"While others hoard grain, I hoard guns; my neighbor is my granary."
Chen Li hummed cheerfully, toying with the angel halo in his hand.
The moment Poporon's halo fell into Jashin-chan's hands, her fate of being robbed by Chen Li was sealed. Even if Poporon hadn't agreed to the trade, it wouldn't have been much trouble for Chen Li to punch her to her knees and loot her items. After all, an angel without a halo couldn't use their powers and was no match for him.
But that would have made him the scoundrel.
This way was different. Jashin-chan was the scoundrel, and Chen Li had only spent 300,000 yen.
As for Poporon's plight, Chen Li felt not a shred of sympathy. In fact, he found it rather amusing.
"Chen Li, what do you need that for?" Medusa couldn't help but ask, watching him play with the halo.
"This halo can be used to extract the [Angel] Entry," Chen Li explained.
"Oh, so you're planning to use it to forge a Curio, right?"
"That was the original plan, but not anymore."
"Hmm?"
"Because the Sword of Light also has an [Angel] Entry, I plan to eat this halo," Chen Li said.
Angels from different worlds varied. Angels from other worlds certainly wouldn't lose all their power and become like mortals just because they lost their halo. However, the nature of their power in their complete state was similar. Therefore, the resistance to angels he'd gain from eating the halo should be universally applicable. Even if it wasn't, it would still boost his resistance.
The [Angel] Entry on the Sword of Light wasn't much weaker than the one on the halo, and the sword was too big to eat conveniently. So, the angel halo would have to make the sacrifice.
However, he didn't plan to eat it just yet. The halo was too small. He intended to use the [Eternal] Entry to forge a Curio—one that could make food regenerate endlessly. Although the Power of Eternity could theoretically accomplish this, the things he planned to eat were likely to get stranger and stranger, and the Power of Eternity might not be enough to satisfy his needs. For example, the angel halo in front of him.
"Gimme a bite," Jashin-chan sidled up to him.
"You can have some later, not now."
"Tch, stingy."
"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave. How about we make a deal?" Chen Li said, grabbing hold of Jashin-chan.
"What kind of deal?"
"Do you sell... meat?"
"Huh?"
"I mean your snake meat."
"Oh. You scared me. I was thinking, haven't I always been selling my body?" Jashin-chan sighed in relief.
"..." came the silent commentary from Chen Li.
Is that a G-rated "selling your body?"
"So, how about it?" Chen Li asked.
"No."
"I'll pay."
"Not even for money."
"Alright. It's rare to see you stick to your principles. Can you tell me why?" Chen Li asked curiously.
"It hurts!" Jashin-chan declared righteously.
As a high-ranking demon, Jashin-chan possessed unparalleled regenerative abilities. So, for her, she had an endless supply of her own meat. But being immortal didn't mean she didn't feel pain.
"...What if I forged a Curio for you that could block pain?"
"If you're willing to lend me the Elation Die a few times, I'll agree," Jashin-chan said after some thought. She still couldn't forget that the die could help her win the figure she wanted.
"Deal."
Before they arrived at Yurine's house, Chen Li and Jashin-chan had reached a friendly cooperation. The task of forging a pain-blocking Curio was now on Chen Li's agenda.
---o---
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Chen Li, and I'm a Curio Forger." Chen Li introduced himself immediately upon meeting Yurine.
"Oh, are you a friend of Jashin-chan or Medusa?" Yurine Hanazono asked, tilting her head.
"Not exactly friends, more like a client. I'm the one who forged these glasses Medusa is wearing, which prevent her from petrifying others or herself. I'm here to observe the Curio's effect and look for a few new customers," Chen Li said.
"Customers? A door-to-door salesman?" Yurine's eyes lit up with understanding.
"I wouldn't put it so bluntly. Theoretically, I can forge any kind of magical item you desire, so I'm not so desperate as to go door-to-door. I just thought Jashin-chan would be a good customer, so I tagged along."
"Any kind of magical item? For example?" Yurine frowned.
"For example, a pudding that is both delicious and never-ending," Chen Li said, having considered her hobbies.
"Master, please come in." Yurine very politely invited Chen Li into her home.
"..."
I preferred your rebellious look from before.
Though he thought this, Chen Li felt it would be a real shame not to get something out of Yurine, especially seeing the various golden-glowing Entries all over her.
Every new world was full of opportunities. For instance, here in the Jashin-chan world, he had never expected to obtain an [Angel] Entry so easily. It had only cost him 300,000 yen.
