/
A fish blissfully swimming underwater. A vulture searching for his next prey.
Such words could perfectly describe Leo.
(T-this-! This is true happiness!!!)
It wasn’t even midday yet, but Leo’s heart was already pumping with excitement. He could smell the sweet fragrance of money drifting in the air.
The streets were crowded with people and the market was no different.
Everyone there wanted to, or would, buy something. After all, it was a festival, and spending money to buy the things that they wanted made everyone happy. But to Leo, being the one selling the things that others wanted to buy, made him even happier.
However, his stand was located at the edge of the Commercial District , which was a bit unfortunate to some people, since that place wasn’t really that popular… but that didn’t bother Leo. He managed to turn that situation around.
Like a good vulture, Leo wasn’t picky with his food (customers), which made him the best poster girl ever–
“Here is, your order!” – Said Leo, with a sunny smile, as he handed a a special bread filled with grilled meat, vegetables, cheese and his newest invention, a special tomato sauce, to one of the customers waiting in line, in front of the food cart.
–Each time a customer bought a special bread, Leo’s smile would deepen, which in turn attracted even more customers, who bought even more bread.
But Leo wasn’t the only reason why the people were lining up in front of the cart to buy the special bread… this new product was simply too good to pass unnoticed.
At first, no one was buying anything from them, which made Leo a bit sad. But a group of housewives, who was passing by, decided to buy one bread each, just to put a smile on the little girl’s face.
However, they weren’t expecting that the special bread would be that good.
The housewives then started advertising the special bread to other housewives, who bought the bread and advertised the product to even more housewives. And in less than an hour, they were already sold out.
Lucky for them, Leo’s stand was close to Chris’s house, so they went there to make more bread.
Leo thought that Chris would take at least 2-3 hours to finish the new batch of bread, but she actually managed to finish it in less than an hour, which shocked him. However, now that they had an infinite supply of bread (Chris), Leo could sell as much of the special bread as he wanted.
(But that’s not enough… I can make the special bread even more special!) – Thought Leo.
He then made a deal with the uncle of the skewer shop, the granny who was selling vegetables and the Onee-san of the cheese shop, and they all agreed to his 1/3 profit.
Now it was time to start round two.
Since their stands were close to each-other, they decided to focus on making the special bread, leaving Leo on charge of the sales.
It was a win-win situation, both to the customers, who were buying the innovative and delicious special bread, and to Leo’s gang, who were selling the special bread.
No one had ever thought of stuffing a loaf of bread with meat, vegetables, cheese and sauce. And that’s what made the special bread as popular as it was right now. However,  contrary to what some would expect, the other shopkeepers weren’t mad at them for stealing all the customers, on the contrary, because of the sudden influx of people on that area, they other stands were selling more than they expected. Some of them were even sold out already. And to that, Leo could only smile happily, after all, everyone was enjoying the festival.
“Everyone∼! Let’s go, all out, and enjoy, the festival∼!” – Yelled Leo, in a cheerful tone.
“”””Ooohhh!!!!!!!!””””
Leo-chan was like a godsend to both the customers and to the other shopkeepers. She was always smiling, just like a bright sun, spreading happiness everywhere she went. Just hearing her cheerful voice was enough to make everyone happy.
Besides, the fact that she was taking care of the sales of her own food cart, despite her young age, was enough to inspire the other shopkeepers. They didn’t want to mop around and lament that they were unlucky to get a spot at the edge of the commercial district… they wanted to do their best too, like the little girl in front of them–
“Welcome to Erich’s Caramelized Treats shop! It’s sweet and your kids will love it!”
“Milk, vegetables and cheese! All of these for a fair price! You won’y regret buying it!”
“Fresh fruits! We have oranges, apples, watermelons and many other things! Come before they’re all sold out!”
–And like Leo, they were now acting a bit more cheerful, although, for a completely different reason. However, he didn’t know that he was the reason why they were more cheerful now, after all, he was too focused on his customers to notice.
But then, as he was about to turn around—
“Sorry for, the delay! Here is, your ord—”
—Leo bumped into a small child and lost his balance.
“—Woah…!”
As he stumbled forward, Leo noticed that the tray that he was carrying was about to hit the little kid, so he shifted the position of the tray… but as a result of doing that–
*Splat!*
–Leo fell face-first onto the tray filled with bread.
