Chapter 15: Opening a shop
Chapter 14
Yo Author here: I have been reading the comment, and I realized that most of you think that a Harem in the Dark novel with a biblically accurate angel does not fit. So we will be doing a poll to decide the future direction of the novel.
(Time limit : 30 days. Ending in February 22 2025)
1. Only Rias is the female lead. (A thing which I am heavily favoring)
2. Continue like originally. I like harem.
3. Your opinion.
But no matter what you choose, romance will be a subplot at best. The main plot is unleashing horror beyond the stars. That is a biblically accurate angel upon the world. Though be warned, the early chapters won't have much of this. Since Moon is weak and world-building is happening. Heck, even character development is still going on.
"Now a coat," Moon thought as he willed holy energy to take on the shape of a coat similar to that of a normal fancy coat one would see people wearing. And the holy energy followed his command and slowly took on the shape of a coat. First the hem of the coat, then it was the body, and finally, after it took shape, the collar.
But because of Moon's inexperience, the coat had a rigid texture akin to a towel that had dried completely. But it was infinitely better than what it was when he was an orb of light, since when he was an orb of light, he could only create armor that had the texture of a cube, a bit similar to that of Moon's childhood game, Minecraft.
Now after he transformed into an angel, at least he thinks he is an angel, he could create much finer detail with less effort. Heck, if he were trained for a week or two, he could probably make that fancy armor that he used to see in video games. Although even if he did create it, he wouldn't wear it since a flying eyeball with wings wearing armor would look ridiculous, although if he was alone, he might just try it.
"At least the shape is right; now the texture and make it capable of moving like normal clothes." Moon focused on the coat, trying to make it better. But from the corner of his eye, he saw the faint shadow of Katu and Kale going towards him. Prompting him to instantly stop what he was doing.
After thirty or so seconds, Kale and Katu approached him. But he noticed an odd thing: Katu's stomach was bloated like a stuffed pig, and she was huffing and puffing as if she had just done intense exercise. "Huff, puff, huff.".
Kale seemed to have noticed Moon's gaze. "She just ate too much."
"All right," Moon muttered, shifting his gaze to Kale to know what information she managed to gather today. And depending on what she had learned, he would change his plans accordingly. If the city has ultimate class beings, then he would retreat into the wild until he reached at least peak high class if there is none. Then he would try to gather any information about ways to leave the underworld. If there is totally no way to leave the underworld in the city, then he would leave and then train in the wilderness. When he was strong enough, he would approach the Devil or any other being who lives in the underworld and is capable of leaving the underworld.
"Since new angels being born is such a rare thing, heaven will probably be willing to pay a high price to recover them, right?. Although I do not look like an angel on the outside, inside I am still an angel. Pure and untainted" Moon, though, as he continued in his monologue. "I thought I would have to be extremely careful so that I would not end up on a research table."
Kale looked around for a bit and found herself a boulder to sit on. She approached it, swept it a bit so that the dirt on top fell off, and sat on it. "So the situation of the city is like this. Three clans, Mink, Orc, and Lizardman, rule over the city. With Mink being ranked first thanks to their leader, Thunder Rabbit Phase, who had once reached ultimate class.
"And I presume he is not ultimate class anymore, considering that you said once instead of is."
Kale nodded at him. "Yes, he fell to about peak high class in my estimation. Since he is a pure magician, although if he were a fighter or wasn't a pure magician, he would have grown much weaker."
Moon nodded, as in dropping his pupils slowly and raising them back up.
"Because of it, the situation of the city is not looking good, with Orcs and lizardmen trying to become the head clan and with Mink trying to keep their place." Kale sighed heavily after saying that, bearing a complicated feeling in her chest. On one hand, she was once a student of a prominent elder of the mink clan, who taught her, raised her until adulthood, and was also someone who had a deep love for his clan and his race. On the other hand, the elder who was akin to a parent to her was killed by quite possibly another elder named Ferinhard. Who also chased her out of the city like a beggar, with everything except the things she wore confiscated or outright stolen.
To add salt to injury, she was even hunted down by a few of the mink. A deep affection for her parent no matter what their race is, mixed with anger and fury for the people who took everything from her and those people who just watched. She sighed deeply as she shook off her lingering feeling, thinking that she should just put her past away.
"So the orc started..." She continued recounting everything she knew along with what she knew, without hiding anything, while also telling what she predicted, no matter how low their possibility was. Moon asked things that she didn't explain while also discussing what she predicted.
Midway through the discussion, Moon stopped. "Is there any way to leave the underworld in the city from your knowledge?"
Kale put her hand under her chin as she tried to remember if she had heard of anything that had something to do with leaving the underworld. "I am not sure; things like that are rare around here, although very rarely some things like that appear briefly in the Main Auction of the city during the annual events."
