"Shopkeeper, I am back with some juicy gossip… Oh my god-! What happened to your face? Are you sick? T-Those dark circles…! Oh god-! Did you get cursed?"

The plump gossip lady from next door came inside the shop without knocking.

She likely had nothing to buy anyway, but her news was sometimes useful. That was the only reason I let her barge in like this so often.

But as useful as she was, she was also a nuisance and very superstitious. She was the kind of person to believe that black cats brought bad luck.

Not that it mattered to me… except this one very specific situation where she chose to gossip about me.

"I am fine. I am not cursed or anything. The reason I am like this is because of my own actions. Also, I think you are blocking the way for the other people."

I told the female, and she suddenly gave me a pitiful look.

'Oh no-! I know that look. Just what did this woman cook up in her mind about me now?'

I wanted to ask, but I felt too afraid to ask her. So, for the sake of my head and heart, I decided to pretend she was not here.

"Oh my-! Our dear shopkeeper! To fall victim to his own spell—"

'Tsk, looks like the ship has sailed here. I need to distract her before she makes her ridiculous claim into a fact.'

"Miss Shirley, what news did you come here to tell me?"

I asked her, and Ann Shirley turned to give me an embarrassed look before her face went back to her neutral expression.

"Ah, that…! Of course-! How could I forget what I came here to tell you. Do you know that there has been a recent surge of mice and other rodents in this city? You better keep your doors closed as well, or else…"

The female warned, and I felt my eyes narrow.

Increasing rodents was never a good sign. It meant that something wrong was going on around the town.

But the news was too fresh, which meant that it had not become a problem yet.

However, I felt more curious about something else compared to the actual news, and that was how the female in front of me got this news before it spread.

And also, why had she chosen to tell me specifically?

"Hmm, so a new problem is about to arise. But may I know something, Madam Ann Shirley, where did you get this news from? And why did you come here to tell me instead of the authorities?"

I asked the female, and she paused. Her eyes went a little wide before she masked her nervousness with a fake laugh.

"Huh-! What do you mean? I-I just heard things from here and there… not that you need to worry about any of that. As for authorities… I just came here because you were closer. I am going to the authorities next."

The female told me with a nervous laugh before she quickly left.

Thinking back about it, there were more than a few suspicious things about that gossip lady, and her behavior gave me the feeling that she wanted and expected something from me.

It had not bothered me up until now, but even I felt curious after a while.

'Even if she left in such a hurry, I have a feeling that Miss Shirley will be back soon. Ah, I better take care of my other business until then.'

The other business I spoke of was the small line that had formed as I talked with the gossip lady.

And the first person in the line did not look happy to be kept waiting.

"Tsk, this store has such poor customer service. Do you know how long I had to stay in the line—"

And so began the customer's complaint… which was totally valid because I did keep him waiting while I talked to the gossip lady.

"Sir, please give me the book so that I can process your charges. As a sign of apology, I will also give you all a 10% off on your purchase."

I told the customers, and the sudden offer caused their eyes to shine. Some of them even left the line to buy more books.

A sale was a sale, even in these times. Offering 10% won't harm me (especially when I did not even buy the books in this shop. They appeared out of thin air from… somewhere…).

"I-Is that so-? Then, I guess you do know your mistakes and will reflect on them. I will let you go with this much this time."

The customer, who was now happy with the 10% off he got, left happily, and others had no complaint as well.

I was not about to make this a usual occurrence, but holding a sale once in a while did not sound like a bad idea.

The sun slowly went down, and I went to grab some food for myself and Fenrir. But when I returned, I heard loud barks coming from right outside my house.

I quickly returned, only to see Fenrir outside, barking at a small hole not too far away from where he was.

The hole was in the sidewalk, and a dozen or so shining eyes looked back at me.

"Are those… rodents…? Miss Shirley told me about them, but to think they are so close already…"

The sight of these rodents made me shudder. But there was going to be a bigger problem at hand here.

An increase in rodents always meant that a plague was about to come. And it would be a disaster for us all. Especially in these times.

If these were modern times, then things would have been different. But the lack of sanitation in these times made it almost impossible to control such a disease.

"I should warn Officer Henry and the Duchess… and also keep the plague medicine on hand. Thankfully, modern medicine can cure it all."

I had more than enough faith points to do this, so I did not feel burdened.

Luckily, Officer Henry was also going to visit me tomorrow with the blood sample I had requested, so I did not need to go out of my way to call him here either.

But I had some work to do first, and that was to prevent my house from these rodents. Fenrir alone won't be enough.

"Let's see… ah-! This is it. The shop does sell rat-repellent. Now, which one should I choose? Hmm."

There were a lot of varieties, but I chose the one that the system said would work for sure.

Fenrir made a gagging motion as he sniffed the rat repellent balls in my hand, and I pushed him away.

"Don't smell this, or you might get sick. These are for the rodents. We need to keep them away."

I told Fenrir, and he gave me a bark, almost as if he understood what I was saying to him. I left the balls all over the shop to make sure the rodents wouldn't come in and went to sleep.

Next morning, as soon as Fenrir woke up, I got him working.

"Fenrir, can you smell any rats in here?"

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