I Was Thinking About an Entertainment-Focused Renovation, But...

"… Hey, Raul."

A pretty face with a lingering touch of childishness, framed by smooth silver hair, peeked up. A small notebook lay open on the cramped register counter of Magic Shop Leon, a magic ballpoint clutched in one hand. Eyes so deep blue you felt you might be drawn into them fixed on him, and the girl asked in an oddly serious tone:

"So, this 'death,' as in 'moshi-mo death'… what sort of way to die is that, exactly?"

"It's not a way to die!!"

The one who reflexively bellowed back at her was Raul, a thoroughly plain-looking boy with black hair.

"'Moshi-moshi' is the standard phrase you say when you pick up a 'MagicPhone'! It's a set greeting! A hello!!"

"Hmm. That's confusing."

"It's not confusing in the slightest! And anyway, who in the world opens a conversation by leading with cause of death?! Where do you even take it from there?!"

"Huh? Humans don't get fired up about their favorite causes of death?"

The girl's big eyes went round, looking genuinely taken aback.

"It's a classic icebreaker. Doesn't matter who you're talking to. When you don't know what to say to a demonkin you've just met, trot this out and you can't go wrong…"

"In what universe?! I've lived seventeen years and not once has that topic come up!"

"Incidentally, my personal favorite is dying of rage."

"How am I supposed to know?! What do you want me to do with that?! Am I supposed to say 'My, what a fine hobby you have'?!"

… Unfazed, the new hire kept lobbing problem statements at her senpai, and Raul could practically see his mental stamina gauge dwindling by the second. His cries for help echoed hollowly through the deserted shop, and…

"… What's going on, what's going on. The heck's got you so worked up, Raul-kun…"

"Ah, Assistant Manager."

The one who shuffled out of the sales floor at Raul's voice was, as ever, the visibly disengaged red-haired man: Assistant Manager Visor Crossroad. With his superior of the day on the scene, Raul instinctively straightened up.

"Right, so, I was just teaching Fino how to handle the MagicPhone, and…"

"Hmm? You hadn't taught her that yet? Normally that's the next thing after the register, in order."

"No, well… see, she still can't do polite speech properly, and the Manager told me to prioritize any customers who came in, so I figured I didn't have to force it just yet… and…"

Raul trailed off under the Assistant Manager's surprised look, then, after a beat, added quietly:

"… There just weren't any customers, so I'd run out of other things to do."

"… … … …"

… In that very instant.

Wearing the most awkward expression imaginable, the Assistant Manager slowly turned his gaze toward the shop's entrance door, which, ever since opening, had not so much as twitched.

Raul Chaser. A hapless boy who, despite training from a young age for the sole purpose of becoming a [Hero], had his dream torn out from under him when the [Demon King] was defeated just before his [Hero Exam]. But his misfortunes did not end there: through a long string of twists, he ended up taking a (full-time!) job at a tiny chain magic shop.

Fino Bloodstone. A staggeringly cute girl with shimmering silver hair and sparkling blue eyes. But the true identity of this new part-timer was the heir to the previous [Demon King], the daughter of the [Demon King] household…

A demonkin girl, born and raised in the lawless, might-makes-right wasteland known as the Demon Realm in the north of the continent, with a value system worlds removed from any human's. There was no way she could pull off proper customer service, and the hardships of Raul, appointed her training officer, were frankly beyond description.

"… Buut, man…"

Still eyeing the unmoving entrance door, the Assistant Manager scratched his head in defeat.

"This block's off-center of the main district, and we're stuck on a back alley, so sure, the location's bad. But an hour after opening with zero customers? That's a new record. I've been at the Royal Capital Store a long time, and I've never seen this…"

"It's true, sales have been slipping all through this recession, but even so, we'd always had at least one customer in here at any given moment…"

"Weird, huh…"

"Weird, yeah…"

"Something's off…"

As the Assistant Manager and Raul exchanged troubled looks, Fino, for some reason, shrugged along with them as though she belonged in the conversation.

"And here I came in earlier than usual this morning to spruce up the front of the shop, too…"

"Oh…!"

In spite of himself, Raul let out an impressed little noise at Fino's words.

… Yeah, that's right. This girl might be a know-nothing demonkin in most respects, but as a part-timer she shows up to the shop earlier than anyone, cleans the break room and the bathroom, sweeps inside the counter, picks up litter on the street out front… she's just a hard worker, all in, a total grinder.

"Good job, Fino."

"Eheheh."

When Raul patted her head in praise, Fino's cherry-colored lips parted in a pleased smile, and she puffed out her uniformed chest with pride.

"Actually, see, I made a 'Poison Swamp' in front of the shop! You know, the kind that damages you when you step in it! Total staple around your home base, right?! I just copied what we had around the [Demon King]'s castle (my parents' house), but thanks to it, this shop's got a lot more atmospheri…"

"FILL IT BACK IN!!!!"

… Take it all back. The instant Raul roared with all his might, Fino's face turned sulky.

"Aww, but I worked so hard digging iiit…"

"'Worked so hard digging it,' my ass! Why are you putting your full strength into turning away the people who might come?! And setting that aside, you don't get to inflict damage on customers right at the shopfront!!"

"Fuhahaha, it's fine! I've already deployed antidote grass, healing herbs, and holy water stacked up on the wagon right by the entrance! I'd never overlook a thing!"

"It's not fine?! Maybe you think you were being thoughtful, but that's not kindness, that's not anything?! You're just staging a problem so you can fix it yourself!!"

"B-but at the meeting the other day, the Manager said, didn't she? 'The age where you could sell things just by lining them up is over. From now on, when there is no demand, we should make the effort to create demand'…"

"That doesn't mean you inflict status ailments on customers!!!"

Faced with Raul, who'd been pushed past the point of reasoning with, even Fino flailed a little.