Chen Li liked these slice-of-life worlds where monsters and demons ran rampant, because the protagonists in such worlds always had very mundane hobbies.
Like a love for pudding.
This was why he enjoyed visiting other worlds; he could always find the focal points of miracles more easily. Having meta-knowledge was a wonderful thing.
By the same token, however, the amount of Miracle Crystals he could obtain from the protagonists in these slice-of-life worlds was relatively small, because they were often content with what they had.
"This is a welcome gift for everyone. This phone is actually a terminal for a chat Curio called the Friends Circle. In this group, you can meet interesting people from various worlds. Most importantly, it will be very convenient for shopping in the future," Chen Li explained as he handed out terminals to Yurine, Jashin-chan, and Medusa.
Truthfully, Chen Li couldn't think of any real advantage his Friends Circle had over a normal delivery website, but having more friends was definitely a good thing for him.
"Sounds interesting. So, when can you forge that delicious and never-ending pudding?" Yurine asked impatiently.
"Anytime. It's not difficult. But Miss Yurine, you should seriously consider whether you'll get tired of a single flavor, and what would be an appropriate forging fee," Chen Li said.
"In that case, it would be great if I could get all kinds of desserts, including pudding, that are delicious and never-ending," Yurine said. "As for the fee, can't I pay in yen?"
"I don't accept real-world currency. I'm an outworlder, and we can't use this currency where I'm from; I'd be arrested for using counterfeit money. Besides, I prefer to obtain items with precious Entries over money, like this angel halo." Chen Li held it up as an example.
"I see..."
"Of course, you can also pay with knowledge. I enjoy reading books and acquiring knowledge. It turns back the clock for me," Chen Li said.
"Knowledge?" Yurine looked at him suspiciously.
"As a show of good faith, I can give you a small item first," Chen Li suddenly offered.
"What kind of item?"
"Miss Yurine, do you have any of your favorite desserts in the house right now?"
"Yes, I do. Why?"
"To show you what my Curios are capable of."
"Wait a moment. Jashin-chan, go get my pudding."
"Eh, there's still pudding? Share some with me."
"There's only one left. If you dare eat it, I'll chop you up," Yurine gave Jashin-chan a gentle smile.
"Right, I'll go get it immediately!" Jashin-chan's spine instantly straightened.
A moment later, the pudding was brought over. Chen Li opened the package and placed the pudding on a crystal tray. At the bottom of the tray, the word [Eternal] was inscribed.
"Alright, you can eat it now," Chen Li said to Yurine.
Curiously, Yurine scooped up a small piece with her spoon. The moment it entered her mouth, a blissful smile spread across her face. When she came down from her delicious high, she saw that the pudding had become whole again.
"This is the raw material used to forge a Curio. Once forged, it will be even more magical. Miss Yurine, I'm sure you'd like to have a tablecloth that can conjure any dessert you desire, wouldn't you?" Chen Li tempted her.
The crystal tray was, in fact, a Miracle Crystal. No one ever said Miracle Crystals had to be prism-shaped. A crystal that retained an Entry could naturally exert that Entry's effect, though the risk of losing it was high. And the [Eternal] Entry naturally came from Kaguya Houraisan.
Kaguya, my Kaguya, I can't live without you anymore.jpg
"And I promise I won't use the knowledge I learn from your world to bring harm to it. My work is actually more geared towards saving worlds," Chen Li assured her.
"...I have some books I can lend you. And feel free to pick anything you like in this house." After glancing at the crystal tray holding the pudding, and then at the very sincere-looking Chen Li, Yurine finally relented.
She truly could not refuse a tablecloth that could conjure her favorite desserts anytime, anywhere.
"Then I won't be polite."
With Yurine's agreement, Chen Li began to select his spoils. But after Yurine had laid out all her treasures, even offering the pudding on the crystal tray as part of the forging fee, she noticed Chen Li's gaze had fallen on a small toy she had casually tossed on the tatami mat.
"Hmm? You want that toy?" Yurine was somewhat surprised by his choice.
"Toy...?"
Chen Li stared at the blood-soaked chainsaw on the floor, which possessed the [God Slaying] Entry. He simply could not comprehend how the word "toy" could be associated with such an object.
He looked at the bloody chainsaw, then back at Yurine and Jashin-chan.
"You two... play some pretty wild games," he couldn't help but say.
---o---