Apart from thinking about various business ideas, the weekend passed.
And now, it’s 7 a.m. on Sunday.
Unlike yesterday, all three people gathered in the dining room right away in the morning.
“Why does everyone look so tired? Did you not sleep well?”
“We can’t be late.”
“The battle starts at 9 a.m., we can’t afford to be late.”
“Ugh, the budget…”
Yunia, Ludmila, and Evangeline all wrote down their own wish lists and were deep in thought.
It seems like all three of them, as heroines and women, are serious about “shopping”.
‘It’s not that different for guys.’
Men don’t understand women’s shopping.
Whether it’s window shopping or not, they don’t get the “I’ll just look around” mentality.
I’m no different. Since the product I sold in reality was ‘bread,’ bread is different from clothes or cosmetics—it sells out as soon as it’s stocked.
Of course, after watching items slowly get added to the tray as they circled around the shop, I sometimes thought, “Is that window shopping?”
But looking at it from another perspective, it’s understandable.
“Ugh, what should I buy…?”
When a man has to buy items within a set ‘budget’ for maximum efficiency.
“If you pick the necessary items, it should be fine. The problem is time, and the Golden Carriage will leave soon if we take too long.”
Or when a man has to make purchases within a set ‘time’ limit, making it a time attack challenge.
“I wish I had enough time, money, and things, but that’s not going to happen, right?”
“They’re selling items on the Golden Carriage for just four people, like it’s some general store. It’s going to be tough.”
If that feels like a ‘quest,’ a man starts furiously planning even before the mission begins.
[Mission] Purchase items necessary for dormitory life from the Golden Carriage within the given time!
Time limit: 3 hours.
Available gold: ??? Gold.
Caution 1) The Golden Carriage will remain at the Old School Building for 3 hours.
Caution 2) No one knows when the next Golden Carriage will come or what items it will have.
Caution 3) The items on the Golden Carriage are generally more expensive than usual market prices.
Caution 4) If an item is sold out, restocking is not possible. Sold out is sold out.
That’s the current information we have about the Golden Carriage, which will arrive at 9 a.m.
All we can do is pray.
Because the Golden Carriage doesn’t just come to the Old School Building; it first stops by the regular dormitory.
“We just have to hope that the Academy dormitory students didn’t buy too much…!”
In other words, the Golden Carriage arriving at the Old School Building today has already been ransacked by the Academy dormitory students.
And if you think from the perspective of Silverstar, the entity running the Golden Carriage.
“Yeah. Even if we are special admission students at the Old School Building, there’s no way Silverstar would restock the Golden Carriage just for us.”
They’ve already made a huge profit from selling to the roughly 1,500 students (including graduate students) in the Academy dormitory. There’s no way they’d restock for just the four of us.
It’s like how big franchise stores are in every commercial district in a city with over 500,000 people, but in a town with fewer than 10,000 people, almost no franchises, except maybe Lotteria, exist.
But there’s one fortunate thing.
“At least we’ll get bandages, right?”
“I didn’t put them on the list!!”
They will bring the items we specifically listed as “necessary items”.
So, once we secure those items, we can calmly browse the rest of the goods during the given time.
The other three may have their own needs, but I also have things I need for baking.
“Oh, right. Speaking of which, Instructor Esta told me something.”
“What is it? Is Instructor Esta coming to the Golden Carriage to buy stuff too?”
“No. Apparently, there’s a student from the Academy selling things on the Golden Carriage.”
“Hmm, really?”
One thing.
There’s one piece of information the players know, but the Academy freshmen don’t.
“A student selling directly? That’s surprising.”
She’s coming.
* * *
Silverstar. A capitalist entity that stretches its hand anywhere if there’s profit to be made.
Their influence is so strong that they can push the Golden Carriage even to the Old School Building.
They even sell products to the students there at prices about 20% higher than those at the terminal.
-What? Why are things on sale as soon as we get to the terminal?
Many players have been fooled. They thought the Silverstar prices at the Old School Building were the market price, only to realize as the story progressed that non-Silverstar stores and shops sell the same goods for much cheaper.
-I swear I’ll never use the Golden Carriage again!
So, in their second playthrough, players don’t use the Golden Carriage at all.
Following the main story, they’ll find better equipment at a cheaper price, and they can buy consumables in bulk elsewhere. Why bother with the overpriced Golden Carriage?
For first-time players, Silverstar’s Golden Carriage teaches the harsh realities of the world.
For second-time players, it’s a trap that reminds them to spend their gold more efficiently, thanks to their clearing experience.
-Take my money!
