Chapter 13: Keep Going

The autumn leaves fall, and the momentum is unstoppable.  

The power of Brand New Ari was truly formidable.  

“Jooin-nim, I’m bored… woof…..”  

“Rumi, fetch!”  

“Woof!”  

Rumi was able to leisurely play fetch, having withdrawn from the frontlines, a testament to how strong things were.  

The reason Ari, despite being a 3-star character from birth, received such high praise.  

Her basic skill? 

Strong area-of-effect damage.  

Her ultimate skill unlocked at rank 3? 

Simply strong single-target damage.  

But her true strength lay in her enhanced skill.  

[Enhanced Skill: Spirit of the Wind (LV.1)]  

[Summons a wind spirit at the location where the arrow hits, pulling monsters toward its center. Enemies hit take 200% of attack power as damage.]  

[Cooldown: 12 seconds]  

A game-breaking crowd-control skill that even 5-star characters rarely possess.  

Pull!  

Moreover, its range was quite wide, so in the original work, every time her special attack triggered, an entire wave of enemies was wiped out.  

“Kuo!”  

“Keeer!”  

“Gwak!”  

Here, too, her power was faithfully reproduced.  

Of course, her damage scaling was on the lower side, so later on, she was reduced to a mere pull-bot.  

But if I weren’t the shop owner but the Revelator instead.  

If I were a clueless newbie with poor game sense.  

I’d probably be struggling with a lack of EXP potions by this point, twisting and turning while desperately grinding in a 5-man party………….  

A sense of satisfaction welled up within me.  

Now that the forge is running properly, equipment farming won’t be an issue.  

And if the so-called ‘EXP Cocktail’ sells well, I’ll be able to clean out the heroes’ pockets in no time.  

Everything’s going perfectly!  

Keep going, Ark!  

***

Nice job, Ark!  

My flawless plan is leading to flawless success.  

“Cheers!”  

“Is this some kind of drug? Why does it taste so good?”  

“Over here, one more cocktail!”  

“And some wild boar skewers, please!”  

Business is going too well.  

I’m truly a genius.  

There’s a reason I was reincarnated as a shop owner.  

Could it be that the gods recognized my talent?  

“Achoo, cough cough……!”  

Ugh, spicy.  

The moment a drop of oil from the sizzling wild boar meat fell into the fire, thick smoke assaulted my nose.  

Sparks flew too… my skin stings a bit.  

“Ark, is it ready yet?”  

“Yes, it’ll be done soon!”  

I double-checked the perfectly grilled wild boar skewers using the status window and plated them.  

Then.  

“Woof!”  

Rumi took over and delivered them to the customers.  

Wait, there were cocktails too, right?  

I rushed back to the counter, poured the ingredients into the shaker in perfect proportions, and shook it vigorously!  

“Ooh……!”  

“So cool!”  

The heroes sitting at the counter applauded, and I responded with even more enthusiastic shaking.  

And glug, glug.  

I poured the precise amount into the glass.  

“Hey, I came to sell some items……”  

“Ah, yes! Let’s see, Slime Essence, quite a rare item. 100 gold. How about having a drink while you’re here?”  

“But there’s a line outside…. Is that okay?”  

“You brought such a valuable item, of course it’s fine. Ari! Bring a wooden chair over here!”  

One worry was resolved.  

“Extra wild boar skewers over here!”  

“Coming right up!”  

Business is going too well.  

After catching my breath for a moment, I glanced at my partners.  

“Tastes good, right? Kyahaha, come by often. I’ll give you some service!”  

Ari was handling the hostess role.  

Originally, I planned to have her in the kitchen, but Ari turned out to be the goddess of creation, turning wild boar meat into charcoal.  

At least her social skills were put to good use, as she held lively conversations with the people at the counter, hosting a talk bar.  

And then.  

“Woof!”  

“Yay yay, I’ll go cook now.”  

Rumi was in charge of serving and being the mascot.  

The deadly cuteness exuded by the dog beastman was a direct hit for the other heroes.  

The sight of her struggling with heroes who just wanted to pet her ears brought laughter to everyone.  

Johanna was…  

“Don’t worry. Butterfly will be back soon.”  

“Really…? That’s a relief……………!”  

Using her saintly abilities, she was counseling the local heroes on their trivial worries.  

I just let it be. 

Everyone has a role that suits them.  

So what about me?  

Cook. Grilling wild boar skewers.  

Bartender. Mixing cocktails.  

Cleaning. Wiping down tables.  

Cashier. Handling payments with zero errors.  

Shopkeeper. My original job.  

I felt like something was going wrong, but…  

The fact is, my wallet—no, my gold chest—is getting healthier.  

That’s enough for me.  

***

“You’ve worked hard today, Captain!”  

“Thanks. You’ve worked hard too, Riley.”  

Since the Revelator began climbing the Tower, the number of monsters pouring out of it had decreased exponentially.  

But due to the distortion of space, monsters still occasionally appeared around the city.  

To prevent any problems that might arise from this, the Celestia Knights were formed.  

Named after the city itself, they were an officially recognized group by the sanctuary.  

“I’m tired.”  

