I arrived at Kaori-san's shop via teleportation magic and was let in through the back door. Since it was the shop's regular day off, Kaori-san was dressed in casual clothes—specifically, the outfit she had purchased back in the Hydra Kingdom.
"Sorry to bother you on your day off," I said.
"No, it’s fine. Since we’re closed, I don't have to worry about business hours or anything. I have plenty of time to spare... But what brings you here so suddenly?"
"Oh, well, I managed to get my hands on the item we talked about before, so I brought it over right away. Here it is."
"Ooh! M-Matsutake!"
Kaori-san’s eyes sparkled as I produced a wooden box with the word "Matsutake" inscribed on it. She was the one who had brought up the topic originally, so she must have been truly longing for them.
"Wow, these are incredible Matsutake... ah, Spear Mush, right? Even so, I can tell just by the size and the aroma that these are top-tier specimens."
"Yeah, I tried one earlier, and it was delicious. Anyway, these are for you, Kaori-san..."
"Thank you! I'm so happy... but is it really okay for me to take ten of them?"
"Actually, I have a bit of a favor to ask regarding that..."
"Hmm?"
To a puzzled Kaori-san, I explained my interaction with Lanza-san. I told her that I had nearly ten thousand Spear Mush on hand and asked if she would be willing to stock them for her shop.
"I see... ten thousand is an absurd number. You certainly can't consume that many yourself, so wholesaling them makes sense. As for serving them at my shop... hmm... that might actually be a great idea."
"Do you think they'll sell?"
"My shop has been getting more popular lately, and the customer base is growing. We get a lot of tourists now, and since people generally want to eat something special to commemorate their travels, I’ve been thinking about adding some higher-priced set meals to the menu. Spear Mush is a high-end, rare mushroom even in this world, so I think the demand will be there."
"That makes sense. If someone comes to Friendly City Hikari to eat otherworld cuisine, they’ll probably be in the mood to splurge a little."
Kaori-san’s set meals were relatively inexpensive, with even the most expensive options barely reaching 20 R. While having cheap and delicious food was a major draw, offering luxury items would provide customers with more variety and better choices.
Since Kaori-san now possessed a large-capacity Magic Box, she had the storage space to expand her menu, which was another point in our favor. Overall, her reaction to the Spear Mush proposal was quite positive.
"A Spear Mush-full Set Meal... maybe with Spear Mush rice, clear soup, chawanmushi, and grilled Spear Mush. That sounds lovely. I have the high-quality seasonings I get from Noin-san and the rice from Raz-sama, so it's bound to be delicious. Oh, but before that, I need to ask about the price. Kaito-kun, if you were to wholesale these to me, how much would you want per unit?"
"Hmm, let's see... er... maybe 100 R for 100 mushrooms?"
"Too cheap! Way too cheap! That’s only 1 R per mushroom! I can’t accept a price like that! Spear Mush is a luxury mushroom; if I serve them at that price, it'll ruin the market value and make things difficult for me!"
"I-I suppose so... but the thing is, I only paid Lanza-san for 100 mushrooms at 100 R each, which comes to 10,000 R... exactly one Gold Coin. But then she gave me 9,900 as a bonus. When you look at the total ratio, it really does work out to 1 R per mushroom..."
"Ah, I see. Since your actual cost is only 1 R, you feel guilty wholesaling them at a high price..."
She hit the nail on the head. To put it in Japanese Yen, it was as if I had paid one million Yen for Matsutake that usually cost ten thousand Yen each, but ended up receiving one hundred million Yen worth of mushrooms instead. My cost per mushroom was effectively only 100 Yen. Trying to wholesale them at a price fitting for a luxury item felt... dishonest.
"Hmm... in that case, why don't we do it on a consignment basis?"
"Consignment?"
"Basically, I’ll take a batch of Spear Mush from you and sell them as a special set meal. Then, we’ll split the total profits from those meals 50/50."
"I see..."
