“Lingerie,” Ebi said, and sat back as if he’d just dropped a bomb of knowledge.
“L…lingerie?” Rhys repeated. Of all the things he’d expected, that hadn’t been on the list. Then again, I guess they don’t have V-Lady’s Secret here. The market is wide open.
“Yes. They’re far more popular in the northern region, but they’re gaining popularity here. They’re the little clothes, the things you wear under your—”
Rhys lifted his hand to stop the man. “I’m aware of the concept, thanks. I just wasn’t aware there was a business opportunity in the, um. Area.”
Ryota sat back, staring at the ceiling with a I can’t believe this look on his face.
Ebi tsked and waggled his finger. “You and everyone else, my friend! But that is precisely why there is an opportunity.”
“I’m listening.”
Ebi beamed. He pressed his fingertips together and leaned in. “Are you aware of the vast diversification of lingerie to our north? It’s a recent fad that has absolutely exploded. And the conditions for the fad to explode here, in this region, are already set. The elite are already importing northern undergarments, but the sole importer store is far too gaudy for the average mage to enter.”
“Right, yeah. Classic V-Secret gameplan. I’m on board so far.”
“I propose building a casual store where any mage would feel comfortable entering… ah?” Ebi beamed. “Ah, are you from a region where lingerie has already exploded? Then I suppose I don’t need to go over the details.”
“In a sense, yes.” A region. Not his reborn-region, but his first world. It counted.
“I knew you were well-traveled from the moment I saw you. Of course, of course. Then, my plan is…”
It was a shockingly well thought out business plan for recreating northern designs with the region’s sensibilities and aesthetics, selling them in a comfortable shop, and maintaining inventory through enlisting low-tier mages to rapidly reproduce designs and manufacture textiles. It was so remarkably well thought out that it was, flatly, utterly boring. Rhys listened for a while, but once he got enough of the jist of it to understand that Ebi was an expert in his field and knew what he was talking about, he stopped paying attention and focused on picking at his desert instead. You know, I really underestimated this guy. I thought he was just a face-slapping villain, but he’s a real person, with his own distinct expertise and thoughts and dreams for the future, and all that. I mean, they’re dreams about manipulating women into overpaying for underwear, so it’s not like they’re great dreams, but we’ve all gotta have something, you know?
Honestly, the fact that he’s a face-slapping villain with a trash dream… doesn’t that play directly into my hands? Me and this guy, we’re a match made in heaven.
He paused, then, and snorted at himself. I’m a little scared for my future, if this is the kind of person my path attracts.
At last, Ebi paused to draw breath, and Rhys clapped his hands, seizing control of the conversation for a moment. “Wonderful! You truly have every detail mapped out. I’m amazed, amazed, truly.”
“I’m honored. In fact, I—”
“—I’m sure you’ve already considered every detail,” Rhys quickly interrupted, before Ebi could get another head of steam. “First, may I propose something?”
“Of course. What do you have in mind?”
Rhys nodded. “It’s not enough to simply have a comfortable store, don’t you think? We need to normalize these garments, and more importantly, build a pedestal for them. Inform the whole world that only the richest, most beautiful, and most powerful people wear underwear like these. That way, they’ll know: they can be like her, if only in one way, if only for a fleeting moment.”
Ebi’s eyes got big, and his jaw dropped. A second later, he applauded. “Fabulous! A fabulous idea. But how?”
“I propose we hold a fashion show. A runway, displaying all the latest models on all the hottest young mages. We only invite the elite of the elite, the crème de la crème, but we also invite the reporters. Er… the news people. You have those, right?”
“But what will involving the papers do? They’ll surely besmirch the show,” Ebi asked, confused.
“It doesn’t matter, as long as they circulate images of the event. I would recommend drawing up art ahead of time, so that the papers can most smoothly distribute them. Whether they speak well or ill of the show, if they distribute the images—and how could they resist?—the people will be able to see and decide for themselves whether these things are beautiful and wonderful, or hideous. And, well…” Rhys smiled, letting a little evil into it.
