I walked out the front door and touched a pillar-shaped object standing just to the side before sending a Hummingbird to the person I was meeting. This pillar was an item Canaris-san had crafted; when someone pre-registered—like Anima or myself—touched it, the teleportation interference around the entrance was temporarily disabled. This allowed visitors to arrive directly at our doorstep via teleportation magic.
I had first learned this from Megiddo-san, but the recognition-shrouding magic on my home was apparently as potent as a divine sanctuary. It reached a level where even one of the Six Kings like him couldn't simply ignore it to teleport inside.
Furthermore, this teleportation interference was a custom-made version that didn't affect residents like Anima or me at all. It was a perfect display of the God Power Canaris-san had poured into it, as I could return home using teleportation magic tools without any issues.
Consequently, the standard protocol for anyone else visiting was to teleport to the front gate and walk in, but this method provided an alternative for those I specifically invited to arrive right at the front door. The distance from the gate to the porch wasn't that great, but if teleportation was an option, closer was always better.
About a minute or two after I sent the Hummingbird, a magic circle manifested on the ground a short distance in front of me, and my guest appeared right on schedule.
"Hello, Lanza-san."
"Hello! Today, I am gr-greatly... gr-granted? G-gratefully... I've arrived!"
The woman with the red-rust colored short ponytail had attempted to use a formal turn of phrase, only to get hopelessly lost halfway through. She eventually gave up and announced her arrival brightly, her expression clearing as if she had just shaken off a heavy burden. This was Lanza-san, a Spirit of the Spear-branch Tree who served as a subordinate to Camellia-sama under the World King.
"I have been eagerly looking forward to the day I could meet you again, Kaito-san! If I recall, in the otherworld, they call it... a-a-a single day of... a thousand winters? No, a thousand... um..."
"...A single day feeling like a thousand autumns?"
"That’s the one! I’ve been waiting with that exact feeling!"
As usual, she was a bundle of pure energy. Despite being Camellia-sama's subordinate, she reminded me a bit of Blossom-san. Even her attire gave off the vibe of a kunoichi; standing next to Blossom-san, the two of them would create a very strong Japanese aesthetic.
"...Wait, did I keep you waiting too long?"
"No, no, we were the ones who made the request on such short notice, after all."
The reason Lanza-san was here today concerned my previous request to purchase some matsutake—known as Spear Mush in this world. She had readily agreed to sell them to me, but the Spirits of the Spear-branch Tree strictly managed the harvest and sale periods for the mushrooms. While she hadn't minded the sale, she had asked me to wait until the harvest season officially began.
Naturally, I’d had no reason to object, so I had been looking forward to the right time. Now that harvest season was finally here, Lanza-san had come to deliver the goods personally.
"Since the payment was settled in advance, we can just jump straight to the delivery today!"
"Actually, was that price really alright? I was under the impression they were quite high-end."
"Hmm, the reason they are considered luxury goods by the public is simply because we don't sell many of them. Generally, the Spirits of the Spear-branch Tree—myself included—only need a minimum amount of coin to get by. We have no intention of doing more business than necessary, so we just sell a fixed amount once a year. Supply and demand being what it is, they end up being expensive."
"I see..."
Lanza-san didn't eat or drink, and her hobby was self-discipline, so she apparently spent almost no money. The other spirits were much the same, earning only what was required for the maintenance and environmental preservation of their groves. The high price was purely a result of the limited supply.
"Of course, we have no problem providing them if it's a request from you, Kaito-san. In fact, we wouldn't have even needed the money... but Camellia-sama said that you would feel uneasy if we did that... or rather, she said... say-ed... s-stated? ...That's what she said!!"
"Y-Yes, she’s right. It would be a bit awkward to receive them for free, so I appreciate the consideration."
"However! Rest assured! Since it was a request from none other than you, Kaito-san, I made sure to provide excellent service using my authority! You paid for one hundred, but I've added nine thousand nine hundred more as a special bonus. I've brought an even ten thousand for you!!"
"Ten thousand!?"
I was stunned by Lanza-san's words as she made a triumphant guts pose. Where in any world does a person throw in ninety-nine times the ordered amount as a bonus? And yet, here she was, beaming with a wide, innocent smile.
Furthermore, even though we hadn't spent that much time together yet, Lanza-san's favorability toward me seemed unusually high. Her personality was frank and refreshing, but I could feel a profound amount of affection radiating through my sympathy magic.
For now, I was at a loss. She was smiling so happily, clearly expecting me to be delighted, so I couldn't bring myself to tell her that I didn't actually need ten thousand mushrooms.
"...Thank you. I'm really happy."
"I'm happy that you're happy, Kaito-san!"
She really was a good person—unquestionably bright, energetic, and kind. Though she also felt just a tiny bit scatterbrained.
Lanza Unlike Blossom, she didn't stop listening when her excitement spiked, nor was she prone to intense delusions. She was simply an idiot with a straightforward personality. Because she acted immediately on whatever came to mind without thinking deeply, her proactivity was staggering. She was the type to embody the phrase "there's no day like today," whether it was visiting Lilliwood's castle alone the day after deciding to challenge her, or immediately arranging to join the World King's subordinates after being moved by Camellia's strength and kindness.
Naturally, the affinity correction of the Spirit Race was also in full effect. Since she had such a simple nature, her favorability toward Kaito—who was overwhelmingly loved by nature—was astronomical. She approached him with the logic of "Kaito is naturally loved = I, who am part of nature, also love Kaito," so her favorability had been near its maximum from the very first moment they met.