C 54
"Yes…"
I rolled my eyes as I replied.
"So, what should I do?"
I awkwardly smiled and nodded silently at Duke Miriel's words.
And Duke Miriel closed his mouth with some dissatisfaction.
So, there was only silence between us.
After a while, he sighed and opened his mouth first.
"So, what's your request?"
"Tomorrow, can I go with my sister to the imperial palace? I know my teacher should be coming..."
"To the imperial palace? Why do you want to go there?"
"I want to accompany my sister! Plus, my friend, who was kidnapped at the same time, lives there."
Duke Miriel's eyes narrowed. It was clear that he knew what I was talking about.
And he didn't seem very pleased.
"I can't...."
I tilted my head. The tail, which had been erect with my head, drooped.
"If I can't, it's fine..."
"Who said you can't! Why do you always make assumptions when I haven't said anything?"
He didn't seem pleased by his expression.
The words of Duke Miriel made her even more depressed.
"N-no... It's a class, just postpone it for a day! You can postpone it for two days as well. Go."
Duke Miriel said coldly.
I widened my eyes and raised my head.
"Can I go?"
"Yes."
"Grandfather is the best!"
While smiling broadly, Duke Miriel raised his fist and struck the round table with all his might.
A round table made of marble.
"Grandfather...?"
Kooong-
Beside me, I called him distractedly by the noise and dust flying around, and he looked at me in surprise.
"There was a bug."
"A bug...?"
"Yes, a dark one with ten legs was crawling on the table."
"Ugh..."
I really hate that.
Still, breaking the round marble table with his fist... Even being marble...
I was a bit speechless.
"Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"Yes!"
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes."
Compared to collapsing from fever, I was healthier than expected.
"Is it because I ate well?"
Thinking about it, I feel like I'm slowly getting hungry.
"Oh, I'm going to turn into a real pig at this rate."
I shook my head gently.
"I heard today's dessert is quite delicious... How about you have a portion?"
Someone suggested that I eat as if I were betting.
"Yes!"
Of course, I didn't refuse.
* * *
Recently, a strange phenomenon has been happening at the Duke's residence.
Stuffed animals or sculptures resembling "lizards," which were not normally sought after, began to roam.
It wasn't an ordinary lizard but an unusual lizard with silver scales.
"They almost caught me..."
And Sharnae was right in the middle of it all.
Sharnae smiled happily, thinking of Eirin, who had run to ask Grandfather for permission.
"Ah, I have to take out the goods now."
Sharnae carefully opened the cabinet, and all sorts of trash spilled out.
To hide all sorts of things that were stuck in her room from Eirin, who suddenly approached her, Sharnae had stuffed them in the cabinet.
"Aaagh! The picture is crumpled! It's a photo I forgot to put in a frame..."
The edge of the moving photo paper of Eirin smiling broadly was slightly wrinkled.
Sharnae quickly took out all the things, pressed the wrinkled parts, and carefully placed the photos in the photo album she had prepared in advance.
"Ha ha... she's really very cute..."
When Sharnae first met Eirin with Erno Etham, she fell in love with Eirin at first sight.
"As if it were fate..."
The moment she saw the girl, she thought her heart had fallen to the ground.
To think that a girl with pink hair fluttering and smiling cheerfully could exist in the world!
Moreover, even the color of her eyes was her favorite honey color, so she couldn't dislike her.
"Ugh, if it's Eirin, I could stay by her side for the rest of my life and act as a tranquilizer..."
Unfortunately, Eirin hardly showed any signs of madness.
"Of course, health comes first, but..."
Sharnae pursed her lips in thought.
Looking at Eirin after seeing the people in this family who only visit her when necessary, it seemed like she might melt into her innocence.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come after all..."
Her grandfather, Duke Miriel, came to the small cabin where her mother and she lived and hugged her for a long time with a remorseful expression.
"But what am I supposed to do among these crazies...?"
One person gets angry and laughs all the time but doesn't know when he'll suddenly change and draw his sword. Another person didn't like it when he spoke formally with an unfortunate expression.
"Even if I become useless, there will be only one person who will find me..."
