On Putting Your First Paycheck to Good Use, as Told by a Native of the Demon Realm

"With the long-running Demon Realm Collapse Recession dragging on, our store's sales have stayed below last year's numbers. Our gross margin's slipping too. To be frank, we're in a pinch."

A cramped office desk piled high with paperwork, and a coffee mug crusted over from who-knew-when. After closing, the manager's office was hosting its weekly end-of-week meeting, same as always.

Manager Seara glanced back and forth between today's working staff seated across from her, Raul and Fino, and continued.

"So, by the end of this week we need to submit a proposal to corporate on how to bring in more customers. Any good ideas?"

"Yes!"

The moment the manager asked, Fino's hand shot up with boundless enthusiasm.

For a girl who'd been bleeding from her injuries after the ex-heroes' attack, this silver-haired demonkin had been right back the next day, running around the sales floor as if nothing had happened. As one would expect of someone with the [Demon King]'s blood, her recovery wasn't just for show.

Meeting the manager's expectant gaze, Fino answered with absolute confidence.

"I think we should set up treasure chests all over the store! Put some semi-rare items in, and dumb heroes will bite every time. That's what Pops always said!"

"They will not!"

Raul shot back on reflex, while in stark contrast, the manager murmured with a perfectly straight face.

"… How much would that cost, I wonder?"

"Manager, please don't actually consider it!"

"Manager, Manager! It just so happens I know a real lively mimic…"

"What are you going to do about the customers?!"

"Fufu, that sounds wonderful. A dead-or-alive store, full of thrills and totally novel."

"Why do my customers have to be staring down some life-or-death ultimatum just for stopping in to shopppp?!"

Faced with the two of them happily riffing, Raul had run out of energy to keep playing straight man and let out a deep sigh.

And then.

As if she'd just remembered, the manager clapped her hands together with a soft pon.

"Ah, that's right."

Spinning around on her chair, she pulled something out of a half-open drawer of her desk.

"Here you go. Raul-kun, Fino-chan. This month's pay."

"…?!"

"Ah, thanks, much appreciated."

Accepting the envelope from the manager with an even expression, Raul casually turned his head, and found Fino standing stock still, holding an identical brown envelope.

"Hm? What's up, Fino?"

At Raul's question, Fino murmured, her eyes still dropped to the envelope.

"My… wages…"

"Yes. Due to the timing of the cutoff date it isn't a full month's pay, but for you, Fino-chan, this is your first paycheck, isn't it?"

The manager's eyes softened gently, and Fino nodded once.

… Huh.

Raul noticed that the girl's hands, clutching the envelope, were trembling ever so slightly. There was something endearing about Fino's reaction, and before he knew it the corners of his eyes softened.

Come to think of it, he remembered his own hands shaking from sheer emotion the first time the manager had handed him his pay.

… A first paycheck, huh.

Raul glanced down at his own arm. Around his right wrist sat a worn-out wristwatch. He'd bought it last spring with his first paycheck. It had been cheap to begin with, and since he'd worn it without fail every single day, both the clasp and the strap were thoroughly battered. Even so, he'd never felt like replacing it.

… Right. It's been a whole year already.

"… A first paycheck is something special. You should buy something memorable with yours too."

"Something… memorable…"

"Yeah."

Raul nodded, and Fino stared down at her envelope, lost in thought.

 

*

 

… He heard a scream.

It was a little before noon the day after payday. Sitting cross-legged on his bed atop a pile of discarded clothes and shoveling down the convenience-store bento that doubled as his breakfast and lunch, Raul paused his chopsticks and looked up.

A moment later, the scream came again.

And then, following it, the sound of someone struggling, footsteps thudding around.

Seriously, Raul thought. What the hell is all this fuss in the middle of a weekday? I'm already worn out from one mess after another. I'd love to get a look at the face of whichever idiot next door is…

"…?!"

The next instant, Raul tossed aside his half-eaten bento and sprang off the bed. He jammed his feet into his shoes, burst out the front door, and pounded on his neighbor's.

"Fino?! Hey, Fino?!"

Today was Magic Shop Leon's weekly day off. Fino, who had the same day off as he did, should have been in her room unless she had something to do.

After a moment's hesitation, he steeled himself and gripped the doorknob. It turned smoothly, without any resistance.

