"10 faith points… 10 faith points… what should I buy… huh…? Did they just increase?"
I looked at the system window, which suddenly showed that my faith points had gone from 10 to 15. The sudden increase startled me.
As far as I knew, I had not done anything that could lead to this change… except…
'So treating other people does lead to a direct increase in faith points. Looks like I need to set up my office sooner than expected.'
But first, I needed to get more comfortable furniture, and to do that, I needed money. But that was a problem in itself.
The store hardly had any customers that came here to check it out, and those who did usually ignored everything.
I had only sold a single book since coming here, and that had been to that little girl. I needed to pick up my pace.
"What would attract customers to my shop… let me see… hmm. Maybe something that they have never seen before would help?"
I asked myself as I looked at the store.
The thought of spending my hard-earned faith points on something as pointless as something attractive made me frown. But I was willing to do that if it meant I could earn more.
My current mindset made me recall something my capitalist friend had once said to me.
'To earn more, you need to spend more as well. It is a two-way street.'
At that time, I had thought that he was a fool. Who would want to spend money just to earn a little more?
But now that I was in a similar situation to him, I suddenly understood the wisdom of his words. So the first thing I did was look over the catalogue.
There was not much in my price range. Things like electricity and even appliances cost a lot more faith points than I had. And then for things like electricity, there was a recurring fee.
I needed to be frugal and search up something that could attract people and not be too costly at the same time.
And then, I found it— a perfect item that could help me— a music box.
From what I could tell, a music box was not something that existed in this time. I had not seen a single one in the stores when I went out to get my supplies.
So that was my choice.
There was a small part of me that asked if what I was doing was morally right. To introduce a thing like a music box in this time period could make the whole timeline become messed up.
But a bigger part of my brain rationalized that if I was not supposed to use and bring items from other times here, then I wouldn't have been given this power.
Also, I had no other choice if I wanted to survive.
So, despite my hesitance, I bought the music box for 10 faith points, and my heart sank as I watched my balance drop back down to 5 faith points.
I looked all over the box before I found the handle and rotated it and rotated it and kept rotating it.
After about 15 minutes of doing that, I felt exhausted and finally felt the click that told me I had fully wound the tool up.
Then, I put the music box near the window and let it play.
A soft and beautiful melody started to play, causing people to stop and wonder where it was coming from.
Slowly, a small crowd formed in front of my window as they saw the music box. And a few people noticed that this was a bookstore and entered the place.
"Excuse me, I wanted to ask you… you are a new face…? Where is the old storekeeper?"
An old lady asked as she entered. From her clothes, she looked like a rich noblewoman who had a lot of money and influence. She held herself regally, and her pose made her look taller than she actually was.
But her age seemed to be getting to her because there was fatigue behind her eyes.
I decided to quickly answer her as soon as I recalled what I knew about nobles and their temper.
"Ah yes—! I am the new shopkeeper. The old shop owner needed to… step away for some time and he asked me to look over the store. Is there anything I can help you with?"
I asked the old lady, and she looked hesitant. Then, she closed her eyes as she made up her mind.
"It is unlikely that you would be able to help me out. But I appreciate you for asking. Hmm, since I am already here, I guess I better buy something. About that device that plays music, how much is it? I will pay you for it."
The old lady told me, and I felt myself sweating.
That music box was something that I could not let go of. Especially not when I had just paid such a heavy price for it.
"I am afraid that it is not for sale. It is a precious item, after all."
I told the old lady, but she frowned, clearly upset that I had told her no.
"Hmph—! You think I cannot pay for it. Just name your price, boy. I will match what you name."
There was some anger mixed in the older lady's voice, and I felt myself sweating. I needed to diffuse the situation and quick.
'What is something that can make a noble back down. Hurry up and think—!'
There were two things that came to mind— power and the fear of God.
I lacked power at the current moment, so there was only one thing I could rely on to calm the noble lady down.
"It's not about money, my dear guest. It's about faith. This is a precious gift by… a higher being… so I cannot part with it… lest it cause you trouble as well. However, you are welcome to come here and enjoy it."
I told the older lady. I was willing to have her as a non-paying customer simply because she looked like someone who had a lot of money and connections.
As someone connected to high society, she could surely spread the word about my shop among her people, and I could get more customers that way.
So, she was someone I was willing to invest in, even if the returns were not immediate.
"O-Oh my—! Is that so? So this is a sacred object… no wonder…"
The old lady seemed to have believed me, and I saw the worry on her face melting away.
Her body looked too tense, and I sensed a potential for making her a customer of my store.
"My lady, why don't you sit down and enjoy the soft melody. I will deal with the customers, and then we can talk more. I have a feeling you are in dire need of my help."
I told the old lady, my words soft and buttery. This was not a tone I often used, but I had heard my co-workers use it enough to coerce their customers into getting an unneeded diagnostic.
'Tsk, to think that there came a day when I need to use this voice. Ugh, how annoying. But I need to keep doing this for the sake of my survival.'
I had morals, but they were not unbreakable. I was a highly adaptive person, so I decided to take advantage of this situation for my own gain.
"O-Of course, storekeeper. I-I will wait for you to get finished with the customers. I also have a feeling… a feeling that you are the answer to all my problems."
The older lady told me in earnest. She suddenly sounded polite, which made me believe that she had taken my excuse about God seriously.
"Of course. I will be there with you in a minute."