"The quality is terrible."
"It broke so easily."
How was she supposed to catch a little goldfish like this?
After a brief moment of surprise, the old man smiled.
As expected, the director's child was playing this game for the first time.
"That's what the fish nets for this game are like."
"That's what makes the game challenging."
"Otherwise, anyone could scoop up a goldfish in one go..."
"Wouldn't the owner go broke?"
After all, how could the price of a few fish nets compare to the price of a goldfish?
Ah...
The child only half understood what he was saying.
But she understood one thing...
There was nothing wrong with the fish net.
The child lowered her eyes.
She tightened her grip on the fish net.
Was this normal?
Then why hadn't she managed to catch even one little goldfish?
"I'll give you one more chance to choose."
The old man looked at the child's soft crown of hair.
Huh?
The child froze.
She clutched the fish net in her hand and didn't look up.
"You can trade the fish net you're holding for anything else in the shop."
The old man thought he was being incredibly kind.
No wonder so many children called him a rotten old man.
What!?
It took the child a few seconds to understand what the old man meant. Then she looked up abruptly.
Her face was full of surprise.
R-really?
"Of course."
The old man nodded.
"I keep my word."
The old man slowly stepped out from behind the shelves and walked toward the child. "Didn't you like that music box from earlier?"
"Want to trade?"
The old man held out his hand.
He stopped three steps away from the child.
As if she'd