Lily's Observatory

Thanks to entrusting delivery work to Joan-kun, the development of new magic tools — that is, new products — progressed even faster. The self-defense magic tools I made are already complete as products, so I plan to line them up in the store as they are. As for the self-defense robes, thanks to earlier publicity, buyers have already begun to appear. The ones I made from ragged cloth were all trial pieces, so I handed them out for free to several adventurers. Officially, it was to hear their impressions, but in truth, it was a word-of-mouth strategy. Thanks to that, the robes are now in short supply. From the beginning, the stock wasn’t large. Still, I set each one at a fairly high price. Only C-rank or higher adventurers with money to spare can afford them. Even so, buyers keep coming. They are sturdier than heavy armor, yet serve properly as robes. For mass-produced items, their performance is exceptional. Of course, some magic tools excavated from dungeons and ruins include armor tha...

“First, this robe. It’s the same robe everyone helped make, but in my shop, I sell them as magic tools by adding enchantments.” “Is that so?” Isabella looked over the robe with curiosity. After confirming there was nothing unusual about it, she spoke again. “What kind of magic tool is this robe?” “Simply put, it’s far sturdier than armor. Even if you stab it with a sword, it won’t tear.” “My, you can make such a marvelous magic tool? Its performance is on par with relics excavated from dungeons!” Surprised by my explanation, Isabella-san began examining the robe again. But I still had other magic tools prepared. “And next, this candy.” I opened a bag and pulled out a spherical candy. “This is a magic tool I named Security Candy.” “Y-you turned candy into a magic tool?” “Yes. As long as you’re just sucking on it, it’s an ordinary candy. But if you bite down—” I tossed one into my mouth and bit down. Instead of shattering, the candy released a piercing, powerful sound like a woman’s scre...

“First, Rosa. You’re good at sewing, aren’t you?” “Um… yes.” Being a quiet girl, Rosa answered in a small voice. “I’d like you to polish that skill even further. I’ll give you books about sewing, as well as various kinds of clothes. … Using those, I want you to learn to make all sorts of garments.” “Uh… okay.” She probably didn’t fully grasp what I meant, but she nodded. Likely, she thought it wasn’t anything too difficult. But this was important. In the future, I hoped Rosa would work as a manager overseeing clothing-related business. For that role, being exposed early on to a wide range of knowledge about garments would be a major advantage. So I planned to give her books and clothes as study materials. Of course, just studying wouldn’t exactly count as “work”. To keep the pretense, I also explained the actual tasks I wanted from her. “And so, Rosa, I’d like you to take the knowledge you gain and use it to create all kinds of clothes, pants — anything made from cloth. … I’ll buy ever...

I thought that hiring more employees would give me more free time. But in reality, it didn’t increase much at all. Even after teaching the new staff their work, I still had to look after Tio-kun and Tiana-chan, as I had promised Maria. Because of that, I didn’t have many chances to step away from the shop. That said, even on days when only one of them was scheduled to work, Maria and her children almost always showed up together. When they had other errands, they could leave normally, so it wasn’t really a problem. The issue was that whenever Maria was on duty, I ended up surrounded by Tio-kun and Tiana-chan. And from both of them came constant, indirect approaches, trying every possible way to get me to become their papa. The mental pressure was no joke. To have both mother and children so aggressively forward — that was truly frightening. With the employee situation settled for now, I started using what spare time I had to visit the orphanage. At first, I played with the children whi...

Maria’s children, the twins Tio and Tiana, were what this world called half-elves. A half-elf is someone born from a union between an elf and an ordinary human. In this world, elves are considered one of the races. Some say they trace their origins back to fairies, but the truth of that is uncertain. Still, it wouldn’t be strange if it were true. After all, elves are universally known for their extraordinarily beautiful features. To most races, the faces of elves seem almost unnaturally refined and attractive. Because of this, there were times in history when elves were traded as ornamental slaves. Of course, in today’s world that would be unthinkable. Even so, elven appearance and blood are still regarded as something special. Which raises the question — what happens if half-elf children are left unattended? It isn’t hard to imagine that unsavory adults might take an interest in them. In the worst case, they could even be targeted by kidnappers. In other words, Tio and Tiana, who carr...

