S1014B

You want to buy Golden Dye?

Your tier is... just above the cutoff line. Guess that's good enough.

Here. Take a number.

1217... What's this supposed to mean?

It means there are 1,216 customers ahead of you. Be patient, and I'll be right with you. Eventually.

<Ryōshū, wait! Don't S.H.N.C.!>

<Ask her how long we're supposed to wait.>

If our number is in the thousands, how long will the wait be?

Not as long as you'd think. Your number should come up after the season changes... about a hundred times?

Hm... We cannot wait that long. Is there anything we can do to convince you otherwise?

Nopers. You should've camped out in front of the Dyehouse or something if you wanted it that badly.

......

......

Putty! Big sis! I told you not to glare at customers like that.

These ones aren't even that obnoxious. Put your leg down.

<Ryōshū, can you please stop mulling over where to cut her and help us think of another way to get the dye...?>

Ryōshū slowly removed her hand from the scabbard. "Putty" followed suit, lowering her pointed leg.

*puff* What's there to think about?

Let's kill everyone ahead of us in line. There's a shortcut for you.

The scabbard rattles as though it were shaking its head.

... You're clearly looking for an excuse to start a bloodbath, as always. Why else would you suggest a massacre like that when it would be more efficient to kill whoever's first in line and take their numbered ticket?

Heh. There's aesthetics to be enjoyed in irrationality.

... Or just buy the dye from whoever's first in line...?

<... Agreed. Meursault, ask who has the earliest number.>

I wish to know the identity of the individual with the earliest number.

Naked of Le Noir. One of the people who came down early and camped out before opening.

We're almost done filling up a bucket of dye with the Golden Pus dripping from the Golden Resin. He's probably waiting in the corridor to pick it up.

Under current operational conditions, purchasing the Golden Dye from this... "Naked" individual should be the most efficient course of action.

<I don't think the eyeballs we have will come anywhere close...>

Should our funds prove insufficient, an item of commensurate value may be offered in exchange.

<... Let's check what we have with us at the moment.>

Meursault laid out, one by one, every item we have purchased or obtained thus far.

... A considerable assortment.

Would selling all of this cover the cost of the Golden Dye?

Not even close. Maybe if you found a real sucker and fleeced them for every last eyeball.

<That's a problem... Should we go back to 3F and ask for more eyeballs?>

It is unlikely they'll be willing to make another significant expenditure when they've already given us quite the stipend.

However, if that is your wish, Executive Manager, I, Outis, shall deploy the peerless negotiation techniques I have sharpened through years of service and field-requisition every last eyeball they possess.

<Th-that won't be necessary. Naked is a member of Le Noir... Maybe he'll lower the price if we show him the Authenticity Certificate.>

<Let's find Naked and hear what he has to say. If he's Le Noir, his clothes should make him easy to spot.>