"OH," Moon wondered, his eyes lighting up akin to light as his brief hope that a way to leave the underworld had appeared. "Give me a few examples."
"Mmmm." Kale scratched her jaw as she dug deeper into her memories to find the information. "Most of it is in the form of a ticket to illegal trafficking. Some creatures, mostly devils, would sell an allocation for trafficking for a hefty sum. A very, very hefty sum that is akin to a year or two of clan profit. But very rarely, artifacts that allow teleportation appear, but the last one appeared about a hundred years ago."
"When does the annual event in which the auction appears happen, and is there any clinic, hospital, or store that sells healing potions around here?" Moon inquired while also displaying his plan on what he was going to do to accumulate that large amount of money. A simple plan that he came up with while training during the day. "Surely, nothing can beat my holy magic on healing, right?"
"It happens every ten years, and the next one will happen about three years later, and while there are some clinics and stores that sell potions in the city, it is rare, and they all charge ridiculous prices for even the simplest of potions." Kale nodded with a bit of a confused expression on her face.
Moon, seeing her confused expression, realized that he had not revealed his healing power to either Kale or Katu. So he explained it to them and demonstrated it on a rabbit that he caught during the day. By cutting it up and healing it several times. Why several times? Because Katu said she wanted to see it again and again with an excited expression on her face.
"We could earn massive amounts of money in a short time with this; heck, becoming even the richest person in the city within a year or two is possible. And with not-so-high competition, it will be a breeze. But what we should do with... you know... your appearance?"
"There is no need for you to be worried about this; I can put my energy into a bottle, and we can sell it. There is no need for me to be beside them for it to work. Thought you would have found ways to disguise my magic signature."
"If it is about hiding the signature, I can do something similar to that, but it would reduce the effect of the potions."
"Then it is better; we don't want to draw too much attention."
After that talk, Katu and Kale went to the city and exchanged a few valuable items, like golden teeth and the hide of a powerful monster, for some money and bought a small house on the edge of the city, which was pretty cheap since it was quite run down. All of its windows were cracked, and there was not a single wall without any dents or holes. They spent another two days fixing it, which in reality meant just Katu and Kale. Since Moon can't go near the village freely, he helps cut down trees and turn them into planks. While also killing some powerful beast nearby and giving them to Kale to cash in to purchase things that they can't get. After that, they put up a board with a big-ass sign saying, [Revalidation for All]. A truly massive sign, which even from the village of the village can see, Seven meters wide and five meters tall. To prevent it from falling, Moon had to find some strong wood called [Kasia] and had to bring it to Katu and Kale. And they paid a few workers and put it up.
Kale, Katu, and Moon could be seen standing outside their store in the middle of the night. A big sheet was thrown over Moon to prevent him from being seen. "At last, finished," Moon thought as he gazed at their small rundown shop with holes here and there, along with some dirt and mud on the walls. Showcasing that they hadn't exactly cleaned it after finishing it. The store was one story tall, about 7m x 7m, with a small stall on the front, selling some strong animal parts that don't deteriorate quickly. Like skeletons or teeth, along with some lizard-like creatures' skin.
Kale, when asked by Moon why it is necessary, replied to him. "It would allow us to avoid some trouble, although we would still have to go through some foolish ones."
When one came inside, one would smell a heavy herbal smell and would be greeted with a counter, and behind it would be rows upon rows filled with nothing. Empty and barren with only a single small shelf in the corner filled with bottles with some of Moon's energy. A diluted yes, but still much better than what the monsters in the village and city had ever seen. Capable of healing any minor cuts and bruises in seconds and can speed up more severe ones.
And in the back of the store, there was a kitchen and three beds. Two small ones and one extremely big one, although Moon thought it was a bit of a waste since he wouldn't be sleeping on it much.
()
Tomorrow, Kale and Katu opened their shop, and instantly, in a few hours, they received five orders. Showcasing just how much healing items are in demand. Although the fact that there is a sign saying it will be half the price for today might have influenced it. But still, the potions were not something that are cheap like groceries; in fact, a normal potion would cost a sword or two under normal circumstances.
"Why is this brown?" An ogre asked while scratching the top of his head with a confused expression on his face.
Katu, upon hearing him, instantly jumped closer to him and started repeating the speech Kale drilled into her mind last night. "Because it uses a rare, powerful monster hearth, which when brewed with..." She continued, on and on. Explain it in a form that made the potion look like it was created by the god himself in heaven. Using flowery language akin to a politician's use. While also making it seem like she explained everything, but in reality she did not.
And Ogre, just after a sentence or two, couldn't keep up with her. Just showing an even more confused expression before buying it and leaving. "So it is good, huh?" he muttered while leaving.
After taking and counting the coins, she waved her hand towards the ogre, bidding him farewell with a happy expression. "Thanks for your purchase." After which she marched towards another customer to confu... explain their potion.