Aiju, I mean come on this is a no brainer

“Meow, good choice, Mari”, Aiju gave a pleased nod.

“Really, the cat?”, Beatrice raised an eyebrow. “A rather generic choice, don’t you think?”

But Aiju only needed to hiss for the ex-witch to back off.

In all honesty I just wanted to spend time with someone who wasn’t constantly exhausting. I’m a bit surprised myself that the clingy catgirl is the one who fits that bill the most.

Of course there was still the question remaining where I would go with her.

“How about visiting sisters….in forest”, Aiju suggested.

Turns out she means her home...uh forest. But that was definitely too far away from Rasheul. “I think we should stick to the city”, I suggested. “Sorry Aiju.”

But even if we limit our radius to within Rasheul, the question where exactly to go remains.

Rasheul, as one of the richest cities of the continent did of course offer all manner of entertainment activities but none of them struck me as anything Aiju would like.

Maria suggested visiting the Rasheul Grand Market and that seemed as good an idea as any. After a brief stint of escaping my crazed fans, we arrived at the market district with only minor injuries.

I actually passed through here when I arrived in the city but paid it little attention. Taking a closer look at it now however, it truly was deserving of the moniker Grand.

Arranged in a circular fashion where waves upon waves of merchant stands. These of course weren’t permanent, the merchants arrived here specifically because of the influx of tourism the tournament brings and since today was the first free day since the start of the tournament, they were very, very, busy.

As for what you could purchase here, it would be simpler to list what you couldn’t buy. Everything you could possible imagine was available in a huge, chaotic and no doubt overpriced quantity.

Oh wait!

“Maybe we can buy some anti magic items for my fight against Hebi-san tomorrow!”, I mused.

Aiju was not amused. “Shouldn’t think about Snake girl. Is order.”

Ugh. I didn’t think she actually cared about this. Oh, well. I will just go along and keep an eye out for anything worthwhile.

“Top notch Swords!”

“Penis pumps! Now with 20% less genital rot!”

“Rocks! Fresh rocks!”

...

They really sell a lot crap here, don’t they?

Aiju wasn’t terrible impressed. I suppose that isn’t too surprising. She doesn’t care much about stuff that isn’t food, after all.

“Mari buy dick pump. Is useful.”

Or mating I suppose.

“Hey! Sir! Over her, Sir!”

If I had a drink I would have spit it out. There, behind some rather inconspicuous market stand stood Femto in a pink maid outfit, waving at us cheerfully.

“W-what are you doing here?”, I asked.

“What does it look like, Sir?” The devil grinned and handed me a pamphlet. “We are selling dreams!”

“Dreams?”, asked Aiju.

“Right you go, little missy. For the price of one measly Soul…”

Oh, you got to be kidding me!

But Femto merely continued her customer service grin. “It’s supply and demand. Simple economics, Sir.”

“And the outfit?”

“Market research has proved that dressing up in cute costumes increases the number of successful sales by 18%!”

Point in case, one very **** looking gentleman was approaching the stand. “I lost all my money gambling and the mob is after me!”, he pleaded. “Please help me!”

“Certainly, Sir!”, replied Femto with a perfect fake smile. “That’s what we do best at DDD!”

DDD?

“Devil Dream Deals, anyways sorry Sir, but I have to take care of that customer. Now, how can we make your dream come true, good Sir?”

“Hey…”, I tried to intervene. “You do realize what you are getting yourself into, right? This is…”

Yikes.

It might be wiser and more healthier to leave Femto to her work. As such we continued our tour of the market.

“Look Mari!”

One stand apparently caught Aiju’s interest and to my surprise it wasn’t a food one.

This merchant was selling stuffed animals in all shapes and sizes. Huh, I didn’t think Aiju had an interest in such things. That’s rather cute. “Which one do you want?”, I asked.

“That one”, Aiju pointed towards a small particularly cursed looking Haniwa plush

…

“You do know you can’t eat them right?”

Aiju gave me an annoyed look. “I know. Haniwa taste bad.”

Uh...right.

“How much for the Haniwa”, I asked the merchant.

“A mere 49 Gold coins and 99 silver!!”, answered the merchant with a happy smile on his face. “A bargain!”

…

This isn’t just overpriced. This is so ridiculously overpriced that even lowering the price by 99% would not be enough. “Yeah, very funny pal. I give you one gold coin for it and that’s because I feel generous.”

The merchant had the audacity to look offended. “My good sir! This is no ordinary Haniwa! The stuffing was handpicked from the fur of Dark Lord Kayblis and the figure was crafted by the legendary artisan Rizna Lafbit. People have died creating this! It is soaked in their very blood!”

Then why the hell would I want it?

.

No matter how you look at it, this was a cheap plush you could win at a carnival game. That uglything is worth ten silver at most. Even looking at it made me angry. “Come on, Aiju, we find you something…”

But Aiju was staring very intently at the Haniwa.

Then she looked at me.

“I want it.”

…

..

.

Aiju was happily cradling her new stuffed toy while I felt like crying.

49 Gold coins, that’s two and half months worth of wages back in Helman. And I swear I saw the exact same plush at another stand for 10 Silver. Sure, I might be filthy rich right now but that doesn’t mean I will just throw money out the window.

“Let’s eat”, the catgirl demanded pulling me to a stand that sold grilled mice on sticks. According to the sign they where freshly caught from the sewers just this morning.

“We can buy something better then that!”

And so the afternoon passed. I still kept my eye out for anything that might help me fighting Hebi-san. But while there where some magical baubles here and there. Nothing sounded even remotely useful.

“Mari look!”

Aiju pointed towards a particular shady looking stand. “Zig-zag’s emporium of want” was scribbled in bold letters on a wooden plank on top of the stand.

The proprietor somehow managed to look even more shady then his establishment. I tried to not make eye contact but Aiju was already too close. With a sleazy, untrustworthy smile, Zig-Zag(I assume) began to speak. “My, what a delight! For someone to visit in his hour of plight.”

Oh great. He rhymes.

“Zig-Zag is this humble merchants name, helping people in need is my game. How may I assist you, beautiful young girl? Don’t be afraid, just give it a whirl!”

And he wasn’t very good at it.

“We need stuff to beat snake lady”, Aiju eagerly explained. “Magic stuff!”

The sleazy grin got wider. “Magicks! Oh yes, magic, magic. I believe I have just the thing to do the trick!”

He pulled something out of his long robes, some sort of black, short garment. Is this...underwear?

“These magic pants are the answer to your woes”, the creepy merchant proclaimed. “Wear them and you shall slay your foes.”

I looked him blankly in the eyes. “I am not wearing that.”

But Zig-Zag merely shook his head. “Your understanding, it is quite lacking, not you shall wear them, it is the cat thing.”

Can I punch him in the face now?

“Ajiu not thing, is Galmon”, she pointed out. “If I wear this, Mari will win?”

“That is indeed how it works, my feline friend, do not question it, for the magic will end.”

The only thing ending is my patience.

“Let’s buy it, Mari!”, Aiju looked at me with bright, eager eyes.