"Truthfully, since these are ingredients that only you can easily obtain, your share probably should be higher. But if I suggest that, I have a feeling you'll start arguing about my labor costs for cooking and selling, and we'll just go in circles. So, let’s just keep it simple and split the profit down the middle. How about it?"
"That sounds fair. I think that's the arrangement we can both be most satisfied with. I’d appreciate it if you'd take the job."
"You got it! Leave it to me!"
Thanks to Kaori-san’s suggestion, we agreed that I would provide the Spear Mush, she would handle the cooking and sales, and we would divide the profits equally.
"Should I hand over about a thousand of them for now?"
"Too many! We don't know how they'll sell yet. Let's start with a hundred. If we sell out of those, we'll move on to the next batch."
"Understood."
"Is that all from your side, Kaito-kun? Because... well, I actually have something I’ve been meaning to ask you..."
The business regarding the Spear Mush was settled, but it seemed Kaori-san had something else on her mind. Her expression shifted, becoming uncharacteristically serious as she began to speak.
???: "With the affection level of the Spirit Race being farmed at an all-time high, everyone is watching to see who will make the first move—meaning, who will be the first to actually become Kaito-san's lover. As our resident Romance Expert, which ones do you, Serious-senpai, see as the frontrunners?"
Serious-senpai: "Who are you calling a Romance Expert?! I am the Incarnation of Seriousness! A Serious of Serious existence! By any logic, I should be a Serious Expert!"
???: "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So?"
Serious-senpai: "...Fine. I’ll start on the premise that the affection level for Kaito is absurdly high across the entire Spirit Race. However, while people like Camellia or Erial have extremely high affection for him, it’s debatable whether they've actually tripped any romantic flags yet. Their affection is so high that any small trigger could send them tumbling in that direction, but for now, they aren't quite there. That said, I have my eye on three in particular in terms of 'danger' level: Lilliwood, Rosmiel, and Jutia."
???: "Oh? And what’s your reasoning?"
Serious-senpai: "First, regarding Lilliwood. She’s the spirit who has been with Kaito the longest and has cleared the most events with him. However, Lilliwood herself doesn't seem to fully grasp what romantic feelings are. She spent a massive amount of time identifying as a 'tree,' and since she’s so stoic and work-focused, she’s never really bothered with personal preferences or desires. That said, she clearly gets flustered and happy when Kaito treats her as a woman, and she’s been puzzled by her own impulsive actions lately. Romantic feelings have definitely budded; they’re just an 'unknown sensation' to her right now. If there's a proper trigger, that relationship could advance at terrifying speed."
???: "That’s... an unexpectedly thorough analysis."
Serious-senpai: "Next is Rosmiel. Her affection for Kaito is through the roof and she definitely has romantic feelings, but she’s the type who hasn't realized it herself. At this point, if Kaito were to confess, she’d probably accept in a heartbeat, but because she’s naturally shy and has very little social experience—combined with the fact that her sense of distance is warped with people she trusts, like Camellia—she doesn't recognize her own feelings for what they are. If you asked her how she felt about Kaito, she’d say 'I love him' without a second thought, but she doesn't realize that 'love' contains a romantic component. This type progresses the moment she actually acknowledges her own heart."
???: "And... Jutia-san?"
Serious-senpai: "In Jutia’s case, she’s fully aware of her feelings. Based on her words and actions, there's no doubt she loves Kaito romantically, and she knows it. However, because her personality is so straightforward and refreshing, Kaito interprets her advances as platonic friendliness rather than romantic interest. Jutia isn't in any rush, though. She doesn't seem interested in forcing a development. It’s like she’s enjoying the current state of things, having fun with him while taking a long-term, patient approach, hoping he’ll eventually notice on his own. Because she isn't pushing, it’ll take time for things to develop unless Kaito realizes her 'like' is actually 'love.' But once he does notice, she's the type to be very direct, so they’d probably get together instantly."
???: "Hmm, I see... Honestly, there's no point in denying it anymore. You really are a Romance Expert, aren't you?"
Serious-senpai: "I am not! I am the Incarnation of Seriousness!"