They weren't any different from hyenas who came to them after seeing their abilities.
As expected, the number of people looking for her had decreased considerably since the mad scientist had recently discovered a new inhibitor for madness.
Although there were still some people who sought her out due to the side effects.
"I hate men..."
If they couldn't control themselves, she didn't want to keep any men around.
Yes, Sharnae wanted a soft, cute girlfriend who would feel safe no matter what she did.
"Eirin..."
Sharnet murmured as she hugged the large silver lizard cushion.
These were the so-called "Eirin Goods."
Of course, it was Sharnae who had started them.
Eirin suddenly disappeared, and Sharnae couldn't bear it, so she investigated and made a cushion in the shape of Eirin's lizard.
At that time, the family had a terrible hatred for the Suins, and a much louder voice cursed Eirin.
However, at some point, it was suddenly revealed that Mayla was a spy.
"I think it was probably the work of that cunning uncle..."
There were only doubts and nothing confirmed.
Anyway, in less than a week, public opinion of hatred towards Eirin quickly turned into sympathy.
Sympathy emerged that Eirin had been deceived as she grew up, or that Mayla had deliberately abused Eirin while pretending to care for her.
Sharnae also had a cute silver lizard and deliberately gifted a small lizard doll to Duke Miriel.
Surprisingly, Duke Miriel even placed the doll in a corner.
With public opinion changing like this, those who felt sorry for Eirin gained a little more strength.
Then, one day, Eirin returned.
And furthermore, in human form, with a tail.
From then on, "Eirin Goods" began to appear in the world little by little.
"Eirin Goods" began to be sold in secret places, and many people earned extra income from this.
Of course, Sharnae was one of them.
"Ha, this moving image should be sold as a limited edition..."
In fact, she wanted to keep the beautiful picture of Eirin holding the tiger lollipop and leaning her body towards it.
"But to get special goods..."
There was no choice but to increase the sales score.
Special goods were items that could be purchased with quarterly purchase and sale points.
There were many precious and high-quality things out there, and everyone fought to buy them.
There were points accumulated from selling or buying good products, and there were things that could be collected and bought.
"I'll have to leave after dinner."
In the corner of the capital's market, there is an empty lot, and every night a small building appears on one of those vacant lots.
This building, known among the people as the "Market," only appeared three times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays starting at 9:00 p.m.
Moreover, anyone who registered as a seller in this market could place the goods they made and list the selling price.
When visiting the item shop, it was a rule that everyone wore a mask and clothing that couldn't identify them.
It wasn't just Eirin's goods. In fact, Eirin's goods were still only a part.
This was because there were goods from many figures who were trending in the social world, such as Erno Etham, Michael Collin, Bayen Darkis, and Charlotte Faschanne.
Sharnae took out her wallet and the golden points card inside, it gleamed slightly.
This points card changed its appearance according to the amount of points accumulated, and it was said that the color and shape changed from bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, to pink silver – which was the color of Eirin's eyes in anyone's view.
Sharnae worked hard in her own way, but it was still gold.
This points card accumulated points that could be used to purchase goods in a 1:1 ratio by paying in cash.
And when you bought something with points, 1% of the corresponding amount accumulated again.
Likewise, if the item you posted sold, 1% of the points accumulated again.
"I'll definitely buy... the silver crystal lizard...!"
Sharnae clenched her fists and made a promise.
It was a 1:1 scale, and it was an item that looked exactly like Eirin's real handprint.
It was not easy to buy it casually because it cost 500,000 points, making it the most expensive among special goods.
And today is Saturday.
It was the day the market opened.
"Ah, it's time to have a meal with Eirin."
The thought of having a meal together for the first time in a long time made her feel better unknowingly.
"I need to hurry."
After Sharnae was ready, she quickly got up and headed to the garden where they would eat together.
It was called a garden, but since it was an indoor garden, it was close to a greenhouse.
"Eirin~!"
However, Sharnae's steps had to suddenly stop as she entered the dining room humming in a refreshing mood.
"......"
"...Were you also invited?"
The place she had been invited to was filled with uninvited guests who had obviously suffered the same fate as her.
