Here, three people met face-to-face.
"Mister Clerk? And also... a lovely clerk?"
"How did you get here...?"
"My, my, Magus. What a coincidence."
One was a dashing cross-dressed beauty who could make even women fall for him.
The other was a lady who radiated a fresh yet somehow elegant sensuality.
Both were women who worked at the Hostess of Fertility, Lyu Lion and Syr Flova, disguised in unusual outfits.
And facing them was none other than a mischievous man with a wicked heart.
If anything, he was a Magus who had, in his own way, formed a bitter sort of connection with both of them.
Even if that connection was nothing more than a twisted, lopsided feeling of goodwill.
He greeted them with obvious delight.
"That sounds more like something I should say. As for me, I'm here on a request today, to meet a customer... no, a mark. In other words, I'm an invited guest."
Normally, the one they were supposed to meet here would not have been him.
Goddess-like luck.
And luck that surpassed even divine will.
The story would have ended with those two kinds of fortune meeting, punishing filthy evil, and saving a girl in danger in a happy ending.
But here, in this twisted fate of a warped timeline, it seemed the story's course had changed.
"An invitation? You?"
"Why? Is there some problem?"
"No, nothing..."
"Hmm?"
Lyu's reaction was suspicious.
Watching that, the Magus showed a slightly puzzled expression.
To anyone looking, the two of them were making faces that were easy to suspect, and easy to be suspicious of.
"By the way, ladies, what brings you here? If I recall correctly, neither of you had much connection to a place like this."
"Ah, well..."
In the end, Lyu could not easily continue speaking in response to the Magus's question, which he had brought up first.
It was obvious that some secret matter was being discussed, something that should not be carelessly told to others.
But if they just stood there in silence, the story would not move forward.
So the other member of their pair, Syr Flova, answered in her place.
More precisely, she made the request needed to explain it to the Magus.
"Um, Magus. I have a favor to ask."
"Hm? A favor? From the most beautiful woman in the world?"
"...Could you stop saying things like that? It's a little too much for me."
"Of course. If the world's most beautiful lady is speaking personally, then I'd better stop, if only because I'm scared of what comes after. What could a weak little Magus like me possibly do?"
"My, you're awfully petty, aren't you? Just like some miser."
"Hohoho, thank you for the compliment. Come visit my Magecraft workshop sometime with your pets. I'll make sure you're properly entertained."
Crackle!
The two stared at each other, both oddly sharp.
Between them, the air grew cold and heavy, and an invisible blade, a smile concealing a knife, flashed back and forth.
Just as Lyu, left alone in the middle of this bizarre war of nerves known only to the two of them, was panicking and wondering what to do, the Magus, who had another matter to attend to, offered a gesture of truce first.
Tonight, he was practically here to have fun, so he was not exactly in top condition.
"Well, enough of the unexpected reunion. So, what exactly is this favor you want from me? If it's a request, I'd prefer you hand me a proper contract."
"Um, that door over there. I heard that's the VIP room. Could you somehow get us inside?"
"Syr?"
At Syr's brazen, if absurd, request, even Lyu, who was with her, momentarily lost her words.
And the Magus's reaction was...
"Hmm, I don't really know what's going on yet, but..."
"My, is that too difficult?"
"Well, that little bit of favor is child's play."
He nodded readily, treating it as no big deal at all.
Then he took the lead and guided the two of them toward their destination, the VIP room.
A gatekeeper from Ganesha Familia stepped in front of him.
"Guest, I'm sorry, but this area is off-lim—"
"Ah, I know, I know. I'm the guest called for by the owner, so just pass the message inside. I trust you have at least a rough idea who I am, sir from Ganesha Familia."
"...Please wait a moment."
But in response to the Magus's answer, the gatekeeper did not throw him out. Instead, he sent someone through the door to the VIP room to relay the message.
The reply that soon came back was, as expected, permission to enter.
"Go on in. And the two behind you are...?"
"My companions. Is any more explanation necessary?"
"No, not really."
"Okay. Then keep up the good work."
With the Magus's help, Lyu and Syr were able to enter the VIP room without any trouble.
At the same time, someone inside the room greeted them, or rather, welcomed the Magus, who had come after being formally invited.
A short but stout middle-aged man with a friendly-looking face.
However, the dull glint visible between those heavy eyelids subtly revealed that he was not as simply kind as he appeared.
"Ohhh, Magus! Welcome! I've been waiting for you!"
"It's been a while, owner. You've been well, I trust?"
"I'm always busy counting up my money, hahaha!"
His name was Terry Selvantis.
He was the owner, and sole ruler, of this place, the Eldorado Resort, and a dwarf.
He welcomed the Magus's visit with a sincere smile he rarely showed to others.
Lyu, who had come here with her own purpose in mind, frowned at the sight of the two men's exchange.
As expected, that man, the Magus, was an unforgivable evil.
Lyu reaffirmed that judgment and assessment in her mind.
"And the two guests behind you are...?"
