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The Explorer Guild places importance in fairness. They don’t forgive fights between explorers. The ones who do contracts resembling scams will be punished. 

The explorers are well mannered under the strict surveillance of these supervisors, and are exemplary students that abide by the rules. 

That goes the same even if it is a guild branch with a rundown building and at the ends of poverty. 

And so, the well behaved explorers made a long line, and were buying things from the wandering seller that came to the Explorer Guild. 

“Insect Toll. Need some Insect Toll?” 

“Hehe, 10 please.” 

“Thank you very much. That will be 500 Ele.” 

“10 for me too.” 

“Thank you very much. That will be 500 Ele.” 

Chihiro smiled kindly and gave them the Insect Toll inside a package. 

The explorers scratched their heads while going hehehe, paid the money, and left the long line. 

“Aah, with wonderful insect repellant like this, there is no need to worry about sleep.” 

“True. Today is a lucky day.” 

They moved stiffly like a robot as they spoke in monotone, glancing at a certain place as they arrived at their table. 

Insect Toll is cheap and easy to get. It is used in hotels, and it is a popular item to get rid of pests. 

It can be obtained easily and it is cheap, but that doesn’t mean it will always be used. There are times when cheap inns don’t use it, so the explorers themselves would need to use them in the rooms they are staying in. They would always use it when camping out in the Spirit Wards. 

You could say it is a necessary item for explorers. 

It is exactly because it is necessary that it is natural for them to buy Insect Toll from the girl that fortunately came all of a sudden to sell them in the Explorer Guild. It was. 

Lanpeach, who came together with the girl, sat at a table in the corner, and was glaring their way, but that has nothing to do with this. 

It has nothing to do with it, but all the explorers that were punched by Lanpeach yesterday were buying it. 

“Uhm, we have a store in the Lanpeach Complex located in the slums, so please come. We have electric appliances that are sold cheaper than anywhere else, so please go check it out at least once!” (Chihiro)

“Of course.”

“Tomorrow…no, I guess I will go check it today.”

Chihiro smiled in a friendly manner and the explorers nodded robotically. 

(Alright, the people of the slums won’t attack explorers. If we sell a bit, the rumors will spread, and the other explorers will also come. P-Probably?) (Chihiro)

Chihiro felt like it was working. Her face loosened and she tightened her fists. 

She was a bit dubious about the explorers that were obedient for some reason, but she thought it was because a pretty girl was asking them this, so she decided to stop minding it. 

She didn’t think it was because Lanpeach showed them pain and didn’t think Lanpeach was that strong, so her imagination didn’t go that far. 

The poor explorers don’t have their own houses, so she didn’t think that electric appliances are even more unnecessary than Insect Tolls though…

◇◇

Lanpeach was watching this with a surprised face. 

“Heeh, Insect Tolls can be sold quite well.” (Lanpeach)

“Hn, Chihiro is good at business. Can sell that much, so better to make more.” (Dry)

Dry came as a bodyguard of Chihiro. 

After seeing how the coins were stacking up, she thought it would be impossible for her to do the same as Chihiro, who proposed to go to the Explorer Guild to sell them, and admired it. 

“Right…” (Lanpeach)

(It is a different development from the game.) (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach crossed his arms, leaned on his chair, and made a complicated expression. It was a bit different from what he expected. 

A number of explorers saw that complicated expression of his, grew pale, and headed back to buy more Insect Toll. 

Lanpeach was unbothered by this and groaned in thought. 

That groan made the other explorers become repeat customers. 

(Chihiro… I thought I had seen her somewhere before, but I finally remember now. She was the Insect Toll salesgirl.) (Lanpeach)

The Insect Toll salesgirl. 

The conversation changes when you buy Insect Toll every day. For the next one, and the next one too. 

The details were filled with good will towards the protagonists, and it makes you think she is slowly falling in love with you. 

She is a pretty girl, so she is a character they thought would become their lover if they were to give her money. 

And then, when you continue buying…she would one day stop selling and become the boss of a team in the slums. The end.

Even if you talk to Chihiro when she becomes a team boss, she would only answer with ‘I am the boss of the team’. No event happens afterwards, so they made a ruckus about how she is an evil woman that only sucked their wallets dry. 

There’s theories that the developers probably had an event for it originally, but erased it for some reason. 

(There were also theories that there might be a hidden event that theorycrafters couldn’t decipher. There were a number of players that wrote in forums that they managed to make Chihiro their girlfriend or that she told them of a hidden dungeon, but the flag management must be difficult, it wasn’t shown in guides.) (Lanpeach)

He scratched his chin while drinking the can of juice that he bought in the stall in front of the guild. 

(Would she be able to get enough power to control the team with these sales? Hmm, there’s nothing much going on with this Insect Toll salesgirl event, so there’s not much point in just watching…) (Lanpeach)

It was interesting to imagine that maybe she would have become the leader of the boys and girls if Lanpeach had died, but he thought it was about time to go explore, so he got up and…

“Oh, the Insect Toll girl is here. Yay, it was worth searching. Gimme 99!” 

