kscans

Chapter 55 - A Flower Makes Even a Shabby Room Shine

On Monday, I went adventuring in Frontier with Nanapon. My level didn't go up, but I felt like it would soon.

On Tuesday, I cleaned my apartment. I mainly focused on the kitchen and bathroom areas, and stored things I didn't need, like winter clothes I wouldn't be using for a while, in my Item Bag.

On Wednesday, as promised, I went to Frontier with Nanapon. But we got so carried away talking about the auction that we mostly just chatted and didn't hunt many monsters.

On Thursday, I did the rest of the cleaning and went shopping. I went to buy a bed and other things for my room in the new apartment. I was going to buy a double bed as per Kaede-chan's request, but it was too big, so I gave up on that idea.

And then, Friday. The final day of the auction, and the day Kaede-chan was coming over in the evening.

I woke up early in the morning and killed time by continuing to clean and going shopping. In the evening, I received a message from Kaede-chan with a heart emoji attached, 'I finished work, so I'll head home once before I go.'

See, look at that. If this isn't a girlfriend, what is? Do you understand now, Nanapon-kun?

Since Kaede-chan was coming, I changed out of my tracksuit into clothes suitable for going out and decided to wait. After a while, around seven o'clock, the doorbell rang.

I hurried to the entrance and opened the door. Standing on the other side was Kaede-chan, not in her guild uniform, but in a white knit sweater and a light green long skirt.

"Good evening. You look cute today, too."

I completed my daily mission as usual.

"Ehehe, thank you. Oh, here you go."

Kaede-chan smiled happily and handed me a plastic bag from the supermarket. When I looked inside, it was, as expected, full of prepared side dishes.

"Thanks. Come on in. It must have been cold."

I invited Kaede-chan into the apartment.

"It is. The mornings and evenings have gotten chilly recently."

Kaede-chan came into the room and replied as she sat down.

"They really have."

"But wow, it's so tidy. I mean, the room didn't have much stuff to begin with, but now everything's gone."

Kaede-chan looked around the room. I had done a major cleanup this week, so it had become quite neat.

"Well, yeah. I'll do a final clean tomorrow, and I guess I'll move the day after. What about you, Kaede-chan?"

"I have tomorrow and the day after off, so I'll move tomorrow and set up my room the day after that."

Huh? That's fast.

"What about packing and stuff? You had work, didn't you?"

"I kept my place tidy to begin with, and with my Item Bag, it'll be quick."

Come to think of it, she did say she liked cleaning.

"So you'll be living there first, then."

"Looks like it. I'll buy some food and wait for you."

She's such a good girl. So cute.

"I'll probably get there before noon, so I'll be in your care."

"Okay."

Yes, yes.

"Oh, Kaede-chan, could you stop telling Nanapon all sorts of things about me? She's been making fun of me a lot."

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true. I just thought I should give Nanaka-chan a warning. She's still only nineteen. Getting a large sum of money could make her do reckless things, or she might attract misfortune by bragging to people. At that age, a normal warning won't get through, so I mixed in some funny stories to warn her not to become a fool like that."

...This girl is amazing.

"So you turned me into a clown. I guess I was the perfect cautionary tale."

"Well, you were pretty bad, Senpai. I was genuinely shocked when I saw you and Eleanor-san carrying the same bag and phone."

I got carried away.

"When you're blinded by a lot of money, your attentiveness and ability to think clearly just disappear."

"She seemed like she was heading that way, so I gave her a little warning."

"Yeah, she did seem like that. She was really hyped up about this auction."

Well, Nanapon's profit is estimated to be 150 million yen. Anyone would get excited.

"Right... Anyway, Senpai, are you watching?"

Kaede-chan asked without specifying the subject. But I knew what she meant.

"I'm watching. It's already at 800 million."

There were still five hours until the auction ended. But it had already surpassed 800 million yen. It had already reached the estimated winning bid, even before the final rush.

"Even at 800 million, that's 1.6 billion for two. After taking out the fees and Nanaka-chan's share, your portion will be 1.3 billion."

"This is insane..."

It was an unbelievable amount.

"You could live the rest of your life without working."

"If it were just me."

But Kaede-chan is here too. It's more than enough for one person, but for two, it's not enough to live extravagantly. Not that Kaede-chan is a spendthrift, but with two people, the options for fun expand. I mean, traveling the world alone would be boring.

"Will you keep going?"

Kaede-chan was talking about Eleanor-san's retirement.

"I'll go as far as I can..."

"Knowing when to quit is important, you know?"

Kaede-chan placed her hand on mine.

"I know. But now's not the time. The world still sees Eleanor-san as a mysterious witch. It'll get dangerous when my Alchemy skill is revealed."

Everyone has noticed that Eleanor-san isn't getting her items from normal slime drops. But while they have various theories, they don't know the method. That's why they can't make a move on Eleanor-san.

Everyone is afraid because Eleanor-san is such a mysterious witch. The moment that fear is gone will likely be the end for Eleanor-san.

"At this rate, shall we aim for ten billion?"

Ten billion. A number I can't even imagine.

"Yeah. Let's get to a point where we don't know how to spend our money."

"Okay. Let's do it!"

"Yeah! Alright, let's drink."

"Okay."

As we watched the auction, Kaede-chan and I started drinking canned beer with the side dishes she had bought as snacks.