Volume 3 Chapter 1 Welcome To Nurturer
**Thud... Thud... Thud...**
A rhythmic sound echoes in the room.
It's the sound of a hammer driving nails into wood.
After a while, I stop and tilt my head.
"Hmm, is this how it goes?"
While playing with the hammer in my right hand, I hum to myself.
Just then, I pick up another nail and go *thud, thud, thud* again.
As I keep tilting my head, trying to figure it out, there's a sudden knock at the front door.
**Knock, knock, knock.**
"...Come in!"
Without even looking at the door, I call out lazily, and the visitor gently opens it.
Peeking in with her red hair swaying is Valkyrie Rose.
"Oh, excuse me... but what are you doing, Mr. Roezé?"
"Hmm? As you can see, I'm making a 'signboard.'"
I show the signboard I'm working on to Rose while twirling the hammer in my hand.
It's been four months since I became a Nurturer.
It's been about half a month since Ms. Nemophila's request.
Since then, everything has been going smoothly, and I've been living peacefully every day.
Today, I'm just relaxing at home.
Using that time, I've been focusing on making this signboard.
Rose came in without knowing this, so she looked really puzzled.
"Why did you suddenly start making a signboard? You weren't doing anything like that before..."
"Well, today marks exactly four months since I opened the Nurturer. But I haven't even put up any noticeable advertisements or signs, so I thought it was about time to do something like that."
"I see..."
Rose nods as if she understands.
The reason I'm unusually energetic is that I've realized I haven't really done anything that feels like running a shop in these four months.
I haven't done any noticeable advertising.
I haven't put up a sign.
The place just looks like an ordinary house.
The only thing I've done is put a sign that says 'Nurturer' on the door, but even that looks shabby.
Not only that...
"More than anything, I think there are just too few customers. So far, the only real customers we've had are Cosmos and Ms. Nemophila. If we want to attract more people, we should stand out a bit more."
"Yeah, that's true..."
I believe that the lack of advertising is one reason why we aren't getting more customers, but I also think the poor appearance of the shop is part of the problem.
Since the only customers we've had until now are Cosmos and Ms. Nemophila, if we want to attract more, we really need to change the shop's atmosphere completely.
"Huh? But didn't Mr. Roezé say he didn't want more customers?"
"That used to be the case. I wanted to live quietly, so I thought a big crowd would be a problem for me..."
I remembered the "smiles" of the people I had helped so far and smiled quietly to myself.
"I'm happy to be of help to someone as a Nurturer. I mean, I'm starting to understand that sense of achievement little by little. Helping people in need with the power of a Trainer and getting thanked for it—this is exactly what I realized is my 'job class.'"
"So, you want to help even more people... That sounds just like you, Mr. Roezé."
Rose smiled at me warmly.
Well, to be realistic, there's also the need to make a stable living.
Right now, I'm managing to get by with my savings and refunds from Rose, but if an unexpected expense comes up, it could really hurt.
But more than that, I've come to genuinely feel happy about being relied on as a Nurturer.
That's why, unusually for me, I started making a handmade signboard...
"...By the way, what's that 'nail-covered wooden board' in front of you? Is it some kind of cursed tool?"
"Ugh...! I-I know. I can tell this doesn't look like a signboard."
I really couldn't make it well at all.
Just as Rose said, it only looks like a wooden board covered in nails.
I tried to force it to stand up as a signboard, and now it's all patched up in different places.
I bought some wood without doing much research and started making things just based on my imagination, so I guess it's not surprising.
"Mr. Roezé, you're surprisingly clumsy, huh? I thought you were good at everything since you're great at cooking and all..."
"I'm not some kind of all-around person. I like cooking and have been doing it for a long time, so I can manage that, but making things like this is a whole different ball game."
As if to signal this, the sign I had set up (temporary) fell over uselessly.
I bit my lip and stood it back up.
Looking at it again, it still didn't look like a proper sign.
It was shaky and wobbly.
"Why did you decide to make it yourself? It would be better to ask a professional woodworker..."
"I heard that making a sign like this could be done by hand, and I thought it would save some money, so I just bought the materials from the lumberyard. I figured just putting a chair there and hanging a simple sign on it would look decent, but I want to make something nice by hand."
Since I've opened up as a Nurturer, I want to have a nice sign that represents my shop.
There's only one elderly woodworker in this town who rarely opens up shop.
Even if I went to another town to ask for help, it seems like I'd often get turned down, so I decided to try making it myself.
"I'd like to prepare hanging signs or wall signs someday too. I wonder if I'll get better at it as I go?"
"Uh, um...?"
Rose looked at the wooden board full of nails with an awkward smile.
Honestly, she probably thinks I'm not cut out for this, but I still didn't stop trying to make it.
"Hmm, how can I make it stand up better? Should I cut the materials again?"
Saying that, I decided to take the nails out of the board to make some adjustments.
As I tried to pull them out with a nail puller...
"Oh, huh? This is tough...! It won't come out at all...!"
Maybe I drove the nails in too deep; they wouldn't budge at all.
Did they bend inside? While I was struggling, Rose suddenly peeked over at me.
"Should I give it a try?"
"Oh, can you help me?"
If you leave it to the strong Valkyrie Rose, there's no way it'll go wrong.
I thought that at the time and casually asked Rose for help...
but later, I would deeply regret it.
"Here we go...!"
In an instant—
*BAM!!!*
The sign I had been working on for so long crumbled down as if it had exploded.
"Ah... ah... aaaaah!!!"
As I picked up the shattered pieces, my eyes burned with frustration.
Not only had the nails come out, but the wood had splintered everywhere.
"My six hours...!"
"I-I'm so sorry!!! I didn't think it would break just from a little force...!"
It was probably partly my fault for not making it strong enough, but more than that, Rose's strength was just too much, and the sign was destroyed in an instant.
It didn't just break; it felt like it had blown apart.
Now I had to start all over again...
but maybe I should be grateful for the chance to reset things.
It was lucky that neither of us got hurt.
I tried to look at it that way, but I still felt empty and threw my limbs down on the floor.
"Ugh... I wish I knew someone who was good at this kind of thing."
I sighed deeply while staring at the ceiling.
Suddenly, I noticed Rose repeatedly saying, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," and I found myself wondering.
"By the way, what's up today, Rose? You seem to be here earlier than usual."
"I'm sorry... oh, about that, I actually wanted to consult with Mr. Roezé about something today."
As Rose said this, she unexpectedly placed her hand on the sword she had at her waist.
She slowly drew it out, revealing a straight sword with a blade that was broken halfway.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)