Chapter 5
Charman’s body stiffened.
“Do you need anything else? Then you should hurry up and say it and leave…”
“You’re really strange today. I need to collect the request fee, you know.”
He held out a brown cloth pouch that looked quite heavy.
Charman shook her head.
“J-Just take it. I-I’ll cover it myself.”
Her voice was even more rigid than when she commanded the army.
She hadn’t realized it at first, but she must have been extremely flustered; even to her own ears, her voice sounded solemn.
Ahil Derf’s expression became subtly questioning.
“You’re not the type to let go of money that easily. Are you joking?”
“I’m not joking. So please just go for today.”
“Well… it doesn’t matter to me. Still strange though. Anyway, I’ll take the payment. Thanks.”
Fortunately, Ahil Derf tossed the pouch casually and turned around without lingering.
Just as Charman was about to close the door, holding the pouch in her hands in a daze, he turned around again.
“Charman Pepe.”
No, please. Not again.
Charman grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them again.
“…What now?”
“What the hell did you do?”
“…What do you mean?”
Charman’s body tensed again.
“Never mind. It’s just… your magic felt enormous for a second—nah, must be hallucinating from staying up for a week straight.”
Ahil scratched his head, then vanished like smoke.
He finally left.
Relieved, Charman shut the door and leaned against the wall.
She was slightly out of breath from having to suppress her magic so quickly.
After talking to him, the reality of being deep in enemy territory hit her all at once.
If time hadn’t reversed, if her identity as Charman, the commander of Lintbell, had been exposed, she would’ve been torn to pieces on the spot. Especially since relations between the nations weren’t good even back then.
If caught and swords were drawn, she would fight back, but not even someone like Charman could guarantee survival in the heart of an enemy nation—not in her current state.
It wasn’t that she had a deep attachment to life. She simply didn’t want to lose her chance to correct past mistakes.
Now, she could no longer sense anyone outside.
“Ah.”
Too late, Charman realized her mistake.
She’d accepted a customer six hours past the closing time.
She looked around as if she had committed a great crime.
Even though no one was watching, she felt uncomfortable.
“What should I do…”
At least she had accepted the money. If Ahil hadn’t thrown it, she probably would’ve sent him away without taking it.
She felt even more uncomfortable than that time in the past when she skipped a day of training due to illness.
What should she do now?
Charman looked like she was shouldering all the worries in the world.
“…Sigh. Guess I have no choice.”
Resigned, she made another small mana stone and placed it next to the one already on the tray.
She hadn’t expected running a store to be this difficult.
Back in Lintbell, walking through the city, people had smiled and greeted merchants happily, so she assumed being a merchant was all joy—but clearly, that wasn’t the case.
Tomorrow, she would absolutely follow the rules.
Though she’d wrapped up things clumsily, she felt much more at ease than before.
“It’s already late, so I’ll do the rest tomorrow.”
Instead of returning to her bed, Charman sat on the floor near the door, leaning against the wall, and slowly closed her eyes—just like a habit.
FLASH!
Charman woke up at 4 a.m.
It was a habit from her days as a commander—always waking an hour early before the shift change to inspect and prepare.
Though there was no need for that now, she still had to do some light training and get ready to open the store.
After collecting her thoughts, she got up.
But the next problem immediately arose.
After washing up in the bathroom next to her room, she opened the wardrobe—and stared at it in despair.
“What the…?”
The clothes this body’s owner owned were all so light and frilly they reminded her of butterfly or dragonfly wings—bright, fluttery, and colorful.
It was like something the most beautiful of spirits in the Kara Forest might wear.
All the clothes were flashy and impractical—completely unsuited for movement, and the durability was laughable; a single cut would ruin them.
Worst of all, there wasn’t a single pair of pants. Only skirts—all of varying lengths.
And what made her hesitate the most was that they all looked expensive.
Though the shock had lessened since she realized this was a time before the war, it was still staggering to have to wear them.
“First, I need to go out and buy some clothes.”
Charman decided that before anything else, she needed to get activewear. She had planned to change and exercise, then buy breakfast—but that would have to wait.