The give in the handle sent a horrible chill through him. The hand gripping the knob went cold all at once. Slamming the door open with his shoulder, Raul plunged into Fino's room.

"Fino?! Fi…!"

He stood in the middle of the room and looked around… And then he lost all words.

A bare, empty room with nothing in it but the built-in table and bed. A window thrown wide open, creaking in the breeze. A half-eaten piece of bread rolled across the floor, and a toppled white mug.

… And yet.

In the single-room six-tatami apartment, the same as Raul's own, the owner of that scream, the girl who'd been here just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.

 

*

 

His heart was pounding hard enough to drum in his ears. The floor felt like it had dropped out from under him, and his vision darkened.

Why, why hadn't he noticed? It wouldn't have been strange if her address had been leaked by now, and for all he knew, Fino didn't even know she had to lock her door. And yet, and yet, I… I didn't even think of that, didn't realize…!

… And then it happened.

Raul felt a presence behind him and his whole body went rigid. He tried to spin around on reflex, but didn't make it in time.

The next moment, a tremendous impact slammed into his back.

… Something soft pressed against him, and he felt hot breath on the back of his neck. Hands snaked around from his sides to his stomach and clutched a tight fistful of his shirt.

"Rauuuuul!!!!"

Clinging to his back from behind.

"A-a-a-a-a demon appearedddddd!!!!!!!"

… With tears in her voice, the girl pointed at the corner of the room.

 

*

 

Bare skin under a single cheap promotional T-shirt, one Raul had given her some time ago. Through the thin fabric, almost sheer enough to see her skin through, he could feel the girl's body heat, her pounding pulse, and an indescribable, top-grade softness.

"Fino?! Weren't you abducted…?!"

… The moment he glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes were drawn to the indecent stretch of pale thigh peeking out from under the hem of her shirt, and various complicated emotions hit him all at once. Looking away and trying to keep his voice steady, Raul asked the question, and Fino, in her own slightly unsteady voice, fired right back.

"Wh-what are you saying in this emergency?! Hah… I see, so you've been caught in a demon's illusion, have you?! Wake up, Raul!!"

"… Huh?"

"There! On that wall!! It's still there!! Look!!!!!!"

Fino, looking utterly panicked, pointed at the wall in question, and Raul turned his gaze that way.

… After a moment, he muttered flatly.

"… That's just a cock-roacharia, isn't it?"

"Wha… you know this thing's name?!"

Hiding behind Raul's back, Fino swallowed audibly.

"Cock-roacharia… I see, the name itself sounds appropriately ghastly… Cock-roa… ugh, just saying it sets my warrior's shivers off, what a terrifying creature…"

"… So you mean to tell me, this is what all the fuss was about?"

A black bug about the size of a thumb, perched on the wall.

When Raul asked in a dumbfounded tone, Fino nodded, fast and emphatic.

"I-it was suddenly right next to me! I was eating bread and there it was, right beside me! When I jumped back in a panic the thing climbed up the door to the front entrance at unbelievable speed, and then it flew at me!!"

"… … … … Uh-huh."

"To seal the entrance, cut off my retreat, and then launch its attack… what a fearsome strategist! If I hadn't managed to escape out the window, who knows what would've become of me… I-it's horrifying just to imagine…"

"… … … … Oh."

"Then, while I was clinging to the outer wall watching for an opening, Raul came in…"

"… … … … Hm."

"Wh-why are you so calm?!"

At Raul's deeply unimpressed reactions, Fino flailed her arms.

"The sensation that ran down my spine the moment I laid eyes on this thing… there's no mistake, this creature is dangerous! This aura, it might even rival Pops's…"

"It does not."

… Uh, hey there, [Demon King], sir? Your daughter is casually putting her father in the same league as a cock-roacharia, you know?

Honestly, Raul let out a sigh in spite of himself… Give me back the worry I wasted.

"Making this much of a fuss over a stupid cock-roacharia… Are you really a demonkin? More importantly, this apartment's old, so right around now, you're going to be seeing these guys pretty much every day."

"What?!"

A look of pure shock settled over Fino's face. And seeing that reaction, somehow, Raul couldn't help but want to mess with her a little.

"Kitchen, bathroom, toilet… Well, you know what they say. If you see one cock-roacharia, there's twenty more lurking nearby."

