After the long and tiring journey, they ate until they were full, slept, and with a blink, the next day had arrived.
She put on a light shirt and shorts.
Ella followed the others to visit the Market in Harbor City.
“Ladies, please follow me.”
The person the Governor sent to guide them was named Dory.
He looked strong and sturdy, and as soon as he put on the “Market Administration Office” armband, people ahead of them would automatically make way.
Because all five rarely-seen beautiful girls were together, all kinds of gazes stuck to them along the way.
“This place is far too disrespectful to the Light!”
Leah complained unhappily.
“In the Royal City, no one would dare stare at me like this.”
Ella blinked, thoughtful.
The Market was a street running through the city from north to south.
The further south they went—closer to the sea—the fewer humans there were, and the more sea monsters they saw.
The first to appear before the girls was a Frogman. From head to toe, he looked like a frog, only he stood upright like a human.
His webbed, bowed legs were planted behind the stall, with a Fish Stall in front and a net beside him. It looked like today’s catch, very fresh.
“Take a look at the fish, two Pearl Oysters for one.”
His accent was heavy, as if water gurgled in his throat, and this reminded Celes that they hadn’t yet exchanged their Kingdom Gold Coins for the local Currency.
As they went deeper, other sea monsters appeared one after another.
Frogmen mainly sold fish.
The Naga, with human heads and snake bodies, sold fish roe and various egg products.
There were also Fishmen selling sun-dried squid.
Since the seafood was just goods and not intelligent creatures, there was no psychological pressure about it.
Zero looked around, feeling very curious: “After they catch things in the sea every day, do they bring them ashore to sell?”
“Yes, because they really like Pearl Oysters. Clean Pearl Oysters can glow in seawater,” Dory from the Market Administration Office explained.
“Pearl Oysters get washed ashore at high tide, and only we have the ability to process them.”
Pearl Oysters, mixed with sand and mud, were washed onto the shore by the sea.
Humans picked them up and sent them to the city’s Workshop for cleaning, grinding, and polishing.
Then they became the hard Currency of this city.
Compared to ordinary money, it was more like a barter system.
Ella noticed another detail.
She pointed at a small pendant behind the Fish Stall and asked, “What’s that?”
It was a Carved Pendant.
The carving wasn’t clear, but it seemed to be some kind of strange sea monster.
“It’s the God worshiped by the sea monsters, called…”
Dory scratched his head awkwardly, “I can’t make that sound. Their pronunciation is really unique.”
“But didn’t you just say they can’t even do the polishing process? How could they possibly make such fine carvings?”
“That’s right, these pendants are also made in the city’s Workshops.”
Ella’s interest was piqued, and she pressed on, “In that case, does that mean some humans also worship this God?”
“This, um, I’m not sure.”
Dory was stumped by the question.
“Local fishermen and those who go out to the sea interact with them a lot, so maybe a little…”
“It’s fine, I was just curious.”
The pretty, pink-haired thunder girl gave a gentle smile.
She was so considerate—never making things hard when a question was difficult to answer.
That’s just the kind of good girl she was.
Since it was their first time dealing with merchants who looked like this, and there really wasn’t any need, the girls didn’t buy anything from the Fish Market.
But since they’d gone out shopping, it wouldn’t do to go back empty-handed, so they visited the largest Clothing Store in the city and each bought some special clothes.
Ella carried her shopping bag back to the Inn first.
The others went off on their own.
Zero found Dory, hoping he would take her to see the local Flower Market.
Dory was taken aback and said there wasn’t such a place here.
“Aren’t there any flowers in the sea?”
“Do you mean coral?”
“No, I just looked at coral. It’s like a rock. Not good, not good.”
“Fish Mint, then?”
“Uh…”
The girl’s search for local specialty flowers was not going well.
On the other side, Ella returned to her room at the Inn, took out the special clothes she’d just bought from her shopping bag, and after a long selection, chose a swimsuit shaped like a White Shell.
She’d only seen these in anime in her previous life, and never imagined there would be a day she’d wear one herself.
“Life really is unpredictable.”
Ella sighed, then put on the swimsuit.
When she stood in front of the mirror—eek~ so embarrassing.
But it really did look good.
As for why the Demon King had the leisure and mood to admire her own swimsuit, it was because the outing today had been fruitful.
She already had an idea in mind and had prepared two plans.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, with both plans at once, before long, Harbor City would be the Demon King’s to command!
Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
It sounded like Leah’s voice.
Ella hurriedly put on her clothes and went to open the door.
“You came at the perfect time. I have something important to discuss with you.”
Sure enough, standing outside was Miss Leah, her beautiful face tense and serious.
She came in, closed the door behind her, and even locked it with a click.
Ella didn’t notice the sound of the door.
She opened it and walked back in, picked up the pen and paper she’d prepared on the table, and sketched something casually.
“Leah, listen, when we went to the Market today, I found this thing. My drawing might not be very accurate, but it’s basically like this. They all worship a statue of a God, so I was thinking…”
“Hold on,” Miss Saintess said in a low voice.
“Let’s talk about something important first.”
Ella was taken aback.
“But this is the important thing…”
“No, there’s something even more important.”
Leah walked up to her, her gaze determined and her tone resolute as she spoke two words:
“Take it off!”
Ella’s vision went black.
“Why?”
“Because if your evil body isn’t constantly suppressed by the Light, it’ll start having bad effects again, just like before!”
As Leah spoke, she started tugging at Ella’s clothes.
Ella was shocked and quickly raised her hands to protect herself, but… but why did she have no strength?!
Very soon, her loose, thin shirt was pulled off. What appeared before Leah’s eyes were two dazzlingly white mounds, with two pieces of fabric covering them.
“You—you’re wearing two shells, and you still dare pretend to be pure!”
Ella nearly fainted from embarrassment.
She’d only put it on out of curiosity just now, never expecting to be caught red-handed.
“This is a local specialty swimsuit…”
“Yes, specialty! I can see that!”
Leah didn’t waste words. She swiftly pulled off the two shells, then stripped off her own clothes in a flash and hugged Ella tightly.
Splat!
With a super soft, squishy sound, the evil Demon King was once again forcibly converted by the righteous Saintess of Light.
“What were you about to say? You can continue now.”