Chapter 70 Buying Out Smells of a Young Master

Rebeccsan and I went out of the shop to make our preparations.

I told Rebeccsan my strategy and that it would be good if we could get one more person to cooperate with us.

"… so that"s the strategy. I think we could get the lace cheaply, so will you help out? I could just buy it normally, but I don"t want to be thought of as a businessman, so I"m using a roundabout way to buy it." [Jirou]

Whatever the case, if Rebeccsan had not wanted to help, the issue would be off the table.

No. I could go alone, but it was common knowledge that bringing a ‘flower" always helps the negotiation go well. … It means something a little different this time though.

"Sure. It sounds interesting and I don"t mind, but will it really go well? This strategy… Won"t he end up charging more?" [Rebecca]

"I wonder. It"s possible that it"ll end up that way, but I haven"t brought a lot of money, and if we can get all those lace, I don"t mind paying all that I"m holding – 1 gold coin or so – for it." [Jirou]

"Is that so? It"s true that there are a lot of them, but there aren"t many people buying lace now, and I think if he knew you were a businessman, he wouldn"t charge you that much anyway." [Rebecca]

"That"s possible. But let"s hope it goes well. I"m saying that I want all the lace, but I don"t want him to think that I"m there for the lace. I doubt there"s any other shop in Erishe that has such a great array of lace." [Jirou]

"Ok. … surely, if he"s a crafty one, he might raise the price or be reluctant to sell them. Well, let"s just try it out." [Jirou]

"Yes. Please." [Rebecca]

Great. I"ve gotten Rebeccsan to help out.

But for this strategy, one more person is necessary to increase the odds.

But… Diana is out of the question for now. It"s extremely unnatural for an Elf.

Marina too. It"s also extremely unnatural for a Turk.

In that case…

"Rebeccsan, actually, I need one more person to help out. Just once, the street prost.i.tutes seem very free, standing around and waiting for customers, so we"ll get one of them to help out." [Jirou]

If they"re able to handle roleplays, their acting is probably really good.

In addition, it would be a bonus if we became good friends along the way.

Prost.i.tutes are historically speculated to be informants…

Of course, it"s not because there"s a chance that I could get “that” at a discounted friend"s price. But in order to get information from her, we"d have to be in a private room. Together. Alone. It can"t be helped that I"ll have to pay and may need to pretend to be a customer. Right.

And so, when I approached the bored-looking light green-haired young prost.i.tute ( probably definitely 2 or 3 years younger than me) and explained the situation, she agreed easily with a "Hm? Ok. If I do that, buy me something? " And I agreed quickly since she asked so nicely.

Of course, that"s not because I"m easy. I had thought of buying clothes for her as reimburs.e.m.e.nt. Rather, for the strategy this time, reimbursing with clothes is more effective.

I repeat, it"s not because I"m easy, okay?

While further fine-tuning the strategy, we went to the bottle shop and bought 2 bottles of the stronger stuff.

I spent 100 Els just on this, but I"m taking this from the amount that I might have been asked to pay. If there"s any left over, I"ll just drink it in my mansion, and surprisingly, Diana loves alcohol, so she"ll be happy.

In addition, since Rebeccsan and I had already gone into the shop once, we lightly disguised ourselves so that the shop owner wouldn"t recognise us.

We borrowed a jacket from Rebeccsan"s friend"s second-hand clothes shop and put on a hat each.

For this strategy, I chose a young master type hat. I got Rebeccsan to wear a s.e.xy number. It"s essential for the strategy! It"s necessary! I persuaded her pa.s.sionately and made it a reality.

For clothes and hair, he only glanced at us briefly when we entered the shop, so that should be fine.

We returned to the prost.i.tute clothes shop and put the strategy into action.

"Operation WAKKADANNA. Each to your positions!"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay~"

I"ve got to confess.

I"m ready to go all out and pull the trick off.

And, we"re already a little drunk…

The strategy started before we entered the shop.

The prost.i.tute Elepipi"s (probably her professional name though) cue came first.

"Young Master~~~ I really want some clothes~ Can I take a peek? Just for a wee bit?" [Elepipi]

She purposely whined loudly so that the shop owner could hear her from inside the shop.

She was lethargic until just – what we call a state of ennui – but suddenly transformed into a bimbo.

Well, I did tell her to aim for that, but for her to just step into the role… Roleplaying prost.i.tutes are to be feared…

When I first saw her, her long light green hair seemed so elegant, but once she transforms into a bimbo, she just looks like an idiot who did a self-dye. It"s unbelievable.

