Chapter 98: Chapter 96

I couldn’t find anything to write in my diary, so I decided to loiter in front of the store. At that time…

“Oh? Dolce-kun, what are you doing here?” [Carm]

“Assistant-Manager… I couldn’t find any material to write in my diary.” [Dolce]

“I see. In that case, why don’t you try reading what you’ve written until now? Just revising what you’ve already written will do you good practice.” [Carm]

“…That’s true. Alright. I’ll do just that then . Thank you.” [Dolce]

I got some advice from assistant-Manager Carm.

I immediately went back to my room and opened my diary.

…

My name is Dolce. A few months ago, I was employed in the laundromat, Bamboo Forest, as a guard. Until then I’ve been working in the slums, where I grew up, as a daily laborer while also being active in the vigilante corps.

　The reason I was hired here was because of an introduction from my senior. An adventurer I know has opened a store, but some thugs are interfering with his store’s operations. He’ll pay you properly, so I want to ask you to help protect the store in my place.

That’s what my senior said. My senior who helped me a lot when I was a wee brat who couldn’t do any job properly.

To me jobs are something one needs to do in order to live. I don’t have any particular preferences for work. There’s no job that I like and there’s no job that I don’t like either. I don’t have any education too. Ever since I was a wee brat, I was willing to do any job. Like that and with the help of my seniors I was able to make a living. That’s why since it’s my senior asking and I’m even getting paid, there’s no reason to refuse.

I waited for a few days as my senior informed the owner, then I was called to the store. When I saw the owner I was shocked. As it turns out the owner is just an 11-year-old brat.

I’d heard that it was an adventurer acknowledged by my senior, so I thought for sure some strong looking guy would appear. Apparently, I couldn’t be more mistaken. But with this it finally makes sense why others are looking down on the owner and are even poking into his business. After all, the owner was a frail and docile brat. At least, that was my first impression of him.

But this was only the beginning of my shock.

When the topic turned to my employment, it turns out that I wouldn’t be just given a huge salary because of the risk, but I would also be given a room to stay and food. All for free. Not only was the boss going to be paying me properly, he was giving me some ridiculously good conditions. The conditions given were so good that I couldn’t help but suspect there was a catch to all this, but I was later informed that this level of treatment was normal for this store. After being employed for a few months, I now know that that’s true, but at the time, I was really shocked.

Still, I couldn’t let my senior lose face, and I couldn’t feel any malice or wariness from the owner. People from the slums aren’t criminals, but their image is bad. That’s why people are usually on guard when they hire people from the slums. The assistant-manager beside the owner was somewhat on guard, but even his reaction was much better than what I’ve experienced until then.

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In the end, I was hired just like that, then I was introduced to my senpai guards from another country.

“…” [Dolce]

When I remembered about what happened after that, my hands stopped.

…My employment was decided, but they needed to know my strength, so I had to fight the owner.

I lost.

My senior had acknowledged him, so I believe I fought the owner seriously despite his age. I say ‘believe’ because I don’t actually remember anything about the fight. I know I struck out with my spear seriously, and the owner made a face of admiration.

But then in the next moment, I was lying face up in an empty room within the dorms. I asked the referee, Fei-san, what happened and found out that after the boss dodged my spear, I was hit.

That’s impossible! I said. When Fei-san saw that I couldn’t believe that I was done in by a child’s punch, he approached me and pointed to a corner of the room, where my spear was. It was bent heavily from the center.

It was just a test, so apparently, I’d pulled back my spear and received the owner’s fist, but I couldn’t stop the force.

My iron spear is just cheap stuff casted from the handle to the spearhead, but I’ve been using it to receive blows and strike enemies with until my meeting with the owner. It should be sturdy enough. But there was no denying that the spear had in fact been bent and was already useless.

Later, the owner came to me and sincerely apologized for breaking my spear. He really looked no different from a child his age, so it took me an entire night before I was finally able to accept reality.

My skills have also declined, so I decided to use my free time to polish my skills.

The owner gifted me a spear as an apology for breaking my own. I didn’t ask how much it cost, but the spear he gave me was more robust and lighter than the one I had before. It was surely a first-class spear. I was also made to spar with my two senpais when I had the free time for it.

As it turns out, it’s not just the boss who’s strong. I couldn’t win even once. That old man, Gordon, who has been employed as a guard until now, says that they’re strong even on adventurer standards. Especially, Fei-san, whom he says he’d really rather not fight.

I know they come from a dangerous country, but I still find it difficult to wrap my head around how strong they are.

Ever since coming to this store, I’ve stopped having problems finding food, money, or sparring partners. The three employees who went to the branch store invited me, and since then I’ve been studying how to write. Writing this diary is also a part of my studies.

The owner and the assistant-manager have been working together to teach me, and if you compare the more recent pages with the older ones, you’ll see that there’s a clear difference. With this if I one day retire from this store, then I could find a different job without having to go back to my work as a day laborer. If I get good enough at fighting, I might even be able to become an adventurer.

My current life is fun, though, so I don’t plan on retiring just yet.