We finished lunch, and I stood up with Kuro to settle the bill.
Street stalls usually required payment upfront in exchange for goods, and this shop was no different. However, the shopkeeper clearly trusted Kuro immensely. Being a regular meant she was allowed the privilege of paying after the meal.
"Thanks for the food! It was delicious."
"Ah, Kuro. Wait, I’ll get the money."
"Eh? It's fine. I was the one who invited you, so I'll pay!"
"No, I really shouldn't let you..."
I pulled out my wallet and called out to Kuro as she headed toward the counter, but she insisted on treating me. As expected, I felt a bit hesitant. This was ostensibly a date, and even if she was technically older than me, Kuro looked like a young girl. Letting her foot the bill felt wrong.
"It's okay. I have a fair amount of money, you know?"
"A fair amount? Lad, is there anyone in this world richer than Underworld King-sama?"
"Wait, is Kuro really that rich?"
Hearing Kuro's cheerful tone, the shopkeeper spoke up with a wry smile. Kuro didn't usually wear flashy accessories, and since she mostly snacked on commoner-style sweets, I’d never really gotten the impression she was wealthy. But according to the shopkeeper, she was among the elite in the world.
Was it just because she was the Underworld King? No, wait—what exactly was an Underworld King's source of income anyway?
"Don't you know, young man? Underworld King-sama is the 'Creator of Magic Tools.' She’s sitting on a mountain of gold."
"...Oh."
Hearing the shopkeeper's words, the pieces finally clicked.
The Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company held the largest market share in the world. Its chairman was Zex-san's subordinate, and Zex-san was part of Kuro's family. Come to think of it, Zex-san had mentioned the chairman was his subordinate, but he’d never actually said the company belonged to him.
In short, Kuro was the one who founded the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company. That made her the honorary chairman of the world's largest corporation. Of course she was loaded.
"..."
"Kaito-kun?"
"...Kuro, would it be okay if I paid after all?"
"Eh? Why?"
I understood that Kuro was wealthy, and the reason made sense. However, I still had a small, stubborn sense of manly pride. I wanted to at least pay for our meal.
Though, considering the money I currently had was a gift from Lilia-san and not something I’d earned myself, my argument was a bit flimsy.
Hearing my request, Kuro tilted her head curiously. It was rare for her to be so confused, as she usually seemed to see right through me. Perhaps because she relied on tropes or half-baked romantic knowledge she’d overheard, she was remarkably dense when it came to the actual nuances of a relationship.
"...Underworld King-sama. Asking 'why' is a bit tactless, don't you think?"
"Eh? Is it?"
"That’s right. Sometimes a man has a point of pride he just can't back down on. Right, young man?"
"Ugh... Yes."
The shopkeeper had clearly caught on to my petty vanity. She let out a pleasant laugh while Kuro just looked more puzzled than ever.
"Well then, it's 12R total... but in honor of the lad's spirit, I'll knock it down to 10R."
"Thank you very much. Here you go."
"Right on the mark. Thanks! Come back and see me again, you two."
It came to about six hundred yen per person in Japanese currency—very reasonable considering the portion size. It had tasted great, too. I’d definitely come back, though I was a bit worried the shopkeeper would tease me about this next time.
After paying, I took Kuro's hand—she still looked utterly baffled—and led her away from the stall.
"So, where to next?"
"Let's see... since we just ate, let's just wander around for a bit. Oh, maybe we should get something to drink."
As we walked back through the rows of stalls, I spoke to Kuro, and her bright smile returned instantly. She seemed to be following the shopkeeper's advice not to press me on the payment issue. I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.
Apparently, she had a recommendation for drinks as well. Kuro led me by the hand toward a stall that looked more like a small, rustic greengrocer.
"Hello! Do you have any Seal Fruit?"
"Oh? Well if it isn't Underworld King-sama. Welcome. Seal Fruit, you say? Yes, we’ve got some excellent ones in today."
She was a regular here too. The man running the stall smiled warmly the moment he saw her. She must visit this area quite frequently.
The man reached back and pulled out a black, spherical object about thirty centimeters in diameter. Was that the fruit? It looked more like a cannonball made of solid iron.
"What should I do about the opening?"
"I'll take care of it myself, so don't worry. Just give me two straws, please."
"Understood."
I wanted to pay again if I could, but Kuro was firm this time. "I'm definitely treating you this time," she said, and she wouldn't budge. I decided to give in and let her handle it.
Kuro handed over the money and received the mysterious black sphere and two straws.
I noticed they had straws in this world, too. I wondered what they were made of. They didn't look like plastic—maybe wood? Or perhaps a specific type of hollow reed. It wouldn't surprise me if a previous Hero-role had introduced the concept.
"By the way, Kuro, what exactly is that?"
"It's called a Seal Fruit. It's filled with juice. It has a really hard shell, so usually you have to punch a hole in it to drink."
So it was like a coconut? Now that she mentioned it, it did have that look... if you ignored the fact that it was pitch black.
"The shell is about as strong as iron. People actually use it as a material for armor sometimes."
"...How are you supposed to get a hole in that?"
I stood corrected. It wasn't a coconut; it was something else entirely that happened to resemble one. I touched it for a second, and it felt incredibly solid. If it really was as strong as iron, how did anyone open it? You’d need a drill or a chisel.
"Eh? Like this."
"...Huh?"
In response to my question, Kuro tapped the shell of the fruit with her finger as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her finger punched through the "iron" exterior effortlessly.
Let me process that for a second. The Seal Fruit was a fruit used for armor because its shell was as hard as iron. And Kuro had just poked a hole in it with her bare finger. Does that mean she can just pierce iron whenever she wants? That’s terrifying.
"Wait, hold on a second. Kuro... there's only one fruit. Why did you ask for two straws?"
"Eh? Because it's a date! On a date, you're supposed to share a drink, right?"
"..."
Oh, no. I should have seen this coming.
Kuro had a wealth of strangely specific, biased knowledge, but when it came to actual romance, she was incredibly dense. In short, she was trying to force a classic trope—the "couple sharing a drink" move.
"Come on, Kaito-kun. Let's drink together!"
"..."
Wait, wait, wait. There was one very important factor here. We weren't in a quiet cafe or tucked away in a shop. It was the middle of the afternoon, and we were standing in the dead center of a crowded street where hundreds of people were passing by.
We were going to do that here? It felt like a punishment game. I felt like I was going to die of pure embarrassment.
"No, I think I'll..."
"...Kaito-kun? Do you... hate the idea of drinking with me?"
"...I'll drink. Yes."
I tried to escape the mortifying situation, but the moment I saw Kuro's eyes—looking at me with such a lonely, vulnerable expression—I crumbled. I stood no chance.
There was nowhere to run.
With my shoulders slumped in defeat, I spent the next few minutes subjected to the public humiliation of sharing a juice box with the Underworld King in the middle of a busy thoroughfare.
Dear Mother, Dear Father—the juice of the Seal Fruit is supposedly very delicious, but in this situation... I can't even taste it.
No Escape from the Underworld King