178 The Art Of The Deal

"La… Lady Aster? Wha… What… How did you get here?" Emilia stuttered, sitting up from the floor.

"I asked some people for directions. So care to explain?" I gestured to the multitudes of sweets laid out on the table, not to mention that one female Nekomata who looked to be the one responsible for making all these standing there.

Emilia stood up slowly with a complicated expression on her face, "Umm… I… I don't know what Lady Aster is talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I asked you if there were sweet shops and you told me there weren't any! Turns out you just wanted to hoard them for yourself!"

"I… I don't mean to… I…"

"Oh you don't mean to? Then how would you explain this?!"

"I… Uggh… I… Umm… Do you want some cake?" She asked, offering one slice of it from the table.

"Of course I do! Gimme!" I cried out, taking the plate from her and digging into that sweet, sweet treat with absolute relish.

The moment the cake hit my tongue I instantly melted in pleasure from the explosion of sweetness.

Oh, this was so good~ Even better than the cakes I had tasted in that party earlier in fact~ There was just the right blend of sugar, chocolate and fudge to make this cake absolutely fabulous~

Of course it was still no match for Mary's cakes but it was still delicious~

All too soon, the cake was gone and I was left with an empty, sad plate.

I needed more and I realised there was all that spilled cake on Emilia and that would be a complete waste if that was wiped off, so I pounced on her and started licking it off her, especially the ones around her chest.

"La… Lady Aster?! Wha… Please wait! There is… Ahaaannn~"

I vaguely heard Emilia saying something but I was too lost in the cake to notice what she was saying.

Oh, there's some around this small bump here, let me just gobble them up.

"Ahhnnnn~ Lady Aster… Not there… Mnnnn..  Ahhh…"

There~ That's all the cake! Absolutely delicious!

That calmed me down a little as I realised just what I had done and witnessed the past hour or so.

I cleared my throat and stood back up like nothing happened, "So… could I know why you lied to me about there being no sweet shop?"

Emilia also got back on her feet though her face was blushing red, "I… I did not lie… There really aren't any shops around dedicated to making sweets… I just have a big sweet tooth and… And I have personal kitchens dedicated to making sweets for me… I may have lied about the reason why there aren't sweet shops though…"

I looked at her pointedly to show that she should continue.

She took a deep breath and sighed, "I may not have said this but… I really like money. I will do almost anything just to make more… There is only one thing I like almost as much as money and that's sweets… Those come at a close second. Any patisseries won't be able to survive here because I would purchase all the ingredients needed to make sweets when we dock at a port, resulting in them having to source for more expensive alternatives since our shipping route changes according to our cargo… They would rarely make a profit in that case so most don't try…"

I looked down at my empty plate before looking at her, "You seem to be completely ok with giving me this cake."

She poked her fingers together, "Umm… That's… That's because I do want to keep my life after all…"

"Oh come now, I'm not that bad that I would kill someone over sweets… Maybe…"

I knew she really wanted to point out the fact that I basically jumped on her for spilled cake but chose not to bring it up.

I decided to bring up another question then, "In that case… Why hide this from me? And what do I need to do to eat more of this"

"I… Ahem… This is kind of my personal stock so… If Lady Aster would like to eat them, it's not included in your package. You'll need to pay extra."

Huh? It's just money, that's a small price to pay for some really high quality dessert! I can just earn more by taking requests at The Guild!

Oh wait, I have a better idea!

"Do you accept monster materials as payment?"

Emilia pursed her lips, "Umm… That depends on the monster… What does Lady Aster have?"

"Hmm… What do you want? I have Hell Wolves, Dungeon Treants, Wyverns, Infant Dragons, Goblins,  Dungeon Rats--"

"Wait, wait! Did Lady Aster just say dragons?!"

"Err… Yeah, I hunted some Dragon monsters some time ago and kept their parts. Do you want them? They were just Infant Dragons though."

I could have sworn her eyes had turned into money symbols as she nodded her head vigorously, "Yes! Yes! Definitely! You know what? If you give me a few of those dragon scales, I'll let you come here whenever you want to eat sweets!"

You got yourself a deal, girl! I have more of those than I know what to do with after all so this is perfect!

Emilia then raised her hand timidly, "Wait… Umm… Lady Aster does have those parts on you right now… Right?"

"Oh, yeah. I do. It's back in my room. Should I go get them first?"

They were all stored in my Pack of Folding which I brought along on this trip. You never know when you need it ok?

Emilia nodded her head with even more vigour, "Yes! I'll get them to make more sweets for you while you go get them! Don't worry, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed!"

Score!! Alright, you just wait here Emilia! I'll be right back with your dragon scales!

I rushed out of the room and went back to the suite, surprising Katsuki, Odeta and Lisa with my appearance. Mother and Mary were nowhere to be found though, so I assume they must have gone out somewhere as well.

As for Sebastian, he must still be watching over the unconscious woman in the room or something.

Katsuki recovered quickly however and welcomed me back with a bow, "Welcome back Mistress, was the party not to your liking?"

"Oh no, no. I actually met one of my schoolmates there and he's pretty cool. But I found a very good place to get some sweets! I just need to give Emilia a few dragon scales as payment!"

Lisa perked up, "Eh? Trading dragon scales for some sweets? What kind of sweets are they?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, but Emilia's the one getting them for me!"

"What kind of dessert is she selling you that is worth a few dragon scales? Wait a minute… You have dragon scales?!"

I went into my room and returned with my Pack of Folding, "Yep, I hunted some Infant Dragons back then and got their scales. I also have their Mana Crystals too."

"Aster… Do you know how much an Infant Dragon's scales are worth?" Lisa asked.

Odeta raised her hand, "Oh I know! I know! I heard a dragon scale can fetch up to a small silver coin each!"

Wait, what?! That's a hundred Creas per scale!

Lisa shook her head, "That's for adolescent dragons. Infant Dragon scales could be up to fifty Creas per scale depending on the type of dragon. Just what is that Emilia making for Aster that is that expensive?"

Katsuki also joined in, "Didn't she say that everything was already paid for as well? Why is she making Mistress pay more?"

"Oh, that's because she's taking them from her own personal stock instead of the ship's, so I have to pay her~"

Digging through the bag, I finally found the plates that were the stored versions of the dragon scales.

I gave them a shake and they transformed back into the objects in question, allowing me to gather several of them into a bundle before stuffing the rest back into the bag.

"Alright, got to go! See you girls later!!" I waved, rushing out without waiting for their response.

I rushed back to the room where Emilia was in and there she was waiting for me with anticipation clear on her face.

She also kept her promise and behind her were piles upon piles of desserts and sweets, the mere sight of them already enough to make my mouth water.

"Does Lady Aster have… Oh… Are those it?"

I shoved the dragon scales I had been carrying into her hands, "Yes! Here! Can I have the sweets now?!"

"Umm… Just a moment, Lady Aster. We just need a little time to check…"

She handed one of the scales over to an elderly looking Nekomata who started examining it with a critical eye.

"These are definitely dragon scales alright, in perfect quality too.. " The old man muttered. "Each of these can sell for at least twenty Creas and we seem to have received fifty of them, boss."

Emilia quickly turned back to me, "Please help yourself, Lady Aster!! My sweets are your sweets!"

"Yayyyy!" I couldn't help but squeal before diving into the pile of sweets left on the table.

Mmmmmm!! They're all so gooooood! This pudding… These cookies… These different flavoured macarons and even all this cake! They're all mine!

This is paradise~

Om nom nom nom~