Yukino Yukinoshita was baffled. She had no idea why sparring with her classmates had been so effective. Of the girls she fought afterward, all but a few whose talents lay outside martial arts had—
Reached the third rank. But they looked at her strangely, as if they were on guard against something.
It was all so strange. Yukino still had no idea what was going on by the time school let out, which left her thoroughly frustrated.
Still, she didn't dwell on it. After school, Li Yu left with Kato Megumi and the others, heading for Sister Mi's shop.
The shop was quiet at that moment, with no customers in sight. Sister Mi was taken aback when Li Yu brought Kato Megumi and the others inside.
"Sister Mi, I brought you some customers! Bring out your good weapons. These ladies are all loaded." The moment Li Yu stepped inside, he called out to her.
Sister Mi couldn't help laughing at his words. She looked at the girls Li Yu had brought, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. Were they his new classmates?
They were really beautiful. It seemed Li Yu was having pretty good luck with women, too. If he bothered to dress himself up, he could probably charm plenty of girls.
"Welcome! What kind of weapons are you looking for?" Sister Mi got down to business. Since Li Yu had brought them to her, she would naturally give them her full attention.
"Hello. I'm looking for a dagger. Do you have any recommendations?" Kato Megumi stepped forward first and replied.
Yukino Yukinoshita spoke up beside her, too. "I need a short sword."
Sister Mi listened to their requests and nodded. After a moment's thought, she said, "Li Yu, could you watch the shop for me? I'll take them upstairs to look at the weapons."
Since Li Yu had referred them, they clearly wouldn't be interested in the weapons down here. Besides, Li Yu had just said they were loaded.
Sister Mi understood what kind of weapons they wanted. The good stuff wasn't kept here; it was either upstairs or put away.
"Go ahead. I can handle things here." Li Yu nodded without hesitation. He knew his way around the shop, so Sister Mi could leave it to him.
Sister Mi nodded and headed for a room on the first floor. Kato Megumi and the others followed her. Once they had all gone, Li Yu sat down in the shop.
But Li Yu hadn't been able to relax for long before customers arrived. They were all people he knew—his classmates.
"Huh? Li Yu? What are you doing here? Is this your family's shop?" His classmates looked surprised when they saw him as they came in.
The one speaking to Li Yu was Xia Yu, the classmate he had previously asked Yukino Yukinoshita to slap.
"It's not mine. I'm watching the shop for someone. Feel free to look around; the prices are marked." Li Yu was a little surprised to see his classmates, but he still greeted them.
They were probably preparing for next week, so Li Yu told them to look around and let him know if anything caught their eye.
"All right. I thought it was your family's shop." Xia Yu sounded a little disappointed, but didn't say anything more. She went to browse the shop with a few of her close friends.
But she didn't seem satisfied with the prices of the weapons. They were all too common—not especially good weapons.
They were going into the Dungeon to fight monsters, and their weapons were their lifelines. Naturally, they wanted something better.
Xia Yu walked up to the counter and asked Li Yu, "Are these the only weapons in the shop? Do you have anything better?"
The others came over as well. They were all pretty dissatisfied with the weapons on display, so something better would be ideal.
"We do, but they're a bit expensive. Are you sure you want to see them?" Li Yu looked up at them. Who would've guessed? Were these girls loaded, too? Were there really so many rich girls in his class?
"Yes! Weapons are important. If we can get something better, that'd be even better. Can you show us? Price isn't a problem!" The moment they heard Li Yu's answer, their eyes lit up.
That reassured Li Yu, and he immediately said, "Come with me. Go upstairs; the owner's up there, along with Asuna and Yukinoshita."
As he spoke, Li Yu opened the door and motioned for them to go through. Beyond it was a storeroom and a staircase. The lights were on, so they could head straight up.
"Great, let's go take a look!" Xia Yu's eyes lit up, and she went straight in without another word. Now she was curious about the place, too.
It seemed like a pretty remarkable place. It even had a secret passage. Places like this usually had good stuff, right? With that thought in mind, the group went straight upstairs.
Li Yu stayed in the shop to keep an eye on things. Maybe more customers would come by soon—and they might all be his classmates, since they were the only ones who needed weapons right now.
Things went just as Li Yu had expected. More of his classmates arrived at the shop, and they were all taken aback to see him there.
They had all assumed the shop belonged to Li Yu's family, but once they learned the truth, they didn't say anything. Instead, they started picking out weapons.
Not everyone came from a wealthy family. The students who arrived later bought weapons downstairs; none of them asked for anything better.
Once they'd picked out their weapons, Li Yu gave them a discount. He had permission to do that; when he'd worked here before, Sister Mi had told him he could.
He could give his classmates up to thirty percent off, but Li Yu wasn't about to make Sister Mi lose money. He gave them no more than five percent off, which was still plenty.
His classmates were even more delighted when they learned they could get five percent off. After all, this wasn't Li Yu's family's shop, so any discount he could give them was already generous.
With a discount like that, what more could you ask for? The students were quite satisfied, and they all said they'd bring more business to the shop in the future.
Upstairs, Sister Mi saw the payment notifications. She smiled when she saw the amounts but didn't say anything. She knew those were the discounted prices.
Sister Mi looked at the girls in front of her and asked, "Have you seen anything you like? Let me know once you've chosen. The weapons I have here are pretty good quality. Anything better would need to be specially ordered."
The weapons in this room were the best in her shop. Because they were expensive, she hadn't put them downstairs.
Usually, she only brought customers up here if they specifically asked whether she had anything better. But few people ever asked; most came into the shop, took a look, and left when they didn't see what they wanted.
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