Re:Zero -Starting Life in Zero

"I'll take them all, please wrap them up for me!"

With a wave of his hand, Green generously swept all the tree-shaped cakes out of the shop window.

jingle--

The wind chimes on the shop door jingled softly as a small figure darted in.

The little guy's crisp shouts were full of energy, and he practically pounced at Green's feet.

"Stop! Stop it now!"

Green suddenly felt a weight on his calf, as if he were wrapped in a warm cotton candy.

Looking down, he saw a little boy, just over 1.3 meters tall, clinging tightly to his leg.

Her short, curly, caramel-colored hair was fluffy like a little pom-pom, and two prominent cat ears on her head were swaying gently.

"Please, big brother, don't buy so many. Can you leave one for Mimi?"

The little guy tilted his round face up, his amber eyes sparkling, and he even brought his nose close to Green's trouser leg to sniff, his eyes suddenly lighting up:

"Hey? Big brother smells so good! It smells like a super powerful magical beast! Let me sniff! Let me sniff!"

"Whose brat is this? I'm going to go find him!"

Green quickly shook his leg, trying to shake off this clingy little tail.

No matter how much he shook it, the little guy stuck to him like a piece of chewing gum, and instead giggled.

"Haha! Mimi is swinging on the swing!"

That carefree demeanor revealed a kind of endearing, somewhat dim-witted charm.

"Honey, you're not allowed to pounce on other people."

A gentle voice sounded from behind him. Green turned around and saw a girl in a pure white dress walking slowly towards him.

Her long, light purple curly hair was loosely tied back, a light veil was draped over her shoulders, and a pink hat on her head made her look even more charming and elegant—she was Anastasia Hesin, one of the candidates for the royal selection.

Upon seeing this woman, Green immediately became alert.

This is a well-known business tycoon who is known for his ruthlessness and willingness to act without a profit motive.

They've suddenly appeared here; they're most likely here to gather intelligence.

"I'm so sorry, my child has caused you trouble."

Anastasia smiled slightly, her violet eyes filled with just the right amount of apology.

"I remember you are Mr. Grimm Andersen, right? Lady Emilia's knight, what a coincidence."

Guided by Anna, the four of them found an empty table and sat down.

Rem sat quietly next to Grin, holding her black tea, her fingertips gently stroking the inside of the cup, occasionally stealing glances at Grin's face.

Mimi stared longingly at the cake box next to Green, drool practically dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Green couldn't stand it any longer, so he picked out the biggest piece and handed it over: "Take it and eat it over there, don't get your drool on me."

"That's great! Big brother, you're such a kind person! Arigato!"

Mimi cheered and began to devour the cake.

With one bite, a third of the bowl-sized tree cake was gone, leaving Green speechless with astonishment at the sheer size of it.

In just a few bites, the cake was gone.

Mimi licked the cream from the corner of her mouth, then stretched out her little hand to Green, her cheeks still puffed out: "Mwah mwah... Mimi wants more!"

Green looked astonished and carefully picked up another piece to hand over, afraid that if he was too slow, the little guy would bite his hand.

After being fed three pieces, Mimi finally settled down contentedly, sitting obediently as Anastasia wiped the cream crumbs off her face.

"What breed of pig is this?" Green couldn't help but complain.

Upon hearing this, Mimi immediately became agitated, raising her little arms in protest: "Mimi isn't a pig! Mimi is a cat-girl beastman! Super powerful!"

Green understood.

The individual combat strength of the cat-like orcs varies greatly. Most are of average strength, but a few exceptionally talented individuals always emerge.

Take this little guy for example. He's not only good at earth magic, but he can also unleash powerful resonance waves through roars.

However, these kittens have very weak defenses and rely heavily on the protection provided by the shared injury system to ensure they are not killed instantly on the battlefield.

"Okay, Mimi, be quiet." Anastasia pushed a glass of warm milk in front of her, successfully silencing her.

After settling Mimi in, she turned her gaze to Green and spoke with a beaming smile:

"Grimm-kun left his master behind and went on a date with his maid at the cake shop alone. Won't Lady Emilia be unhappy?"

Green chuckled softly, his words revealing her thoughts:

"If you want to find out Emilia's whereabouts, you might as well try your luck at the Duke of Karlsten's mansion."

Anastasia pouted, feigning grievance, her tone tinged with a hint of coquettishness.

"Grimm-kun really knows how to break girls' hearts. Do I really look like someone with such a strong ulterior motive?"

"The president of the Hexin Chamber of Commerce, who believes 'time is money,' wouldn't just come to chat with me for no reason, would he?"

Green calmly looked back, his gaze so sharp it seemed to see right through people.

Their eyes met, and an invisible spark seemed to flash in the air as they tried to see what the other was planning.

"Sigh, I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Anastasia sighed softly and shook her head helplessly. "As expected of someone the Sages call the 'Sword of Words,' I was hoping to establish a friendly relationship with you first."

She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then slowly got to the point: "Otto, the businessman, is one of your men, isn't he?"

"I suppose so," Green replied casually.

"I want to buy all the tranquilizing herbs he has. The price will definitely not disappoint you."

Anastasia extended her slender fingertip, dipped it in tea, and wrote a string of numbers on the clean tabletop—6000.

"Is this amount negotiable?"

Green frowned slightly.

Although the market was sold out of high-end healing potions, the price of one of its ingredients, the herb Soothing Herb, increased more than tenfold.

But all things considered, their inventory was only worth five thousand gold coins.

Why would this shrewd woman be willing to pay a premium for the acquisition?

"There's plenty of this stuff in the high-grade fodder in the capital. You can just buy it from the fodder merchants."

"It won't work." Anastasia shook her head, a hint of helplessness flashing in her violet eyes.

"Sifting out the resurrection plant from a massive amount of weeds is an enormous undertaking. I still can't understand how you did it."

She had already sent people to investigate the fodder.

The Soul-Soothing Grass was accidentally mixed in by farmers during harvesting, and the amount in each grass block varies.

Trying to pick them out of a compacted haystack is simply a pipe dream.

Green was taken aback; he hadn't expected this to be a unique technology monopoly business.

After all, not just anyone can command the giant black rat in the capital.

Seeing Green fall silent, Anastasia was also unsure, worried that Green would guess her true purpose.

To cover for her, Anastasia took a beautifully packaged vial from her handbag and pushed it in front of Green, attempting to raise the stakes.

"If you're not satisfied with this price, you can also get a share of the healing medicine after the deal is done. Our chamber of commerce has top-notch pharmaceutical technology; you might want to take a look at this sample."

Green picked up the potion and examined it carefully. The liquid in the bottle was clear and bright; it was indeed of the highest quality.

"So, Anna, you're planning to make a fortune by reselling these potions?"

Green looked at her with a half-smile, and casually put the potion, worth several gold coins, into his pocket.

"Of course." Anastasia didn't shy away from the topic, a shrewd smile playing on her lips. "After all, this is the first time in my life I've encountered such a highly profitable business."

"Haha." Green laughed loudly, his tone full of mockery. "Do you think I'm an idiot like Mimi?"