"My goodness... I actually got it?!"
After receiving Han Feng's confirmation, Paimon became so excited she could barely contain herself.
Just as Lumine had expected...
Paimon's luck had always been terrible.
The rewards she'd gotten before were things like a camera...
Or dorayaki.
The only remotely useful one had been her Transformation Technique.
And even then...
A Abyss Mage had seen right through the disguise.
She'd nearly lost her life because of it.
So when she'd talked about getting a powerful mecha before...
She'd only been joking.
She'd never really believed it would happen.
Yet today...
Lady Luck had finally smiled on her.
She'd actually won the jackpot!
The sudden happiness nearly overwhelmed her.
Thinking about the magnificent robot from the manga...
She stared at the items floating before her with blazing excitement.
"Right, Boss Han!"
Paimon suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "What if someone attacks me while I'm summoning Granzort?"
In the manga...
The protagonists took quite a while to summon their mecha.
Meanwhile...
The enemies simply stood there watching.
Every time Paimon saw those scenes, she wanted to complain.
"Just attack them already!"
"If you beat them before they finish summoning, wouldn't that solve everything?"
"That's only for dramatic effect in the manga."
Han Feng chuckled.
"In reality, the summoning process is very fast."
"Besides..."
"Won't Lumine be there protecting you?"
In the original story...
Daichi had to race to the summoning point on his skateboard because of the time limit.
But Paimon could fly.
That wasn't much of an issue.
"Hehe, that's great!"
Just imagining herself piloting such a cool and powerful mecha made Paimon grin from ear to ear.
Let's see who dared call her "emergency food" or "dead weight" now.
"Hmph!"
"Lumine, you'll be following me from now on!"
"I'll be the one protecting you!"
She crossed her arms proudly.
Finally...
She could act tough in front of Lumine for once.
"Of course, of course."
Lumine smiled indulgently.
"I'll be relying on you to carry me from now on."
Seeing Paimon's smug expression made her want to laugh.
Since the little girl rarely got the chance to show off...
Lumine naturally played along wholeheartedly.
Receiving such enthusiastic "admiration,"
Paimon felt completely satisfied.
Being the big boss...
Really felt amazing!
"Oh right!"
"What reward did you get?"
After basking in the moment for a while, Paimon turned to Lumine curiously.
"Carrot Transformation Magic."
Lumine spread her hands helplessly.
"It lets me create lots of carrots... or really gigantic ones."
She never imagined...
That this would be her reward.
She didn't even like carrots...
"Oh! That one!"
Paimon immediately remembered.
In Granzort...
The rabbit-eared girl Grigri used that magic.
There had even been one chapter where she'd summoned a rain of carrots...
Saving Machi's starving village from famine.
Thinking back on that scene...
Paimon suddenly wanted to try one herself.
In the manga...
Gus and Grigri had eaten those carrots with obvious delight.
As a certified foodie...
How could she miss out?
"Lumine!"
She looked over eagerly.
"Make me a carrot!"
"I want to try one!"
"Sure."
Lumine nodded without hesitation.
Recalling the spell that had appeared in her mind, she softly chanted,
"HORARECHUCHUPARERO~!"
As soon as the words left her lips...
A fresh carrot appeared in her hand.
"Here."
"Give it a taste."
"Let me try!"
Paimon accepted it eagerly and took a bite.
Crunch!
"Hmm..."
"Crispy."
"Not bad!"
After chewing for a few moments, she nodded approvingly.
It could definitely serve as a snack.
After all...
There was an endless supply.
...Endless?
Paimon's eyes suddenly lit up.
Wait!
If there were an unlimited number of carrots...
Couldn't they just sell them for Mora?
And food was much easier to sell than rocks, wasn't it?
She instantly felt she'd discovered an entirely new path to becoming rich.
Her excitement exploded.
"Lumine!"
"Let's go set up a carrot stall in Inazuma later!"
"With your magic, we'll definitely make a fortune!"
"...You can use it like that?"
Lumine blinked.
Good grief.
As expected of Paimon.
When it came to making money...
Her instincts were incredible.
Lumine herself hadn't even considered that possibility.
"But..."
"It actually sounds feasible."
She rested her chin in thought.
The carrots were unlimited anyway.
Leaving them unused would simply be wasteful.
Selling some of them wasn't a bad idea.
It was honest income.
Lumine felt perfectly comfortable earning Mora that way.
The only thing they'd need to watch out for...
Was not flooding the market.
Otherwise...
They might end up hurting ordinary farmers' livelihoods.
"Alright."
"No problem."
"We'll do it later."
After deciding there wasn't anything wrong with the idea, Lumine readily agreed.
"Hehe!"
"Boss Han!"
"Paimon's going to become rich very soon!"
This time...
She wasn't just fantasizing.
She could practically see Mora waving at her.
"I never realized you had such a talent."
Han Feng laughed as he rubbed Paimon's little face.
"If you don't go into business with Ningguang, it'll be a real waste."
But...
She was celebrating a little too early.
Had she forgotten...
She still owed Boss Han four favors?
Hmm...
His first request would simply be...
Hand over every Mora she earned.
"...Am I being a little too evil?"
Han Feng thought to himself.
After all...
The business idea had been Paimon's.
She'd be the one selling everything.
And here he was...
Planning to take all the profits.
Well...
He'd leave her one Mora as payment for her hard work.
Sigh.
I'm far too kind.
Completely unaware that a certain Boss Han was already plotting how to exploit her labor...
Paimon suddenly remembered something else.
"Boss Han!"
"Do you know who that woman in purple was earlier?"
"You've already met her, and you still don't know?"
Han Feng looked genuinely surprised.
"Well..."
Paimon puffed up her cheeks.
"She just said that if we ever visit Inazuma, we could simply mention her name."
"But then..."
"She never actually told us what her name was!"
Thinking about it made Paimon depressed all over again.
Who freeloaded on someone else's kindness like that?
"So that's what happened."
Han Feng nodded in understanding.
Then he explained,
"Her name is Raiden Ei."
"She's the Almighty Shogun of Inazuma."
"In terms of status..."
"She's the same as Venti and Zhongli."
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