The Coupon Scheme
Aslan sat blankly in his office. He wasn't working, nor was he sleeping. He simply sat there with his eyes open, looking as though his soul had left his body.
Peeking through the crack in the door, Julia and Charlotte whispered to each other.
"He looks really exhausted..."
"He must've worn himself out preparing to host His Majesty the Emperor in just one day."
"Everyone else in the mansion seems incredibly busy too."
Preparations for the banquet, tending to the garden, and a massive cleaning spree—it was utter chaos. The staff were so occupied that they couldn't even spare their usual attention for Charlotte and Julia, whom they normally doted on. If that was the case for them, how much worse must it be for Aslan?
The man who usually holed himself up and barely moved had been running around nonstop for an entire day.
"He hasn't been eating properly either..."
"He must've lost his appetite from being so tired. At times like this, he should at least eat something sweet and sour like fruit."
"Hehe. Julia, you're worried about him."
"H-Huh!? Worried? Me? About that guy? No way!"
Julia snapped at Charlotte, who was grinning as if she'd caught her red-handed.
That was ridiculous. Why would she worry about that man? She already had enough on her plate worrying about herself and how she was going to scrape together a billion larks to buy her freedom.
"What about you? Aren't you worried about him?"
"Yeah. I am. I hope he doesn't get sick."
"..."
At Charlotte's nonchalant reply, Julia's mouth snapped shut. She really was too kind. Or was it Stockholm syndrome? Something like that? How foolish.
"Well... I'm not worried, but I do agree that I don't want him getting sick. If that guy can't work, we'll lose our chance to make money too."
Thanks to the recent road construction deal, both she and Charlotte had each secured a 0.1% share of the toll revenue. Aslan wanted to use them to make money. It seemed his ultimate goal was to have each of them earn a billion larks. If he stayed in this state, that would be a problem.
"Tch. Julia, you only ever think about money."
"Of course I do. Don't you want to get out of here? Aren't you worried about what happened to Yuri? How much do you think she's worrying about us right now? We need to get out as soon as possible. We can't stay like this forever."
"If you want to make money, I've got a way!"
"A way? What way?"
Charlotte's eyes sparkled with confidence, making Julia feel slightly uneasy. Whenever Charlotte got like this, she never suggested anything normal.
"Hehe. We're going to sell our labor to him! We'll make him an offer he can't refuse!"
"An offer he can't refuse?"
"I've been watching him run his businesses and work. The key is market research! You figure out what the other person needs and shove it in their face so they have no choice but to buy it!"
"So what is it?"
"Heheheh!"
With her hands on her hips and a triumphant smile, Charlotte pulled something out of her pocket.
"A massage coupon...?"
"If you use this, you can get a massage from me!"
"I'll buy it right now. How much?"
"One billion larks!"
"..."
A brief silence fell. Julia smacked her forehead. One billion larks was way too expensive...
"Oh? Um! Since Julia's here too, let's make it two billion larks!"
"That's still too expensive."
"Why? This massage coupon is something you can only get from me—it's the one and only rare coupon in the entire world...!"
"I don't think a massage is worth two billion larks. I could just call anyone in this mansion and get one for free. Why would I pay such an outrageous amount?"
"Th-This is bad! I thought he'd be rich and spend money like crazy... My prediction was way off, Julia!"
"I told you it wouldn't work..."
Aslan desperately wanted that massage from Charlotte. He wanted to buy it no matter what. But he forced himself to suppress a smile and pretended to lose interest, burying himself in paperwork instead. Watching him, Charlotte stomped her feet in frustration.
Perfect. Everything was going according to plan.
"I'll lower the price for you!"
"How much?"
"Five hundred million larks! That's half off!"
"Hmm."
"Tw-Two hundred million larks!"
"With that much, I could hire a professional masseuse and get massages all year round."
"O-One million...?"
Charlotte muttered in a voice as small as an ant's. When Aslan ignored her again without so much as a glance, her lips began to pout and tremble. She looked like she was about to cry.
"It's still too expensive."
"B-But... I need to make a lot of money..."
"Then how about this? Once the security company is established, I'll give you a suitable assignment. You'll keep the entire reward for yourself."
"Wow! Really!?"
"And the next time we go out, I'll buy you a doll. I can't stand listening to you grumble about how I only bought one for Julia. That'll cover ten coupons."
"Really!? No take-backs! I'll sell them for that! Here you go!"
Charlotte beamed, scribbled "X10" in big letters on the coupons, and handed them over. Since he'd already planned to use Charlotte at the security company anyway, this was basically getting ten massage coupons for free. Excellent. Absolutely excellent.
The Evil God 'Kali' eagerly anticipates our Dark Knight's massage.
Aslan was about to use one of the coupons immediately when he noticed Julia glancing at him, clearly wanting to say something.
"...What are you trying to sell me?"
"Hehe. Mine isn't some cheap junk like Charlotte's, so you won't be able to resist. You won't be able to just brush it off...yo."
"Cheap junk!? My massage!?"
"Hyah!"
The moment he spoke, Julia eagerly pulled out a scrap of paper as if she'd been waiting for this. Aslan stared at it and froze for a moment. What on earth was this?
"A one-on-one tutoring coupon?"
"No matter the subject, you can get a one-hour private lesson from me! How about it? Don't you want it? Last time you took my class, you said my explanations were so easy to understand that you wanted another one... Hehe!"
"..."
He didn't feel even the slightest, tiniest urge to buy this. What was he supposed to do now? Looking at Julia's confident expression, he was in serious trouble.