kscans

Chapter 23 - A Sleepover that Ends in Defeat

We were watching the auction while nibbling on side dishes and drinking.

"The price is climbing."

"Even the five-kilogram one broke a million yen, believe it or not."

"Seriously?"

An estimated 500,000 yen became 1,000,000 yen!?

"Seriously. It’s amazing what happens on the final day. And since this is the last spurt, the price might go up even more."

"Wow. This is true Alchemy. And it all started with rubber bands and a bag."

"The cost performance is insane."

It’s true, it’s true. That’s the most insane thing about my Alchemy. There’s almost no cost involved.

For the Invisibility Potion, the ingredients are just water and Pure Water, so I can get everything just by turning on the tap.

"Well, I won’t have to worry about money from now on. What should I do about moving?"

"Hey, you have to move. I want a nicer room."

I think so too.

A guy who’s about to get his hands on tens of millions of yen is sitting in a run-down apartment, drinking canned beer with supermarket side dishes. Although, I do have the best Cabaret Girl next to me. Wahaha, come closer, won’t you!

"I’m just trying to decide what kind of place to live in. If it’s too big, I won’t be able to manage it."

"You don’t seem like the type to clean, senpai. Want to be roommates? I won’t pay a single yen, but I’m good at cleaning and going out to buy food and drinks."

Isn’t that just being a parasite? Also, I’m good at going out to buy food and drinks too. I’m also good at pouring hot water into a cup of ramen.

"Living together, huh."

"Roommates."

Same thing.

"Are you okay with that?"

A girl and a guy living together. Something is bound to happen…

"I won’t pay a single yen, and I want to live in a nice place. Plus, I want to drink with you, senpai."

She’s something else! Well, it’s not like I expect her to pay. I’ve got money!

"Maybe I’ll really do that. I considered a housekeeper, but can you really trust them?"

"Oh, yeah, that was in the news recently with that celebrity."

Someone had taken photos of a celebrity’s room and posted them online. It became quite a topic of conversation.

"It would be very bad if that happened to me."

"I agree. You never know how you might get identified… In that case, we should prioritize security."

True.

"Hmm, oh, the 50-kilogram one just passed 10 million."

"Oh, you’re right. This is going to be big news tomorrow."

"People are probably going to flood the Ikebukuro Branch."

"Don’t say such awful things. They’ll swarm you too, senpai, I mean, Eleanor-san."

She’s the one saying awful things…

"More, more."

"Senpai, a refill!"

Yes, yes…

We continued to watch the auction while we drank.

~10:00 PM~

"Ahaha! Senpai, look! 25 million yen! Are they idiots! They’re paying 25 million yen for a hundred rubber bands."

"That’s hilarious! This is a gathering of morons. Do they want rubber bands that badly!"

""Ahaha!""

Idiots, idiots.

~11:00 PM~

"Th, they’re all such idiots! It says 30 million yen!"

"A, are they some kind of rubber band fanatics?"

""Ah, ahaha!""

Seriously, what a bunch of fools…

~12:00 AM~

"Se-se-se-senpapai………… I think I’m drunk. I-I-I’m seeing 50 million yen."

"You’ve had too much to drink, Kaede-chan. It says 5 million."

""……………………""

Awawa…

~1:00 AM~

Kaede-chan and I had been frozen, staring at the smartphone screen the whole time.

"Senpai… I don’t feel like going home today………… To be more specific, I don’t feel like going to work tomorrow."

"Just call in sick with a cold tomorrow. Actually, don’t go home. My brain can’t process a total of over 180 million yen."

It was decided that Kaede-chan would be staying the night. So why is it that I’m not feeling the slightest bit frisky?

"What should we do?"

Kaede-chan asked.

"We have no choice but to own it. We’re super winners."

"With this 180 million yen, we could live modestly in the countryside and never have to work again. Want to run away?"

"Can we?"

"Probably not………… At the very least, our Guild Master wouldn’t let us."

Right… Satsuki-san’s cut of this deal is five percent, so that’s 7.5 million yen. She would absolutely never let us get away.

"We still have the insane 1000-kilogram ones left."

"Right. At this rate, they’ll go for at least 500 million."

It’s l, like winning the lottery. And there are two of them. Better yet, I can make as many as I want.

"Living modestly is out. Let’s walk a path of extravagant living, the two of us."

180 million yen? I’ll earn ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times that amount!

"S, senpai…! I’ll follow you for life, boss."

My cute junior fawned over me, rubbing her hands together.

"You cute thing! Alright! Let’s drink!"

"Let’s drink."

""Cheers! Ahaha!""

We drank until 3 AM and then passed out.

◆◇◆

"Tch! So she was a golden goose after all!"

I couldn’t help but click my tongue. That’s how envious I was of these auction results.

"Guild Master, this is a bit of a problem. We’re going to see a drain of Adventurers."

An A-rank adventurer I had under my thumb warned me.

"I know. Tomorrow, I’ll talk to the head office director and have him place some restrictions. Having everyone rush to Ikebukuro will only cause chaos, and I doubt the director will refuse."

That place doesn’t have the capacity to handle that many people.

"What about the high-rankers?"

"Recruitment?"

"Yes. To be honest, I want to recruit her myself."

Anyone would think that after seeing these auction results.

She’s the Golden Witch who earned nearly 200 million yen in a single night. Of course people want her.

What’s more, she sold this many Item Bags, an essential item for high-rankers. She must have more. It’s obvious that the high-rankers will make a move.

"Don’t do it through the Guild or out in the open. I can’t protect you if you cause trouble. If you’re going to do it, do it in Frontier."

"Understood. I’ll inform everyone."

"But know your limits. The Golden Witch is apparently skilled in Swordsmanship, and she must have magic, too. According to that idiot’s story, she seems like a nice person, but don’t forget that she’s an unknown entity. Besides, HQ and the government will start making moves. If you do anything clumsy, you know what will happen."

"I’m aware. She is a literal money-making entity, after all. The Golden Witch is a fitting name."

I haven’t told these guys, but that witch also delivered fifty Healing Potions at once. She’s on a completely different level of insane.

"The other branches will move too. Keep them in check. In the worst-case scenario, as long as she doesn’t go to another branch, it’s fine even if she doesn’t come here. No matter how golden a witch she is, in Ikebukuro, she can’t beat this Shibuya Branch."

Well, to put it another way, the other branches probably don’t want us getting our hands on her either.

"Understood. It was the Kunaar Ruins, wasn’t it? Hmm, that place is so crowded."

If this guy goes to a place like that, he’ll just draw a crowd. A-rank superstars who are constantly in magazines and on TV are just different. I hate it.

"Just send one of your underlings."

"They’re not my underlings, they’re my comrades."

I hate this part about him too.

"Send a comrade."

"But I want to meet her myself."

Keh! The rumors about him sleeping with all his fans seem to be true.

"Do what you want. Just don’t get yourself ruined and drag me down with you. If you’re going to be ruined, do it alone."

"What are you talking about? We’re in this together, sink or swim."

"Then exercise some self-restraint."

"I know."

No, you don’t.

"Yoshino is on the move, too. She’s hiding it, but she’s one of the head director’s people."

"Yoshino-san? That’s impressive."

Saegusa Yoshino is top-class even among A-ranks.

"It’s not just Yoshino. Others will move too. It’s fine to be infatuated with the witch, but be careful."

"Yoshino-san, huh…"

Listen to me…