I had sold all forty I had in stock by the end of the morning. There was even one adventurer among my customers who had bought six different models.
As the shopkeeper, I had also looked into the Mobile Forces and found out that each model had different special characteristics, like how Mass Production Type Zako lacked power but was the easiest to pilot, or how the High Mobility Type Gugurecas was fast but difficult to manipulate with mana. Each of them had its own pros and cons, but I felt like the main protagonist, Gungalf, was the most well-rounded.
“Mister Yahagi, I heard you were selling a new product called a Mobile Force!” a boy adventurer said, bursting into my shop all out of breath.
“Sorry, I’m all sold out,” I said. “I should be getting a restock tomorrow, though, so stop by again then.”
As I watched him head on home with his shoulders slumped in disappointment, I sensed the dawning of a new trend.
✦ ✦ ✦
It had been about four days since I had first started selling them, but I was consistently selling out of my Mobile Force Series as soon as they came back. My shop was restocked with forty of those models every day, but they’d all be bought out in less than two hours.
Adventurers weren’t the only ones interested in them either. There were even ordinary folks who would go out of their way to head down with an escort to Hot Spring Yahagi on B2 to purchase these plastic models.
“This is a toy that’s just right for practicing using mana to maneuver something,” Minerva told me, sending his own Kian into an elegant dance. It seemed that these toys were good for educational purposes as well. Mobile Force units were only about as strong as something that was radio-controlled, so they weren’t dangerous. They were probably toys safe for even children to play with.
“Zako is on a totally different level than yours!”
“Don’t underestimate me! No one can move Gungalf as well as I can!”
Today yet again there was a heated battle unfolding in the ring I had specially installed next to my shop. I had made it for my customers but frankly speaking, I hadn’t expected people to be so excited about it. People would gather here each morning and evening to participate in matches or spectate them.
“It’s a sweeping victory! Mister Yusuke, gimme some Ramune!” Meryl came up to me after the match, her cheeks flushed.
“You won again?”
“That’s right,” she chirped. “My Red Shoulder is somewhat different from the rest, you know?”
Meryl had painted her Zako’s shoulder protectors red, like those of a certain elite force in an old mecha anime. Very different things were getting all jumbled together, and it gave a Japanese guy like me some complicated feelings.
At first, most battles had been conducted like pro wrestling matches, but recently more battles featuring close-quarters combat with weapons had been popping up. The blacksmith Mister Sanaga had made some miniature weapons in his spare time, and they had become a major hit among the player base.
“Thanks to you, Yahagi, I’m making a killing,” he’d told me. “I’m more busy with this than my usual line of work.”
Mister Sanaga had been getting one order after another, and his production couldn’t keep up with the demand. Yesterday he had even taken on an apprentice for the purpose of making weapons for the Mobile Forces.
If a Mobile Force unit sustained a blow above a certain level of power, the magic link between it and its owner would be severed. If that happened, it’d count as a knockout, thereby deciding the outcome of the match.
“Mister Yusuke, you can see how passionate everyone is, so how about you hold a Mobile Forces tournament?” Mira suggested to me, stroking her Dome.
“Oh, sounds like fun,” Minerva said. It seemed he was on board too. Everyone was obsessed with these things, so there’d probably be a lot of participants. It wouldn’t be a half-bad idea to sponsor a tournament as a way of showing my loyal customers my appreciation for their patronage.
“It does sound like fun,” I agreed, “so I’ll give it a shot. Dagashi-ya Yahagi will sponsor prizes for the winners too. Although I’ll only be able to offer up a mix of snacks and toys.”
It’d be awesome if I could throw something as amazing as the universal elixir in there as an extra prize. Even now, there hadn’t been many people who had obtained it.
“I’ll enter too then,” Meryl declared. “I’ll prove that my Zako is the strongest one in town!”
“What nonsense are you spouting, you small-fry hussie? No one can beat my Kian. It’s a fine model.”
“My Dome won’t lose either.”
The three of them were already getting fired up about the competition.