Five Elders Shock

At the Goddess's urging, I delivered some socks.

The main highlight this time was the socks from the dwarf girls I'd obtained at Aishia's village.

Among those, my top pick was the rejuvenation socks from the Five Elders, a.k.a. my local wives.

First up, the dwarf girls' socks.

"Yaaay! That's a lot of them! … Oh, but there's absolutely no embarrassment in these. I guess I'll just snack on them when I feel peckish."

It seemed the dwarf girls' socks weren't quite to her liking.

… Apparently, dwarf girls from a village with such loose attitudes toward sexuality didn't feel any embarrassment from just taking off their socks.

"Oh, but there are some minor hits in here occasionally. Why's that?"

"Why, you ask? That's what I want to know. Maybe there were just some girls like that among them?"

"Well, I'll figure it out once I taste them. Nom."

Yeah, I'm getting a bit used to seeing a little girl bite into socks without hesitation.

And so the Goddess chewed away while analyzing the information left in the socks.

"Ahhh, this one's from after they witnessed the Five Elders getting all worked up. I see."

"Getting all worked up…!? Did I really get those girls that worked up!?"

"Oh, very much so. You know, with that massage skill you got from the Catalog before."

Ahhh, that, huh.

"Yep, I'll set these all at 100 SP."

"If there are some minor hits in there, give me a little bonus!"

"I round to nice even numbers because otherwise I tend to forget the exact figures."

The Goddess muttered something anxiety-inducing: "Hmm, what was the total SP at again?"

"Including this batch, it's 1,050 SP. Please don't forget."

"Yep, correct. That was a test of your honesty, Karina-chan. Really, truly."

That sounds suspicious, but if it really was true, I feel like I just dodged a bullet.

"Now then, finally it's time for the Five Elders' rejuvenated-female-embarrassment socks!"

The Goddess lined up five pairs of socks. And then…

Her excited smile instantly transformed into an expression of anguish, like she'd bitten down on a bitter bug.

"… Bleh. This is a disaster. This is a total disaster, Karina-chan…!!"

"Huh? Did I do something wrong?"

"Karina-chan, you made them drink potions made from your own materials, didn't you!? Three of them are completely overwritten and have turned into Karina-chan flavor…! And one was taken off beforehand, so it only has a bit of confusion in it…!"

Saying that, she flicked the three Karina-flavored pairs toward me. Whoa there. Caught them.

"I'm returning those three. Appraisal rejected… sniff."

"I-I'm sorry about that."

"No. It's my fault for not telling you beforehand. I won't give you a negative appraisal this time… Ugh, I was really looking forward to the Five Elders, so this is quite a shock. About as shocking as running into a ship I can't stand."

Hold on. Did she just casually say there'd be a negative appraisal if I did this again?

Hmm, I really need to be careful about how I handle potions from now on…

"Haaah, I'll savor this one pair that's just right, like dried squid. Hmm, I'll put these two together at 90 SP. Hmm, it'll probably take about five years for the Karina-chan flavor to fade from those. Though if they drink more, it'll probably get even stronger…"

Yeah, if it makes them younger, they'd probably drink more. I might have to give up on the socks of dwarf girls I've already given potions to.

And I need to make sure they don't spread it to other people.

"Why did you make them drink it? If it was just rejuvenation, the massage would have been enough."

"You can make them younger with just the massage!?"

"Well, it's Lv 5, after all. If you rub their whole body, their skin and mana will be all springy and fresh. It doesn't extend their lifespan, but it clears up bodily ailments so they last longer."

The Lv 5 massage was even more amazing than I'd thought. No wonder it costs 500 SP.

Anyway, this brought my total to 1,140 SP.

"… Ah. The odd number bothers me, so spend 140 SP. Right here."

"Huh? Another forced spending session?"

"Because if I don't do this, you just hoard it and never use it, Karina-chan."

The Goddess finished with a slightly grumpy pout. The Five Elders shock must still be lingering.

Looks like she won't let me leave unless I spend some…

"How about picking up the Tamer skill? You could share your vision with Arthur-kun, you know."

"If it's just vision sharing, Spatial Magic is plenty enough."

"You could also possess him and play dragon. I'll throw in a bonus and make it Lv 2."

"Oh, that does sound fun."

"You could also share senses with a slime and do this and that with girls."

"I'll buy it!!!"

Ka-ching, 1,000 SP remaining.

I can't deny that I'm being played right in the palm of the Goddess's hand, but I don't particularly dislike being played by a loli goddess, so I decided to take her recommendation.