The Golden-Eyed Merchant
In any fantasy novel, there's always at least one person in the protagonist's party who handles all the dirty work. The one who commits the only misdeeds in a group of good-aligned heroes, but whose wrongs ultimately serve the party and the world.
Of course, Gloria Aria of Radiance has such a character too.
Among the stories of the four male leads and Viola, he's the only one besides Viola who's not a noble.
Yet he's the richest of them all, and the one who shoulders the most grimy tasks.
The man with golden eyes, Rinaldo Faishas.
...And that man was standing right in front of me now.
He seemed to be negotiating a contract with this clothing shop, but since they'd only discuss business, I could settle my bill separately.
Praying he wouldn't notice me—or, worse, Viola, who was still soothing her body—I asked another shop assistant to ring me up.
"I'd like to pay for the clothes."
"Yes, sir. But... your lady friend's figure is quite extraordinary, so some items will need custom tailoring."
"How long will that take?"
"About a week."
A week was perfect. The round trip to the Holy Nation would take at least ten days anyway, so I could pick them up on the way back.
"That's fine. Can I take the ones that fit her size now?"
I handed over the gold coins as I spoke, and the assistant nodded immediately.
"Of course. But... this is far more than enough."
"Ah, right. My apologies."
I hadn't actually calculated the exact amount, so I'd basically dumped all the money I'd brought for clothes shopping.
The assistant gave me the correct change, and only then did I realize just how absurdly much gold I'd packed.
But then...
"Hey, handsome young man over there—you seem to have quite the fortune on you?"
Rinaldo suddenly approached and spoke to me.
What the hell? Why are you talking to me? Mind your own business.
And there's a good reason for my reaction.
Benedict von Krushal is the one who'd shove a knife straight into my heart. But if I had to name the single most dangerous person in the protagonist's party from the novel... it'd be this guy. Rinaldo Faishas.
As I mentioned earlier, Rinaldo handles all the shady dealings for the protagonist's party.
He's the young head of the Faishas Merchant Guild, the largest trading company on the entire continent.
Thanks to that, he supplies the party's logistics, and he's the kind of man who'd give everything he has for the protagonist, Viola.
At the same time, he frequently resorts to bribery to threaten nobles blocking the party's path.
And whenever illegal jobs cropped up, Rinaldo quietly took care of them behind the scenes.
Benedict might be more broadly popular, but Rinaldo had his own massive fanbase for exactly these reasons.
Anyway, that's not the point. The real issue is...
"So, what's your line of work, if I may ask?"
...This dangerous bastard was latching onto me. He'd sniffed out the money.
How infuriating is this? I'd just brought Viola here to see her in new outfits, and now I run into this crazy blond tanned prick.
"I'm merely a humble priest serving in a small rural parish, brother."
I plastered on my best salesman's smile to deal with Rinaldo Faishas, and he looked me over with a light chuckle.
"No way that's true—with that face and build? You'd be better off claiming to be a knight for some noble lord. And carrying this much gold? How could you possibly be just a priest?"
...I am a priest. My day job's just incubus representative.
I suddenly felt wronged. I really was a priest—why was he picking on me?
"Brother, I have no reason to lie to you."
"Haha, it sure sounds like a lie to me~"
Our little verbal sparring match continued when...
"Father...?"
Viola, who had been getting measured for sizes while composing herself, called out to me from behind.
"Ah, Miss Viola."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I just thought you were talking to that brother over there..."
At that moment, Viola and Rinaldo's eyes met.
In the original story, Rinaldo had approached Viola because her beauty screamed profit potential.
But he was won over by her pure heart, stunning looks, and the way she treated him without prejudice, eventually falling for her.
In other words, Viola's appearance...
"Ah... a-ah... Your lady friend is quite the beauty."
...was guaranteed to hook this money-obsessed lunatic.
"Lady... friend... beauty..."
Viola scurried behind me, blushing furiously.
Rinaldo gave her a small, amused smile.
"Haha, I suppose I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Rinaldo Faishas, head of the Faishas Merchant Guild."
"......Kasian. No family name."
"Viola... "
Caught off guard, we'd exchanged names. I grabbed Viola's hand to slip away from the scene.
The measurements were done, payment settled— no need to linger, and I sure as hell didn't want to get tangled with Rinaldo.
"Well then, I hope we meet again someday, brother."
"Yes, sounds good. Mr. Kasian."
We shook hands lightly and left immediately...
...Never imagining we'd see him again that evening.
"Mr. Kasian! Miss Viola! Fancy running into you two here again!"
"Hello, Brother Rinaldo..."
"...Good evening, Brother Rinaldo."
That evening, Viola and I planned to stay overnight at the inn the coachman had recommended.
I'd been grinning ear to ear imagining dressing her in one of the new undergarments we'd bought and ravishing her that night when this weirdo showed up.
"The Faishas Guild has investments in this inn too, so we were planning to stay here tonight. What luck—getting to see you both!"
"Quite the coincidence. Fate must have brought us together—something to cherish."
Viola smiled with her usual gentle, benevolent warmth.
If anything, she seemed even happier than usual. Why?
"Oh, and I hear this place has excellent soundproofing."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, they say it's popular with lovers. Just like you two."
"Ahem... We're not lovers, Brother Rinaldo. Just a simple nun and priest."
"Right! We're not... l-lovers...! N-not yet..."
"Hahaha! My apologies—I overstepped. Let me make it up to you with dinner on me tonight."
I wasn't short on cash, so I turned him down flat.
"Why not donate that money to the church instead?"
"Sadly, I'm not religious. If I had to pick a faith... it'd be this little guy."
Rinaldo flashed a gold coin, glancing between Viola and me before whispering softly.
"If you ever need to make money or a job, come find the Faishas Guild anytime. I have a feeling you two could handle anything."
For the record, the novel's inner monologue from Rinaldo detailed the jobs he'd offer Viola—and they weren't sexual. Just secretarial work. Or maybe a bunny girl at a bar...
...Ah, now that I'd love to see.
Lost in the thought, I ended up sharing a table with Rinaldo for dinner.
I didn't let him cover the bill, though. Didn't want to owe him anything.
But I never saw this coming.
"Father, a gift to apologize for my earlier rudeness."
After dinner, once Viola had gone up to rest, Rinaldo handed me something.
It was an outfit I never expected: a bunny girl costume.
"......Let's pretend I never saw this, Brother Rinaldo. We're clergy."
"It's all the rage in taverns these days. Wouldn't it suit Miss Viola perfectly? And though you deny it, my eyes don't lie?"
What aren't we fooling? We're not lovers.
Though we've done all the lover stuff plenty.
"So, why not try something new for once? Until we meet again."
Rinaldo grinned and bowed, leaving me no choice but to accept the bunny girl outfit and head back to the inn.
And naturally, that night, Viola's attire was decided.
"F-Father... th-this outfit... it's so embarrassing...♡"
Rinaldo, you sly bastard—you know exactly what you're doing.
I stood, slowly approaching Viola, and placed my hand on her breast.
-Squeeze♡
"Nngh... ahhh..."
Listening to her lewd moan, I gazed at her once more.
At the adorably sexy Viola, transformed.
