The Victorious Shop

Somehow, deep down, more than selling his goods, Jackal enjoyed taking money from that goddess! Ah, it felt cathartic seeing her so angry!

After all, there is simply no way he is going to contract the better potions to Loki Familia alone! What about market competition?! He wants to ruffle things more and more!

After making sure that all his security checks are in place, Jackal packs more than an empty backpack and leaves the store. It's already dusk so magic lamps glitter the street with their glows using Magic stones as fuel.

With a soft hum, he makes his way to Maria's orphanage but all he is left facing is an extremely furious Maria lording over the empty bento boxes!

"Did you drug my children?!"

"I beg your loving pardon?"

***

A few hours ago.

"Hey! You really are here!"

A familiar brown-haired boy filled with tiny, shallow cuts barges into Humble Jackal's alongside a litter of other kids ranging from humans to demi-humans.

Grinning from his chair, Jackal greets them, "I am! And Maria told you, right?! I have a surprise! But it's only for those who tell me honestly how you liked my bento!"

The black-haired kid who was chasing the brown-haired one sticks his tongue out, "Beh! Disgusting! Nothing like the food Syr-Onee brings us!"

Sticking his tongue out, too, Jackal grins, "Beh, no gift for you then!"

His lips part open, "Hey! Unfait! You said to be honest!"

Channeling his inner Orphan-Menace, Jackal sniffs and turns his nose up haughtily, "I lied!"

All the children gasp and chorus, "Liar~! Liar~! Pants on Fire!"

As if they were truly expecting his pants to burst into flames, they look at him hopefully, "Are your pants still there?"

'Oh... my god! That sounds severely wrong in so many contexts!' Jackal screeches at the unholy energy they have created today before groaning and sitting back, "Nah, they're fine. So, how about you introduce yourselves? I'm Jackal!"

"Like the name on the Store!" A blonde half-elf exclaims.

"Oh-ho, Maria is teaching you all to read and write?" Jackal questions and they all nod in sync before the brown-haired kid in the front points out, "Not to Cyn and Ron," the two youngest orphans deflate, "But Roux here is the most intelligent!" He looks at the blonde, blue-eyed half-elf and then points to himself, "I'm Rye!"

"Roux!"

"Fina!" Says another blonde Chienthrope.

"Ossian!" Said the black-haired kid who tried to catch Rye a few days ago.

"C-Cyn!"

"I'm Ron!"

...

After the children completed their introduction, they look at Jackal with hopes bursting through their gazes.

Chuckling, Jackal pulls out his candy jar and their gaze brighten.

"This is what I sell to children who are honest to me. For free. The best candy you will ever taste! The best in Orario and the World! Even Gods and Goddesses want a taste of it!"

"Doubt it," Ossian crosses his arms dismissively but continues to stare at the Jar of candy, "But... I will eat one if you're being... so insistent!"

"No, you all will eat two!"

"TWO?!"

The children gasp in surprise, and then they after tasting the divine drops of heaven...

They were Jackal's shared custody with Maria.

"Why are your eyes so weird?"

"Oh, your shop is empty! Are you a bad store owner?!"

"You should have some games here!"

---

"S-so... it really is just a candy?" Maria stutters slightly with the lemon-flavored crystal candy in her mouth as she fidgets, "Well... they are very delicious... I'm sorry for exploding on you like that. But my kids are my treasures..."

"It's alright, and I'm glad you got to have a free trial at something, at least. These candies really put a dent in my budget." As Jackal spoke, he also began packing the empty bento boxes back into his backpack. For a second, he glances at Maria. Like usual, she is dressed in a slightly worn grey dress that clamps around her torso and flows down into a long skirt. This already makes her prominent bust more noticeable while a white apron is also tied around her torso. In the morning, the apron was quite... clean but now... Oh, boy. The apron has seen better days.

"Ah, let me help you," Maria starts packing the boxes in a similar manner as Jackal while questioning, "Jackal-san... if the candies are so expensive..."

