“There is certainly a large quality difference between the clothes for a noble and those sold to the merchant families, huh? I had thought the difference would be less,” I stated in surprise after looking at various clothes sold inside a clothing store in the merchant district.

“No, Hestia, it’s the difference between store bought and commissioned clothing. Those wealthy enough always order custom clothing from a tailor. These shops, on the other hand, sell less intricate and detailed pre-made clothing; that said, however, they are a valuable source of information gathering concerning fashion trends. Foreign merchants often sell clothes from other countries in the capital’s clothing stores.”

After the explanation, Ellaine pointed at a set of accessories, describing them as common in the maritime kingdom, Rakartheen. They were necklaces with pearls attached to them, made with a design common there. In particular, they showed symbols similar to Tasianna’s church of Plesia amulet.

“Goddess Plesia is worshiped more by sailors and port cities than the Goddess, even by humans. If we were to visit Port Annencia in the Lecartiglio Duchy, we could even visit a temple of Plesia there,” Ellaine informed Saori and me.

“Hmm, considering the relationship between sailors and the ocean, I guess showing some respect to Plesia and her gods would be beneficial for their trips. Clothing really is a good indicator of a country's culture,” Saori commented, and I agreed.

Fashion and I had a weird history really. If this were past me from Earth, I would totally be bored at this point, but after everything that Saori put into my head, I gained an appreciation for it. Mostly for cultural reasons, but I had come to realize that I also needed to know about fashion as an idol and princess. Relying only on my fashion designer wouldn’t be good since they needed my input to make the appropriate designs.

In this case, Saori needed me to know what I wanted with my idol outfits. Being able to express my opinion was important to her.

“My ladies, is there anything this humble servant might help you with?” A shop clerk came up to us after he was finished with another set of customers, bowing as he asked if we needed any help.

“Oh yes, good man.” Ellaine looked elated. Was she looking for something? “Perchance, would you have a [Necklace of Vampiric Undying] for sale?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Pfft! Oh jeez, Ellaine! Those things are rare to find.

Ellaine’s fear of death just caused her to ask the clerk a pretty impossible request, seeing at how rare those necklaces were if we were to ask Aurena. As he bowed to Ellaine to ask a manager for it, I had to ask her why she did that.

“Well, I mean, for safety reasons. That day really showed me how fragile I was. Hmm, I should probably ask Master Grimnir to craft a helmet for me, also. Maybe we could visit Cedaraille and grind the dungeon for the necklace?” Ellaine explained.

[“… Just level up [Okl’Luthier’s Power]. You can materialize bone and flesh armor superior to [Musclesmass] and conventional armor, Ellaine. A helmet would just hide your beauty from the world,”] Klea’Hatma chimed in.

Pretty sure staying alive is more important than showing off your face in a fight! Oh, then again, aren’t Saori and I pretty much helmet-less when we go without [Shadow Armament] and [Panzer] respectively? Huh, well, an idol should be recognizable, right?

Unfortunately, and also obviously, the store didn’t have any of those vampiric necklaces nor had they heard of anybody selling them in Griffonpeak. This clothing store Ellaine brought us to was quite popular amongst nobles, so if they didn’t know, we won’t be able to get it through legal channels. Although, I don’t think you could get it from the black market either, really.

“Hmm? Mister, could I ask you about this dress?” After the clerk returned with an uneasy face as he gave that bad news to Ellaine, I drew his attention to something else. “There is an emblem of the Goddess stitched on them. From the look of it, they aren’t priest robes.”

Aurena’s religious symbol was that of a sun reaching down to the earth with a hand. Aurena was usually depicted as an angelic goddess, while her religious emblem symbolizes her as a sun watching over the world. The hand — a reflection of her miracles through white graces — is to show her granting her merciful touch to the world. Seeing as the sun was the giver of life, it seems that the church of Aurena sees Aurena in the same manner.