"～～!!!!!!!!!!"

At Raul's nonchalant words, Fino let out a soundless scream.

She immediately clutched at his shirt again, and with a half-tearful expression, looked up at him pleadingly.

"No… it's so scary… Raul… you're used to these, right…"

Tears welled in her eyes as she peered up at him.

"… Please… get rid of it…"

"…"

Her expression was nothing like her usual self-assured tone, and it tugged hard at his protective instincts… At the same time, his gaze nearly slipped to something he really shouldn't be looking at down the collar of her T-shirt, and Raul nodded hastily.

"F-fine, that's fine and all, but… Hey, do you have any old newspapers or paper or anything?"

"Ah, if newspaper's okay, there's some in the closet over there."

"Right, great… wait, you're subscribing to a newspaper?!"

When Raul's voice rose despite himself, Fino tilted her head, puzzled.

"Huh, of course? In a dizzyingly changing social climate, a shop like ours has to keep its antennae high if it's going to survive. Also, the first month is a free trial."

"… … … …"

… Somehow feeling thoroughly defeated, Raul rolled up the newspaper Fino handed him. With an improvised weapon in hand, he pulled himself together and approached the small black creature still clinging motionless to the wall.

Feeling Fino's gaze on him as she held her breath and watched, he advanced slowly, slowly. Quietly, quietly, he raised the newspaper…

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!"

In that instant.

The thing abruptly sprang into motion and, in the blink of an eye, vanished into the gap between the bed and the wall.

"… … … … Ah."

Awkwardly, Raul turned around, and there was Fino, gripping the hem of her T-shirt, eyes glaring at him in extraordinarily teary betrayal.

"Rauuul…"

"O-okay, look, the point is, we can't see it anymore, so all's well that ends well…"

"That's not okay!!"

"… Yeah."

… Right, I knew that.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Raul cocked it to one side.

"Mmm, it'd be great if we had some bug spray."

"Bug… spray?"

"You put it in the room and the cock-roacharia goes away. Well, to put it in your terms, it's an item for sealing demons."

"Wha…?!"

In that instant, Fino lunged at Raul with terrifying intensity. With a fierce expression, like she was about to grab him by the collar, she opened her mouth.

"Th-this 'bug spray', where do you get it?! In what dungeon does it lie?! What kind of legendary divine beast guards it?!"

"No… you just buy it at a store in town…"

"…?!"

In that instant.

With a look full of expectation, Fino fixed Raul with an intense stare.

 

*

 

The hem of her one good hooded parka swayed bravely.

With the expression of a soldier marching off to war, Fino solemnly opened her mouth.

"L-let's go."

But her words and her actions didn't match; the girl didn't move. Cradling a shopping basket, she took a deep breath, gazed at the brown envelope in her hand, glanced at the bug spray in the basket, took another deep breath…

"You… Is this your first time shopping?"

At Raul's question, Fino, stiff with tension, nodded.

"First time having my own money… First time entering a store as a customer…"

"… But you do this kind of thing all the time at work."

"True, but… there's a huge difference between being the customer and being the clerk!"

Shaking her head, Fino opened her mouth nervously.

"Hey, Raul, this'll be okay, right? I can actually buy it, right? They won't say something like 'we don't sell to you', will they?!"

"… If you want, I could buy it for you instead."

When Raul offered, Fino's eyes wavered for a moment, as if torn. But then she shook her head, resolute.

"… No, I'll buy it myself. Just watch me. I'm going to make this a perfect purchase…!"

With that declaration, basket in hand, the girl marched, this time for real, toward the register.

With a sigh, Raul followed after.

"A-uh… E-excuse me…"

Fino stammered as she set the basket on the counter, and the auntie at the general store beamed at her.

"Welcome. Do you have a member's card?"

"Uh, ah, um… no, I don't…"

"Would you like to make one?"

"Th-that… Uh… wh-what do I do, Raul?"

A masterful pre-emptive strike from the auntie. Fino turned to him for help, and Raul scratched his head as he looked down at her.

"… I mean, it's a store close to our apartment, so making one wouldn't hurt, right?"

"O-okay! Th-then, please make me one!"

"Yes. Fill out this form, please."

The auntie produced a paper and pen from a drawer, and Fino leaned over the counter to fill it in. Out of curiosity, Raul peeked over to look at what she was writing.

