kscans

Chapter 168 - Manners (lol)

"Senpai, good morning..."

As I was lost in thought after my call with Claire, Kaede-chan came into the living room, still in her pajamas and looking sleepy.

"Morning. You’re up late, that’s rare for you."

"I’ve been so busy lately. Besides, your futon is way too comfortable."

Now do you understand the reason for my morning struggles?

"It’s an expensive one I bought when I moved into this house. If you like it that much, you can sleep in it every day."

Let’s sleep together!

"Hmm, maybe I should buy one too...?"

Are you just going to ignore my invitation?

"You should. It really helps you recover from fatigue."

Although, I have a feeling my own recovery is thanks to my Healing Potion health regimen.

"Maybe I will. By the way, why are you still Eleanor-san, Senpai?"

Kaede-chan sat down neatly next to me.

"Ask Nanapon. Also, I was on the phone with Claire."

"Claire-san? Was there any progress?"

"She looked into it, and it seems the government doesn’t know anything. But it looks like the Guild knows something."

"The Guild... Maybe it’s not the Japanese Guild."

Not Japan?

"What do you mean?"

"The Guild has branches in countries all over the world, and it’s an independent global organization. This probably came from a Guild in some other country, don't you think? And it leaked."

"Huh? So you’re saying there really was a demand for my custody?"

"I can’t say for sure. Anyway, let’s ask Satsuki-san. She might have found something out."

I guess I should...

"I’ll call her, but you can take a bath after Nanapon gets out."

"No, I’ll wait."

Such a good girl. I love her.

"Alright, I’m calling her."

I operated my phone and called Satsuki-san.

"By the way, you’re still Eleanor-san, I see," Kaede-chan quipped as the phone began to ring.

"Nanapon is just so noisy about it... Ah, hello, Satsuki-san?"

I was replying to Kaede-chan when the ringing stopped, so I hastily answered the call.

"Hm? Oh, is that you, Eleanor?"

"Nanaka-san came over. We were watching the auction yesterday, but it got late, so I let her stay the night."

"Ah, I see. It sold for quite a price."

"It did. There were a lot of ones."

What was that about?

"It’s a tactic to win by one yen. It doesn’t really mean much, though. It’s like a good luck charm."

Ah... The idea of betting 1001 yen instead of 1000, or 1111 instead of 1110...

"Well, as long as it sells, I don’t care. I’ll leave the sales to you."

"Leave it to me."

I could trust Satsuki-san with the auction matters.

"So, what’s happening with that other thing?"

"Right. Hmm, how should I put this..."

"I heard from Claire that the government isn’t involved. That the Guild knows something."

"You heard from Claire... Say, did you do something?"

Something?

"I haven’t done anything. I just bribed a certain president."

"So that’s why... The government and the Guild are in a total frenzy trying to deal with everything."

My bad...

"I figured I should use whatever I can."

"Right. I think that’s for the best. Thanks to that, I didn’t get any sleep yesterday."

Hiee...

"Drink a Healing Potion. I have plenty."

"Maybe I’ll drink it instead of an energy drink..."

That’s one expensive energy drink.

"So, what’s the situation?"

"Sorry. Between yesterday’s auction and dealing with this mess, I’m swamped. Are you at home right now?"

"Of course. I haven’t stepped outside since then."

"I see... Well, that’s to be expected. I’m sending Yoshino over now, so get the details from her... Oh, sorry, another call is coming in."

She sounds incredibly busy.

"Alright. I’m hanging up."

"Yeah..."

Satsuki-san hung up, sounding drained of energy.

"She sounds like she’s having a tough time."

"She does..."

I feel bad for Satsuki-san, but I need her to keep at it.

"She said Yoshino-san is coming to explain things."

"It seems so. Senpai, you should take a bath and get changed first."

That’s a good point. I’m in a tracksuit, and I didn’t shower yesterday, so my hair is probably a mess.

"I guess I will... Is Nanapon still in the bath? I’ll go check."

"Huh?"

I got up, walked out of the living room, and headed for the bathroom. I was about to open the door to the changing room.

—Gank!

"Hm? Locked? Nanaka-san?"

For some reason, Kaede-chan had installed a lock on our changing room door.

"Huh!? Eleanor-san? Wh-what? Did you just try to open the door?"

"Yoshino-san is coming, so hurry up and get out."

"Ah, I’m already out and getting dressed, but... wait, did you just try to open it?"

"Hurry up. I don’t want to meet someone without having taken a bath."

Manners are important.

"Um, normally, do you try to open the door without even knocking? I mean, if it wasn’t locked, would you have seen me?"

She’s so noisy.

"I’ll be waiting."

"Huh? Huh? Are you ignoring me?"

I ignored Nanapon and returned to the living room. Then I sat down on the sofa where Kaede-chan was sitting.

"She had it locked."

"Senpai... that’s just awful."

It was just a joke.