Obayashi, 16 years old.
I'm a swindler.
A filthy man who cheats others to line his own pockets. That's who I am.

A con man chooses his targets carefully.
They target those who have half-baked knowledge and confidence that they alone will not be deceived. Such people are the easiest to set up.

So, Loretta. Let me f*ck you.
I'm sure you've heard of it.

Loretta is surprisingly confident and knows exactly what she's capable of.
On top of that, she listens well and has the ability to read other people's emotions.

This kind of person can easily be caught by surprise.

'Loretta. Can I have a moment of your time?
'I'm sorry. I'm busy right now, so I'll see you next time.

............ I was rejected.

'What's more important, your job or me?
'What's wrong, big brother?

...... No. I've had a string of unsuccessful scams and I'm starting to lose my mind.
Calm down.
It's Loretta. It's "Loretta" for "talkative idiot".
She's easy to beat. It's like a professional baseball player challenging a substitute on a youth soccer team in calligraphy.
...... Surprisingly, the game is invisible. ......!

'Loretta ...... you, you've improved your skills ......'.
'Big brother, are you okay?Are you a little tired?

He was worried about me.
They looked at me like a disappointed girl looking at a disappointed child. I don't like it.

'Miss Loretta. Sorry to keep you waiting. ...... Ah, Mr. Yashiro.'
'What's the matter, Jeannette? Are you going out with Loretta?'

Ginette was wearing a cloak with the church's emblem on it, which she wore when she went to church. It was a sort of vestments.

'Actually, the church is in a lot of trouble. ......'

According to Ginette, the church, which had been on the verge of collapse due to Loretta's brothers and sisters, was on the verge of falling down.

'My brothers and sisters, they have too much energy. ...... I'm sure they're kicking around pillars and walls.
'No, it's simply because the load on the building increases with the number of people.
'I tried to get my older siblings to fix it, but ...... it looks like it's going to need some major repairs, and ...... it's going to be a bit expensive.'
'So, it seems that the younger brothers and sisters are calling for donations, but ......'
'......We can't get any money at all. ............'

In other words, they are trying to raise money to repair the church.
............ This could work!

'You guys are lucky!You're very lucky!

A fundraising scam!
There's no better rehabilitation for me than this.
There is no scam that is as easy as a fundraising scam and can be done by anyone.
The easiest way is to have a beautiful woman hold a donation box. The money will naturally come.
But this time, I'm going to use a more advanced technique.

'I'll get that money for you!You guys keep working!

With that declaration, I ran out of the Sunken Pavilion.
My goal is the church.
That's where my brothers and sisters are doing their fundraising.

This time, I'll be using the 'Low Ball Technique'.
This is a technique that hides the disadvantageous conditions of the other party, and makes the first request easy to be accepted, and the subsequent difficult requests difficult to be refused.

To put it concretely, let's say there is a very cheap notebook computer. The price is 30,000 yen. Cheap!This is a good buy!After deciding to buy it, ......, you are informed that you must first install an operating system, add software, and configure settings to connect to the Internet. All of these options were extra, and the total cost was 170,000 yen.
However, once I had decided to buy it, I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed to refuse it now, so I ended up paying 200,000 yen for it. Even though there are much better computers available at much lower prices,......
--This is the "low ball technique".

This is a very serious scam.
This is a very serious scam, because it takes advantage of the other person's conscience and puts them in a situation where they can't say no.
It's a trick worthy of a scammer, the number one most hated profession in Japan.

When you arrive at the church, Bertina, Loretta's siblings, and the kids who were at the church from the beginning are all lined up in a row with donation boxes.
...... I guess that's not much.

Due to the festivities, you can see a few tourists in front of the church.
They seemed to have come to see the church, which held a festival to give thanks to the spirit gods, and the glowing bricks that beautifully displayed the festival.



But it's safe to say that almost no one is going to donate.
Of course not. They are just standing there with a donation box.
If they don't make it clear what the donation is for, there is no reason for people to want to donate, and I suspect that people don't even know that what they are doing there is a fund-raising activity.
I am not saying that they are not working hard, but if they are working hard, then all their efforts are in vain.

'You seem to be struggling. Miss Bertina.'
'Oh dear. Yashiro-san.'

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on.
I'm sure there's a few coins in there, but it's far from enough to pay for the ...... repairs.

'I am very grateful for your goodwill,...... but at this rate, I don't know how many years it will take to repair,......'.