"Let's see, Fino Bloodstone…"

Fino was writing in her usual beautiful hand, and Raul found himself impressed all over again.

"Occupation, demon…"

"Uaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!"

… Despairing all over again at this thoroughly idiotic demonkin, Raul snatched the pen out of her hand.

"Wh-what are you doing?!"

"What are you doing?! Do you have any idea of the situation you're in?!"

"… But Raul, you're not supposed to lie on these things, you know?"

Fino looked up at him, holding out her hand and lecturing him gently.

"Here, give it back?"

"Ugh…"

… As galling as it was, she had a point. Raul handed the pen back, biting his tongue, and Fino resumed writing.

"Occupation, magic-tool retail employee (part-time), there we go."

"Ah…"

"Um… Is this… okay?"

While Fino handed the form to the auntie, Raul made excuses to himself. I mean, I thought she was going to write something stupid again like 'demonkin' or 'heir to the [Demon King]'… damn it.

"Yes, here's your store loyalty card. Don't lose it."

"Ah, thank you!"

"Now, with one item, that comes to 798 gold."

"S-s-seven hundred and ninety-eight gold!"

Nodding emphatically, Fino went to take out the money, and the moment she did, she flipped her pay envelope over with all her might.

… She'd put a little too much force into it.

"～～～～～～～!!!!!?"

Coins spilled from the envelope and scattered across the entire floor with a tremendous racket, while the demonkin girl wore the face of someone watching the end of the world.

Half in tears, Fino scrambled to crawl across the floor after them.

 

*

 

"… All sorts of stuff happened, but at least you got it bought in the end, yeah?"

The general store's door swung shut behind them with a cheerful chime. Stepping out onto the cobblestone sidewalk, Raul turned to the girl beside him.

But there was no response. When Raul glanced over, the girl walking beside him was staring down at the paper bag in her arms.

"What's wrong? … Don't tell me you're still hung up on that little stumble back there…"

"… … … … I bought it."

Abruptly, Fino murmured.

"?"

"With money I earned myself, I bought something…"

In front of a puzzled Raul, Fino's head snapped up.

"Hey, Raul! Don't you think this is incredible?!"

"… Huh?"

"I mean!"

Shaking her head impatiently, Fino blinked her large eyes rapidly and went on, growing more excited.

"I'm not working for someone else's sake… I mean, sure, it makes me happy when customers are pleased, but my real goal is to earn the money I need to live. I work for myself. And the same's probably true for everyone. For you, Raul, and for the manager, and for that auntie back there, too!"

"… And what about it?"

… Why's she suddenly stating the obvious like that?

The pair walked side-by-side beneath the neatly maintained roadside trees. Raul wore an exasperated look, but Fino kept going with deadly seriousness.

"But because of that, the customer gets to buy what they want. And then the customer's money becomes my paycheck, and I go and buy things at other stores. And the things I buy might just be things that the customers at our shop helped make, you know?"

"So what's all this about…?"

"Come on! Look!"

Whirling around to step in front of Raul on her small frame, Fino stretched out her thin arms and gestured at the assorted shops lined along both sides of the street.

"Tailors make clothes for money. Bakers bake bread for money. Not for someone else's sake, for their own. And yet we wear the clothes they make, and we fill our stomachs with the bread they bake. Through money, everyone's buying everyone else's labor with their own labor! That's how human society works. In other words…"

Earnestly, doing her best to put it in stumbling words, voice burning with excitement, Fino looked up at Raul.

"Everyone's working for themselves, but it still ends up helping everyone else! Don't you think that's an amazing system?! Who on earth came up with this?! Humans really are incredible!"

Her eyes sparkled, and Fino murmured "Incredible!" over and over.

… Despite himself, Raul felt as if scales had fallen from his eyes.

Working, earning money, buying things. To him, all of this was so ordinary that he'd never given it any deep thought. But once he registered that each person working for themselves added up to the comfortable lives they all lived, then sure enough, just as Fino said, it really did start to seem like something incredible.

… Honestly, Raul thought, and his eyes softened. This demonkin girl might look like a fool, but she was sharp. She might seem oblivious, but maybe she saw the world more clearly than anyone.

"Somehow, it's finally starting to feel real… So this is what my labor is…!"