Some days later, Shuri-kun returned to my shop with an official document. We concluded a formal agreement, and he would now regularly procure magic Light Stones from me. Additionally, my store, The Cave Dwarf’s Magic Tool Shop , was officially designated as a supplier affiliated with the court magician. In short, this means that whenever the court magician needs to acquire something for research purposes, my shop will be the named source. Thanks to this, funds can be allocated under the pretext of “research purposes” and funneled to me. Of course, every time, we’ll need to come up with a plausible research justification to make the budget request look legitimate. Still, this isn't debt — it's money that I can use freely. Compared to a simple business loan, this is a far better arrangement. With that, the financial situation is starting to look more stable. But the remaining issue is manpower — in other words, the employees who will work at my store. The plan is to educate orph...

“Arisa-san. Humans, as they grow older, tend to act in contradictory and wasteful ways.” I put into words what I believe about the nature of people. “Even while thinking they’re better than others... even while believing there's a place where they truly belong... … They still end up continuing to work part-time at a convenience store run by a lousy owner.” “Is... is that so?” “Yes, that’s exactly how it is.” I speak like an elder trying to advise Arisa. It might come across as annoying, but once I start talking, I can’t seem to stop. “As people age, they accumulate experience. Experience is a treasure — but also a poison. … A blessing, and at the same time, a curse. The experiences we stack up remain etched in our hearts as memories, and they never truly disappear.” Arisa listens intently to my preachy words. That alone makes me grateful — and makes me ramble on even more. “Good experiences become blessings — assets in life. But bad experiences become poison — curses. … Even though...

“Well, that’s pretty much the story of my life up to now.” I ended up going on and on, telling Arisa about myself. She looked down awkwardly. Well, it wasn’t exactly a cheerful topic. I probably shouldn’t have brought it up. But staying silent after being asked would have been equally wrong. How should I have handled it? Someone like me — an aging man with half-baked life experience — doesn’t even know something like that. Ah... how pathetic . “Hey, old man.” Arisa finally spoke. “I used to think that Yuichi-onii-chan knew everything and was amazing. I still remember it. … I always thought, ‘Yuichi-onii-chan is awesome. He’s so cool.’” Those words made me feel oddly ticklish inside. Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek to play it off. “So like… I don’t really know how to say this, but… anyway, Yuichi-onii-chan is still amazing. That’s what I think. … I don’t get stuff like repeating years in college or dropping out. I only understand what I’ve seen with my own eyes. … So, to me, Yuichi on...

When I was young, I was a child far more intelligent than those around me. And perhaps because of that intelligence, even as a child, I developed a bad habit of looking down on others. I thought, Being unintelligent is such a restrictive and unfortunate thing. I never want to end up like that . I had been thinking like this for as long as I could remember. By the time I hit puberty, those thoughts had twisted into something darker. Why is it that guys dumber than me are the ones who get popular? I'm clearly the superior one, so why do women flock to those idiots? I resolved this question with a selfish and arrogant hypothesis: Surely, the women who gather around idiots are also idiots. That's why they can't understand someone intelligent and superior like me. Only fools can gather with other fools. That was the kind of foolish thinking I clung to. Eventually, I began placing my hopes in university. Surely, it’s a place where much smarter women gather than in high school. Th...

After Shuri-kun deliciously took my virginity, the two of us returned to the shop and completed various contracts in writing. Arisa looked curiously at Shuri-kun, who seemed a bit worn out. But she likely didn’t suspect that Shuri-kun and I had done the deed. Surely, we hadn’t been found out. Or rather, we must not be found out. If Arisa knew, she might genuinely start to hate me. Living together while being looked at like filth by my own niece… That kind of hell is unbearable even to imagine. And yet— Thinking about it more, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad in the short term? (E/N: You masochist freak Unc! 🤣) Well, let's set irrelevant thoughts aside for now. After signing the contracts with me and promising to formalize them later with official documents from the royal palace, Shuri-kun and Marceline went home. Then the peak business hours came, which Arisa and I handled together, and night eventually fell. There was no one left in the shop. At this time, we rarely get customers. Occ...