"Nah, I like sharing things with children... sometimes I like snatching things from them, too, if they are being difficult," Jackal smiles, "Besides, they should get to try a few good things. Adults are expected to work... not children. They should enjoy a bit... which they clearly are. The buggers wanted my pants to catch fire!"

Maria smiles and nods, "If that's what you'd like, I won't try and stop you. But don't spoil them too much or I'll have to be the bad parent and discipline them," she huffs at the end slightly, making Jackal shrug, "From what I've heard there's another 'parent' spoiling them with better food than mine!"

Pouting, he looks at Maria, "Syr something."

"Oh," Maria hums, "Yes, Syr-chan helps around sometimes but her job keeps her busy. As for bringing better food... it's not always the case. Sometimes she uses her own salary to bring food from Mama Mia's."

"Oh... now I want to eat what she brings, too," Jackal scoffs a chuckle. Mama Mia is equivalent to Hephaestus when it comes to smithing and Ishtar when it comes to whores for food and... cute serving girls.

After the boxes were packed, Jackal sets another wrapped candy on the table and slides it across Maria's side scandalously as if bribing her, "Psst, here, another one. Everyone gets two. And if you make sure Ossian likes my chicken or not, I'll keep you hooked on the line!"

"Oh," smirking mischievously, Maria snatches the candy and pockets it into her dress, "But I thought adults need to work for it."

"Everyone gets two, remember?" Jackal grins before winking, "And next time, if you want more, I may just have you work for it~!"

She huffs nasally since the underlying, playful meaning of his words is not lost on her, "Go, go! I agree with Ossian. Syr is cuter than you!"

Jackal waves back with a smile and leaves.

As he leaves, Maria falls into silence. Finally, she takes out the candy and looks at it hesitatingly.

A motherly part of her wanted to save it for her children like she always does. Whenever Syr brings delicious meals, Maria makes sure that the children eat all of them. It's a blessing, after all.

They get to eat delicious food that they wouldn't have ordinarily and she... is blessed by their smiles and happiness.

So, for her, the candy brought a great sense of conflict.

Why?

Because Syr might be cuter... but Jackal just made friends with her so easily. She... wanted this present for herself. She believed Jackal when he said the candies are expensive. Regular treats are not even present in usual stores much less candies of this quality. And she also believed that he meant by what he said.

These are free for the children, not the grown-ups.

So essentially, this was a sweet, little gift for her.

A gift after so long...

Smiling sadly, she pockets back the candy. She'll hold onto it for now...

---

Jackal huffs and return to his house. His backpack is stretched to its limits! Behind him is a burly middle-aged man, the local butcher Warren, who dragged a cart of heavily sedated chickens and pigs. Meanwhile, in his hands, Jackal held a closed bucket of water filled with salmons.

"Thanks, Warren," Jackal smiles as the buff Cat-man wearing bloodied apron huffs, "Don't know why you wanna butcher them yourself before cooking but hey, you pay good money. I like ya!"

Jackal nods and speaks up, "I know your son is an adventurer. Have him look through Miach-sama pharmacy or ask him to run by my store to check out the potions. The prices are great and the effects are amazing."

Warren smirks, "Thinking of snatching a loyal customer for yourself, eh? Sorry, kid, I like you. But my son like that chick in Dian Cecht's store."

Jackal shrugs. That's why he wants cute employees, too.

He wasn't looking for a customer but wanted to pay back Warren for his great service.

Anyway, Jackal opened the door and brought every single creature to his bathroom.

Yes. He does not need to just be a menace to chickens alone! Other creatures must face his just and fair butchering!

His backpack is already filled with Ollie's cousin that he needs to burn to cinders, too!

As for the fish, Jackal has purchased some different kinds. Although he feels that most aquatic animals will give him the same result since different plants all give him a dual potion, he needs to test it nonetheless.

'Hah... this is going to be a long, long, night.'

