Chapter 7
After finishing breakfast, Alonso rushed back home, saying he’d get scolded if he was late.
Left alone again, Charmant mulled over their conversation.
“Charmant… You won’t hit me later even if you remember, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Charmant is a weirdo.”
“A weirdo, huh.”
Alonso had said that was the perfect word to describe Charmant Pepe.
Pepe knows everything.
She can use magic, but she’s not a witch.
Charmant Pepe has no family.
She’s been here a long time, but no one knows where she came from.
Charmant Pepe likes children.
Once a year, she closes her shop for a month and always travels alone.
What Charmant Pepe hates most are hunger, credit, and swindlers.
Her official age is twenty-three this year. But no one knows her real age—she sometimes seems like an old grandmother.
Charmant Pepe doesn’t use honorifics with anyone.
Charmant Pepe always says she’s the best in the world.
Charmant Pepe earns a lot of money but for some reason, is always broke.
Charmant Pepe isn’t a picky eater. She likes trying new foods.
Charmant Pepe is a great fighter. Her fists pack a punch.
Despite all that, Charmant Pepe is truly a good person.
That was the weirdo Charmant Pepe that Alonso described.
Now, the mystery of how she used magic so easily was finally resolved.
And though no one knew her real age, it was said to be the same as Charmant’s own.
The fact that she had become seven years younger again struck her all over.
She was a bit curious about Pepe’s relationship with Ahil Durf, but for now, she was content with what she had learned.
She hadn’t expected Alonso to give her any earth-shattering information anyway.
Same name and age—that was it.
Different place, different past, different people, different personality, different likes and dislikes—nothing matched. Of course it was hard to understand her.
“Well, I’ve never made friends before, so I guess it makes sense I don’t know how to get to know strangers.”
Maybe if they were comrades following the same orders.
But no matter what kind of person Pepe was, it was clear she was far better than someone like herself—someone others probably found unpleasant—and surely someone precious to someone else.
So she thought she should try her best so others wouldn’t feel Pepe’s absence too much.
‘If I look around the house more, I might discover something.’
She planned to clean the shop thoroughly again today.
“Charmant! Charmant!”
Before she could think any further, the desperate voice of a child rang out.
Charmant, thinking something terrible had happened, flung open the door without even checking.
“Kyah!”
The moment she opened the door, a young voice squealed, and someone threw themselves into her in a tight hug.
It was the most enthusiastic—no, aggressive—hug she had ever experienced.
‘Ah, she said she likes kids.’
Then it made sense that she was kind to them too, and that they would come looking for her.
The child’s eyes were a beautiful ocean-blue.
With big, sparkling blue eyes and fiery red hair tied high into two pigtails, the girl held a heavy-looking cloth pouch in her hand.
Charmant felt the impact on her stomach and asked in concern,
“Are you okay? Ah—no. A-are you okay, sweetie?”
She remembered that Charmant Pepe didn’t use honorifics and quickly corrected herself.
The girl, unfazed, roughly wiped her nose with her hand and laughed, holding the pouch out.
“Hmm? I’m fine! Charmant, what did you dream about today? Mommy says it’s time for breakfast! Here!”
Charmant, caught off guard, took the pouch. It was surprisingly heavy for something held in one hand.
“Why bring breakfast…?”
The girl looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes, as if confused by the question.
She was probably just running an errand—no point asking her.
When she opened the pouch, there were five round balls wrapped in paper.
It looked like some kind of secret present—the contents were hidden, making her curious.
“I’m going to eat with you too, Charmant! Is that okay?”
The child announced it first and then asked for permission. Charmant nodded.
But then she remembered she had already eaten breakfast and looked at the girl with guilt.
“Ah, well…”
“You’re not eating…? But Tini’s hungry.”
When Charmant hesitated, the girl looked up at her with teary, pleading eyes.
She had broken a ten-year rule just yesterday, and the world hadn’t ended. What difference would two breakfasts make?
In fact, it almost felt like a fun little rebellion.
Charmant took the girl’s hand and led her to the kitchen, just as she had done with Alonso.
