#22: Trying To Rent A Shop — Exiled Hero’s Leisure Life (Slow Life) – I Also Got My Very Own Dearest Angel After Getting Free! (WN)

Afternoon in the Royal Capital.

While I was looking for a rental property in the Royal Capital, I found an empty shop.

It was not suitable to live in, but I figured it would be more than enough if all I needed was to make an entrance to the dungeon.

While I was at it, I asked the neighboring shops what kind of store it had been.

I learned it was known as a cursed spot where shops changed every few months and then went under.

Apparently the shop owners either died or ran away in the night—none of them met a good end.

I immediately went to see the landlady who managed the property, as written on the notice.

The landlady was a chubby middle-aged woman.

“Huh? No way. That place is rented out as a shop, so using it just to live in is a big no-no. That would violate the regulations.”

“I see… So what about what we sell—does it matter what the goods are?”

“Well, let me think. So far it has been a boxed-lunch shop, a jeweler, a potion shop, a juice stand, a clothing and armor alteration shop… and for some reason every single one went out of business right away.”

Liricia tilted her head.

“The location is not that bad. Why would that be?”

“I have no idea. I am the one in trouble because I can never get tenants to stay. There are even rumors it is cursed—it is a real nuisance, honestly.”

“Hm…”

I put a hand to my chin and thought.

I was not trying to make a profit from business or anything.

I just wanted a place where I could connect an entrance to the dungeon.

In that case, why not just rent it while pretending to run a shop?

All I had to do was line the shelves with things ordinary people did not really want.

“How much is the monthly rent?”

“Since I cannot get a tenant, it is 70,000 Gort. Cheap, right? I do want three months up front, though.”

“That is about one month’s rent for an ordinary one-room place…”

Liricia helpfully added that.

It was less than half the space of a normal room, but it was a ground-floor shop, so the price made sense.

Since an entrance to the dungeon had to be underground or on the first floor, the answer was already decided.

I nodded.

“Then rent us that shop. Here is the rent and the fees for all the paperwork. I want you to handle the hassle.”

I took out three large gold coins.

The landlady shrugged and took the money.

“That is fine by me, but what are you planning to sell? I am not doubting you—it is just something the application form needs.”

“Adventurer-related… things like that.”

I said the first thing that came to mind, and even I realized how vague it sounded. It was not really an answer.

I glanced at Liricia for help.

She nodded, her silver hair swaying, then raised a graceful finger and began explaining in a confident voice.

“Basically, we live as adventurers, so we would like to sell what we have left over from that life. Also, there are items the guild buys for very little, yet there are sometimes people who want them. We would like to sell such things for a higher price. For example, leaves or mushrooms from collection requests, or parts from subjugated monsters.”

“That is an answer I sort of understand and sort of do not. Why would anyone buy things you can pick up for free if you just walk into the forest?”

The landlady looked at us with a doubtful gaze.

Even capable Liricia was at a loss for words at that.

However, thanks to the time she had bought me, an idea snapped into place.

I gave a bold smile and spoke with full confidence.

“Here is the thing… Missions have deadlines. If you go over time, you can end up owing a huge amount in damages or penalty fees. So when someone is one item short of completing a quest, but they are out of time, we will sell it to them for five times the guild’s purchase price. That is what we have in mind.”

After I finished, I curled one corner of my mouth into a grin.

Beside me, Liricia also smiled adorably like an angel.

You would never have guessed we had just made that story up on the spot from how confidently we smiled.

Maybe we had a knack for being con artists.

The landlady pressed a hand to her chin and let out a thoughtful hum.

“I see! You two really have thought about this. No wonder you are opening a shop. The Adventurer Guild is close by too, so it might just work out.”

“Yeah, I think it will.”

“Yes! I very much hope it does.”

“So, when are you planning to open? I need that for the paperwork as well.”

“Let me see…”

Liricia glanced over at me.

I answered at random.

“We still need to gather stock, so we will open a week from now.”

“Huh. Got it. I will handle registration and all the legal stuff.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Then here is the key. Just do not alter the exterior walls of the building. You can change the interior as you like.”

“Understood.”

I accepted the key.

Then we thanked the landlady and left.

As we walked down the cobblestone backstreet, Liricia looked up at me and praised me in an admiring tone.

“As expected of you, Master! I had no idea you had thought of such a business.”

“No, most of that was just talk out of my mouth.”

At that, Liricia’s brows drew together in worry.

“Will it be all right?”

“In the worst case, all we need is an entrance, so it is not a problem. You did a great job buying me time, Liricia. I will be counting on your support from here on too.”

