24 How to spend your money, From Time to Time…
On that day, Yato chan was muttering as she gazed at the showcase.
“Uh—-, 4,000 yen, 4,000 yen…”
Dressed in her usual punk fashion, she peered at a card in the middle row of the showcase.
Her black ponytail swayed worriedly with each word she spoke.
This had been going on for about thirty minutes now.
In between, she’d glance at the storage, or get called away to assist other customers.
But despite occasionally looking away, she remained deep in thought the whole time.
The reason for her indecision was simple – whether or not to buy the single card displayed in the showcase.
The price was 4,000 yen, as Yato chan had said.
In my previous world, it would have been an extremely expensive card. But in this world, it fell into the relatively inexpensive category.
In this world, the so-called rare cards could cost anywhere from tens of millions to even billions of outrageous yen.
But even amongst non-rare cards, there were still many unusual cards that weren’t easy to obtain.
Some cost over 10,000 yen, but the card Yato chan was agonizing over could be considered average-priced overall.
In my personal feeling, tripling the selling price from the previous world would be about right.
Either way, this was a world where Card Fighting came at a cost.
Considering it was related to life, it might not be an expensive purchase.
“You’re really struggling over this one.”
“Shop Manager…yeah, I can’t help but be indecisive.”
Since I happened to be rearranging other cards in the showcase, I tried striking up a conversation.
While people had commented on her prolonged indecision, after thirty minutes, hardly anyone was paying attention to Yato chan anymore.
“…Actually, they say Dark Fighters have started appearing in this city again.”
Perhaps that’s why Yato chan spoke in a hushed tone so those around us couldn’t hear.
Conversations like these were no longer unusual for us.
We were both quite accustomed to speaking in hushed tones.
“I see, so you want to strengthen your deck because you have a mission.”
“Yeah…I’d feel awful towards Sis and Ren if I was too cheap to buy cards and lost because of it.”
“Then why don’t you just buy it?”
I had said cards were related to life, but now it was a matter of life and death.
In that case, wouldn’t it make sense to just buy it despite the cost?
“But…I feel like around 80% of it would be wasted even if I buy this.”
“Ah- well…I can understand that perspective.”
Indeed, the card Yato chan was looking at now had good synergy with her “Steam Knight Punk Knights” deck.
However, it was just a high-roll support card – not something with widespread utility on its own.
If anything, carelessly including it could clog her deck and prevent it from functioning properly.
No matter how much her Destined Power boosted her drawing ability compared to the previous world, that didn’t make her immune to bricking with such high-roll cards.
In fact, one could argue the lower chance of bricking made it all the more devastating when it did happen.
“Come to think of it-“
I remembered then.
I have a card I want to show to Yato. chan.
If she was going into life-or-death battles against Dark Fighters, I needed to show it to her.
“A new ‘Steam Knight Punk Knights’ card has been discovered.”
“Eh!? Really!?”
I nodded.
It had been mixed in with the cards the detective brought in for buyback the other day.
Apparently the detective only noticed it then – like my “Primordial Holy Angel Ancient”, it must have snuck in there at some point.
While not as rare as “Primordial Holy Angel Ancient”, these things did happen occasionally.
“However, it’s a rare card priced around 2 million yen.”
“I’ll take it!”
“Whoa, decided that quickly.”
She didn’t even hesitate.
I had been prepared to hold it for her if she wanted it,
but that didn’t seem necessary.
“When it comes to ‘Steam Knight Punk Knights’ cards, of course I’ll take it right away. Even if I don’t need it now, new support could come out later that synergizes with it.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“Also, Sis told me for rare cards, I should just buy them if I think I need them no matter how expensive. Though I’d have to consult her if it wasn’t for ‘Steam Knight Punk Knights’, of course.”
I see, I nodded.
It seemed the sisters had a separate budget set aside specifically for purchasing rare cards.
In that case, buying rare cards felt more like an operational expense rather than a personal purchase.
These kinds of different spending mentalities did come up from time to time.
“Oh, and the agency also provides subsidies for buying rare cards. So it’s a very different feeling from just buying regular cards with my own money.”
“I understand now.”
So agents received subsidies for purchasing rare cards from their organization.
Well, it made sense – a single rare card could decide the fate of the world.
Pro Fighters affiliated with companies probably had similar subsidies.
The closest pro to me was an independent, so I’d never heard about that.
“By the way, are there any other purchases where the money feels different?”
“Clothes and gacha games.”
Another instant answer.
The former made sense for a girl, but I was surprised gacha games also had a different money mentality.
“Ah, it’s not me – it’s just Sis who’s a huge whale. I’m different.”
“I see.”
For a moment I wondered if she was pouring money into one of those slightly erotic gacha games…
“For clothes, well…as you can see. I’m pretty particular about it, so of course it costs money.”
“I think they suit you.”
“I’ll take that as an honest compliment.”
Perhaps flattered by my words, she gave a self-satisfied smile and twirled around.
The punk fashion did look great on her, I had to admit.
When Erea and I went clothes shopping before, those outfits were quite pricey too.
That Yugi Cos…er, combat outfit I bought cost nearly 100,000 yen for the full set.
I have it displayed on a mannequin in my room now.
Ah, what a fine piece of work.
“…No, that outfit just had a premium price tagged on for some reason.”
“How did you know?”
“That’s my regular shop. I’d know right away if that weird premium outfit on display sold out – plus Erea told me.”
“Erea you…!”
She was unexpectedly loose-lipped about anything she deemed okay to share…not very spy-like at all.
Well, I suppose girls will be girls.
So that outfit did have a premium price…no wonder it was so expensive.
“Anyway, have you made up your mind?”
“We went so off-track, I didn’t get a chance to think about it at all.”
“My bad. Well, I’ll hold that card for you, so let me know if you need it later.”
“Really? Thanks!”
It would be disappointing if someone else bought the card she had agonized over for thirty minutes.
Hearing my offer, Yato chan visibly brightened.
Moments like these really showed her age.
“Alright, with that settled, I’ll get going for today. I said I had a budget for ‘Steam Knight Punk Knights’ stuff, but I don’t actually have the cash on hand right now.”
“Ah, I’ll hold that one too, so come back once you’re prepared.”
“Got it.”
And so, with a radiant smile, Yato chan left the shop.
Being considerate in moments like these is the secret to good customer service, you know.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
The next day.
“Shop Manager, I’ve decided. I’m going to buy that card.”
“Ah, that one.”
With a determined look, Yato chan came to the shop.
No doubt carrying a large sum of money contributed to her resolve. But it must have taken significant conviction to decide to spend 4,000 yen on a single personal card purchase.
However-
“If you’re buying that card, you might want to wait a little longer.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well, you see…”
I showed Yato chan the business computer on the counter.
There was-
“That card is being reprinted at a much cheaper price, according to the announcement last night.”
“Ah…………”
An awkward silence fell over the dejected Yato chan.
A common experience in card games – agonizing over a purchase, only for that card to get reprinted at a fraction of the cost.
The reverse was also true.
In this case, Yato chan lucked out by my holding it for her rather than buying it.
So while I was happy, it was understandable for her to feel apologetic towards me.
Still,
“Well, this is just part of running a card shop.”
“Y-Yeah, I suppose…”
It really was a common occurrence.
Card prices were fluid – that much hadn’t changed between this world and the last.
TIPS: Apparently that outfit had a premium because it drifted over from another world.
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