Watermelons and Great Fortune

And so, Liyahiss and her companions strolled brazenly into the city.

“Watermelons for sale! No charge if they’re not sweet!”

Liyahiss turned her head and, upon spotting a familiar face, was struck with the sudden urge to tease her. It was the woman whose Biter Chicken she had accidentally roasted.

“Excuse me, how much are your watermelons per pound?”

“One gold coin per pound,” the vendor blurted out. The moment she saw who her customers were, she cursed her own quick reflexes for the first time.

“My, were these watermelons bathed in holy light by night or irrigated with holy water? Why so expensive?”

“To be perfectly honest, this humble servant simply found poultry too difficult to raise, so I switched to growing melons. These are all-natural and additive-free, so please, enjoy them with confidence.”

“Wow! It really is you! What a coincidence! In that case, we’ll just help ourselves to one.”

Liyahiss turned to Belzebub, who nodded, indicating she knew exactly what to do. Belzebub scanned the selection, picked out the largest one, and looked to Liyahiss. “How about this one?”

“It looks acceptable. Go ahead and open it.”

Belzebub then drew a blade from the hem of her skirt and, with a swift motion, cleaved the melon in two, releasing a sudden burst of golden light.

“A classic case of excess light element,” Liyahiss noted with a smirk. “It seems you’ve been feeding them quite a bit of holy water to make them ripen faster, haven’t you?”

“You… I…”

“It’s only been a few days since we last saw each other. For you to have melons ready in such a short time, you must have forced them to ripen.”

“So you knew all along? Then why did you split my melon open?”

“Belzebub, take as many as you like. I’m sure she’d be more than happy to give them to us for free.”

Ignoring the woman who had collapsed to the ground in a fit of pique, the trio busied themselves with picking out the best melons. They weren’t worried about carrying them; they could simply store them in their pocket dimension alongside the furniture.

Although the melons weren’t purely natural and lacked an authentic flavor, absorbing the light element could help heal hidden ailments, making them better than organic melons for ordinary people. But for the three of them, who prioritized taste above all else, they were of little use and hardly worth the price.

“You’re such a good person. We look forward to seeing you again. Let’s go.”

As she watched the three figures recede into the distance, the woman slowly got to her feet. Suddenly, she sensed a familiar magical aura and her eyes widened as she stared at the large, cloven melon. It turned out Belzebub’s blade had been imbued with her own magic, making this particular melon far more potent than any before it.

She had been careless, but she had just hit the jackpot.

The trio continued their stroll, their long absence from the world filling them with curiosity for all the novelties around them.

“Come one, come all! Candied fruit skewers, sweet and not sticky!”

“Hillisa, I want one of those.”

“Of course, My Lady.”

Using the appropriate title for the occasion was a fundamental skill for a maid. They walked on with light steps, enjoying their candied fruit.

Clang, clang, clang!

“Step right up, don’t miss out! A free draw! One per person! The worst you can get is a large fruit!”

“Hillisa, let’s go take a look.”

“My Lady, I can tell just by looking at you that you’re bound to win the grand prize.”

“I’ll choose this bamboo slip.”

“Alright, let’s see what it says here… ‘Great Fortune’?! It’s the grand prize!”

“It seems your judgment was sound. What’s the prize for ‘Great Fortune’? Hand it over.”

“Ahem! The winner of the ‘Great Fortune’ prize receives an admission ticket to the auction! Congratulations, My Lady!”

“That’s my lady for you!” Hillisa cheered.

“Alright, my luck surpasses that of ninety percent of people. You two should give it a try as well.”

Hillisa drew an adorable handkerchief, while Belzebub got her favorite prize: a large fruit. Liyahiss glanced at the ticket. The auction was to be held in this very city, tomorrow evening.

“How can the very first person win the grand prize? Does anyone really have that kind of luck? All three of us sisters got the worst consolation prize! Are you running a scam here, shopkeeper?!” a woman in the crowd shouted.

“Hey now, I’m just a humble fruit seller trying to promote my small business with this event. How could there be any trickery involved?”

“I don’t believe you! Hand over all the bamboo slips, we’re going to inspect them!”

“Stop it! Are you trying to put me out of business?!”

Liyahiss and her companions acted as if they hadn’t seen a thing and quietly departed from the stall. She figured professionals would likely handle it later. And even if no one did, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t care less.

“Hey, did you hear? They’re doing free elemental affinity tests over at the central plaza. Seems the academy is expanding its enrollment.”