One quiet afternoon, as I was relaxing and reading a book, a massive shipment arrived from Alice. I had her place the boxes in a room I used as a storehouse, and seeing them all lined up in rows was quite a sight.
"That’s an incredible amount of stuff..."
"Well, considering the size of the originals, it was bound to be quite a lot. Regardless, I’ve finished processing everything I took in, exactly as requested."
"Thanks, that’s a huge help. I’m not really sure about the going rates for processing fees, so just send the invoice to Anima. I’ve already filled her in."
"Understood. Since you provided all the materials yourself, Kaito-san, and our contract allowed me to keep the surplus, the actual processing fee won’t be much."
After chatting for a bit longer, Alice vanished, leaving me alone to stare at the mountain of wooden boxes. I wanted to see what was inside, but since I’d ultimately be leaving the sales to Anima, it seemed better to inspect them with her.
I stepped out of the storehouse to fetch her, and soon we were back inside together.
"What do you think, Anima?"
"As expected of Alice-dono. The finish on every single piece is top-tier. It isn’t just her skill that’s impressive; the speed at which she processed all of this in such a short time is nothing short of staggering."
"Then there shouldn't be any problems selling them."
"None at all. In fact, given the nature of the items, I believe they would sell like wildfire even if the craftsmanship were somewhat lacking. That is precisely why we must be very careful about our sales strategy..."
"I never imagined it would turn out to be this much."
"There were quite a lot of them, after all... the scales."
The truth was, these wooden boxes were filled with accessories I’d asked Alice to craft using Magnawell-san's scales.
Whenever I met him, Magnawell-san would give me a scale as a sort of "pocket money." He seemed to enjoy it, almost like a grandfather giving spending money to his grandson, so I always ended up accepting them.
However, even one of Magnawell-san's scales was gargantuan. Receiving them every time we met meant that a standard magic box would reach its limit in no time.
In fact, while it wasn't an issue now because I had a Magic Box of absurd proportions that Kuro had made for me, the volume was so great that I doubt everything would have fit in the old Magic Box made by Zex-san.
No, it wasn't a matter of doubt—they definitely wouldn't have fit. He’d even given me a Skyscraper-sized Fang as a Six Kings Festival Commemorative Gift... I’d have to figure out what to do with that eventually, too.
Initially, I’d asked Anima to sell the scales as they were. But it was difficult to consistently sell luxury items worth enough to buy an entire castle with a single piece.
That’s why I’d come up with the idea of having Alice process them into accessories to bring the price down to a more manageable level. Since Magnawell-san was highly popular and revered by many in the merchant world, I figured they would sell well as amulets.
Of course, I’d obtained Magnawell-san's permission first. He’d laughed and told me to use them however I liked since he’d given them to me... and then he’d handed me another scale.
"Anima, do you think you can handle selling this much?"
"Yes, please leave it to me. However, since our main business is investment, handling the entire retail process ourselves would be difficult. I believe it would be best to consign the sales to a specific trade company. Selecting the right partner will be crucial. We could start our own company, but that would take significant time and effort to build sales routes from scratch. Consignment is the more efficient route."
"I see. I don't really know much about that side of things, so I’ll leave it in your hands. But if you need an introduction to anyone, I might be able to help?"
"No, there is no need to trouble you, Master. I already have a few candidates in mind, so I will reach out to them."
I’d thought about asking Kuro to act as an intermediary, but it seemed Anima already had a solid plan. As expected of someone hailed as a rising star in the financial world, she knew exactly who she could trust.
I figured it was best to leave it to the professional. I wanted to help out since I was the one dumping all these surplus items on her, but an amateur meddling would likely only cause more headaches.
"Master, do you have a specific price in mind?"
"Honestly, for me, it's just clearing out a backlog, so I don't mind if they're cheap. But it feels a bit disrespectful to Magnawell-san if they're too cheap..."
"Agreed. We need to maintain a certain price point. Also, if we flood the market all at once, it might lead to unwanted rumors. We should adjust the supply carefully. Please, leave the details to me."
"Thanks. I'm counting on you."
"Yes, sir!"
Anima gave me a crisp salute, her cheeks flushing slightly as if she were genuinely happy to be relied upon. I watched her with a smile before speaking up again.
"Just make sure you don't overwork yourself. Are you taking proper breaks?"
"Yes. I am resting appropriately at the right times."
"What about today?"
"Ah... no, well, today I haven't quite... yet. There were just so many things I wanted to get through this morning..."
"Sigh..."
Anima looked like she’d been caught red-handed. Just as I thought, she was still neglecting her rest. Caraway had mentioned it in her reports, too; Anima tended to work non-stop if no one was watching her. I’d have to keep an eye on that.
"Anima, is there anything urgent this afternoon?"
"N-no, nothing that requires immediate attention."
"Good. In that case, let's go have some tea together."
"Ah... Yes! I would love to join you!"
When I made the suggestion with a wry smile, Anima’s face lit up with a joyful grin. Even though she used to be a bear, she always seemed to radiate the energy of a happy dog whenever she was pleased.
Machina: "I wonder if My Children are doing well? It's Mother! Apparently, Serious-senpai is out of commission for two chapters after Taking a Follow-up Strike, 2 Episodes Until Recovery. I wonder what on earth happened? Yesterday, I told her plenty of Stories of My Beloved Child as a lullaby, and she Slept as if they had fainted—I figured she was just exhausted, so I headed home... but I guess someone hit her with a follow-up strike after that. Serious-senpai really has a hard time, doesn't she?"