"Come to think of it, we didn't have to walk," I mused. "Because I have Dominic, one of the most talented people in this universe, next to me."
"Dominic."
"Huh?"
"You know how to use teleportation, don't you?"
He looked at me with a wary expression and nodded, albeit with some effort. I looked up at his hair and said, "We're going to the stationery store building in the Fabric Empire."
'To be precise, the building that will become our stationery store.'
"Stationery store? Okay, then tell me the coordinates."
I quietly whispered the coordinates to Dominic. The coordinates led to an old, abandoned building that Meldenique's mother had left to her, supposedly maintained by the previous Duchess.
"Now close your eyes."
I squeezed my eyes shut. The wind swirled around me, then came to a slight halt. I felt a pleasant sensation and kept my eyes tightly closed when I heard Dominic's voice in my ears.
"It has arrived."
When I opened my eyes, I saw Maltend Academy in front of me. Maltend Academy was a prestigious institution where prominent members of the royal family and aristocracy graduated, and it was the best academy in the empire for nurturing outstanding commoner talents. Perhaps because of its reputation, the academy was magnificent from the outside, resembling a castle lavishly decorated with precious gold.
"Is this the place?" Dominic asked, looking straight ahead.
Staring at the ornate academy tower and its elegant ivory front door, Dominic nodded in satisfaction. "It's a little lacking in splendor, but this is how it should be to serve me."
"…?"
What was he talking about? Dominic then began to walk directly toward the academy's closed gates. Instead of following him, I spoke, my voice tinged with intimidation, from behind his back. "You know, Dominic?"
"Mel, why don't we go into the building where we'll live in the future?" Dominic asked, looking back at me with a puzzled expression.
I shook my head. "It's not there."
Dominic's eyes fixated on me. "...This is the only building here."
"Why not? There's another building over there, Dominic."
I pointed to a very gloomy, old, shabby building about five blocks from the academy. Dominic's wavering gaze slowly and carefully shifted to where I had pointed. His keen eye must have properly captured the building.
"That's where we'll live in the future."
Near the huge and ornate academy, I saw a two-story stone building that utterly spoiled the elegant aesthetics of the academy. It looked like an abandoned structure, covered with moss, making it appear ancient and as if it were about to be torn down. I thought as I retraced my steps towards it:
'Hmm... I didn't expect it to be so old. This is my mother's only inheritance, so I can't help it.'
After the death of her mother, the last daughter of the Marquis of Kinnoah and a former duchess, I was told that her title was temporarily vested in the imperial family.
'The property was transferred to the Duke of Babyloa.'
But there was only one thing my mother clearly left in my name: this building.
'If you clean and repair the building, it's perfect for a stationery store.'
I didn't walk along; instead, I stopped and spoke to Dominic. "I think it would be perfect to use the first floor as a stationery store and this floor as a residence... What's wrong, Dominic?"
Dominic was frozen, just like a warrior who had seen the corpse of a dead comrade. "I... Do you mean I have to eat and sleep in a shabby closet?"
"Yes, I have all the plans."
Dominic glanced at the academy gate, then trudged towards me with a regretful stride, muttering, "I was scammed. This is a fraudulent contract." Even with his innocent-looking face, his stare wasn't threatening at all.
I hummed a song and patted him on the shoulder as he came to my side. "Don't worry, I'll remodel it to be prettier and bigger in the future. I'm going to be the owner of a stationery store that commands this continent. I have a plan for everything!"
He raised his fist and slapped his chest, and Dominic let out a long sigh, his shoulders drooping. "That's what scammers say... 'It's okay this time, I'm sure I'm going to hit the jackpot,' or something like that."
"Yes! It's okay this time! I'm going to be a big hit! Let's go in!"
Unfortunately, Dominic was already tied to me. I patted him on the shoulder and thought to myself, 'If it goes really well later, I'll treat you well!'
Dominic, who was following behind me, whether he knew what I was thinking or not, swallowed his voice. I opened the creaking door of the abandoned building, which wasn't even locked.