“Yes, Master! —But still, will it really be all right… I cannot help but worry.”

Her joyous smile vanished, and her expression clouded again; the ends of her brows drooped with unease.

“What is bothering you?”

“…The fact that it is called a cursed place keeps weighing on my mind for some reason… I have a bad feeling.”

“Oh?”

Normally I would have laughed it off, but since angelic Liricia sensed something ominous, we needed to be careful.

I took her hand and nodded.

“All right. Let us go there now and check it out.”

“Yes!”

Hand in hand, we headed for the shop.

Liricia and I arrived at the shop in the south-eastern district of the Royal Capital.

It was on the back street one block behind the Adventurer Guild.

Using the key the landlady had given us, we went inside.

It was a cramped interior.

Probably because the previous shop had been a boxed-lunch place, there was a counter just a few steps in, and the back was a kitchen.

Ever since we had gone inside, Liricia had been frowning deeply as she examined the floor, walls, and ceiling.

“How is it, Liricia?”

“…There is something here.”

“Oh?”

I felt nothing at all.

Liricia looked back toward the entrance.

We could see people coming and going along the street outside.

“I would like to turn into an angel and investigate, but…”

“That would be risky. In that case, why do you not also pick out some cloth or boards for a visual screen, and other interior pieces you like while we are at it?”

“Yes! I will do my best!”

Liricia made a tiny fist and pumped herself up.

After that, we walked around the city, visiting lumber yards, fabric shops, and glass merchants. (90,000 Gort)

Then, under Liricia’s direction, we remodeled the interior.

The wallpaper became a cream color, the counter was turned into a glass display case, and the windows facing the street were covered by curtains.

Now no one could see inside from the outside.

With a serious expression, Liricia pressed her large chest with both hands.

“Then, here I go.”

Her white wings spread with a rustle.

“—Dark Magic Detection.”

A white wave emanated from Liricia at the center and slowly spread outward.

Unlike before, it moved slowly.

For a while she stood still, arms held out in front of her, her white wings wrapped around her body.

Then—

She tilted her head, silver hair swaying.

“There is nothing here… Why would that be?”

“If it was a low-level monster, it might have died the moment I stepped into the shop.”

“Hmmm… That is one possibility. May I investigate a little more using another method?”

“Yeah, please do.”

Liricia took a book out of her pack and began to read.

If I remembered right, it was a book about angel magic.

“Um, an application of Dark Magic Detection…”

She took out her flail, stretched her arm forward, and let the chain with its weight hang straight down.

“Dark Magic Detection.”

The flail began to shine with a golden light.

Keeping the weight lowered, she slowly walked around the shop.

Then, when she reached the floor over the kitchen area, the hanging chain began to whirl in circles.

She stopped and looked at me.

“…Master. It seems there is something beneath us.”

“Oh? Let us check it out.”

We went over to the kitchen and examined the floor.

When I tapped it with my finger, a hollow sound echoed.

“It is hollow under here.”

“Shall we go down?”

“Let us.”

After some searching, a section of the floorboards lifted up.

When I peered inside, I saw a glowing hole in the wall continuing downwards.

“Is that not a dungeon!?”

“There is no mistaking it—it is a dungeon!”

Then the sub-device I had received from the Dungeon Core started to buzz and vibrate.

When I looked at its screen, a little mouth icon appeared.

I spoke toward the screen.

“What is wrong?”

“That place is super-duper dangerous! Danger warning!”

“What is so dangerous about it?”

“That is a rival’s entrance.”

“Huh? A rival?”

“Yes. The dungeon east of the Royal Capital has extended one of its passages here!”

“The dungeon east of the city! It should already be pretty big. Is it so huge it has reached under the Royal Capital?”

“No, it is even bigger than that.”

“What?”

“That folding-screen-like mountain range stretching from east to south as seen from the Royal Capital—every bit of that has been turned into dungeon. So has the great canyon beyond the mountains.”

“What! It is that huge!?”

“It is the one that got me too. That thing has four cores.”

“So that is what happened…”

“Master, I want you to protect me.”

“Of course. You are a precious companion now.”

“I am so happy, Master!”

I ended the call with the sub-device.

If the Dungeon Core was destroyed, the housing plan I had in mind would vanish.

To secure my own living environment, we would have to defeat the dungeon east of the Royal Capital.

I looked at Liricia.

“What do you think? Should we report this to the guild?”

“I think that would be best. With a dungeon that vast, the two of us alone could not possibly handle it.”