After Lilia-san's departure, I continued manning my stall while chatting with Amel-san and Roze-san. Roze-san had originally just come to visit, not having much interest in the Founding Anniversary Festival itself; after browsing the wares and making a few purchases, she settled onto my shoulder, swaying with delight.
"Roze loves this kind of festival vibe!"
"I'm quite a fan as well. Amel-san, Roze-san seems to be enjoying herself, but how do you feel about the atmosphere?"
"The Winged Race is often misunderstood, but I, too, find this air agreeable," Amel-san replied. "However, the world one paints changes depending on whether one is personally dancing within the fray or merely observing the people gathered for the festivities. Beholding the landscape as it flows past from within this small box is also a fine thing."
"...World? Box?"
"Amel-san says that even though her race is usually reclusive, she likes the atmosphere," I translated. "However, she feels that participating in the festival normally versus running a stall like this gives a different perspective on things, so it still feels like a fresh experience to her."
"I see, I see!"
Oh boy, this was turning into quite the ordeal. First of all, Amel-san couldn't understand Roze-san’s magic power wavelengths as speech. Therefore, I—who could recognize those wavelengths as language thanks to Shiro-san’s Blessing and Sympathy Magic—had to act as a translator.
Furthermore, Roze-san didn't understand the meaning behind Amel-san's dramatic, chuunibyou-style phrasing, so I had to translate that for her as well.
In other words, for these two to have a conversation, I had to step in and interpret every single sentence. It was a fair amount of work.
The easy solution would have been for Amel-san to just speak normally; then I would only have to translate Roze-san’s side... but Amel-san hated dropping her persona, so she wasn't inclined to do so. Still, even if I called it "work," it wasn't a huge burden. I decided to just enjoy the conversation with the two of them while leisurely translating back and forth.
Meanwhile, in a separate room within the imperial palace where the party was being held, Kaori and Akane sat surrounded by luxury, looking incredibly tense.
"...How did it even end up like this?"
"I reckon it was just bad luck," Akane replied. "Still, I’m glad we got to skip the party. A ballroom full of nobles wouldn't give my heart or my stomach a moment’s peace."
"But Akane-san, wouldn't that have been a prime chance to snag some new customers?"
"My trade company isn't really aimed at the wealthy. I might be able to expand our sales channels a bit, but it’s not my style. We’re basically a high-volume, low-margin business; we sell things in quantity rather than dealing in luxury goods."
The two of them had ended up participating in the ceremony after being dragged along by Megiddo, but thanks to Chris-san being considerate, they were able to avoid the party at the imperial palace and rest in a separate room instead.
Ideally, they would have headed home as soon as the ceremony ended. However, since Kaori had reunited with Chris-san by pure chance, it felt like a waste to leave without a proper talk.
Of course, as the Empress, Chris-san couldn't make time for them immediately, so they had agreed to talk after the party concluded. Since the two of them had attracted a lot of unwanted attention during the ceremony and were mentally exhausted, they took Chris-san up on her kind offer and rested in the private room.
"But man, that Kaito really is the type to influence everything around him," Akane mused. "No, seriously—if we hadn't found Kaito’s stall right then, and hadn't run into the War King-sama at that exact moment, none of this would have happened."
"Truly, what a bad boy he is for the stomach... But I’m honestly happy I could meet Chris-san again. And it’s not like Kaito-kun did anything on purpose, so I can’t really complain."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. It’s certainly added some prestige to the trade company, and considering I got to know the War King-sama, the benefits are actually huge. Even if it did give me a massive headache and stomach pain..."
In reality, Kaito’s influence was staggering, but for those caught in his wake, it generally proved positive in the end. Even for Lilia-san, this incident was highly likely to strengthen her ties with the nobles of the Arclesia Empire, which was a significant boon for her Ducal House.
As for Chris-san, despite the sudden surprises, the attendance of three Supreme Gods and three Six Kings had turned the ceremony into an unprecedentedly high-profile event. The attention it garnered was likely to boost the economy of the entire Arclesia Empire. Since the nation had already been on the verge of a boom, the benefits the country would reap were immeasurable.
Indeed, in a sense, Kaito was showering everyone with immense benefits... though they were paid for by the stomach pain of everyone involved.
Serious-senpai: "The contrast between the 'Stomach Pain Warrior' side and Kaito’s side is as stark as ever... And it’s true that immense benefits come at the cost of your gut... He’s the type of person who grants profits by sacrificing your stomach, isn't he?"