17. Shopping with Everything I Own

I left Helene. She had her head down in embarrassment, and the way she glanced back at me from beneath her lashes was utterly cute and adorable.

「Umm……」 「Un?」 「Women of the royal family can only have one man in their lives.」 「Huh?」

I wondered what she meant by that at first, but the implication hit me immediately. I was her first, and I would always be her only one. That was what Helene was trying to tell me.

「Yeah, I understand.」 「It will be difficult for me to remain by Kakeru-sama’s side openly right now…」 Helene said, looking deeply saddened. 「What you just told me is more than enough. I’ll be waiting.」 「──Yes!」

Thus, Helene officially became my woman.

⸻

The next day, as I was relaxing in my mansion, Miu knocked on my room door and walked in holding a piece of mail.

「Master, there is a letter for you.」 「A letter?」

I accepted the sealed envelope from Miu. Stamped on the front flap was a familiar merchant coat of arms.

「Ah, it’s from the Salamus Trading Company.」

I had no idea what they could possibly be writing to me about. I tore open the envelope and pulled out the paper inside.

(Is that the bill for that girl?)

Eleanor’s telepathic voice chimed in directly from the magic sword on my hip. Since I couldn’t read the local script very well, I was actually quite grateful for the translation.

「Well, when I bought Miu, he said he’d send me the bill later. So this must be it.」 「Is that my purchase price?……Ah.」 Miu peeked over. 「What’s wrong?」 「Three hundred silver coins…… I’m so expensive.」 「Three hundred, huh?」

I had no frame of reference for the local market prices, but it was hard to imagine Salamus trying to rip me off after everything, so that price was probably accurate.

「Alright, let’s go pay him.」

Using my Warp Feather, I teleported straight to the Salamus Trading Company with three hundred silver coins to settle Miu’s tab. Carrying three hundred silver coins all at once made for a surprisingly heavy, bulky bag.

「Indeed, I have received the full three hundred pieces of silver. And here is the official title deed, sir,」 Salamus said, handing over a crisp document covered in formal text. 「We look forward to serving you again.」 「Yeah, if I need anything else, I’ll let you know.」 「By the way, Yuuki-sama, have you heard the rumor that the kingdom will soon be issuing a completely new currency?」 「Huh?」

I froze for a second. He was likely talking about the paper money system I had pitched to Princess Iris. Of course I already knew about it, but I decided to play dumb.

「That’s news to me. Does that sort of thing happen often?」 「No, essentially never—unless the reigning monarch is replaced.」 「Is that so?」

I had actually heard various rumors about the new paper currency circulating around town. The core concept was a direct adaptation of what I had suggested to Princess Iris, which tracked. The only thing that caught my curiosity was whether they would end up naming the units things like Yen or Dollars.

「On another unrelated note, I have been wondering about this for a while now… That sword Yuuki-sama always wears on his hip, could it possibly be──」 「Yeah? Oh, you mean Eleanor?」

I lifted the magic sword slightly to show Salamus. She had been much quieter and more cooperative lately, but I still kept her secured to my belt because she was far too dangerous to leave lying around where others could touch her.

「The legendary magic sword Eleanor. I never imagined you would possess such an artifact.」 「Just so you know, I’m not selling it,」 I added preemptively, remembering that Salamus was a merchant first and foremost.

When I stepped out of the trading company and reached for my pocket to warp back to the mansion, my fingers brushed against something unexpected. Pulling it out, I blinked in sheer surprise.

It was a lottery ticket.

Wait. I was certain I had used up all my tickets during my previous eleven-pull. So where had this one come from?

Then, it clicked. The title deed for Miu. Miu had cost me three hundred silver coins. Shortly after completing that transaction, a lottery ticket had materialized in my pocket.

「Does that mean I earn lottery tickets whenever I make a purchase?」

Back in modern Japan, reward points for shopping were common, but this was a different world—and a literal magical gacha system—so I couldn’t jump to conclusions just yet. I decided to run an experiment.

I still had nearly two thousand silver coins left in cash.

