Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 177. The Bumpy Family And Crystals

“…I’ll keep watch.”

Yaralai stood up with a stern expression, leaped onto the camper van, and readied a Dragunov SVD.

Even Faf, who always wore a muffled smirk as if he understood everything, was glaring at it with serious eyes.

That it… was a one-kilogram chunk of crystal.

Lalaila froze in place, her hands pressed against her mouth.

“Ngh… Could it really be… the real thing?”

Hagg cautiously picked up the crystal, peering into it as if to confirm its authenticity.

“Hey, Hagg. What’s the deal with this crystal?”

“Ku ku ku… In your country, you call this ‘crystal’.”

“Y-Yeah…”

There are other terms like crystal or quartz, but I can’t imagine the mysterious translator failed to capture the nuance. It’s probably something fundamentally different in their understanding.

“Akira, this is… a Rilithium Stone.”

“A Rilithium Stone?”

I’ve heard of that somewhere before… Oh yeah, back at the aerial tools workshop. They embedded a grain-sized Rilithium Stone in the aerial tools. I even saw one—it did resemble a tiny crystal.

“Something like… such a gigantic Rilithium Stone… impossible…”

Lalaila muttered in a trembling voice, her face pale.

“Is it that rare?”

“Ku ku ku… Rare is an understatement. If word got out about this, it might cause a war.”

“You’re kidding me…”

“Akira, just put it away for now.”

“O-Okay, got it.”

I tossed the crystal Hagg handed me into a container. Everyone sighed in relief. Even Faf let out a small exhale.

“Wait, Akira. Just a fragment, please. Could you spare a piece?”

“Sure, no problem. It’s all communal property anyway.”

I retrieved it from the container and handed it back to Hagg, who carefully chipped off a piece about the size of a lighter with a hammer and pocketed it.

“That’s enough for you?”

“This piece alone is national treasure-sized. It’s plenty.”

“Got it.”

After stashing the remaining crystal back in the container, Yaralai descended from the camper’s roof.

“My nerves… are cold.”

“Mine too…”

“Sorry about all this.”

Blame it on that Goddess. Yep.

“Let’s seal it unless something extraordinary happens.”

“That’s probably best.”

What was the logic behind approving something like this…? If we ever need money, we’ll sell a fragment. As a last resort, of course.

If we sold it whole, it’d probably fracture this world’s economy.

“By the way, Akira, about the sewing machine—looks like the unit price will be around 8 million yen.”

“…That’s steep.”

“Master craftsmen are banding together to make it. That’s likely enough to support an entire workshop.”

For a moment, it felt expensive, but considering labor costs, maybe it’s reasonable. Unlike electronic devices, it’s something you can use indefinitely once purchased. In terms of depreciation, it might actually be cost-effective.

“What’s the production pace?”

“Once it stabilizes, probably about one unit per week.”

“Got it. Proceed with that.”

“Understood.”

This should take care of the sewing machine arrangements. The bigger question is whether the fashion guild can purchase something so costly.

Even buying 10 machines would cost 80 million yen.

But with 10 machines, profits would likely soar, recouping the cost in a few years. Let’s trust the witches’ business acumen. Cherina, for instance, would probably order 30 machines without hesitation—she has great foresight.

Should I write her a letter?

Apparently, there’s a courier service similar to mail, called horse-mail. Might be worth looking into later. Luckily, our budget has plenty of wiggle room now.

“Oh, right. Since we have room in the budget, let’s hand out some spending money.”

“We haven’t even used much yet, though?”

“Well, it’s not like it hurts to have some on hand.”

“I still have leftover money from the last job you gave me.”

“Ah, right. Then let’s give the others 50,000 yen each.”

“Sounds good.”

“Ku ku ku… While we’re at it—”

“Faf gets nothing.”

Faf exaggeratedly shrugged. He’s doing it on purpose, and it’s infuriating.

I handed 50,000 yen each to Hagg, Lalaila, and Faf, excluding Yaralai.

Remaining balance: 9,413,365 yen.

“Akira, two bottles of that liquor, please. And some cigarettes.”

“Got it.”

Looks like she wanted the same drink Faf had last time. Two bottles cost nearly 60,000 yen, but she paid with the leftover money and received her items.

“I’ll take two packs of cigarettes, too.”

“Sure, sure.”

Yaralai bought cigarettes and tucked them into her bag. There’s still plenty left, but maybe I should stock up, too.

Remaining balance: 9,408,765 yen.

Yaralai and I smoked together, and Lalaila chuckled softly beside us. What’s so funny…?

After cleaning everyone’s bodies with aerial tools, I dove into the camper’s bed.

God, please, no more incomprehensible surprises…

I sank into unconsciousness like a stone in water.

◆

Morning training time. I was sparring with Yaralai when I spotted a familiar face among the spectators.

“Eutis? …Gah!”

“Akira, no distractions.”

“Guh… C’mon… go easy on me…”

Damn, she hit just below the threshold of breaking my ribs!

“Sorry, Eutis, can you wait until we’re done?”

“Yes. Are you… alright?”

“If you’re worried, just watch for a while.”

“A-Alright.”

Letting out a sigh, I jabbed my mock spear at Yaralai, but she easily deflected it with her thick, black estoc. Damn it. I just want to land one hit!

Switching things up, I feinted a series of rapid thrusts, then spun my whole body into a sudden sweep attack.

“Hmm.”

Transitioning from pinpoint thrusts to a wide horizontal slash took her by surprise—this has to work!

Or so I thought, until my view spun, and I slammed into the ground.

“Gah!”

“That was a good attack. Change is important. That’s all for this morning.”

“Couldn’t you hold back a little…? Damn it…”

I know she’s already going easy on me, but I couldn’t help complaining. After catching my breath, I stood up, and Lalaila handed me a wet towel.

“Thanks.”

Cooling my flushed face brought me back down to earth.

Lalaila greeted Eutis warmly, while I ducked into the camper to change out of my military uniform.

“I really should find some less conspicuous clothes…”

It’s about time I used my connection with the fashion guild to sort that out.

“Eutis, here to visit?”

“No, I have something to discuss about that matter. Would you have time to take a look?”

“Yeah, no problem. I just need to make a quick stop. That okay?”

“Of course.”

“Alright, let’s go. But first, breakfast. Join us, Eutis.”

“Oh, but—”

“Come on, let’s chat some more, Eutis!”

Eutis hesitated under Lalaila’s smiling insistence, then nodded reluctantly.

We had a hearty breakfast before splitting up for our respective tasks. I really need to find a way to lighten Lalaila’s load…