AT 08

Atelier Tycoon Episode 8

“But right now, the stall isn’t the important thing.”

Since the world map indicated the next step, she decided to check the shop first.

Liliffe turned the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open.

Through the opened door, brown-toned walls and a fireplace were the first things that caught her eye.

As she took a step inside, she looked back at Zeno.

“I’ll wait here. Take your time.”
“Alright. Wait for me just a little.”

Zeno had anticipated what she was going to say and spoke first.

Lilliffe nodded and stepped fully into the shop. Then, she slowly looked around inside the Squirrel Shop.

Display stands were placed around the crackling fireplace, each lined with various kinds of items.

“It’s been a while since we had a guest.”

Turning her head towards the voice, she saw a man standing behind the counter looking at her.

Although she already knew what the shopkeeper looked like from the game’s illustrations, unlike when she first saw Zeno, the sense of disparity was immense.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with bulging chest muscles that threatened to tear his t-shirt, thick forearms that could barely manage to be crossed, a menacing face, and a beard to boot.

But that was neither here nor there. The bulging muscles matched the illustration.

It was just that the cute ears perched on his head and the fluffy-looking tail were the culprits that startled Lilliffe.

‘A menacing, muscular uncle with squirrel ears and a tail…‘

Of course, the ears and tail were also in the illustration.

When the shopkeeper’s illustration was first revealed, users reacted with, “What kind of horrific hybrid is this?” Over time, it came to be accepted as the shopkeeper’s unique character, but that was in the context of the illustration.

“Hm? First time at the shop, I see? You look surprised. Hah-hah.”

‘It’s because of you, mister…‘

If she said that out loud, who knew what would happen with those rugged muscles, so Lilliffe awkwardly smiled along with the shopkeeper.

“Since it’s your first time, let me introduce myself. I’m Squirrel, the owner of Squirrel Shop. I sell just about any item you can think of, so take a look around. Of course, you can also bring items you’ve made and sell them to me.”

This was the shop she used day and night while playing Atelier Tycoon, yet Squirrel was treating her like a beginner.

‘Well, even in the game, Squirrel didn’t have many lines.‘

A greeting, and words during transactions. That was it. Moreover, whether you were a newbie or a veteran, what he said in the shop was exactly the same.

So, this current Squirrel seemed much more like a person than in the game.

She knew this world was a game and that everyone but herself were game characters, but she didn’t consciously think of them as characters.

“Please call me Lilliffe.”
“Hah-hah. Sure, Lilliffe. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a guest’s name.”

Squirrel noticed Lilliffe glancing at him repeatedly. Her gaze was directed above his head.

Just as she was looking, his ears twitched, and Lilliffe, who flinched, came into his view. Seeing this, he laughed heartily.

“Hahaha-hah! Looks like it’s your first time seeing a Beast-kin! Then again, our kinds don’t run into each other much. It was like that even when I was young. Not sure how it is now, though.”

In contrast to the cute ears, his large tail began to sway from side to side. Lilliffe’s gaze naturally followed the swaying tail.

“Your tail is very impressive.”
“It may not look it, but this is a tail I brush every day. I’m glad you appreciate it. Hah-hah!”

Pleased by Lilliffe’s compliment, Squirrel wagged his tail even more vigorously.

“Since it’s your first visit to Squirrel Shop, I’ll throw in some service.”

Contrary to his appearance, Squirrel was the type to be weak to compliments.

She didn’t have anything specific to buy, but since it was her first time seeing so many items in person, just browsing seemed like it would be fun.

As Lilliffe slowly looked around the shop, she spotted a machine that looked like an ATM in one corner of the wall.

Noticing where Lilliffe was looking, Squirrel explained about the machine.

“It’s a gold ATM. If you’re short on cash, you can withdraw from there.”

Lilliffe had no money on hand. She had quite a bit saved up from playing the game, but she didn’t know how to bring it into reality.

Wondering if she could perhaps retrieve money through the gold ATM, Lilliffe began operating it.

Touching the screen displayed the amount of gold and gems she currently possessed.

[18,916,589G / 8,977 Gems]

Reading the numbers, Lilliffe could see that her gem count included 7,777 gems. It was a number that brought a sense of abundance.

Besides buttons for withdrawing gold and gems, the screen also had a button to exchange gold for gems.

As soon as she saw those unbelievable words, Liliphe’s eyes grew wide.

It can’t be, right? With half doubt and half expectation, she pressed the button.

[Please enter the amount of Gold you wish to exchange for Gems.]
[※Current Exchange Rate: 100G → 1 Gem]

“D-Squirrel! This ATM… can it also exchange gold for gems?!”

Unless given out very rarely in events, gems could only be acquired through cash purchases or quests.

Of course, since quests that gave gems were very few, most users resorted to cash purchases.

So, if this feature had existed in the game, there would have been an uproar already.

“Huh? What are you talking about? Gold is money, but compared to gems, it’s just like a pebble on the ground.”

