Do You Want to Go to the Festival with Me?

Raymond's Lichten branch, Emilia Raymond's office.

Emilia was receiving a report from her subordinate.

"They say they've purchased the securities of a guild called Ecomana."

"What kind of guild is that? Do you have a report?"

"Yes."

The contents of the report were all about Ian's activities, especially those at the stock exchange.

The subordinate handed her the report. Piles of papers passing through Emilia's hands.

With each flip, the toes of her crossed legs twitched lightly.

Suddenly, Emilia covered her mouth.

"What is this... Pft!"

"Emilia?"

"Pfuhahaha!"

Bang, bang, bang.

Emilia slammed the table in amazement.

"There can't be such a joke! It feels like he was scammed by someone! Kyahaha!"

Laughing like that for a while, Emilia, with tears in her eyes, asked her subordinate.

"Do we have Ecomana stakes in our Lichten branch?"

"A small initial investment is in place. It's about 2.5% of the total shares."

"That should be enough to cause a significant drop in the stock price if we sell it all at once."

"Yes? Oh, yes. That's correct. It would drop quite a bit if there's no force to absorb it."

"Then, when those two come next time, sell it all. We should enjoy watching their despair. Once they've been hit, they should pay back."

Saying that, Emilia lowered her head to the documents.

The subordinate hesitated.

"But..."

"What is it?"

"It's just that, what if this stock turns out to be promising? Since we have enough room for a rise with the shares we hold, it might be good for our portfolio..."

“Bellows.”

Emilia's tone was stern.

The subordinate immediately straightened up.

"Yes, yes!"

"Even if this stock goes up a lot, it's only a double. It's okay even without that measly 100 gold. Just follow my orders without unnecessary talk."

"I-I apologize. Understood!"

◆

People commonly referred to as outsiders have one characteristic.

Once they step outside, they optimize their routes to handle all tasks and return.

"Next is shopping for winter clothes."

Ian was like that.

Once he's out, he needs to get everything done.

‘I can train for two hours as soon as I get back today.’

Even though it was to secure training time, the principle behind his actions wasn't much different.

So, Ian arrived at the largest clothing outlet in North Town.

[North Town Woodbury Outlet]

The warehouse-style store, with rows of clothes in various colors, stimulated the customers.

The store was quite crowded.

- "I'll put in extra effort for this year's Lantern Festival."

- "Look at this outfit, it suits me well."

- "Wouldn't a slightly more refined outfit be better?"

Even while passing through the entrance, the chatter of young female academy students could be heard.

‘It's probably because of Saint Gregory's Lantern Festival.’

Saint Gregory's Lantern Festival.

A commemorative event where the streets are filled with lanterns to honor the sacrifice of Saint Gregory.

During this time, the central business districts of nations under the Empire's influence illuminate the streets with orange lights.

- “I want to charm someone with a villa this time."

- "I heard the southern beach is so beautiful these days."

- "Constantine is too hot. If I go, I want to visit the Northern Duchy."

The festival was followed by a week-long holiday, known as the 'Saint Gregory Memorial Week’, which was also called the Golden Holiday.

A week of rest. As it coincided with the festival, the fervor of the Lantern Festival was truly remarkable.

It was an opportune time for finding lovers and making connections.

There was even a statistic that showed the highest birthrate occurred ten months after Saint Gregory Week.

The outlet was on the same line as the reasons why people crowded the streets.

However.

— Sway, sway.

Among the many people, there was someone strolling around the clothing racks with fluffy cherry blossom-colored ears.

Even among the crowded store, she stood out.

Due to her short height, only her ears were visible, but her identity was clear.

Ian approached her stealthily.

"Aren't these too short? At this rate, it's just a piece of cloth... It's, it's... unreasonable."

Danya was seriously contemplating, holding a white dress exclusive to beastmen.

"What are you doing?"

“Nyan!”

Danya was startled by Ian's unexpected appearance.

Then she quickly hid the dress she was holding behind her tail.

"Ian, how did you get here? Isn't today the day for mana training?"

"How do you know my training schedule?"

He would surely find it strange to know that whenever Ian trained outdoors, she 'coincidentally' passed by and watched, right?

“That’s because we are colleagues!”

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Ian's nonchalant attitude made Danya sigh inwardly.

"More importantly, why are you here? Don't tell me..."

Thud.

Danya's expression changed abruptly, and her tail curled up.

"Don't tell me you have a date for the Lantern Festival?!"

Ian tilted his head.

"I came to buy winter clothes. Oh, by the way, do you know where the winter clothes are?"

Danya's tail returned to normal.

She almost bought the wrong clothes for no reason.

"I saw them earlier! I'll guide you!"

Gently swaying her tail twice without drawing attention, Danya grabbed Ian and led him to the winter clothing section.

"Hmm..."

A grumbling sound came from Ian's mouth.

The prices of winter clothes were higher than he expected.

Regular animal fur materials were too bulky, and the specially crafted materials with magical engineering were surprisingly thin but overly expensive.

'I should have left around 10 silver.’

The money in Ian's hand was three silver coins.

