I Level Up With In-app Purchases

I Level Up With In-app Purchases – 61

EP.61 R Has Hatched (1)

Just as Haeshi and Nairel found happiness in taking an orb each.

“I found you! Ahhh! I finally found you two!!”

A wild Yui (R) appeared!

“Ah! Senior!”

“Eek!”

“Did you follow us here?!”

“So, you did know each other! You told me you didn’t know him at all!”

Yui pointed at the kids, unable to hide her anger.

It seemed she hadn’t actually followed them here.

It was strange that she only appeared now, considering the kids had been in my shop for quite some time.

Since seniors were the scariest figures during school days, I spoke up on their behalf.

“I told them not to say anything. So don’t blame the kids.”

“Ugh! I wasn’t blaming them. And I didn’t follow them here.”

“I understand. It’s almost funny to think someone would misunderstand your intentions. But why did you come looking for me?”

Yui, drenched in sweat, looked quite exhausted.

She seemed to have had a hard time finding our shop.

“Of course I had to find you! My skills improved tremendously thanks to you, but you just left without a word.”

“Ugh! I’m so jealous. Why doesn’t it work for me…!”

“Haeshi, shush!”

Although it might seem like I didn’t get any reward, I actually gained a lot thanks to her reaching 5 stars.

I discovered that I could enhance R-grade characters with orbs, learned about the achievement system, and even awakened as a reward.

To an outsider, it might look like I acted like a pushover, but from my perspective, I received ample rewards.

Of course, that’s my side of the story.

It seemed she was quite bothered by the fact that I had disappeared without any compensation after enhancing her with the orb.

Or perhaps she had become interested in the ‘orb’ and had business with me because of it.

“Did you really just wander around aimlessly, thinking of a general store?”

“Yes. When I asked the academy, they said they couldn’t disclose personal information. So, I thought if I kept looking for a general store, I might find it eventually.”

The city centered around the academy was quite large.

Many nobles, believing that ‘children are the future,’ would try to own at least one building near the academy if they were from a well-off family.

Finding a general store without knowing its name in such a place wasn’t an easy task.

Moreover, my general store wasn’t one that actively welcomed customers.

“You just brute-forced your way through it.”

“Ugh… I had no choice but to be brute. But I did use my head a bit by finding the location of stores registered as general stores. Why does no one know there’s a general store here, even though the location is good?!”

“This mister doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing business.”

“Haeshi, shush…!”

While the two kids were doing their little skit, Yui, who had finally calmed down, sighed deeply and sat down on a chair.

“Ah, my chair! It’s taken.”

“Shush…!”

“Ah, I feel a bit better now. I walked so much… but I was lucky. I think I found it quite quickly. I thought it would take at least a few weeks. It’s true what they say about the darkest place being under the lamp; I didn’t expect you to be running a general store near the academy. It’s quite surprising even to me.”

“…..”

I didn’t intend to leave Yui’s matter unresolved.

But I didn’t expect to meet her in such a sudden manner.

“So, are you here to give me some sort of reward?”

“Of course! What would I be if I left without giving you anything?”

“Alright. Give it to me.”

“!!”

There was no reason not to accept it if she was offering.

“Oh… you’re quite willing to accept it.”

“I didn’t particularly need anything, so I just left. But since you’ve come all the way here to give me something, there’s no reason to refuse.”

Yui seemed taken aback by my easy acceptance.

“So, what are you going to give me?”

Was it something significant?

“I-I prepared a small amount of money.”

Stammering in her flustered state, Yui hesitated before pulling out a pouch from her pocket.

I extended my hand, and Yui placed the money pouch in it.

Jingle—

It seemed to contain a decent amount of gold coins.

When I was a mercenary, I had to struggle to get my hands on such money, but now that I had retired and opened a general store, money was flowing in effortlessly.

I was quite satisfied.

“Thank you, I’ll accept it gratefully. Are we done here?”

I deliberately put on an expression that suggested she should leave if her business was concluded.

Surely, the reason she had been searching for me so diligently wasn’t just to repay me for the orb.

The repayment was likely just a pretext for something more.

“Well…”

“Isn’t your business concluded?”

“Well, yes, but… about the orb I used. If it’s not too much trouble, is there any way to get more of them?”

“Do you want to use it on someone else?”

