I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 92
CHAPTER 92
“Uh, how…”
What I had forgotten was revealed in an instant.
“I-I can’t leave… leave him…”
It was Ringo.
“Ah…”
I blinked as I looked at Ringo, who returned to the mansion looking like a beggar.
He had been confident until just before entering the auction house.
He had suffered a lot.
“Sorry!”
“….!!”
Tears filled Ringo’s eyes again at my apology.
There were enough tears to burst out at any moment, it seemed.
“I-I trusted you…! I believed you would come…!!”
Eventually, after crying uncontrollably, he went to a corner, leaned against the wall, and squatted down.
“The auction house completely collapsed.”
Drawing circles on the floor with his finger, Ringo muttered.
“Completely, collapsed! I waited there, believing you would come…”
It sounded like murmuring to himself, but it was a plea for us to listen.
Of course, Lionel pretended not to hear anything, even with his ears.
“I’m sorry.”
I approached Ringo with an apologetic smile.
I had only partially lost my temper so far.
I had to apologize before completely losing it.
“Stella came, and I couldn’t do anything.”
“Stella?”
Ringo reacted to the unfamiliar name. He turned his head slightly to look at me.
“My sister, the princess? It would have been hard to explain if we got caught.”
“….”
But that wasn’t enough.
“And we encountered dark elves.”
“Dark elves??”
Now Ringo’s head turned completely towards me.
“Do those crazy people capture and sell even dark elves?”
I shook my head.
“They were attacking me.”
“Crazy!”
Ringo cursed, then startled himself and covered his mouth.
“So, did they team up with dark elves and humans to create a slave auction?”
“It seemed like that.”
It was related to the demons, but there was no need to mention that.
At my answer, Ringo’s face turned pale.
“Isn’t that insane? Even though elves are the most targeted by slave hunters!”
“But they’re dark elves.”
“No, even so! They originated from the same elves.”
Wow, Ringo shook his head as if he were disgusted.
“Even if it’s a legend, I didn’t think it was true.”
Looking at his stiff expression, it seemed he was shocked.
Well, the kid was a bit naive in that regard.
“Anyway, so…”
Ringo, who quickly regained his composure, looked at me.
There was a hint of resentment in his voice.
“Did you take care of everything else?”
“Yeah.”
He looked at me suspiciously.
I enthusiastically picked up the bag I had brought.
“Huh?”
I grinned.
I had carefully packed important documents and lists.
Where did those go?
“I spread the documents on the floor before moving.”
Reading my mind somehow, Lionel, who had been sipping tea, said.
“I also untied the ropes.”
“Good job.”
Yeah, that method was much better.
I approached Ringo after patting Lionel’s head as a gesture of praise.
“Hey, check this out!”
I asked him to look at the loot I had brought.
“Wow, wow!”
Ringo’s eyes widened as I opened the bag.
“There were multiple jewels, so I checked them all meticulously and only brought the best.”
The land deeds and house deeds were a bonus.
Ringo picked up an emerald and examined it under the lamp.
“It’s hard to find an emerald without inclusions, and this one doesn’t have any.”
In other words, it meant it was a top-grade emerald suitable for the royal family.
“And this one has two colors? Bi-colors are definitely in demand. Oh, a red diamond!”
Ringo, who discovered the most expensive red diamond among colored diamonds, jumped in place with excitement.
Seeing him so delighted made me proud.
“Did I choose well?”
I confidently said that I had.
“Yeah.”
Ringo nodded as I shrugged my shoulders.
“Back then, I didn’t know anything about jewels, so I used to bring back shiny rocks. Thinking about it now…”
Having lived only in Cranis and at home, how could I know how to assess items?
So, when I first entered this world, I was easily fooled.
After that, Ringo grabbed me and taught me how to assess items one by one.
“Yeah, but now I’m as good as you… huh?”
Suddenly, Ringo hesitated and stepped back as someone intervened.
“….”
Lionel then measured the distance between me and Ringo, then sat on the couch.
Watching him for a moment, Ringo whispered while maintaining his distance.
