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Chapter 421

Day 98 – Morning, White Weirdo Inn

It’s a Flat Gaze, but the pupils became vessels for the void itself, turning them into a pitch-black crucible of darkness that swallowed all light, a terrifying glare! There had been many instances before where signs reading 『This cannot be shown』 might’ve popped up, for all sorts of appearances and expressions that weren’t fit for public display, but last night’s breakdown was on another level. Their faces twisted by madness and pleasure, they went wild in all kinds of shameful poses, exposing absolutely shameless sights improper for any girl, making lewd expressions and shouting obscene words that girls really shouldn’t be saying, over and over. Between screams and moans, they wept, writhed, crying out in ecstasy and torment, a total delirium… And when they woke up this morning, they were giving me this darkness-filled Flat Gaze!

Yeah. resisting would be dangerous right now

Revenge leads to more revenge. I only retaliated because they retaliated first, but now it looks like they are coming for me again. Their eyes say they are dead serious. Gwah… agh… wait, no…

(Vengeance(Service) in Process)

It seems like a bright and sunny morning. The sun is shining yellow. Wasn’t it just morning earlier? How is it morning again? Both Armored Pres-san and Dancing Girl-san are in a great mood. The Abyssal Flat Gaze is apparently over. Though, I kinda feel completely drained, sucked dry by the Dark Flat Gaze. That darkness did quite a number on me… The morning energy of a Highschool Boy is totally gone. Yeah, drained till the last drop?

When I went down to the cafeteria, Poster Girl told me that there is a merchant requesting a meeting. I usually ignore those, but this time, I decided to accept and went with Slime-san to the main building’s lobby. With a name like that, I couldn’t just ignore it.

「I’m Health from the Deiribauru Company. It’s an honor to meet you, after all, you are the dream of all merchants.」

He’s young, looks like a mid-20s rookie Middle-Aged Man.

He stood up and bowed politely with a warm smile, presenting the face of a courteous and well-trained merchant. He’s the type who can separate heart from mind. Definitely a tough opponent.

「Umm, I heard a delivery 『Health-san』 had arrived to the inn, so I came loaded with dreams and hopes and full-on Highschool Boy spirit… and it’s a Middle-Aged Man? Can I request a change? If three Middle-Aged Men show up in a row, any chance they might trigger chain effect and explode on their own?」[TL Note: “Delivery health,” often abbreviated as deriheru in Japan, refers to a form of paid sexual service where escorts are dispatched to a customer’s location, such as a hotel or home. It is a legally operating, popular industry often described as a “delivery” or “Uber” service for sexual services, distinct from medical care.]

「Ah… yes, we do accept exchange(currency) requests. Please feel free to inquire anytime.」

「「……………?」」

There’s a definite translation mismatch with the local language. It’s like our conversation is overloaded with subtle linguistic errors so it’s like we are not on the same page?

「Normally, when people talk about 『Delivery Health-san』 they mean a pretty lady, right? But that’s always been a hot topic, with lots of differing opinions, endless debates, arguments, and disputes. But because differences were accepted, a change system was in place. But now that a Middle-Aged Man showed up, this feels like an emergency issue, a previously uncharted topic, is there going to be a battle royale debate panel or something?」

「Ahh… I believe you must be referring to the head of the Deiribauru Company, Miss Eriwth. A young and beautiful company president is indeed rare, which has made her quite famous and an excellent source of publicity for us. Technically, it would be proper for the president herself to come greet you, but to be honest, we came thinking we should at least come to introduce ourselves, and didn’t even hope you would agree to meet, so the president has currently gone to greet Omui-sama, so in her place, I, her vice president, have come to offer greetings.」

So the beautiful lady is actually there. This is one of those traps, where they make sure the rumors about a beautiful woman are true, but when you actually call her over… bam! And they actually sent a Middle-Aged Man this time! There wasn’t even time to shout 『Change!』 This is terrifying, otherworldly delivery health service industries are no joke.

「Uhh, so Health-san just came to say hello? Hi there? It’s an honor to meet the rear guard? …Then who’s the front line? I mean, don’t ask me, I don’t even know what the formation is! Our battle style is just whoever is faster wins, but I kinda feel like I should be meeting the front line before the rear guard? Are you telling me the delivery Health-san is a back-attack type! Striking from behind before even being called? That’s actually super scary!」

「「…………?」」

The conversation is going nowhere. Well, it’s not like chatting with a Middle-Aged Man would be any fun, but even making small talk feels weirdly off.

