A clear handprint was on Giselleâs neck. It wasnât just simply due to force. It was a wound caused by the collision of the mana that Dylan had raised and the energy of black magic that colored Giselleâs body.
Giselle didnât seem to understand her body properly, but Leniel could recognize it at a glance.
Dylan branded Giselle.
Mana branding is usually done on vicious criminals who are in danger of fleeing, making it easy for the mana master to track them down. Although it is not permanent, it cannot be erased by force, and as much as possible, it had to wait for the stigma to be erased by hiding in a place where various magical powers were intertwined.
In that sense, Van Hell was a city suitable for hiding, but he couldnât trust that alone.
âI donât know if beautiful Viviana still misses me.â
Sejakâs eyes changed slightly at the words that came out like a hum. It was a momentary change, but that was enough. Leniel smiled brightly.
âDo not worry. At least I will allow you to walk on your feet to the front of the house.â
Sejakâs breathing gradually became harsher. Leniel, who wrapped his hands around Sejakâs head, whispered in a friendly tone.
âI want you to see the traces left by you and recognize them right away.â
***
âIt needs improvement.â
It wasnât a huge improvement. It was just very basic.
âFrom a human point of view, we have to strictly observe the opening and closing times.â
Even if the store is located in a downtown area, does it make sense to say that there is an employee who stays and eats at the store and no one takes the time to break in?
Ten, who was crouching in the corner of the store at my desperate words, looked at me with puzzled eyes. I stared at him resentfully because Ten was also one of the culprits that made me make this commitment.
âYou, Ten! Do you know what time it is?â
âYes. Yes?â
âWhy arenât you going? You donât even have to go to work!â
Ten raised his eyebrows as if my bitter reprimand was unfair.
âHa, but Windria often visits at dawn. If I stay here, I will be able to see her.â
âIn the first place, coming early in the morning is a problem! And why does she come at dawn? Youâre here all day, so she comes at dawn to avoid you!â
This terrible bondage was born from Ten and Windriaâs relentless quarrel. When he went to her laboratory and Windria did not accept him, Ten began to stick his buttocks in the general store.
At first, Ten came to coincide with the opening and closing times of the general store. It was a bit cumbersome, but I left him there for a few days because I wondered how desperate he would be, but when Windria saw this, she stopped coming to the general store at sunrise.
The problem was that Windriaâs main abilities, necromancy and witchcraft, required a variety of materials. She had to get her supplies from the general store, so she ended up visiting the grocery store at dawn. At first, I woke up several times at dawn to sell things, but no matter how much I ate and slept here, I could not receive them forever.
One day, I fell asleep without knowing who had come to the store, and when I woke up in the morning, I found that Windria had taken care of herself and that she had picked up items and left money at the checkout counter. Starting that day, she openly opened the locked door at dawn and came in and bought things on her own.
Finally, after finding out about Windriaâs travels, Ten says that he will definitely meet Windria today.
âI told you not to fight here, go out and fix it!â
âItâs not a fight. There is no way Windria would abandon me like this.â
âSo youâre going to sit and wait at the general store that is closed now?â
âGiselle, you can go in and rest.â
Wow, how the hell did Windria keep this guy?
âNo, how can I trust and leave the store to you! Are you an employee here?â
âDo not worry. I will take good care of it.â
âYouâre the problemâŠâ
I really wanted to cry.
As I clenched my fist in frustration, I stared at the front door. Iâd rather go to Windria and ask her to take this disciple with you.
But if she had been a villain who would have accepted such a request, it would not have come to this point in the first place. She was a person who broke into a store thatâs closed early in the morning to buy things she needed and left money behindâŠ
If I leave Ten alone overnight, I think Windria wonât come to see me at dawn.
At last, when such rationalization was reached, two butterflies fluttering and playing among themselves flew to Ten. The familiar black powder from the red spotsâŠ
âNo, no! Donât kill him! Heâs a customer!â
[Huh?]
âPut your powder back in!â
[But heâs noisy. You canât sleep.]
âI admit it, but you shouldnât try to paralyze or kill people like that.â
[Why?]
[Why?]
âBecause itâs extreme and scary!â
[Why?]
[What are you scared of?]
ââŠIâm afraid Iâm weak. I might faint. So you must not do that.â
Butterflies flapped around Ten. They reluctantly returned to my side. Ten, who had no idea how dangerous he was just before, was looking up at me bewildered.
