+{~RT~}+

Now, the heat has hardly settled, but I still fire off my gun, like the fool I am. Still, I feel that to strike hard, to strike fast, here is a need. I am impulsive as an "author", ehh? (Though, I always call meself a writer, as, yah know, I don't think I'm deserving of the title "author." Now, this is a fanfiction of the newly localized game; "Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale."

Trust me; it's a lot better than it sounds. Who cares though, I'm here to tell a story. I'll explain myself after this. Set after the main storyline, but you may still see events here that can happen in endless mode, so be warned. Another touch of a note. I can write darkly. You have been warned.

I own nothing here, but an active and foolish impulse, an imagination that needs to be harnessed with something stronger than diamond next time. Recettear belongs to all those who worked so hard to produce and distribute it, give thanks to those people!

Welcome to "Lemongrass Stains: Recette's Annual"

+{-~LSRA~-}+

Prologue: Trade Winds of Change.

+{-~LSRA~-}+

I always said it; with such joy in my heart and a smile on my face. A simple line, but one I meant every time. "Thank you so much; please come again!"

...Looking back, it seems surreal, that girl sitting behind the counter...she's so carefree, so sure of herself; so blindly believing in the good that lied in the heart of every man, woman and child...she was uneducated but still sharp...but she was still a ditz. A beautifully innocent and lovable ditz...

What am I now though? Well...I've been...educated. Yes, I suppose that's the word. Educated...educated on the ways of this world; on its pure determination to break you down. I...I guess you could say I was broken down. Slowly and painfully, with fatal accuracy too. Sometimes I sit in this empty house, this abandoned shop...and I think back on how it all happened. I can't seem to figure out why though...ohh? You want to know, don't you? Well...sit down right there then. Yes; that stool; behind the dusty counter there. I used to sit there every day, and that's where the story begins...

~About four years ago, that's the time when it started...

"…Recette… It is getting late…I don't think anyone else will be coming to the store today…shouldn't you close up?"

"Yup, I should…but… I want to make sure…"

Landing lightly on the counter, Tear looked up to the other's determined face. Today, the girl had pulled stock the fairy had yet to see her place in her shop windows…she suspected the girl had been saving it all, for today, the last stand. Really, they should be issuing the check already; the pix for the day should have been counted…from the corner of her eye, the glint off a Breaker Sword caught her eye, right next to an Old Gramophone, their sheen was outclassed by a Crystal sword and the Daruma Doll on another counter…

"Recette…I am certain you have enough…you ran your shop today like one possessed."

"I know…but I want…I want to make sure. Papa won't have a house to come back to if I don't make sure."

Was that what drove her? Her father, the one who was most likely….well…She didn't want her mind to go there. Recette had shown her an unwavering resolve for this entire month, and she had done well; extremely so…

"Barrels."

"Wh…What?"

'Barrels…it smells of barrels. Charme, Elan?"

Oh; that. The fairy pulled a face. She wasn't fond of beer, for the very reason Recette was identifying it's presence. It stank of wood; barrels to be exact. Yet, even as her own nose picked up on the scent, she couldn't see anyone around, but then of course; it was dark. A jingle of a bell made Recette sit rod straight, and Tear take flight.

It was a bit eerie, but Recette could just make out two people walking in the store, one of which she never expected to see so late at night; the other she was counting on. Griff made himself known in the flickering candlelight.

"Hello, welcome to Recett-"

"Ugh. Not even late at night do you drop that sunny air. I know where I am, thank you... I am looking for a weapon…a good one."

"Ehehehe...I was hoping you'd come asking for that…I just managed to come across something just right for you…"

Eyebrows raised, the demon cast a measuring look on the young shopkeeper, giving out an air of waiting, but he still found some way to shoot her down when she ducked under the counter for the item in question…he didn't get very far though.

"Don't waste my time. Your mysticism is equal to that of a bald faced boulder…what... The. Hell. Is that?"

In front of him, on the counter, a truly vibrant claw of light cream had materialized. His eyes zoomed over the impossible craftsmanship of it, looking for a flaw, some kind of an indication to the hidden joke. Behind him, the other figure tapped an impatient foot, but his growl silenced that.

"Eh heh heh. I told you, it's just right for you! Thing is…it's really hard to come across Griff; it's expensive enough to make me woozy thinking about it, let alone how much I have to charge for it…"

"This…is what I need."

"800,000 pix then, Griff. I doubt you have that much though; if anyone could have that much on them at once…I'd be reeeeeally surprised."

"…Then why name that figure then? Does it look like I'm here to play games?"