The first floor was thick with dust. And if the first floor was like this, I didn't even need to look at the second. This was likely a place where local street toughs came to experience 'ghosts.'
'It was a completely abandoned building.'
I whispered softly, glancing at Dominic, who stood silently stunned behind me. "Dominic, if this goes well, I'll give you a salary. Let's go in."
"...I've never had a body in the Golden Mountains. You can't afford a decent salary, okay?" Dominic's arrogant words made me chuckle inwardly.
'What a kid, isn't he cute, like a little brother?'
Before my possession, I was an orphan with no experience of a blood family, and Meldenique had never had a proper family bond either. Perhaps that's why Dominic, who must have lived much longer than me, felt like a cute little brother.
"Don't look at me like that."
"...What kind of expression?" Dominic rubbed the back of his neck, lowering his eyes and timidly scratching his head.
"That cute look."
Did he get tired? He's quick-witted.
"Okay." I smiled and nodded as if I understood, then threw the door wide open and stepped into the abandoned building.
Beep, pout.
As soon as we entered, a loud noise erupted from the room. It sounded like rats scurrying. Thanks to my previous experience of possession, I was immune to mice and cockroaches, so I didn't care. Instead, I carefully took in everything in this space.
'I feel like I'm going to sneeze because of the dust.'
It was definitely an old, abandoned building that desperately needed repairs. But...
I was now a building owner.
I smiled brightly and turned to Dominic. "Wow, isn't that really nice?"
"...You're insane. This was a fraudulent contract. God, why have you forsaken me?" Dominic muttered in dismay.
"Finding a god? You know, we're going to put a gacha box on the left, a stall on the right, and we're going to sell our homemade food at the stall outside. Like candy."
"Again?"
"The academy needs to sell children's supplies!" To do that, we needed to establish a close relationship with the Academy... but that was for the distant future.
'First of all, you have to get to know the children.'
From now on, I'd sell reminder cards, chewy stickers, beer-shaped candies, and blue candies that changed color when you put them in your mouth! My heart pounded. It was still full of dust, but to me, it felt like a new, transparent life. I sensed that the day I would fulfill my simple dream wasn't far off, so I smiled and looked at Dominic.
"So happy!"
Dominic was staring at me, still smiling happily. It was dark here, so I couldn't see his face very well, but he nodded as if he could perceive all my expressions.
"...Well, yes. Let's have a conversation about how to make a stationery store."
I nodded vigorously at Dominic's stern words. With a crackling sound, a large light bulb appeared in Dominic's hand. A twinkling light illuminated my dark surroundings, and my vision became clear.
"Alright! First of all, I want a big sign outside for children to see."
"And?"
"I want it to be an 'open door' so that anyone, whether a commoner or a noble, can enter and exit."
"An open door, yes."
"There's a garden in front of here, so I want you to make it beautiful, too."
As I talked to Dominic, I thought of my past self. I was an orphan who had no home and couldn't go to school without a scholarship. The reason I was able to grow up to be a strong adult was because I had adults who supported me when I was young. The teacher who paid for the school trip, the director of the orphanage who corrected me when I was about to go astray from my friends' ridicule, and... the owner of the stationery store in front of the school I attended. They remembered all the children's names and called them one by one. I was no exception; even when I was a squishy child who didn't have a hundred won, their voices seemed to echo clearly:
"Do you want to eat this, baby?"
"It's amazing! My tongue turned blue!"
"But don't eat too much. It's bad for your health."
I smiled softly as I remembered my childhood.
'I hope that all the children who visit this stationery store will grow up happy and childlike, just like me in the past.'
What kind of emotions do children in this world have, and how do they grow up?
Dominic, who had been staring at me in a quiet daydream, nodded. With a lot of excitement, I made a plan to remodel the stationery store with Dominic. It became fun just to make a plan. I felt like I was one step closer to my dream, so I was excited and thrilled.
I couldn't sleep until the long night passed and dawn began to break.