Seven Women, One Man. Naturally, I Get Left Out

Gamma was smart. Brilliant, even. But she suffered from one major, glaring flaw.

Her moniker: The Weakest Gamma.

Despite being one of the senior members of the Seven Shadows, her combat ability was the lowest of the lot. The Seven Shadows was just the name I gave to the original seven members of Shadow Garden. I’d come up with it because it sounded cool.

Among that group, Gamma’s athletic and combat instincts were both non-existent. Like, fatally so.

If Delta had the sharpest instincts among the Seven Shadows, Gamma had the dullest. Honestly, if you asked me, they were two sides of the same coin. Gamma would be pissed and Delta would be thrilled to hear that, but they were definitely cut from the same cloth.

While trying to teach Gamma and Delta the way of the sword, I learned two very important things.

One: No matter how good someone’s instincts are, you can’t explain shit to an idiot.

Two: No matter how smart someone is, you can’t teach instincts to someone who lacks them.

Eventually, I just gave them both the same instruction:

"Infuse it with a ton of Magic Power and hack them down."

I didn’t ask for anything more. It was that "smash it with pure physical force" style I hated so much.

Yeah, my convictions had suffered an utter defeat at the hands of those two. Even now, my head throbbed just thinking about that day. No, stop. Let it go. I needed to forget.

I shook my head to clear the thoughts.

"It has been a long time, my Lord."

Gamma sashayed toward me with an elegant model walk. She swayed her hips provocatively, her high heels letting out a sharp, cool click, click, click against the floor.

Until.

"Pegyh!"

She faceplanted over absolutely nothing.

"Th-the heels are quite high today, aren't they?" she stammered, immediately blaming the shoes.

As Gamma stood up while clutching her nose, the surrounding staff members rushed over in a blur of movement, presenting her with a pair of low-heeled pumps.

"N-now then. My Lord, please, this way."

Having swapped her shoes, Gamma spoke as if nothing had happened.

Fine, whatever. When it comes to a woman's embarrassment, you’ve basically got two choices: pretend you didn’t see it or tease the hell out of her. I usually sided with the "pretend I didn't see it" camp.

But even so, I had to say something.

"Your nose is bleeding."

In another flurry of movement, the ladies nearby darted in to wipe the blood away.

"P-please, this way."

Watching Gamma’s cheeks turn bright red, I couldn't help but think: She hasn’t changed a bit.

I followed Gamma’s lead and took a seat in a massive chair. Looking out from that vantage point... man, it was good.

This was the life.

A massive atrium, the madder-red sunset pouring in through the skylight, and beautiful women kneeling all along the red carpet. I felt like a true king—the king of the World of Shadows.

Gamma had really gone all out to prepare such a pricey-looking set for me.

My heart actually fluttered with emotion. I crossed my legs, rested my chin on my left hand, and raised my right. I pooled blue-purple Magic Power in my palm and unleashed it toward the heavens.

The light shot up toward the ceiling before splitting into countless shards that rained down upon the room.

"A reward. Receive it..."

It was the Rain of Light.

The droplets struck the kneeling women, temporarily tinting their bodies blue-purple. Well, it only really helps with fatigue, circulation, and minor scratches, but whatever. It looks cool.

"I shall treasure this day for the rest of my life," Gamma whispered with a trembling voice as she knelt beside me.

She was a hell of an actress.

But it wasn't just Gamma. Every single one of the beauties kneeling by the carpet was shaking; some were even shedding tears. The woman who had guided me in was full-on sobbing.

The acting coaching here was top-tier.

"Well done, Gamma. By the way, I wanted to ask about this company."

Specifically, this Mitsugoshi Company. The Chocolate, the stuff I’d seen on the sales floor, even the design of the building... no matter how you looked at it, none of this belonged in this world.

"Please, ask anything you desire."

"By any chance... are the products here things I told you about a long time ago?"

For some reason, Gamma had always been obsessed with my knowledge. Back in the day, every time Delta thrashed her, she’d come to me half-crying and beg for stories. Back then, I’d told her about stuff like chocolate and whatever else I remembered from my past life in Japan, dressing it all up as "Shadow Wisdom."

"Yes. Though my efforts are meager, I have done my best to reproduce a mere fragment of the god-like knowledge you bestowed upon me, my Lord."

"I-I see."

I mean, I wouldn't call it "knowledge." I basically just told her that if you take bitter beans, throw in a ton of sugar, and let it harden, it tastes good. How the hell did she actually make it? Is it the brains? Is this just the gap in our IQs?

But fine. Whatever. The world has geniuses and it has idiots. That’s just how it is.

However, there was one thing I absolutely had to confirm.

"Does everyone—Alpha and the others—know about this place?"

"Yes, of course."

Ah, I see. It was one of those "everybody but me" scenarios. I get it. I’m the only guy; it’s hard to fit into the girls' circle.

"S-so... you guys making much money?"

"Currently, we are established in major cities both domestically and abroad, and expansion is proceeding smoothly. However, the true priority is how deeply we can take root in the shadows under the cover of the company’s growth."

I don’t need the tacked-on "shadow" flavor text.

Basically, it meant this: They’d frozen me out, used my ideas as the foundation, and were raking in the dough.

If they’d given me even a tiny cut, I wouldn't have had to crawl around on the ground looking for dropped coins or act like a dog to chase after loose change.

But it was fine. They’d built this massive, elaborate stage for me. That was enough.

Well... maybe not quite enough.

"Um, I have a bit of a request. Could you lend me just a little bit of cash?"

I'll pay it back eventually. Probably.

"Of course. I shall have it prepared immediately."

Gamma answered instantly and gave an order to the girl who’d guided me. A few moments later, a cart was rolled in.

It was piled high with gold coins. A literal mountain of them. I’d never seen that much glittering gold in my life. It had to be at least a billion Zeny.

"Th-this is, uh..."

No, stop. If I "borrow" this much and never return it, things are gonna get ugly.

"Oh! Was it too little? I shall arrange for more at once—"

"No, it's fine."

I cut her off and reached for the pile. I made a show of thrusting my right hand deep into the mountain of gold. Clink, clink, clink.

The key was to keep all eyes on my right hand. I focused every fiber of my being.

Then—

"Hmph."

I pulled out about fifteen gold coins with my right hand, showed them off to the room, and then slowly slid them into my right pocket.

That was 1.5 million Zeny.

But in reality, my left pocket now held another 1.5 million. The very moment I’d drawn their attention to my right hand, I’d used my maximum hand speed to snatch a handful with my left and pocketed them without anyone noticing.

Alpha or Delta might have caught me, but there was no way in hell Gamma could see through it.

"I-is that sufficient? I would be honored to give you all of it—"

Gamma looked almost pathetic saying that. She really thought I’d only borrowed 1.5 million. Meanwhile, I’d walked away with double—three million Zeny.

"This is fine. It’s enough," I said, barely suppressing the urge to burst out laughing.

"Understood. We shall clear the rest away."

Gamma clapped her hands, and the staff wheeled the gold off. Then, she knelt before me again.

"I have surmised the reason for your visit today, my Lord. Naturally, it concerns that incident, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

I nodded. Wait, what incident?

"I am deeply sorry. Our investigation is ongoing, but we have yet to identify the culprit. However, please give us just a little more time. The Slasher haunting the Royal Capital... The fool who dares to don a Jet-black Garb and usurp the name of Shadow Garden... I, Gamma, shall personally bring them to justice."

"Humph..."

First I’ve heard of it.