Given how Miach's pharmacy sold out, he intended to set double the number of potions there and for himself, too! So, after all this, he intended to dive into the dungeon and see how many gobbo and kobbo potions he can get.

Before starting with the butchering, Jackal set the Counter Block and stuck a Rank 4 magic crystal into it. Then he installs the rest of the security system he bargained a fortune for.

---

On the lonesome night of Daedalus street, a mischievous snicker echoes, "Huhuhu, you think you'll be safe after insulting me! Mongrel! Moron! If I want candies, I will have them, and no locksmith of Hephaestus will stop her.

She is Loki!

The doors she wants open, even if locked, will be picked clean!

Muahahahahaha!

Covering her snickering mouth with her hand, Loki continues to giggle impishly and sticks a lock pick into the lock.

*Whirrr*

She stills.

Looking up, Loki finds herself facing a small orb fitted above the door that glints red.

And then...

*Bzzzt*

A massive jolt of electricity shakes her to her very divine core!

Her hair sizzles and sticks out, and her mouth dries quickly.

Slowly, she brings her hand back.

*Bzzt*

Arcs of electricity continue to dance over the strands of her hair sticking out and she dumbly looks at the magical item installed.

"Y- You unbelievable freak!" She picks a nearby rock and throws it at the windowpane of the shop!

She just wanted to leave a massive 'present' for Jackal, a smelly one! Why did she need to get electric therapy for that?

But...

As the stone crashes into the window, it bounces off as a shimmering white light returns to the surface of the store. Loki is shocked again... when the stone hits her in the head soundly.

Stumbling back and now sporting a cut, Loki snarls.

'Fine! Challenge accepted! I shall break into this shop without any divine means but my cunning and trickery alone! You SHAN'T have the last laugh, Jackal!'

"What are you doing?"

A pair of green eyes silently regard her from the darkness as Loki's breath hitches up.

"I- I..."

"Are you breaking into our tenant's store?"

"No!" Loki gasps, "How could I?! I'm just too drunk and stumbled here~!" Sitting up and ignoring the blood leaking from her cut, Loki drawls with a grin, "So~? Want to join your Goddess in a steamy—"

"Haaaah..." That sigh...

Loki flinches.

Nothing good comes after this sigh.

Not after she is tired from dungeons and her shenanigans.

On the lonesome night of Deadulus street, a loud wail echoes.

"I promise I won't do it again—"

The wail is promptly cut off. It is consumed by the darkness of the street. And a lone store stands straight— In the victory against the divine.

The first step to the legend of the store that even the Divines shall fawn over.

---

*Knock*

*Knock*

*Knock*

"Comminnnnggg..." Eina drawls and yawns as she climbs out of her bed. Stretching a bit, she wipes off the sleep out of her eyes and looks at the time...

'7 in the morning? Uunnnngh... so early...' she yawns again. Tossing a loose robe over her body, Eina wears her glasses and looks out from the spyglass before her eyes widen!

"Eeh?" She gasps and quickly unlocks her door before flinging it open, "Jackal-san?!"

"Yo!" He greets back with a smile, "Good morning, Eina."

"Uh... yeah," She regathers herself, "Good morning. After a moment, her hand swipes across her hair in a belated attempt to sort her morning hair. She then looks down at herself and her toes begin to fidget nervously.

"Why are you here?" She questions without meeting his eyes.

"Well, I made bento," Jackal smiles and sets down his impossibly large backpack. Seeing him crouch slightly, Eina resists the urge to try and hide her bare legs. Chewing her lips in nervousness, she waits as Jackal takes out a box from his backpack.

"Here!"

"Thanks..." Eina smiles, recovering a little bit, "But... why?"

"Ah, I made extra," Jackal grins, "And I thought who would I want to share my cooking with? The lot of you came to my mind!"

"The... lot?" Eina tilts her head curiously as Jackal takes out two more Bentos. The three boxes are of different colors as Jackal points at the lids, "This one is chicken, this one is pork, and this one is fish. Share it with Rose and Misha and let me know if you guys want the same menu tomorrow~!"

