OCOB 43

Chapter : 43

A place that was subtly deserted.
A place that, more than expected, escaped people’s notice.
A place where the light was blocked by the leaves of tall trees.

This was our trading spot.

Strangely enough, it was the perfect place for secret dealings. Had Hesse always met “that being” here? We had met here last time too, but even seeing it again, it still felt mysterious.

Of course.

‘More mysterious than the place… is the being standing right in front of me.’

I looked at the figure before me.

The merchant who traded groceries directly with Hesse, the one who had told him to bring me plums.

Brilliant golden hair and golden eyes that shone like a beast’s.
Two sharp fangs protruding slightly between his lips.
And—

‘…Fox ears.’

Now that I look closely, he has a tail too.

In other words, the merchant Hesse introduced to me was a fox.

More precisely, he was of a race similar to Hu’s—foxkin who could transform into human form.

He flicked his fox ears and stared at me. His vertically slit pupils examined me carefully.

“Why? Are my ears still that fascinating? You live with a hamster—why are these so amazing?”

“Our Hu can’t turn into a human.”

“That’s not that he doesn’t—it’s that he can’t. Only we can do this, you know? Right? Hurry and say I’m right, Leila.”

“You’re right. Only foxes can do it. Satisfied now, Eldora?”

“More than enough.”

Eldora smiled brightly with crescent eyes, clearly pleased. If I were the type to fall for looks alone, I would’ve been completely captivated.

‘This is only the second time I’ve seen him, but I still can’t get used to that face.
He’s beautiful every time I look.’

When Hesse first introduced me to Eldora, I had one thought:

‘This game… they really went all out, didn’t they?’

Yes, they truly did.

The reviews saying attractive NPCs would appear weren’t exaggerated. Honestly, the characters I’d met so far were already popular-material.

But a fox beastman? That was different.

That felt like the developers declaring their determination to make the game succeed.

Whether they had suspiciously deep pockets—or were targeting people with suspiciously deep pockets—I couldn’t tell…

But one thing I was certain of:

‘Eldora is definitely a premium character.’

And that wasn’t just because of his appearance. Normally, games like this wouldn’t even have paid characters.

No—it was the items he sold.

“Alright, I brought as much as you wanted. You said you’d pay later, right? I don’t usually do that, but since you’re Hesse’s friend, I’ll make an exception~!”

He lined up the goods he brought. Among them were piles of the items I had ordered.

Specifically—

“Five watermelons and ten oriental melons. That’s right, yeah?”

Fruits that were hard to find here.

In other words, Eldora was selling ingredients that could only be obtained in the modern world—including plums.

‘I was seriously shocked.’

When Hesse first showed me an oriental melon, saying he had something to show me.

As far as I knew, oriental melons didn’t grow in the West. I thought the same about plums too… but once could be coincidence.

Twice? That was different.

So I immediately grabbed Hesse and asked him to introduce me to the merchant.

Hesse hesitated for a moment. The merchant—Eldora—was hard to meet outside of specific times.

But after I begged him earnestly, he eventually nodded.

“You really don’t know how to give up. I’ll try contacting him. No promises he’ll answer right away.”

About an hour later, a reply came from Eldora, and we arranged to meet here.

‘I’ll never forget the shock of seeing him for the first time.’

It was probably similar to when I first saw Millon.

As I spoke with Eldora and realized he dealt in modern ingredients, fireworks of joy exploded in my heart.

Thanks to him, there was so much more I could do!

So yes—he had to be a premium character.

But—

‘This is still inside a game.’

All transactions had to be done with in-game currency.

When the three of us met previously to discuss pricing, Eldora had asked for gold—not diamonds like Millon, which were hard to obtain.

That meant I had found an excellent supplier.

I’d already been considering switching ingredient vendors, hadn’t I?

From now on, I planned to entrust my supplies to Eldora.

Even Hesse acknowledged the superior quality of his ingredients.

‘Look at that watermelon. The color is perfect.’

I could smell the sweetness of the oriental melons from here.

As I gazed happily at the fruits I’d ordered, Eldora urged me on.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“…That’s right.”

“Good~! I also brought a few extra groceries you might need. How is it? I did well, didn’t I? Hmm?”

“Yes, yes. You did great.”

“Hmm, praise always feels nice~.”

His tail swayed back and forth. His build was nearly as big as Millon’s, but his behavior was purely fox-like.

More like a dog that loved being praised?

Either way, it was pleasant to watch.

I began examining the other groceries he had prepared.

“…Wow!”

‘What is this? Why is this here?
Did this guy read my mind or something?’

I picked it up in awe.

Solid weight. Firmly sealed lid.

A mix of various fruits, and the one where you always end up picking out just the coconut jelly—

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m seeing fruit cocktail here?”

A canned assortment of fruits.

It would pair perfectly with the dessert I was preparing for the tea party. I had never imagined I’d find this here, and I stood there speechless.

“Well? Well? How’s my sense?”

“Eldora.”

“Mm?”

“You’re the best. How did you even get this?”

“Trade secret~! But I feel proud since you like it so much. Hesse doesn’t appreciate these things when I show them to him. Isn’t that mean?”

“Yeah, that’s mean.
Hesse is terrible. Mm-hmm.”

I humored him enthusiastically while inspecting everything. Unfortunately, the only thing I immediately needed was the fruit cocktail.

“How much is this?”

“That one’s a bit expensive. About 1,000 gold?”

“Gasp…”

“It’s processed food. I can easily bring fruits and vegetables, but processed items are harder. I got this a long time ago.”

Eldora swayed his fluffy tail and stepped closer to me. He circled me slowly before speaking.

“But if you grant me a favor, I won’t charge you 1,000 gold.”

“…What favor?”

“Well… I’ll tell you if you promise to grant it first~.”

“…Excuse me?”

“If I tell you everything from the start, it won’t be fun. Right, Leila?”

‘It’s not fun for me…’

I frowned and looked at the fruit cocktail.

With this, the taste would easily double. Canned flavor was powerful.

But I couldn’t just blindly accept without knowing what the favor was.

‘1,000 gold is expensive, but not unaffordable.’

I could buy up to three, considering what I’d earned from running the café.

‘Still…
If I grant that favor, I’ll probably secure future trade with Eldora.’

Given the flow of this game, this was clearly the precursor to a quest.

Which meant my choice was obvious.

Reluctantly, I had to accept.

While I was thinking, Eldora kept circling me. His golden tail brushed against my skirt repeatedly.

And his ears twitched constantly…

“I’ll grant the favor! So stop circling me! It’s distracting!”

“Great! Then I’ll tell you.”

He slowly bent down and whispered into my ear. His soft voice flowed in.

“Raise me.
I don’t have a home right now.”

I could practically hear my thoughts screech to a halt.

Ding.

Eldora’s Request!
– A fox needs a home!

Reward: Eldora
Failure: Eldora’s resentment