“That is correct, Lady Champion. Does Loatryx not celebrate the Sun Worship Festival?” he asked me. It still felt a bit weird that people know me more by my champion title than my idol career. Too bad for me.

Since I had no idea what this festival was, I simply told him that I wasn’t aware of this dressing style. As such, he began explaining the reason behind the design, ignoring his previous statement. “During the Sun Worship Festival, nobles and the wealthy prefer to wear clothing with the Goddess’s emblem on them to show their piety. Since balls and festive gatherings happen during this time, our tailors have been experimenting with more daring and conspicuous designs while keeping the dresses and suits comfortable to move in.”

“Oh, is that why the tailor guild is currently filled out with commissions for clothes like this?” Saori stated so I had her explain it further for me. Since we were in public, she was using her formal tone. “My lady, as you know, I am a member of the tailor guild. I have been receiving a few requests from merchants concerning designs similar to this dress. I did not know it was for the Sun Worship Festival.”

After we were done window shopping, we left the store while Ellaine explained things in more detail for us.

“The Sun Worship Festival is a holiday during the second LightDay on HarvestSun. Exactly half a year has passed at this point, so the festival is there to thank the Goddess for protecting us up until now. With the last month of summer behind us, we give thanks to her as the harvest season dawns on us.”

Since Aurena is seen as a sun goddess to her followers, it made sense in a way.

“Usually, only the clergy would have the Goddess’s religious symbol on their robes — like yours, Hestia — so seeing nobles and merchants wear the symbols on their clothes is seen as a special occasion. It isn’t taboo to wear it every day, but it is frowned upon to place a House emblem and a church symbol on your clothing at the same time.”

Ahh, so that’s the reason why they have to have a completely different set of clothes for the festival.

“Hmm, we probably won’t be celebrating the festival in Griffonpeak, huh? Since we would most likely be on the road in two weeks,” I pointed out since the festival will happen after our plannd departure date.

“That is true, but you should use this time to do a concert, Hestia. Depending on when we leave the city, we should announce the concert either in Sephara or Ullistar, the capitals of the Myrrdin and Equevanna duchies, respectively,” Ellaine suggested, and I agreed.

Those two duchies were on the way to Estralia, and since we could prepare the concert in two to three days, I should do it for more fans. Concerning the festival, Ellaine wanted to commission Saori to tailor these festive clothes for her family and our company. This would increase Saori’s prestige in the local tailor guild if we did so too.

In any case, with that topic out of the way, we continued moving around the merchant district, looking at the different stores here. I realized quickly that, in all my time in Griffonpeak, I haven’t exactly gone out exploring this city as much as I thought I did. I mostly spent my free time at the orphanage or the hunter’s guild.

I missed out on visiting the cosmetics store, the local opera — sadly there was no show today — and we even found an instrument atelier. I was pondering on commissioning my own geigler — Peolynca’s version of a violin — or even have them make a piano for me. However, I decided to postpone it for another day. I had to design a proper set of blueprints for my piano, after all!

Window shopping was pretty fun, honestly. You learn more about the city’s culture that way. While we were walking to our next destination, I had some questions for Ellaine and Klea’Hatma.

“So you haven’t been able to speak with her ever since that moment?” I asked them, refering to the time when she met the Aurena figment in her [Okl’Luthier’s Power] skill.

“Mhem, I haven’t since,” Ellaine confirmed, disappointing me a bit. If she could have, I probably would have questioned why the gods were having trouble communicating with their followers when Ellaine could speak with Aurena’s figment perfectly.

When I made my thoughts clear to them, Klea’Hatma made an “ahhhh” sound and began explaining why Ellaine’s circumstance was special. [“Essentially, it boils down to Ellaine having me around, Hestia.”]

[“Oh, because you’re a demi-god-like existence, right?”]

[“Not quite, dear. Allow me to explain. You are able to communicate with the gods perfectly because your soul was prepared for it during your rebirth. The blessings allow you to visit the divine realm and stay there for an extended time without any consequences. Ellaine, on the other hand, requires me to fortify her soul to even be around Aurena’s figment inside the [Okl’Luthier’s Power]. In fact, I act as her translator. Without me, she wouldn’t understand a word of what Aurena would say.”]

