Whatever Kal'tsit was planning, Steven didn't care.
After all, she had taken charge of all the preparations, so all he had to do was sit back and wait for the event to start in the afternoon.
"Why do I feel like this has completely changed?"
"It was supposed to be just for fun, but after talking to you, it's starting to feel like a real, official competition."
Blaze, sitting beside him, let out a tired sigh.
She was seriously starting to reevaluate whether roping Steven into this had been a good idea in the first place.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"By the way, are you joining in? And are we allowed to modify our chairs?"
Steven rubbed his chin, eyeing the big feline beside him.
Since Blaze was the one who had dragged him into this ss, it would be pretty awkward if she didn't join herself.
"Of course, modifications are allowed!"
"But I usually don't participate—I just use it as an excuse to drink and bet on who'll get second place."
Blaze waved a hand dismissively.
Watching a chair-racing competition was definitely fun, but actually participating in it?
That required a serious lack of sha.
She wasn't exactly young anymore, and running around playing childish gas like this… If the wrong people found out, it'd be social suicide.
That's also why she still couldn't wrap her head around Kal'tsit wanting to join in.
The idea of that woman participating in sothing so ridiculous was almost incomprehensible.
"Second place? Shouldn't you be betting on who'll take first?"
Steven scratched his head.
Gambling was a natural part of any racing competition, so it would be a sha not to try it out.
But why only bet on second place?
Was this so kind of new strategy?
"Because first place is already guaranteed. There's no point in betting on it."
Blaze shrugged.
This was already the third ti they were holding this event, and the sa person had won every single ti.
It was so one-sided that betting on first place had beco completely pointless—so they only gambled on who would co in second.
"Hah? There's actually soone that dominant? Whose champion racer is this?"
Steven raised an eyebrow.
A professional rolling chair racer?
That was way too ridiculous.
He had assud that he was the only one who would be bored enough to take this seriously, but now it turned out there was soone just as insane as him?
"Of course! But you wouldn't know him. He was out on a mission until today—he's coming back with Ace and Scout. I'll introduce you later."
Blaze paused, suddenly realizing that Steven had never t this guy before.
It was the perfect chance to get them acquainted.
That said…
With Steven's personality, and considering how that guy had a habit of talking in riddles, would they actually get along?
Steven hated people who spoke in cryptic nonsense.
Luckily, that elite operator only did it when dealing with outsiders or during missions, most of the ti, he was pretty normal.
Otherwise, there was no way he'd willingly join sothing as childish as a rolling chair race—let alone win it twice in a row.
"Well, then I definitely need to et him."
Steven nodded.
He was genuinely interested in this fellow chair-racing enthusiast.
eting soone as ridiculously bored as him didn't sound like a bad idea at all.
After a quick chat with Blaze, she went off to notify the engineering departnt to prepare more chairs and set up the race track. anwhile, Steven headed toward the logistics departnt to get the drinks and food ready for the event.
After all, not everyone was brave enough to shalessly participate in the race—most people were just here for the spectacle. That made it even more necessary to prepare snacks, sodas, and other refreshnts.
And since practically the whole of Rhodes Island was getting involved, it would be a waste not to throw a party after the race. That way, everyone could fully enjoy themselves.
This was going to cost a lot of resources.
If all they had were plain water and a couple of dry biscuits, it was no wonder why Blaze said the previous two events didn't get much attention.
As Steven leisurely strolled into the logistics departnt, the first thing he noticed was a Sarkaz girl sitting in a chair, staring at him with a face full of resentnt—as if she had been waiting for him for a long ti.
"Why are you looking at like that, shorty?"
Walking up beside her, Steven genuinely had no idea what he'd done this ti.
Last ti, sure—he had scamd her in a trade deal with Kal'tsit.
But today, he was here to give her business.
So why was she glaring at him like he owed her money?
Absent-mindedly, he reached out and ruffled Closure's small twin-tailed head before looking down at the girl, who practically radiated grievance.
"Who are you calling shorty?! I'm a Vampire! You want to bite you?!"
Already furious with Steven, Closure nearly exploded when he patted her head.
She flailed her arms, trying to swat his hand away while also threatening him in a futile attempt at intimidation.
Unfortunately for her, Steven had already dealt with Warfarin before.
He had long since learned that the so-called "Vampires" weren't as terrifying as they claid to be.
Though Closure had red eyes like Warfarin, Steven had always assud that all Vampires had white hair.