Elepipi… You fearful girl!

"Clothess? Heh heh heh. It"s gonna come right off anyway. It doesn"t matter what you wear, right?" [Jirou]

"It"s not the same~ Girls who don"t dress up turn into grannies quickly~!" [Elepipi]

"Reeally? Caan"t help it thennn. Go take a look then!" [Jirou]

I was aiming to portray a perverted old man, but now, I don"t even know what I am.

I ended up imitating a yakuza consultant from a black company without realising it.

By the way, a yakuza consultant is someone who urges the customers to order something with "Sensei, please!" Unexpectedly, the victims don"t pull back from the urging. Instead they"d even order more. That"s the kind of swift blowing existence yakuza consultants are.

Well, that"s how a perverted old man with a strong character ends up paying expensive consultant fees.

We entered the shop rowdily.

I was drunk so I was in high spirits, but so was the prost.i.tute, Elepipi.

I didn"t request for it, but she locked her arms on my arm and pressed her voluptuous b.r.e.a.s.t.s against my arm.

I ended up a little-light-headed and without even acting, the erotic old man act was complete! I think I pull a really high-quality performance here!

"Wait, Ji-… Young master, aren"t you a little too high?" [Rebecca]

Rebeccsan linked her arms with mine as we had planned, but she was holding back. Even if this was in the name of work (and thus forgivable), for me to ask for this is… I"m scary.

That"s right. But Rebeccsan doesn"t seem to be getting into her role yet.

Rebeccsan"s vocation is "Scout". To slip into the enemy"s lines for reconnaissance, she should have a higher quality of acting than any of us.

"Ah~ This is cuteee~ Young master~~ this oneee~ Buy me this~?" [Elepipi]

Elepipi held a thin deep blue dress and showed me.

No… This girl… She"s another person entirely… I… I don"t know. I don"t know this girl…

My eyes stared at her wide opened as I went all out in my acting

"M- me too… I- I want this too… D- Does it suit me? Hn? Does it…?" [Rebecca]

Rebeccsan held a scarlet evening gown and looked at me shyly.

Yes, oh yes. I"m healed by Rebeccsan"s amateur acting. I"m really worried about whether she can really carry out any spying like this.

But to have young girls flirt with me…

Even if we say it"s acting, this is quite…

(It"s quite depressing.)

Hah! Dispel! Unnecessary thoughts! They"re both finally acting according to the scenario.

I"m still not like a perverted old man enough.

… not that I want to.

"Yeah? Get a few more." After saying that, I spoke to the show owner in secret. Everything was as we planned.

"… by the way, boss, how much are the clothes around where the girls are looking? I"m trying to impress them, but I actually don"t have much on me…" [Jirou]

I lowered my voice and talked to the shop owner.

My role is a young master who wants to impress the girls,  but doesn"t have much money on hand. He"s got to hear about me being a young master. That"s the scenario.

Rebeccsan and Elepipi play as prost.i.tutes. Whether the case, Elepipi is a true-blue prost.i.tute, so.

I- What am I doing…

"Brother, you look like you"re doing really well, aren"t you? I don"t mind letting go of those clothes for 1 silver coin. If you"ll buy a few, I don"t mind making a loss," said the shop owner. It seems like he"s willing to step back from the very beginning.

But 100 Els for 1 piece is a little expensive. The price difference between new and second-hand clothes is huge in this world, so I feel like I don"t really understand the market rate.

Anyway, 1 piece at 1 silver is too expensive.

"Really! Thanks. If you don"t mind, let"s share this!" [Jirou]

Just like when I first came in, there was a cup and some bottles on the table.

I proactively poured the alcohol into the cup.

"Thanks," said the shop owner and he started downing it. Easy.

While we were talking, Rebeccsan and Elepipi were rowdily going "Ah~ That"s cute~" or "This is nice too!" and picking out clothes.

I actually promised them both a piece each, so half of that is acting. The other is probably real.

The shop owner emptied his cup. Quite an easy-going gut.

I poured another serving into the empty cup.

Then, I set the bottle on the table and said, "That"s fine. Finish it up."

"What about you girls? Is there anything you"re interested in? Which ones? Let me pick too." [Jirou]

Operation WAKADANNA. Phase 2. Action.

"Hn~ young master, I want this. And this." [Elepipi]

"… I- I want this." [Rebecca]

Rebeccsan doesn"t seem to be able to get into her role, but for what it counts, they both seem to have settled on the clothes they wanted.

Elepipi had picked up three pieces, one red, one blue and one yellow, so I made her return them.

