Sei Libelstar, Chairman of the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company—I had heard his name before, but I had never met him in person, so I’d been curious about what kind of man he was.
When he arrived at Lilia-san’s mansion, I saw that he was an older man with a distinctive white goatee. His gentle features and eyes, which held a sharp, powerful light, gave off the air of a man with a wealth of experience.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miyama-dono. I’ve heard many rumors... It’s an honor to finally meet you in person."
"Ah, no, the pleasure is mine. I look forward to working with you."
"The Underworld King-sama, the Chairman of the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company... and the 'Great Sage of the Undead.' These are quite the illustrious guests, Milady."
"Y-yeth!"
"...Please, try to pull yourself together."
It seemed that not only Kuro and Sei-san, but Zex-san was also an incredibly famous High-ranking Demon in the Human Realm. Apparently, he was the one who had built the foundations of the Magic Academy and was known as a Great Sage. The Guardian of the Empty Seat, the Great Sage of the Undead, and the First Hero... Kuro’s inner circle was full of nothing but outrageous people.
"...Kuro’s like this, but she really is the Underworld King."
"Kaito-kun, you should at least keep those thoughts to yourself. You said that all out loud, you know?"
Responding to my muttered words, Kuro pointed to the necklace I had given her yesterday, which she was currently wearing. Honestly, it was embarrassing, and I couldn't look her straight in the eye.
Regardless, I guided Kuro and the others to the reception room. After Zex-san and Sei-san gave their greetings to Lilia-san, we finally moved on to the main topic... Wait, what? I felt like I was forgetting something very important.
This visit was partly to greet Lilia-san, but it was also supposed to be about the rights to the calculator I had proposed. Did I ever actually mention that to Lilia-san?
"Now then, Lilia-dono. Please, look at this."
"...This is? A magic tool?"
"Yes, it is something Miyama-dono conceived and we brought to fruition."
"...Huh?"
Upon hearing Zex-san's explanation, Lilia-san froze as if time had stopped. Ah, oops. As I thought, I hadn't told her. Lilia-san turned her head toward me with a mechanical creak and muttered in a voice that sounded like it was crawling up from the depths of the earth.
"...Kaito-san?"
"Y-yes!?"
"...What exactly is the meaning of this?"
"Ah, no, well... I asked Kuro a while ago if we could make a tool that existed in my world..."
I replied while trembling under Lilia-san’s gaze, which seemed to scream, "Is this your doing again?" After a moment of heavy silence, she let out a long sigh.
"Honestly, Kaito-san, you really are always... sigh... My apologies, Zex-sama. So, what is this magic tool?"
"It is this. A magic tool capable of performing calculations."
"Calculations?! With a magic tool?!"
As expected, people in this world had a firm belief that magic and mathematics were two entirely separate things. Lilia-san wore a look of pure shock at Zex-san's words.
Then, Zex-san pulled out a magic tool about the size of a ping-pong ball. Wait, it’s tiny! That’s supposed to be a calculator?
While I was bewildered by how much smaller it was than I expected, Lilia-san touched the magic tool with visible trepidation. When she did, the tool emitted a faint light, and numbers and calculation formulas manifested in the air.
Incredible. It was a projection format where numbers floated in mid-air and you operated it by touch. Didn't this completely surpass the calculators from my world? Well, maybe it couldn't do complex functions, but once again, I was struck by how amazing magic could be.
Lilia-san operated the magic tool for a while, then turned toward Kuro and the others, her face still full of astonishment.
"...This is a magnificent magic tool. Not only trading companies, but nobles and the Royal Palace will surely scramble to get their hands on it."
"Indeed. And regarding this magic tool, while our company was the one to construct the magic formula... the inventor is Miyama-dono. Furthermore, since Miyama-dono is someone Kuromueina-sama holds in high regard, our company has no intention of treating him with anything less than the utmost respect."
Following Lilia-san's comment, Sei-san moved into the heart of the matter.
"As far as our company is concerned, we believe Miyama-dono holds the right to receive half of the net profits."
"I see, I understand. In other words, a massive sum of money will periodically flow to Kaito-san from now on. And you wish for our house to handle the management and serve as the official contact point..."
"No, that is not it."
"...Eh?"
Since it was a transaction with a trading company, Lilia-san apparently thought she only needed to lend the name of the Ducal House of Albert. She attempted to convey her acceptance in a firm tone, but Sei-san interrupted her mid-sentence.
"Miyama-dono has stated that he wishes to grant the profits generated by this magic tool to the Ducal House of Albert."
"...Huh? E-err... M-my apologies. It seems I misheard you just now. Could you please say that again?"
"Miyama-dono wishes to grant half of the net profits generated by this magic tool to the Ducal House of Albert."
"...Huh?"
This time, Lilia-san froze completely. After a period of silence where it felt as if time itself had stopped, Lilia-san suddenly snapped out of it and leaned forward.
