kscans

Chapter 28 - The Main Event

Kaede-chan led me to the room of this branch’s Guild Master, Satsuki-san. Then, I sat on the sofa and drank the coffee Kaede-chan had brewed for me.

"First, here’s the statement. The winning bidders paid immediately, so the transaction went smoothly."

Satsuki-san, sitting opposite me, handed me an eight-page statement. This time, unlike before, Kaede-chan was sitting next to me.

"Thank you. What’s the total?"

"It came to 182 million yen. After deducting the fees, your share is 163.8 million yen. It’s already been transferred to your card."

Woah!

"It went for much higher than I expected."

"It really did. I never thought even the 5- and 10-kilogram ones would go for that much. Was it the publicity?"

"Probably. I’m glad you made a profit too, Satsuki-san."

"You have no idea. I need you to be even more active from now on."

Such a money-grubber. Just like me.

"I shall do my humble best."

"I’m counting on you. How’s the media?"

"Annoying. But it’s still better than the candid photos."

The general public who take photos and post them online without permission are worse than the media who at least ask for an interview. It’s just unpleasant.

"There’s nothing we can do about that. It’s the price of fame."

"I know that. That’s why I created Eleanor Ocean."

If this were happening to Okita-kun, I wouldn’t be able to rent adult DVDs or go on dates with Kaede-chan. I don’t want a life like that. I want to live as a commoner on the surface while being secretly rich.

"Thinking about it now, even the cringe-worthy act of changing your gender makes sense."

Hey! …And you next to me, hey! Don’t nod along!

"There’s no way anyone would see me and think of Okita-kun, right?"

"I suppose not. Still, you’re something else. You talk about yourself as if you’re a completely different person."

"Because I am a different person. Besides, you’re the one who told me to keep them completely separate, Satsuki-san."

To be honest, I really do think of Okita-kun and Eleanor Ocean as two different people. It feels less like a gender swap and more like transforming into someone else. I mean, Okita-kun isn’t ugly, but he’s not this beautiful.

"Well, whatever. And, I hear you met Yoshino?"

"Saegusa-san? Yes, Okita-kun met her at the Kunaar Ruins yesterday."

"She’s one of the head office director’s people."

You know a lot…

"……Yoshino-san is the Guild Master’s cousin."

Kaede-chan, sitting next to me, whispered in my ear. Hehe, that tickles.

"Cousin? Now that you mention it, their aura and way of speaking are similar."

"She used to be attached to me when we were kids."

Still, it’s amazing that they both became A-ranks.

"Just to ask, you and Saegusa-san both practiced swordsmanship, right?"

"You can tell?"

"Of course. Just as you two can tell by looking at me."

"Hmph. Well, yes. Yoshino’s father, my uncle, used to run a dojo. He’s not doing it anymore, though."

There aren’t many kids these days.

"Why not adapt it for Adventurers? My father did that and taught sword skills to the neighborhood kids."

Many kids look up to Adventurers, so it was quite popular.

"Yoshino was thinking the same thing and suggested it to my uncle. But my uncle hurt his back, so it fell through."

Ah, a bad back is no good. He’d have to retire.

"So, is it true that this Saegusa-san is one of the head director’s people?"

"Yeah. Money. She’s been a money-grubber since she was a kid."

So are you.

"You two are similar."

"Right?"

It seems Kaede-chan thinks so too.

"Money is important. So, what did you talk about?"

"Small talk. Oh, and she was looking for Eleanor Ocean. She said she wanted to talk and personally buy an Item Bag."

"I see… I expected the guild branches to make a move, but HQ too, huh."

What does HQ even do?

"I’ll sell her one next time I see her. She’s your cousin, right?"

"Do as you please. But only up to 100 kilograms."

"I know. So? What are we doing about the 1000-kilogram ones?"

We only sold up to 100 kilograms in this auction. The main event is the 1000-kilogram ones.

"That’s it. I want to list them, is that alright?"

"Of course. You can never have too much money. Besides, I made them, so I have to sell them."

I put a lot of rubber bands in there. My hands smelled like rubber afterwards.

"Alright! I’m putting two 1000-kilogram bags up for auction."

Satsuki-san declared.

"A simple calculation would make it 500 million, I guess?"

I asked Kaede-chan excitedly.