Ebi nodded. He pulled out a notebook and started scribbling. “Indeed, indeed. I never thought of such things! No, but sir is right. It would be even more effective than traditional advertisements!”
“We do those too, of course. This is merely for notoriety. This, and that too, provide the men and women of the region a dream of the future.” Well, that’s one way to put it, anyways. But hey, that kind of heavy-breathing attachment is a big thumbs-up in a lingerie business!
“But… it goes against propriety. What if the king shuts it down?”
Rhys sat back and crossed his arms, utterly confident. “Even better. No, that would be ideal, wouldn’t it? As long as they merely protest the advertising and not the store itself, we should become a household name. Everyone will want to know what we did that was so scandalous. Everyone will have to come see. And then…”
“Yes, I see it.” Ebi kept scribbling, then snapped his book shut and looked up. “You said first. Is there a second?”
“Second… what is my part in all this? I understand needing backers, especially ones with the ear of royalty,” Rhys gestured at Ryota, who jumped, suddenly looking supremely uncomfortable, “but surely you had a specific role in mind? I still haven’t heard what part I am to play.”
Unless he heard me bragging about my shapeshifting, in which case, I guess I can’t deny how outright sexy Rina is, and I suppose I’ll just have to bow my head and humbly accept this role…
“Right, of course,” Ebi said. He dabbed at his lips with a napkin, even though he hadn’t taken a bite in nearly half an hour. For the first time, his chubby face turned serious. “You see, there’s just a small problem. I ordered a number of samples from the north, and they’re on their way here. Or… they were.”
“They were?” Combat mission? Uh oh. Time to bluff! Rhys cleared his throat and lifted his hand. “Ebi, before you proceed further, I need to warn you. Back there at the door, I was bluffing.”
Ryota jumped where he sat and stared at Rhys in wide-eyed fear. Over Ebi’s shoulder, Leanne suddenly turned. She’d been ignoring their conversation this whole time, but now she watched with intense interest.
Ebi frowned, confused. “Bluffing…? But how? I felt you strength with my own power.”
Rhys nodded. He lowered his head, putting on a deeply apologetic face. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I recently sustained a grave injury. I am powerful, and when I recover, I will be powerful once more. But right now, in this instant, I’m not confident I could even fight you toe to toe right now, let alone your bodyguard behind you. For a moment, I can burst out with my full power, but in a sustained battle of any kind… I’m not sure I can perform at my full strength.”
He turned to Ryota. I’ve gotta explain your behavior too, buddy. “And I’m sorry for keeping the truth from you, my friend. I hope you can forgive me for being inadequate to protect Your Highness.”
“No… no! Not at all!” Ryota said, shaking his head hard. He sat back up, forcibly recovering his cool, and Rhys internally gave him a big approving thumbs-up. Seems like he really has been trained like a noble. He catches on fast, even if the premise is as stupid as this one.
“Oh! Oh, I’m so sorry. I see I’ve been horribly inconsiderate,” Ebi said, concerned. A moment later, he regrouped. “But even a moment of your full power might be enough.”
“Oh?”
“A beast has blocked the road. It is fierce and powerful, and neither I nor Leanne can defeat it. However, it is simply a wild beast. If you so much as express your power for one moment, it might be enough to make it run off.”
Rhys considered. He wasn’t actually stronger than Leanne or Ebi, but he’d successfully bluffed Ebi. Maybe he could successfully bluff this beast, too?
It wasn’t as far flung as it sounded. He understood that a lot of complex cultural things had happened for him to successfully bluff Ebi. Ebi had tested Rhys’s strength and failed, which made Ebi assume that Rhys was stronger than he was; because they were at the gates, in front of the guards, Ebi subconsciously chose not to attack or send Leanne to attack to test him, which likewise squashed any subconscious doubt the man might have (rightfully) possessed. In his mind, it was now cemented that Rhys was powerful, even though Rhys hadn’t shown any proof whatsoever.
