(Note for readers: in the previous chapter I confused Book of the False Attendant and Servantdex.)
Chapter 205: Maeve's Item Shop.
"... We only have 5 QP of funds."
Eikou touched the wallet in his pocket, feeling a little embarrassed as he spoke.
This really is the Oberon Simulator.
Although a bit unexpected, it still made sense.
Because according to the character setting in this game, his guardian is Caren. She wouldn't even give him a tiny bit of pocket money, so how could she possibly give him the necessary funds for his journey?
But 5 QP was way too little. Even a Servant Ball to capture a Servant… hmm, no, not even the Book of the False Attendant could be bought!
"What, doesn't that mean we can't even afford food?"
Artoria Lancer said in horror.
The greatest fear of all Artorias: HUNGER!
"Wait, there will be a way..."
Eikou thought for a moment and said.
"Let's go to the Item Shop first, check the prices in this Singularity, then decide. Who knows? Maybe 5 QP here is a big amount? If Book of the False Attendant is sold for just 1 QP, then we can buy five of them!"
With a bit of hopeful gambling, Eikou led Artoria to the Item Shop in town.
The owner of this Item Shop was Queen Medb. The moment she saw Eikou walk in, her eyes instantly lit up.
Inside his bag, the Servantdex also started getting excited, beeping and vibrating.
[Queen Medb Rider]
[As the owner of the Item Shop, she is always looking for men passing by. Since there aren't many good men around here, she has set her eyes on the delicious and attractive young boy next door. As long as there's a chance, she immediately teases him, and she's even thought about taking advantage of the night to sneak into his house and steal his precious innocence.]
[Extremely unsatisfied, and with a very high Riding Rank, she even has a Jail Warden Costume, with an extremely dangerous way to play.]
"Why do you always display these private-life details? It's embarrassing to look at! Does 'unsatisfied' count as some kind of combat rating to you?! Can you give me some proper information about the Servant, like stats or skills?"
[Well, that, I'm not too sure myself.]
"Honestly, what were you even created for?"
Eikou helplessly put the Servantdex away, then looked up at the items on the shelves.
[Book of the False Attendant, 100 QP]
[Potion, 10 QP]
[Water of Life, 50 QP]
"As expected, I can't afford a single thing..."
Eikou looked awkwardly at the price tags on the shelves.
Strangely enough, he didn't know what criteria this shelf was classified by, but it felt like a few extremely weird items were mixed in...
"No, this categorization is correct, because they all belong to the category of things I can't afford..."
But Eikou still wasn't ready to give up. He walked straight up to Medb.
"Owner, may I ask if there are any discounts here?"
"Oya,"
Medb looked at him warmly. "At the moment, there are no discount programs, but do you need me to help you with something?"
"Um, actually, I'm a bit tight on money..."
"I see, you want to use the Book of the False Attendant to capture a Servant, but you don't have enough QP, right?"
Medb asked with interest.
"That's right..."
"Haha, this isn't as troublesome as you think. Capturing an unowned Servant isn't limited to forcibly using a Book of the False Attendant. As long as your own strength is sufficient, other methods can also make an unowned Servant submit."
"Really?"
Eikou found it a bit hard to believe.
"Umu umu, I just happen to sell a few cheap items for that exact purpose. You can think of them as a low-tier version of the Book of the False Attendant. You can use them to capture Servants. And for Servants you already own, using these items can even increase your bond."
"Oh?"
Is this for real? There's something this convenient in the world? Cheap, captures Servants, and even increases bond with Artoria?!
Truly, heaven never blocks one's path!
"Please, quickly bring out such a good item!"
"Alright, alright."
As soon as Queen Medb smiled, she took out a box of condoms.
".....?"
"This thing only costs 5 QP for a whole box."
"What kind of method of subjugation is this?!"
"Haha, no need to panic like that, in essence this is a kind of equipment that helps humans feel more at ease. And also, you see, there are even grainy bumps on it, which can be used to attack the opponent's weak points..."
"No need to explain to me in that kind of detail!"
Eikou's face instantly turned red, he hurriedly shook his head and cut her off.
What kind of equipment was this supposed to be? Although it could actually be...
"Huh, such a good tool and you're not buying it?"
Medb asked with some confusion.
"How could I possibly buy it..."
"Aiya, your financial situation really is tragic, huh."
Medb smiled brightly, then couldn't help but lightly bite her plump lips, "then do you want to work part-time for me? Hourly wage, I can pay you 5000 QP per hour."
"..."
"But this job might be a little tiring～."
Just by looking at Medb's lewd expression, coupled with the abnormally generous wage, Eikou instantly understood what she meant by "work."
Most likely bizarre requests like [sleep with this big sister for one night], [have a PvP match (on the bed) with me] and the like.
At this point, Eikou also had nothing left to be surprised about.
Considering the pay was so high, and in order to remain polite, he still decided to at least ask what the job was.
"This job is like this, first you have to set a safe word, then I will take you..."
[...]
[When Queen Medb described that kind of play, your brain completely shut down.]
[Even though you had mentally prepared yourself, you were still overwhelmingly shocked by the adult world.]
[When you finally reacted, you were so terrified that you ordered Artoria to mount her horse and gallop full speed, carrying you five kilometers straight out of town. Only when you could no longer see Medb's shop behind you did you finally breathe a sigh of relief.]
…
Outside the town.
"... Alright, looks like buying items or doing part-time work are both impossible."
Sitting on horseback, Eikou was still in shock as he spoke.
Artoria was still recalling the earlier conversation, and she seriously asked: "Eikou, what is a 'safe word'?"
"That's something you shouldn't ask..."
He blushed and shook his head, genuinely unwilling to answer such an awkward question.
"But Medb did give me a good direction. Even without the Book of the False Attendant, as long as we build a good relationship with an ownerless Servant, we can still form a contract. If that's the case, things will be much simpler."
"Do you have a plan?"
Artoria asked.
"Uh, how should I say this..."
Eikou said, "using some methods I'm better at to conquer an ownerless Servant."
[While the two of you were still talking...]
[A wild ownerless Servant suddenly jumped out from the bushes and attacked you!]
A soft sound came from the bushes.
With her A-rank Instinct, Artoria was the first to detect something wrong. She immediately summoned her Holy Lance to prepare for battle.
Right afterward, a slender figure with purple hair leapt out.
A petite, delicate body, wrapped in an oversized black cat-eared cloak, her silky purple hair fluttering.
It was...
Medusa Lily!
...