The Hustle (2)
I left the mansion in the late afternoon, just before sunset, and headed to the convenience store I had visited the day before.
As expected, the convenience store clerk was a die-hard magical girl fan.
The moment I showed him the rare figure from the capsule, he became ecstatic. When I told him I was willing to sell it, he jumped at the chance immediately.
The clerk, looking momentarily flustered as if he’d never encountered someone so calculating, opened his mouth timidly.
He quoted an absurdly low price, so instead of punching him in the face, I turned around to leave.
The clerk grabbed me in a panic. When I turned back and glared at him, he waved his hands and made a new bid.
At my urging, he pulled out his phone and started tapping away.
Yesterday—or rather, on the day the magical girl 10th-anniversary gacha was released, according to the clerk—it was true that the rare figure’s trading price had hit 20,000 yen. That was information I’d found while Veronica was assembling the capsules yesterday, just to check the market value of the leftovers.
But now?
It goes without saying, but the internet communities in this world were pristine. There were none of the "evil spirits" found in real-world forums—no trolls posting illicit images, no shock-site terrorism, no people using multiple accounts to stir up trouble. Realizing that, I had used Veronica's tablet to spend less than five hours flooding the trading boards and communities with fake listings and manufactured hype to drive the price through the roof.
As a result, the price of a rare magical girl figure was now pushing past 50,000 and eyeing 60,000 yen. The clerk’s face turned pale with despair as he checked the price.
I felt a faint energy. I focused, feeling as if I were drawing the energy in, and I could sense a dim aura flowing into my body.
Thump!!!
Then, I felt the energy inside me suddenly swell. What was this? I hadn't been aiming for it, but it was an unexpected harvest. I tucked the Magi away inside my body and spoke to the despairing clerk.
The clerk’s face brightened instantly. The feeling of despair that had been flowing from him cut off abruptly. It was a shame, but since the main thing I wanted from this guy was money, I’d just treat it as a side benefit.
I told him what I had been thinking about.
The clerk’s expression dimmed slightly. So they did exist. He remained silent for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts, before opening his mouth again.
I stifled a laugh at such a ridiculous premise and stared at the clerk. He lowered his voice and continued his explanation.
Wakaba? The meaning popped into my head. "New Bud." To think that "delinquents" were just kids who stole pocket money from children at a playground—what a soft world this was.
The clerk ran to the staff room and came sprinting back with the bills. To think I’d sold it for double the market price after just five hours of trolling. What a sweet deal. The man, oblivious, treated me like a savior and bowed repeatedly until the very moment I walked out of the store.
Now, shall I head to the playground?
Creak—! Creak! Creak!
I left the convenience store and arrived at the playground near the high school I’d checked out earlier. The sun was setting, so there were no children in sight. I sat down on a swing and started swaying.
I didn't expect to hear that line in real life, so I burst out laughing without resistance.
I turned my head toward the voice behind me and saw a guy with a pompadour hairstyle and a flashy sukajan jacket, flanked by two girls dressed in "underground idol" style clothing, all staring at me.
A textbook reaction. They weren't wearing school uniforms, but I decided to ask just to be sure.
I stood up from the swing and approached him. He was smaller than I thought. I was 185cm, and he looked a bit shorter. Maybe 170cm? But his pompadour stood so high it made him look close to my height.
Perhaps intimidated by my size despite his face, he swallowed hard and shouted.
The chuunibyou-esque gang name was funny enough, but the fact that a "Heavenly King" was out here shaking down kids for lunch money was absurd. Veronica, who had actually been a real Heavenly King in the Dark Lord’s army, was back at the mansion just assembling capsules.
Everyone froze in shock at my words. Why? Had they never heard an insult like that before? I pulled a 10,000-yen note from my pocket, waved it around, and spoke to the girls.
After a brief silence, the girls were the first to react.
Their pupils trembled at the sight of a mere 10,000-yen bill. Then, the guy shoved his face in front of mine and glared.
It was a comment that had slipped out automatically the moment I saw his rough-looking face.
The guy’s face twisted even more hideously at the girls' giggling. And then, I felt it—the emotions. Anger, annoyance, and shame.
He clenched his fists. I focused my consciousness just as I had when I obtained the Magi at the convenience store. Soon, I felt a faint energy being sucked into my body.
Whoosh!!!!
Perhaps because the quantity was a bit larger than the clerk's, I felt the Magi swelling rapidly as it was absorbed into my body, and I smiled with satisfaction.
Despite his threatening expression and tone, he still hadn't thrown a punch. Just then, one of the girls spoke up. She was the one with yellow twin-tails.
The guy was struck dumb by the girl's words. Then, the other girl, who had pink hair in a ponytail, chimed in.
The final blow from the other girl caused a surge of jealousy to erupt within him. It seemed he liked the pink-haired one. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to swing his clenched fist at me. While he hung his head, the girls trotted over to me.
Their personalities were so faint they definitely felt like NPCs, but they were girls, so I let it slide.
At my words, the twin-tailed girl’s eyes sparkled.
And the pink-haired girl next to her didn't want to lose out, so she answered quickly.
What was the big deal about grabbing a meal? I had seen a place on my way here, so I handed the girls 10,000 yen and said:
Seeing them smile so brightly after receiving the 10,000-yen bill actually turned me on a little. Even if they weren't in school uniforms, giving cash to girls in "mental health" fashion made me feel like I was doing some kind of "papa-katsu" activity.
I guess because he was a "delinquent" character, they really did just ignore him.
Soon after, the two girls linked arms and left the playground. I still had some testing to do, after all. I carefully moved the Magi inside my body. It wasn't official, but the physical abilities of magical girls or those who possessed Magi transcended those of ordinary people. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense that they could smash buildings with their bare fists, fall from rooftops, and cause all sorts of chaos without suffering any fatal injuries, right?
As I was wondering how to use the Magi, the guy lifted his head and checked that the girls were gone.
Clench—!
He raised his fist.
Since it was Magi, which could do anything, this should work too, right? I coated my shoulders, forearms, and fists with Magi and threw a punch at his gut before he could react.
THWACK—!!
With that single punch, his upper body bent at a 90-degree angle, and his body lifted nearly 50 centimeters into the air. Oh, is this the level of it?
Thud—!!!
He collapsed to the ground and started vomiting up his insides.
With that one punch, two-thirds of the Magi I had accumulated had vanished. But that was fine. Emotions of pain, fear, and terror were erupting from the fallen guy’s body.
Whoooooosh!!
Crackle-crack-crack!!!!
The Magi refilled after just one gut punch. Compared to the Magi I’d just used, the amount recovered was about double. Until I could complete a "farm" that would provide a steady supply of Magi like perpetual motion, I’d have to keep squeezing it out on the spot like this for a while.
I approached the fallen guy, reinforced my body with Magi, and stepped on one of his hands.
Crunch—!
This time, the emotions erupting were incomparable to the gut punch. I absorbed them immediately, and my total amount of Magi was now ten times the amount I’d used to throw that gut punch. Should I treat the gut punch as "1 unit"? Since it was the first attack skill I’d used and I’d likely use it often, maybe I should set it as the baseline? It would be nice if I had a status window or something.
Thinking that, I reached out to grab him by the collar to threaten him, when—
[Skill 'Magi Punch' has been registered.]