"Absolutely not! That is profit that Kaito-san should be receiving! I cannot possibly accept such a thing!"
"No, however, it is Miyama-dono's explicit intention..."
"It doesn't matter! I will absolutely not accept such a—"
"Lilia-chan."
"—!?"
It was predictable in hindsight, but Lilia-san was serious to a fault and couldn't reconcile with receiving such a massive windfall for nothing. She was refuting the offer with a desperate look on her face, but that was when Kuro, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
"...Kuromueina-sama?"
"I understand your side of it, Lilia-chan. You feel like you can't accept profit from Kaito-kun’s work when you haven't done anything, right?"
"...Yes."
"But you see, Kaito-kun doesn't need any money right now. In fact, he already has over a hundred Platinum Coins, doesn't he? I think he’d just be troubled if he had to carry any more than that."
"T-that's..."
Lilia-san faltered slightly at Kuro’s quiet observation.
"Besides, in a year... Kaito-kun will be returning to his original world. If you’re thinking of what’s best for him, wouldn't it be better to take these kinds of troublesome matters off his hands so they don't become a burden for him?"
"..."
"Of course, I understand your feelings too. So, how about this? Kaito-kun will hold the rights until he returns to his original world, and after he leaves, the rights will transfer to you, Lilia-chan. How does that sound?"
"...C-certainly... If we do it like that..."
As expected of Kuro, she presented a perfect compromise. Lilia-san nodded after thinking it over for a moment. I thought that would be the end of it, but this time Kuro turned toward me.
"But Kaito-kun, you really don't want any more money than you already have, right?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I don't think I can even spend what I have now."
"Right. So, how about this? I’ll buy out the rights for the duration of Kaito-kun’s stay in this world."
"Buy them out?"
"Yeah. But not with money. It seemed like Kaito-kun wanted a magic tool for Teleportation Magic, so in exchange for the rights... I’ll make a Teleportation Magic tool for you myself."
"—!?"
Kuro's proposal was a welcome one. Currently, I possessed the equivalent of over a billion yen, and I wouldn't be able to spend it all even if I tried. Adding more would just be a headache. I’d wanted a Teleportation Magic tool and had been considering buying one. However, since I had zero knowledge of magic tools, I’d been planning to consult Kuro anyway... so if she was going to make it for me, I couldn't be happier.
"Of course, since I'm giving it to you in exchange for the rights, I won't make something half-hearted. I'll make sure it has the highest performance in the world."
"T-that sounds incredible... Ah, come to think of it, I completely forgot, but there's something I wanted you to look at, Kuro."
"Hm?"
"I received a magic crystal from Shiro-san a while ago..."
"From Shiro?"
Talking about magic tools reminded me of the magic crystal Shiro-san had given me. Things had been so busy that it had slipped my mind, but thinking about it now, there was no way a magic crystal from the Creator God would be normal. I wanted Kuro to take a look at it.
Kuro took the white magic crystal I pulled out of my Magic Box and inspected it from various angles. Then, she let out an exasperated sigh.
"...Shiro, what in the world did you create?"
"Is it really that unusual? Is it not a normal magic crystal?"
"Yeah. Normal magic crystals absorb and store magic power from the air. Their purity is determined by how fast they absorb it and how much they can hold... but this one doesn't even follow those concepts."
"...What do you mean?"
I had a very bad feeling. That Natural Goddess... just what kind of outrageous thing had she sent me?
"This magic crystal is 'creating its own magic power internally,' and its 'capacity is roughly equal to the total magic power of a High-ranking Demon'..."
"...Huh?"
"As expected of Shiro. To think she could so easily create something that shouldn't even exist in this world... something that completely defies common sense."
"..."
Shiro-san, what are you doing?! To think she could just whip up something that breaks the common sense of this world... She really is incredible... or rather, she's just completely absurd.
"Hmm. I know. Let's use this to make your magic tool. If we make it with this magic crystal, you’ll be able to teleport between the Human Realm and the Demon Realm, and you can reuse it in just a few minutes."
"T-that sounds extremely useful... Could I ask you to do that?"
"Yup, leave it to me."
It was clearly something far beyond my ability to handle, but calling that Natural Goddess out on it would probably just result in a "natural counter" anyway. So, I decided to let Kuro turn it into a Teleportation Magic tool. If I could travel to the Demon Realm more easily, it would be simpler to visit Isis-san and the others, and I had definitely wanted a better means of transportation.
"...Kaito-san’s influence is spreading even further? ...I feel lightheaded..."
While I was smiling, caught up in Kuro’s gentle laughter, I thought I heard Lilia-san muttering something with distant, glazed-over eyes.
Dear Mother, Father—Kuro and the others visited, and there was a bit of a commotion regarding the rights to the calculator. Also, I finally found out the details of the magic crystal Shiro-san gave me. As I thought, that person—everything about her is just too absurd.