I"m the traffic signal.

"Look. Isn"t this one pretty good too?" [Jirou]

"Eh? Why a maid uniform? So you like that, young master?" [Elepipi]

That"s right. I like it. I like it very much.

Rather, since just now, Rebeccsan was behaving strangely and giggling with a red face. But it might have been too high of a hurdle to be suddenly thrown into this skit.

Rather, Elepipi was doing this job so well.

Does she also have an actress vocation? It might be good for me to get her to partner with me when I do negotiations with skits.

"Rather, I want some accessories." [Elepipi]

It was actually Rebeccsan"s line, but Elepipi stepped in proactively to ensure that the skit went on. Since Rebeccsan had frozen over.

"Ac- Accessory too? You cost a lot, girl… Hey, boss, where are the accessories?" [Jirou]

I"d confirmed that there were no accessories.

What he has, was only lace.

"Oh? I don"t have accessories here. I specialise in secondhand clothes." [shop owner]

"I see… But if I go to an accessory shop too, I"ll go bankrupt… Do you have anything… Oh? This is?" [Jirou]

I "discovered" the lace on purpose.

"Hey, look. There"s a lot of lace here. I"ll buy you the clothes and the lace, so let"s leave the accessories for another time." [Jirou]

"Eh~ it"s a bit dull~ But, it"s quite cute really~ Like this one. How"s it?" [Elepipi]

"That"s nice~ Lace is not bad too~" [Elepipi]

"You said you wanted a handkerchief too, didn"t you? And you"ve already got a lot of accessories." [Jirou]

"That"s nice~ A handkerchief is ok too~" [Elepipi]

"I want this sleeve lace and this collar lace~" [Elepipi]

It"s a little forced, but we"ve transitioned to buying lace.

Rebeccsan is still frozen over. It"s the first time I"ve seen Rebeccsan like this…

"Why. Why do you two want so many… Boss, how much is the lace?" [Jirou]

The shop owner was already drunk.

I"d given him (a type of) whiskey. Even someone who drinks would be drunk if he drinks at such a pace.

"Ah… Oh. That? That doesn"t sell at all." [shop owner]

He"s more careless than I"d thought he"d be.

This could work… I think.

Operation WAKADANNA. Final phase. Action!

Rebeccsan and Elepipi looked like they were picking clothes and I selected some clothes for the girls at home.

Diana, Marina, Aurica, Rebeccsan, and Elepipi… That"s five pieces. I got 2 maid uniforms and all 3 sailor uniforms (Canaan tribe traditional costumes) in stock.

I wanted to know if the 3 sailor uniforms left were left over because they were popular or because they weren"t popular, but since it"s for my gain, it wasn"t a problem.

I brought 2 of the items to the shop owner

Let the negotiations begin!

"Anyway, I"ll get this and this. How much is it?" [Jirou]

"Two pieces for 2 silver coins." [shop owner]

"Young master, I want this one tooo☆" [Elepipi]

"Oi oi… Can"t help it, I see. Throw this in too please, shop owner." [Jirou]

"That one"s a little more expensive, but since you"re buying three, I"ll sell it cheap at 3 silver coins." [shop owner]

"With this, it"s still 3 silver coins? Ah. Then, how many of the lace handkerchiefs will you throw in?" [Jirou]

"Well, I"ll throw in 3." [shop owner]

"Ah~ Meaniee. I want this too~" [Elepipi]

"Oi oi… Can"t help it, I see. Boss, add this in. I"m buying 4 pieces, so make it cheaper? 3 silver coins and 5 nickel coins?” [Jirou]

"I can"t be losing so much!" [shop owner]

"Then, throw in this sleeve lace and I"ll pay 4 silver coins. How about that?" [Jirou]

"No way." [shop owner]

"Young master! Look! There"s a cute one here. If I match it with this, isn"t it cute?" [Elepipi]

"What"s that? Some traditional costume? Boss, add in 2 of that. I"ll pay 5 silvers. That doesn"t cost much, right?" [Jirou]

"Uhhhhnnn. 5 silvers? Fine! Since you"re buying a lot!" [shop owner]

"Since I bought a lot, throw in these lace item." [Jirou]

"M- My sister is working as a maid. Should I get this for her? Young master~?" [Rebecca]

"Me too! Me too!" [Elepipi]

"Ei! Do as you like!" [Jirou]

"YAY!" [Elepipi]

"Then, I want this too!" [Rebecca]

"Boss, at least throw in this and this for free please… If I go back without a gift, Mother dear will be angry." [Jirou]

"O- Ok. That must be difficult, for you I mean." [shop owner]

"… well, that"s 10 pieces in total. And then all the lace for free…" [shop owner]

"Ah, I"ve caused you some trouble, owner. Here. Have this." [Jirou]

I said and pa.s.sed him a gold coin.

