Chapter 1232 - Intermission: The Connection between the Compatriots - Part 1
【Notice】
The Afterword is longer than the main chapter, but you don’t have to read it, and it has nothing to do with the story.
Akane, the Chairman of the Mik.u.mo Trading Company, had come to a certain establishment with her escort/secretary, Frau.
[So this is the place huh, houu…… It really is written in kanji.]
[Chairman, I would like to confirm something before we enter.]
[What is it?]
[This is to be treated as business expenses, right? After all, we’re here to eat……]
[……Just eat what you want.]
[As expected of the Chairman, you have a big heart.]
It was a roundabout way of putting it, but for Akane, who has known Frau for a long time, she could understand that she also wanted to eat. Immediately realizing that Frau was asking her to treat her since she was escorting Akane, after she told Frau this with her usual dumbfounded expression on her face, they went inside the restaurant.
[Welcome, take any seat you like~~]
[We’ll be intruding…… Hohhh, this place got quite a nice vibe to it. So, you’re Mizuhara Kaori-san, right?]
[Eh? Kansai dialect? ……Could it be……]
[Nice to meet ya. I also played the role of Hero before, Mik.u.mo Akane. I recently heard about this store from a child I just met named Miyama Kaito, and I thought it would be nice to meet someone from the same world, so I came to pay a visit.]
[I see, you heard from Kaito-kun huh…… At any rate, it’s nice to see someone from the same world! There are no other customers here right now, so if you’d like, you can sit over here at the counter.]
Kaori, who looked happy when she learned that Akane was from the same world, showed her the counter seats, and after making sure Akane and Frau were seated, she served them water and spoke.
[……However, arehh? You played the role of Hero back then? The one that played the role of Hero last time was a boy, and I’m the one for the year before that…… That means, you played the role of Hero even earlier?]
[Yes, I played the role of Hero a long time ago.]
[Eeehhhh, t- then, you’re older than me, right? M- My apologies, you looked like a teenager.]
[That’s a nice reaction……Well, don’t worry about it, you can just use a casual tone. We are among the few emigrants in this world, so let’s take it easy on each other.]
Seeing Kaori’s surprise with her seemingly exaggerated movements, Akane smiled somewhat happily and told her that she doesn’t mind if she spoke casually.
[Really? I’ll take you up on your word then…… So, Akane-san, when did you play the role of Hero?]
[I played it four terms ago.]
[Eeeehhh!? F- Four terms ago…… That means, you’re in your 50s? N- No way…… No matter how I see it, you don’t look that old. It’s not even on the level of just being a baby-faced lady……]
[Ahh, I’ve been rejuvenated once with G.o.d of Life-sama’s Provisional Blessing, so I practically look like I’m in my teens now.]
[……G.o.d of Life-sama’s Blessing? How? Both you and Kaito got those things…… Are all the otherworlders except for me and Shige-san outrageous people?]
[No, as one would expect, let’s not put me on the same level as that guy…… If you’re surprised by that though, I suppose that means Kaori didn’t partic.i.p.ate in the first Six Kings Festival huh.]
[Six Kings Festival? A- Aaahhhh, I heard there was a big festival in the Demon Realm…… Teleportation to the Demon Realm is pretty expensive though, so I’ve never been able to attend it.]
Kaori had also heard rumors about the Six Kings Festival. However, that was only after it became a regular event. When the festival was first held, she had no particular interaction with any of the Six Kings.
Unlike Akane, she didn’t receive an invitation because she had only talked a little with Kuromueina and Lillywood when playing the role of Hero, and later learned about it through gossip from the customers.
[Well, when it was first held, Shallow Vernal-sama gave all the partic.i.p.ants G.o.d of Life-sama’s Provisional Blessing as a commemoration, and the effect of that was to rejuvenate your body.]
[Is that so. That’s amazing, I wish I could be young again too.]
[Can’t you rejuvenate your youth too if you ask Kaito?]
[……The fact that it might actually work scares me.]
Although she said that jokingly, thinking that it could actually happen if she did ask Kaito, Kaori looked far into the distance.
[Ahh, all talk, no action! Can I get your order?]
[Ohh, you’re right. Since we’re at it, let’s have something…… Hohh, I heard that you were running your own business, but there is so much different stuff here. Isn’t it hard needing to prep all these?]
[I used to have less, but I recently got a large-capacity magic box, making it easier to stock up and preserve ingredients, so I added more items to the menu.]
[I see…… Well, I’ll have the croquette set meal.]
[I will have…… the most expensive meal. Chairman is treating after all.]
After giving Frau a slightly astounded look, who shamelessly ordered the most expensive item on the menu, Akane-san turned towards Kaori. After Kaori quickly started preparing their orders, she spoke to Kaori.
[Speaking of which, how did Akane-san meet Kaito-kun? I met him by chance when he came to visit my restaurant……]
[In my case, there’s a Beastman named Anima-san who works for Kaito, and she approached me with a deal for a product made from Dragon King-sama’s scales.]
[Dragon King-sama’s scales? An incomprehensible material suddenly came out…… but since Kaito-kun, I get this feeling aching in my stomach that such a thing is understandable.]
[Ahaha, I get ya. The people Kaito knows are so out of the norm. Thinking about how he got involved with all of them in just two years is too scary.]
[I get you! I get you!!! Geez, everything around him is just so outrageous, but hearing Kaito treating all that as if it’s no big deal is really bad for my heart and stomach!]
[Ahh~~ Because everyone around him is too great, he certainly doesn’t think he’s that amazing.]
Happily laughing at Kaori’s reaction, Akane drinks from a gla.s.s of water. Since both of them were in a position where they had been surprised in various ways by Kaito, their conversation ended up becoming more lively than they had imagined.