(Ow!!! My nose…!) – Thought Leo, as clutched his nose; small tears were gathering on the corner of his eyes.
It was a disaster. Leo had not only embarrassed himself in front of a lot of people, but he also damaged the orders of his precious customers.
Leo was so embarrassed, that he even considered burying himself in a hole.
But he couldn’t give up yet… his dream of making a lot of money during the festival was right around the corner, so he wiped his tears and tried to get up, however, while he was doing so, Leo saw a lock of his hair on the edge of his vision… yes his hat had fallen off, which revealed Leo-chan’s–no, Leonora’s true appearance.
“Hey mom, look! That Onee-chan is a Child Loved by the Spirits !” – Said the little kid who bumped into Leo.
“What are you talking about, Marc, you should be apologizing right now! Not pointing your finger at–oh my, you’re right! She is really a Child Loved by the Spirits ! Her eyes are shining in a golden color * , so she must’ve been blessed by the Great Spirit of Light!”
(S-spirit of light!? Are you mocking me, ma’am!? I was blessed by the Golden Spirit of Coins, not the Great Spirit of Light–!)
Leo wanted to retort and say that she was wrong, but that woman was probably a potential customer, so he stayed quiet and didn’t say anything.
(–Besides, it’s common knowledge that the spirits of light like blonde people! But, well, I have to agree that I have gold in my eyes * …)
( *Tl/n: In Japanese, that same sentence can mean two different things, but I had to change the first one, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.)
Since Leo was a dedicated follower of the Golden Spirit of Coins, he didn’t care about any other creed. In other words, since he just knew the basics about the other spirits, his warped knowledge became even more warped.
(Ah∼, so that’s it… maybe the Great Spirit of Light is depicted as a woman with black hair and golden eyes… but my eyes are purple, so I don’t think I look like her… well, whatever, I’ll just play along for now…)
Leo could understand why they were mistaking him as the Great Spirit of Light, after all, Leena was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. Besides, his customers were all really excited about his true appearance, so if Leo played along, he would probably attract even more customers.
But it didn’t change the fact that being compared to a woman was a bit embarrassing, after all, Leo was still a man on the inside–
(No, making a lot of money is more important than being embarrassed!)
–However, for the sake of his goal, Leo didn’t mind acting even more girly.
When they heard the commotion, Chris and Kai stopped everything that they were doing to see what was going on, but because there were too many people surrounding the food cart, they couldn’t see what was happening in there.
After they finally managed to break through the encirclement, Chris was the first one to ask if everything was alright—
“Is everything oka—!?”
—However, before she could even finish her sentence, her voice was muffled by another, even louder, voice.
“—C-can I shake your hand, Priestess Onee-chan !?” – Asked Marc; his eyes were shining with expectation. ( Tl/n: He actually said Priestess of the Great Spirit of Light Onee-chan, but I shortened it to just Priestess Onee-chan.)
At first, Leo was a bit surprised by the boy’s sudden request, but since he was hellbent on earning a lot of money, any sacrifice was valid, and that, of course, included his male pride, after all, he had to act like a kind, Great Spirit of Light.
However, although Leo wasn’t petty enough to make a little kid pay for all the damaged products, he simply couldn’t let that slide either, so he bent forward to be on the same eye level as Marc, then, with a teasing grin, he said–
“–Okay… but only if, you buy one, special bread.”
Leo wasn’t a monster. And he didn’t do that just for the sake of being mean either. He just wanted to show Marc how the adult world worked.
If you want something, you have to pay for it with your own money.
But Marc was just a child, who, at first glance, didn’t have any money, so he was bound to back down on his request—
(This is the adult world, Marc! Now learn and become a better pers—!)
“Really!? Then I’ll buy five of them!”
“—Eh!?”
—Or at least, that’s what Leo thought.
The special bread wasn’t cheap. Chris’s bread, alone, was as expensive as a jug of fresh milk, not to mention the full price of the new special bread, so of course Leo would be surprised by that sudden declaration. Who wouldn’t, in the first place? But a customer was a customer, so Leo honored his promise and shook the boy’s hand–
“Wow! I’m so jealous! I want to shake her hand too!”
“I-I’ll buy ten! So, please, shake my hand too!”
“No, I’ll buy twenty! So shake mine first!”
–However, Marc wasn’t the only one. From the small children, to the elderly people, everyone wanted to shake hands with the beautiful Leo-chan. After all, she was the Priestess of Light, a being that most of them had only ever seen in fairy tales.