「Of course, we’ve come to greet you and request a business arrangement. Naturally, we have no intention of competing with the Zakarliya Company. We simply wish to engage with you as a trade partner and have come to ask for your consideration. I deeply apologize that it is not our company head greeting you personally, but rather myself. I hadn’t dared hope I’d be allowed to meet with Haruka-sama directly. Our president is currently visiting Omui-sama to extend greetings, and so, in her place, I, acting as vice president, have come to introduce myself. Rest assured, I’ve been given full authority to act on our company’s behalf, so please, don’t hesitate to let me know if there’s anything I can do.」

So the lady is coming later? C-could this be… the dreaded trap known as the Reservation Fee?! The terrifying trap, said to be one of Kongming’s greatest ploys, where if you don’t keep pouring in money, the pretty lady will keep running away… But who knew that if you didn’t pay up, a Middle-Aged Man would show up instead! This otherworld really leaps over every boundary of Highschool Boy common sense. [TL Notes: Such services often employ “a few” girls, and unless the customer specifically asks for a certain person, for a separate fee, the company will send someone at their own discretion. ]

「So… what exactly are you trying to buy and what do you want to sell? Especially in regard to the 『Delivery Health』 part, I feel like our expectations and your concept are more distant than Heaven(Sexy Ladies) and Hell(Middle-Aged Men)? Even from a general perspective, they feel fundamentally separated? So what are you trying to sell? If there is some a good stuff (Sexy Ladies), I’ll listen, but if it’s a bad stuff (Middle-Aged Men), then no thanks, okay?」

「…You really are just as the rumors say, despite your youth. Not paying even a single glance to the gold, silver, and jewels and instead ask directly 『What can be sold, and what can be used as payment』… Makes sense you wouldn’t meet any of those foolish merchants who were deceived by that little stage show. Of course, we are confident in both the assortment of our goods and our prices. Please, request anything you like. However, it’s clear what you seek in a merchant is something else entirely. We believe that the reason the Kingdom couldn’t compete with the Theocracy and the Confederation was because of its merchants. We firmly believe that, had we been entrusted with negotiations and trade, we, the merchants, could have effectively used them as weapons. But the Kingdom left all commerce to the nobility. The nobles, when facing off against the Theocracy and the Confederation, would undercut each other’s prices when selling and overbid each other when buying, leading to a collapse of trade on a national scale. Lacking understanding of value and dancing to the tune of their short-term greed, they sold off the nation’s wealth and privileges for cheap, draining its fortunes, falling so low it became impossible to even maintain the military. That is the power of information and knowledge. And we, Haruka-sama, are prepared to offer you the information you seek.」

Information, huh. Merchants, as automated logistics machines, are certainly efficient, but their operational costs are ridiculously high. But bureaucrats somehow manage to waste even more, so they are a necessary evil, but when you compare cost to value, the losses can’t be covered by taxes. That’s why, unless they provide the added value of information, they are an expensive trouble. But that『information』 is also their weapon.

「Oooh, looks like you sell some expensive stuff~?」

「Oh no, not at all.」

「But I bet it’s pricey, huh?」

「Well, if you act now, we’ll throw in a set of the latest intel on the Confederation and the Theocracy plus information on the old noble faction of the Kingdom in one set at something… Like this?」

「Yeah, setting a price on an info the nature of which I don’t even know is kinda~? So maybe… about this much?」

「Oh no no, as a merchant, pride in fair pricing is my motto! How about this much instead?」

「Nah nah nah, merchants sell even their pride for the right price, and 『fair price』 just means 『fair to the one setting it』 so of course it’s expensive! So let’s go with this much?」

「Oh no no no no, I’d love to build a long and prosperous relationship with you, so this is a special offer, a gratitude discount, a one-day-only surprise price… of about this much?」

「Nah nah nah nah nah nah, for the full festival fanfare and a roaring round of cheers, it’s gotta be this much?」

「No no no no…」 「Nah nah nah nah…」 「No no no no…」 (Bounce-Bounce Bounce-Bounce…) 「Nah nah nah nah…」 「No no no no…」 「Nah nah nah nah…」 (Jiggle-Jiggle Jiggle-Jiggle…)…………

「TOO LOOOOOOOONG! I came to check why you didn’t come back, and what are you even doing?! Why are you smiling trying to put pressure on each while playing with abacuses?! …Wait, we have abacuses! Also, is breakfast ready?」

Looks like Pres got hungry and came to fetch me. The abacus thing actually became a hidden local hit a while ago after I taught it to the general store’s girls, but this Middle-Aged Man’s not even from around here and already mastered it. Which means he recognized its value and learned it fast.

「Oh my, to meet you, Pres-sama. I’m Health of the Deiribauru Company, pleased to make your acquaintance. This is nothing special, but here is our store’s latest trending cosmetics set. If the famed 『Black-Haired Beauty Princess』 and other such renowned ladies would use it, it would serve as excellent publicity. Please, by all means, accept it.」

Well played. There’s an old saying『If you want the general, shoot the horse first』 . Though honestly, the horse part is kind of sad and a hassle, so better to just beat down the general directly. In other words, he immediately saw that Pres-sama outranks the side-job guy (me) and wasted no time taking action. Such efficiency! He is not to be taken lightly.