"But digging that all by myself was super hard, you know?! The paving stones especially were a real boss fight, and honestly, I almost broke down so many times…"

"No, that's the part where you should have given up!!"

"Look, this shovel callus! It hurts a ton when you touch it, you know?!"

"I don't care!! … Ahh, whatever, just come on!!"

Snarling, Raul seized Fino by the scruff of her neck. Hauled off helplessly by a senior coworker more than a head taller than her, Fino still thrashed in defiance to the last.

"N-noooo! Don't fill it back iiin! After I worked so haaard! Look, the malevolent miasma drifting in from outside is the best part, isn't it?!"

"Don't fill the shop with malevolent gas!! … Geez. I'll air this place out top to bottom later… Assistant Manager, I'm putting one bottle of holy water through as a business expense, all right?!"

"A-ah, yeah… well… thanks, then…"

The Assistant Manager was clearly half-recoiling, both from the new part-timer's runaway antics, which routinely outstripped anything he could imagine, and from the sheer ferocity of Raul standing up to her. Ignoring his superior entirely, Raul hauled Fino out of the shop by the collar, looking absolutely thunderous.

"… … … …" "… … … …" "… … … …"

Cheeks still puffed out in displeasure, Fino sulked in front of the magic register with her arms crossed.

Beside the girl, Raul let his gaze drop with a sigh, staring at the half-dried mud crusted onto his apron.

The Assistant Manager, hands braced behind him, leaned listlessly back against the register counter.

… After a long, long silence.

"… … … … Raul-kun."

Looking up at the high ceiling, dimly lit by the magic lamps, the Assistant Manager murmured, as if for confirmation:

"… The Poison Swamp out front, you filled it in, right?"

"… Yes, I filled it in."

As Raul nodded, the Assistant Manager slowly rolled his head, eyeing the still-stubbornly-unmoving entrance door with deliberate care before opening his mouth again.

"… … … … Customers aren't coming."

"… … … … Customers really aren't coming."

"Why isn't anyone coming?!"

The instant Raul agreed with him, the Assistant Manager sprang upright, grabbed him by the collar, and started shaking him roughly back and forth.

"Why aren't any customers coming?! Wasn't it supposed to be Fino-kun's Poison Swamp?! And why does this have to happen on the one day the Manager's off and I'm in charge?! What did good, virtuous me ever do to deserve this?! … Uuugh, Raul-kun, what do you think, Raul-kun…?"

"I-I don't know!… and could you let me go, Assistant Manager…"

"Ahhh… at this rate, the Manager's definitely going to kill me…"

… Treated like an exhausting nuisance by a subordinate more than a decade his junior, the Assistant Manager reluctantly released him, sank his head into his hands with a tragic expression, then suddenly looked up as if struck by inspiration.

"Th-that's it. Raul-kun, head out to the main street, pick off some random passerby with a convenient story, and drag them back. Like, 'You've got a death omen that's no joke,' or 'If you don't buy a magic item from us you'll be cursed with misfortune,' or something along those lines…"

"Wha… n-no way!! Why do I have to run a shady-business hustle like that?!"

"H-hmm… in that case, Fino-kun, how about you…? Fino-kun's a good kid, so for the sake of her poor pitiful Assistant Manager, a little extra effort is nothing, right…?"

"… … … … Raul filled it in."

Even as the desperate Assistant Manager shook her by the shoulders, Fino slowly rolled her head and shot Raul an exceedingly resentful look.

"… … … … The Poison Swamp I worked so hard to make, Raul filled it in."

"O-of course I filled it in!!!!"

As Raul lost his cool again, the Assistant Manager, still clinging to Fino, switched into a creepy honey-sweet wheedling voice.

"… Hey, Fino-kun. Your kind, broad-hearted Assistant Manager isn't a meanie like Raul-kun, you know…? Anywhere besides the dragoncart-parking space on the side of the shop, you can have one square's worth of 'Poison Swamp,' so… in exchange… could you just stand out on a street corner in, you know, the sort of outfit that tugs at a man's heartstrings, and bring back a few customers who look like they've got money to…"

"H-hey, what are you so casually proposing as an exchange?! And, Assistant Manager, what exactly are you trying to dress her in?!"

"Eh… well, you know, like an event companion… fabric that clings to the skin, chest wide open, belly all bared, skirt about this short… ah, or would you prefer maid uniforms, perhaps, Raul-kun?"

"Th-that's not the problem here!!"

Fino's body, only minimally covered by an apologetic patch of fabric, already showing the soft curves of girlhood despite being undeveloped. The stretchy material biting softly into the girl's tender skin… wait! Shaking his head violently to drive off the daydream that had bubbled up unbidden, Raul raised his voice as if remembering the original topic.

"More importantly, even if you forced people in, that wouldn't work! Customers have to come to the shop of their own free will!"

"!…"

At Raul's words, the Assistant Manager caught his breath as if struck, then nodded gravely and let his hand fall away from Fino.

"… You're… right. You're absolutely right, Raul-kun. Customers stopped coming because something must be wrong with us, and just dragging them in without trying to fix that wouldn't solve anything."

"Huh…"

"… Heh. This unprecedented state of affairs might just be 'punishment' for the complacency that had us thinking customers would come on their own without us doing anything…"

… Huh. The Assistant Manager's saying actual Assistant-Manager-type things…?!

An unforeseen development. In front of the gobsmacked Raul, the Assistant Manager, his face now grave as if he'd had a real change of heart, declared with conviction:

"… Raul-kun, Fino-kun, let's go back to basics. The next time a customer comes in, we'll show them the finest customer service us staff can muster. We'll respond with such gratitude that we move them, make them fans of our shop, and have them spread the word that this place is wonderful. That's the one and only clever trick available to us right now… Understand?"

"Eh… a-ah, yes!"

"Got it!"

