Triban RC500 as a first road bike?

I am looking for my first road bike. After much market research, I have reached the conclusion that the RC500 offers the best road bike experience for an affordable price. At the Decathlon store, I found an RC 500 at a price of £420 over the RRP of £700 for this bike. The catch here is that this bike has an R9 microSHIFT groupset installed in place of the Shimano Sora on the £700 bike. Also, the bike is old-stock, which the store could not sell, leading to an almost 50% drop in price. The piece is still brand new and has no signs of damage. It rides fine, but I found the gear changes to be a bit clunky (they are not crisp and as fast), which I am kind of okay with for a first-road bike on a small budget.

Let me give some background. I am buying this bike for leisurely riding and because I enjoy it. It is not so serious for me that I would spend more than £500 at this point in time. I do not mind a bike that shifts slowly, and I do not care much about the added effort of pedalling extra while the gearset changes gears clunkily. I just want to have a good time, and maybe later, I might invest in a better bike.

Can you guys let me know if the RC500 with the R9 gearset is a good buy, or do you have a better suggestion for a bike? Your help is greatly appreciated!