I'd like to tell that to Bertina, who sighs, 'Huh .......
If you just stand on the main street wearing a school swimsuit, you will be able to save the target amount within a few days.

......, but this time I'm going to do the heavy lifting.

'Paper and pen. And get me a board that's a size larger than the paper.'

Kid #1 reacts to my instructions and runs to the church.

The people who donate money are, as Bertina says, acting out of good will.
Then we should tickle their good intentions.
First, let them exercise their good intentions to the fullest.

As I looked down the street, I saw an old lady coming toward me. She is petite, her hair is elegantly tied up, and she seems to be a good person. She has the appearance of a con artist's favorite strike. She is the embodiment of good-naturedness.

Target chosen.

I walk up to the little old lady with the most refreshing smile on my face.
In my hand, I have the paper and pen I asked her to bring earlier. The board is used as a stand for the paper.

'Excuse me. Spirit Church. May I have a moment of your time?
'Yes, yes, what is it?

It's a calm-mouthed madam.
She looks like she's about to bake a herring pie or something.

'Actually, the church in the forty-second ward is deteriorating so badly that the ...... young children there are in danger of losing their place to live.
'Oh, well, ...... is that so?'

When she saw all the young children lined up in front of the church, the calm madam's eyes widened. It's a very sympathetic look.

'So, I'd like to ask you to help me sign a petition to repair the church. ......'
'Yes, that's fine. It's a small price to pay.'

She accepted and took the paper and pen from me and quickly wrote her name on it.
...... Merle Erin.

'And so, Miss Erin.
'Yes?'

He looked a little bewildered at being called out suddenly, but he must have remembered that he had just written his own name, so he didn't say anything more.

'I'm sorry, but could you please make a small donation to help these young children?Please, Ms. Erin.

This is the low-ball technique.
First, by agreeing to sign it, Ms. Erin considered this decision to be a responsibility.
There are not many people who, once they have taken on a task, can abandon it halfway through.
Moreover, once the other party knows my name, I've become one step closer to Ms. Ayrin than a mere stranger. It's hard to treat someone you know badly. This is why the "low-ball technique" is so hard to refuse.
What's more, it is good intentions that are currently driving Ms. Erin. A person who works with good intentions cannot ignore the requests of others.

'Please, just give me your feelings.

No one can really walk away with nothing but his feelings when asked to do so.
At least, it is not a small amount like 10Rb.
100...... or even 1,000Rb......

'If we can't fix it, we'll feel sorry for those kids. This is also the guidance of the spirit gods. ............ Okay. I'll donate. Will that be enough?'

Then, Miz Erling offered me ..................5 10,000 Rb!
Huh?
What's with this old lady?Are you a wealthy man?

I'm not sure what to make of it.

I couldn't help but forget my honorifics.
But I guess it can't be helped. 50,000Rb a pop?
That's not the kind of money you want to donate!

'May God bless those children.

Ms. Erin smiled and walked away.
I was puzzled. ......

But it didn't stop there.

'Hey, did you hear that?
'Oh, yeah. We can't let little kids like that get lost in the streets, can we?


'We're here today because of the Spirit God's guidance.
'Alright!I'll donate too!'
'Me too!
'Me too!

The circle quickly spread, and people from all over the main street gathered one after another, raising a tremendous amount of money for .......
At the very least, the amount of money raised was enough to rebuild the entire church. No, we could even add more churches for more children.

'Thank you, everyone. May you all be blessed by the Spirit God.

Bertina thanked me happily.
Her smile was so beautiful that the men who had donated to her were almost melting in their grins.

'Whoa!What's this?

I heard a voice behind me and turned around. There were Loretta and Ginette with expressions of surprise on their faces.

'We've come to help you after a break from work. ............ Was that necessary?
'No,......, well,.......'

'I didn't do anything either,......

'Yashiro-san . It's amazing!In just a few minutes, I've seen so much ............ I knew it!I'm sure you'll agree.

Ginette's eyes filled with tears of joy as she witnessed the warm support that had gathered at the church.
I've been lifted up in a big way. ............ To be honest, I'm in a delicate mood.

It's true that Ms. Ehrin may have paid for the Low Ball Technique ......, but I've done nothing after that. I had nothing to do with it.
For all I know, Ms. Ehrin could have just thrown a bunch of money into a donation box without me having to do anything. ......


I'm not sure if I succeeded or not,......, but I learned a further lesson with such a subtle blur.


The 42nd district is not a good town for scams.


I'm not going to ...... cry.