He understood that none of that would be at play before the beast. If it tested him and found him more powerful, it might back down, but that would require it to test him rather than attack on sight. If it simply leaped out at him, all would be revealed, and worse, he’d be very dead. But that wasn’t his plan. No: his plan was simpler.
Impurities.
Beasts feared them instinctively. The gorillas had known to stay away from him, and animals shied away from the Impure Wells of his previous region. He was now, essentially, a walking blob of impurities, to the extent that although a Tier 8 or 9 beast would be able to wipe him off the map with a thought, they still risked gaining impurities that could hinder their progress in doing so. He was a poison dart frog: pathetic, weak-skinned, a being that any human could crush in their hand, but if they dared try, they’d die from the poison secreted through his weak skin. His weakness was his strength, and his strength was his weakness. Usually, he disguised his impurities, his ‘stench,’ as it were, by transmuting the impurities into mana before he emitted his aura from his body, and before he used many of his techniques, too—if it wasn’t a technique he’d developed, it likely couldn’t take impurities as fuel. But in the face of an overwhelming force, he could always stop that. Reveal himself as the poisonous filth he was, and let them choose whether to attack or not.
It wasn’t a perfect plan. There was always the chance that the beast was so powerful that his impurities didn’t matter, or could kill him from a sufficient range for it to not matter, or had some kind of skill that made it immune to poison. A human wearing shoes could kill a poison dart frog, after all. Most crucially, he wasn’t confident that any attack he had would at all frighten a beast that powerful. Any impurities he emitted would be too weak to matter. His first and last line of offense and defense was his own body, and the only play he could make would be to walk forward. It was entirely in the beast’s hands whether he won or lost.
It was a gamble, pure and simple. A coin flip. He could weight the coin as much as he liked, but even a weighted coin landed tails-side-up sometimes. It was a bad bet. And yet, why was he so eager to try it?
He lifted his hand and found it trembling, felt a smile cross his face unbidden. Gambling. Gambling! With his life, no less! Was there anything trashier than that? Than seeking out that worthless adrenaline rush with his neck on the line, with nothing to gain and everything to lose? His path thrummed inside him, and his whole body lit up with excitement. This! This was a hint! A clue to progressing to the next stage. Turning it down was to turn aside from his own path, and he refused! Flatly refused!
Ebi noticed his trembling hand and waved his. “If you’re that badly wounded, of course, I wouldn’t dream of making you come along! No, no, forget I ever—”
Rhys slammed his hand down on the table hard enough to make the dishes jump. He sat forward, leaning out until his face almost touched Ebi’s. “Take me. I’ll do it.”
“I—I couldn’t be responsible for the death of one such as yourself—”
“Ebi.”
Everyone at the table stilled and turned to Leanne. It was the first time she’d spoken since Rhys had first seen her, and given that even Ebi looked shocked, he surmised she didn’t speak much. She rested one hand on her sword and nodded, a small smile on her face. “Can’t you feel it? His path is crying out. Do you dare block an elder from following his path?”
Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but Ebi didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he jumped in his seat and clapped, excited. “Eh. Eh! Really? Oh, truly! Blessed day! To think, I’d live to see such a respected elder’s path activate… ah! We’d be honored to have you. Here, let me give you the details…”
While Ebi rustled around in his bag, Rhys locked eyes with Leanne, a question in his. No one else had ever been able to sense when his path thrummed before. But she could? Was it something to do with her path? A skill she’d honed? Something he’d be able to do at that tier?
Leanne laughed silently. Her lips moved, mouthing words.
Ebi sat back up and waved a paper in Rhys’s face, interrupting his gaze. “Here, here it is. Right, we set off soon…”
“Thank you, Ebi.” Rhys took the paper and smiled, but his eyes remained on Leanne. Who is she? What is her path? I need to know!