Forget it. No use thinking about it now.
After prying the deranged Darkness off his shoulders, Chishiya finally took the account book from Wiz.
Time to tally today's gains.
...Huh?!
Chishiya flipped through the pages, brows twitching.
After reading through it carefully, he realized, he had severely underestimated the spending power of female adventurers.
Seriously.
Never underestimate a woman's desire for cute clothes!
Every single outfit Shuna and the others brought today was completely sold out.
And the best-seller?
The exact same outfit that Wiz was wearing.
I am a genius.
Chishiya increasingly felt that letting Wiz dress up and model the merchandise was a divine decision.
A walking billboard.
He was now confident that their shop would single-handedly redefine fashion for female adventurers in this new era.
Black stockings!
Fishnet tights!
Someone actually questioned his judgment earlier?
Idiots!
This was good for society!
Once these revolutionary outfits were walking around on beautiful women in public, those crusty old weirdos would finally realize his brilliance!
Just then, Wiz came over.
"Chishiya-san, how was it? How's the profit today?"
Chishiya smiled. "Outstanding. Absolutely outstanding!"
He turned around and raised his voice.
"Everyone!!!"
"Our store's single-day sales have officially broken 60 million Eris!!!"
"Tomorrow's a full company holiday. I'll treat everyone to a beach dinner!"
"Seriously?!!"
Milim's eyes lit up like firecrackers. Her hair practically stood on end.
Shuna quickly chimed in.
"Then let me help prepare the meal!"
Shion nodded, face solemn.
"Chishiya-sama, leave your lunchbox to me tomorrow!"
Please don't…
Chishiya felt a chill.
He turned and patted Megumin on the shoulder.
"Everyone worked hard."
"You really helped me out today."
"Sensei…"
Megumin lowered her head, clutching her skirt with both hands.
It didn't really matter that she lost.
Her opponent was the princess of the kingdom.
Having royal blood, maybe she just had a naturally high INT stat...
Chishiya ruffled her hair.
"Alright, stop overthinking. Without all of you, today wouldn't have been half as successful."
"Thank you. You were all a big help."
Yunyun hesitated for a bit, then stepped forward and raised her voice.
"Megumin! My strongest rival!!!"
"You're acting all defeated over one little loss. That's not how my opponent should behave!"
"…Huh?"
Megumin blinked, stunned. Then a small smile crept onto her lips.
"Yunyun, honestly…"
She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and struck a proud pose.
"Who said I lost?"
"Chishiya said we all helped. So it's a draw, got it?"
Yunyun: "HUH?!"
"How is that a draw?!"
"Obviously I won!!!"
"Nope! A draw!"
Megumin shook her head fiercely, completely refusing to concede.
Vanir, sipping tea, gave a dry chuckle.
"Wait—"
Chishiya suddenly froze.
Because he saw that same cursed grin creep across Vanir's face.
That troublemaking, chaos-brewing smile.
Before Chishiya could stop him, Vanir struck.
"What a shame. Seems there's no true winner this time."
"Well then. Let me ask you a question."
"Which of the six looks the most beautiful today?"
"Whoever you choose will be the final winner."
Chishiya: ?????
By the time he processed the words—
Shuna and the others had stopped moving.
They were all looking at him.
"Oh my~!"
Milim struck a power pose with her hands on her hips. Her cat tail twitched aggressively behind her.
"My dear friend, you'll choose me, right?!"
Shuna stepped forward, gently holding Milim back. "Milim-sama, please calm yourself."
Shion crossed her arms. "No, I should be the one picked. I'm Chishiya-sama's bodyguard and secretary."
Shuna gave her a pointed look.
"Oh? Miss Shion, are you planning to use your cooking to poison the enemies that threaten Chishiya-sama?"
Shion: "Huh?!!!"
And just like that, Shuna and Shion were back at each other's throats.
Megumin turned to Yunyun. "Let's use this to decide who's better."
Yunyun nodded seriously. "Fine!"
"But if you lose again, Megumin, don't call it a draw!"
The two turned their heads simultaneously, staring at Chishiya with hopeful eyes.
Meanwhile…
A certain knight was huddled in a corner, mentally spiraling.
Question: What do I do in this situation?
Please reply quickly, it's urgent…
"Great Sage, how do I answer this?"
[...]
…Hello?
What does that silence even mean?!!!
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Vanir laughed like a demon king winning a bet.
"Such exquisite negative emotions! Ahh, little devil, it's more fun hanging around you every day!"
————————
Meanwhile. Alderp's Mansion.
"Lord Alderp, the report has arrived."
A servant approached and handed over a sealed file.
Alderp set down his wine glass and opened the folder.
He meant to skim it—but one line caught his attention immediately.
"That brat actually invented a new material that can resist higher-tier magic?!!"
Higher-tier magic—just below super-tier spells.
Only extremely rare materials could block something of that level.
And now there's a fabric that can resist it?
Not only that, the file said. The material is incredibly thin.
That was outright heresy.
"Not only that, Lord Alderp," the servant continued. "That Hero Candidate even gave that 'divine weapon' away—for free."
"WHAT?!"
Alderp shrieked in his oily duck voice.
"He gave away a tool that resists high-tier magic?!"
"Is he insane?!"
The man replied, "Please keep reading, my lord."
He stepped forward and turned the page for Alderp.
"…A maid game?"
Alderp sneered.
So the brat was just some shallow degenerate after all.
Didn't seem nearly as serious as the rumors claimed.
But then he saw the rules of the game.
Chess. Arm wrestling.
Alderp blinked.
"???"
"What kind of 'interactive game' is this supposed to be?"
Chess was one thing.
But arm wrestling with a maid?
What kind of deranged marketing plan was this?
Alderp read more.
"Are these people out of their minds?"
"Civilians are actually lining up for this?!"
Disgusted, he tossed the report aside.
"Summarize it. I'm not reading the rest."
The servant picked up the report.
"In addition to the civilian crowd…"
"The Cursed Sword Hero and Princess Iris both participated."
"PFFFFT—!!!!"
Alderp's eyes went wide as he spat red wine all over the floor.
He didn't even bother wiping his mouth.
He jumped to his feet, screaming.
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
"WHO PARTICIPATED?!?!"
(To be continued.)
***
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