"We were supposed to meet tomorrow, but I came early."
On the way, Anck-Su-Namun's impression of that family was subtle, and the young girl's 'impolite' behavior when opening the door made the former enchantress a bit unhappy.
"It was my own selfishness to come and see early."
Arrietty marveled, "You actually know you're being selfish?" The Little Sprite covered her mouth as if she had discovered a new continent.
"I'm truly impressed, Your Majesty!"
"The most important thing is..." Mori Tsukisa shrunk her neck and smiled mischievously. "The most important thing is, when I was buying meatballs just now, I found a place that offers lodging... Her shop has so many—so many delicious things..."
Arrietty was expressionless.
"So..."
"So let's stay there! The manager is also a young girl! Her hand-pressed meatballs are especially delicious. Didn't Anck-Su-Namun just try them?"
"Oh, let's go, let's go! What's the point of staying in that boring shrine? They don't even live in the shrine, and there's nothing good to eat—bari bari!"
Nagini was led forward by the girl, while Arrietty sat on Anck-Su-Namun's shoulder, speechless.
"Impressed, are you?" Anck-Su-Namun narrowed her eyes.
The Little Sprite gave a 'humph'.
"Maybe that shop's hand-pressed meatballs really are good..."
...Whether they were good or not, the group could only stay here. If you were to ask why they hadn't booked accommodation before coming—Imhotep would look at you sorrowfully with his three-thousand-year-old eyes full of tears... He really did book it, really.
The key was that Lady Witch wouldn't stay there.
'What's the point of such a boring hotel? Of course we should stay with the locals!'
He and his lover had spent all night choosing just to ensure Lady Witch had a clean environment not too disturbed by the filth of the countryside. In the end, it was rejected with a single short sentence... Anck-Su-Namun comfortingly hugged the man's broad shoulders. "Lady Witch is just like that. She's much easier to take care of than the Pharaoh, isn't she?"
Imhotep begged to differ—
The most trouble the Pharaoh ever gave him was regarding the relationship between nobles and commoners, construction matters that required supervision, and arranging various pleasures, maidservants, concubines, and other nonsense.
Thinking about it this way, Mori Tsukisa indeed hadn't caused him much trouble.
—At most... at most... Imhotep looked at the girl in front of him, her neck covered in ketchup, her slightly downturned eyes full of reluctance and lingering attachment.
She clutched her neck, ketchup flowing through her fingers:'Save me...'
"Bleh." The girl rolled her eyes, her little tongue hanging from the corner of her mouth.
She was dead.
—At most... 'My shoe is lost! Imhotep!' The girl cried, holding up the single remaining high heel—It wasn't until they returned from Ginza fully loaded and put down their many bags that Imhotep discovered the high heel hidden by the girl in his closet... It was even wrapped in his shirt, folded like a lunch box cloth... —At most... Imhotep held the dazzling array of artificial products in his hands, speechless for a long time.
Those were 'gifts' the girl had given him: wigs of various styles, lengths, in silver and black.
Imhotep expressionlessly touched his bald head.
—At most... 'Come, I'll take you and Anck-Su-Namun to see some travel films of this World!' The girl opened the huge screen on the wall, drew the curtains, and turned off the lights—for the next hour or so, he and his lover watched with resentment as female ghosts jumped out of the screen from time to time, while Mori Tsukisa was incredibly happy eating her lollipop.
—At most... 'Here.' In a shop, Mori Tsukisa handed him a banknote: 'This is the money of our World, ten million,' she said.
'I'm going to buy boots. Imhotep, go buy three new phones—one for you, Anck-Su-Namun, and Nagini. Give the money to the service staff. Remember, choose the most expensive ones.'
Thus, the well-traveled High Priest elegantly and steadily walked up to the salesgirl with '1000 Yen' in hand. After the other party bowed and greeted him, the man spoke slowly in somewhat non-standard language.
'Give me the three most expensive phones.' The condescending tone in his voice was detectable by anyone.
The salesgirl was surprised that such a person still existed. She glanced at her companion twice but still took out three models from the counter. She kindly explained to the exquisite man before her who inspired good feelings:
'Do you think this style is okay? What about the color? As for the price, can you accept it?' As she spoke, the salesgirl's eyes never left Imhotep's handsome face.
Of course he could; one was less than a hundred thousand, and he had ten million.
The man looked at the woman with disdain; he had seen this expression too many times.
Then... when he pulled out that banknote with 1000 written on it, everyone's expressions were quite spectacular—an elegant middle-aged man, a handsome male who seemed wealthy and perhaps had a high social status, had chosen three expensive phones in front of everyone, then pulled one out from the inside of his expensive suit.
A 1000 Yen bill.
He even said without shame, 'Hurry up, I don't have time to wait.'
The salesgirl stared at the man's face with pity... Could such a good-looking man be a lunatic?
In short, when Imhotep found Mori Tsukisa peeking at him from a corner, clutching her mouth and laughing 'hahaha', he understood everything.
After a somewhat awkward apology... Heh, at most, it was just these things.
She really hadn't caused him much trouble.
As Imhotep spoke expressionlessly, he actually made his lover laugh.
The woman shook with laughter. She looked at Mori Tsukisa leading the way ahead, then looked at Imhotep with a 'you've worked hard' expression. "One thousand... to buy three phones?"
Imhotep nodded with a stiff face.
"Three?"
Nod.
Pfft—
Hahaha!
"I won't make that kind of mistake again." Imhotep was rarely a bit angry. He rubbed his lover's neck and gave it a light scratch; this was Anck-Su-Namun's ticklish spot. "I've 'learned' more and more things from Lady Witch. Now it's very hard for her to prank me."
Anck-Su-Namun gave the man a reproachful look while clutching her neck.
"Just a while longer."
Anck-Su-Namun followed up, "In a while, there will be new Attendants." The woman silently calculated the travel frequency she had heard from Arrietty. "As Lady Witch's strength grows, the frequency will get faster and faster."
"My love, you need to quickly distinguish the purchasing power of 1000 Yen..."
Imhotep turned a deaf ear to Anck-Su-Namun's teasing words and stared straight ahead, as if this would help him forget those embarrassing past moments... Anck-Su-Namun laughed too happily today.
"I like her personality."
The man, unable to hold it in any longer, retorted sullenly, "That's because she hasn't messed with you!"
Ha!
Mr. 1000 Yen is angry.
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