Ellaine’s eyes widened, looking like her worldview was just shattered. “I-I had thought…”

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[“Ellaine, dear, speaking with a god is not a task everybody can do. Their sheer presence is enough to destroy your soul. If I were at my full potential, I could allow you to visit Aurena whenever you wanted like Hestia. I believe that [Hestia’s Retainer] title should grant you some resistance, but not enough to speak with her.”]

Ellaine pouted while caressing her sword handle, even asking Saori to summon Rajah for her to cuddle. To an Origin God follower, being able to talk to them was a great honor. Guess this revelation was too much for Ellaine to handle.

[“Hold on, if that is the case, then why did Aurena once ask Hestia to bring me along to her divine realm?”] Saori asked.

[“Oh, that was most likely a joke. You dearies probably don’t know Aurena as well as I do, so you don’t know that Aurena has a bit of a trickster side in her. Inherited from her father, you see.”] I asked Klea’Hatma who Aurena’s father was, but she simply shut her mouth. [“Meh, if you want to know it, ask her yourself. Unlike my feelings for Aurena, I do have enough respect for her father to give him some sort of privacy.”]

Wow, Aurena really isn’t that super respected by Klea’Hatma, huh? Hmm. Hey, Goddess Aurena, you heard that, right? Could you tell me who your father is?

…

… Jeez, she still isn’t answering me. What is going on up there? How busy are the gods?

I was starting to worry about Aurena. It’s been a month since we last spoke, so her not answering me made me slightly anxious. Maybe it meant that it was time to give her a visit. I bet the orphan kids would like it if I went over now, but it was bonding time with the girls. Gotta push it back for later.

After walking around the district for a bit, we eventually made it to an extremely busy area.

Well, the merchant district’s streets were always busy and filled with wagons and pedestrians moving from one point to the other. It didn’t have the hectic nature of New York’s Manhattan, where people would curse at you if you stood still for even a second, but the crowd wasn’t one to be underestimated. You could easily get lost here.

However, right now, I could see numerous well-dressed people lining up before a single medium-sized shop. A bakery, or, to be more specific, a confectionary. “Olive’s Garden,” was the name of the shop. Named after its proprietress’s middle name — Amelia Olive Greenveil.

“Dearest customers! Ladies and Gentlemen.” A young green-haired woman with lilac highlights appeared from inside the shop, greeting everybody with a wide smile as she spoke through a manatech microphone. “Due to the popularity of the sun weaver’s cake, we, of Olive's Garden, have decided to release two additional types of products. These will be shortcake and cupcake versions of the sun weaver’s design, intended for those who cannot wait for the long reservation queue. I thank you very much for your consideration and continued patronage!”

“Mhmm, I guess that is to be expected. The nobles should have made prior reservations for the cake. My dear, we should probably settle with a few shortcakes.”

“Haaaa, every new product they release is an instant success. Being the only provider for yeast-made products will make Greenveil the front-runners in the future.”

“Oh no, the cakes are selling too fast! The shortcakes will probably be next with how far down the queue we are! W-We should just buy enough cupcakes for the party. We must, my darling.”

Nobles and common folk standing in line were of the same mind — the pastries were selling like hotcakes. It was to be expected, I guess. I heard from Saori and Ellaine that with how much Amelia was selling using all our pastry recipes, we’ve been building up a good amount of money through them.

I did wonder if somebody was trying to imitate Amelia’s shop yet, but nothing had come up yet. With a strong hold on the pastry and yeast industry, Amelia was leading the future of confections with our help.

“Amelia!” Seeing as we were already here, Ellaine walked over to Amelia, greeting her with a wide smile.

“Ellaine!” The two grabbed each other’s hands, looking happy to see each other. It seemed they managed to make up. “Oh, Lady Hestia and Miss Saori. What is the occasion?”

