I apologized to Dea-kun

After collecting the socks, I apologized to Dea-kun.

Even I had to admit I went a bit too far… yeah.

"Dea-kun, sorry, okay? For making you go through something so embarrassing…"

"N-no, it's fine… Um, I don't really understand any of it, but… this is all necessary for saving the world, right?"

"Urk… Y-yeah, that's right…!"

Are you a saint or something?

I'm sorry for spending the SP I earned on stuff like tapestries…!

But I used a ton of it practicing how to dote on Dea-kun without getting flustered, so it's a business expense!

… No wait, let me make a few excuses here.

This world won't perish as long as the Goddess keeps channeling energy into it. And Dea-kun's socks are an excellent "offering" to maintain the Goddess's "interest in the world"…!

In other words, Dea-kun going through embarrassing situations really does contribute to saving the world…!

Okay, excuses complete. I didn't tell a single lie! Mental reset!!

"But Onee-san, you're also going to wear a dress for the afternoon tournament, right?"

"Yep. A white gothic lolita dress. And my underwear is the same string-style design as the ones you were wearing… Oh! I'll give you my underwear after the tournament ends, so forgive me, okay!"

"Huh, ah, no, that's not what I—! I've already forgiven you!!"

Dea-kun said that while blushing a little. Forgiven. So cute.

"You don't want my underwear?"

"…! I-I'm fine…"

He's actually glancing around like he wants them a little bit… Crap, teasing Dea-kun is so fun it might become a habit. I already suspect it has. My heart won't stop racing… This is going to make it hard to hand over the underwear…!

"Anego, it's almost time."

"Oh! Is it that time already? Then let's go, Aishia saved us some seats."

"Okay, I'll be cheering for you! Ah, change of clothes—"

I sent Dea-kun off to where Aishia was.

Alriiight, now I need to head to the competitor waiting room myself!

"Anego. Dea-kun-chan hadn't changed clothes yet. That was on purpose, wasn't it?"

"Nice assist, Arthur. If things go well, maybe I can earn another pair?"

And he's going commando, too. I quietly tucked away the still-warm, adorable fabric.

So anyway, I changed into my gothic lolita outfit and teleported in casually, making it look like I'd just walked through the door to the competitor waiting room.

The waiting room was packed with competitors. Wow, musclebound macho men everywhere. They look strong.

Over there's a beastkin with a tiger face. Also looks strong.

A festival of burly men! Is that the vibe here? Me, a beautiful girl, completely out of place.

The only slender competitor is that male elf over there maintaining his bow… Isn't there, like, a beautiful lady gladiator or something? This room reeks of testosterone.

Since Aishia found this tournament for me, there shouldn't be any issues with the prize money though…

Oh right, I need to bet the money I got from Dea-kun on myself this time.

I pretended to be intimidated by the other competitors' stares and left the waiting room to head to the reception desk.

When the receptionist noticed me, they gave me a smile.

"Um, competitors can bet on their own victory, right?"

"Yes. Let's see… you're Karina-san, the D-rank adventurer. How much would you like to bet?"

"Then, 82 gold coins on my victory!"

"… Excuse me?"

I placed down the reward Dea-kun received from the earlier tournament—the betting winnings and fight money, 8 large gold coins and 2 gold coins—on the counter.

"… Are you serious?"

"I am."

I tilted my head. If I recalled correctly, there was no upper limit on how much a competitor could bet on themselves, right?

"… I'll accept it, but if you lose, you won't get a single copper coin back, you understand?"

"Yes. No problem. Please proceed."

"How am I supposed to calculate the odds on this…"

I received betting tickets worth 82 gold coins.

—As a result, I became the 8th favorite at 10-to-1 odds.