By the third and fourth playthroughs, players throw all their starting funds at the Golden Carriage.
Even first and second-timers who have already looked up guides online still buy the expensive items, suffering through the ordeal.
Because of the ‘membership’ system. Silverstar offers memberships and points based on individual purchase history, and the closer you are to VVIP status, the more items you are offered.
Although they don’t give out massive discounts for loyal customers, some discounts are available nonetheless.
– To think the Golden Carriage at the Old School Building would generate this much profit…?
Silverstar rarely invests in places that don’t yield profit, but if they catch even the faintest scent of money, they move swiftly.
Therefore.
1) Despite the significantly smaller number of people at the Old School Building compared to the Academy dormitory students.
2) Even with the high prices of the Golden Carriage, people still purchase items, and the revenue surpasses a certain threshold.
3) Once the main story progresses and the people at the Old School Building are seen as “profitable”.
The Golden Carriage becomes a true Golden Carriage, and once you reach VVIP status, you can even use teleportation magic to charter the entire Silverstar department store located outside the Academy to shop.
And more importantly…
‘Silverstar also has a heroine.’
Initially, the players thought the group was all about money, but once they realize that one of the main heroines is part of it, they start reconsidering their relationship with Silverstar in a more positive light.
Even though she remains money-obsessed after becoming a heroine, it’s a lot better when the money-obsessed character is “our” money-obsessed character.
At the very least, when it comes to making money, even if the enemy offers a higher price, if the protagonist’s side offers more added value, she will choose the protagonist.
I’ve already met that heroine once.
‘Yurha Silverstar’.
Heroine No.07.
Unlike the other heroines who bring about the [Furry Apocalypse], [Apocalypse of Graduate School], or [Apocalypse of Castration], when Yurha Silverstar becomes an ‘Angel’, her version of the apocalypse is quite different.
[Apocalypse of Gold].
[Apocalypse of the Great Depression].
[Apocalypse of Zimbabwe].
[Apocalypse of the Wealth Gap].
[Apocalypse of Monopoly Mega-Corporations].
[Apocalypse of Wealth Polarization, where the poor are economically forced to give up on childbirth and child-rearing, and only the wealthy can afford to raise children, making parenthood a privilege of the ruling class].
– She’s basically the [Apocalypse of Capital] itself.
If we were to sum up the variety of apocalypses held by just one heroine in a single phrase, Yurha Silverstar’s could be called the [Apocalypse of Plebeian Capitalism].
– But she’s on our side if she’s a heroine, right?
Someone once said.
– People might shudder at being on the receiving end of someone like Jobs or Musk, but when they’re on your side, they become “our guy”.
How convenient it would be if the ultimate capitalist were on your team.
That’s why Silverstar takes money very seriously.
The Golden Carriage is the most certain and quickest way to form a relationship with Silverstar and Yurha Silverstar.
So, for at least two months—no, one whole semester—I was prepared to be ripped off, paying a bit more for items while hoping for the day when Yurha Silverstar, rather than as a mere employee, would personally show up at the Academy.
“Hello, everyone from the Old School Building?”
A ‘female student’ with golden hair that shimmered and dressed in a suit appeared.
“My name is Yurha Silverstar. I’m the one in charge of the Golden Carriage supply at the Old School Building this time.”
Yurha Silverstar, appearing in person from the start.
And then—
“You.”
Ludmila immediately showed hostility towards Yurha.
“How dare you show yourself before me?”
Here’s one thing.
To improve relationships between heroines, the protagonist must take them and Yunia on a 1-night, 2-day trip, or more specifically, spend a night together with them before anything improves.
“After scamming me like that, how dare you show up again?”
“Hehe. I didn’t expect the [Cutting Wind] to unsheathe so quickly. How should I apologize? But that wasn’t a scam, it was a fair deal.”
“If I had known it was an ancient artifact, I wouldn’t have sold it at that price!”
“We also had to hire an expensive expert to appraise it and find its value. Hehe.”
Yurha Silverstar.
She’s the devil of capitalism, and her relationship with the other heroines is mostly terrible.
‘It’s a relief she isn’t an angel.’
* * *
“Hmm.”
Yurha Silverstar glanced at the group from the Old School Building.
Because of the recent [Angel Incident], she had to come in person.
“…Oh my.”
She looked at one male student.
“They look alike.”
For some reason, her heart began to beat faster.
“This is…”
Thump.
“Jackpot☆spotted.”
Thump Thump.
“…He must have a lot of money. Oh my, what’s happening?”
Yurha suddenly found her heart racing and couldn’t quite understand why.
“Huh, why am I…?”
