Chapter 243 Aunt Lina

243 Aunt Lina

In this week, by the empire's law, working is prohibited. However, there's a note stating that it's not a strict obligation, so many take advantage of this fact. Therefore, during the week-long weekend, many merchants and shop owners burned with bright flame to attract customers.

Business, oh business...

"This reminds me of how I conducted business in the Lower Realm," Adam suddenly began, folding the paper from the bun and tossing it into a trash bin a hundred meters away. He smiled and patted Calissa's fur as she finished eating, "I had many shops, and then I built an entire company that became competitive with market giants. It was a grand moment in my life."

Calissa remained silent, unsure of what to say. She sensed that Adam missed his past world and decided to listen to him so he could express his feelings. Adam smirked and waved at a boy running nearby.

"Did you want something, uncle?" the boy asked with a bright smile, trying to catch his breath. He had been running and playing so much that sweat drops could be seen trickling down his forehead.

"Ah... nephew, yes..." Adam felt a pang of emotion and feigned a cough, ignoring Calissa's giggles and the puzzled look from the boy. Adam kindly smiled and handed him 100 Rihms, "Son, could you buy a few more buns for uncle? Just three, and keep the change for yourself."

"E-erm, uncle, even if I buy three buns, I'd still have 70 Rihms left. That's too much; I can't accept it!" the boy said nervously, his eyes swirling.

"Don't worry. Buy something for your mom or yourself with the change. It's a good day today, so enjoy it while you're young." Adam reassured him with a smile.

"A-alright. Uncle, I'll be back in a minute!" the boy said with a bright smile, a bit nervous, and ran towards the bakery.

In less than two minutes, he returned with three buns and handed them over with a smile before rushing back to his friends. Adam noticed how he proudly boasted about his earnings and chuckled, shaking his head.

His monthly salary was 250,000 Rihms, which he received as an advance yesterday. He spent 150,000 Rihms to pay for citizenship, obtaining official citizenship in the Bean village and, consequently, in the Moonlight Shadow Empire. Not paying was much harder than paying, with strict security checking every Rihm. Failure to pay on time would lead to trouble. With official citizenship, he could receive benefits, freely leave the village, and enter other cities more easily. Moreover, inhabitants of Sir Clinton's territories could enter cities for free, which was advantageous for him. Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

***

Today was a sunny and trouble-free day. Adam felt bored, so he decided to go out for a stroll. Putting Calissa on his head, he walked through the village.

In the village, there were several districts: the trading district, the affluent district, the poor district, and finally, the central district. The "Crystal" boutique was located in the central district, along with other major stores. Elrion himself and the girls from the "Crystal" boutique lived in the affluent district, where renting a house cost 290,000 Rihms per month, and buying one exceeded 1,000,000 Rihms. In the poor district, things were simpler, with a monthly rent of 100,000 Rihms, and you could buy a house for half a million Rihms, but... the living conditions there were not great.

Considering that it was still a village, these prices were quite high. In the city, everything was much more expensive, so Adam could only sigh. Nevertheless, he lived in a convenient place, and there were no complaints.

Elrion invited him to stay with him for a while, but Adam declined, not wanting to take advantage of his boss's kindness. Besides, it would be inconvenient for him to live and meditate with Elrion simultaneously, as his Devil Source could go out of control. Moreover, he had secrets to keep.

"I'll visit Aunt Lina's bakery," thought Adam.

"Eh... Oh, yes! We need to move them to the storage. I hope for your help!" Lina regained her composure and answered, smiling shyly.

Adam nodded and began moving it to the storage. Meanwhile, Lina, standing in the kitchen, blushed almost imperceptibly.

"That... was an unusual feeling."

***

Adam sat on a chair, catching his breath. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a cloth and sighed.

The equipment was heavy, but he managed the task. In two days, he would help Lina move all of it to a special cart to send to new buyers.

Currently, they were inside the house. It turned out that the pastry shop was connected to the house, making it quite a lucrative place. Rent for this location was very expensive, and an ordinary person would find it difficult to gather that much money.

Recalling Lina's marriage, she was mentally prepared for it but hoped for the best. However, when her husband revealed everything, she got angry and managed to get him to pay her support, something similar to alimony. And the amount was, to put it mildly, significant. 158,000 Rhim monthly and 25,000 Rhim every fifth day of the month.

In the Empire of Shadow Moon, where marriage is approved by the Moon Goddess herself, divorce is a serious matter. Even for an aristocrat, it would be difficult to leave without spending a single coin. Therefore, Lina fully utilized this law and now could sustain the pastry shop, which brought in a considerable amount of money.

"I can only admire the wit of this woman. She made her ex-husband cough up blood, and she turned misfortune into fortune," Adam thought, admiring her intelligence.

Immersed in his thoughts, he was only distracted when the sound of a tray hitting a wooden table echoed. The fragrant smell of coffee wafted through his nostrils, waking him from his thoughts.

"Oh... coffee and pastries from Lady Lina herself! I feel honored to try them," Adam said with a gentle smile, seeing the pastries before him.

"Then enjoy it! Aunt Lina made an effort to give you the best!" Lina said with a mockingly arrogant smile, crossing her arms over her chest, inadvertently emphasizing two mighty hills.

"Of course. Definitely."

Adam smiled, glancing at those hills from the corner of his eye but not staring at them.

To be continued...

New book!