If buying just one special bread was enough for them to shake hands with that god-like being, then the price of that handshake was actually quite cheap. So Leo took advantage of that to earn even more money, since there were now more and more people lining up in front of the food cart, just to shake hands with him.
“Thank you for shaking my hand!!!” – Said a customer, in an over excited tone, as he shook Leo’s hand.
“T-thank you, as well, for buying, the bread.”
“I-I-I won’t wash this hand for the rest of my life!” – Said another customer, as he stared fervently at his own hand.
“Oh, uh, t-that’s, a little… . ”
“\\\\\\Priestess-sama’s hand is so warm∼♥\\\\\\” – Said yet another customer, but for some reason, her face was really red. ( Tl/n: Call 911! This lady is a lolicon!)
“H-hey, uh… can you, release my, hand… p-please…?”
And like that, they sold everything that they had in stock.
“Wow… we sold everything so fast… I never thought I would use every single bag of flour that I had in stock, in just one day.” – Said Chris, in a fatigued, but also joyous, tone.
“Me too… I wasn’t, expecting to see, that many people… . ” – Said Leo, in a dry tone, as he remembered all the creepy customers that he had to deal with.
Aside from the occasional creep that would show up, Leo didn’t have any complaints about this kind of job, since he made a lot of money today.
However, even Kai, who was still a bit hungover, ended up having to help them, halfway through. After all, there were simply too many customers for them to handle. So while Chris stayed in her home baking more bread, he would carry the new batch to his master’s stand.
But none of that mattered to Chris right now… she couldn’t stop thinking about what she saw earlier today.
(Those golden eyes… they faded as soon as I managed to break through the encirclement, but I still managed to catch a glimpse of them… haaah∼, like I thought… Leo-chan isn’t an ordinary girl, huh…?)
To Chris, Leo-chan was like a perfect being. As a merchant, she was outstanding, and as a believer of the spirit faith, she was like a High Priestess, spreading happiness everywhere she went. She even renovated Chris’s old food cart. For free.
But that wasn’t all. While she was shaking hands with her customers, one beggar approached her. At first, many thought he would do something really disrespectful towards her, but he actually just wanted to buy one of the damaged products.
However, instead of being afraid of him, like any normal little girl would, Leo-chan just turned around with a smile, and said that she would sell all of the damaged products to him if he paid 1/3 of the normal price, after all, he still needed a bit of money to take a bath in the public bathhouse.
The man couldn’t express how grateful he was. He was ready to be humiliated in public when he went there, after all, that’s how most people treated him. But contrary to what he was expecting, he was received with open arms and an open heart. For the first time in years, someone treated him like a person. But that’s just how Leo-chan was. She would extend her hand to everyone that needed her help.
However, that was a slight misconception. To Leo, whether you were a Prince or a beggar, it didn’t matter. If you bought something that he was selling, he would automatically treat you like a customer. But no one actually noticed that.
“…-ris? Hey, Chris, are you, listening?”
“Wha-!? S-s-sorry, Leo-chan! I was lost in my thoughts! C-can you repeat that, please?”
“Un! Here is, your share of, today’s sales. And, like we, agreed on, this is, my share.” – Said Leo, with a happy smile on his face, as he handed a sack brimming with coins to Chris and patted the other one that was resting on his lap.
“W-w-wait a moment! All of this money is my share!?” – Said Chris, visibly surprised.
“Yes, that’s your, share! Your bread, is really good, and you’re, a very, skilled baker! So be, a bit more, proud of, your work!”
After resting for a while, Kai joined their conversation. It seemed like he was already better, so he sat with the two of them on the doorstep of Chris’s house and they enjoyed a normal conversation, until his curiosity finally hit a limit, and Kai asked where Chris had learned her baking skills.
Leo was curious as well. He had never heard of someone baking an entire batch of bread in less than an hour.
“I already told you that I used to work as a nun in a church, right Leo-chan?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the thing is… I was in charge of baking all the bread for distribution here in Richard, so I learned that on my own.”
“………………Huh?”
Chris was in charge of baking all the bread for distribution, but the only church that did that, here in Richard, was the southern district’s church, which meant–
“–You worked, on that church, that was burned, to the ground!?”
“Oh, so you knew the Husheim church? Yes, I used to work there.”
(Of course I know that church! Leena told me that she bought that place!)