Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 15

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Paper and a pen.”
“Pardon?”
“I need paper and a pen.”
“Oh!”
Mark hurried over to fetch the paper and pen he kept beside the counter, handing them to Ceres.
She took them, scrawled something quickly across the page, then strode toward the sprawled mercenary with purposeful steps.
Slap!
While the mercenary remained unconscious, Ceres pressed the paper against his forehead with a sharp, deliberate smack.
‘What is that?’
‘What’s written on it?’
‘Huh…?’
The nearby mercenaries, curious about what was stuck to the unconscious man’s face, took an abrupt step closer—then just as quickly scrambled backward in unison.
Weapons they’d been gripping tightly moments before were now lowered gently, as though carelessly set aside.
From now on, anyone causing trouble in the shop
would
be banned from entry for one week.
Comrades who had joined in the fight without trying to stop it faced the same restriction—a week-long ban.
It was a swift and clean severance.
“Ahem.”
The mercenary who’d been crossing blades with the now-unconscious man also quietly lowered his weapon and drifted toward a table.
He gathered his half-finished bowl of stew and casually moved to another spot, as though he had nothing to do with the fallen mercenary or his companions.
‘Hey, that’s not you.’
‘No conscience? Right, of course not. Bastard!’
‘He’s hiding his sword! Hand it back to him!’
The others in the shop shot sharp looks at the deserter.
‘But….’
‘Who is she?’
One by one, the mercenaries’ eyes turned back to Ceres.
They all wondered who this woman was, appearing out of nowhere to deploy such a notice.
“Ah, this is……”
Mark, reading the room, finally stepped forward.
He glanced carefully at Ceres before introducing her with measured caution.
“She’s the owner of this place.”
Chapter 5. Mana Stone
“You’re not selling the shop?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
After inspecting the shop on Delasi 1st Street and returning, Ceres had decided to postpone the sale.
Antonian, who had braced himself for the inevitable disposal and tried to accept it, found her decision utterly unexpected.
“They listen better than I thought.”
“What?”
Her next words were even more puzzling.
Listen well? Who?
“The mercenaries.”
“The mercenaries?”
A haven for mercenaries.
A refuge for the weary.
Their only comfort food.
Ceres had known the shop bore many such descriptions before she entered, yet when she actually stepped inside, she couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
Looking at a place that was frankly a disaster, she genuinely wondered whether it was worth maintaining at all.
‘But.’
Amid the chaos, she had discerned a certain order.
Even while fighting, the mercenaries shielded Mark—the cook and sole employee who trembled in fear—making sure no blows or objects reached him, not a single one.
More than anything, when she announced the week-long ban from the shop, they’d laid down their weapons on the spot with no protest whatsoever; they showed real promise in that regard.
“So I decided not to sell.”
“I see……”
At her words, Antonian’s face brightened.
She knew well how much effort her late parents had put into protecting the shop, having watched them do so from her own seat beside them.
“The problem is this house.”
“The house?”
“As you know, all of Aunt’s people have left, haven’t they?”
When Agnes went to prison, the servants she had brought with her departed as well.
Though they hadn’t been particularly competent, the sudden exodus left too large a void for those remaining to fill.
‘It was already falling apart from neglect.’
The mansion had grown so decrepit that she wondered if it would soon become nothing but an abandoned shell.
“Ceres, what if you called Colin back?”
“Colin?”
Who in the world was that?
“The butler who worked here since Grandfather’s time.”
“A butler?”
“Yes. Aunt drove him away by leveling some ridiculous charge against him.”
‘I really don’t think that would be wise, Ceres.’
‘Taking out loans like that might not be advisable….’
‘A sanatorium? Perhaps we should learn more about the place before deciding….’
It was only natural that Agnes viewed him as a thorn in her side, constantly raising objections and contradicting her at every turn.
Once Agnes had succeeded in molding Ceres to her liking, she wasted no time in dismissing Colin.
‘Me? Embezzle public funds?’
‘But look—I have the evidence right here.’
‘…Sigh.’
Though the accusation was utterly baseless, Colin seemed worn down by Agnes’s relentless provocations and left without mounting much of a defense.
