Kent and Marie headed to Etsigoya’s shop, hand in hand.
“Do we look like siblings from the outside?”
“Kent… that’s awful.”
When Kent teased Marie, she showed a dejected expression. Although there was about a decade’s age difference between them, Kent found Marie’s expression very cute.
Etsigoya’s shop was located past the town’s main street. Unlike Marie’s Bakery, which was on the outskirts of the town center, this shop was in a commercial area, making its location very good.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Still, it looks terribly ravaged.”
The shop had previously presented a facade of tacky luxury, but the decorations seemed to have been taken, and the walls were peeling in places, looking painful.
“Well then, shall we go inside?”
Marie used the key to the shop that she received from the Union Manager to open the door and entered.
“It’s a mess inside, too.”
“Yes. I don’t know what to do with it in this condition.”
Marie said to Kent with a troubled expression. Inside, the furnishings had been taken, and items were scattered on the floor. The kiln for baking bread had also been broken. In the back, there were the shop’s office and a reception room, but all the valuables had been taken from these as well, with documents scattered around.
“It looks like they even took the bugging devices… they only look expensive, so I guess it can’t be helped.”
The golden beckoning cat, which had been prepared to eavesdrop on Etsigoya’s conversations, was also missing from the reception room.
“Kent, there’s a staircase here.”
Marie seemed to have found stairs. Going up to the upper floor, there were rooms that appeared to be for employees living on-site. The employees didn’t seem to have been treated well; there were signs that people had been there, but each room had been left untouched, with what seemed to be personal belongings still in them.
“What will happen to the arrested employees?”
“I think most of them are probably unrelated to this incident, but I don’t know what will happen.”
Kent, not being involved in the judiciary, didn’t know what kind of punishment the employees would receive. All he could do was pray that people who were unrelated wouldn’t be implicated.
“Let’s leave the personal belongings here as they are. If they are released, we’ll have to return them.”
“I agree. However, we should check the rooms to gather data for future use. Let’s take a look.”
With that, Kent went around checking each room.
“Oh?”
Kent found an opened envelope on a desk.
“Excuse me for a moment…”
Kent took out the letter from the envelope.
“Oh, it’s a letter.”
Marie, looking curious, stuck close to Kent and peered at the letter. Whether it was intentional or not, Marie’s chest pressed against Kent’s arm, and he could feel a pleasant elasticity.
“Um… Let’s see. Dear Older Sister, thank you for the remittance the other day. After Mother passed away and Father was injured and couldn’t work, your remittances became our only support. … Please take care of yourself. I’ll write again.”
As Kent read it aloud, Marie burst into tears.
“With their income gone, how will this family survive…?”
“There’s nothing we can do. However, if the owner of this letter is released safely, we should find them a job at our place.”
“I agree…”
Kent held Marie close and stayed still until she calmed down.
“Kent…”
“What is it, Marie?”
“When you hold me like this, I feel at ease.”
Marie leaned against Kent and rested for a while. When she had calmed down, they looked at the other rooms and then went downstairs.
“Ah, right.”
Kent took out his terminal.
“Let’s try to contact Emily from here.”
He selected the call option and dialed Emily.
“Yes, Emily speaking.”
“Oh, it connected.”
“Master. Is there something you need?”
“I’m at Etsigoya’s shop now, and it seems we can make calls.”
“Yes, Master, I can hear your voice clearly.”
“I was just testing it, so I’ll hang up now. Thank you.”
“Yes, understood.”
Kent ended the call.
“Kent, you’re amazing. You can contact Emily even from this far away.”
“It seems so.”
Marie said, sounding impressed.
“If I’m here, I can handle procurement for both shops and can also make contact, so we might be able to manage both businesses.”
“Then, rather than selling this shop, it would be better for us to open a business and manage it ourselves.”
Marie seemed to be considering not selling the shop and starting some kind of business, not necessarily a bakery.
“Given that repairs will likely be quite expensive, let’s leave it in its current state until we can secure the funds. We have plenty of time until then, so let’s all discuss and decide what kind of shop it will be.”
“If that’s what Marie decides, I have nothing to say. However, I’ll do anything to cooperate with you, so please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Kent. Well, it’s getting close to dinner time, so let’s head back, shall we?”
Kent and Marie went outside, locked the door, and started walking home.
“Welcome home, Kent and Marie.”
“We’re home, Caro. Are you… feeling better?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
When they returned home, a recovered Caro greeted them. She had looked unwell and pale when they met at noon, but her healthy color had returned.
“Oh, welcome home, Older Brother.”
“Welcome home, Older Brother.”
Rachel and Catherine had already returned. As they entered the house and came into the living room, Catherine spoke to them.
“Hey, Older Brother. I found a strange ingredient in town today and bought it.”
Catherine said with a knowing air.
“I thought they only existed in stories, so I was surprised it was real.”
Rachel said excitedly.
“Now that you mention it, I’m curious.”
Marie also seemed interested.
“Older Brother, do you know what this is?”
Catherine showed them an object in a shallow basket.
“Hmm, it looks like a ginseng… what is it?”
Kent couldn’t answer.
“Actually, it’s called a Mandrake.”
“Don’t tell me it’s that thing that screams when you pull it out, and if you hear it, you die?”
“You know about it, Older Brother?”
“No, this is the first time I’ve seen one in person.”
The object in the basket wiggled and made groaning sounds.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it? I only learned about it for the first time when Catherine mentioned it.”
“So, is it edible?”
“Probably…”
When Kent asked Catherine, she averted her gaze and replied.
(This is definitely something we shouldn’t eat.)
Kent thought instinctively.
“Do Caro and Marie know if it’s edible?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve heard it’s used in medicine, but I don’t know if it’s edible.”
“I don’t know either. In fact, this is the first time I’ve seen one in person.”
It seemed to have been quite expensive, but Kent decided they couldn’t use something as an ingredient if they didn’t know if it was edible. The Mandrake was destined to spend a while resting in the refrigerator.
