For apparent reasons, packs exist in this world as well.

However, their publishers are varied.

Sometimes they come from ordinary companies, sometimes from card research institutes, and sometimes from mysterious organizations of completely unknown origin.

Isn’t there something strange about those last two, you might think.

The birth of cards in this world has a slightly occult side to it.

Unlike my previous life, it is not as simple as designing cards and having them printed at a printing factory.

Well, that explanation would take too long, so I will set it aside for now.

I will likely revisit that topic someday, I hope.

Since this is a card shop, it goes without saying that I sell those packs.

And if packs are released, that means there is such a thing as a new set release date.

Today’s story is about one such new set release day.

New set release days are great.

You can get new cards to strengthen your deck, and since releases are usually on Saturdays, you can go straight into battling.

There is also the simple joy of opening packs.

In fact, in some ways, that might be the most fun part of all.

「Manager, I want to buy a box of the new set.」

「Welcome, Yato-chan. Give me a moment.」

Yato-chan arrived right as the shop opened and said it was her first word of the day.

She had not made a reservation, so if there were no boxes left, she would have had to give up.

But since she came at opening time, there was no way we would be out of stock.

I picked up an unopened cardboard box from the floor behind the counter and handed it to her.

She bought it immediately and looked thoroughly satisfied.

「Buying a whole box really does get you excited, doesn’t it?」

「I agree.」

Yato-chan hugged the box happily as she spoke.

「By the way, who are you aiming for?」

「Isn’t it obvious? It’s Great Archangel Michiru-chan (極大天使ミチル). I mean, everyone is aiming for her, right?」

「Maybe so.」

As she said that, Yato-chan pointed at the box’s packaging.

Several beautiful girl monsters were illustrated there.

The one she pointed at was the angelic girl drawn in the center.

Even when you say “pack,” there are many different kinds.

In my previous life, they could roughly be classified into three categories.

First, regular packs.

There are many ways to describe them, but these are the main packs of the card game.

If the game is tied to an anime, these packs often include the ace monsters used by the protagonist and rival.

In any case, these packs are absolutely essential, like a staple food.

Second, reprint packs.

These reprint powerful cards from the past to make them easier to obtain.

Since they often do not include new cards, demand is lower than for regular packs, but they are still needed periodically.

Personally, I wish we got one of these about once a year.

Finally, everything else.

Very roughly speaking, any packs that do not fall into the above categories can be lumped in here.

However, they usually have a clear direction, such as packs that include monsters unrelated to the regular series, or collaboration boosters with other content.

Among these are packs centered on beautiful girl cards.

That is exactly what was released today.

Many beautiful girl cards exist in this world.

A pack that gathers them together, making otaku drool.

Our shop has many otaku who love this kind of thing, starting with Yato-chan and Elea, so several cartons of these packs are currently sitting behind the counter.

Well, one packed carton has already sold out.

There really are otaku who buy by the carton.

Her name is Elea.

「Alright then, I’ll come back later.」

「You’re coming back again?」

「If I open beautiful girl packs in front of elementary school kids, my sense of shame will die.」

I understand how she feels.

Today’s shop tournament starts in the afternoon, so she will probably open the packs at home and then come back later.

After she left, I continued serving customers who bought one or two boxes at a time.

That was when a woman wearing a mask and sunglasses entered the shop.

As soon as she came in, she looked around nervously, then seemed relieved after confirming that no one in particular was present.

She hurried over to the counter and spoke to me.

「Hello, Manager.」

「Hello. Um…」

「Right now, I’m just a humble Customer A. Please do not concern yourself with anything else.」

「O-okay. You’re here to pick up your reservation, right?」

It was Haku-san.

Instead of her usual relaxed outfit, she was wearing an exposed midriff pants style.

( This is an exposed midriff pants style, I think )

It almost made me want to ask if she was enjoying the exposure while hiding her face.

If I’m being honest, the mask and sunglasses did not suit her at all and made her stand out even more, but I suppose that was fine.

From my perspective, she was a valued customer who had reserved today’s packs, so I did not comment on it and simply handed her the boxes.