Fino hugged the paper bag tight against her chest, full of affection, and let out a giggle she couldn't quite hold back.

"Hey, Raul! I want to buy more stuff…!"

"… All right, then."

Watching the girl get so excited like this, Raul started feeling kind of pumped himself.

"While we're out, let's go to the Market!"

When Raul made the suggestion, Fino's face lit up and she nodded "Yeah!"

 

*

 

"…!"

Passing through a dark, narrow alley between tall stone buildings that felt like the bottom of a canyon, they emerged all at once into a wide open scene, and Fino's eyes shone.

"Amazing!"

In the pleasant warmth of a spring afternoon, every direction was packed with stalls and tents as far as the eye could see, and the crowds between them spilled over in every direction. Out of the bustle and clamor and vibrancy, every color imaginable washed into view.

Baskets and barrels overflowing with vegetables and fruits, each with a hand-written price tag beside it. Glass jars stuffed full of candies and baked sweets. Tarts and giant-crab pies steaming under shop awnings. Stacks of vividly colored silk woven in Unitia, and ornaments wrought of elm-silver. Iridescent stones from the eastern island country where the [Heavenfolk] lived, each chip worth enough to buy a house. Jars of all sizes filled with thick, amber-colored liquid that gave off a sweet smell. Bulging hemp sacks piled directly on the cobblestones outside shopfronts. The smell of grilled meat drifting in from somewhere set his salivary glands tingling.

Beneath cloth canopies of every color and shape and size, every kind of merchandise imaginable was laid out, and the shopkeepers were calling out competing pitches at the top of their lungs. Countless banners strung overhead snapped in the wind above the bustling crowds, and far beyond them stood Exrediar Castle, the heart of the United Kingdom of Everead.

The Free Market sat on the eastern side of the central plaza, where the two main streets that bisected the capital met. Even on a weekday it was packed, and watching the lively crowd, you'd think the recession was happening in some other world entirely.

"Kya!"

"?!"

A wagon drawn by a small dark-green dragon brushed past Fino, who let out a small shriek. Raul hurriedly grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her aside, scolding her.

"Honestly. Look away for a second and you'll get run over by a dragoncart, you know?"

"Hey."

But Fino pointed at the back of the dragoncart that had nearly flattened her and asked in a puzzled tone.

"I've been wondering for a while now, why do you people go to the trouble of making dragons pull your carts? Why not just make a cart out of a magic item?"

"… And how would you move it, exactly?"

Raul replied with a half-lidded look of exasperation.

"To move a cart big enough for a person to ride in, you'd need at minimum 40 kilowart of 'Magic Power Consumption'. The average human's 'Magic Capacity' is 5 kilobyle. No matter how you slice it, that's not enough."

"Kilo… wart? Kilobyle?"

"… Ah, right, you guys don't know this stuff."

Asked back, puzzled, Raul made a troubled face.

"One kilobyle is the 'Magic Capacity' you'd need to run something with one kilowart of 'Magic Power Consumption' for one hour. So, say, an item on the level of that hair dryer you broke the other day. Meaning a human with 5 kilobyle of 'Magic Capacity' can use a hair dryer for five hours; in that case their 'Magic Output' would be 10 ampyle, and once you go over 50 ampyle the 'Breaker' usually trips…"

"Whoa, hey, Raul, what's that?! That blue thing over there!"

"… … … …"

Well, whatever, Raul thought, and opened his mouth with a resigned look.

"Hey, don't get separated. Make sure you stick close…"

But Raul's words trailed off mid-sentence.

What caught his eye was a stall they happened to be passing. A metal plate hanging from the awning marked it as a weapon dealer, and on the cloth-draped display stand sat a row of swords. Raul's gaze was drawn to one of them in particular.

"An Aplia i-Sword series sword, and a 3rd-model, the popular one, no less…"

The drawn blade gleamed brilliantly. The length, the width, it looked perfectly sized for use, and the eye-catching jet-black hilt looked cool. A crescent moon engraved as an accent on the lower right of the sheath looked stylish too…

The recession had bankrupted them, but Aplia, with its refined designs and simple, reliable usability, used to be a popular maker beloved by many heroes, alongside the old-guard Imperial Co. Back when Raul still believed without a doubt that he would become a hero, he'd collected weapon and armor catalogs to flip through in preparation for his future. He didn't know fashion brands at all, but he knew weapon brands inside and out.

