By the time I had finished lecturing the idiot, Sieg’s own lecture seemed to have concluded as well. A battered Rei-san and Fia-san managed to pull themselves back up.
"Unbelievable. I knew a festival hosted by the Six Kings would be a massive undertaking, but... I never imagined anything on this scale," Rei-san muttered, gazing at the city that served as the venue. His recovery and ability to shift gears were as quick as ever.
I couldn't have agreed more. The sheer scale was far beyond anything I’d pictured, and the tower looming in the center was so tall it felt like it was piercing the heavens themselves.
Thinking about the fact that we were staying there made me feel a little... no, quite intimidated. Not that I had any say in the matter.
"Just think of the cost... how much money could they have possibly poured into this?" Lilia-san whispered.
"It's beyond imagination," Lunamaria-san agreed with a solemn expression.
The materials required for that Central Tower alone must have been astronomical. I couldn't fathom how they had gathered so many resources in such a short amount of time. One thing was certain: this was going to be a festival unlike anything the world had ever seen.
"But with a city this huge... it’s going to be hard to see everything," Fia-san noted.
"You're right. It looks about as large as the Sinfonia Royal Capital. We might not be able to get around it all in seven days," I replied.
Fia-san’s concern was perfectly reasonable. The venue was simply too vast. If stalls and attractions were spread across the entire city, we’d be lucky to cover even half of it. I was already starting to think we’d need to be selective about our route when Caraway-san spoke up with a bombshell.
"Actually, Miyama-sama... you don't have seven days. You have one."
"Huh? No, wait, the Six Kings Festival is a week long..."
"I have only heard rumors myself, but... apparently, for the Six Kings Festival, every single attraction—excluding the Central Tower and the accommodations—is swapped out every single day."
"..."
At Caraway-san’s words, everyone present was left speechless.
Every single stall and attraction changed daily? No, that was impossible.
"It’s hard to wrap one’s head around, but apparently even the buildings themselves are switched out."
"How is that even possible!?" Lilia-san cried out in shock.
"I do not know. However, given that it’s the Six Kings... I can't say for certain that it's impossible," Caraway-san admitted, her expression reflecting her own lingering doubt.
She had a point. Even if it defied common sense, when it came to the Six Kings, you started to believe that anything was possible.
But that made Fia-san’s concern even more dire. If a city-sized festival that you couldn't finish in a week was being entirely reset every twenty-four hours... we’d only ever see a tiny fraction of it. We desperately needed to figure out what was where so we could prioritize, but in a place this big, we didn't even know where to start—
"..."
I watched Alice waddle past us carrying several planks of wood. This was a sight that felt suspiciously familiar.
Just as I expected, Alice pulled out a hammer, tapped the wood three times, and a stall appeared out of nowhere. The sign hanging over it read: "This Is All You Need! Alice-chan's Special Six Kings Festival Guide ~Complete Version~."
She was good. She’d identified a massive demand and supplied the solution at the exact second everyone realized they needed it. I had no choice but to buy.
However, the price was the real concern. I wondered how badly she was going to fleece us this time. I looked toward the price tag with trepidation.
Kaito-san: 100R per book. All other riffraff: 100,000R per book.
10,000 yen for me, 10,000,000 yen for everyone else. The price gap was terrifying.
Now, 10,000 yen for a single guidebook was expensive enough, but the "riffraff" price was such a blatant scam that it made my price look like a steal by comparison.
"A-Alice? Surely that's going a bit far..."
"On the contrary, I believe it's a fair price," Lunamaria-san interrupted.
"Lunamaria-san?"
"Since Miyama-sama and the Phantasm King-sama are the world's most unparalleled power couple, I find the special price to be quite reasonable. For anyone else, however, a book personally authored by the Phantasm King-sama is a priceless artifact. Add to that the fact that it's a complete guide to the Six Kings Festival... if anything, a single Platinum Coin is too cheap. It’s only natural, considering how great of an existence the Phantasm King-sama is."
"..."
"Miyama-sama is the only exception, purely because he is the other half of that 'best couple.'"
What was this? For some reason, Lunamaria-san was heaping praise on Alice. She was also laying the "best couple" talk on incredibly thick.
I realized the intention behind her flattery a moment later. After hearing Lunamaria-san’s speech, Alice picked up the price tag, scribbled something on it, and set it back down.
The new addition read: Lunamaria-san: 1,000R.
A staggering 99% discount. The ten-million-yen item was now a hundred thousand yen. Alice looked extremely pleased with the compliments.
Lunamaria-san was as shrewd as ever. But then it clicked.
"Hey, Alice... am I allowed to buy multiple copies?"
"Only Kaito-san has that privilege!"
"Then I’ll just buy enough for everyone..."
"Thanks for your business~!"
Alice broke into a wide, triumphant grin. She’d seen this coming from the start.
"You planned this, didn't you?"
"Now, whatever could you mean by that?"
This girl... She’d planned to make me pay for everyone’s copies from the very beginning. She only put those ridiculous prices for the others because she knew I’d be her only real customer. Her business skills specifically tailored to exploit me were growing at an alarming rate.
Dear Mother, Father—Alice never misses a chance to make a profit, and once again, I walked right into her trap. I feel like I've lost a battle of wits, but watching her happily accept the money... I can't even find it in me to complain. I suppose this is what people mean when they talk about having a weakness for the person you love.