This Is Business, So Aaaah!! ♥ (3)
“Here, please have some.”
Clink—
Amethyst set down the teacup with a gentle smile.
“...Just to be safe, I'm asking. You didn't mix in that Orc Aphrodisiac you made, did you?”
“Hehe, as if I'd joke about something like that.”
“Hmmm...”
Sniff—
She denied it immediately, but Rian, clearly not buying it, lifted the teacup and sniffed it anyway.
'Pretty sharp senses, Young Master. But no matter how much you sniff, it won't help.'
After all, the 'Orc Aphrodisiac' Amethyst had perfected was one step beyond what was described in Childhood Friend Rape.
Colorless, odorless, tasteless.
By the time you felt something off...
'You'd already be addicted, Young Master!'
Amethyst's lips curled up slightly.
“Color and smell seem fine.”
The moment Rian finished checking and went to sip his tea—
Crash—!!
Something shattered behind them.
Whoosh—!
“...!”
Amethyst whipped her head around reflexively.
'What was that?'
A glass bottle from the shelf had fallen to the floor and shattered into pieces.
'...Did it fall because of the commotion Young Master caused earlier?'
A flicker of annoyance rose, but...
Sweep—sweep—
Amethyst cleaned up the shards and composed her expression.
Slurp—
“Hah, what the hell? If you can't even manage a shop properly... How am I supposed to take you as a business partner?”
At that moment, Rian pulled his lips from the teacup and grumbled curtly.
'...He drank it.'
Amethyst swallowed a laugh inwardly and took a sip of her own black tea.
“I'm sorry. Running it alone, things slip sometimes. I'll be more careful from now on.”
“Hah, whatever.”
Thud—
Rian set down his half-empty cup and crossed his legs.
“So... what you mentioned earlier. Exclusive manufacturing contract, right? For every item that appears in all my future novels?”
“Yes. That's right.”
“Isn't that a bit greedy?”
Rian glanced around the shop and snorted.
“I have the ability to handle it.”
Smile—
Amethyst pulled out a glass bottle filled with pink liquid.
Slosh—slosh—
“This is...”
“You can tell by the color. It's the Orc Aphrodisiac. Reproduced exactly as described in the novel.”
She uncorked the bottle slightly, and a sweet, cloying fragrance wafted out.
“...And the effects?”
“No human trials yet, but theoretically, it should produce nearly identical effects to the novel's description.”
“If it's true... that's pretty impressive.”
“Hehe, I'm just as surprised.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
“Your way of thinking, Young Master.”
Amethyst said it with genuine sincerity.
“I never could have conceived of something like this myself. It was like hitting a wall. A drug that forces arousal? Hehehe... What kind of life do you have to live to come up with ideas like that?”
“Hmmm... So, what, you want exclusive access to my ideas?”
“Simply put, yes.”
“Then what's in it for me? My novels are already selling like hotcakes. It's a hassle to bother with pocket change.”
Snap—!
In response, Amethyst held up two fingers.
“20% of sales revenue. Not a bad deal, right?”
“Just 20%? Isn't that stingy?”
“Considering material and research costs, it's a perfectly reasonable rate.”
“....”
Rian fell silent for a moment after hearing her out.
Glance—
Amethyst checked the clock on the wall.
About five minutes since he drank the tea.
Right around when the Orc Aphrodisiac's effects should start kicking in.
“So, our clever Young Master.”
Amethyst rested her elbows on the table and met Rian's eyes.
“How are you feeling right now?”
“Hm? What are you talking about...”
Rian furrowed his brow in confusion, and...
Slither—
Amethyst smiled like a snake eyeing its prey.
“In the novel, the Orc Aphrodisiac was a sweet-scented pink liquid, right?”
Slosh—!
She shook the Orc Aphrodisiac bottle on the table.
“But using something this conspicuous in reality would be idiotic. So I... improved it a little.”
“....”
“Hehehe... It's hard to hold back, isn't it? Don't worry. I don't plan on anything bad.”
“...You drug me and expect me to... believe that?”
“Yes. What I want is... as I said, an exclusive contract with me. That's all.”
—Lick
Amethyst licked her lips as she spoke.
“The split... fine, up to 25%. How's that? ...We could make pretty good business partners, don't you think? Maybe even something more.”
Her eyes sparkled as they roamed over Rian's body.
Amethyst, born a genius, had always lived in solitude.
From birth, she saw things others couldn't and understood more than they ever would.
Once, she took pride in it, thinking solitude wasn't so bad.
Ordinary people felt absent even when they were right there, after all.
But...
The accumulated loneliness over time gnawed at her bit by bit...
And just as her zest for life nearly vanished, she stumbled upon Childhood Friend Rape by chance and realized.
She needed someone who could think on her level—or beyond.
'You're the first to make me feel like this, Young Master!!'
The Orc Aphrodisiac, Anal Cleaning Slime, and countless other items...
No doubt, they were concepts this world could never produce, even after centuries.