Considering the prices, the 'Sky Feather Set' seemed reasonable to purchase, but it was too restricting in terms of volume.

'If this is going to happen, it would be better to comb Danya's tail fur and make padding.'

Ian's eyes had a subtle and mysterious look.

Danya instinctively hid her tail.

"Well, nothing."

"I didn't think of anything."

"You definitely had some weird thoughts."

Avoiding Danya's scrutinizing gaze, Ian turned his attention to the shelves.

[Andrew Workshop Top and Bottom Set. (10 silver)]

Andrew Workshop.

It was well-known for being cost-effective in the game as well.

This seems to be the best option...

But 7 silver was still lacking.

‘Will they give a discount?’

If he solved about five backlogged prophecies, he could earn the money.

While pondering, Danya spoke up.

"Should I buy it for you?"

Ian asked.

"Why?"

"Oh, no...!"

A nervous expression appeared on Danya's face. After a few taps with her index finger, she finally spoke.

"T-That's... It's a congratulatory gift! For resolving the Disciplinary Committee issue!"

Ian hesitated for a moment.

'Is it okay to accept such a gift?'

Considering it's not a small amount - 10 silver.

Ian looked a bit indecisive, and Danya quickly said.

"I-I have a lot of money!"

Come to think of it, Ian had never seen Danya acting greedy for money.

"Okay, I'll gratefully accept it."

"Yeah! Yeah...!"

Danya appeared to be smiling brightly.

In reality, behind that seemingly innocent smile, she harbored a mischievous intent.

'It's 100 years too early to tempt someone with just something to eat, Silvia!'

It was an activation of some mysterious competitive psychology triggered by the encounter with Silvia in front of Ian's home.

◆

Suddenly, Ian became curious.

"How do beastmen wear pants or skirts?"

Thinking about it, if they wear a skirt, their tail might show, and if they wear pants, they have to pull it down to cover the tail.

Instead of answering, Danya grabbed a set of beastmen-specific pants.

A small hole located just below the waist.

Danya, as a demonstration, inserted her tail through that hole.

"This is how you take out the tail, Nyah."

Due to the small size of the hole, the tail barely passed through, but the inside was not visible.

"Fascinating."

Walking towards the checkout counter, Ian observed closely and noticed that there were beastmen-specific pants and hats displayed sporadically.

Danya passed by, lightly swaying a white brimmed hat.

Ian picked it up.

"Try it on. I'll watch."

"It might look weird because of my ears..."

Instead of the hesitant Danya, Ian put the hat on her head.

Ears poking out through the holes.

For some reason, it looked cute.

"It suits you well."

"...Eeek!"

In a hurry, Danya took off the hat and hung it back on the display.

Then, Ian picked up the winter clothes in one hand.

Without saying a word, she headed towards the checkout counter.

'...Is she angry?'

Danya's ears turned slightly red.

'Putting a hat on a beastmen might be beyond etiquette.'

Even though Ian usually doesn't care much about the other person's feelings, when it comes to someone who gave him a 10 silver gift, he felt a bit obligated to be nice.

Honestly, he was a bit nervous until Danya took the next action.

"Do you have anything else to ring up?"

"Well, wait a moment."

Approaching Ian again, Danya grabbed the hat again and then hurriedly ran to the cashier to hand it over.

"P-Please ring this up too."

"Yes. The total is 13 silver 23 copper."

As soon as she received the hat, she pressed it flat and lowered her head.

Ian couldn't help but smile at her adorable appearance.

Danya, approaching with occasional steps, tossed the clothes wrapped in Ian's arms.

"There you go."

"Thanks. The hat really suits you."

"Heh!"

Ian deliberately teased Danya once more, enjoying her well-matched reactions.

While Ian made a mental note to continue teasing Danya occasionally,

Danya mumbled softly.

"Um, Ian."

"Yeah?"

"T-This... Um. Would you like to explore the festival together?"

While asking this, she tapped the ground with her shoes.

Ian pondered for a moment.

'This festival is quite important.'

During the Saint Gregory Lantern Festival, a significant event occurs.

The player, who was quite ordinary in the setting, was given a unique opportunity to receive the attention of the named character 'The Third Princess'.

It was the 'Assassination Attempt on the Third Princess.'

Princess Asteria was a key character in the main scenario, "Act 2, Frozen River."

Since the scenario itself started from her request.

In other words, this event was the prologue of Act 2.

'If I don't attract the Third Princess's attention during this festival, I won't be able to participate in Act 2.'

That meant heading straight to the bad ending.

Moreover, considering that Sharon Pierce is involved, to get a proper ending, he must lead to a good result in the prologue of Act 2.

The problem was whether Danya would be helpful in this event...

Thinking about it, the conclusion was simple.

"Yeah, let's go together. I'm looking forward to it."

Earth and Grass magic.

It seemed like the right time to use their interaction.

On the other hand, Danya slightly misunderstood Ian's intentions.

‘I'm... looking forward to it.’

She replied with a bright smile but felt a bit embarrassed.

"Yes!"

Although she pressed the hat firmly to cover her blushing face, her pointed ears and swaying tail couldn't be hidden.

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