Konbini Ossan Volume 2 Chapter 18 – An Unexpected Visitor

After finishing my business at the orphanage, I returned to my shop. It was still early evening, with the sky still bright.

This was the calm before the crowd of returning adventurers would flood the store.

And just at that perfect moment, I was greeted by an unexpected guest.

“Yahho~ Otogin! How’ve you been?”

To my surprise, it was Shuri-kun who had come to visit.

“Otogi-dono. It has been a while. I didn’t expect you to already own a shop and be earning a living so soon.”

Marceline was with him as well.

“Hey, old man... are you seriously acquainted with those two?”

Arisa approached me and whispered in a suspicious tone. Naturally, I nodded in response.

“Yes. Both of them helped me when I was still in the castle. Especially Shuri-kun — he’s someone I can never thank enough.”

“No way. These two were like... super important people who even taught the hero. How the hell did you get to know people like them?”

“I just met them normally, that’s all.”

“'Normally' my ass. I wasn’t even allowed to talk to them. They were way out of my league.”

Apparently, Arisa knew who they were. But not being allowed to even speak to them?

It seems the kingdom’s policy of discarding “useless” heroes was more extreme than I had imagined.

I started to feel concerned for the other summoned heroes who were likely still effectively imprisoned within the royal palace.

“Hey, hey! I came all the way here and you two are whispering behind my back? That’s so mean, Otogin!”

“Ah, my apologies, Shuri-kun. Welcome.”

I ended the conversation with Arisa and approached Shuri-kun. I placed my hand on his head and gently patted it.

“Hehe. It’s been a while since Otogin’s hand did that.”

“Yes, it’s indeed my hand.”

“I love it when you pat me with your hand!”

“And I love you too, Shuri-kun.”

(E/N: 🤢🤮)

With our mutual affection reaffirmed, our little mentor-student moment of bonding came to an end.

I removed my hand, and Shuri-kun straightened his posture.

“Well then, let’s get down to business. Otogin, about this Light Stone—would you be willing to sell it to the kingdom?”

“To the kingdom?”

“Yeah. Specifically, we want to use them at the frontline bases in the war. So I was hoping to request quite a few of them.”

Suddenly, a huge deal was dropped into my lap.

To be honest, I had hoped for such an opportunity eventually, but I didn’t expect it to come so soon.

Clearly, the rumor about the "Luminous" Light Stones had spread far faster than anticipated.

“I have no objections, but if possible, I’d like to request a few conditions.”

“Requests? Sure! If it’s something I can do, I’ll make it happen!”

Shuri-kun replied with full confidence. Then, I laid out my terms without holding back.

“First, I would like the deliveries to be made in installments.

…

Creating too many at once would consume too much time and cost, and may interfere with the normal operation of this shop.

…

I’d prefer to divide the production into manageable batches.”

“Hm, I see. That makes sense.”

Of course, beyond just reducing the workload, this approach would allow me to stagger the income, making my finances more stable in the long term.

“And one more thing. If you're expecting more magical tools from me in the future, I’d like to request funding.”

“Oh? You need money? Is the profit from the 'Luminous' Light Stones not enough?”

“No. It’s not.”

I answered firmly. Both Marceline and Arisa widened their eyes in surprise.

“Otogi-dono. The military could easily request a thousand — no, even two thousand stones.

…

That would yield a profit of over a thousand gold coins. Even so, you say it’s not enough?”

“She’s right, old man. If this goes through, you’ll be so rich you’ll never need to work again. Why push yourself even more?”

They both tried to dissuade me. But it seemed they were missing the core of the issue. I needed to explain.

“Look. Arisa-san, you do understand this isn’t the peaceful world we came from — this isn’t Japan.”

“Tch. Yeah, I know that.”

“Right. And you also know why we were summoned here — to fight in a war.

…

Think carefully: in a nation at war, do you really believe that having a few thousand gold coins guarantees lifelong safety?”

“Eh, well… um…”

Arisa was at a loss for words. She probably hadn’t thought that far ahead.

But it wasn’t hard to figure out. A thousand gold coins — about 100 million yen in Japanese currency.

Certainly a fortune, but not enough to live luxuriously for a lifetime, especially in a war-torn nation where fortunes can lose value overnight.

If the Demon King wins and the kingdom is plunged into poverty, those coins will mean little.

Even without that, war can rapidly shift economic conditions.

In short, just selling the "Luminous" Light Stones isn’t enough to ensure our survival.

And that’s why I must keep moving forward.

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E/N:

First of all, been sick for the past 3 days, couldn't move a muscle. Now I'm recovering and felt bad for you guys because I had promised. For that, I apologise ORZ~

And so, I'll be releasing 3 chapters at once! Ossan has foresight and shall do anything to protect himself and his loved ones! Stay tuned!

Finally, I write this from my deathbed, goodbye, cruel world- Nah, jk jk, I'll be fine 😁 Probably… 🫡

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