This guy is the bane of every madam and housewife across the Frontier, who until now were dreaded as undefeated juggernauts.I mean, short slicked-back hair, a Coleman-style mustache, and those sharp fox-like give him an aura of unmatched shadiness. And glasses are rare in this world, so the fact that he flaunts them like that must mean he isn’t that simple. And don’t even get me started on his ability to use an abacus like a pair of maracas, that’s just frightening! Is he really from this world?

In the end, we decided to hold the proper business talks once the company president, aka the pretty lady, arrives, but Pres made sure to snatch up enough makeup kits for everyone in the meantime.

Well, although we are calling it official negotiations, it’s actually more of a price negotiation under the assumption of signing the contract, considering how he managed to carry it to that he is a real merchant. But the scariest part is that he never intended to sell the intel, he brought it as a gift. He came to offer us the thing we wanted most just as a greeting. A skilled negotiator, a top-tier Delivery Health operator! But why does it feel so off from the kind of delivery health service a Highschool Boy dreams about? Oh, right. Because it’s a Middle-Aged Man.

The contract is inevitable. The general store’s lady alone can’t handle distribution across the whole continent, and even if things are fine now, once the generations change, monopolies will rot the world. It’s competition and rivalry that keep merchants, and, by extension, the economy, in check. After all, commerce has no social conscience. Left alone, it devours all wealth, hoards it, monopolizes everything, and reduces it all to nothing, a supreme form of waste. Yet the world can’t function without it, and once it begins to spin, it becomes an unstoppable machine endlessly chasing profit. That’s what the economy really is.

The economy is a world of numbers, and it comes with the danger of becoming a monster that exists only to inflate those numbers. On that note, the Way of the Rip-Off is the path of the Magnate, at its heart, it’s not really about money. It’s about getting the things you want, eating what you want, and living where you want, a modest sort of rip-off. The two philosophies are fundamentally incompatible, but for a medieval-level otherworld like this, the Way of the Rip-Off might just be too far ahead of its time.

And then I line up the bowls with chicken and egg on rice. For some reason, whenever the orphan kids request omurice, the next day the girls all start shouting for oyakodon. A mysterious cycle? And if the Geeks and Idiots are around, it’s always yakiniku or katsudon.

Anyway, time to make sure I’m not outdone by some merchant, time to do some serious rip-off selling.

The offhand-compatible parrying dagger is now practical and available for sale. It’s a emergency self-defense weapon that’s using the shoulder guard’s『Auto-Defense』function. But since it was tuned to respond to sudden, sharp attacks, it drains mana after just a few activations in a day. It includes a Weapon Destruction enchantment, but it’s strictly for self-defense.

Also on sale, a pair of long, white gloves that appear to be for nuns’ habits, but are actually chain-woven gauntlets. Sold as a set, they feature built-in slide-rail mounts at the cuffs, allowing seamless switching between the parrying dagger and a tonfa. A wonderful pair of gloves. The tonfa is actually a gun-tonfa, which fires up to three shots, usable even as a gun. A close-range, Gun Kata-compatible, self-defense weapon suitable for indoor use. The pile bunker is… it’s about romance, okay? Yeah, I just kind of added it because it felt right.

And for a limited time, they also come with laced long boots as a bonus. Blades can extend from the toes and heels. Just as the orphans boots, they also have enchantments for 『Acceleration』『Evasion』 and『Kick』. Elegant and bursting with functional beauty, they’re stylish boots that very much resemble John Lobb stuff.

Also, I’ve concealed a rapier inside a ceremonial staff. Even in staff form, it can transform into a scythe using mana. You can even go reaping heads together with the Demon Scythes using it. It’s a very handy staff. That should be good enough for personal defense. If it ever comes down to ambushes or assassinations, there won’t be time to gear up anyway, so this level of preparedness is necessary, pricey, but essential. Well, for now, it’s all at bargain prices.

After all, their desire to protect Sister Girl and others is genuine. Wanting to do that without getting innocent people from the Theocracy involved, or if possible, save them too, is probably as well. But what they’re really planning to do is be a decoy for me. They’re going to draw the enemy’s attention to themselves. It even seems like they meant to handle the whole thing on their own from the start. It’s reckless. We don’t know their methods, and this is a fight against other people. I might be at a disadvantage there, but the girls are even worse off.

We are fine. Our hands are soaked in blood. But the girls’ hands are still clean, so there is no need to get them dirty? After all, there’s absolutely no reason they should ever have to stain themselves with this world.