The loud voice of a young man rang at the entrance of the guild. 

The explorers looked in the direction of the sudden loud voice, and there was a big man there. 

A 2 meter tall big build like that of a bodybuilder. The leather armor he was wearing was so packed that it felt like it would rip at any moment. 

He had a crew cut, and had a rough scary face like a rock. He was carrying a greatsword on his back, so the worn-out floor of the guild began creaking when he walked on it with his sturdy leather boots.

He then stopped in front of Chihiro, ignoring the long line, and raised his voice as if shouting. 

“Ooh, gimme 99 Insect Tolls!” 

“Eh, yes. Uhm, ah, I am sorry. I only have 83 left. I am truly sorry.” (Chihiro)

Chihiro apologized to the big man for not having enough Insect Tolls because of how popular it was, and he for some reason got surprised in an exaggerated manner. 

“Seriously?! Huh, that’s weird. Yer always selling with a pitiful face, right? Also, ya deceive men ta have them give ya money, don’t cha? Ya evil woman. Ya actually do have more, don’t ya?!” 

The big man went past being rude to someone he is meeting for the first time and was using violent words that he wouldn’t be able to complain if he were to be punched. 

As for Chihiro, she was more flabbergasted than angry. 

(W-What’s with this giant man? Is he an idiot? Is he making a pass on me while knowing I am the girlfriend of Lanpeach?) (Chihiro)

She glanced at Lanpeach, and he was eating food together with Dry, and was talking without showing any interest over there. 

(He is acting as if he has no connection to me… Is he a troublesome opponent?) (Chihiro)

But Chihiro could tell that’s an act. She knows that he has been watching her until now after all.

In that case, she couldn’t afford to anger this big man. 

“Uhm…who may you be, man that speaks rudely?” (Chihiro)

“Aah, I see. So that’s how it would be in reality? Wait a moment. Uhm, I have this pattern written down in my notepad, so… This is the way ta make mayonnaise… This is fer karaage…” 

He ignored Chihiro’s question, took out a notepad from his pocket, and began to flip the pages rapidly. 

Chihiro tried to maintain her calm, but she was dumbstruck by that nonsensical action of his. 

“Oh, found it. Oi, Insect Toll girl, ya have a guy who bought a whole ton of Insect Toll from ya, right? Who was that person? Please tell me! I will pay ya!”

“Okay… Then, can you pay me in advance?” (Chihiro)

“Alright. Is 100,000 Ele good enough? That should be a fortune in the slums, right?” 

He didn’t stop his rude tone as he brashly took out wads of cash, but Chihiro didn’t stop smiling and received it as she pointed at the long line. 

“Thank you very much. Those people bought them. The highest was around 20.” (Chihiro)

“Eh? …It wasn’t one person? Is there no one that bought 99?” 

“No, there wasn’t anyone that bought that many.” (Chihiro)

Chihiro answered while guessing that he most likely doesn’t plan on stealing it. He probably wants to get information. 

The eyes of the big man swam just like she thought. 

“W-What should I do…? This is weird. I don’t think there was a mistake in the predicted pattern of that person though… In that case…search somewhere else?” 

The big man checked his notepad again, read something, raised his head again, and looked around the guild. 

And then, he saw Dry sitting there and grinned. 

“Oi, yer Dry, right?! I remember that face.” 

He approached the table where Lanpeach and Dry are with loud steps and shouted again. 

He was acting as he pleased for who knows why. 

Everyone was speechless. Dry showed a stern face and glared at him. 

“Dry’s name is Dry. But why do you know? Who are you?” (Dry)

”Ooh, I am Guy of the Earth! Ya know it, right? Hey, come to mah place. I will introduce ya to a nice guy!” (Guy)

Guy grabbed the arm of Dry like a super straight scouter. 

“Won’t go. No reason to.” (Dry)

But Dry was even more wary of Guy now. That’s obvious. 

Who would even follow a stranger with that explanation? 

But it seems like Guy didn’t think this was obvious. He tried to bring Dry with him and pulled her arm forcefully, but…

“Kidnapping a girl in broad daylight, you pervert?” 

Lanpeach threw a spoon with a suspicious and baffled face. 

“Woah, that’s dangerous.” (Guy)

But Guy quickly caught it despite having been thrown with quite a lot of strength. 

Lanpeach didn’t expect he would catch it at such a short distance. His eyes changed into cold observant ones. 

“What’s with ya. I am going to take Dry with me, so don’t get in mah way. Imma punch ya.” (Guy)

Guy grasped the spoon in his hand tightly, bent it, and threw it onto the table. 

“There’s no idiot who would just watch as a party member is getting kidnapped.” (Lanpeach)

“Yer already in a party? What’s yer name?” (Guy)

The scary face of Guy turned even more ghastly as he glared. 

“My name is Weako. A party member of Dry.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach spoke out a fake name without missing a beat and grinned. 

(Looks like he has possessed someone just like me… Now then, let’s get a bit of information here.) (Lanpeach)

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