Pushed along by the Assistant Manager's uncharacteristically serious tone, Raul couldn't help nodding, and Fino nodded too, looking thoroughly moved. Surveying his two subordinates with satisfaction, the Assistant Manager clapped his hands loudly.

"Now then, with that settled, we can't dawdle. Let's line up in front of the entrance as a team so we're ready whenever a customer comes. We'll greet them with everything we've got… Ah, Raul-kun. Go fetch some MagiCrackers from the party-goods aisle."

"Wha, ho, hold on, even by your standards, isn't that overdoing it…?"

"It's fiiine, it's fine. I'll take all the responsibility, leave it to me… Look, even as we're standing here, a customer might already be approaching the shop, hmm?"

"R-right…"

"Ah, Fino-kun, over here, over here."

Spurred, perhaps, by the sense of crisis over a situation unprecedented in the history of Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store, the Assistant Manager was uncharacteristically motivated. As Raul hurried off to the sales floor, the Assistant Manager led Fino to the main aisle in front of the entrance and took up his position.

"This is your assigned spot, Fino-kun… okay, do you know how to bow?"

"Ah, Raul taught me before! Like this?"

"… Hmm, not bad, but still a bit shallow. Aim for more of a 45-degree angle… yes, good, good. You really pick things up fast, Fino-kun."

"Hehe, Assistant Manager, thanks!"

"Oh, Raul-kun, good work, good work. Here, you take one of these too, and…"

And there, the Assistant Manager's hand, just having torn open the packaging of the MagiCracker Raul had brought from the floor, suddenly froze.

A sixth sense prickled. Beyond the shop's entrance door, someone was unmistakably drawing near, and Raul felt it sharply too.

"… They're here. A customer."

The Assistant Manager murmured in a tense voice.

"All hands ready your welcome. Raul-kun and I fire crackers; Fino-kun greets and then bows. Don't forget: 45-degree angle. The opportunity's a single instant… don't blow it."

"Yes!" "Roger!"

At the Assistant Manager's command, the staff snapped into perfect posture. The Assistant Manager drew a small, settling breath, waited for the right moment, raised one hand, and called out a hearty greeting at the door just on the verge of opening.

"""Welcome!!!"""

The crackers popped in exquisite unison. Slender ribbons and confetti danced brilliantly through the air and rained down on the customer who had just stepped through… However.

"… … … … Eh."

The colorful ribbons fluttering down from the crackers settled onto fluffy, eerily familiar chestnut hair. The fine confetti drifted onto the slender shoulders of a white blouse.

The beautiful girl who'd pushed open the door blinked her amber eyes in surprise, looked back and forth between the faces of the frozen Assistant Manager and Raul as they clutched the spent cracker husks… and then,

"… Um… these crackers are coming out of your pocket, of course, right, Visor-kun?"

The flat, peculiarly toneless voice belonged, of course, to the woman who was supposed to be on paid leave today: the highest authority in the shop, Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store's Manager, Seara August.

"Amada Magic, Royal Capital Store opening right next door to us?!"

"… Visor-kun, did you really not know?"

The Manager half-lidded her eyes at the Assistant Manager, who'd raised his voice as if struck out of nowhere, and sighed.

"It was the top headline in yesterday's evening edition. They printed it in big bold letters, even."

"Uh, ah, the, um…"

"… I told you to look through the royal capital Economic Times every day, didn't I?"

"Y-y-yesterday I was, um, busy facing up to my past self and stuff…"

The Assistant Manager's gaze wandered as he muttered an incoherent excuse under Manager Seara's steady, accusing tone. Unable to bear watching any longer, Raul cut in to rescue him.

"Amada, that's the biggest player in the magic-item retail industry, right?"

"Yes. They already have two stores in the royal capital, and to think they'd open another one right under our nose… honestly, I never imagined it…"

"Wait, right under your nose… you mean that palace-like building they were constructing on the corner of the main street?! I've been wondering about it every time I walked past, sure it was going to be a theater or something…"

"The storefront's only on the first floor, and it seems Amada's regional headquarters has moved into the second floor. They kept it under wraps right down to the wire, so I didn't know either until I saw the evening edition. So I took an emergency vacation day and went to scope out the grand opening sale, but… it was so crowded it looked like everyone in the royal capital had turned out."

"… I see, that explains it."

The Assistant Manager nodded, looking convinced, and surveyed the empty shop floor. And…

"But if a great big shop like that opens, life's going to get way more convenient!"

""" ?! """

"… Hmm? Is there a problem with that?"

At Fino's carefree line, made by someone who clearly hadn't grasped the situation, the three of them exchanged glances… and then, with a slightly troubled face, the Manager spoke gently, as if explaining.

"… Fino-chan. When a big, strong shop opens nearby, what do you think happens to a small, weak shop like ours?"

"Eh? … U-um…"

"… Geez. Customers will flow toward Amada, and if no one comes in like today, every day, our shop's going under, isn't it?"

The instant Raul snapped at the blinking, stunned Fino in his exasperated tone, the girl, finally grasping the reality of it, raised a panicked voice.

"Going under… y-you mean this shop's going to disappear?!"

"!? H-hey…?!"

"No way!!!"

The instant she cried out, she clutched at the apron of Raul, who happened to be next to her, and clung tightly to his chest. Looking up at him, Fino spoke in a desperate tone.

"That's… no! I love this shop so much… having Leon disappear, that's… I don't want that, ever…"

"Fino…"

"… Wh-what do we do, Raul… we have to do something, we have to…"

The eyes Fino looked up at him with held a serious, anguished light. Placing a hand on the shoulders of the girl who looked on the verge of tears, trying to soothe her, Raul ended up utterly at a loss. The Assistant Manager scratched his head awkwardly at the unexpectedly serious mood.

… Watching her staff like this, Manager Seara solemnly opened her mouth.

"… Everyone. This is an emergency that threatens the very survival of Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store."

