Aftermath: The Professor Show -Honest Work Edition-

We won. We're victorious! We're ultra-rich! Yahooo!

I did it! Did you see me!?

Indeed, you should be commended. What's more, this proves without a doubt that steam engines are the strongest form of power.

Hmm hmm hmm♪

Hahaha, I'm delighted to see you in such high spirits again, Fran.

We won! I really am number one!

Indeed. I'm most impressed with your use of our leftover QP to create a device to absorb my steam exhaust...

...and used that steam as fuel for cosmetic steam products.

Any good business should benefit the buyer, seller, and manufacturer. Though it may be hard to believe, I have considerable experience with corporate management!

Papa, I still have a question.

Of course, sweetie! Tell me, what is it?

What happened to your evil scheme?

Hm, good question.

I thought we would find out what it was once the race was over, but we never did.

Hahahaha, is that all, my beloved daughter and partner? My evil scheme was completed long ago!

But worry not. It doesn't harm either of you in the slightest!

...Huh?

...Huh?

...Ishtar may have lied about all sorts of things, but there is one thing she said which was absolutely true.

All gambling is rigged to the advantage of whoever's hosting it. If you didn't know what that meant before, hopefully it's become crystal clear by now☆

Ishtar's fatal mistake was not competing in the race herself.

Granted, it's understandable why she didn't, since the results had nothing to do with her goal...

But if she had, she would have given herself a strong alibi.

"Oh wow! Gugalanna came back to life after I won the race! Since he's here, I might as well make him one of my Authorities, seeing as I won the race and all!"

If she had merely said something like that, the other racers would have been hard-pressed to object.

"Winner takes all" is all well and good, but the very notion of "spectator takes all" is absurd on its face.

...Which is why I went around taking bets on who would win the race from some of Chaldea's staff and the numerous hedonistically inclined Servants dwelling here.

I modestly downplayed our vehicle's specs, and greatly played up the specs for our rivals' machines.

Thanks to that, I was able to dramatically increase our winnings. Indeed, the house DOES always win!

Of course, the ones placing the bets had no way of knowing that I was the house in this case.

Perhaps matters would have been different if I had harmed Fujimaru in some way, but with a petty crime of this nature, even Holmes or a user of Clairvoyance would have no choice but to let me go.

No thief can hope to escape punishment if their reach exceeds their grasp. Unfortunately for the greedy goddess, she failed to understand that.

Now then, what to do with all this material and QP I've scraped together...?

Under normal circumstances, I should probably present it to Fujimaru...

But, as with all matters, timing is everything. At the moment, there is no telling what the future beyond this summer of 2019 holds...

So I think I shall hold on to them for just a bit longer. After all, one never knows when they may be needed!