CH 106

Chapter 106 : Jaeson Armor Shop

The next day, I went to Jaeson Armor Shop with Nicola.

I told Mom and Dad that I would go to grandpa’s house the day before, and Dad came up with the idea of going to see him as a family, but I convinced Dad and Mom not to come because I was afraid if Grandpa would go on a rampage like last time.

By the way, there’s a reason why Grandpa hates a handsome and kind man like Dad.

When Mom and Dad were little, they were very close. Everyone thought that they would definitely get married in the future.

However, Dad’s parents died due to an epidemic. Dad, who was left alone, had to manage the inn by himself at the young age of thirteen.

It was very difficult for a thirteen-year-old child to manage the inn by himself without any relatives to rely on.

Dad started thinking about closing the inn, but Mom, who learned about Dad’s distressed condition, rushed to the inn and chose to support Dad by living together with him.

After that, Grandpa, who lost his beloved daughter, persuaded Mom to return home, saying that she could still support Dad even without living together with him, but Mom refused. She didn’t want to leave Dad alone. Dad also, he didn’t want Mom to leave because he was supported both physically and mentally by Mom’s presence.

Several years later after the inn management became stable, Mom got pregnant with Nicola and me. Since then, Grandpa seemed to have given up on persuading Mom to return home.

After that, Dad came to Grandpa’s house to talk many times, but Grandpa never showed any signs of reconciliation.

Grandpa was very stubborn even toward Nicola and me, the children who made it impossible for him to get his beloved daughter back home.

However, I thought that it wasn’t good to ignore this situation any longer.

Neither Mom nor Dad have ever spoken out about this, but when they saw an old man customer with his grandchildren eating in our dining hall, they sometimes looked a little sad.

That’s why, I want to see Grandpa and talk with him to make this situation better.

After a while of walking down the street, Nicola and I stood in front of the Jaeson Armor Shop.

The shop wasn’t that big, but there were a lot of products lined up in the shop’s narrow space.

Although this is an armor shop, there were not many armor that was made of iron sold in the shop.

The main items were leather armor and clothes for travelers, but for some reason, it seemed like there were many small sized clothes for children.

I believe there were barely any children’s clothes the last time I went here… I wonder what’s going on…

「Excuse me…」(Mark)

「Welcoー You… You two are Jean’s kids, aren’t you…? What do you want?」(Grandpa)

The fierce-looking middle-aged man, whose long golden hair was tied to the back, glared at Nicola and me from the counter. He’s our grandpa.

By the way, Jean is Dad’s name.

「He, Hello, Grandpa… Tomorrow, we’re going on a trip for about a week. We came to get all the equipment we need…」(Mark)

「Ha? So Jean let his kids go outside the town? What a careless father… Also, I’m not that old to be called ‘Grandpa’!」(Grandpa)

He’s still around 40 years old, so actually he’s not that old, but it can’t be helped, right? He’s our mom’s father after all.

「…A-Anyway, this will be our first long trip, so we’re not sure what kind of things we need, so…」(Mark)

I said nervously.

Grandpa sighed, scratched his head roughly, and glared at us.

「Hahh… Let’s see… First of all, you need shoes for traveling. Solid leather shoes are good, but if you never wear shoes like that, you will get blisters on your feet for sure… Tsk, you should have come way earlier!」(Grandpa)

While yelling, Grandpa took out two pairs of small leather shoes from a shelf and lined them up on the floor. He then grabbed a wooden stick that seemed to be a magic tool, and began beating the shoes with that.

As he hit the shoes, steam came out of the wooden stick. It seemed that the steam could soften leather products, but… is it necessary to hit them that hard?

We could only hear the hitting sound echoing in the store while watching Grandpa hitting the shoes for a while until he stopped.

After that, Grandpa took the small jar near a shoe shelf and started applying the jelly-like substance from the jar to the shoes.

「It will take a while. In the meantime, let’s see if I have other things for you.」(Grandpa)

After he finished applying the substance to the shoes, Grandpa turned to me.

「Oi, Marー the brother, you have an item box, right? But I think you should have a small waist bag too for convenience. As for the sister, let me find a cute-looking bag for you.」(Grandpa)

While saying that, Grandpa looked around another shelf, pulled out two waist bags from it and threw them to me and Nicola.

The one that I caught had a rugged design. It was made of solid blackish leather and seemed to be durable. Honestly, it looks pretty cool.

And the one that Nicola caught was made of pink leather and had a floral pattern. It looked fashionable and was handy at the same time.

After we wrapped the waist bags on our waists, Grandpa put his hand on his chin and stared at us.

「Hmm… Next item is… cloak, huh. I don’t know where you are going tomorrow, but it’s better if you have a cloak. It can block the sunlight and keep you warm in the cold. The ones with a good quality can even protect you from beast bites.」(Grandpa)

While saying that, Grandpa walked to the farthest shelf at the back of the shop and brought two expensive-looking adult-sized cloaks.

I tried to look at the price tags because I was curious about the price, but then Grandpa noticed my gaze. He quickly took off the price tags, crumpled them all together into a ball and threw it away.

However, I caught a glimpse of it for a second. I believe it said ten gold coins.

Honestly, ten gold coins is way too expensive for a cloak.

「G-Granpa… We don’t have much money, so…」(Mark)

「Ha? How can I take children’s money!? These cloaks won’t sell anyway, and it’ll be a waste if I just throw them away.」(Grandpa)

After he yelled like that, he put the cloaks on the table, scratched his head, and went to the back of the shop.

Not long after that, he returned, holding a tray with two glasses of juices and a plate of sweets on it.

「You two, sit over there. I’m going to resize the cloaks, so wait for a while.」(Grandpa)

After we sat on the chairs, Grandpa put the tray on the table in front of us.

Then he immediately moved the cloaks to the workbench in the back of the store and started working.

While enjoying my juice, I sent a telepathic message to Nicola.

『This is… Could it be…』(Mark)

Nicola, who was also drinking juice, nodded.

『Yeah, your guess is right… You know what, he passed by in front of our inn, glancing at us when we were working almost every day. He also came to the vacant lot sometimes when we were playing there.』(Nicola)

『As I thought… So he is a tsundere, huh?』(Mark)

『Yeah, you can say that… He hid it, but he smiled after seeing us wearing these waist bags. He even gave us expensive cloaks and snacks. I wonder how long he can keep acting tsundere like this~ Fufufu~』(Nicola)

『Oi, oi… Don’t tell me you’re going to…』(Mark)

Nicola brushed her hair with her fingers and smiled mischievously.

『Watch.』(Nicola)

She then got off the chair and slowly approached Grandpa who was working on resizing the cloaks with a serious face.

Grandpa, who noticed Nicola, stopped working and stared at her.

「What’s wrong? Don’t disturb me and go back to your chair.」(Grandpa)

Ignoring Grandpa, Nicola smiled at him with her usualーー no, with her leveled-up angelic smileー

「Ojii-chan~♡」(Nicola)

ーand clung to his leg.

「ーー！！！」(Grandpa)

And then…

Grandpa fell off his chair with a nosebleed and a bright red face.