Chapter 455: Gold Rush

「No touching!」

「Whoa!? Well, goodbye!」

Maria launched a backhand blow at Alezel who suddenly appeared behind her. Alezel, who had predicted that a counterattack would come, tried her best to avoid and run away. Then, her speedy escape succeeded in avoiding Maria’s attack at the very last moment, and she immediately ran toward Nell and Deris. In the blink of an eye, she hid far away.

(Was I so absorbed in Nell that I forgot about Alezel’s presence for a moment!? …No, no matter how fast she is, there’s no way I will overlook her in this state. Did they put up some kind of barrier to block presence and sound? Come to think of it, I couldn’t hear the sound of her abacus after Nell self-destructed. It seems that Deris arranged it so that the effect would appear later. Yes, it is possible. Dirty Deris would do it.)

Maria’s guess hit the mark. It’s roughly as she said. Deris had placed a timed barrier to hide Alezel. However, there is only one thing she doesn’t understand.

「So, what is this?」

It was the mysterious object that had just been handed to her by Alezel. She reflexively accepted it, but she has no idea what it is. It looks like some kind of a book.

「Thank you for asking! It’s one of my proud treasures! It’s a complete collection of poems by the renowned bard Gregor, and it only exists in the world with a number that can be counted with just the fingers in one hand! I personally appraised it, and I judged that it’s worth more than a mansion!」

「Is that so…. I’m listening while dodging Nell’s onslaught and Deris’s harassment, but is that talk still going on? Also, your voice is loud.」

Alezel is talking like in a bargain sale, but Maria doesn’t seem to be interested in that. She doesn’t know what to do with the book of poems by a poet she doesn’t know.

「Today is a special occasion, just for you, Maria-han! I would like to sell you that rare copy of Gregor’s complete poems in the original manuscript! My~, you sure are lucky, Maria-han! You don’t often get a chance like this!」

「No, I don’t need it. Rather, you have to pay me for my valuable time――」

In the middle of her words, Maria felt something strange about the book of poems in her hand. She doesn’t know why, but her instinct is telling her that it will be bad if she keeps that book. Maria’s intuition is always right at times like this. That is why she made up her mind so quickly.

(Let’s throw it away.)

She decided to throw it away. However――

「H-Huh?」

Maria should have thrown it at Alezel, but the book is still in her hand. She has released her fingers from it, but it’s not coming off at all as if it’s glued to the palm of her hand. She also shook her hand seriously, but the result was the same.

「Haha, what an unexpected hobby! Maria, I didn’t know that you were a fan of that poet! I’m sure he’s on the Jiba continent, so I’ll introduce you to him next time!」

「W-Wrong! I’m the one who should be surrounded by fans!」

Nell, who has turned into a burning hell manufacturing factory, laughed at Maria while attacking her. It was annoying as hell, but right now, Maria’s top priority is to solve this poetry book problem that she can’t let go of. It’s a disaster even now, but she has a strong feeling that something even stranger will happen if she keeps the book in her hand.

「Alezel, I don’t need this! Also, I can’t get it off! What the hell is this!?」

「I’m sorry, Maria, but I’m afraid we can’t accept the return. There is no cooling-off period at Quitet branch stores~.」

「I didn’t buy it in the first place! I didn’t even pay for it!」

「Well, this branch store completely uses a deferred payment system. Well then, let’s claim the payment. Nell, stand back.」

「Okay.」

Surprisingly, Nell obediently follows Alezel’s words.

「Hey, what are you talking――」

――――Flash

!

As Maria was about to make a further complaint, the hand-printed edition of Gregor’s complete poems attached to her hand suddenly emitted a dazzling light and exploded in the next instant. The explosion reached a scale no less than Nell’s bombing, and Maria, who was close by, was completely engulfed.

「Gold Rush, you’ll pay with equal damage.」

「It was a pretty big explosion. Was it worth that much?」

「I did my best to convince myself with sophistry that it was worth it. It is the basic principle of a merchant to offer something of value at a low price, but it is also the basic principle of a corrupted merchant to make people buy something at a price higher than the market price by any means necessary. You have to use the two sides of the coin well.」

Alezel’s Unique Skill, 『Gold Rush』, is used to set a price on the item she’s carrying and explode it when handed over to the target. No matter how high the target’s status is, they won’t be able to let go of the handed item. The only way is to catch Alezel and return the item directly to her. The higher the price of the item, the more effective it will be when triggered. However, the value of the item is determined by Alezel’s own prejudice. At first glance, it may seem that Alezel is able to adjust the price of the item at will, but if a lie is inserted into the equation, the power of the item will drop immediately. So, Alezel has to convince herself that the selling price is appropriate.

「I think there was no need for me to avoid that explosion, though? I mean, the flame will heal me instead, right?」

「Nell~, I’ve said it before, but don’t do it. The explosion of Gold Rush ain’t a flame, but a conceptual one. It will work normally on Nell, y’know? Even after the explosion is over, the effect remains in the same place for a while. The explosion will continue to scrape off your stamina and magic power regardless of your defense depending on the price, and above all, the feelings that went into the creation of the product will be drilled into your mind.」

「Feelings?」

「The developer’s enthusiasm, hard work, and many other feelings. If I want to prepare something of high value, it would be easier to prepare a rare gem or something beautiful, y’know? But that kind of thing is something that Maria loves. Just like when Nell receives a flame, she’ll get a mental boost if we’re unlucky, y’know?」

「…… So, what about that strange collection of poems?」

「Gregor-han’s poems, y’see, the famous ones are well-made, but many poems in this book are embarrassing. After all, he wrote these poems when he was young, before he became famous. They are popular among enthusiasts, but the contents are, as you can guess, his dark history. The poems, which are the exact opposite of Maria-han’s tastes, are forcibly being drilled into her head! It’s hitting so hard!」

「Uwah, how nasty….」

Even Nell was creeped out by that attack.

「I’m literally throwing my private property, y’know? It’s a problem if it ain’t that effective! But in the end, it’s only enough to buy time. Maria-han has a habit of taking an attack she sees for the first time, but I’m sure she ain’t gonna take it next time. If she wanted to, she could just cut off her own arm. I don’t wanna waste my money either.」

「Hey, can I attack her now?」

「Nell, were you listening to my explanations…? Don’t do that. If you attack her, the shock will blow away the feelings that remain in that place. As Delis instructed, now is the time to stall for time, so be patient. Deris, is it done!? The effect will wear off soon!」

Alezel shouted at Deris who kept chanting something and drew dozens of magic circles on the ground.