In an unusually serious tone, surveying the subordinates lined up before her, Manager Seara declared firmly:

"We must move quickly to take action… At this rate, it doesn't look like any customers will come in today either, so let's close up early and hold an emergency anti-Amada strategy meeting."

"… This is the flyer for the grand opening sale at Amada Magic, Royal Capital Store."

The consultation corner in front of the support counter. On the table normally used to write up sales receipts for customers, the Manager spread out a large flyer, and the staff gathered around it sucked in their breath in unison.

"Whoa, the prices here are too low… no matter how I look at it, this one's cheaper than our wholesale cost. How can they put out prices like this?!"

"… Hey, are you serious… how did they get stock on that super-popular item… our allocations are so small that even with a reservation, we're looking at a six-month wait…"

"Ah, Raul, look! There's snacks! And juice too!!"

"… Amada Magic is a newcomer that climbed all the way to the top of the industry in just two years since its founding."

… Watching the three of them, riveted to the flyer, Manager Seara sighed in resignation.

"56 stores nationwide. Their market share by revenue is over 50%, and they've covered nearly every major city on the continent… Meanwhile, our company, Leostad Trading Company, which operates Magic Shop Leon, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. We have 10 stores in the royal capital and surrounding cities, and our market share is less than 3%. Volume, pricing, service: we are at an overwhelming disadvantage on every front… Raul-kun, how do you think we can compete?"

"Eh?"

Suddenly called on, Raul snapped his head up from the flyer.

"U-um… that's it, how about we hand out flyers of our own? I'm pretty sure there's a suit for our shop's mascot character in the second-floor warehouse. If I put that on and barked for customers in the central plaza…"

"… Boring."

"… Boring, yeah."

"… Hahh."

… In that moment, a deflated little hush settled over the small table.

"H-hey, hold on, what's wrong with boring, what's wrong with boring?!"

When he raised his voice in spite of himself, the Assistant Manager, seated next to him, gave Raul's shoulder a sympathetic-but-condescending pat.

"Raul-kun… see, the first one is always the most important. You've got to aim for something more like a strong opening gag, you know…"

"No, that advice is messed up?! Why would I be aiming for an opening gag at a meeting?!"

"Honestly, when the opening hook's weak, you really lose the momentum, don't you…"

"Wait, this isn't some comedy showdown, is it?! This is a serious meeting, right?! It was supposed to be about everyone pulling together to get through the biggest crisis Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store has ever faced, right, Manager?!"

"… Raul. You know, you should really read the mood more before you say things."

"Hey Fino, weren't you the one with the about-to-cry face going on about how you didn't want Leon to disappear?!"

"All right, next up, Fino-chan, shall we hear from you?"

"Yes!!"

… Heartlessly ignoring Raul's frantic pleas, the moment the Manager turned to her, Fino raised her hand as if she'd been waiting for it.

"… You're just going to say something like 'put a treasure chest in the shop' again, aren't you."

"Fuhahaha, I'm disappointed in you, Raul! Is that the best your imagination can do?!"

Sniffing haughtily at the resentfully muttering Raul, Fino faced the Manager again and answered with absolute confidence:

"I think we should set up an evil god's altar inside the shop and offer up living sacrifices to pray for customers!"

"No we shouldn't!!"

Raul reflexively snapped a retort, while the Manager, in contrast, muttered with a perfectly straight face:

"Fino-chan, the living sacrifice, would things like cut flowers do?"

"Mm, probably no problem."

"Hey, that's no problem?! Surprisingly broad-minded for an evil god!!"

"In that case, let's mark that one as adopted…"

"No, no matter how you slice it that's a no-go, Manager?! It's weird to have an altar on the sales floor, right?! Customers'll be put right off, right?! Right, Manager?!"

"Visor-kun, do you have anything?"

"… Eh, me?"

For all the relish with which he'd just torn into Raul's idea, evidently he hadn't expected the conversation to come around to him. With a troubled look, the Assistant Manager hesitantly opened his mouth.

"Well, you see… judging from the flyer, there's no way we can win… I think at this point it'd be more realistic to give up on the Royal Capital Store and look for a relocation site…"

"Fino-chan."

Cutting off the Assistant Manager's words, the Manager said in a peculiarly flat voice:

"The living sacrifice, would things like the Assistant Manager do?"

"Mm, probably no problem."

"H-how about a renovation?! A renovation?! See, honestly, our shop's gotten kind of stuck in a rut, so we could put a fresh face on it with a grand reopening!"

The Assistant Manager raised his voice in panic. Picking up on his words, the Manager hummed thoughtfully.

"A renovation, hm… certainly, we can't beat them on price, and that might not be a bad idea…"

"R-right, right?!"

As the Assistant Manager breathed a relieved sigh, the Manager murmured while running her pen smoothly across the notebook that served as the meeting record:

"But if we're going to renovate, I'd like to tie some kind of entertainment-focused event to it. Amada has live demos and a raffle for their opening promotion too, so it'd be great if we had some kind of exciting project as well…"

"Um, like getting a free healing herb with any purchase over 1,000 gold?"

The moment Raul casually said it, Fino, sitting across from him, looked struck by inspiration.

"That's it! How about, 'With any purchase over 1,000 gold, you'll be invited on a tour of the romance-filled northern land, the Demon Realm'?!"

"Who in the world would go!! And why are you making that '… I've come up with a truly terrifying brilliant idea' face?!"

"Fufufufufufu… don't underestimate me, Raul!"

Fino jabbed a finger at Raul, who'd reflexively shouted, and laughed with smug confidence.

"Even the Demon Realm has tourist attractions, you know! Like the Bloodsoaked Temple, or the Forest of Entrails, or…"

"Not a single attractive element to start with! Don't you have anything more, you know, positive?!"

"Positive… um, then, how about Hope Cliff? There's a legend that if you jump off, any wish will be granted!"

