akira and I talked about business and the country.

To him, it might have been idle chatter, but to me, it felt like he was pointing out things I couldn’t see, including about myself.

If anyone else had complained about the guild system, I would have laughed it off, or if it were an employee, they might have been fired.

But his points were logical and convincing.

It seems Akira can cook as well.

He said he wasn’t a personal chef or a hired cook at a dining hall. Where do men learn to cook?

During negotiations with another merchant, I remembered Akira casually mentioning fried foods. Akira must be skilled at cooking.

I decided to take advantage of his talent.

I was surprised by the ingredients, but the taste was almost at the level of court cuisine. Not something a rural king like Pilatus would eat, but more like what a noble from Lakelel would enjoy.

As usual, I shamelessly asked him to teach me the cooking methods. He showed me everything without hiding anything. The seasonings were special products from his SHOP ability, and even he didn’t know how to make them.

Why did I consider his kindness just a convenient part of our contract?

I was really foolish.

Besides that, I also thought a bit indecently that if he were always around, I could eat delicious food all the time.

That means… At that time, I still couldn’t recognize my contradictory feelings.

When did I start realizing these feelings?

Later, there was an incident where I accidentally saw Akira naked. His body was covered in scars. Despite growing up in a peaceful world, he seemed like a seasoned warrior or an indomitable merchant.

Thinking about what had happened in his life kept me up at night. That had never happened before.

After that, we agreed with the fishing guild and the food guild…

I remember. It was then that I started to realize my feelings.

It was something Mile Bahaal, an acquaintance, said.

I’ve known him since childhood, and he understands me as well. The strongest image I have of him is as my brother’s best friend. As children, they played together in the mud, and I envied them.

This person, almost like another brother, pointed out my feelings.

If someone else had said it, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. I was deeply shaken.

And I understood.

When I think about how I lead men who have feelings for me into business, my actions are exactly those of someone in love.

I started to become aware.

Being with him made me happy but restless. Being with someone else made my heart uneasy. This was an unfamiliar experience for me.

But it wasn’t unpleasant.

However, I understood that it was a hindrance to business. Just as I’ve played many men, this feeling is only a hindrance to business. So, I decided to suppress my feelings.

And that wasn’t too difficult. After all, he’s not interested in me…

Whatever happened in his past, he seems to keep a certain distance from women. I briefly suspected he might be homosexual, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Thank goodness.

Then we got caught up in a major incident.

When we hunted a stray buffalo, Blow Thor appeared.

And Akira was taken away to bear all the responsibility. I had a bad feeling.

It became a reality.

Days passed, and Akira wasn’t released.

No replies came to my letters, and even with the trading company’s information network, I couldn’t find out if he was alive or dead. If it was discovered that he was an apostle, he might be imprisoned.

I used every connection of the Veliero Trading Company to try to rescue Akira, but nothing worked.

As the acting highest authority of the Veliero Trading Company, withdrawing would be the wisest choice, but I couldn’t do it.

I remembered Akira’s words:

“What about your feelings?”

Yes. My feelings.

It’s simple. I purely, just purely, wanted to help Akira.

So I took action to save him.

In the end, it was both a failure and a success.

Negotiations were about to break down.

He escaped on his own. All I could do was support him.

With the help of Dwarf Hagg-sama, Elf Yaralai-sama, the guards, and Melvin, we successfully rescued and escaped with Akira.

If Hagg-sama and Yaralai-sama were involved, it might have been possible to capture that pig of a king… but that wouldn’t work. It wouldn’t settle the feelings of the people and would surely have repercussions later.

I decided to join the resistance organization Sea Dragon. One of the leaders was Mile Bahaal, as I had found out. I wasn’t familiar with the other members.

I planned to contact them and prompt an uprising.

Luckily, I was able to join their meeting soon. Thanks to the fishermen of the fishing guild, and members of Sea Dragon, I safely met up with them.

Just as all the arrangements were made and we were about to move locations, Paul Molmore, a senior member of Sea Dragon, used Bahaal’s busy moment to separate me from the group, saying he had something to discuss about the route.

I was completely off guard.

The moment I saw the fearful faces of the Molmore Trading Company employees, I tried to flee, but it was too late. They captured me and forcefully led me outside, where a group of kingdom soldiers in formation was charging in.

The fishermen on guard reacted slowly because it was a secret meeting, and they were hidden, so they weren’t to blame.

The kingdom soldiers who emerged, scattering the delayed Sea Dragon warriors, praised Paul Molmore, saying, “Well done!” Molmore replied, “Don’t forget the bounty,” blending into the group. I was soon bound with ropes and carried by several men.

Their efficiency in taking me to the royal castle was almost unbelievable for the kingdom’s soldiers.