Part 1.5

"Elroad, the kingdom of gambling. From what Kazuma told me, it sounds like the Las Vegas of this world. My Luck stat isn't great, but it might still be fun to play around for a bit as long as I limit myself. What do you think?"

I talked to Suzuki while brushing his fur. We were sitting at the edge of the forest. According to Luna, it would be another week before an official from the Taming Guild would arrive, so I'm passing the time by thinking about my future plans.

It sounds like there'll be a lot of humans there. Doesn't sound so great to me. Ah, right there, that's a good spot.

"Oh yeah, I guess that wouldn't be your cup of tea, huh?"

His comment reminded me of another issue I've been trying to figure out. Even if he gets registered without issue, I can imagine that most people wouldn't be comfortable with a massive beast like him walking around in the middle of populated areas.

So I got to thinking: this is a world where magic items exist, so maybe I can find something to help. Perhaps an item that shrinks him, or temporarily turns him into a kitten. Something like a P*kéball might work too, although he might object to being shut away like that. Then again, cats like small spaces so maybe he'd be okay with it after all.

Anyway, that's what I'm planning to go looking for after I finish up here. Axel is a city catered towards beginner adventurers, but Kazuma told me there was a shop here that sells magic items, run by a woman named Wiz.

He also said I'd get better results listening to the shop assistant rather than the owner...

"Alright, that should do for now. I'm going shopping, so stay out of trouble, you hear me?"

Hey, what makes you think I'd get into trouble?

Instead of answering that dumb question, I gave him a long, hard stare. Eventually, he turned away.

... I will stay out of trouble.

I nodded, then departed for the city gates.

"This should be the place..."

I found the shop without much issue. The storefront was plainer than I'd expected, however. Maybe it's fancier inside?

I opened the door.

"Fuhahaha! Welcome, girl who has been feeling very self-conscious about her Luck after learning that her destination is filled with casinos, but is too stubborn to seek out a different place to visit!"

I closed the door.

That was the weird masked devil that runs the consultation corner in the guild, right? Why was he here in this store? ... actually, come to think of it, I think he did mention at one point that he worked at a shop.

Well, I don't want to deal with him, so let's see if there are any other—

"Thou shalt not find what thou seeks at any other store in this city."

The masked man opened the door and called out to me as I was about to leave.

... I knew he was probably right. In my time here I haven't heard of any other stores that specialize in magic items.

With a sigh, I turned back towards him.

"Vanir, right? The know-it-all devil. So, you work here in addition to your consultation gig?"

"That is merely a side project for moi. My main career consists of working in this shop and preventing the ditzy shopkeep from purchasing useless merchandise. On an unrelated note, wouldst thou be interested in purchasing a potion that makes bad-tasting food taste barely acceptable instead? The potion itself tastes horrendous, however."

"What? No! Forget that, do you have something that can help Suzuki fit in in crowded places or not?"

"We mah have some solutions, so do come on in."

I followed him into the shop. It was, without a doubt, a magic item shop. There were various esoteric things lining the shelves and filling the displays. There was even a life-size figure of a busty woman with a surprised expression on her face...

"Wait, isn't that a real person!?"

"Hm? Oh, that would be this shop's owner. She recently purchased a batch of elixir said to slow aging. Certainly, if a person was frozen in magical stasis, they could not be said to be aging."

Vanir sighed, then continued on. I looked at the woman again. This should be Wiz, right?

"Is it really okay to leave her like this?"

"The effects should wear off in another few days. If anything, this is a boon since that is another few days without her making strange purchases. Now, come here."

Vanir was behind the main counter now, and had laid out an array of three items. From my left to right, there was a collar, a whistle, and a bunny ear headband.

"... since I know you're waiting for it, fine, I'll bite. What the fuck do the bunny ears do?"

Vanir smiled.

"This is an item that causes the user to appear non-threatening to any observers! The effect can disappear if the user acts aggressively, however."

"Is that even a magic item? That just sounds like a normal pair of bunny ears to me."

Also, I bet no amount of wolfberries would convince Suzuki to wear this.

"What about the collar, then?"

"This one is an interesting one. When worn, it casts an illusion that causes the current user to look like the previous user. I believe the previous user was a housecat."

Hm. An illusion...

"So, wait, does that mean he would look like a small cat, but his actual size would still be the same?"

"Indeed."

Yeah, no, that's just asking for trouble. I'd have a monster cat that's 95% invisible. I'd definitely get in trouble.

"Alright, so this whistle then."

"This is the Farcalling Whistle, crafted by a certain Archwizard in ages past. It can be bonded to a single creature at a time. When blowing it, the bonded creature can hear the whistle wherever it is, and if it wishes to it can then teleport to the whistle's location."

Huh. Isn't that perfect? I could summon Suzuki whenever I need him, and outside of those times, he wouldn't have to hang around crowded places full of humans. It almost sounds too good to he true.

"What are the downsides?"

"None. This one was purchased from a traveling collector by none other than moi, so it's effectiveness is guaranteed."

I narrowed my eyes.

"How much?"

"200 million eris."

"Uuuuuuugh."

Back when I first helped Megumin out, she gave me 2 million eris, and I've already spent much of it. In other words, I have less than 1% of what I need to buy this.

"... okay, how much for the bunny ears?"

