Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 414

414: EX8. A Heartwarming Dark Transaction

If you were to ask a girl what her favorite animal was, what would she say?

A dog? A cat?

Of course, those would be at the top. But in a survey I had seen before I had come to this world, it had been neither.

The number one was a rabbit.

I remembered that my sister had also liked them. My family, as far as I could remember, had never had a pet. But my sister and I had both liked animals. It might have been a kind of a longing, precisely because we had had so few opportunities to touch them.

In my case, I had a feeling that my desire for fluffiness had gone a little… out of control.

Our Barghests were very adorable, and for the most part, my desires were satisfied.

…As far as canines were concerned.

They would sometimes read the room and not come up on the bed, but I often slept with at least one of them, and when I had time, I would play with the pack in the garden. If you were to ask me if I ever got tired of it, I would say no.

The long fur, which changed its feel with every stroke. The muscles, hidden under the fur, which had a different feel depending on the place. The deep sense of peace that came from familiarity.

And recently, I had gotten into the frisbee I had always longed for. As I had gotten used to throwing it, the Barghests had also started to get serious, so my throwing skills were improving at a rapid pace.

It wasn’t that I had any complaints about these children. I was having a very fulfilling, fluffy life.

But human desires were limitless.

Everyone lived, with a desire hidden in their heart. And I—had stopped suppressing it.

At first, in this world where no one knew me, I had just wanted to make a few memories before I died. Now, while I thought I should restrain myself, it was just fun to release what I had been suppressing. And besides… for some reason, everyone, while they looked at me with a mixture of exasperation and confusion, seemed to be enjoying themselves in the end, so I had started to think that it might be alright to just be myself.

I had made Liz wear cat ears, and I had made everyone wear animal pajamas. I was using my desire for fluffiness in a bad direction.

—And now, too, to satisfy my own desires, I was engaged in a transaction to obtain an item that was not normally available.

“Here is the ‘ordered item’…”

I took the cloth bundle that was offered to me and, in return, I offered a cloth bag of gold coins.

“Excuse me…”

The bag was turned upside down, and the gold coins clattered onto the palm of my trading partner, forming a small mountain.

“…Indeed.”

After counting, the gold coins were returned to the cloth bag.

“I am sure you will be satisfied…”

“I trust you. I am looking forward to ‘using’ it…”

We both grinned.

“By the way, I would like to hear your impressions of the animal pajamas again.”

Elisha-san’s wicked face disappeared, and her smile was filled with anticipation.

We were in the back of Elisha-san’s shop, in the break space, sitting opposite each other and talking. For some reason, shopping with her always felt like a dark transaction. Perhaps it was because it was a special order, and I often picked it up after closing.

“…I told you before, didn’t I?”

“That’s right, but I can listen to it as many times as I want. And last time, it was with the order, so we didn’t have much time. —By the way, Lizlit-sama and Rebecca-sama, but did Bringit-sama really wear it?”

“She did. Rabbit Bridget was cute.”

“The Lord of Disease is really crazy.”

“…………” A full-faced smile.

“…I get that a lot.”

“…Ah, I mean it in a good way!”

I also got it in a bad way.

“…By the way, do you want to hear about the clothes from my world?”

I had told her a little. That I was a human from another world—and that I had been summoned by the humans of this world.

“…I really want to. But just a little… for now, this is enough. The clothes from another world are probably all fresh and look good… but the customers I provide clothes for are all from this world.”

Elisha-san, suppressing her desires, smiled.

“And besides, the consultations that the Lord of Disease brings are stimulating enough! If it’s any more stimulating, it’ll be dangerous! Please, in moderation.”

She wasn’t suppressing it that much. No, she probably was.

“By the way, about the animal pajamas.”

“Yes. Liz’s fabric color was a perfect match for her hair, and her cat ears and tail were so cute. Rebecca’s sleeves were a little too long.”

“Ah, was it oversized?” Elisha-san’s face was a little anxious.

“Wasn’t it intentional? The loose, baggy feel was a great contrast to her usual, neat look.”

“I see! It wasn’t intentional. A choice to not match the size.” The life returned to her face.

“Aithys was cute, too. Her two tails were like a nekomata.”

“Nekomata?”

“Ah… a magical beast… from my world. It’s a kind of a folk tale, but they say that a cat that lives for twenty years will become a monster cat with two tails.”

“Oh. …By the way, was the chest size alright? It was loose, so I thought it would be fine, but especially for Bringit-sama and Aithys-sama, I had to guess by eye… and since there was no fitting, I was a little worried about Lizlit-sama’s, too.”

“That’s amazing, too. As far as I could… see… Liz’s, there was no sense of unease.”

“That’s a relief.” Elisha-san’s face was one of relief.

“And the feel of the fabric was so nice. It felt good to wear it myself. And the feel of it when you hug someone who’s wearing it is also.”

“Wow.” Elisha-san, who was as happy as if it were her own, blushed and covered her cheeks with her hands.

“My master… it is about time we returned.”

Our conversation, which had been going on for a while, was interrupted by Samarkand, who had been standing in the shadows.

“Ah, that’s right.” I stood up from my chair. Since we had come after closing, it was inevitably late.

“Yes. Thank you for your purchase. Well then, um, I hope you enjoy it.”

Elisha-san, with a business smile.

“Thank you. I’ll do my best.”

From here on, my battle would begin. When I bought this kind of clothes, if I consulted with Liz, she would probably object, so I had decided to show her the real thing and to push it through with momentum. I had a feeling she would wear it, one way or another, but since this was a special case, I had a feeling I would need to be more theoretically armed than usual.