Yuto, Elun, and Flokiro made their way into the heart of Merchant City.

Unlike the bleak checkpoint near the city gates, the downtown market streets brimmed with life. Merchants called out in booming voices, white steam billowed from enormous pots, and rare wares from every nation filled the stalls. The central market was a celebrated attraction of Merchant City, reputedly the wealthiest city in Callisto, and everywhere they looked, there was something to see.

“How noisy.”

Elun muttered with a frown. As though trying to avoid bumping into anyone, she clutched Yuto’s clothes as tightly as if they were her lifeline.

“The noise makes my ears ring, and all these strange smells hurt my nose. What a thoroughly distracting place.”

Despite her scornful tone, her eyes were busy.

A clown performing wondrous magic by the roadside. Brilliantly colored fruit. Unfamiliar mechanical contraptions turning with the ticking of clockwork. Elun stole glances at them all, and each time, the muscles holding her face expressionless twitched ever so slightly.

Whenever Yuto caught her eye as she surveyed the sights, she whipped her head away as if she had been doing nothing of the sort.

“Anything catch your interest?”

Yuto asked carefully, taking care not to wound her pride. Elun raised a finger and replied in a disinterested voice.

“What is that? Why are those humans lining up to receive scraps of paper?”

Yuto looked where she was pointing. A newly opened shop was holding a prize drawing to celebrate its opening. Customers unfolded slips of paper handed out by the owner, and anyone with a winning slip received one of the prizes on offer.

“It’s called a prize drawing. You open the slip the shopkeeper gives you, and if you’re lucky, you can win something nice.”

“How irrational. Wasting time on something when the odds are not even stated. How can they be certain that shopkeeper has not tampered with the slips? What of the possibility of fraud?”

For all her icy words, Elun watched for quite some time as people checked their slips and cheered. This lively place, the first of its kind she had visited since her birth, and the cheering humans seemed quite unfamiliar and strange to her.

Rather than tugging her along or urging her to hurry, Yuto waited for her to start moving on her own. Before long, Elun gave a start and looked up at him.

“Why are you standing still?”

“I was watching too.”

Yuto lied without batting an eye. Elun answered with a snort.

“Do you wish to test your luck there? Do you not realize how utterly pointless that would be?”

She maintained her scornful demeanor, but Yuto did not miss the way her gaze lingered on the end of the line outside the shop.

“Well, my last life ended in misfortune... But since I came back to repay that misfortune, perhaps luck is on my side this time.”

With that, Yuto took Elun by the hand and led her along. She blinked several times, then followed his lead.

“Hmph... Do as you please.”

She muttered as though she had no interest whatsoever. Following behind them, Flokiro covered his mouth with both hands and stifled his laughter.

As the line shortened and their turn approached, Elun stared fixedly at the drawing box. Her gaze was so intense that she seemed intent on using some divine authority to see straight through to its contents.

At last, their turn came. The kindly-looking shopkeeper smiled and held out the box. Yuto drew a slip first, followed by Flokiro.

“...”

Elun did not draw a slip. She was still glaring at the box. The shopkeeper burst out laughing at that stare and offered it to her directly.

“Come now, pretty little miss! You draw one too!”

Elun briefly scowled at being called a “pretty little miss,” but when Yuto gave her a look, she reached into the box with an air of resignation.

“The box does not appear to have been tampered with. Calculating the number of slips inside against the number of prizes remaining...”

“Just pick one.”

At his urging, she frowned and cast him a sidelong glance, then pulled out the first slip that came to hand. Meanwhile, Yuto and Flokiro unfolded their own slips.

“What did you two get?”

“Neither of us won.”

Elun’s eyes narrowed at Yuto’s answer. She looked coldly down at the slip she had just drawn. When she moved to crumple it up and throw it away unopened, Yuto hastily stopped her.

“Open it first. You never know.”

“Hmph...”

With an expression that suggested she expected nothing, Elun unfolded the slip. A soft light burst from within it with a sudden sound.

POP!

“Oh! A winner! Our pretty little miss has drawn first prize!”

Making a great fuss, the shopkeeper lifted a sparkling glass jar from among the prizes on display and handed it to Elun.

“Candy from Starlit Cloud, the finest dessert shop in Merchant City!”

Elun stared at the candy in the jar, looking bewildered. Inside the clear glass, colorful, star-shaped candies gleamed like jewels.

“Candy...? Mere lumps of sugar are the first prize?”

She shook her head as though she could not comprehend it, but the eyes studying the jar held a faint sparkle rather than their usual chill.

“He said they’re from the best dessert shop in the city. They’re probably the kind you can’t get even if you line up.”

“You cannot buy these trifles even with money?”

Elun turned away with those curt words. From her tone alone, one might have feared she would toss the jar aside without a second thought. Yet far from doing so, she walked with careful little steps, making sure not to drop it.

“First prize is still first prize. It really does seem I’m lucky in this life.”

“I won first prize, not you.”

