I went outside into the warm sunlight. As I walked through the beautifully decorated stationery garden, I saw a woman struggling to drag a large wooden barrel. She had brown hair that looked frizzy with fine strands, and she looked tired and worn out, whining in an old navy blue tunic as she moved things.
I cautiously approached her and spoke. "Hello there!"
"Oh, hello!"
"Hello." The woman who was carrying the round oak barrel stopped and looked at me with a pale face.
"Oh! My name is Meldenik, the owner of this shop. Nice to meet you."
"Uh, I'm Lily." Lily glanced at me, then looked behind me and exclaimed, "That's right. The building has become pretty."
But I had a hard time concentrating on what she was saying. 'Huh? ...Bruises on her face?' Lily's face was bluish. 'Perhaps... Is it a family matter?' If someone doesn't tell you themselves, it's polite not to ask.
I decided to change the subject carefully and pointed my fingertips toward my stationery store. "Do you see the building with yellow walls in front of here? I'm opening a new stationery store."
"A stationery store?"
Ah, a stationery store was an unfamiliar concept here. I nodded and replied to her, "It's like a general store that sells things for children!"
"Wow, I see, because it's in front of the Academy... It's amazing. It's been a long time since I've seen a new merchant come in." Lily's soft brown eyes opened wide and then narrowed. She looked tired, but she was beautifully revitalized for a moment.
'I want to give you something.' I rolled down my eyes. It just so happened that I had some dalgona in my hand for publicity. "Eat this!" I carefully held out the dalgona to Lily.
"What is this?" She looked puzzled and accepted the dalgona I offered her. "Oh, it's like candy. It's sweet!" Lily slipped the dalgona I held out to her into her pocket and thanked me profusely. "Thank you. I work as an employee at Ressa's Tavern. Please come back later."
"A tavern?"
"Oh, yes, it's a little far from Academy Street. The bar is prohibited from doing business right in front of the academy."
I laughed wickedly at her explanation. 'Pumpkins roll in like this.' I was always thinking about how to make beer candies exactly, how to express the texture of beer in the candies, and how to make adult beer candies that contain alcohol. 'You can get to know the owner of the bar and work with him!'
For my own self-interest, I squeezed her hand. "Hey, can I have a conversation with the owner of the bar?"
"Yes, but what about the boss..." Her pupils fluttered.
I tilted my head in wonder. "Why is the boss?"
"He's not feeling well. He won't have long." I let out a sad sigh. "Oh..." But who is cold-blooded enough to approach someone who is sick and talk about business? "I hope he gets better soon."
After thinking about it for a moment, Lily bit her lip and said in a trembling voice, "Hey. Then come tomorrow around noon. The boss said he was coming to the bar tomorrow... Maybe we can meet him. Hey, it's at the end of the street, so please come and find me!"
"Really? He's sick, but I can meet him in person?"
"Yes, I'm sure he'll be fine. The boss also likes to meet new people." She raised the tip of her chin and pointed to the street. "There will be a big sign that says 'Ressa's Tavern'!"
"Yes, I'll go find you." I laughed. I don't know, but if I present my blueprint, wouldn't it be over? 'After all, this company will bear the money, and this company will be in charge of the development.' I smiled brightly and waved my hand.
But Lily didn't leave right away. Instead, she looked around, then looked down at the barrel in a low voice and asked cautiously, "Did something happen?"
"Nothing."
"Oh..." But she shook her head. She grabbed my hand once and then again. "If you come to the bar tomorrow, I'll tell you everything. Talking in a place like this..." She looked around as if she was being chased by something, and hurried away.
I had no choice but to stand there. 'What is it? Why?' I couldn't figure out why. Looking at Lily's back as she moved away, I had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy.
I looked at Dominic as he slipped out of the stationery store and crossed my arms. "Dominic."
"What's going on?"
"I just saw someone who works at a bar near here."
"Oh, really? Have you suggested that we make candy together?"
"I haven't made any suggestions, but I've made an appointment for tomorrow."
"That's great. But why do you look so troubled?"
I scratched the back of my head in response to Dominic's sharp words. "The boss says he's not feeling well, and the part-time student has bruises on his face... He asked me if anything happened."
Dominic tilted his head and asked innocently, "Shall we meet tomorrow and find out?"
I nodded. There was definitely something here.
The next day, I went straight to Ressa's Tavern. I closed the stationery store for a while and Dominic accompanied me. As I entered the tavern, I soon saw the half-white lady who ran the tavern and Lily, the part-time student I had met yesterday.
"Welcome!" As if they weren't preparing for business, the tavern was silent with many oak barrels. I thought it was strange because it looked strangely empty without people.
"Sit here, Miss."
"Yes, it's my first time to see you." I sat down at the wooden table and nodded my head, looking around.
There, I went through a brief introduction process and listened to their story. The name of the owner of the bar was Ressa, and the fact that the bar was closed for the time being. 'But why is the bar closed?' I wanted to ask them why, but their expressions were so dark that I couldn't bring myself to speak. For a moment, I bit my lip with a worried shyness.
Ressa opened her mouth first and changed the subject. "Oh, what is that booklet in your hand?"
I opened my mouth. "It's a business plan. Well, I have a suggestion for you." I put the business plan on the table and naturally began to explain. It was a plan that alcohol would be needed to develop new items and that part of the royalties would be provided.
After hearing all the words, Ressa looked through the plan with a thoughtful face. "That's a good suggestion. It's also a unique project. I think children will definitely like it. It would be great if I could participate in this kind of planning."
Were we sure we had won her over? My eyes began to sparkle. "Oh, can I be more specific?" All that was left to do was to explain Dominic as an entry-level wizard and detail how to make beer candy.
But then, the owner's shrunken hands rubbed the wrinkles of her pants. "But what should I do?" I felt a sense of foreboding, just like when I first heard about the closure. I looked at the owner with trembling eyes. "I've decided to quit my job at the tavern."
I was sure I could convince them now! "Yes? It's a good location, but why..."
Lily, whom I met yesterday, opened her mouth cautiously. "Well, it's because of the payment."
"What is that?" I heard a strange voice.
"There are people called the Red Cult Pirates who dominate this area. They demanded too much compensation... I'm going to hand over all the remaining beer barrels to them."
I narrowed my eyebrows. "Then did you close because of them?"
"You're smart. That's right. I don't have much beer to give to my customers because I'm trying to pay them off."
"No, you have to close your business because of thugs..."
"They're going to see Mel soon. They would ask for at least five million Becquerels. If you don't give it to them, they'll beat you up and make you into a club..."
Five million Becquerels? I opened my mouth. In Korean currency, it was equivalent to five million won. It was an amount that small business owners could not pay.
Ressa laughed helplessly. 'There are still people like service thugs!' I looked dumbfounded and asked cautiously, "Shouldn't I report it to the security guard?"
Lily, who was beside me, shook her head. "The guards don't intervene. Because we're commoners... They know how to use magic, and they have good physical strength. In addition, there were rumors that they were sponsored by a high-ranking person not long ago. I can't deal with them." The guards were incompetent, and even if they didn't know who the higher-ups were, they were complete garbage. 'You sponsor a gangster who beats people.'
I frowned. "That's terrible... They're crazy."
Ressa's faint sigh filled the table. Dominic and I exchanged glances. 'I need to get rid of them so I can save the people at the tavern and make beer candy.'
But just then, a smashing bang from the tavern door sounded! It looked like someone was kicking the door.