Chapter 44 – Trouble

Suuru placed herself behind me and looked over my shoulder to check what I was doing. Soon enough, the scent of grilled meat spread through the house. Despite the meat being different from the one in my world, it still looked incredibly appetizing to me, especially after living off vegetables for so long. I wasn't the only one thinking so. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Suuru staring straight at the food and swallowing her saliva. I turned my head in her direction and grinned.

"Doesn't it smell amazing?"

She was still slightly pouty but, right at this moment, our stomachs gurgled in unison. She blushed a little and turned her head away.

"…I guess so."

"It'll be done soon. Can you set up the table, please?"

"Yes."

I acted as if I was in my own house but Suuru didn't mind. On the contrary, she usually welcomed it. Less than ten minutes later, the three types of meat were well-cooked and ready to be eaten. I transported the finished meal to the living room table and divided it into two equal servings.

"A plate of meat for milady! I'm not a great cook so enjoy it while you can! Hehe."

She finally smiled a little at my silly attempt to be funny. After that, she focused back on the meat while I did the same. The three pieces were very different, even after cooking. Their texture, appearance, and smell were very distinct. Not knowing what was good and bad, I prudently tried them one by one.

It was just meat fried over the pan and yet, maybe because it had been so long since the last time I had meat, it felt like each piece melted in my mouth, their juices and taste filling me with great joy. I liked them all, and it was even more interesting since I could alternate between the three types. After the initial careful mouthfuls, I began to engulf my portion at high speed. I noticed Suuru was in a relatively similar state, filling her mouth with plenty of meat.

We didn't even bother talking until we were done, our stomachs satisfied. I leaned against the chair while patting my belly.

"That hit the spot. It was great."

The house owner couldn't help nodding at that, letting out a sigh of fulfillment.

"I've never eaten so much meat before in my life. It's so delicious."

"Let's hope my business does well all the time so we can get some more."

"…About that. You still didn't tell me what sort of business it is."

"It's a secret for now."

"You're not doing anything illegal, right?"

"Of course not."

I wasn't completely sure about that yet since I didn't know the inner world's laws well enough to determine if my little water business was legal or not. If it wasn't, I just hoped it wouldn't get discovered any time soon.

Suuru seemed only half reassured about my words so I gave her the final blow.

"Don't worry. I won't cause trouble for you."

"It's not about me. I'm worried about you."

"I'm a grown man, I'll be just fine. Alright, let's prepare for work. We've got another busy day in front of us."

I forcefully ended the topic and, ten minutes later, we separated for the day. I initially planned to eat the candies with her but that might be too much considering the circumstances. My schedule was the same as the previous day and I didn't expect anything special to happen, except maybe hopefully getting more customers for my stall.

However, before this, I went to the library. I found Ulum in the same room as usual, focused on her studies.

"Hey there."

She frowned with discontent at my frivolous arrival and barely hummed a response.

"Hm."

"Ha, look at you. I don't come to see you for one day and you're all sulky. What am I going to do with you?"

"Be quiet. Why did you come today? You don't have any business here anymore, right?"

I took the bag of candies out and offered her a handful of them.

"Here."

"…Candies? Never seen those before."

She expertly snatched them from me without any physical contact and put one into her mouth. I did the same on my side and we enjoyed the treat together. It was quite simple but wasn't bad. The sugary taste contrasted well with the strong taste of meat from before. Ulum put a second one into her mouth soon after but I didn't imitate her this time since I was so full.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Good luck with the exams in two days."

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes, I've got a long day in front of me. Don't miss me too much, okay?"

"Tsk. Go away already."

I left and started my normal day of work. Luckily, my stall attracted more customers than the previous day. A middle-aged woman came to buy some water not long after I was done setting up my stuff. Curious, I chatted with her a little.

"Did you hear about me from someone else?"

"Yes, my neighbor spread the word. You might get more and more customers. It's hard to resist if you sell at this price."

"Great. Please tell the people you know about me too."

"Sure thing. Don't increase the prices and you'll be sold out soon enough."

"Thanks!"

Despite saying this, the day still ended up being relatively quiet. I managed to sell double the amount of water but that still was only a dozen customers. The good point was that I didn't have to go from house to house today. All the people who bought from me also warned me to increase my stock because they would tell more people about me.

However, around one around before the end of my first shift, a strange group of women arrived at my booth. There were four of them, three rank 2 sorcerers and one rank 3 water mage. When I noticed the water mage, wearing luxurious clothing, I knew trouble was coming my way. It was also the first time I saw someone being rank 3 in the inner world. Even though she was relatively old, it was still an unusual sight. I immediately hid the paper with my prices, putting it into my storage. What I took out in exchange was my phone, which I hadn't used since I reached this world, and turned on its recording function.

The woman stopped before my stall and checked my setup with a dismissive expression. The three rank 2 sorcerers acted like bodyguards and surrounded her on both sides. When she was done looking, the water mage stared at me.

"You. Who allowed you to sell water here?"

"Is there any issue?"

Since she didn't even start with greetings, I didn't need to act like she was a customer either.

"Many issues. Where did you get this water from?"

"I'm not obligated to tell you."

She gave a threatening smile.

"You're playing a dangerous game, child. Aren't you aware it is forbidden to start a business on public grounds without authorization?"

"I'm not on public grounds. I'm renting the space from the farm ground owned by the woman living in the house over there."

I pointed to the house and the three bodyguards seemed surprised. They looked at each other but the older woman was unimpressed.

"Mary. Go check if she's telling the truth."

"Yes, boss."

She found the woman working in the field and talked with her for a minute before coming back.

"It's true, boss."

The mage squinted her eyes.

"You're a smart one, aren't you?"

Instead of answering, I only gave her my best fake smile. This was the very reason why I had gone through the pain of renting private property space in the first place. Since I was just next to the road, one could think I was on public ground, but that wasn't the case. I didn't know the law but not using public space for personal profit was more of a given than anything. I would have been surprised if there had been no laws about it.

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