If I hadnât just stopped them, would you have believed that you would have died of poison powder? I shook my head and turned around.
Having made such a commitment, I settled down at the cashierâs desk. Ten kept saying thank you and something, but I couldnât hear it. Iâm so sleepyâŠ
âWell, let me lie down for a moment. Wake me up when Miss Windria comes.â
Before I could hear Tenâs answer, I fell down on the counter. Rather than this, I could hear two butterfly voices that just went in and slept, but even that became more and more distant from my consciousness.
If I knew this would happen, I should have talked about overtime pay when I wrote the contractâŠ
***
The surroundings were bustling.
I woke up quickly because I had a good nightâs sleep, but my head was blank. My shoulders and arms were numb from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. I raised my head, rubbed the back of my neck, smiled happily at the sight of Leniel, whom I had not seen in a long time.
âOh, boss.â
Although I was half-asleep, it was a really perfect employee attitude that I could see from the president who visited unexpectedly.
I was complimenting myself with satisfaction, but Leniel stared at me. As I blinked slowly, I realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere inside the store after a little bit of sleep.
There was some irritation in Lenielâs posture, and his red eyes were cold.
âWhat time is it now?â Ten said earlier that he would wait for Windria hereâŠâ
âThe relocation of the grocery store to a large place did not mean attracting a lover.â
Pls read only at pinkmuffintl.
From Lenielâs words, I reflexively spat out an un-brainly answer.
âWhy are you talking nonsense when you havenât been here in a long time?â
Oh my.
âI mean, hmm. Itâs not nonsense. No, youâre right, but what do you mean lover? How can I date someone right now?â
It was hard to make ends meet day by day.
Perhaps my expression full of resentment worked, for Lenielâs cold expression was a little relieved. As soon as I calmed him down, who seemed to explode at any moment, I found Ten lying at his feet.
Oh, I didnât know you were saying that when you saw Ten. Donât you know that Ten was a pupil of Windria? Oh dear. But why is Ten sleeping in such a pitiful form over there?
âŠOh my god, he canât be sleeping!
âDid you kill him?â
When asked with a shocked look, Leniel tapped Ten with his toes.
âThis one?â
âDid you really kill him? Oh, my god, thereâs no reason why things are so violent!â
âYou said it wasnât a lover.â
âHe was a guest sir! It was true.â
âWhat kind of guest are you having at this hour?â
Thatâs exactly what I wanted to say. Tears covered my eyes when I met someone who agreed with me. After all, the boss is the boss. The boss is the only one who can take care of the employeeâs welfare!
âThatâs exactly what I needed to say. As a result of my work experience, I found out the serious shortcomings of this area. Customers donât consider the hours of operation of the grocery store at all.â
They came only when they felt like it. Heâs the boss, so I have to make suggestions when I meet him like this.
I recited what serious facts I had suffered in the last few days. Lifting his stiff face, Leniel listened with interest to me. Furthermore, he sometimes nodded lightly and even responded.
The joy of communicating with my employer made me vent all my anger.
âEven if I lock the door, theyâll just break in and take things with them. Whatâs the point of putting money on the counter? Then why do you have staff and operating hours?â
âOh, itâs open today, isnât it?â
Just in time, the door opened, and one of the causes of my stress recently appeared. I immediately pointed to her and complained.
âLook! Theyâre coming at this hour!â
âWellâŠâ
Windria, who had just opened the door of the store, stopped. Standing in front of the cashier, Leniel glanced back at her. Windriaâs easygoing expression froze.
âThe shop is closed.â
As he smiled and said, Windria smiled vaguely and nodded stiffly.
âWell, is that so?â
âWhen the store is closed, you have to wait for the opening time.â
âYes, yes.â
Windria was frozen to the bone. I couldnât believe that he was always indifferent and didnât care at all what others said.
I opened my eyes wide and looked at Leniel and Windria alternately. Leniel smiled leisurely, and his tone was as usual. Even compared to when I woke up earlier, he didnât look so unhappy now.
Is she just under pressure from the boss? But Windria is Wayneâs right-hand person.
âAnd youâve brought personal disputes here.â
âWhat do you mean disputes? Thatâs not true!â
âMy staff felt threatened by this man, so if itâs none of your business, can I handle it on my own?â