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I came to visit Aliceās miscellaneous goods store in the late afternoon, feeling the warm sunshine through the window. Right in front of me was the feyblade that we had played with at the Six Kings Festivalā¦ā¦ or rather, the sample of its finished product.
In the two years since the Six Kings Festival, various improvements have been made to the product, and now that itās ready for mass production, it will soon be released by a company selling toys.
[I thought it would be released by the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company.]
[Thereās another company whoās greater when it comes to dealing with toys after allā¦ā¦ Well, thatās also Kuro-sanās company anyway.]
[As expected of the Business Worldās Kingā¦ā¦]
[From what I heard, she apparently recently ācreated a new trading companyā.]
Accepting the tea that Alice offered me, I asked her back. I knew that Kuro had quite the expansive range of businesses, worthy of being called the pinnacle of the business world, and āpersonally owning assets equivalent to 10% of the world economyā, including the rights and assets her companies hold, makes her the number 1 tycoon in the world.
ā¦ā¦It seems that this big tycoon is going to start something again.
[Yes, I wonder if itās because of Eden-sanās decision to set up a clone in this world, or if Shallow Vernal-sama had discussed this with herā¦ā¦ but I heard that reproduction of other world itemsā¦ā¦ mechanical appliances was alleviated. And on the evening of the day it was officially announced, Kuro-san established a trading company dealing with otherworld-related products.]
[ā¦ā¦She sure acts fast.]
[She has recently introduced a practical training system for her trainees, and through that, she has been picking up promising candidates from among the personnel they have gathered and recruited them into that newly formed trading company. Perhaps, after Akari-san and Kazuya-san finished their practical training, she might talk to them about this. The two of them are from a different world after all, so they would be knowledgeable about otherworld-related products.]
Well, Kuro loves raising people in the first place, so the establishment of a new trading company must be related to that. Listening to Aliceās words, I sipped my tea.
Times like this are nice and relaxing, and it makes me feel a little sleepy.
[ā¦ā¦Even so, this shop is still open for business, right?]
[Isnāt it a little too late to ask that now? Heck, wouldnāt it seem more unnatural to see this shop flourishing?]
While looking around the store that still had no customers, I lined my chair next to Aliceās and sat next to her behind the counter. That this counter seems to be filled with tea and sweets more often than it is with products probably isnāt just my imagination.
As I was relaxing with such a thought in mindā¦ā¦ Alice suddenly spoke.
[ā¦ā¦Ahh~~ Speaking of which, Kaito-san. I have something Iād like to consult with youā¦ā¦]
[Consult? Alice, consulting me? Thatās kinda unusualā¦ā¦]
[No, well, my best friendā¦ā¦ Ahh, the one who isnāt Iris, wants to hang out with Kaito-san and I, the three of us.]
[Speaking of which, Iāve heard you mention about having another best friend, but I donāt think youāve ever talked about her in detail?]
[I donāt really have a problem with thatā¦ā¦ but why do you have that complicated look on your face?]
I certainly would like to meet Aliceās best friend, so I have no problem with the three of us hanging out together. I didnāt find anything unnatural with the topic so farā¦ā¦ is what should have been, but for some reason, Alice had this complicated expression on her face.
It doesnāt seem like she hates the idea of doing it, but somehowā¦ā¦ itās like she finds that tiresome.
[Well, this best friend of mineā¦ā¦ She said something troublesome, apparently for the sake of her dignity, she didnāt want her true identity to be revealedā¦ā¦ Even though I told her that she didnāt have that dignity anymore, she was very stubborn about it and wouldnāt give in.]
[Her true identity to not be revealed? What does that mean?]
[She apparently already got a plan in placeā¦ā¦ I suppose Iāll try it out? My best friendās name is {strong}-{/strong}, did you catch that?]
[ā¦ā¦No, I couldnāt hear the name at all.]
[ā¦ā¦Even if sheās depraved, I guess this would be expected of her huhā¦ā¦ Itās even effective against Kaito-san. Well, sheās a bit of a pain in the ass like thatā¦ā¦ but what do you think?]
[No, I only recognize her as a person with great power at the moment, so I donāt really have any problem with thatā¦ā¦]
[Itās {strong}- {/strong}-sanās {strong}- {/strong}thoughā¦ā¦]
[As expected, you also were unable to hear that huhā¦ā¦ Haaaaahhhhhhhhhhhā¦ā¦]
How should I say thisā¦ā¦ I donāt see any problem on my end at the moment. It seems like she would be a being with great power, but since sheās Aliceās acquaintance, itās not surprising that theyāre such a person.
There must be some reason why sheās trying to hide her true identityā¦ā¦ Iām not really sure what Iām supposed to do until I see her myself, but if I just canāt catch her name, I couldnāt particularly see any problem with it.
Well, I canāt think of any reason why Alice would look particularly uncomfortable about this so far butā¦ā¦
[Does Alice not want to do that?]
[No, rather than me not wanting to do thisā¦ā¦ I was just thinking that itās really troublesome that I have to be a stopper. However, it seemed like her frustrations had been piling up lately, so I think this would be better than letting her rampage somewhere strangeā¦ā¦ Haaahhhhā¦ā¦ What will happen from now on would be just me being considerate.]
I wonder why, but that phrase she just said feels very unsettling. Moreover, she seemed more uncomfortable here than when I said I wanted to meet the Ten Demonsā¦ā¦