I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 83
CHAPTER 83
“Uh?”
Ringo blinked his droopy eyes.
“Hey, I told you. This is carved by a dragon, right? Humans can’t erase it!”
“Yeah, I know.”
My friend is Pendrade, so I don’t know about that.
Anyway, when is that guy going to wake up?
I used to think it didn’t matter when he woke up.
But lately, I’ve been hoping he’d wake up a little earlier.
Useful at times like this.
“So, we’ll just ask someone who’s not human to erase it. Pack your bags.”
After that, I’m going to deal with the scammer.
They’re all dead, right?
Won’t there be descendants left?
We should reclaim all the unjust benefits and money they’ve enjoyed!
‘And besides, even if you die, you’ll be in the underground.’
I’ve lived to see it all, picking up followers and making contracts with the fifth spirit king.
I’ve experienced all sorts of things.
Won’t there come a time when I’ll have to go underground too?
‘Then I’ll deal with it.’
I’ll remember their names and faces and deal with them when the time comes.
And in the end, I’ll crush them.
I clenched my fist. Ringo chuckled as he watched me.
“Hey, Kruin. No, sorry, Lottie. But I’m feeling a bit off right now.”
“Why again? Hurry up and pack. I have something important the day after tomorrow.”
Wasn’t it Betty’s surprise birthday party or something?
So Ringo’s business had to be dealt with today or tomorrow at the latest.
“No, it’s not that.”
“…?”
I looked at Ringo. He was rubbing the back of his neck with a troubled expression.
I frowned.
“Do you, by any chance, not intend to erase that?”
“Not exactly. I just don’t want to get out of this state right now.”
Ringo sighed and leaned his head against the wall, then slumped down.
“Haven’t I been living earnestly?”
“You have been.”
I replied promptly.
“If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have helped you.”
It wasn’t a lie.
After leaving his hometown, Ringo worked hard to build his top.
I helped him because I saw him working hard.
Otherwise, he would have just traded without entering the top.
‘So that’s why I was more surprised earlier.’
Seeing him work hard but still ending up working in a small tea shop.
“Yeah, I worked hard.”
Ringo chuckled, deflatingly.
“So let me take a break.”
Ringo took off his hat, tidied up his hair that was sticking out, then put the hat back on.
“When the top was in trouble, I tried various things my own way.”
A calm voice filled the quiet warehouse.
But the speaker didn’t seem calm inside.
“But it was no use.”
“….”
“I even thought about telling Taber.”
Um, Ringo, who had a slightly bitter smile, bit his lip lightly.
“Is it bad luck to see this?”
He laughed lightly, quite different from before.
“Or maybe it’s just as the adults say, that elves get punished for living like this in the human world.”
If I could wipe away that laughter with my hands, it seemed like clear instructions would come off on my fingertips.
“I’m just going to live like this now.”
With a grin, Ringo smiled again.
“It’s okay, isn’t it? This tea shop here is quite nice.”
Didn’t he say earlier that it was a small shop with barely any margin?
“And well, as long as I cover it well, there’s no problem. Although I’m a bit lacking in stamina.”
As he said that, Ringo pulled up his sleeve again.
Huff, I let out a small sigh and shook my head.
“So, you’re not going to pursue the top anymore?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re just going to live here, making tea?”
“That’s right.”
Yeah, that’s right.
I nodded with a smile.
Life making tea and running a small shop.
Who could say that was bad?
But.
However.
“Okay, understood. Let’s erase this slave mark first.”
“No, I told you, I don’t want to get out of this state.”
Ringo objected, raising both hands.
“At first, I felt like I was drowning. But after getting used to it, it’s quite fine… Agh!”
Ringo’s words, pressing down on the floor, were cut off.
Because I kicked his shin.
“Why did you hit me?!”
Ringo held his throbbing shin and whimpered.
There were even tears in the corners of his eyes, whether the attack had hit or not.
“You’re a mermaid! You live in the water!”
What does that have to do with land creatures?
I grabbed Ringo by the collar and pulled him up.