“Hey, what’s with him? Is he just a disciple?”
“He has a painful past.”
Just understand that.
Ringo rolled his eyes at my parental attitude.
“Anyway, are you going to rebuild the top now?”
We had enough money, and the slave symbol was gone.
There was no reason for Ringo to stay here anymore.
When I asked, Ringo scratched his head and smiled.
“Yeah, I’m going to rebuild it. But I won’t leave the tea house.”
“Huh? Are you deciding on a base?”
The top was divided into two main types: wandering tops that moved from place to place, and tops that had a base and traded.
At first glance, the latter seemed better, but in fact, wandering was much better for making money.
So, even though this guy was known as the Dawnlight Top, he was a guy who worked hard to travel around.
“You can’t be serious.”
A scene popped into my head.
The brown-haired woman at the tea house who was fiercely protecting Ringo.
“Because of that woman, Leta?”
“Yeah.”
Ringo nodded lightly.
“If Leta’s family hadn’t helped me, I would have been sold off somewhere from the start.”
After getting the slave symbol.
Ringo said that he traveled across the continent to erase it, eventually ending up in Pandelion.
But when he arrived in Pandelion, he had nothing and no strength left to live on.
“That’s when Leta’s grandfather picked me up.”
Grandfather, grandmother, and granddaughter.
The family of three helped Ringo.
Of course, Ringo didn’t trust Leta’s family from the beginning.
He’d leave as soon as possible if he could.
Just stay for a moment and then will leave.
Even though Ringo kept trying to push them away, Leta’s family continued to show kindness.
Freshly baked bread, warm soup, comfortable sleeping arrangements.
People smiling at him.
“Have a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow morning, there will be soup with meat!”
And the promise of tomorrow.
“In truth, I thought my wounds wouldn’t heal easily.”
Betrayed by someone he trusted.
Even after getting up without losing hope, some made him hesitate again.
When he finally got up with all his strength, he was branded.
It’s more comfortable to just stay down.
It’s easier to stay down and not trust anyone.
Thinking like that, he sank deeper and deeper.
“Surprisingly, those small and trivial things helped the wounds heal faster.”
He didn’t know that. Ringo said with a smile.
“And then I met you. The world is still worth living in~”
Talking lightly about the difficult days, Ringo stretched his arms wide and yawned.
“So now I have to repay the favor, right?”
Right, something came to mind and Ringo’s eyes sparkled.
“You, a genius?”
“Of course.”
I nodded immediately.
That was one of the few truths in this world.
Almost as true as the sun rising in the east?
“Kk.”
Ringo flicked his thumb at me as if approving of my appearance.
This guy seems like he wants something.
“So, can I check on the grandparents?”
“As expected, you’re kind-hearted, Lottie.”
With gentle flattery, Ringo nodded.
“Their health hasn’t been good lately. Can you take a look?”
“Alright. But you know, right?”
I looked at Ringo.
“Aging is inevitable for me too.”
No matter how skilled I am, I couldn’t stop the wheel of time.
Ringo nodded slightly at my words.
“I know. But it might get a bit easier.”
“That’s true.”
Aging couldn’t be avoided, but the diseases that come with it could be managed.
I could make their final years less painful, and happier.
“Then let’s go back and check their condition again.”
I’ll need some herbs.
Although diseases due to aging vary from person to person, there’s still a predictable range.
I’ll have to check the dosage and duration of the medicine when I get there.
‘I should get some herbs first. Which herbal store is the biggest?’
Last time, Liena mentioned that the largest herb shop is located on 3rd Street in the Byron shopping street.
Oh, but the Byron shopping street?
“……??”
Lost in thought, I gradually widened my eyes.
“……!!”
Right, I was forgetting the most important thing.
Why I had come to the Byron shopping street in the first place.
It wasn’t to clash with the garbage scavengers.
Nor was it for my encounter with Ringo.
And it certainly wasn’t to disrupt the slave auction.
“Betty’s gift!!”
I forgot about our gift for Betty!
I exclaimed amidst the two men staring at me blankly.