"Now, hold on just a moment. Thy disappointment just now was delicious, but I didn't bring the whistle out solely to torment thee."

"So it was part of the reason!?"

Vanir ignored me and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen.

"I have an offer for thee, girl from a foreign world. I have profited greatly by producing items that thy childhood sweetheart designed based on thy homeland's technology."

"D-Don't call him my sweetheart! We've both moved on, you know!"

Vanir chuckled.

"Oh, hast thou now? But, I digress. The reason I have brought this up is because I believe thou also hast knowledge of products that can bring great profit to moi."

"Eh? Are you sure? I mean, Kazuma has probably made all the obvious stuff like lighters, right? And he's definitely better at that kind of thing than me..."

He slid the piece of paper over to me and handed me the pen.

"I beg to differ. Surely, there is some item on which thy expertise far exceeds that other brat's, no?"

"... well, there is one, I suppose, but it's not so simple to produce. Even in my homeland, it's something of a luxury item."

"And I know expert craftsmen who could build such an item, and wealthy buyers who would definitely purchase it."

Well, I've got nothing to lose, right? I relented and picked up the pen, then began sketching. There's no way I could include every single detail on this one sheet of paper, but I was able to create an image of the item as well as a short description of how it functions. Vanir watched intently, and when I started summarizing what a combustion engine was, he held up his hand to stop me.

"No, that much is plenty for now. Remember, this is a world of magic, so rather than using a mechanism such as that, thou may assume the existence of a component that can use mana to power motion."

I almost went on a tirade about how it wouldn't be the same without feeling the engine roaring beneath you, but stopped myself. Certainly, relying on gasoline in this world with no vehicle infrastructure is a fool's errand.

Vanir picked up the motorcycle information sheet I produced and analyzed it some more.

"Yes, this indeed has potential. The mana consumption would be high, but anyone who could afford this could certainly also afford manatite if they need it."

He lookes up at me.

"Wouldst thou be willing to sell the intellectual rights to this contraption to moi for 500 million eris? Naturally, this would be after thou draw up more detailed designs and develop a prototype. I can also subtract the cost of this whistle, leaving thee with 300 million."

T-T-T-Three hundred million!?!?

I staggered back a bit in shock. That... that's an amount you can live off of for an entire lifetime without working if you don't splurge!

"A-Are you serious? To pay me that much money for this..."

"I am quite serious. Certainly, compared to the everyday merchandise the other brat developed for me, this vehicle will sell in much smaller quantities. However, as a luxury magic item enabling rapid transport without the need of a beast of burden, each unit could be sold for a hefty sum."

That's true, even back in Japan they were expensive items. And now that I'm thinking about it more, since this is a world of magic, we might even be able to add improvements like enchantments to make them safer and faster...

"It sounds great... but, wait, this'll take a while to make, you know? I wasn't planning to stick around here for that long. And I can assemble the parts, but it's not like I can manufacture them myself."

Of course, I'd stay if I needed to, but it'd be a bit of a wet blanket after I hyped myself up for the trip.

"That is true, and thou does not possess the ability to learn Blacksmithing skills as a Cavalier. So, how about this: for now, thou will write out detailed specs for each part, and I will contract someone to produce them for moi. When they are completed, thou can return to assemble and test the prototype. Thou shalt receive half of the payment now, and the other half once the final design is ready for production."

Half now... so, 50 million eris after subtracting the price of the whistle. This deal sounds too good to be true...

"If thou art still unsure, just ask the other brat. As a result of doing business with me, he is currently a billionaire living a luxurious lifestyle free of financial worries."

"Fuck it, I'm in. No takebacks!"

"... and that's how I got this whistle. Ready to try it out?"

Suzuki eyed the whistle with a wary expression.

Sounds fishy to me.

"Oh, hush. Now, first I need to bond it to you. Stay still."

The large cat obeyed, and I knelt down and held the whistle against his forehead.

"Remember this beast, and know it to be my loyal companion!"

I felt a slight vibration, which Vanir told me would indicate that a bond had been formed. I stood up.

"Okay, now go run through the forest for about a minute, and then I'll call you back."

Suzuki tilted his head.

You said I can refuse the call, right?

"Yes, but every time you come when called, you get a bonus of a dozen berries."

See you in a minute.

He took off running. After counting down a minute, I held the small silver whistle to my lips and blew.

I heard no sound, but I could feel a connection appearing to Suzuki. Moments later, there was a ripple in the air, and he casually emerged from it.

The sound was a bit irritating...

I pulled out the promised berries and fed them to him, and no further complaints came out.

"Alright, so that's one problem solved. Well, two actually, now that I'm set for life. In fact, I could probably just buy a small house and settle down, living an easy life... as if. That'd be boring as hell!"

I dunno, that sounds fine to me.

"You shut up. Anyway, I'll have to spend a lot of time this week drawing up those designs, so behave yourself."

He let out what I took to be a sigh of indignation.

Author's Note

And just like that, Kiriya's life went on easy mode, and she lived happily ever after... as if, lol.

Anyway, this Part 1.5 will be less an arc and more of a series of one-offs and mini-arcs, giving Kiriya a chance to get into some shenanigans without the plot breathing down her neck. There'll probably be between 6-8 chapters in this part, and I'll be releasing them weekly every Saturday!

After that comes Part 2, and I'm very excited with the ideas I have in mind for Elroad...