“Alright, I get it now. I understand your plan, Otogin. You wanted funding, right? … I’ll officially recognize your store as a court-appointed magic tool shop. That way, I can allocate part of the national budget to you under the guise of research funding.” Those were the words I had been waiting to hear from Shuri-kun. It took a long time to convince him, but finally, there’s a clear path ahead. “Thank you, Shuri-kun.” “Yeah. It’s a request from you, Otogin, and it doesn’t seem like a waste of money or anything. … I mean, just building a factory for phosphorescent magic stones is going to generate a huge national profit. Honestly, I didn’t have any reason to refuse in the first place.” Well, of course. But even so, Shuri-kun paid attention to the details. Most likely, he was also evaluating me as a person. Even when investing, one must consider — Is this just to build a magic stone factory? Or is there potential for even greater returns? Depending on that, the kind of preferential tre...

“I have a hypothesis about that.” I immediately countered after Arisa rejected my earlier claim. “I believe you simply haven’t fully mastered the « Calculator » skill yet.” “Huh. Master it? I mean, I don’t really get it...” Arisa responded, pouting slightly. She probably felt like I was denying her capability or effort by saying she wasn't using the skill properly. “I’m not doubting your ability, Arisa. It’s just that, well, that’s how skills work sometimes.” “Huh? What do you mean?” “Some skills improve the more you use them, becoming more effective over time. … And I assume you haven’t used « Calculator » all that much yet. That’s why, for now, it hasn’t shown its full potential.” “Ah, I see. That makes sense.” Arisa nodded, seeming convinced by my explanation. “As expected from you, Otogin. So some skills really do grow stronger over time, huh?” “Yes. I read about it while devouring books back at the royal palace.” That information was crucial to me. After all, even so-called ...

“Alright then, let’s start with a simple calculation. What’s one plus one?” “Two.” Shuri-kun promptly answered my question. “Next one. In one place, there’s a boy and a girl. The boy has one apple, and the girl has two apples. … The boy becomes full after eating one and a half apples. The girl becomes full after eating half an apple. … Now, after both of them have eaten until they’re full, how many apples are left?” “One.” Again, Shuri-kun answered correctly. Well, both problems were too simple to begin with. It’s only natural he could solve them. However, the important part here is the fact that he could solve them. “I asked you two questions, and to answer both of them, you performed calculations in your head, right?” “Yeah. I processed simple arithmetic in my head and got the answers. Why do you ask?” “Good. In the first question, I presented you with a formula. But in the second, I didn’t present a formula at all. And yet, why do you think you were still able to calculate the answe...

“However, Otogi-dono, I understand that a revolution will occur. But isn’t there still no guarantee that the war will end?” Marceline voiced her doubt. Indeed, just building factories and triggering a technological revolution wouldn't be enough to end a war. However, it can lead to a chain of events that bring it to an end. “That's true. For example, let's say one hundred million goblins attack all at once. Do you think the heroes could protect humanity?” “That would be impossible. No matter how strong the heroes are, they can’t hold off an army of a hundred million all at once. … If they lined up in a straight row and attacked one by one, that would be a different story.” “Exactly.” I nodded, satisfied with Marceline’s response. “Then what if we mobilized all the knights of this country? Would it be possible to minimize the damage?” “That too would be impossible. Our country doesn’t even have a total of 100,000 knights. … Even if each knight could kill 20 or 30 goblins, it...

Shuri-kun’s sudden scream left Marceline and Arisa with startled expressions. Well, that was quite the outburst to come out of nowhere. But Shuri-kun remained completely overwhelmed with excitement. He clutched his head, speaking feverishly. “What have you done, Otogin?! If this really works, I’m not exaggerating — it would rewrite the entire history of enchantment magic! … No, not just that! It could change the world! This is a dream technology that everyone’s tried and failed to create, and now it might actually be real?! … I seriously can’t believe it! You’re insane, old man!” “Those words are a mix of praise and insults, but thank you nonetheless.” “I am praising you! Or, well, I’m too shaken to know what I’m doing anymore!” Shuri-kun went on babbling excitedly, while Marceline and Arisa remained skeptical. Their wary eyes followed his strange behavior. “Come now, Shuri-kun. Why don’t you explain it to the others so they can understand? Let’s go ahead and reveal the answer.” “Yeah,...