I took a pouch of coins and headed back out into the city. I spent one silver coin on a quick meal at a diner, but no lottery ticket appeared. Next, I went to a local tailor and commissioned several custom maid outfits for Miu. That cost me ten silver coins, but still, no lottery ticket dropped. I bounced around to various shops, blowing about a hundred silver coins in total, yet my pockets remained entirely empty of tickets.

So regular, everyday shopping doesn’t trigger them?

That left two logical possibilities: either tickets were only rewarded for transactions made specifically through the Salamus Trading Company, or they required a much larger, high-value purchase.

「Welcome! Oh, if it isn’t Yuuki-sama. How can I assist you today?」 Salamus greeted warmly. 「Hey, there are a few more things I need you to source for me.」 「I am entirely at your service, sir.」 Salamus put on his professional merchant face.

Alright, let’s test the high-value theory first.

「I need to replace some old furniture in my mansion. The pieces currently there are old and shabby, so I want an entire set of replacements.」 「Certainly.」

I listed off the various rooms and furniture upgrades I wanted.

「For that entire lot, it will come out to twenty-five silver coins.」 「Please do it.」

I counted out twenty-five silver coins and handed them over.

「Thank you very much. I will make the arrangements immediately.」 「Thanks.」

Wait for it… I checked my pockets. Still no lottery tickets.

So twenty-five silver coins wasn’t enough to trigger it. If it was tied to high-value purchases or specifically through Salamus, the threshold must be higher. I decided to test a much larger order.

「I also want to buy some artwork.」 「Art pieces, sir?」 「Yeah, framed paintings to hang in the parlors. I don’t know anything about art, so I’ll leave the selection entirely up to you. Let’s set the budget at three hundred silver coins.」

Three hundred silver coins was the exact same price as Miu. If price threshold was the trigger, this should definitely work.

「Understood, sir.」 「Alright, here are the three hundred silver coins.」 「I have safely received them. Procuring fine art will take a little time, however…」 「I’ll leave it to you.」

It was an expensive purchase with a vague order, but that didn’t matter. My real objective wasn’t the paintings—it was testing the lottery ticket drop.

I rummaged through my coat pocket.

「There it is.」

Sure enough, a fresh lottery ticket was resting right there. It was only the second one I had secured today, matching the drop I got from Miu’s purchase.

So high-value purchases really are the key.

Once the rule was established, I had no reason to hold back anymore. I pulled out the rest of my cash reserves.

「I still have about sixteen hundred silver coins left on me. What kind of big-ticket items can I buy with this amount?」 「Hoho… that is quite a unique proposition, Yuuki-sama,」 Salamus chuckled with a faint, amused smile.

From a merchant’s perspective, walking in and telling a store owner to spend a lump sum however they saw fit was certainly unusual. But from my perspective, I was essentially asking: Please convert every possible chunk of this cash into lottery tickets. The actual goods purchased didn’t even matter that much.

「I will be right back with a suggestion,」 Salamus said, retreating to the back rooms for a moment before returning with a tray.

Resting on the velvet cloth was a dazzling gold bracelet inlaid with precious, sparkling jewels.

「What is this?」 「This is a luxury item currently trending among the upper class. It is the sort of exclusive piece a powerful nobleman might purchase to adorn the women of his personal harem, declaring them as his exclusive possessions.」 「Huh?」 「This is merely a sample. It serves as a physical declaration of ownership, and we can tailor custom pieces to match any specifications. Essentially, it is a gold bracelet encrusted with fine jewelry.」

That’s actually pretty interesting. An accessory that explicitly declared harem ownership? I didn’t have any immediate use for it, but it fit the “expensive luxury item” criteria perfectly.

「And the total for sixteen hundred silver coins?」 「That will cover exactly four custom pieces of this grade, if that is acceptable.」 「Sounds good.」

I handed over the heavy cloth bag containing the remaining silver coins. Salamus carefully emptied and counted the contents.

「The payment has been safely verified.」

The exact second Salamus finished that sentence, a flurry of crisp paper brushed against my fingers. I reached into my pocket and pulled them out.

This time, a grand total of five new lottery tickets had dropped all at once.