"Right! That’s amazing!"

Kaede-chan was excited too.

"Don’t flirt in front of me. I knew you were faking sick. You stayed over at his place, didn’t you."

Satsuki-san, out of jealousy, brought up Kaede-chan’s fake illness.

"That’s not true."

"Yeah. It’s not."

That’s a lie. But nothing like what Satsuki-san is imagining happened. It was a platonic sleepover. Well, we just drank too much and passed out.

"Well, whatever. I’m putting the 1000-kilogram bags up for auction, but I have a favor to ask of you, Eleanor."

Satsuki-san looked completely unconvinced but brought the conversation back on track.

"What is it?"

"Actually, we’ve received a request for you to appear on a TV show."

TV?

"What’s that about?"

"It happens sometimes. They want to interview famous Adventurers, so they send a request to the Guild. These things have to go through the Guild."

"Hmm, does this place get requests often?"

It’s an unpopular guild with no decent Adventurers.

"Never. They all go to Shibuya or places like that."

See.

"Am I the first?"

"No, Yoshino used to be here. She was affiliated with this guild out of admiration for me. But she transferred somewhere else soon after."

That doesn’t sound like admiration. Don’t force it.

"And you want me to appear?"

"We’re flooded with requests, and the reporters outside are annoying. We all know this place is unpopular, but it’s pitiful when they’re camped out here and not only does Eleanor Ocean not show up, but no other Adventurers do either."

It’s too late for that. I already told that announcer.

"What a pain."

"Go on TV and promote the 1000-kilogram Item Bag. That’s the main goal."

"I see. So we’re creating buzz."

That might be a good idea. If we do, corporations might offer huge sums of money.

"Yes, that’s right. And it’s for your sake too."

"Me?"

"To put it simply, get public opinion on your side. Make the world recognize your existence. Your existence is very ambiguous, so you never know who might do what to you. I’m not saying you’ll be eliminated, but someone might make a forceful move."

Eleanor Ocean doesn’t have a family register, after all. I plan to make a swift exit after I’ve made a lot of money, but I should do what I can.

"Understood. Let’s go with that then. What TV show is it?"

"Which one do you want?"

Satsuki-san stood up, went to her desk, and brought back some documents. She then handed them to me.

"There are a lot."

There were several pages.

"There’s nothing in primetime, but there are debate shows and things like that. Pick whichever one you like."

"What’s the appearance fee?"

"They’re all about the same, so it doesn’t matter. Just pick one you’d be comfortable with."

Even if you say comfortable, I’ve never been on TV, so I have no idea.

"Is there a press conference or something instead?"

"If you cause some trouble, maybe. I’d have to appear too in that case. Please don’t."

I’m not talking about an apology press conference.

"Hmm, I don’t know any of these…"

I had no clue, so I decided to just pick one at random.

"Which one has the announcer who was outside? The beautiful one."

"Announcer? I don’t know…"

You should know. This is why you’re out of touch with the youth. Not that I can talk, since we’re not that different in age.

"Isn’t it this one? The famous announcer who was outside works for this TV station."

Kaede-chan pointed to one of the papers. I looked at the cast list, searched on my phone, and sure enough, it was that announcer.

"This one is fine."

"Senpai, is this your type?"

Don’t call me senpai. I am Eleanor.

"No, not really. It’s just because she said I was beautiful earlier."

"Is that all?"

"It doesn’t matter which show it is. She seemed nice, so this one is fine."

"Hmm…"

Is she jealous? What a cute thing!

"You’re cuter, Kaede-chan."

"Yes, yes. When is the appearance?"

"Let’s see, the day after tomorrow… that’s soon."

But the broadcast is next week.

"Timeliness is crucial for these things. But this is perfect. I’m going to apply for the auction at HQ now, so I’ll have them post the notice right after that show airs."

"Good idea. No time gap."

"Right. Don’t you leak any information before then."

"Don’t worry. Okita-kun will be leveling up for a while."

There’s no point in leveling up as Eleanor Ocean, and the other Adventurers are annoying.

"Alright! By the way, do you know that Kaede has put in a request for paid leave next week? Are you going somewhere? You’re not going to meet her parents for a marriage proposal, are you? I think it’s still too early."

This woman is so petty…