“Oh, we were just walking around, window shopping. We just coincidentally met you while passing by,” I told her.

We didn’t intend to stay around for too long, but it seemed Amelia wanted to talk with us about something. Looking at how many were looking at us, she urged us inside her shop and then into her office.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable. Do you have a preference for a type of tea, Lady Hestia? Miss Saori? Ellaine, white everdew tea with honey, correct?” We accepted her hospitality and a maid came in to pour our tea. Once some treats were placed on the table, we began talking.

“As I have already informed Ellaine and Miss Saori in my monthly reports, business is booming. I’ve gained a massive resurgence in my store’s interest since I abandoned traditional Artorian treats and confections and replaced them with Earthen ones.”

Amelia was quite enthusiastic while explaining to me about the increase in business, using stats and graphs to show me how much she’s earning. Naturally, I wasn’t very good with numbers so I didn’t know what to do with most of them. It also didn’t help that math in Peolynca wasn’t like Earth’s, so it was a bit hard to follow her explanation.

Still, I was kinda an investor in her shop, right? I sold her my recipes with royalties and such, so having her do well was good for my wallet. Sure, I didn’t know what to say here, but listening to her, maybe I could learn a bit more about how to manage a business?

“As such, Father has been suggesting that I expand my business throughout all the cities and large towns of our duchy. Using grandfather’s influence, the Sarlenzia company will be making sure you will keep amassing plenty of wealth, Lady Hestia. I hope you will trust us with further recipes, if you are satisfied with my explanation.”

Amelia’s smile unnerved me a bit with how much of a businesswoman she was. Like a CEO explaining stuff to the board members and stockholders, making sure they stay confident in her and keep investing. I didn’t know what to say here except to thank her, so Saori took over for me to keep the discussion rolling.

“That was a splendid explanation, Lady Amelia. I see you also included the recent introduction of the sun weaver’s cake in your new report. The sales numbers are extremely praise-worthy.”

Ellaine agreed, “With the Sun Worshiper Festival upon us in two weeks, announcing the sun weaver’s cake’s icing would be designed to honor the church and the Goddess was a fantastic idea. You even had High Bishop Theodore contribute to the design, making sure the cake would look proper while having him endorse it. You really are spectacular as a merchant, Amelia.”

She smiled confidently at the compliments she received, putting her hands on her hips proudly. “I am the heir of the Sarlenzia company, after all. My grandfather is relying on me to become a worthy lead, so I must answer his kindness in kind. As such, I have a proposition, if you are willing to listen to me.”

Here comes the real reason why she brought us inside.

“I heard from Father that yesterday’s meeting went by… as smoothly as it could have. I heard Shaturein’s representatives attended the meeting unannounced, so I would like to hear if Father was exaggerating or not.”

“Hmm, well, it took Saori quite a lot of effort to persuade the two pillars to accept our terms, so yeah, I would say that it was quite touch and go there for a while. Still, our goal of having Shaturein and Artorias working together was achieved, so now only time will tell.” I explained what happened yesterday to Amelia, even giving her some details her father didn’t tell her.

“Hmm, I see. Thankfully, since I’m not the heir of our father’s title, I probably won’t have to deal with diplomacy in the near future. I am far more suited to being a merchant and handling economic politics,” Amelia stated. “Which brings me to what Father mentioned. I heard you will be leaving soon for Estralia, correct?”

We nodded.

“Good, then Aurora should be passing by Ullistar, the Equevanna Duchy’s capital, around the time of the festival. Will you be performing one of your music concerts, uhm, I mean, idol concerts, Lady Hestia?”

Here it comes. Greenveil’s move.

From how she was leading us into this point after the whole business report, I already had an idea why she was asking this question. Staying around nobles really helped my critical thinking.

“We are planning on doing it, yes. Is there something you wish to promote on that day? Maybe those shortcakes and cupcakes you mentioned before?”