After puffing out her chest as if to say ha, gotcha, she added, as though just remembering:

"… Well, unfortunately, there hasn't been a single survivor yet."

"Who was the irresponsible bastard who started that rumor!!"

"Still, tying in a legend… that might actually be kind of interesting. We could use it as a motif and frame the whole thing like a little story…"

"Story-like?!"

At Manager Seara's words, Fino leaned forward, her eyes shining.

"That sounds super interesting! Manager, let's do that! I'll write the script!!"

"H-hey, Fino! There's no way you can write something like that!"

"It's fine!"

As Raul immediately yelled, Fino smugly puffed up.

"When I was at the [Demon King]'s castle (my parents' house), Raid drilled me thoroughly in this as part of my [Demon King] studies! When it comes to cool lines that strike terror into the hearts of humans, leave it to me!"

"Like hell I can leave that to you!! … Wait, hold on, are you telling me the [Demon King]'s lines have a script?!"

"Eh?"

When Raul reflexively asked back, Fino gave him a puzzled look.

"What are you talking about, of course they do. If a [Demon King] speechifies off the cuff in front of heroes and demonkin and flubs something, all sorts of things fall apart. Raid even said, 'To preserve one's dignity as a ruler, this kind of steady preparation is essential.'"

"W-well, maybe so, but…"

"Incidentally, the 'Dominator's Bloodstone,' the proof of the [Demon King], comes with a cue-card function, and…"

"… Could you, just, please, stop there."

At the behind-the-scenes truths Fino was so cheerfully spilling about the [Demon King], Raul ended up feeling something very complicated. I mean, seriously, these are the people we humans have been suffering under?…

"… Well, for now, this is about where we are, I think."

… Surveying the staff seated around the table, the Manager closed her notebook with a clap.

"We can refine the details as we go… for now, let's start with what we can, shall we?"

 

*

 

"… It seems someone's coming."

With the Manager's voice piped into his earphone through the "magic transceiver," Raul, standing in front of the control panel in the back room, swallowed hard.

"Everyone. Now is the time to show the fruits of all our efforts so far. For the sake of the shop's future, we cannot fail. Commencing Mission 'Code H' now."

An unusually serious tone. Trying to ease the tension that mounted regardless at Manager Seara's declaration, Raul took another deep breath.

"…3, …2,"

The calm-voiced countdown reached him through the earphone.

All kinds of thoughts spun through his head, but for now, they'd done everything they could. From here on, things would unfold as they would. Cry or laugh, the verdict would be in any moment.

"…1, … zero."

In time with the Manager's strongly intoned signal.

With something like a prayer in his heart, Raul reached for the shop's lighting switch.

 

*

 

"Welcome."

Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store. The one who greeted the boy who'd casually opened the door was a single girl bowing her head, pinching the hem of her voluminous skirt.

"Welcome, thank you for coming… this is the Shop of Leon."

A sweet, sweet voice that tickled the ear. With the words of welcome, the girl slowly lifted her face, and the boy reflexively caught his breath.

Fluffy chestnut hair tumbled from her shoulders in a smooth curve. The face within was as lovely as it could possibly be, and the swell of her chest, peeking generously from the wide-cut neckline of the dress, was irresistibly alluring…

The angelically lovely girl came forward with the soft rustle of fabric and gently took the dumbstruck boy's hand in hers.

"!?"

The instant the girl's fingers touched his, an electric sensation shot down his spine. As he reflexively averted his eyes from the cleavage that had pressed in close before him, the girl smiled bashfully at the blushing boy.

"Courageous customer… these items, passed down in our shop, please take them up."

Whispering in a voice that sent shivers through him, the girl handed him a shopping basket and a single sword.

… Wait?

"U-um… what's this…"

An obviously toy-like, papier-mâché sword. As the bewildered boy stood there with these items pressed on him without warning, the girl frowned, drawing her shapely brows together.

"This was, once, a very peaceful and beautiful shop… the sales floor overflowed with all manner of goods, and within the lively shop, many customers gathered… and we of the 'Staff' clan, who guard this 'Shop of Leon,' knew nothing but happiness…"

"R-right…"

"But the long peace came to a sudden end. The 'Noble Evil,' who appeared from the darkness of the rift beyond the reach of human understanding, swallowed this 'Shop of Leon' whole."

"… U-um, th-that's terrible, isn't it…"

"Customer, please, save this shop."

"Eh?"

"Customer, please, save this shop."

"U-um…"

"Customer, please, save this shop."

"I, um…"

"Customer, please, save this shop."

"… … … …"

Interlacing her graceful fingers in front of her chest, the girl gazed at the boy in mute appeal.

… Around that point he finally seemed to realize that the option to refuse did not exist. The instant the boy reluctantly nodded, the girl smiled like an angel.

"Thank you very much, customer. The interior is filled with peril… Please take the utmost care."

At those words, the boy at last looked around him properly…

"… … … …"

… And stood with his jaw hanging open at the utterly transformed interior.

In the dimly lit shop, with the illumination cranked down to its minimum, what loomed before the boy in the flicker of wavering candlelight was an altar of such overwhelming impact it seemed to curse all the world. Pitch-black pillars twisted like the horns of countless devils towered up everywhere, ringed with complex magic circles. From the cracked chalice set upon the central platform, dark red liquid dripped in slow drops, and the savaged remnants of torn flowers were scattered all over the floor.

A scream suddenly came from somewhere indistinct, and the boy jerked upright in alarm. When he snapped his head toward it, on the pale white screen of the MagicVision display corner at the back of the shop, a clown with grotesquely smeared makeup stared straight at him, smirking.

"… … … …"

… Dry-ice mist clung to his body, and the gloomy in-store BGM droned on in its monotonous arrangement. The boy stood stunned for a moment, but then, shaking his head violently, he gripped the sword and basket he'd been given as if making up his mind.