We settled at 8 silvers and 6 nickels in the negotiation earlier, but since he threw in all the lace, and I had already decided to pay him 1 gold coin to begin with.

"Is that ok? You gave me alcohol too." [shop owner]

"That"s ok. I"ll come back again, so give me some good discounts again then." [Jirou]

"Ok. I"ll count on that, young master." [shop owner]

Mission complete!

I managed to get a lot of clothes and almost all the lace without a hitch.

And the lace was in reality free. Well, I don"t know if this is cheaper than just buying it regularly, but it"s fine since it was fun. The clothes would have cost around 1 gold coin in reality.

The star of the day is Elepipi. I thanked her after we had left the shop and walked for a bit.

Elepipi had stopped acting and returned to her default lethargic mode.

"Thanks. Thanks to you, I managed to get the items with just one gold coin as I planned. For your reward, take the dress you picked out just now. Sorry for taking up your time during work." [Jirou]

I don"t know if standing around is part of her job scope, but she might have missed out on a customer while playing with us.

"… Un. No problem. The dress, thanks." [Elepipi]

"Ah, would it be alright if I ask you for this kind of help again? Your acting was amazing." [Jirou]

"… Really? I"m glad." [Elepipi]

She was a complete bimbo until just, but now, she"s a gently smiling bodhisattva.

No. Maybe the G.o.ddess of Mercy? Although she"s a prost.i.tute.

Elepipi absentmindedly looked into mid-air.

A fist-sized sky-blue stone appeared in her right hand.

"… Yes. Got it." [Elepipi]

Oh?

OH! A guidance!

I see… Light or visible spirits (small) may not appear with guidances.

There are also cases where spirit stones suddenly appear.

"Wah! You got it?! Congrats! A spirit stone?" [Rebecca]

Rebeccsan was suddenly excited.

Come to think of it, if someone completes a guidance, it"s as if the whole party did it and is cause for celebration.

Rebeccsan had come out of her frozen state and returned to her regular state.

She seems to be perfect in all areas, so she probably hasn"t done much absurd stuff.

We bombarded Elepipi with "congratulations".

"Yeah! Let"s go for a meal! I"ll treat!" I said. I was still stuck in "young master" mode.

"… young master, Rebeccsan, thank you. Thanks to you, I completed a guidance. … Will you become friends with me?" [Elepipi]

"Of course. We met thanks to the guidance." [Jirou]

Come to think of it, I once heard that if you meet because of a guidance, you"ll be friends for life. Or something like that.

I don"t know what Elepipi"s guidance was about but completing it at this timing must mean that it has something to do with the shopping.

"Oh yeah. I said this earlier, but if there"s another skit like just now, I"d like you to help too. I"ll be depending on you. And, stop it with "young master". Just call me Jirou." [Jirou]

"… but, young master is young master, no? See, you"re rich." [Elepipi]

It"s true that 1 gold coin  is around 150,000 j.a.panese yen, and I was wealthy enough to just be able to simply spend it…

"No. I"m not a young master. I"m actually all by myself with no family… I just have a little money." [Jirou]

"… is that so… young master…." [Elepipi]

Well, even if you look at me that pa.s.sionately…

Elegant light-green hair, gentle long eyes that lightly shine green like a lake you can see through to the bottom. A figure that"s not showy, but what should be displayed is showing.

(I see, s.e.xy.)

I was in work mode until just, so I hadn"t noticed, but…

I"m someone who would ask "why is such a girl prost.i.tuting herself?" even if she said I stank of virgin. (Well, I am the real origin of the stink and anything else though.)

No. That"s because she"s s.e.xy. Her vocation? Speaking of which, I wonder if anyone is born with a prost.i.tute vocation. It"ll be the worst if "vocation: prost.i.tute" appeared at age 10.

The vocation system is too cruel.

"…young master, I"d like to ask a favour of you." [Elepipi]

"As I said, I"m not a young master… What is it?" [Jirou]

"… will you be my patron? … If it"s young master, I… I"ll be fine with it." [Elepipi]

I see, s.e.xy.

If you ask me what the "Matsuri Negotiation Strategy" is, I thought of it because buying stuff at the local festival feels something like that…

Character page updated (if anyone"s interested):

[TN: WAKADANNA (若旦那) literally means young master.]