Eina holds onto the stack of three bento boxes with a slightly peeved expression. She just doesn't like waking up early, that's why she is annoyed! Truly!

"Fine..." She mutters as Jackal reaches forward after wearing his backpack to flick her head, "Cheer up, Eina. My cooking ain't that bad!"

"Ah! N-No, I did not mean to—"

Observing Jackal's grin, Eina huffs, "Jackal-san, you have gotten mean!"

"Only for the best of girls," Jackal shrugs, sending Eina's lone morning brain cell into an overdrive of emotions that it simply cannot handle alone!

"Have a good day and don't be too serious all the time, yeah? I'll see you tonight and don't you eat it all alone, you glutton! Share, remember!"

"I'm not a glutton!" Eina snaps back with a blush only for Jackal to sigh.

"That's a bummer... I wanted to prepare more for your tomorrow..."

"Ah... it's alright..." Eina resists the craving need for her toes to press tightly into her slippers, "I will try to eat... everything you cook for me..."

He grins victoriously! He can now add another chicken to the butcher!

"Goodbye!" Jackal turns around and leaves while Eina bows slightly, "Thank you for the Bento, Jackal-san."

And then... Eina watches Jackal drag another impossibly large sac behind him.

'When did...' she finally observes something different other than his cheerful self, 'When did he become so strong?'

---

Naaza and Miach gaze at a stack of six bento. Three for each of them.

"Jackal-kun... this might be a little too much," Miach works his jaw and smiles naturally as Jackal shrugs, "Hey, it's all fine. You didn't hate my cooking, right?"

"Of course, not. It was delicious. What about you Naaza?" Miach looks at his only familia child.

"It was... good," Naaza eyes her stack of bento boxes. Three. Well, a regular individual might divide them into three portions for the day but... chances are she'd finish all of them at once.

"See?" Jackal chimes, "It's all good but if you don't want to eat it all, you can always share it with others."

Naaza suddenly looks at Miach, "If Miach-sama cannot eat it all, please do not share it with strangers. Bring them... all to me..."

"Oh, of course," Miach smiles.

"With that out of the way... I have new products!" Jackal announces, attracting the attention of the god and his familiar.

He fishes out a salmon-colored, fist-sized vat from his backpack. Instead of another animal head as a lid, this time, there is a pig's face imprinted on the vat itself.

Miach smiles, "Another strange bessel for your products but I can see the charm now."

Undoing the lid around the vat, Miach sniffs the putrid scent of the soft pink-colored potion while Naaza cannot help but scowl slightly and scrunch her nose.

Not minding the stench, Miach tastes a drop of it and closes his eyes thoughtfully.

"This is a strange one, child," he begins with his deductions, "This is an ailment potion. Instead of benefiting the user, it harms them. Or you could say, it's better to aim this potion at the target. As for its effects, the consumer of this potion will feel extremely slow. Or rather, they will become lethargic. The exact opposite of the adrenaline potion."

Jackal nods and then takes out another item. Instead of a vessel for a liquid, this time, it's a pouch with a cover of bluish scales which feel soft to the touch.

As Jackal anticipated, the common species of fish all had the same excreted item.

"Oh?" Miach leans forward with interest and loosens the mouth of the pouch to reveal a fill of ash-white powder.

It has no scent.

Noting this, Miach tastes it by pinching some of the powder into his mouth.

"Hmm... no effect by consuming." Miach notes loudly and Naaza supplants, "It must be applied on the user..."

"Indeed," Miach rubs the powder on a tiny portion of his hand and closes his eyes for a few seconds.

"I see. This powder masks the scent of the user for one minute. Or rather, it masks the scent of anything for one minute as long as a large portion of the target is covered by the powder."

Naaza gapes slightly while Jackal nods, "Thank you. I also have a request..."

"Please feel comfortable speaking them," Miach nods and sets the pouch on the table while he also starts to write the effects of the lazy potion.

