"Come to think of it, kid—and you too, miss—I don't think I've heard your names."
Old Man Rom suddenly realized and couldn't help asking.
"Uh… did I not introduce myself?"
Hayashi Maki scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed.
"You absolutely didn't!" Rom glared at him.
"Alright, my bad. My name's Hayashi Maki, and this is my companion, Aqua. We're merchants passing through the capital."
"We ran into Felt in an alleyway. I thought she matched my tastes quite well, and she's got a special power about her, so I wanted to buy her as a maid to work for me."
"That's basically the situation. Got any more questions, Old Man Rom?"
"…More or less got it. But I'm not selling my granddaughter!" Rom emphasized loudly.
And also…
This brat actually said Felt matched his aesthetic. She's still just a kid!
In Rom's eyes, Hayashi Maki was already branded as a perverted lolicon.
"Everything can be discussed. I'm not going to force you."
Hayashi Maki shrugged indifferently, then smiled and added, "Since we're guests, shouldn't you be bringing something nicer out? After all that talking, Aqua and I have only had plain water."
"Exactly, hurry up and bring out the good stuff!"
Aqua tapped the table impatiently.
Rom pulled a face.
"This is the slums, you know. Plain water is already generous hospitality. We can't afford things like tea leaves!"
Even as he grumbled, his body was very honest.
Deciding these two probably weren't people he could afford to offend, he turned and poured two cups of milk and pushed them over.
Aqua took a sip, and her expression changed instantly. The next second she spit it all out.
"What is this!? Watered-down milk? That tastes awful!"
"Don't be so ungrateful! That's the best we've got, and you just wasted it…"
Felt hadn't even had a chance to drink it yet.
Seeing how truly poor they were, Hayashi Maki sighed and didn't say more. He casually pulled a bottle of milk from his storage.
"Here, consider this a little gift."
"That's milk? Whoa… it smells so sweet! Must be expensive!"
Rom didn't hold back, took it, twisted off the cap and drank a small sip. His face showed pure bliss.
He decided to save the rest for Felt.
Now that he'd scored a bottle of luxury milk, Rom viewed Hayashi Maki much more favorably and couldn't help asking:
"Hayashi Maki, kid, that 'big trouble' you mentioned Felt got herself into—can you explain that in detail?"
"It'd be better to wait until Felt gets back. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you now."
"…Fine."
After a bit of waiting, there was a knock at the door.
Rom pinched his throat and gave the password.
Once the three-step code was correctly replied to, he opened the door. A small, blonde ponytailed girl in ragged clothes appeared at the entrance.
"Rom, I'm back! Eh… we've got guests?"
Felt looked in surprise at Hayashi Maki and Aqua sitting in the chairs.
Rom nodded gravely.
"They're here for you. This young man and lady say they're traveling merchants. They've taken a liking to you and want to buy you as a maid."
"Huh? A maid?"
Felt's eyes went wide. She instinctively took two steps back and showed a wary expression.
"Rom, are you trying to sell off your granddaughter who's been with you all this time?"
Rom sighed and explained:
"What're you saying? I already turned them down. But they claim they want to give you a better life, so I figured I'd at least ask what you think."
There was something else too:
If Felt really had stirred up serious trouble, then relying on Hayashi Maki to survive might not be the worst idea.
Hearing Rom's explanation, Felt let out a breath of relief.
"You scared me. I thought you were going to throw me away."
She patted her chest, then tightened her grip on the dagger behind her back.
"Guests, I don't recall ever meeting either of you. I'm sorry, but I've got no interest in selling myself."
She might want to get out of the slums, but selling her body wasn't on the table.
Seeing her so on guard, Hayashi Maki just smiled and waved his hand.
"No need to be so tense. If you're unwilling, I won't force you."
"Let's get acquainted first. I'm Hayashi Maki, a merchant passing through. This is my companion, Aqua."
"When you vaulted over our heads in the alley earlier, that's when I took notice."
Felt relaxed a little at his casual tone.
"So that's all it was… But I'm definitely not selling myself. Aside from that, what else did you want?"
"Well, there is something important I need to talk about."
Hayashi Maki's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Felt, did you steal an item off a silver-haired girl earlier?"
Felt's eyes flew wide open.
"You know that too? You're not just some simple merchant, are you?"
"Heh, that doesn't matter. What matters is that you took something you really shouldn't have. Have you not considered the consequences?"
Hayashi Maki's stern tone made Felt jump. Rom also looked more alert.
"So, kid, are you with that woman?" Felt asked, starting to panic.
She'd only just stolen from that silver-haired lady, and already someone had come knocking.
"No. I'm nothing more than a passing merchant."
Hayashi Maki smiled calmly and snapped his fingers.
Felt and Rom's faces changed at once.
They realized they couldn't move.
A crushing sense of pressure weighed down on them, emanating from Hayashi Maki's body.
It was his magic power leaking out.
"Kid, what did you do? Why can't we move? What are you trying to pull?"
Gritting her teeth, sweat beading on her forehead, Felt glared at him, trying to hold back her fear as she questioned him.
Hayashi Maki chuckled.
"I just want to make it clear that if I wanted to make a move, you wouldn't stand a chance of running."
"That's enough to prove I'm being sincere, right?"
"Felt, hand over the stolen insignia. The client behind this job of yours is not a good person."
"Kid, listen to yourself. You don't exactly look like a good guy either!" Felt couldn't help snapping back.
But reality was reality—she was outmatched. She could only grit her teeth and accept it.
"If I give that thing to you, will you let me and Rom go?"
She asked cautiously.
Hayashi Maki smiled and nodded.
"I'm not the sort who kills the innocent for fun. Don't worry. Hand it over, and I promise I won't harm either of you."