On the 19th day of the Water month, I was walking with Kuro on a path I was recently familiar with.
[I’m sorry, Kuro. Things ended up being so hectic that I didn’t get to hear about Alice’s plans.]
[No. It’s alright…… Even if today’s no good too, we can still go back another day. I’ll be going to Lilia-chan’s place tomorrow after all…… After that, I should be quite free in my schedule.]
[Thank you.]
Yes, currently, Kuro and I were walking to Alice’s miscellaneous goods store.
I had mentioned before that I was going to Alice and help her sell magic tools in the form of futons, but I forgot to ask about her plans because of that ruckus with Megiddo-san.
When I told Kuro about it last night when she came to my room as usual, she offered to make time today to go with me.
I’m really grateful for that but…… Honestly, even though Alice made lots of money last time, she already had previous offenses before, so I can’t trust that she won’t gamble all the money she has.
I need to create a stable source of income quickly for her, and then, keep reminding her to calculate her expenses and income……
As I was walking alongside Kuro on the street, I suddenly remembered something, so I decided to ask her about it.
[Ah, that’s right. There’s something I want to ask you, Kuro.]
[……Eh? You want to ask something? Fufufu, I see, since you saw my magical beast mode, you’ve become curious about my identity, right!? Alright, if you ask now, I’ll give you a hint as a little service……]
[What’s your favorite food, Kuro, besides baby castellas?]
[You’re asking that!? No, no, Kaito-kun, that’s not what you should be asking now, right!? This is the time where you use the line “Who are you?”.]
[……No, I don’t really think I’ll be using that for a while.]
[Eeehhhhhh!?]
How should I say this…… I’m not really sure if Kuro, in the end, wants me to ask about who she really is or she doesn’t want me to ask about her identity.
However, what I can be sure of is that just because I asked it, it doesn’t mean that she’s going to honestly tell all about it.
[You need to be more interested in me, Kaito-kun! I’m becoming sad here, you know!?]
[No, I’m interested in you, isn’t that why I’m asking you what your favorite is?]
[Ugghhh…… M-muuuuu……]
Kuro’s cheeks puffed out like a hamster in response to my words, as if she couldn’t think of a counter-argument. How should I say this, she’s as cute as always and not scary at all.
However, I used to be swept along in the past, but lately, I’m starting to feel that I have the luxury of being able to get the upper hand in my conversations with Kuro.
[So, in the end, what’s your favorite food?]
[…..Muuuuu~~ Other than baby castellas, maybe pudding?]
[Errr, what was it called again? That Special Deluxe Pudding à la mode?]
[Ahh~ That’s the one Ein made for me before. That was quite delicious~~…… To be honest, I was only half-joking when I told her about it, but for her to really make it, Ein’s really amazing.]
She just said she’s half-joking…… Ahh, I see, Kuro thought it was an absurd request to ask, but Ein-san completed it like it’s obvious…… She’s a cheat, just as usual.
[However, Kaito-kun. Why are you suddenly asking me what I like?]
[Ahh~~ Well, errr…… You see, when we went out together last time—— [ On a date! ] —— Ahh, unnn. When we went on a date, didn’t I say that I would be the one asking you next time?]
[Unnn, you did say that.]
[So…… I thought it would be great if we could go eat something Kuro likes, and that’s why I’m asking you.]
[……Kaito-kun.]
Hearing my words I said while feeling somewhat embarrassed, Kuro is silent for a bit, before she smiled like a blooming flower.
[Unnn! I’ll look forward to that…… Now, let’s go!]
[Eh? Wait, Kuro!? Your hand!?]
[We’ve held hands before already, so don’t mind, don’t mind~~]
Looking at Kuro who’s happily laughing as she pulled my hand along, I followed, aware that a natural smile appeared on my mouth.
Walking into Alice’s miscellaneous goods store, which I was getting used to seeing by now, there was the usual stuffed cat costume.
[Ayaa? Kaito-san? Welcome! I still have some “last minute” money left this time!]
[……I’ll make sure we’ll carefully talk about that later.]
[……Eh?]