If I equipped that, I'd look so damn cool…

Recalling the dull, dreary blade at the shop, one he hated to even call a weapon, Raul sighed and glanced at the price tag, then his eyes went wide.

… Wait, 100,000 gold…?!

Pro-grade swords like this were forged with serious effort to withstand "Magic Output". A while back, this would have run two million gold minimum. No wonder weapon companies are going out of business, Raul thought, in a strange sort of way satisfied.

Of course, given his income, 100,000 was a lot. But it wasn't beyond reach if he stretched. Now that becoming a hero wasn't on the table, he might not need one, but buying a new sword wasn't a bad idea either, Raul thought. It was a dangerous world, and there were those ex-heroes targeting Fino, after all… wait!

"Fino?!"

Snapping back to reality, Raul hurriedly scanned the area… and just as he'd feared.

… Fino was nowhere to be seen.

 

*

 

"Fino!"

His voice was swallowed up by the crowd's clamor as soon as he shouted. But Raul refused to give up, and shouted again at the top of his lungs.

"Fino! Fino?!"

He scanned the overflowing crowd frantically, looking for Fino's silver hair and hooded parka. But there wasn't a girl matching that description anywhere.

Thinking she might have gone on ahead, he pressed forward. Thinking she might be even further along, he pressed further. Wondering if he'd overshot her, he turned back, repeating this over and over, zigzagging through the Market, but Fino was nowhere to be found.

As the minutes ticked by with nothing to show for it, the worry in Raul began to mount.

The grossly lopsided civilizational gap between the royal capital region and the frontier, brought on by advances in magic-item technology. As Airi had been saying recently, the capital, whose population had ballooned several times over in the last decade or so, had seen its public order deteriorate badly because of the Demon Realm Collapse Recession. While not as bad as the new slums sprawling out at the capital's edges, the area around the Market couldn't exactly be called safe either… And on top of that, Fino was being hunted.

A group of armed, ill-tempered-looking men loitering on the corner caught his eye, and Raul's heart skipped.

It's fine, he told himself. She's not a little kid. She's surprisingly capable, quick on her feet, and ought to be able to take care of herself… But.

What if she'd wandered into a deserted street? What if a group of guys had cornered her and dragged her into an alley? What if she'd walked into some shady shop and gotten kidnapped?

The seed of unease in his chest swelled by the second. Worst-case scenarios kept springing to mind. To shake them off, Raul drew in another breath.

"Fi…!"

"Raul! So there you are!!"

That instant.

The moment he heard the voice behind him, Raul felt the tension drain from his shoulders.

"Fino! … Honestly, that's my line. Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you…?!"

Hiding his relief behind a put-upon scowl, he turned around, ready to scold her.

… And lost his words.

… Silver hair tumbling down her shoulders, and smooth, rose-tinted cheeks. A neat white blouse with a large ribbon at the collar. Slender, dainty arms and legs peeking out from a dress trimmed generously with frills.

The girl smiling happily at him was a delicate beauty unlike anything he'd seen before… No.

"So, you know, I was looking around the shop and they suddenly pulled me into the back, and the shop's onee-san put me into this. So? Well? Does it suit me?"

"Wait… Fino?!"

"What's that, Raul… Forgotten my face already?"

Saying so mischievously, the beautiful girl who was, evidently… Fino…? apparently… bounded over and latched onto Raul's arm.

"… W-why are you still wearing it?!"

When Raul protested in flustered tones, Fino sniffed proudly.

"What, didn't you know? There's a famous saying: 'Weapons and armor are pointless if you don't equip them after you buy them.'"

"… No, that is clearly not armor by any stretch."

"Raul… Shopping is so much fun!"

Still clinging to him, she rubbed her cheek against his upper arm, eyes squeezed shut in bliss. The girl pressed flush against him, her unguarded nape, a sweet milky scent… A ticklish sensation ran up Raul's spine, and unable to take it any longer, he raised his voice.

"Fino, you, don't stick to me like that… hey, wait, when did you…?"

"Hm?"

"How much did you buy, anyway?!"

The girl, puzzled, pulled away and blinked down at the bags hanging from each of her arms, then puffed out her chest proudly.