“Come on, let’s erase this useless slave mark and make you feel better!”
“Hey, why are you so worked up?”
Tears still lingered in Ringo’s eyes as he tried to stop me.
Huuu, I took a deep breath.
Now that’s even scarier, Ringo was starting to shiver.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
A firm response came back.
“In my opinion, you’re just tired. That’s why you’re mistaken.”
I should just stay like this.
Without thinking about swimming further and just staying like this.
Straight, like this.
Sinking lower would suit me better.
“Perhaps this life wasn’t the life that suited me best after all.”
If it’s a life settled after desperately searching for something that suits you, then I have no business interfering.
Even if this guy says, “I’ll live with nature on the streets!” I would just say, “Sure, go ahead.”
But this wasn’t it.
“You just ran away, didn’t you?”
“Uh…”
Ringo blinked.
“But I…”
“What? Do you like this life? Are you happy serving tea? Then why do you have that expression?”
“Hey, Kruin. No, what was your name again?”
“If I could use magic, I would have shown you the old you running the top!”
“….”
“Did you think you could say the same thing after seeing that?”
He was the one who abandoned everything, leaving behind even the village where he was born, to open the top.
Every time the fact that an elf was the top owner became known, there were concerns about disadvantages.
He was the one who diligently hid his ears and changed his name over and over again to grow the top.
Everyone knew how bright his eyes were back then.
Except for this guy in his current state!
“You can’t make such a major decision in a state of pain and exhaustion.”
I bared my teeth as I poked him in the shoulder.
“I’ll get you better. With a clearer mind and a better physical condition, think about it again!”
“…….”
“After that, if you still want to live here, I’ll help you, okay? Got it?!”
Ringo stared at me blankly before nodding deeply.
There seemed to be a hint of tears in his eyes.
Thud!
Ringo seemed about to say something more, but the door swung open, and a person walked in.
‘Isn’t that the person who took my order earlier?’
The woman with her brown hair tied back and dressed in casual clothes held a paper bag in her hand.
A lemon fell out of it and rolled on the floor.
It seemed like the shop was briefly emptied to buy the fallen ingredients.
“What’s going on here? Did Ringo do something wrong?”
The woman’s eyes trembled as she tried to grasp the situation.
“I’m sorry!!”
She immediately bowed her head, perhaps mistaking me for a noble due to my attire.
“This person has only recently started working here. If he made a mistake, as the owner of the shop, I…”
“Oh, no!”
Ringo lifted his head and embraced the woman’s shoulders.
“Leta, this person was called by me! I have a chronic illness. My head keeps throbbing. That’s why I asked her to check my physical condition.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, even though she looks young, she’s skilled, right?”
Ringo winked.
It was a signal to play along.
Sighing inwardly, I nodded.
“Yes, sorry for the late introduction. My name is Kruin. I’m an herbalist. I was just checking Ringo’s physical condition.”
“Oh my.”
Leta blinked, then immediately bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”
Pushing her hair behind her ears, Leta wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“I thought you were fighting.”
“No, not at all.”
Exactly as I expected.
“If you only saw this situation, it would have been enough to misunderstand.”
Embarrassed by my words, Leta blushed and asked a question.
“Um, is something really wrong?”
“It’s not that.”
I grinned widely.
It was what they called the ‘decisive! Reassuring smile!’
“I just thought it would be better to treat it quickly. I hope he can get treated with us for a while.”
“I see.”
Thanks to my smile and explanation, Leta seemed relieved and let out a sigh.
Her complexion was much better than before.
“The treatment won’t take long. It should be over by tomorrow or the day after.”
Leta’s eyes widened at my words.
“Can he recover in just a few days?”
Leta, who had been saying that, looked at Ringo.
“Actually, Ringo was sick every night. Even if other doctors or herbalists were called, they didn’t give any specific advice.”
“Well, of course.”
This was the pain caused by the slave mark.
It was natural for ordinary doctors or herbalists not to give answers.
However.
“I am a genius.”
And not just any genius, the most brilliant one in this world.