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"Oh my, if it isn't Kaito-sama! Who put you in such a mood?"
Tamayo greeted him from the doorway with an amused smile as he stormed over.
"Huh? Tamayo?"
Kaito pulled up short and looked at the sign above the shop entrance.
[Tamayo's Exquisite Handmade Merchandise]
"Ah... I didn't notice it was yours. I was ready to give whoever it was an earful for using my face and not paying a single coin."
He laughed awkwardly. "Since it's you, forget I said anything."
"Oh my. Kaito-sama, you are a shareholder, you know. Are you really here to charge me royalties?"
Tamayo tilted her head with a teasing smile, one hand resting against her cheek.
"Of course not! It's just that I haven't seen a single return yet..."
As a matter of fact, the shop was a joint venture. Kaito had provided the location; Tamayo had provided the craft. Their arrangement split monthly income sixty-forty, with Kaito taking the larger share. The problem was that, for reasons he hadn't yet managed to unravel, not one coin of that sixty percent had ever reached his hands, despite more than a year of operation.
"Oh? Didn't Sakuya-san mention it?"
Tamayo looked puzzled. "I've been handing your share directly to her every month."
"WHAT?! To Sakuya?!"
The full implication hit Kaito like a wall. His secret stash plan was over. Completely, utterly bankrupt.
"Kaito-sama, are you alright?"
He had dropped to his knees somewhere during that realization, apparently, and Tamayo was now watching him with a concerned expression.
"Oh, don't worry about Kai-chan, Tamayo. He gets like this."
Rimuru, who had already found a chibi doll of Kaito nearly as tall as she was and was holding it up with evident delight, glanced over briefly before turning back to the merchandise.
"This doll is so cute! How much for it?"
"Hehe, if Rimuru-sama likes it, please take it as a gift."
"Eh?! No, no, I have to pay for it."
Rimuru insisted. There was simply no buying things without paying for them, and she said so firmly.
Tamayo hesitated, looking a little flustered, then finally relented.
"Well... if you insist. Three hundred Tempest Coin, then."
At the word "three hundred," Kaito snapped back to life. He was on his feet before Tamayo finished speaking.
"Three hundred? No, three thousand. Three thousand Tempest Coin!"
"Kaito-sama... this doll only sells for 1999 Tempest Coin to begin with."
"I don't care, I don't care! Three thousand!"
He had fully committed to the tantrum.
Rimuru caught on immediately. 'This shameless man is trying to fleece me.'
"Kai-chan, you scoundrel! You think I don't see what you're doing? Not a chance!" She fished out three hundred Tempest Coin, handed them to Tamayo without breaking eye contact with Kaito, and tucked the doll away into her stomach pouch.
Tamayo, who had by now also worked out exactly what Kaito was trying to pull, smiled and reached under the counter.
"Kaito-sama, here's this month's dividend. Since you're here in person, I'll give it to you directly."
Before she could finish the sentence, Kaito's right hand had already moved. The entire wad of Tempest Coin vanished from Tamayo's fingers in an instant. He wet his thumb, his eyes visibly turned to coin symbols, and he began counting with intense focus.
"One thousand..."
"Two thousand..."
"Five thousand..."
"Thirty thousand!!!"
"OW! I'm rich!"
His back straightened. His vision cleared. Strength returned to his limbs.
"Alright everyone, big bro's treating! Big bro has money today!"
He shook the thirty thousand in his fist like a man who had never worried about finances in his life.
Rimuru gave him a long look. "Kai-chan... it's thirty thousand. Please tell me you at least had that much to begin with."
"Huh? What do you mean 'at least'? You think that's nothing?!"
In answer, Veldora and the others reached into their pockets and produced thick wads of Tempest Coin, which they held up in front of his face.
"NANI!!! How are you all so rich?!"
He did a quick sweep. Each of them was carrying at least fifty thousand.
"Uh... these are savings Sakuya gave me."
"Yeah, it's pocket money. From Sakuya, for the great one."
"Hehe. Sakuya wouldn't forget to give Kai-chan pocket money, would she?"
"Mm-hmm! Pocket money!"
Pocket money.
Kaito stared at them. Then he stared at his own thirty thousand. Then back at them.
He was only getting two thousand a month. Two thousand. While these people were walking around with fifty thousand-plus.
Not that it was Sakuya playing favorites, exactly. In the beginning, she had handed Kaito money whenever he asked, no questions asked. That system had worked fine right up until she'd noticed that he was asking more and more often, investigated, and discovered where every single coin was going: straight into the pachinko parlor. Sakuya had drawn her conclusions, imposed strict controls on his allowance, and that had been that.
One could only say that some people created their own problems.
"Kishishishi! Well, don't blame me for this!"
Kaito vanished from where he was standing. A moment later, he flashed past all four of them in sequence.
"Hey! My money!"
"Damn it, Kaito, you actually pickpocketed me!"
"Wuwuwu, my sweets money!"
"You hateful Kai-chan, I'll fight you!"
Milim produced her Gaze and launched after him. Kaito was already sprinting, counting his haul on the run. The other three grabbed their respective weapons and followed, shouting.
Tamayo stepped out of her shop and watched the whole spectacle with a thoroughly entertained expression.
"Oh dear. Kaito-sama is in real trouble this time..."
Far away, the high-ranking officers of the Eastern Empire had just finished watching the live broadcast of the Jura Tempest Federation conference. In the throne room, they gathered before Emperor Rudra with grave expressions.
"Your Majesty, the Federation's rapid military expansion almost certainly means they intend to resist us to the last."
Calgurio Heath, commander of the Armored Division, spoke with a deep frown.
"Hmph. It's a fledgling nation. What difference does having a Demon Lord make?"
Damrada, the Fist Saint and one of the Four Knights, dismissed it with obvious contempt.
Tatsuya Kondou, commander of the Imperial Guardians, who had personally visited the Jura Tempest Federation not long before, spoke with quiet gravity.
"Damrada. Do not underestimate them. During my visit, I never once met the Federation's true senior leadership. And even their diplomatic representative, Testarossa, gave me a distinct sense of danger. Beyond that, intelligence reports confirm that Storm Dragon Veldora has joined them."
At Veldora's name, Velgrynd, who had been leaning against Rudra's throne, straightened up. Her eyes lit.
"Are you saying my troublemaking little brother has revived?"
"Yes, Marshal."
She smiled. "Then I suppose I should go pay him a visit."
At that very moment, Veldora, currently in the middle of chasing Kaito, stopped dead and looked around with wide, uneasy eyes.
On the throne, the figure of Rudra (or rather, the will that now inhabited it, Michael, Lord of Justice) let a cold glint pass through his gaze as he murmured softly to himself.
"The Jura Tempest Federation..."
PS: Velgrynd holds the rank of Marshal in the Eastern Empire.