PVSS 4

chapter 4

Come to think of it, there was no need for us to walk. After all, Dominic—one of the strongest people in this world—was right beside me.

“Dominic.”

“Yeah?”

“You can use teleportation, right?”

For some reason, he looked at me warily before slowly nodding.

Looking up at his jet-black hair, I said,

“We’re going to the building that will be our stationery shop in the Fabric Empire.”

More precisely, the building that will become ours.

“A stationery shop? Fine. Then give me the coordinates.”

I leaned in and whispered the coordinates to him.

The location was an old, worn-down building left to Meldenik by her mother, as stated in the former duchess’s will.

“Now close your eyes.”

I shut my eyes tightly.

The wind swirled gently around me, then came to a soft stop. As I focused on the pleasant sensation, Dominic’s voice rang in my ears.

“We’re here.”

When I opened my eyes, the Maltend Academy stood before me.

It was the Empire’s most prestigious academy—where countless royals and nobles had graduated, and where even talented commoners were nurtured.

Perhaps that was why the building itself looked magnificent—like a castle adorned lavishly with gold.

“So this is the place.”

Dominic stared ahead.

After gazing at the academy’s grand towers and its elegant ivory gates, he nodded in satisfaction.

“It lacks a bit of grandeur, but this is the minimum required to host me.”

“…?”

What is he talking about?

Without hesitation, Dominic began walking toward the closed academy gates.

Instead of following, I spoke up from behind him.

“Hey, Dominic?”

“Mel, why aren’t you coming? Aren’t we going into the building we’ll be living in?”

I shook my head.

“Not there.”

He stared at me.

“…There’s no other building here.”

“Of course there is. Look over there.”

I pointed toward a shabby, gloomy structure about five blocks away from the academy.

Dominic’s gaze slowly, cautiously followed my finger.

“……”

There was no way he hadn’t seen it.

“That’s where we’ll be living.”

Near the grand and luxurious academy stood a small, two-story stone building that completely ruined the elegant scenery.

It looked practically abandoned—covered in moss and on the verge of collapsing.

As I walked toward it, I thought:

I didn’t expect it to be this rundown… but it’s the only thing my mother left me.

After my mother—the last daughter of the Kinnowa Marquis family and former duchess—passed away, her title had temporarily reverted to the imperial family.

And her wealth was absorbed by the Babeloa duchy.

However, there was one thing she had clearly left to me:

This building.

If I clean it up and repair it, it’ll be perfect for a stationery shop.

I turned to Dominic, who had stopped walking.

“I think we can use the first floor as the shop and the second floor as our living space—wait, what’s wrong?”

Dominic had frozen in place—like a hero who had just seen a fallen comrade.

“…You’re saying we have to eat and sleep in… that shabby place?”

“Yep. I’ve got a plan.”

He glanced back at the academy gates, clearly reluctant, then trudged over toward me.

“I’ve been scammed. This is a fraudulent contract.”

Even though he glared at me, his youthful appearance made it completely unthreatening.

Humming, I patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I’ll renovate it into something prettier and bigger. I’m going to become the stationery shop owner who dominates the continent. I’ve got it all planned!”

I thumped my chest confidently.

Dominic let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping.

“That’s exactly what all scammers say… ‘It’ll work this time,’ ‘I’ll strike it big’…”

“Exactly! It will work this time! I will strike it big! Now let’s go in!”

Unfortunately for him, he was already bound to me.

Patting his shoulder again, I thought to myself:

I’ll treat you well once we really succeed!

As if sensing my thoughts, Dominic swallowed hard behind me.

I pushed open the creaky door of the abandoned building—it wasn’t even locked.

The first floor was already covered in thick dust. If this was the first floor, the second floor didn’t even need checking.

It was probably a place where local troublemaker kids came to test their courage with “ghost hunts.”

This place has been completely neglected.

Glancing at Dominic, who looked silently horrified behind me, I whispered:

“Dominic, I’ll even pay you a salary once we succeed. Come on in.”

“…I’ve possessed mountains of gold before. A mediocre salary won’t satisfy me. Understood?”

At his arrogant remark, I let out a quiet laugh.

What is this? He’s kind of like a younger brother… and kind of cute.

Before being reincarnated, I had been an orphan, and Meldenik herself had never known proper familial affection either.

Maybe that’s why Dominic—despite being far older—felt like a younger brother to me.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“…Like what?”

Scratching the back of his neck, Dominic muttered shyly,

“That… ‘you’re cute’ look.”

Oh—was it that obvious?

“You’re sharp.”

I chuckled and pushed the door wide open as I stepped inside.

Creak. Creak.

As soon as we entered, loud noises echoed inside—probably rats scurrying around.

Thanks to my past life, I was immune to things like rats and cockroaches, so I ignored it and carefully observed the entire space.

The dust is going to make me sneeze.

This place was definitely old and needed serious repairs.

But still—

I’m a building owner now.

I smiled brightly at Dominic.

“Isn’t it great?”

“…You’re out of your mind. This really is a scam contract. Oh God, why have you abandoned me?”

Dominic muttered blankly.

“Why are you calling for God? Look—on the left, we’ll place a prize box, on the right, shelves, and outside we’ll sell homemade snacks. Candy and stuff.”

“And?”

“We’ll also sell school supplies for the academy kids!”

Of course, we’d need connections with the academy eventually…

But that’s for later.

First, I needed to get close to the kids.

I’d sell notebooks, chewy snacks, candy shaped like beer bottles, and even those blue candies that change the color of your tongue!

My heart started racing.

Even though the place was still full of dust, I could clearly see my new life taking shape.

The day I’d achieve my simple dream didn’t feel far away.

Beaming, I looked at Dominic.

“I’m so happy!”

Dominic stared at me as I smiled.

Even though it was dark and he probably couldn’t see my face clearly, he nodded as if he understood everything.

“…Fine. I suppose I’ll discuss with you how to build this ‘stationery shop’ of yours.”

At his solemn tone, I nodded energetically.

With a crackling sound, a large light bulb appeared in his hand, illuminating the darkness.

“Alright! First, I want a big sign outside so kids can easily see it.”

“And?”

“I want it to always be an ‘open door’—a place where anyone, noble or commoner, can come in freely.”

“An open door… I see.”

“There’s even a small yard out front, so I want that decorated nicely too.”

As I spoke to Dominic, memories of my past surfaced.

I had been an orphan—without a home, unable to attend school without scholarships.

The reason I grew into a strong adult was because of the people who supported me as a child.

The teacher who paid for my school trip.

The orphanage director who guided me when I was about to go astray.

And…

The stationery shop owners in front of my school.

They remembered every child’s name and called them one by one.

Even a scruffy kid like me, who didn’t even have a single coin, wasn’t an exception.

Their voices echoed clearly in my ears.

“Do you want this, sweetheart?”

“Wow, my tongue turned blue!”

“But don’t eat too much—it’s not good for your health.”

Smiling softly at the memory, I thought:

I want every child who visits this shop to grow up happy, just like I did.

What kind of lives were the children of this world living?

As I stood lost in thought, Dominic quietly nodded.

With excitement in my heart, I began planning the shop’s renovation together with him.

Even just making plans was fun.

It felt like I was one step closer to my dream.

I was so excited that I couldn’t fall asleep—

not until the long night passed and dawn began to break.