Tear looked from one to the other; appalled. Just what kind of stock was Recette hiding in this shop? Why bring it out all on the last day of the debt? Wouldn't it have been so much better, less stressful to make payments…unless she only just acquired them…but…from where? That price…it was enough to nearly destroy the original debt her father had…in a single blow.

As Tear watched, Recette took the defensive side, her face falling.

"I name that price because it's a good one Griff. If you knew how much I had to go through to find a pair of these…785,000 then. You could put it in credit if you need too…"

"Don't insult me. I have sufficient funds for something as…quaint as this. Not for such a price as you are offing however. I wonder if somewhere else is cheaper?"

A coy little smile, Tear recognized the signs. The girl was getting what she wanted now, or she knew something the demon didn't. Her mind spinning, she tried to appraise the item Recette held in her hands so protectively…if she were theoretical, its base might be somewhere around 745,000…Recette was letting him get away with a steal of a price, and he didn't even realize it…! …If she was right that was…

"You know nowhere else is going to have something like this Griff…not anywhere close, and their prices…well, there's a reason I've been fast famous for being "cheap on price, rich on quality". 775,000, and that's my final offer."

In the light, Griff looked amused, but a tad apprehensive. Those claws were calling to him, just like a treasure chest might do to Tear. Here, Recette showed that mysticism could be subjective; she looked positively shrouded in it, from behind him, a scoff was heard, and then a voice floated from "down below"

"Tch, whining over such a thing as price. You want it so bad, you should buy it, the price doesn't matter! If it were me, I'd be out the door already with that thing. Recette! Shoo this plebian out of my way, it's late, and I must have this before the day is done!"

The girl held up a delicate music box, the likes of which Recette had spent long hours cleaning and admiring once she had acquired it. Yet, she had put it up for today, never really expecting anyone to come in and attempt to buy it…it was another high valued item after all, a treasure worth…

"260,000 pix; Alouette, you can…oh carp."

Oh carp indeed, as the girl simply waved behind her, where a person whom Recette hadn't seen come in stepped forwards, dumping a large (and probably extremely heavy) sac on the floor, making it give off a solid chink of coin. You could fit a body in the thing!

"I'm a bit short it seems. I brought 250,000 along. Still, easily remedied, I have the balance in higher value coins in my pockets, consider yourself fortunate that I am departing precious silver pix upon one such as lowly as yourself…sixty pieces of silver is what you need, correct?"

"F-fifty…fifty pieces."

"Oh ohohoho...right then…fifty it is. Hmmm; not bad for a prole…heh heh, price doesn't matter here…"

Her hand spilled the coin pieces at the same time a large bag of pure platinum pix was set on the counter. Recette stared at it before looking at the hand that grasped it. Griff was not going to be outdone by a human girl it seemed…behind her, Tear felt like fainting. She had hardly ever seen so much pix in one place…

"I'll take it. The claws."

Platinum Pix? Oh great. Recette didn't know how to handle that currency…swallowing, she called her famous line, one the fairy was expecting…but one she wasn't sure she was up to answering…that money swallowed her eyes whole.

"Tear!"

"Ehh? Ahh! Y-yes…Platinum pix is a high end currency, one piece is equivalent to 5000 copper pieces. The price of 775000 pix in copper would be about 155 platinum, or 775 gold, or 3875 silver-"

"Ueeeeh…you're making my head hurt!…I asked for Tear, not the cash register! Ehh? Oh! 155 pieces of this stuff then, right?"

"S-something as valuable as this level of currency shouldn't be addressed in such an offhand matter as tha-"

Griff reached for the claws and took them from Recette, depositing the bag for Recette to quickly count out a hundred and fifty five pieces…after handling coins for so long, she knew how much space twenty coins took up in her hands, and could accurately go from there…she gave Griff his money sac, considerably lighter, and bowed him off with her thanks, making a mental note of the two last purchases of the night.

She turned back to Tear, whose mouth was not officially wide open and hanging. The way the girl had just pulled off those sales…she hadn't even grazed the register with her sleeves. Everything with her hands and head…behind that ever present smile…what kind of mind was at work?

Speaking of that smile…

"Ehe ehe heh. Now we can close up for tonight Tear! I'm gonna sleep for the next month!"

"Wh-what?.! You have orders to fill for tomorrow! Just because you've obviously paid off the debt by now doesn't mean it's over for you!"

"Awwww…I know that…I was just sayin'…"

+-~E~-+

Short and boring, yes, I know, but I have to start somewhere, don't I? There will be action to be had, next time around the bend. That is, of course, if you actually want me around here. Heh, I'll have to wait a bit though, Recettear's still new…ish. The demo was out since when but… ~Finalage.