Elun answered frostily, but her eyes remained fixed on the glittering star candies in the jar. Reflecting their sparkle, her eyes were no longer as dull as usual.

“Right, you won. How does it feel?”

“Not bad. Though I find it a paltry reward for first place. To think we wasted time standing in line merely to obtain this.”

Muttering quietly, Elun opened the lid, and sparkles burst from the star candies. Her eyes followed the glimmers as they erupted and scattered like fireworks.

“What purpose does this visual extravagance serve?”

“It looks nice.”

“These are ultimately lumps of sugar, are they not? Is sweetness not what matters?”

“There’s a saying that you eat with your eyes too.”

“I do not understand. How does one eat food with one’s eyes?”

Elun peered at the candy in genuine incomprehension. Drawn by the sweets, Flokiro overcame the fear he secretly harbored toward her and sidled right up to her.

“G-give me one too...!”

“No. This is a prize I won.”

“Th-that’s mean...”

Flokiro mumbled, but Elun paid him no heed.

“Aren’t you going to eat any?”

Yuto asked, puzzled, as Elun closed the lid again.

“I have no need to eat. I do not feel hunger.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t taste food.”

“I do not know. I have never eaten any.”

She had no intention of eating the candy, but she did not seem inclined to throw it away either. Gripping the jar tightly in both hands, Elun stared at Yuto.

“I obtained this through my own good fortune, so I shall keep it for now. Yuto, take me where we need to go. I do not wish to remain in this noisy place for long.”

Despite her words, she was still stealing glances all around, but Yuto chose not to point that out.

“Let’s start with shoes, then. Just as we planned.”

Leaving the bustling market behind, Yuto led Elun to a more orderly street. Its marble paving was polished clean, and the district was lined with some of Merchant City’s most prestigious shops.

“Must we come all this way to buy shoes? We passed plenty of shops selling them.”

“The Void’s agent can hardly go around in cheap shoes.”

“Hmm. You have a point.”

Elun nodded without argument. Of course, Yuto had only said that to persuade her. Since he was buying her things anyway, he simply wanted to get her something nice.

He approached a shop with a golden sign. A clear bell chimed as he opened the door and stepped inside, and the party was greeted by a delicate scent of perfume and the soft feel of carpet beneath their feet.

“Welcome.”

A well-dressed saleswoman approached gracefully and greeted them. Her gaze swept over Yuto’s worn traveling clothes and scruffy hair, still coated with dust from the journey, before moving to Elun’s bare feet.

Her manner did not falter, however. Ragged though his clothes were, she could feel the presence and intimidating air emanating from Yuto’s Charm stat.

“I’m here to buy shoes suitable for this child.”

Yuto looked around the shop. It sold not only shoes but various kinds of clothing as well.

“After the shoes, please bring out some clothes too. Price is no object.”

In truth, his purse was not nearly full enough to justify such a statement, but he had something to fall back on.

“Send the bill to the Marigold Trading Company.”

Yuto took the Marigold seal from inside his clothes and showed it to her. The saleswoman started in astonishment, then bowed so low her head nearly touched the floor.

“O-of course.”

Her manner changed in the literal blink of an eye. She had been perfectly respectful before, but after seeing the Marigold seal, her treatment bordered on worship. Such was the power of House Marigold’s seal here in Merchant City.

At her guidance, the party entered a private VIP room screened by velvet curtains. Before going in, Yuto glanced toward the entrance and saw another employee locking the shop door altogether.

A faint lavender fragrance lingered in the private room. With practiced ease, Yuto settled into an expensive leather sofa, and Flokiro hopped up to sit on his left. Elun surveyed the lavish room with a frown before reluctantly taking the seat to his right.

“Please wait a moment. We shall bring our very finest items, befitting the young lady’s noble grace.”

The moment the saleswoman backed out of the room, Elun snorted and grumbled scornfully.

“How transparent human obsequiousness is. One look at a pattern engraved on a mere piece of metal, and she behaves as though she would sell her very soul.”

“This is Merchant City. Here, that emblem can wield more power than a constellation’s blessing.”

“To someone in this city, that house may well be as malevolent as the constellations.”

“Well, merchants can’t be loved by everyone.”

Yuto leaned back against the sofa as he answered.

“We agreed to use House Marigold as our backing, didn’t we? If we’re going to make use of them, we might as well do it properly and enjoy the benefits. How’s the sofa? Comfortable, isn’t it?”

“It is far softer than being carried in your arms, or that carriage we rode in for days. Yes, this comfort is not unpleasant.”

Elun shifted a little, testing the sofa’s springiness. Her expression remained indifferent, but her fingers stroked the fine leather as though secretly savoring its texture. Flokiro, too, burrowed among the cushions and let out a contented purr.

Soon, the saleswoman returned with two assistants. Several kinds of shoes rested on the velvet trays they carried, while another employee wheeled in a rack hung with clothing in a variety of designs.

“Hah...”

At the sight, Elun let out an involuntary sigh.

She had instinctively realized that she would have to try on every last one of them.