How to get Healed at Demon Farm
Chapter 38

Ergin greeted me with a nice smile.

“Yes, it's been a while. Mr. Ergin, Thanks for the present you sent me last time. There were so many that I sent them back a little, but I'm using the rest well."

"It's okay. I've heard from the staff. If I knew you would feel so pressured, I should have told you in advance. Most aristocrats don't do that’s why…"

“I've gained a position, but I've never thought of myself as a noble, so don’t mind with the formalities”

"I see. I'll be careful in the future."

After greeting me, Ergin also briefly greeted Lagos and Reville, who were next to me.

After a while, merchants began to unpack the items they brought one by one.

The people of the Elden Village also brought the items to sell according to Lagos' instructions.

I approached the merchants holding hands with Speranza and Miru.

There were many items that could attract children's attention on the quickly installed stall.

There were also very expensive-looking ornaments and cute wooden sculptures.

Among them, it was a stuffed doll made of cloth that caught the children's eyes at a glance.

I smiled quietly at the children who couldn't take their eyes off.

“How much are these dolls?"

"10 pennies each".

10 pennies?

I didn't know whether it was cheap or expensive because I didn't know the price here.

Looking at Lia in the back, she nodded her head slightly.

Maybe it was not a burdensome price.

"Guys, choose what you want. I'll buy it for you."

"What? Really?"

“…….”

Speranza understood what I was saying and looked around the dolls with sparkling eyes.

Miru felt a little burdensome, so she hesitated without choosing a doll.

"It's okay. Miru takes good care of Speranza, so I'm buying it out of gratitude. Don't worry, choose whatever you want."

With a soft voice, I reassured Miru and pushed her back slightly.

Only then did Miru carefully picked up a doll.

Speranza chose a princess doll in a pretty dress and Miru took an adventurer doll with a knife in his hand.

Through Lia, I paid the merchant for the doll and delivered the doll to Speranza and Miru, respectively.

"Thank you, Uncle.! I'll cherish it.”

"Papa…Ta…Tank you."

I smiled proud at the sight of each child holding their dolls tightly and laughing.

When watching children play with dolls.

Ergin, who finished his deal with Lagos, approached me.

“You bought a cute doll. If you had told me in advance, I would have prepared something better."

“It's okay. I think the children like it enough. Are you done with the deal?"

"Yes. I'm done talking to the village chief. There's something I want to talk about with Sir Ester. Can you spare some time?"

“Okay. Lia, Please take care of the kids."

Leaving the children and Lia behind, I moved to a quiet place with Ergin.

Before starting the conversation, Ergin's expression became a little serious.

"I just want to tell you something about trading with the Elden Village."

"……?"

"We started trading with this village to apologize for the rude behavior the mercenaries committed to Mr.Sihyeon last time. In fact, the trade is not very beneficial for merchants nor me."

"……"

"I don't think it'll be easy to continue the trade with my personal authority alone."

Ergin carefully conveyed his difficulties to me.

I wasn't surprised because it was expected to some extent.

"But we won't quit trading with the village right away. I'll definitely continue to proceed with the deal I promised with Chief Lagos."

“I see."

There was an awkward silence between us.

Ergin opened his mouth again as if trying to change the mood with a bright expression and tone.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, but I think we've only talked about serious things. There's an interesting rumor about Mr. Sihyeon. Do you know.?”

“Is there another rumor?"

"Yes. Have you heard of a thing called Hap.?

“Ah… No."

" Rumor has it that Yakum's milk is called Hap. There are so many stories that not only aristocrats but also famous rich people are showing great interest to it."

"But rumors have circulated that Hap is closely related to the newly appointed Ester. Mr. Sihyeon, what do you think about this rumor?"

Ergin asked with a subdued expression.

I pretended not to know.

"Hmm. I don't know. Rumors are just baseless, Aren’t they?"

“Is that so? Not only our store, but also all merchants are busy looking for clues about Hap. Personally, I think I will be able to afford quite a bit of leeway if I get any information about the Hap.”

Ergin's eyes shone brightly for a moment.

Even though, it was for a very short moment, his intention and thoughts were conveyed in an instant.

He was already convinced that I am related to Hap, and is trying to pressure me under the pretext of the deal with Elden Village.

Suddenly, what Kaneff and Andras had said before, came to my mind.

I calmly opened my mouth, recalling what they had said.

“I don't know anything…It's too bad. Sorry, I wish I could help Mr. Ergin."