"Ah! This dress, and a wooden bear figurine, and a pennant, and a kokeshi doll, and a vase, and a name seal… oh right, I bought a wallet too! Look! A golden wallet made from tsuchinoko leather, for storing up good fortune!"

"… … … …"

… Take your eyes off her for a second, and she's gone and bought a string of disappointing junk.

A dull headache settled in, and Raul brought a hand to his head despite himself.

"… You sure you're okay buying all that?"

"Hah hah hah, no problem! I came out exactly even! Don't underestimate my math skills!"

"… And how do you plan on living until next payday?"

"Eh?"

In that instant.

… The endlessly carefree, idiotic look on Fino's face froze solid.

 

*

 

At the edge of the Market, where the crowd had thinned a bit.

Fino was still looking around in every direction, but at least this time she was properly walking beside Raul, until she suddenly cried out and came to a stop.

"Ah, hey hey, Raul, look at that! Look, that!"

He stopped when his sleeve was tugged, and looked in the direction Fino was pointing… and then, after a moment, quietly asked,

"… Didn't you just buy a wooden bear figurine?"

"But that one's got a fish in its mouth! That's not fair! Pulling out something like that after the fact, it's underhanded! I have to buy it!"

"… You've got no salary left."

Stumped by Raul's calm jab, Fino let out a faltering groan. Raul kept walking without mercy, and Fino pattered along beside him in silence.

And then.

Fino stopped again.

"… What now. What did you find this time? Another bear? A wooden dragon? Or maybe a vase that talks to your ancestors?"

Raul muttered in exasperation as he stopped, and then a savory aroma tickled his nose.

What Fino's gaze had landed on was a crêpe stall with a green roof.

The batter spread thin on the iron griddle turned color in seconds, and with a deft flick was flipped over neatly. A pat of butter dropped in the middle, and across the golden, melting surface, glittering sugar was sprinkled. The finishing touch was a tight squeeze of lemon, its bright, snapping scent…

… A small grumbling sound came from Raul's elbow.

"… … … …"

Glancing over, he saw Fino, with a deadly serious expression, literally devouring the crêpe with her eyes as it was rolled up.

… Honestly.

Letting out a sigh, Raul abruptly stepped over to the stall.

"Excuse me, one of those crêpes, please."

"?!"

Fino blinked her wide eyes at Raul in surprise. When he took the wrapped crêpe from the stall's owner and handed it to her, the girl spoke up with a bewildered expression.

"Raul, I… I don't have any money…"

"… It's fine. I'll treat you."

"… Well, I am your senpai, after all," Raul muttered, but Fino still seemed hesitant.

"Crêêêpe…"

… At last, the temptation got the better of her. Looking timid, the girl bit into the still-steaming crêpe.

"…!!!!!!"

The moment she did.

"Rauuuul…"

Holding the crêpe tight, Fino slowly looked up at Raul.

"… Incredible… something like this, for the first time… Raaaul… what do I do…"

… Honestly, it was more of a reaction than he'd expected.

"Raaaul… mn… it's so good…"

A breathy, enraptured note slipped from the girl's lips. Cheeks flushed, unable to bear this unknown pleasure; her dazed eyes, fixed on Raul as if pleading something. The far-too-sultry look on her face left Raul flustered, and to hide his embarrassment he blurted out the first gruff thing that came to mind.

"… Speaking of, what were you eating before this, if you had no money?"

"For food… the manager… used to feed me…"

"The manager?! W-wait, you don't mean her homemade bento?!"

Raul leaned in despite himself, but Fino, still half in a dream, murmured.

"Bread… crusts…"

"… Bread crusts?"

"Yeah… she gave me a huge garbage bag full, and every day, I ate those…"

… In that moment, an unbearable feeling settled in Raul's chest, and his expression softened against his will… Manager. Your refusal to coddle her excessively is admirable and all, but, that, that's a little…

"And besides that, pigeons, and, also, sparrows…"

"Hey, hey, hold on!"

His outburst seemed to bring Fino back from her trance. After blinking a few times, she puffed out her chest proudly, crêpe still in hand.

"You don't get balanced nutrition just from bread. Don't worry, I always cooked them through. There's, what was it, bird flu? Apparently that's going around. How about that, Raul! I read the paper every day, just like you said…"

"That's not the issue! And now that I think about it, the mornings have been weirdly quiet recently… so you were the one behind itttt!"