'It's clear—Young Master sees the 'outside' of this world!'
Of course, separate from his genius ideas, he still seemed young and immature.
The commotion when he entered the shop, or drinking the tea so carelessly.
'Doesn't matter. I can teach him that...'
That's why she only put a moderate dose of the Orc Aphrodisiac.
Too much would make submission easy, but...
'He might break.'
What Amethyst wanted was Rian Ludwig, the one who could see the world's 'outside.'
“Hmmm... I see.”
Suddenly, Rian spoke in a calm tone.
Slurp—
He even took another sip of the black tea, as if oblivious to the situation.
“...?”
A question mark floated over Amethyst's head.
Something was wrong.
'...What... is this?'
The effects should have started by now...
Yet Rian's expression looked even more relaxed than when he'd first arrived.
“Young Master. I don't think you get it. That black tea right now has...”
“Don't worry. It's not in there.”
“....?”
Not in there?
She'd put it in herself while preparing the tea?
Thump—! Thump—! Thump—!
In that instant, Amethyst felt her heart racing unusually fast today.
'What...? Hah...! No way... Am I... nervous?'
That was surprising enough, but understandable.
But...
'Wait, no... This nervousness is...! Hnngh...!! ♥Y-You, it's too... hot and... burning...?! ♥'
Twitch—! Twitch—!
Amethyst stared at Rian in shock as scorching heat surged from her lower belly.
“N-No way...? ♥...Lies?!...H-How...?! ♥...Hnn...! Wh-what... did you do...? ♥”
“Eh, not like I was totally sure. Just had a hunch.”
Crackle—
I reached out, and a small chunk of ice appeared in my palm.
A pathetic 1-star level ice magic, barely worth calling magic.
As you can see, all it did was make one little ice chunk...
But it was plenty to use as a stand for the glass bottle.
“I figured it was about an 80% chance.”
“...Wh-what... do you mean...?”
Amethyst asked in a trembling voice.
“That you'd try to slip me the Orc Aphrodisiac.”
“Lies!!...Y-You... predicted... that?!”
“Less prediction, more of a lucky guess. Ever since I got that blackmail letter. My gut told me.”
Tap-tap-tap—
I explained while drumming my fingers on the table.
“If I had to pin it down... The letter said 'I chose this place' and used the term 'prototype demo,' right?”
'Demo' means showing something directly, after all.
And for someone bold enough to blackmail me, the most effective 'demo' would obviously be...
Using the Orc Aphrodisiac on me directly, duh?
“J-Just... that...? G-Guessing... like that...?! ♥”
“Told you, it was a guess. Though not the whole story...”
Sweep—
“Your reaction when I trashed the place was off.”
Amethyst's face when she first came out from behind the counter.
The moment she saw me, I could tell she pegged me as the typical 'spoiled count's son.'
The issue was...
'I'd deliberately acted completely out of character.'
Kicking the door open, yelling, shaking the shelves...
Anyone who knew me would think it was weird as hell.
But Amethyst reacted like it was totally normal for me—like that was who I was.
“Meaning you hadn't observed me yourself. You only knew me from info. You didn't even know I hate fox-chasing perfume, obviously.”
“Me... not observing you... personally... and... suspecting... me... wh-what's... that got to do... with anything?!”
“Everything. If you'd watched me yourself, you'd at least know my personality.”
Snap—
I propped my chin and said,
“Then you wouldn't have tried drugging me.”
“....”
“You'd know a stunt like this wouldn't work.”
Of course, even if she'd observed me, I couldn't guarantee she wouldn't have drugged the tea.
But she definitely wouldn't have thought, 'This spoiled brat will fold easy with a little drug~.'
Making that misjudgment proved she'd only investigated indirectly...
And yet she suddenly wanted to 'meet in person' for a contract?
“There had to be a reason to meet here. That was my conclusion.”
Ting—!
I flicked the glass bottle on the table.
“A-All of it!!... Baseless... g-guesses!!... J-Just... this... little...!!”
She was right.
“Yeah, guesses. So I did what I could. Like making a glass bottle 'accidentally' shatter at the right time.”
“...No way?!”
My initial rampage wasn't from real anger, obviously.
It was prep work to make the shattering feel less suspicious.
If the shelves were already wobbly from me, a bottle falling wouldn't seem unnatural.
—Flick!
I flicked the ice chunk with my finger and continued.
“I wedged an ice chunk under one of the bottles on the shelf.”
After a bit, the ice melts.
The bottle loses its support and falls naturally.
Crash—! Shatter—!
The moment Amethyst turned to look, I swapped the teacups.
...Where'd I learn a trick like that?
I'd used it a few times to shut down Topaz's nagging.
Now I could time it within seconds...
'But Topaz caught on.'
Should've used it sparingly.
Clink—!
“...So?”
I set my empty cup on the table and threw her question right back at her.
“How are you feeling right now?”
“.....!?! ♥”