Four boxes in total.

So far, she had bought the largest quantity of any customer today.

Elea does not count, since she is staff.

「Thank you very much. Fufufu, please wait for me, Michiru-chan. Fufufufufu…」

「I’m getting chills for some reason…」

It seems both sisters are aiming for Great Archangel Michiru.

That is only natural, since she is the featured card illustrated on the packaging.

After that, others came to buy the new set.

One slightly surprising customer was the Detective, who bought a single box.

「Sorry to bother you, Manager. I’d like to purchase one box of the new set.」

He said it without the slightest hesitation and bought it.

Manly, or perhaps free of otaku-style embarrassment.

In any case, respecting that spirit, I treated him like any other customer and placed the box in a paper bag before handing it over.

Plastic bags are see-through, after all.

Dya also bought three boxes.

Like Haku-san, he was part of the reservation group.

「Manager, I am here to collect the new set I reserved.」

「I know. Are you aiming for Michiru as well, Dya?」

「I invoke my right to remain silent.」

Unlike Haku-san, he purchased the new set openly.

That said, he usually wears a knit cap and sunglasses, like a suspicious person anyway, so nothing really changed.

Just in case he got reported, I handed him his boxes in a paper bag, too.

I did a good job, if I do say so myself.

Oh, a phone call.

What, you want another carton?

You did not make a reservation, so of course, that is not happening.

We already have plenty of customers, and if I let you take another carton, there would be nothing left for everyone else.

Employee privileges are not allowed either.

There will be no exceptions so give it up.

□□□□□

「I’m hoooome!」

That night.

Just before closing time.

A lively voice echoed through the empty shop.

It was Elea.

You might think shouting would be rude, but it wouldn't be an issue.

There were no customers left, so I was the only one who heard her.

And since she is a former scout, she always confirms whether customers are present before entering.

That former scout and beautiful girl card otaku was carrying a large bag and looked utterly exhausted.

Physically, she seemed fine, but mentally, she looked worn out.

「What happened? You rushed out earlier, and now you’re back this late.」

「Please listen, Manager! Please listen!」

Elea marched straight up to me.

Soon, she was glaring at me from extremely close range.

Too close. Very close.

「Great Archangel Michiru-chan! Can you believe it? The pull rate was one per carton!」

「That’s downright evil.」

「With that, I can’t fully build the deck!」

What kind of pull rate is that?

Packs in this world sometimes have absurd odds, but even so, this is absurd.

Even in my previous life, a one-per-carton rate was usually reserved for extremely special rarities.

「So I ran all over the place and bought more boxes of the new set.」

「I see.」

「Two cartons’ worth!」

Not full cartons, but the equivalent.

Buying full cartons without reservations would be impossible, after all.

She must have assumed one carton would be enough to build the deck, and let her guard down fully.

She probably had no choice but to visit multiple shops and buy small quantities from each.

「So tonight, I’m going to do a stream opening these boxes.」

「Have fun. Want me to make dinner?」

「I already ate, so I’m fine. But thank you. Damn it, I should have skipped eating!」

Does she really want to eat a man’s home cooking that badly?

I can only make simple things.

If she had stayed, it probably would have been spaghetti, since I still had pasta left.

Anyway.

「Alright, here I go, Michiru-chan! Fufufufu, ufufufu!」

With a determined grin, Elea headed upstairs.

「…Hmm.」

Watching her go, I thought to myself that new set release days really are lively.

They feel several times noisier than usual.

And when that happens, even I start wanting to soak in the atmosphere of a new release.

I glanced down toward the counter.

Inside the box used to sell individual packs, only one unsold pack remained.

Why not. I might as well buy it.

There is no way Great Archangel Michiru would come out, but—

「Oh?」

As I paid at the register and opened the pack—

I pulled a particular card.

It was not Michiru, of course.

Still, I found myself idly staring at that card for a while.

Incidentally, Elea failed to pull a single copy of Great Archangel Michiru from two cartons’ worth of boxes and was utterly wiped out.