Saha, having finished today’s patrol, stretched and prepared to head home.  

It had been an unusually unfocused day.  

The reason? 

Undoubtedly one thing.  

The fateful encounter this morning.  

A moment that felt like meeting an angel descended from heaven, a strong, fateful tremor.  

Golden hair that seemed to hold the light of the sun, just risen and shining brilliantly on the earth.  

A face so perfect, no matter where you looked—eyes, nose, mouth—it was flawless.  

And especially the mouth and neck.  

Even though he was running at a slow pace, his panting vibrated through his throat, and his parted lips released white breaths.  

Truly the epitome of a man you’d want to protect!  

The number one bachelor in the city of flames!  

His appearance was so perfectly my type that I was too flustered to even greet him at first.  

Only after he passed by and was far away did I…  

“Captain, do you know him? He’s so handsome….!”  

“Fiancé? Is he your fiancé? Right? Kyah!”  

No, no.  

…It’s the first time I’ve seen him today.  

Then a sudden question arose.  

How did that man know my name?  

And, very subtly, it felt like we were tied by a thread of fate.

Like when I first met the Revelator……

“No, that can’t be.”  

Shaking off her thoughts, Saha shook her head.  

The Revelator hadn’t shown his face for days since our first meeting, so he must still be struggling inside the Tower.  

After all, announcements related to the Tower’s conquest kept ringing intermittently.  

So who was that man?  

How could he know my face and name if we’d never met before?  

With these unanswered questions swirling in her mind, Saha was heading back to her mansion when a noisy sound suddenly reached her ears.  

If she listened closely, it seemed like the voices of female heroes laughing and chatting.  

It felt similar to when she occasionally went to the meeting tavern for gatherings.  

“At this hour, here…..?”  

But.  

This place was far from the meeting tavern.  

As far as Saha knew, there was nothing ‘fun’ around here.  

Curiosity piqued, Saha moved toward the source of the sound.  

And what she saw was…  

Ark’s General Store.  

A place she’d never been to before.  

A strange shop run by a hooded shopkeeper who had been with the saintess not long ago.  

From a place that had been enveloped in silence until recently,  

Now, boisterous laughter echoed.  

What’s going on?  

What’s happening here?  

In the end, Saha was drawn in and entered the general store.  

Of course, entering in full armor would attract attention, so she temporarily set aside the hero’s blessing.  

“Welcome, woof! Come this way, woof!”  

As soon as she entered,  

A cute dog beastman grabbed her arm and dragged her to a table.  

Before she knew it, she was seated.  

As she surveyed the entire store,  

She saw it.  

The sight of the shopkeeper who seemed to be doing ‘everything.’  

A man with arms so thin you’d worry if he could even hold a sword, wielding cooking tools, grilling skewers over the fire.  

The moment a customer left, he flew over and wiped down the table with those thin arms.  

And.  

Shaking some mysterious liquid in a strange container, showing off those slender arms that didn’t even have muscles.  

Truly.  

A man who embodied all the qualities of an ‘ideal man,’ to the point where you’d want to kidnap him.  

Gulp.  

Saha unconsciously swallowed.  

“Coming right up!”  

Although the hood he was wearing seemed to distort his voice, as if it had some kind of perception-hindering magic,  

That only added to his mystique.  

What kind of face was hidden under that hood?  

No way… Nah, it couldn’t be that guy…….

What are the odds of such a coincidence? 

She chuckled to herself.  

“Hey, can I get one of those cocktails or whatever here?”  

“Woof!”  

Drawn in by the cheerful atmosphere of the place,  

Saha, who usually never drank, ordered a glass.  

***

The manly shaking.  

The manly cleaning.  

For the first two hours, I thought I’d die from exhaustion.  

But humans are adaptable, so now I’m getting the hang of it.  

What’s surprising is that there were so many 3-star heroes I’d never seen before.  

Like that girl who vaguely resembles Saha.  

She has the same basic character design—green hair, red eyes—but  

Saha has a ponytail, while this hero has her hair down.  

And wow, her chest. 

It’s like, Rumi-level, wow.  

My Saha doesn’t have such a big chest.  

At best, she’s flat-chested?  

You can tell just by looking at her breastplate size.  

Full plate armor doesn’t lie.  

Anyway.  

Shake shake  

Clink clink  

“Wow!”  

The first product from our forge was.  

Not equipment, but this shaker.  

And it performed quite well.  

Even as a showpiece.  

So what’s our blacksmith, Harong, doing?  

“Phew”

“Damn, that’s crazy! Wow”

“Harong, isn’t it hot?”  

“Fire’s coming out of my mouth!”  

She was enthusiastically putting on a fire show.  

While hammering away, true to her nature as the second drunkard, she sipped on her drink.  

And when she got carried away, she even did fan service.  

In any case, she was providing a spectacle rivaling my shaking.  

That’s teamwork.  

Truly hard work in action.  

“One more drink!”  

…Or maybe  

Am I the only one struggling..?  

Anyway, looking at the sales so far.  

At least if things keep going like this, I won’t have to worry too much about money.  

Starting tomorrow, I’ll focus more on conquering the Tower.