I wanted to help the Elden village, but I didn't want to do anything wrong in that process.

I kept acting as if I didn't know.

"Is that so? It's very unfortunate."

Ergin showed a gesture of regret.

He went back to his usual comfortable face.

I felt a little creepy since I felt like I saw his true face for a very short time.

-Tap.Tap.

“Huh?"

I turned my head reflectively at the touch of pulling my pants.

Speranza holding the doll looked up at me.

"Papa… suawberry…"

“Oh…Speranza wants strawberry?"

"Unn."

Serious and complex concerns disappeared in an instant at the sight of cute Speranza.

I took Speranza in my arms.

"That's great Mr. Ergin, do you want to go eat strawberries with us?"

“Staw..bary.? What's that?"

"Ha hahah. Follow me."

When I took the lead with Speranza in my arms, Ergin followed me.

Near the wagon, not only Lia and Miru, but also Reville and Lagos were gathered.

I took the strawberries from the wagon's luggage compartment and handed them out to everyone.

At the unfamiliar name and appearance they hesitated at first, but looking at Speranza, who ate strawberries very deliciously, one by one took the fruit to their mouth.

"Wow! It's so good!"

“It's not bitter at all and it's sweet and sour."

“I've never seen such sweet and delicious fruits even though I've seen so many fruits in the forest."

"The snacks and candies handed out to children were amazing. But this is really incredible."

Miru jumped up and down, saying it was too delicious, and Reville and Lagos expressed admiration for the taste they had never experienced before.

And Ergin, who quietly tasted the strawberries, looked very confused.

“Do you not like it?"

"What is this?”

– Whoosh!

He suddenly approached me without saying a word and gave me a scary look.

It looked like a little obsession and madness different from the sharpness earlier.

"Sihyeon, where did you get this amazing fruit? If not, did you grow it yourself? How much do you have? If it's possible, I will… “

“Ergin ! Calm down for now."

When I raised my voice, he came to his senses.

"I'm sorry. It's a really attractive item I've never seen in my life… It's a great taste to offer to the noble."

He returned to his usual appearance, and praised the taste of strawberries with a little excitement.

"Can I know how you got this strawberry?

“My acquaintance runs a strawberry farm. He sent me quite a lot recently."

"I see. Unfortunately, you didn't grow it yourself… No, that's not important. Adding this taste and quality, plus the name of Ester… This time, he started muttering something with a very serious expression.”

The appearance of changing every moment in a short time seemed a little like a disease.

While I was contemplating whether it was all right to keep Speranza at a close distance from this strange person, Ergin, who woke up again, shouted urgently.

“ Mr. Sihyeon, Do you want to trade with me?"

⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩⏩

The deal with Ergin was quickly concluded.

There were two things he wanted.

One was strawberry.

And the other was the brand value of the name Ester.

A fresh item called strawberry that doesn't exist in this world.

He planned to commercialize it, by adding the name of the newly emerged Ester to it.

Honestly, I wondered how much it would affect me, but Ergin unconditionally guaranteed success.

Two conditions he offered instead.

One is that he will continue to do business with Elden Village for the time being.

And the next was making an exclusive contract.

Strawberries are readily available whenever you want, and the Elden village still gets help.

It didn't seem like a bad deal for me.

After a short consultation with Lia, Lagos, Reville, I accepted Ergin's proposal.

Two weeks later, when Ergin visits the Elden village, I promised to get him as many strawberries as he needed.

When I handed Ergin the strawberry box I prepared as a gift at the end, he smiled happily.

It was very great to see him sincerely delighted, not just showing his commercial smile.

After saying my goodbyes to everyone in the Elden village, I took Lia and Speranza back to the farm.

I organized my thoughts on what to do on my way home from work.

“Huh.”

Can I ask brother Juho for strawberries?

Since he has a farm, he can prepare just enough.

While thinking, like usual, I passed the door and returned to the inferis office.

"Ryan, I'm back… Oh, you have a guest ?"

Ryan wasn't alone in the office.

I was a little confused because I had never seen any guests in this office.

"Ah, Sihyeon…"

"That's Lim Sihyeon."

The guest who found me came towards me cutting off Ryan's words.

A mysterious woman who was all dressed in white from head to toe, stared at me with an overbearing gaze.

"Lim Sihyeon."

“Yes…?”

"I'm Ashmir, the surveillance officer of Feistar. I came to inquire you about your crimes on disrupting the balance of the dimension."

“……?!?!”