The boy crept forward into the gloom, and just as he passed in front of the magic camera section's display case, the moment came. From the shadow of the next shelf, a figure abruptly leapt out and planted himself in the boy's path as if to block his way.

"Hahahahahahahahaha-"

A long black cape and hat, with a suspicious black mask covering his eyes completely. The lanky red-haired man let out a low-energy round of laughter, then flipped through a thin booklet in his hand and declared in the most wooden recitation imaginable:

"Ahem, welcome, customer-r. I am the one who guards this case-e. If you wish to break the seal on this glass case, you must defeat me-e."

"… … … …"

"Fuhaha, what's wrong-h? Have you lost your nerve-r?"

"… … … …"

"… Uh…"

"… … … …"

"… … … …"

Under the boy's silent, cold gaze, the red-haired masked man gradually started fidgeting, and eventually, looking awkward, he opened his mouth.

"… Ah. Look, just, with that sword, try poking me a little? Yeah? Lightly, just a light tap."

A whispered, utterly unembellished bit of direction. The boy sighed in resignation and lifted the sword.

"Ugh, you got me."

The instant he did, the red-haired man raised a cheerful voice like he'd just been freed from some tedious chore, and as if he'd been waiting for this cue, he grabbed the keyring at his belt and rattled through the keys with practiced ease, opening up the glass case.

"Heheh, don't get too smug just because you defeated me-e. Even after defeating me, second and third threats lie in wait for you, custome-r. Ahh, and a word of warning… watch out for the register, in particular-r."

Sneaking a glance at the booklet in one hand, the red-haired man delivered his lines without so much as a fig leaf of effort.

… Wearing the face of someone who had given up on a lot of things, the boy received the magic camera from the red-haired man, put it in his shopping basket, and headed quickly for the register.

"Ah, welcome!"

In the dimness, brilliant silver hair seemed to shine, and a girl's guileless smile tugged at the heart.

The moment the boy approached the register counter, the girl looked up as if she'd been waiting eagerly. Voice bubbling, she gazed at him with eyes brimming with admiration.

"Thank you so much, customer! I'll take your items now!"

Wrapped in an ethnic-styled dress, with a chest that, while not quite a match for the previous girl's, was nothing to complain about. A tightly cinched waist, and glimpses of pale thighs flashing from beneath her short skirt with every movement. The innocently smiling silver-haired girl set her red ribbon swaying as she dipped her head in a quick bow and reached out from across the counter to take the boy's shopping basket.

"… The register's normal, huh."

A bit thrown off by how warmly the smiling girl was handling him, the boy muttered without thinking, and the girl suddenly lowered her face.

"Hehehehehe…"

… Her small shoulders shaking ever so slightly.

The girl finally raised her head, lifted the corners of her lips in a bold grin, planted her hands on her slim hips, and threw out her chest as hard as she could.

"Fuhahahaha, you've been thoroughly fooled, customer! This register is a fake! The real register is imprisoned in the basement of this shop!"

"Eh… what kind of situation even is that?!"

The boy reflexively snapped back. And…

"Customer!"

With a familiar soft voice, a chestnut-colored wave suddenly spread into his field of vision. When the boy turned his face, he had no idea when or how she'd gotten there: the beautiful girl who'd handed him the sword at the entrance was standing right beside him.

Long skirt sweeping aside, chest threatening to burst from the front of her dress, jiggling. Eyeing the boy intently with amber eyes, the girl declared in a serious tone:

"Customer… please, your 'Regular Customer's Token'! Insert your 'Regular Customer's Token' into the hilt of that 'Customer Sword'!"

"Eh, that sword had a name like that?!"

The instant he said it, the girl inside the counter took a step back with a look like she'd just made a critical blunder.

"R-'Regular Customer's Token'… y-you, are not merely a 'Customer,' but… do you mean to say you are a 'Regular Customer'?!"

"No, I literally have no idea what you're talking about?!"

"Heh, to think the legendary 'Regular Customer' would appear in this 'Shop of Leon'…"

"Wait, everyone's got a member's card! You can make one for free and there's no rarity to it! What kind of unimpressive legend is that?!"

"Customer, please! Show that hidden 'Regular Customer' power to us, the 'Staff' of the 'Shop of Leon'!"

"Could you two please drop the notion that everything's settled the moment you wrap it in << >> and slap a ruby on it?!"

… However, it didn't seem like he had much choice but to play along.

With a thoroughly exasperated expression, the boy did as told and inserted the "Regular Customer's Token" into the hilt of the sword. The instant he did, the dimly lit shop suddenly brightened, and the chestnut-haired girl gasped with a serious face.

"The sword that authenticated the 'Regular Customer's Token' is being enveloped in a dazzling light…!"

"Ugh, my eyes, my eyes… so this is the power of the legendary 'Hyper Customer Sword'…!"

"No, the shop's lighting got brighter, sure, but the sword itself isn't glowing at all, is it?! What kind of brute-force production is this?!"

"Now, raise the sword!!"

"Aaaaaargh, fine, is this good, is this what you want?!"

… Going completely off the rails at this point.

The moment the boy raised the sword (which had been established as enveloped in dazzling light), a fanfare rang through the shop, and the silver-haired girl inside the counter let out a tortured groan as she dropped to one knee.

"Ngh… my, defeat… guhah…"

"… Thank you very much, customer."

The chestnut-haired girl made the declaration almost casually, with a smile. As if perfectly timed, the usual bright BGM began flowing through the shop floor again.

"Thanks to the courageous customer, this shop has been saved."

"… Yeah, glad to hear it."

"Customer, you did great!"

… When the boy muttered with a thoroughly exhausted face, the girl inside the register counter, now seemingly fully revived, called out cheerfully, then, as if remembering something, clapped her hands together and pulled out a large potted plant from under the counter.