What the heck do you mean “last minute”? You made that much money last time, and you’ve already spent that much!?
Seriously, if I take my eyes off her for a while…… No, wait, wait, calm down. Preaching is for later…… Let’s go have her talk with Kuro first……
[You must be Alice-chan, right? Kaito-kun told me all about you.]
[……Ehh? Huh? ……Ummm, errr…… Underworld King-sama?]
[Unnn, nice to meet you.]
[……One moment please……]
Alice, who was in her usual good mood, after she became aware of Kuro’s presence when she spoke to her, I could clearly see that she’s trembling even when she’s wearing that stuffed costume.
Then, after telling Kuro to wait a minute, she moved behind the counter, took off her costume, and came back…… kneeling down on both of her knees in front of Kuro, bowing her head.
[……Ummm, please accept my apologies. It’s just my usual habit so…… errr…… if you could spare my life……]
[I’m not here to kill you though!?]
As expected, even if it’s Alice, she doesn’t seem to joke around like she usually does when dealing with Kuro, the Underworld King, and apologizes with a nervous look on her face.
Still, she only wore her opera mask but……
[……Errr, can we just get on with it and see the magic tool?]
[Y- Yes! T- T- This way.]
[……Oi, we’re not talking about your stuffed costumes, bring us to where the futons you made are……]
[Ahh, y- y- you’re right.]
Unusually, Alice seems like she would blow up, as when she led us to her stuffed costumes doesn’t seem to be her usual boke, but just a plain mistake.
Alice hurriedly brought the futons she made this time.
I don’t know if I should have expected it since she has a good sense of style, but even the design of the futon she made looked elegant that it wouldn’t be strange even if seen in a noble’s house.
Kuro takes the futon and looks at it from various angles, then looks at Alice with a slightly surprised expression on her face.
[……What an incredibly beautiful technique you used here huh. It’s sophisticated and lean…… You have quite an amazing magical craftsmanship huh.]
[I- I- I’m not that extravagant.]
[Unnn! With this kind of work, we could sell it right away…… Would you mind making this for my company?]
[Yes, it’s a pleasure.]
It seems that Kuro has a high evaluation of the magic tool, as she told her that she would procure it from her.
[Can this be mass-produced?]
[Y- Yes! Give me a few days, and I could prepare a whole bunch of them……]
[Unnn……. I’d say the cost of materials is about 3000R…… Then, how about we stock up on them at about 10000R a piece?]
[Pfft!? 1- 10000R!?]
To my surprise, Kuro seems to purchase the futon at more than three times the material cost. I wonder if she’d make a profit if she bought it for that cost?
Then, as if sensing my doubts, Kuro slightly smiled.
[There aren’t many magicians that are able to set up a technique like this, even within the Demon Realm. If I consider that, this much is appropriate…… I guess these would mainly be sold to the nobles? I’d also like you to make a low-cost sleeping bag for the adventurers and the general public, but can you make those?]
[Y- Yes. Of course.]
[Unnn, then, as for that sleeping bag, I’ll pay you 50% of the net profit for being the inventor…… I’ll have a representative from my company come by some other time to formalize the contract.]
[F- Fifty percent!?]
I don’t if I should say it’s to be expected from her or anything like that… but Kuro promptly advanced the conversation, and quickly put together a business meeting.
[U- Umm…… Underworld King-sama?]
[Unnn?]
[I- It’s just that I feel like those conditions were too advantageous for me……]
[You were specially referred to by Kaito-kun after all. Consider it as a service.]
[T- Thank you very much.]
[Unnn. Then…… in about four days, I’ll have them come back with the contract, are you alright with that?]
[Yes.]
It seems that Kuro is willing to sign a contract that’s favorable to Alice, considering that I introduced her.
I’m really grateful for that…… I guess I’ll have to thank Kuro again.
Dear Mom, Dad——- I visited Alice with Kuro. I don’t know if I should say that it’s expected of Kuro, but their conversation advanced without a hitch—– and the deal seems to have been settled.
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<Author’s Notes>
It somehow feels like it’s been a long time since he went out with Kuro.