Squirrel approached Lilliffe, who had suddenly raised her voice.

“But look at this! Look here. It says you can exchange gold for gems right here!”
“Really, let me see.”

At Lilliffe’s urgent tone, Squirrel looked at the gold ATM. Then, he started laughing heartily again.

“I thought the ATM was broken, but it’s perfectly fine. Hah-hah, you got me. Your acting is really good! Hahaha!”
“…What?”
“It’s great to have such an interesting guest after so long. If you need anything, just say so. I’ll give you the best quality. Hah-hah.”

Daraam patted Lilliffe on the shoulder and returned to the counter.

Lilliffe looked down at the gold ATM screen with a confused gaze.

‘He can’t see it? These huge letters?‘

Since Squirrel didn’t seem to be lying, Lilliffe became convinced that the text was visible only to her.

Text that others couldn’t see. Curiosity arose about whether this would really work.

If it didn’t, she could just dismiss it as something that was obviously impossible; but if the exchange really worked… it would be something enormous.

Lilliffe first input just 100 gold and pressed the withdraw button. Then, the top of the ATM opened and one gem came out.

It was a mysterious jewel, transparent like a diamond but shimmering with a rainbow hue when it caught the light.

“It’s real…”

She could really exchange gold for gems.

As soon as she realized this, Lilliffe hurriedly covered her mouth. If she hadn’t, she might have let out a scream.

Taking a deep breath in and out to compose herself, she withdrew a bit more gold and gems.

She didn’t have any items she absolutely needed to buy yet, so having just a little money was enough. She also had plenty of gems, so there was no need to exchange more right now.

Lilliffe bought several sets of clothes to give as gifts to Zeno. When Squirrel asked if she didn’t need other items, she shook her head.

“Aren’t you going to buy the work facilities needed for crafting items? If they’re expensive, I can give you a discount.”
“I already have everything.”
“Ho-ho, impressive. I thought you were a newbie since you’re a first-time guest. Hah-hah!”

Receiving an invitation to come again, Lilliffe opened the door and left the shop.

She saw Zeno still standing in the same spot as before and approached him.

“Have you been standing all this time? You could have sat down somewhere.”
“It was fine. Did you get the items you wanted?”
“Hmm- Here, a gift!”

She handed over the shopping bag she was holding, and his surprised expression was very cute.

“A gift…?”
“Yes. There were lots of pretty clothes. I thought they would suit you well, so I bought them.”

Compared to Lilliffe’s dazzling wardrobe, Zeno owned very few clothes.

Just the one set of servant’s default clothes and the two sets Lilliffe had crafted after entering this world.

Although she had crafted high-difficulty clothes for him, they weren’t as pretty as the cash-shop items that could be bought with gems. So, Lilliffe, having gone to the shop anyway, bought several outfits for Zeno.

“Ah… Thank you.”

Seeing him hug the clothes with both hands made her feel proud from the giver’s perspective.

Lilliffe now discussed with Zeno which of the remaining portals would be good to unlock first.

The candidates were the Glimmering Mine and the Azure Shore. In the game, she had unlocked the Azure Shore first simply because its illustration was prettier.

It was the same now. The Azure Shore pulled at her more. The actual shore would probably be even more beautiful than the illustration.

“But don’t we have to unlock both places anyway?”
“That’s true.”
“Hiking… the fact that we have to hike is a bit off-putting.”

Unlike the game, here she had to move her body physically. That fact changed Lilliffe’s mind.

Being the type to eat disliked food first and savor the delicious food later, she preferred to handle unpleasant tasks first.

To get to the Glimmering Mine, she had to hike. Since hiking didn’t appeal to her, Lilliffe chose the mine over the shore as her priority.

Walking behind the mansion led to the mountains, and somewhere among them existed the Glimmering Mine. Just thinking about hiking to find the portal made her start to feel tired already, and Lilliffe let out a sigh.

“This is worrisome. Do you think if we just go straight up the mountain, we’ll find it? Like with the Misty Forest.”
“I think I know where it is.”
“Really? Great, let’s go together this time. There’s no need to handle requests anymore anyway.”

Lilliffe looked at Zeno with sparkling eyes as if he were her savior.

What would I have done without Zeno?

There was a reason everyone said familiars were the best. She hadn’t been able to relate before, but now she could.

And since they were going anyway, she might as well unlock the Glimmering Mine portal. She’d rather not hike more than once.

As Lilliffe was organizing the list of items to take, she only noticed after arriving back at the mansion that the white dove was still on the notice board.

Wondering why that bird still hadn’t flown away, she looked at the notice board. Aside from the Philosopher’s Stone request, no other papers were attached.

‘Don’t tell me…‘

“Coo-coo!”

As soon as the white dove made eye contact with Lilliffe, it began regurgitating a scroll just like last time. After finishing all its tasks, it even gave a farewell before flying away.