"?"

Beneath a broad leaf peeked an unsettling root, shaped exactly like a human face with its eyes shut. As the boy directed a suspicious look at it, the silver-haired girl, holding the pot, smiled brightly.

"By the way, with any purchase of 1,000 gold or more, you get one pull at this mandragora!"

"No, that'll kill you, won't it?! That'll kill you, right?! That is clearly targeting the customer's life, isn't it?!"

"Eh… but, if you manage to pull it out cleanly, it's a miracle elixir of immortality?"

"If you die in the process of pulling it out it's all meaningless!!"

… And.

"… Um… … … …"

Suddenly, from beyond the back-room door, a hesitant, awkward shadow emerged.

"… Yo, long time no see, Eric."

The black-haired boy spoke with an apologetic look, scratching his head with a wry smile. The moment he recognized the figure, the boy still gripping the "Hyper Customer Sword" ground his back teeth so hard they creaked.

"It's not 'yo, long time no see,' Raul! You rotten store-employee, you!!"

With a face that looked about ready to cry, the chestnut-curls boy named Eric jabbed his finger at Raul and let his voice fly.

"I get your email saying the Royal Capital Store renovated and that I should come check it out! I carve some time out of the insanely busy HQ duties my devil of a boss shoves on me, somehow drag myself over here, and this is what I get?! That's messed up, right?! No matter how you look at it, this is messed up, right?!"

"W-well, no, honestly, I think so too, but…"

… Frankly, there was no room to argue. Raul narrowed his eyes sympathetically.

Mission 'Code H (Headquarters Inspection).' Following Manager Seara's instruction ("Before we welcome an actual real customer, shouldn't we have HQ check this once and get permission?"), the one who had sent the email to the Store Support Division of the Leostad Trading Company, which oversees the Magic Shop Leon chain, was none other than Raul. He'd been sure Section Chief Gil would come, but of all people, the lowest-ranking Eric showing up…

Despite joining the company aiming to become a sales clerk who could move customers, Eric had been assigned, against his wishes, to the behind-the-scenes HQ, and he held a bitter grudge against Raul, who'd been assigned to a store. Every time they met, he picked a fight, so honestly Raul didn't want to deal with him.

Eric grabbed Raul's collar as he reflexively averted his gaze, and shouted in his face hard enough to fling spittle.

"And besides, all this stuff was your doing, wasn't it?! What kind of name is 'Hyper Customer Sword'?! Hah, your naming sense is awful as ever! Geez, to think someone as incompetent as you is a member of my cohort makes me want to cry from shame!!"

"W-wait, hold on, I didn't write the script! I was strictly stage-rigging and behind-the-scenes! The ones who planned all this gleefully are the Manager and the part-timer Fino, don't get it wrong!!"

"Quiet!! There's no way a Manager Seara this cute or a part-timer this cute would come up with such a dumb scheme, you piece of…! You're going to pay with your whole life for besmirching the honor of these ladies and dragging me into this stupid farce, you crap store-employee!!"

"I'm telling you, that's not how it went!! Listen, Eric, don't underestimate our Manager?! She basically yanks out any nail that sticks up, with all her strength, and if she thinks even something seems mildly interesting, she throws her entire body and soul into making it happen!! If anything, I was the one trying to rein in her runaway…"

"Shut up, store-employee!!!"

Shouting down the desperately defensive Raul, Eric kept yelling, taking out his frustrations.

"Anyway, your environment's way too cushy! What's this 'cute boss and cute junior' situation?! She probably whispers up at you like 'Raul-senpai, please teach me lots and lots of things from now on,' and you're spending your days going muhfuh, aren't you, don't screw with me!! With a cute girl like this, unpaid overtime would basically be a reward, wouldn't it?! Are you picking a fight with me with the entirety of your existence at stake?!"

"B-but HQ has plenty of cute people too, doesn't it?! Like Drag-san and Drop-san in General Affairs, Memory-san in Accounting, or that person in the Secretarial…"

"Different department means basically zero overlap!!"

With clear murder in his gaze, Eric glared at Raul resentfully.

"Store Support Division has just me and my boss, so I'm stuck with that broken human being twenty-four-seven… my one and only emotional refuge is eating lunch with the little birds up on the rooftop during break! Same cohort and look at this hopeless gap, crap, crap! If I'd been assigned to the Royal Capital Store, I'd have been this cute part-timer's training officer!"

"… N-no, honestly, I don't think Fino's the kind you could handle…"

… And.

"… Eric-kun."

Cutting in between the two arguing boys, bowing politely to Eric, was the chestnut-haired beauty who'd entrusted him with the sword earlier: Manager Seara.

"Thank you so much for coming all the way from HQ today for the Royal Capital Store."

"!… n-no, um, i-it's just my job."

Flustered by her smile, freckled cheeks reddening, Eric found himself on the receiving end of the Manager, who narrowed her amber eyes and asked sweetly:

"So, what did you think? About our shop's renovation this time…"

"U-um…"

"Fufu, honestly, we're quite confident in it. We aimed to differentiate ourselves from our industry rivals, and went with something a little unlike anything we've done before…"

"Eh, ah, w-well…"

"So, Eric-kun, I'd love to hear your honest impression…?"

… Ah, poor guy, Raul couldn't help thinking sympathetically.

Manager Seara's strongest weapon, in more ways than one: the angelic smile that let her push through any and all unreasonable demands. There was no way a teenager who clearly looked low on romantic experience would resist that disqualifyingly attractive force…

Just as Eric, sweating bullets, was about to open his mouth, that was the moment.

"Hmm…"

Flipping through the script inside the register counter, Fino tilted her head thoughtfully and muttered to herself with a deadly serious face:

"… The 'Ultimate Customer Sword' sounds cooler than the 'Hyper Customer Sword'… but the 'Genocidal Customer Sword' has its appeal too… yeah, this section's lines could still use some refining…"

"That's not the issue here!!!!"