After rummaging through the wardrobe, she found the least frilly, darkest-colored dress.
It was still a white and purple frilly one-piece, but it was the least embellished of the bunch.
Once she put it on, the fabric felt so soft on her skin that she had the urge to keep touching it.
All her previous clothes had been metal or leather armor and military uniforms—softness was completely foreign to her.
“This is… not as bad as I thought—”
She trailed off mid-sentence, feeling her face flush.
She shook it off and stretched, reviewing the shop’s rules posted on the wall again.
“Open at 10 a.m., close at 6 p.m. No recommendations, one item per person. One request per week. Sales and purchases are separate. Exchanges are absolutely forbidden.”
Why had that been so hard to follow yesterday?
She looked for a clock to keep track of time. Luckily, a pocket watch had been tossed beside the bed.
It didn’t seem like an antique, so she picked it up and stepped outside.
Even though she moved slowly, the sky was still dim with only a faint trace of dawn.
“Ah.”
The air smelled not of death and decay, but of fresh life.
When was the last time she’d felt such clean air?
With a sense of nostalgia, she took a deep breath of the fresh morning air.
And just like every day before, she began to stretch.
Crack!
“…?”
She’d barely bent her waist, and that sound?
Charman, now uneasy, bent the other way.
Crack-crack!
Another sharp crack echoed as if her bones were being rearranged. Her face flushed with embarrassment.
What on earth was with this body…?
She couldn’t hide her shock.
Every time she moved, it felt like her bones were being realigned.
“How little do you have to move…?”
How could someone be in this bad of shape?
From then on, Charman had to continue stretching with those odd cracking and snapping sounds accompanying her.
She decided to skip her usual sword training until she got some proper activewear.
Her body was in poor condition, she had no sword, and she didn’t want to ruin the dress.
As the sun rose and the darkness receded, she saw a view she hadn’t noticed the day before.
The first thing that caught her eye was the shop the body’s previous owner had run.
With the grand name of “Charman’s Mysterious Antique Shop,” it was actually a small and cute store—just like its owner.
The wooden sign, clearly handmade, sat atop a stack of uneven stones. The letters, however, were expertly written.
The roof was green, the walls a darker, redder shade than sunlight, and while the inside windows were clean, the outside remained dirty.
Beside the door stood a large cat statue, like a guardian deity of the shop.
Vines and flowers wound around the building, giving it the appearance of something out of a fairy tale.
Charman, entranced, walked toward the sunlit street.
She saw a flower shop nearby—the one mentioned by that half-elf who called herself Mia.
Past the other stores, exiting the alley, she found a street with elegant buildings—not as grand as Lintbell, but refined.
The shop was located in one of the central alleys of the capital.
The alley was wide enough for a carriage, and it opened into a main road nearly three times as wide.
Charming little stores, early-morning carriages rushing past—
And in the distance, a large clock tower stood tall.
To the locals, it was just a way to tell time.
But Charman knew that clock tower.
It contained the protective barrier that safeguarded the capital. Just by uttering the activation incantation, a shield would form.
It was meant to protect the people of the city.
And she knew who had made it.
Ahil Derf—the master of the Mage Tower—had installed the barrier at the king’s request.
And the one who had shattered it… was none other than herself.
As soon as she received the order, she attacked without hesitation. She even handed Rakan the victory he craved. And then…
“Charman Noel Kenders. I order you to die—for the last time.”
Charman clenched her teeth. A sudden headache overwhelmed her, and her breath quickened again.
Voices echoed in the distance.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned and hurried back to the store.
Though it had no front yard, it did have a very quaint little back garden.
A perfect spot to spend time alone in peace.
But it clearly hadn’t been maintained—autumn and winter leaves still littered the ground, cobwebs clung everywhere, and trash and dust welcomed her.
There was even a low stone wall that could look beautiful—if only it were clean.
“This needs to be cleaned up too.”
Normally, she’d be training at dawn, but since she had no sword or gear, she decided to substitute exercise with cleaning.
Charman found a half-abandoned broom nearby and began to sweep again.
Rustle.
Whoosh!
In a flash, Charman raised the broom like a weapon and pointed its handle at the intruder.