… Somehow, he was just out of energy, and resigned to all of this. As Raul let his shoulders sag, something was suddenly thrust out in front of him.

"?"

For a moment he didn't catch the intent. Raul looked up, and on the other side of the crêpe, the cute girl in the fluffy dress smiled, eyes sparkling with expectation.

"Hey, Raul, you too! This 'crêêêpe' thing, it's so tasty!"

"… … … …"

"Come on… open up?"

The brightest smile, and a look full of expectation.

… After agonizing over it for a while, he finally, hesitantly, took the tiniest little nibble from the edge.

"… It's good."

He'd held back too much, so all he'd ended up with was a bit of plain crêpe. But really.

… That crêpe was incredibly good.

 

*

 

"Thanks so much for today!"

In front of her apartment's well-worn door, Fino laughed.

"You even installed the bug spray for me. As I expected, you're a good guy, Raul. So this means that horrible demon's been sealed away, right? Heh, mere child's play…"

"… The label said it lasts for three months, you know."

"Eh."

For a moment, despair flashed across her face… Well, I can just buy more, she muttered to herself, and Raul looked up at the sky.

"Well, I didn't have any plans today anyway, so it's fine, I guess…"

As Raul murmured what sounded like an excuse, Fino suddenly spoke up.

"Raul… close your eyes."

"Eh?"

"Just do it, hurry up."

"Eh… ah…"

He did as he was told and closed his eyes. The soft rustle of cloth, and the sense of the girl moving closer… and then it finally hit him, and Raul's heart skipped.

This, uh, could it be… no, no way… but…

The presence drew closer, and his pulse rose unbidden. Imagining the warmth and softness of the girl's lips, Raul gulped, and at that very moment.

… Something was pressed into Raul's hand.

"…?"

… A texture different from what he'd been imagining. When he opened his eyes, a small paper bag was resting on his palm, and when he looked up, Fino was smiling proudly.

"I found it earlier, at the Market."

As she spoke, Fino narrowed her large blue eyes shyly.

"… Look, you said before to buy something memorable, right? So here, take this. You really are always doing things for me…"

I mean, what I meant was something memorable for you…

He tried to say it, but somehow, the words wouldn't come out.

A warm sensation welled up from deep in his chest. Ripples of emotion spread through his whole body, and his fingertips went numb with the tingle. Raul, completely at a loss for words, watched as Fino opened her mouth bashfully.

"… Well, it's not that big a deal, and it's a cheap one. But it's the real deal, no doubt about it. I never thought I'd see such a rare item being sold in a place like that… You know… I hope it… makes a good memento…"

"Fino… you…"

"… Raul, open it?"

"Ah, ah…"

Urged on by Fino, suppressing the eagerness inside, Raul opened the bag.

… The next instant, he found himself muttering.

"… What in the world is this?"

What rolled out of the bag was, well, he wasn't quite sure, but it was clearly a piece of obvious sinister-looking junk. From a chunk of dark metal worked all over with grotesque detailing, several aggressive spikes jutted out, and from one part, a chain as red as blood dangled.

"Heheh, brace yourself!"

In front of a baffled Raul, Fino, still in her frilly dress, answered with absolute confidence.

"It's a strap containing the hair of a hero who came this close to defeating the [Demon King]!"

"Don't say 'It's a strap'!!"

At Raul's full-volume shout, Fino sniffed proudly.

"This is a super popular item back in the Demon Realm! If you have one, you're a pretty big deal! Wow, I never thought one would've leaked into the human world!"

"Don't let them leak out! Consume your own products at home! Hraaaagh!!"

Raul reflexively cocked back his arm, and was about to whip the object against the wall in textbook form, when he noticed a horrifying fact.

"Wait, why won't this thing come off my hand?!"

"Ah, that's because it's a cursed item."

Fino casually informed the panicked Raul.

"Once you equip it, you can't take it off. So, you know, I thought it'd make a good memento."

"A memento of what?! And damn it, this thing really won't come off!!"

"Hah hah hah! I'm glad you like it!"

"You stupid demonkinnnn!!!!!"

… And so.

Raul came into possession of a rare item: a cursed strap (containing the hair of a hero who came this close to defeating the [Demon King]).