Even as he departed, he expressed deep concern for Ceres, worried about how she was being manipulated by her aunt.
He left her with words about how the true master of the Drew Barony was none other than the young lady herself, urging her to take care of her health—remarks that only further infuriated her aunt.
“A butler, then….”
Antonian’s suggestion wasn’t without merit.
But would someone who’d been falsely accused and cruelly cast out be willing to return to this place?
“Well, let’s think about that later.”
What mattered now was, as always, money.
Besides, you couldn’t hire a butler without being able to pay wages, could you?
‘Maybe I should try selling that after all.’
Lost in thought for a moment, Ceres posed a question to Antonian.
“Is there a Magic Shop nearby?”
“A Magic Shop?”
At Antonian’s puzzled expression, Ceres offered no further explanation.
* * *
Ding.
“Welcome… to my shop.”
Rons, who operated the Magic Shop, turned his greeting into an automatic smile as the customer stepped through the door—then faltered.
‘What on earth?’
A woman in shabby, worn clothing had just entered.
A Magic Shop dealt in high-end magical items and materials, so most of its clientele were well-dressed.
Even a newly awakened mage with entry-level status at the Magic Tower earned wages dozens of times higher than ordinary folk.
‘Though she does carry herself with a certain air….’
Her clothes were tattered, but her appearance was striking enough to draw eyes. The atmosphere she gave off was distinctly refined.
“Is there something I can help you find, miss?”
Rons spoke cautiously, still trying to deduce her station.
After glancing about the shop for a moment, the woman finally turned her attention to him.
“I heard you buy magical materials here.”
“Ah, you’re looking to sell something?”
Rons’s eyes swept rapidly up and down the woman’s frame.
He had no idea what she might have brought, but he wasn’t holding his breath.
‘Tsk.’
People like this came in fairly often.
They’d stumble upon some oddly colored stone or curiously shaped pebble and approach him, asking if it might be a Mana Stone.
This woman seemed very likely to be another such customer.
Those with no money, desperately hunting for something—anything—to scrape together a few coins.
“Show me what you’ve brought.”
Rons’s voice and manner had shed their courtesy. He’d already decided this wasn’t a profitable customer.
Tap.
The woman set a small box down in front of Rons.
“What is this?”
“A Mana Stone.”
“…A Mana Stone?”
Rons caught sight of the rather fine box and barely suppressed a smirk.
She seemed genuinely convinced that whatever she’d found was truly a Mana Stone—judging by the dignified way she’d brought it in such an elegant container.
‘Nine times out of ten, it’s probably just a pebble rolling around on the street…….’
Click.
…….
Opening the box with carefree confidence, Rons’s eyes suddenly flickered with sharp intensity.
The moment he laid eyes on the small blue stone nestled inside, he found himself swallowing hard, almost against his will.
Just to look at it was to feel the surge of formidable magical power.
This was genuine.
Rons, seasoned merchant that he was, swiftly composed his expression and let a bright smile bloom across his lips.
“Indeed, it is a Mana Stone.”
At his confirmation, the woman—Ceres—gave a light nod.
She knew little of Mana Stones or magic, but an object given to her by Kainel couldn’t possibly be counterfeit.
She harbored no doubt whatsoever that this was a Mana Stone.
“Hmm.”
Rons turned the Mana Stone over in his hands, watching the blue light dance across its surface with an air of contemplation, as though calculating a fair price.
“I can offer you 200 Gold.”
“200 Gold?”
“For a Mana Stone of this size, 200 Gold is quite a fair price, I assure you.”
“Hmm…….”
She’d heard that ordinary soldiers earned about 200 Gold a month, hadn’t she?
In other words, a single Mana Stone was worth roughly what a middle-class household spent on living expenses for an entire month.
‘That’s not a bad price, is it?’
For a stone no larger than a fingernail, that seemed rather reasonable.
Besides, there didn’t appear to be another Magic Shop in the area, so why not just sell it?
“Well, if I’m being generous, I could perhaps add another 30 Gold or so.”
As she stood silent for a moment, mouth firmly sealed in thought, the shop owner caught her hesitation and softly added another offering.
“…50 Gold?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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