She wiped the plate Alonso had used earlier and placed the five paper-wrapped balls on it.
As Tini unwrapped one, her eyes widened.
“I forgot the milk!”
Charmant stood up, thinking she had seen a water jug earlier.
“I’ll get some water—”
“No! Mommy says I need to drink milk in the morning to grow taller. I’ll go get it!”
Tini jumped off the chair and ran out the door with a bang loud enough to break it.
Though she’d appeared out of nowhere, she was still a guest.
Charmant sat quietly and waited for her little visitor.
Truthfully, she was overwhelmed.
Three people had visited yesterday, and now two people had come—and it wasn’t even ten yet.
Their visits were a bit sudden, but the problem was… she didn’t dislike it.
Tini returned, struggling to carry two milk bottles as thick as her arms.
“Charmant, open the cap for me!”
She placed the bottles on the table and sparkled with excitement. Charmant smiled without realizing.
She opened one, and Tini gulped it down in one go.
“Pwah! It’s so good! Charmant, you try!”
With a white milk mustache, Tini held out the other bottle.
Charmant opened it and drank just like Tini had.
Her eyes widened.
‘What kind of milk is this?’
It had a nutty richness, slightly salty, that danced on her tongue.
It was definitely milk, but it had a flavor as rich as butter.
And it was fresh—shockingly so.
“Charmant, it’s good, right?”
Tini asked with sparkling eyes.
Charmant, disappointed there wasn’t more, smacked her lips and nodded.
“Yeah, it’s delicious.”
“Right? My brother Jakur’s milk is the best! Want some bread too?”
The mysterious round paper balls were bread.
Charmant was puzzled even while unwrapping one.
‘Bread can be this heavy?’
But the moment she took a bite, she realized her assumptions were wrong.
The golden-brown crispy bread crust split open to reveal a treasure trove inside.
Plump kidney beans, golden corn, diced vegetables, thick chunks of salty bacon and ground meat—all mixed with a sweet and tangy sauce and stuffed to the brim.
Still steaming, the bread was drenched with savory juice and punchy spices, creating a culinary masterpiece.
There was even a bit of cheese stretched out when torn.
Charmant had never seen such a dish before.
Tini, with sauce smeared around her mouth, munched away and asked,
“What did you get, Charmant?”
“What do you mean?”
Charmant stared blankly, confused.
Tini held out her half-eaten bread.
“Ugh, I got onion and cheese!”
Finally understanding, Charmant turned her own around and showed her filling. It was the first time she had shared a half-eaten food with anyone.
Tini’s eyes sparkled.
“Wow! Charmant won today!”
“Won?”
“Yeah! The one with meat in the Lopani is the winner. Maybe something good will happen to you today! You said every day was boring, right?”
Boring? With all these visitors?
Charmant stared at the bread in her hand.
She finally realized what this food was.
She had heard of Lopani, a traditional Elrium dish.
It was eaten during festivals—though apparently also enjoyed casually.
A bit heavy for breakfast, perhaps, but she unconsciously finished one and opened another.
This time, it was filled with roasted vegetables seasoned with spices.
“Ahaha! That one’s a dud!”
Tini burst into laughter, saying she’d hit both the jackpot and a dud.
Her laughter was so clear and pretty that Charmant almost laughed along without meaning to.
They ate all five Lopani without leaving a single bite.
“Well then, Charmant, have a good day!”
Tini patted her round belly, said she had plans with friends, and zipped off like lightning.
As soon as she left, silence returned.
“….”
Charmant stared at the closed door, then suddenly snapped upright.
It was five minutes to ten.
She put on a determined expression.
It was finally time to open the shop.
She quickly cleaned the table, opened the door, hooked it so it wouldn’t slam shut, and flipped the sign to show “Open” just as the clock struck ten.
Charmant wiped the nervous sweat from her brow.
“Whew, success.”
She had finally followed the first rule. Just nine more to go.
But her body tensed again.
‘Let the customer decide the price,’ she recalled.
But it was impossible not to wonder—
What if they offer way too little?