"They're acquaintances of mine. We happened to run into each other here by complete coincidence. I was so happy to see them that I ended up using a favor I'd been saving for just such an occasion."
"Hmm, then?"
"I know full well this is a nuisance, but could you please consider the weight of the connection we've built up until now? Please do me this one small favor so this poor little pauper can show off a bit in front of people he knows."
"...Hahaha! So that's how it is? Then don't worry. If they're your acquaintances, then they're my acquaintances too. Such a trivial convenience between us is nothing worth making a fuss over. I'll allow it, so both of you feel free to relax and enjoy yourselves."
"A generous answer. I'll gratefully accept it."
"Hahaha, why, it's nothing at all!"
In the meantime, the Magus finished introducing Lyu and Syr to the owner and formally secured their entry.
In truth, this VIP room was practically his personal playground.
With this, no one here could complain about the two of them being present.
Of course, given Lyu's personality and the purpose she was surely harboring in her heart, trouble would definitely follow after this.
But that was none of the Magus's concern.
No, if anything, it might be nice to witness something interesting while he was bored.
"Ah, that aside. About that 'thing' we discussed."
While he was entertaining such thoughts and expectations to himself, the owner's low whisper reached his ears in secret.
The Magus once again concealed his true feelings and put on his usual business smile, cheerfully attending to the customer in front of him.
After all, the dwarf before him was one of his precious benefactors.
"I was thinking of providing some after-sales service for that matter as well. Please don't worry, owner."
"Hahaha, as expected of you, Magus! Good! Very good! I love how you always answer so briskly!"
"Hohoho, the pleasure is mine. I'll be relying on you again in the future. And, to be honest, I recently developed some new products, but then those Apollo bastards had the nerve to mess with my shop at just the wrong time, and so on and so forth, which led to this and that... so I was wondering if you might be interested in supporting my research expenses and buying a little more of my merchandise..."
"Oh, come now, between us? If the goods are solid, bring as many as you like! I've got money to spare!"
"Hohoho, as always, I'm deeply grateful. As expected, owner, you're my precious benefactor... no, my customer. I look forward to your continued interest and love-filled purchases."
The Magus's words of thanks were, unusually, completely sincere.
He was truly grateful to the dwarf before him.
Even if everyone in the world called him a villain deserving of divine punishment, the Magus alone would stand on his side.
That was his own way of showing sincerity toward the "tree that gives without asking for anything in return."
"You don't seem to be people who've only known each other for a day or two."
"Well, business where money and affection go back and forth is always like that. Especially since my research is such a money-eating whale... no, a starving dragon."
"Enough with the useless excuses. We'll just settle the bill all at once later anyway."
"Oh dear, how scary."
The Magus brushed off Lyu's sharp gaze with a bit of exaggerated fuss, then merely shrugged.
In any case, that concluded the first round of business between them.
With that, the Magus turned away, inwardly looking forward to the second round of commotion to come.
Since he was already here in a place with good water, it was only natural to enjoy some good drink while he was at it.
"Then I'll excuse myself. I'm going to kill some time at another table before heading off to take care of my own business. The rest is up to the two of you, so please enjoy yourselves."
"Yes. Thank you for bringing us here, Magus."
"I also... will say thank you, this once."
"My, my. That's practically making me bow to receive thanks."
Then the Magus turned to leave on his own path.
But before that, he said one more thing.
"Ah, right. I almost forgot one thing."
Turning his head just slightly, the Magus spoke in a voice not especially loud, but clear enough for everyone in the room to hear.
No, he "delivered" it to the owner of this place.
"You don't need to worry about me any further from here on. Please handle the 'baptism' as you see fit, wise owner."
"Oh? Is that all right? Aren't they your acquaintances?"
"The lessons life teaches are always bitter for everyone. I believe both of them will understand that much."
"I see...?"
At the story flowing from the Magus's mouth, Syr let out a sigh that said, So that's how it is.
Lyu, beside her, frowned in confusion.
By contrast, the owner's expression took on an amused smile.
He looked like he understood roughly what was going on.
"Oh, I see now. So that's what you were aiming for after all. Magus, you're more mischievous than I thought."
"What? I'm nowhere near as much as you, owner."
The Magus and the owner looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction.
They wore grins that would seem chilling to anyone else watching from the side.
The two villains could not hide their smiles as they imagined the pleasant entertainment to come.
"Heh heh heh, yes. I understand. I'll make sure both of them are treated with the utmost sincerity. You can relax and enjoy tonight's entertainment at your leisure."
"Just in case, I'm saying this because I'm worried about unnecessary trouble... please don't go too hard on them. I'm far too weak, so I'm always afraid of what happens afterward."
"Hahaha, good grief! For someone who single-handedly destroyed Apollo Familia in a War Game, that's some serious false modesty!"
"False modesty... I wonder."
Even if the end that awaited beyond that laughter would differ from what each of them imagined.
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At least in this moment, they were each other's understanding companions, partners walking together while sharing the same dream.
At least.
Only one person truly thought so.
As for who that was...
There was no need to say it separately.
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