“Ah, you already figured it out, hiehie. But, yes, I have some economic plans which I wish to use your concert for, Lady Hestia. Specifically, the Sarlenzia company wishes to expand its operations to the other duchies and the Republic of Estralia.”

Amelia explained that currently, the Sarlenzia company acted as the main importer and exporter of goods in and from the Greenveil duchy. The company did possess a solid foundation in the Lecartiglio duchy, due to them being neighbors, as well as Griffonpeak, due to Olive’s Garden. However, her father and grandfather wished to expand even further.

“Seeing how destabilized the Equevanna duchy is currently, Father’s chances to become the next Grand Duke of Economic Affairs is practically secured. Your help has been invaluable, Lady Hestia,” Amelia bowed slightly in thanks. “But, Father also recognizes the weakness of the new Duke Equevanna. With all the drama inside the duchy, Lord Fillion sadly cannot rest around. As such, this is the best time to finally spread Greenveil’s duchy towards our rivals, the Equevanna duchy.”

“And you are thinking of using my champion title to have me perform there, allowing you to promote your products and the Sarlenzia company. Afterward, we will do the same within Estralia’s capital and cities?”

“Yes, but we will only target Gleisvale. The capital is the most prominent location for a merchant to be in. If we can assure the Sarlenzia company’s influence in Ullistar and Gleisvale, we will be able to import various goods for Artorias’s future. Also, money, hehehe.” Amelia snickered at the mention of the money.

As you would guess, such a proposition demanded me to think of the ramifications. Anybody could see that, if I were to accept Amelia’s offer, I would be telling the world how much I favored Greenveil over Equevanna. Considering the latter’s current situation, that might not be the best for unity’s sake.

“Sure, I can do that.”

However, the offer was too good to refuse.

“Well, that was quick, Hestia. No discussion?” Saori looked at me perplexed. I did just make a sudden decision without consulting with her, huh?

“Idols need to accept promotional work, Saori,” I told her with a grin. “Besides, I don’t think we have much to deliberate on. Yes, I know we might provoke further rivalry between the two duchies, but the Sarlenzia company is our ally. They are one of our money sources alongside our restaurant, adventurer work, and idol concerts. We need to support them.”

In addition, by increasing the amount of Sarlenzia company affiliated stores inside Artorias and the other countries, it allows us to withdraw our money from them without having to return to Griffonpeak or Cedaraille all the time. It was a win-win.

Also…

“Our party has just gotten extremely large, Saori. Your students, Yorshka and Elrick, my Mother and the two snow wyverns, and there is also Rajah and his family.” I caressed Rajah who was lying underneath the table with my tail. “There will be a lot of expenses in the future to get everybody into tip-top fighting form. Equipment, food, and training. There is also Tasianna’s alchemy and Tamae-chan’s desire to experiment with food. And then, there's the travel costs, Saori. We need more ingredients for more runes, or do you want us to fuel all of them with our own blood?”

“… Yeah, I would prefer not having to fill buckets full with my blood for Grimnir’s runesmithing.”

It was nice having more people around in the RV, but, as the leader of this company, I also had to make sure everything went off without a problem. That meant money. We all had needs to be fulfilled, so if we had spare cash around, we could progress smoothly into the future.

Saori and Ellaine saw my point and agreed to it, seeing no need to argue back. As such, Amelia clapped in delight, telling us she would handle the venue reservation. She asked to use my nexus to arrive at Ullistar once we made it there, since she had to educate the local branch’s manager on everything. She would do the same when we reached Estralia.

After gifting us some of her experimental cakes, we said our goodbyes and left the store. As we rushed away from the crowd, our group decided to leave the merchant district and visit the restaurant. It was about time to do so, after all. See how Tamae and the others were doing.

However, as we made it to the road towards the lower city, we met two acquaintances.

“O-Oh… It’s you…”

It was Asaka and Haruka, two of the Misfits party members.

“Hanazawa-san…”

And Saori and Asaka glared at each other.