chapter 4
chapter 4
Money Ghost (3)
The advantage of exclusive equipment was that there was absolutely nothing to criticize about its performance.
On the other hand, the downside?
‘It’s exclusive to SSR characters, so no matter how good it is, I can’t use it.’
Exclusive equipment chose its owner.
If someone other than the owner tried to use it, it was no better than scrap metal.
Even though I was the one who spent money to summon it!
‘It’s so damn unfair.’
Because of that, even after drawing exclusive equipment, I had no choice but to leave it sitting in storage like a pie in the sky.
Being able to draw SSR characters meant that the day had finally come for those love-hate items to show their true worth.
‘All SSR characters are from wealthy noble families. Exclusive equipment is something they absolutely need.’
So then—
If I sold these burdensome items to them at a high price?
‘This could sell for a ridiculous amount.’
They were useless to me, but to SSR characters, their value changed completely.
No matter where they looked, they wouldn’t find weapons that suited them as perfectly as the exclusive equipment I had.
‘This might completely change my plans. It could even turn out better than I expected.’
How well I could sell those exclusive items to nobles would depend entirely on my ability.
And I knew exactly how valuable exclusive equipment was to characters.
‘If they see equipment perfectly suited for them, would nobles really try to save money? Sure, some might. But at least SSR characters wouldn’t.’
The higher the noble, the less they hesitated to spend on equipment.
It meant I wouldn’t have to worry about making a living even without opening a general store to sell the items I had drawn so far.
‘Still, I should open a shop.’
I had been wandering ever since I ran away from home as a child until I turned thirty.
Maybe because of that, I was sick of drifting around.
‘Selling exclusive equipment is one thing, but I’ll still open the shop I planned.’
The difference now was that the shop wouldn’t be for making money, but for serving as a stable place to rest.
Of course, to carry out all these plans, there was one thing I absolutely had to do.
“…Summon.”
I had to, right?
The SSR character I would sell the exclusive equipment to.
That was the first thing I needed to obtain.
＊ ＊ ＊
Hero summoning.
Until now, it had been locked, so the only thing I could draw from the shop was items.
Those items had helped me greatly during my mercenary life, but every time I got exclusive equipment, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
With those items, I could have gained far greater power, yet they refused to lend me that strength.
But now, those troublesome items had turned into enormous ‘money.’
‘I need an SSR.’
The problem was that I needed to sell the equipment, but there were no SSR characters in this world yet.
After wandering around near the academy, I confirmed that there wasn’t a single familiar face.
‘How much do I need to spend to get an SSR?’
Since it was my first SSR, I felt nervous.
I had saved up a lot of money during my mercenary life, but I knew all too well how quickly it could disappear when summoning heroes.
‘Do you know how much I went through to save this money…?’
For my plan to work, I had to get an SSR.
Once I did, I would sell the exclusive equipment to them and use that money as seed capital to summon more SSRs.
If that cycle worked, I’d never have to worry about money again—I could summon SSR characters and live well.
‘What if things go wrong?’
If I burned through all my savings and still failed to summon an SSR—
I would have to start over and earn money again.
And as I already knew, to deposit money into the shop, I needed monster byproducts.
‘I’ve already quit being a mercenary. Where would I even get monster byproducts?’
If things went wrong, they could go really wrong.
That’s why I had to get it right from the start.
“Let’s do this.”
The hero summon that had been unlocked when I entered the academy city.
My fingers itched to summon an SSR.
I didn’t know who would come out first, but if possible, I hoped it would be someone from a very wealthy background.
“Here goes.”
My first hero summon.
You’d think they’d at least add some kind of event for a first summon, but there was nothing like that.
It was purely luck.
If only I had a scroll that increased luck for item draws.
Looking out at the luxurious cityscape of Trigger Academy, I pressed the summon button.
If the heavens pitied all the hardship I had endured, maybe they would grant me an SSR.
Flash!!!
And the heavens mocked me.
“Damn it!”
There were three grades of summoned heroes: R, SR, and SSR.
R and SR were, honestly, only worth collecting for their portraits.
The ones that truly mattered for progressing through the main scenario were SSR characters.
We called it the difference in birth, and in Trigger Academy, that gap was impossible to overcome.
‘SSR characters have too many exclusive advantages.’
First of all, exclusive equipment.
Since it was only for SSR characters, R and SR didn’t even have such a thing.
And that wasn’t the only difference.
SSR characters had personal scenarios.
And depending on how difficult those scenarios were cleared, their base stats would differ.
R and SR didn’t even have personal scenarios—it was an extremely unbalanced system.
But no gamer complained.
Because R and SR were only meant to be temporary.
“No… getting another R is just too much.”
R-rank characters were falling from the sky.
A needlessly flashy summoning effect.
The true bitterness of hero summoning was waiting for me.
＊ ＊ ＊
Summoning SSR characters wasn’t the only thing I had to do after entering the academy city.
There was plenty to take care of.
Even though I was still reeling from the brutal taste of failed summons, I couldn’t delay what needed to be done.
At the real estate office, when asked what kind of place I was looking for, I answered like this.
“I’m planning to open a general store. Do you have a suitable building?”
“Huh? A general store? I wouldn’t recommend that.”
The response was unexpectedly negative from the start.
He was advising against opening a general store.
“Why is that?”
“The business itself isn’t the issue. But Ash General Store has a tight grip on the academy students.”
The elderly man, who looked well into his eighties, adjusted his glasses and continued.
“Even if you open one, students won’t come to you.”
“Ash General Store—I know it well. Still, it doesn’t matter.”
Ash General Store.
It was a shop I had used back when I played the game.
It wasn’t surprising that it dominated the academy’s market.
“Huh? It doesn’t matter?”
“Yes.”
I just needed a place of my own.
“Hey!! What kind of nonsense is that?! If you’re going to start a business, you should pick something profitable!”
“I’m not doing it to make money.”
I would earn money another way.
“What kind of ridiculous talk is that?”
It was understandable he’d be confused hearing someone say they didn’t want to make money from a business.
“My conditions are these. As close to the academy as possible, even if it’s not crowded. I want a two-story building. The first floor will be the shop, and the second floor will be my living space.”
“As close to the academy as possible, but low foot traffic… You’re a strange one. I’ll say it again—even if it’s near the academy, business won’t be good.”
“I understand. Ah, and if possible, I’d like to get a merchant license as well.”
“You were trying to get a shop without even having that?”
“As long as I can get both, that’s fine. Can you do it?”
The old man adjusted his glasses again and, surprisingly, agreed without hesitation.
“It’s possible. But don’t regret choosing a general store. Don’t come back later asking why I didn’t stop you.”
“Of course. At the very least, I won’t come back here causing trouble.”
There was no reason for me to cause trouble anyway.
Just one SSR character.
Even though I had only managed to summon one, that alone was enough.
Now, I no longer had to worry about money.
“It’ll take a few days. I’ll need to look around to find a property that matches your conditions.”
“How long exactly?”
Now that I had an SSR, I wanted to make a deal as soon as possible.
The problem was that making transactions without a merchant license carried risks.
So I planned to secure both the license and the shop first, but hearing it might take time made me uneasy.
“It could be faster or slower than you think. It depends on circumstances.”
Judging by the old man’s relaxed attitude, it wouldn’t be resolved in a day or two.
In the end, to make good use of my time, I had to make a choice.
‘Let’s make the deal first.’
That meant selling exclusive equipment to the SSR.