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Time flies.
In the blink of an eye, CLOVER Convenience Store had already been in its trial operation for half a month.
That morning, as Azusa Enomoto rushed into work, she immediately noticed a subtle change inside the store.
"Manager."
"Where's our Shelf number1?"
At CLOVER Convenience Store, shelves number1 through number 10 were all ivory white.
While the store still had the same number of shelves, the one in the number 1 spot was clearly different from the others in both color and texture.
"Shelf number 1 broke."
"So I bought a new one from outside."
A good employee pays attention to the smallest details.
But...
He wasn't telling Azusa the full truth.
A few days ago, he had bought a villa halfway up a mountain in the Tokyo countryside—and along with it, he moved CLOVER Convenience Store's original Shelf number1 there.
The reason was simple!
What had been the most profitable item in the store over the past half-month?
Without a doubt—firearms!
With the convenience store system's recent upgrade, his gun business was no longer limited to just
Glock 17 9mm pistols. Now, he had Colt submachine guns, M3 submachine guns, and even AK-47 assault rifles.
And he was sure that in the future, even more powerful heavy weapons would be added to the inventory.
A Glock 17 pistol could easily be stored in a backpack and discreetly taken out of the store.
But an AK-47? Heavy weapons?
If he kept running the arms trade directly through CLOVER Convenience Store, it wouldn't remain as
safe as it was now.
After thinking it through, he decided to purchase a villa in the Tokyo countryside and move the store's Shelf number1 there.
The store's original shelves were all linked to the system.
As long as an item was listed in the system's catalog, he could add or remove it with a simple command.
Not only that—
The store's shelves also had an auto-retrieval function.
As long as the buyer placed the money on the shelf, he could collect it remotely through the system, even if he was dozens of kilometers away.
He had it all planned out…
From now on, arms deals would be conducted from his villa in the Tokyo countryside.
And if the police ever caught wind of it, how could they possibly trace it back to him when he was miles away?
Thinking about it…
He couldn't help but admire the perfection of his plan.
"Manager."
"You… seem pretty happy about something."
Azusa had caught on to his smug expression.
"Haha—"
"Well, the store's doing great, of course I'm happy!"
After spending time working together, the distance between him and Azusa had naturally shortened. They'd even started casually joking with each other during their downtime.
Ding-dong—
"Welcome!"
The sound of the door sensor caught both Akira and Azusa's attention, drawing their eyes to the entrance.
A middle-aged man walked in!
He wore a baseball cap, with the brim pulled down so low that it covered the upper half of his face, stopping just above his nose.
Even though his face was mostly hidden, Akira recognized him instantly.
Ichiro Yamamoto!
His one and only—also his best—firearms customer.
Akira wasn't surprised by Ichiro's visit today. After all, he was the one who had invited him over.
The reason was simple!
He needed to test his newly established trade method to see if any improvements were necessary.
"Azusa."
"Can you go organize the new stock in the storage room?"
Akira deliberately sent Azusa away.
At the same time…
After confirming that the coast was clear, Ichiro Yamamoto walked straight to the counter.
"You said you've got long ones now?"
Ichiro had come because he'd heard that Akira had added M3 submachine guns and AK-47 assault rifles to his inventory.
"Why else would I call you here?"
"How many do you want this time?"
After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Ichiro raised one hand.
"One long gun is one million yen, and bullets are 2,000 yen per round."
"Put the money on the shelf inside the villa, 50 kilometers east of Tokyo's outskirts."
"The next day, your goods will be there."
Under normal circumstances…
No buyer would ever agree to a deal without any guarantees, but Ichiro Yamamoto didn't even hesitate.
Because the first time they dealt, Akira had given him a gun without asking for payment upfront.
"Akitomate!"
"Before I go, I'll grab five packs of strawberry sandwiches from Shelf #1."
Ichiro immediately understood when he saw the products on the shelf.
Crispy American fries represented Glock 17 9mm pistols.
Strawberry sandwiches stood for submachine guns and assault rifles.
And the chocolate candies hanging on the side? Naturally, they represented bullets.
Without missing a beat, Ichiro picked up five packs of strawberry sandwiches and two boxes of chocolate candies.
"These two items go together…"
"That'll be 1,300 yen total!"
As Akira watched Ichiro's back disappear through the door, the corners of his mouth curled into a smirk.
A perfect deal!
"..…"