In a single instant, Eric snapped a spinal-reflex retort.

Then he came back to himself with a start, vigorously shook his head, turned his face away from the dangerous Royal Capital Store beauty Manager, and declared firmly and unmistakably:

"R-rejected, rejected!! There's no way HQ can possibly approve this!! Disassemble the altar and incinerate it!! Restore the Royal Capital Store to its original state as quickly as possible!!!"

And thus,

Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store's renovation was, through the bold decision of young Leostad Trading Company HQ Store Support Division employee Eric Fritz, summarily rejected.

 

*

 

"Ngh, hot…"

The words slipped out as a complaint. With a satchel stuffed full of flyers slung from his shoulder, gazing up at the dusk-tinged sky, Raul let out a tremendous sigh.

"And so, would you mind handing out flyers in the plaza?"

… With the entertainment-focused Royal Capital Store renewal plan summarily nixed by HQ's intervention, the second-place plan held in reserve was promoted to active, and its proposer, Raul, was handed the honored role of executing it.

"… This is pretty rough, huh…"

The ulterior motive that had had him thinking it might be refreshing to get out of the shop for once had backfired completely.

The mascot suit of Reosuta-kun, shoved into a corner of the second-floor warehouse for years now, its design forcibly mashing together a lion and a star to dubious effect. This indescribably "loose-mascot"-vibed suit was deathly heavy and abnormally hot, and within an hour of wearing it, it had already pushed Raul's stamina down to the level where his status indicator would be flashing red.

And on top of that, the number of people willing to accept a flyer from a small magic-item shop on a back alley was, of course, not great. A polite refusal was the better outcome; having it crumpled up in front of him or thrown on the ground on the spot was rougher… honestly, if he hadn't had the mascot suit on, he'd have given up long ago. It might be a cursed item that drains your stamina just by walking around in it, but apparently it had its merits.

… However.

What chipped away at his mental gauge in a quieter, but more reliable way, was the sight that filled his view no matter which way he turned in the plaza: couples roughly his own age.

… Brooding over the steadily mounting gloom, Raul couldn't help but sigh.

A native timidity, the passivity that came with negative thinking, the rural-boy diffidence on top, and then the wall he'd more or less built around himself by single-mindedly chasing the [Hero] dream: all of it had left Raul mostly a loner until now. The customer-service job had improved that to some degree, but for someone who still had nothing resembling a girlfriend, who barely had any social contact outside of work, the popular kids strolling through the streets seemed like beings from another world… crap, must be nice…

Watching the happily hand-holding couples through his goofy mascot suit, for a moment the sensation of Fino's hand in his right hand came back to him, and Raul hurriedly shook his head.

… Wait, hold on, don't get any ideas, me! Sure, she's attached to me, and she clings on all the time, but that's not that kind of thing, and… as for me, she's just my junior, sure she's super cute, but she's demonkin… n-no, the demonkin part doesn't really matter, but, so, um, I'm…

"?!"

It happened with shocking suddenness.

The first thing he felt was a tremendous impact. The intense presence of a "something" that had violently slammed into Raul's body. And then… a dull pain, spreading like heat.

"Hahaha, take that, you weird monster! How do you like that, huuh?!"

… A perfect critical hit to the shin, delivered by a brat playing in the plaza.

After tagging Raul, who had reflexively doubled over, with a finishing chop to the side, the brat let out a smug little laugh and fled like a rabbit… Of course, he couldn't very well chase him down and retaliate. Glaring resentfully at the brat's retreating back, Raul groaned and swallowed his frustration.

… You know what, maybe I'll just go back to the shop today… Releasing his shin from where he'd been clutching it, Raul wobbled to his feet, muttering to himself. Yeah, I'm done. I really gave it my all today. To the level where God himself would give me a thumbs-up and say "good job" with a smile… Right, going home.

Just as Raul was thinking that, the moment came.

Through the limited view of his mascot suit, what suddenly caught his eye was beautifully flowing honey-colored hair. The well-proportioned figure unmistakable even through her loose windbreaker, and a face arresting in its beauty. Deep indigo eyes, lips firmly pressed together…

… What, isn't that Airi.

In the crowd, walking briskly past on the main street, was the so-called "All-A Airi": Airi Ortinet. The composed, dignified beauty who'd vied with Raul for the top spot at hero-prep academy… The faintly troubled look on her face was probably due to the well-known rumor that her family had been killed by demonkin when she was young.

Raul had only just reunited with her a few days ago for the first time in two years. They weren't on terms close enough that he'd casually call out when he ran into her on the street, but even so…

… Looking at her again, that girl really is breathtakingly beautiful…

Even with a faintly melancholy face, a beauty striking enough to draw the eye even in a crowd. Raul ended up staring at the thighs visible beneath her hot pants… and then suddenly his eyes went round.

"Hm?"

A single thin magazine tucked under the girl's arm. At the familiar cover, Raul couldn't help but blink.

That's… a job-listings magazine, right?

No mistake. The free job-information magazine 'JobMent,' distributed everywhere throughout the royal capital. I checked it every week back when I was job-hunting too, but… why is she carrying that?

With the abolition of the [Hero System], Airi, like Raul, had been unable to become a [Hero], but she'd broken through the narrow gate where former [Heroes] and would-be heroes all clustered, and was now supposed to be working at a security firm with conditions every bit as good as a [Hero]'s. When they'd met the other day, Airi had bragged to him about it… she'd seemed to have confidence and pride in her work.

… Well, no matter how glamorous a job looks, I guess there are always all kinds of circumstances behind it.

Looking back and forth between the girl's tired, somehow somber profile and the satchel hanging from his shoulder, stuffed to bursting with flyers, still in the mascot suit, Raul let out a small sigh.