"I would like to know if it's possible to have a magic item that has the same effect as you..." As Miach raises an eyebrow, Jackal explains further with a smile, "An item that can deduce my creations in all the materials used as well as layman's writing to project the effects of my work accurately."

"I'm sorry but even I cannot distinguish many ingredients in a potion," Miach smiles, "A single potion can be mixed with different materials. You can compare this to the saying— reaching the same conclusion by adopting different paths. As for the other effect... that could be doable. I'll... ask around."

"Miach-sama," Naaza vibrates uncomfortably and glances at the man with a short tug of her lips.

"Naaza," Miach sighs softly, "We should always return others' goodwill, right?"

Naaza chews her bottom lip and glances at Jackal who doesn't show any change in her expression. Then she glances at the bento boxes and the large backpack.

Truly...

Jacka has been gracious to their familia. Last night, a part of her believed that he wouldn't return today after finding out that Loki familia intends to buy his stock fully. He already has his success... what use are they to him.

But... not only did he return, he...

She lowers her head and nods, "I apologize for my rudeness—"

"Eh, it's fine. You aren't some unemotional doll, right? Everybody got their emotions to sort out and whatnot," Jackal shrugs.

"Sounds like you don't," Miach chuckles and points out.

Wagging his brows at Naaza, Jackal chimes, "Something like that!"

This instantly pulls Naaza out of her sadness and gives her a reason to stare quietly and gloomily at Jackal.

After noting down the prices for both products, Jackal sets ten of each and leaves with a broad grin... while dragging another large sac with him.

"Miach-sama... are you really going to ask them about the magic item?" Naaza questions as she feels a warm pat on her head.

"Naaza... I know my actions haven't been easy."

"What?" Naaza flinches and looks up while Miach continues, "I am willful. I give things away. And sometimes I don't even know when someone rips me off because humans are just that good at things they focus on. You see... Jackal-kun strikes me as a similar person. Wilful. Doing anything he likes... selfish."

"I would like to be selfish and help him. Because... I know what you are feeling."

Naaza bites her lower lip while her left hand clutches her right one.

"It wasn't your fault..." Miach consoles her but she shakes her head quietly. With tears threatening to spill from her eyes, Naaza stands up and shifts Miach's hand on her head, "I would like to set all these potions on the shelves. I have no reason to stop you."

Miach smiles again, but it's a sad one. Nodding, he takes his leave after picking up his stack of bento boxes.

*Sniff*

Naaza sniffs loudly, her gaze already getting clouded by tears as she slumps back on the chair. Her left hand covers her eyes as she sets her face against her hand and sobs quietly.

---

After tossing the waterproof sac filled with bones and organs of the butchered animals into cremation, Jackal heaves a loud sigh and makes his way to the opposite side of Orario.

His house is closer to Miach Familia but his shop is on the eastern side of the city.

Along the way, he recalls his dungeon dive this morning.

Well, after almost three hours of cooking and preparing the Bento, Jackal had a fruitful run in the dungeon. He stopped after thirty goblins and twenty-two Kobolds. Unlike Goblins whose soft cap Jackal reached fairly quickly, around two days, he feels that reaching the full potential of a Kobold's raw parameters will take him three more days or an intense dungeon dive with many things prepared beforehand.

He has expressly avoided other species like Dungeon Lizard that may appear rarely on the second floor. As for the Jack Bird on the first floor... he planned to farm them after capping Kobolds and Dungeon Lizards so that Goblins are no longer a problem to him.

***

Alternate Title: Passing the Good Shit to Kids; Co-Parent— New Title Achieved; Milf's Santa Brings Treats; Loki's First Taste At Defeat; New Rival: Loki!; The Security Measures prevail!; The Bento Santa; The Half-Elf Glutton; Incinerating The Evidence; Naaza's Bento Daddy; Her Tears; Intense Dungeon Goals; New Sources of Butchering; Threatening Entire Domestic Populace of Orario!

***

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