"Alright… huh, doesn’t something feel a bit off?"

"Really? I don’t feel anything unusual…"

I climbed down from Sanshita and brushed the dust off my pants. Somehow, though, I felt something different—a peculiar, sticky sort of attention directed at me.

Lately, I’ve started to sense hostility, malice, or even killing intent when it’s aimed my way. But this wasn’t like that. It was more of a neutral gaze—intense, but not malicious.

Trying not to seem suspicious, I scanned my surroundings. What I found were a group of young children staring at me, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

It couldn’t be the griffon—Sanshita landing in the town of Akoup was no longer a novelty. But if not, then what…?

One of the children blocking my path opened his mouth, revealing a face with a missing front tooth that twisted into an adorable expression.

"Is Ivy not here today?"

…Wait, did he just ask about Ivy?

"Hey, where’s Ivy? Isn’t she with you today?"

"Yeah, come to think of it, I haven’t seen her recently. Did she catch a cold or something?"

The children, gathering one by one, were all talking about Ivy—not me, despite the fact that I had recently started to gain a bit of recognition.

Kids are highly attuned to trends. Which means the current hot topic must be… Ivy?

I promised them I’d bring her along soon, and after some effort, managed to disperse them. Once I had a moment to breathe, I decided to explore the town to figure out what was going on.

"Hey there, hero! How about an Ivy Yaki?"

At a stall along the main street, I saw a familiar silhouette baked into a sweet treat. Curious, I bought one. Its filling was honey and a vibrantly purple paste—apparently, there’d already been a minor update to the recipe. This version used purple yam.

"Step right up! How about a magical Ivy charm, the pride of Akoup?"

Around the corner at a knickknack shop, I found hand-carved wooden statues of Ivy, just big enough to sit on one’s shoulder. They were displayed in ascending order of quality: the simplest unpainted carving on the far left, a version painted in red dye next to it, and finally, a gleaming black metallic figure further to the right.

To someone like me, who’s used to Ivy’s beautiful azure hues, these felt a bit off. Still, it made me happy. It was as if the townsfolk had truly come to accept her.

"Excuse me, sir, are these Ivy charms selling well?"

"Hmm, they’re doing alright. Actually, they’re a big hit! The lord issued a decree lowering taxes on Ivy-related goods, so now every merchant in Akoup is wracking their brains over what Ivy-themed product to sell next."

It seemed that the successful defeat of the monster horde, stable relations with neighboring nations, and huge stock of monster material had brought a wave of prosperity. Merchants from all over were flocking to the town.

The shopkeeper himself had only just arrived after hearing rumors and had just started trying his hand at making Ivy-related goods. Judging by the fact he didn’t recognize me, he must be fairly new to the area.

The influx of people certainly explained the livelier streets… but still, Marquis, what are you doing?

I continued walking, only to find Ivy-related items everywhere I turned.

Even the restaurants had joined in, offering dishes in collaboration with the Ivy craze. There was blue-colored Ivy Ice Cream. Ivy loves sweets, but I wonder how she’d feel about a dessert named after her…

Right now, Akoup was in the midst of an unprecedented Ivy boom.

If Ivy was to fully reintegrate into the town… there was no choice but to ride this massive wave.

I sprinted back to Sanshita and headed home.

There, I found Ivy tending to the unconscious Rey. I approached her and explained the situation.