The fact that Closure was the sa species as Warfarin was honestly surprising.
"Give it up. Warfarin couldn't even break my skin. If she can't, what makes you think you can? Save your teeth for eating."
Steven chuckled.
At least Warfarin was actually capable in a fight.
Closure, on the other hand?
She looked like she'd run out of breath just carrying a single box.
How could soone this fragile call herself a Sarkaz Vampire with a straight face?
"Tch! None of your business, you money-draining bastard. Now, where's the stuff?"
Huffing in frustration, Closure turned her head away but still held out her hand, making a "pay up" gesture.
"Kal'tsit said you're covering this chair-racing event, right? So hand over the drinks and food already."
"Seriously, where do you even get the nerve to be this generous?"
"Kal'tsit announced this to the entire Rhodes Island, you know?!"
"That's hundreds of people! Do you even realize how much this is gonna cost?!"
Her face completely fell as she grumbled.
Even though she wasn't the one paying, she looked even more stressed out than Steven himself.
"It's not your money, so why are you panicking?"
"The emperor's not even worried, but here you are—a lowly palace maid—losing your mind."
Steven nearly burst out laughing at her expressions.
She really was born to be a rchant.
Keeping her stuck in Rhodes Island was wasting her talents.
She should be tied to a lamppost as a warning to future generations.
"That's all money, you know! How can you be so reckless with it?!"
"And this is all your fault, okay?!"
"Before you got involved, they used to order drinks and food from for the event. But ever since those elite operators tasted whatever high-end booze you brought in, they've all beco picky snobs!"
Closure shot Steven a glare, gritting her teeth like she wanted to bite him out of sheer frustration.
"Ohhh, so that's why you're holding a grudge against ?"
"Well, I can't do anything about that. Your product just isn't up to standard. Can't bla for that, can you?"
Steven shrugged.
At last, he finally understood why this little con artist had been so salty toward him.
He'd cut off her source of easy money—of course she'd resent him for it.
"How is that my fault?! You gave it away for free, okay?!"
"That's market manipulation!"
"It'd be one thing if you were just undercutting , but do you even know how expensive those drinks of yours are?!"
"Out there, only nobles can afford them!"
"Even when I water down the leftovers from your barrels, it's still better than anything I can buy! What the hell am I supposed to do about that?!"
Closure only got angrier the more she spoke.
She would have loved to compete with him, but how was she supposed to?
The man was just giving away drinks that were practically luxury goods—how could she possibly beat that?
What, did everyone else also have money to burn like he did?
"Yeah… that's a fair point."
"But that just ans you shouldn't be selling alcohol in the first place, right?"
"It's technically banned on Rhodes Island. You're only doing this for so sneaky side profit, aren't you?"
Steven scratched his head.
Sure, he'd completely crushed Closure's business, but that was only because she got involved in the first place.
If she hadn't dabbled in this, he wouldn't have ended up pushing her out of the market.
"You—you—you—you shut up!"
"This isn't about making side profits!"
"It's about the smart utilization and recycling of resources!"
"For the sake of Rhodes Island's economic and logistical stability, this is an absolutely necessary source of funding!"
Closure stamred as she hastily tried to cover up her real motives.
"Oh? Then why don't you go explain that to Kal'tsit?"
Steven stroked his chin, grinning as he watched the increasingly flustered Sarkaz girl.
She was actually pretty cute when she got all worked up like this.
At the end of the day, he had to admit—looks really did affect how people treated others.
Even though Steven hated shady rchants, seeing one in the form of a cute girl sohow made it way less annoying.
That was exactly why he never modded his own world to turn monsters into cute ani girls—they'd just be too adorable to kill.
"Wait, no, don't! Boss, I was just joking, alright?"
"Your selfless sacrifice for the joy and unity of Rhodes Island is sothing I deeply admire and respect!"
"Being able to help you set up the venue is my absolute honor!"
"So there's really no need to trouble Miss Kal'tsit with such matters, right?"
Closure's ability to instantly grovel was truly impressive—even Steven had to respect the sheer thickness of her skin.
She was starting to remind him of himself a little.
"Speaking of which… why are you even mad at in the first place?"
"Think about it—if you work with , you might even get so kickbacks, you know?"
Steven smirked as he watched the pitiful little rchant in front of him.
Sure enough, her eyes imdiately lit up at the idea.
"Wait… are you saying I can take a cut—"
"Of course not."
"If I was planning to let you, why would I even explain all this in the first place?"
< >
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