“Well… yes. I’m not asking for it for free. I’m willing to pay a satisfactory amount. There are many who are willing to pay a high price for it.”

With her sudden growth, many of her friends must have asked how she achieved it.

I would love to sell them, of course.

Money is always right.

But this orb doesn’t work for just anyone.

It was selective, and I couldn’t sell it to just anyone.

“Unfortunately, there’s a defect with that orb.”

“A defect?”

“It’s not a defect that appears when you use it, but one that exists before you use it.”

“What kind of defect?”

“It’s selective. There are people it reacts to and people it doesn’t.”

“Like me… mmph!”

Haeshi tried to butt into our conversation but was quickly silenced by Nairel’s hand over her mouth.

The two of them tussled, kicking up dust.

The orb used on Yui was a [Complete Orb Containing Yui’s Soul].

This meant the orb contained the name of an R-grade or SR-grade character that had appeared multiple times.

The idea that this orb would work for someone else was overly optimistic.

“Only a very few people resonate with the orb and can see its effects. Would anyone be willing to pay a high price for an orb they might not even be chosen by?”

“Of course! Even if it’s a small number, there are still people who might resonate with it. I’ll find the right people.”

“You’ll find the right people?”

Finally, Yui said something intriguing.

“Yes, I can do that much. It would be difficult for you to do it yourself. If I propose it to the student council, it will make things easier.”

“Do you think this is valuable enough for the student council to help?”

“Absolutely. There’s no risk involved. Even if someone isn’t chosen, there’s no harm.”

R had come to me, offering to hatch the egg herself.

I might be able to skip a lot of the hard work I would have had to do.

My eyes lit up.

This was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

“I don’t have much more to offer in return for such help.”

Was she trying to earn a commission?

It would be amusing if a noble was trying to make money through commission fees…

“Although I’m part of the disciplinary committee, the committee is technically under the student council. I don’t want to leave a method for students to grow unattended. If even one person can resonate with the orb and grow, that’s enough for me.”

So, these are the kind of responsible kids who participate in student council activities!

When I was in school, I didn’t even know what the student council president looked like, but here, the student council seemed to be actively working for the students.

“What do you think?”

“If customers come to me without me having to do anything, there’s no reason to refuse. Alright.”

“Great decision! But how can we tell if someone resonates with the orb? I need to know the method to propose it to the student council.”

“I don’t know either. The only method I know is to have them touch the orb directly.”

I could have provided a list, but if asked how I knew, I wouldn’t have an answer, so I played dumb.

“First, let’s bring out the orbs.”

I asked them to wait for a moment and went to the storage room to bring out the orbs that weren’t duplicates.

There was one of each type, but since there were so many characters, there were quite a few.

Each orb had a slightly different color, making them distinguishable.

I placed each orb in a small compartment within a box.

Once the box was ready, I brought it outside and showed it to Yui.

“There are various types of orbs, each with a slightly different color.”

“Oh! Different orbs! Mister, can I touch these?”

“Go ahead. But I doubt any of them will resonate with you.”

“You try too.”

“Haeshi!”

Haeshi pulled Nairel’s hand and started touching each orb in the box one by one.

However, none of the many orbs reacted.

Just as Haeshi was about to feel dejected again, Yui recognized the orb that had disappeared when she touched it and picked it up.

“This is the orb that resonated with me, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

Since it was made solely from Yui’s soul, it became useless after she had fully utilized it.

“Can I keep just this one if I pay for it?”

Instead of answering, I took out an identical orb from my pocket and filled the empty spot in the box.

“Waaah! Why doesn’t it work for me?!”

“This orb will disappear when it resonates with someone. Then, please write down which orb resonated with whom and send the information to our general store.”

“How much would you be satisfied with for the price?”

“Well, I’m not sure how much value to place on risk-free growth.”

The problem was that the orb only had value to the person it resonated with.

Because of that, it was impossible to get an extraordinary price as one might think.

I didn’t know.

I didn’t realize how obsessed nobles were with elixirs.

And the fact that only a select few could benefit from it was enough to drive nobles, who were crazy about having the best, into a frenzy.

Yui, knowing the nobles well, responded with an awkward smile.

“I don’t think the price will be unsatisfactory.”

“I won’t set a fixed price. Let’s take it case by case.”

I only realized how much this choice had pricked the nobles’ pride when I was unexpectedly showered with money.