In the office of the Kingdom of Sinfonia’s royal castle, King Ryze and Crown Princess Amalie were discussing a letter they had just received from Kaito.
"It is truly wonderful that he is establishing a dedicated store for Nifty," Amalie remarked. "The brand is currently the center of attention in the social circle. These days, if you don't own at least one of their products, you're considered behind the times. Up until now, he’s only been distributing limited quantities through various trading companies and shops, so a flagship store is a welcome addition."
"Indeed," Ryze agreed. "And he plans to open them in all three nations simultaneously. He’s clearly being considerate of the political balance. I feel bad about the extra trouble we’ve caused Miyama-kun, but given his level of influence, this move is a great relief to us."
The black tea brand Kaito had launched was a massive success among the nobility. Between Kaito’s propios fame and the exceptional quality of the goods, the brand’s prestige was already firmly established among aristocrats and tea aficionados alike.
However, since the brand had operated solely on a consignment basis until now, the difficulty of obtaining items depended entirely on one’s connections to the authorized distributors. This had created a divide among the nobility between those who could easily acquire the tea and those who could not.
A dedicated store would ensure a certain level of fairness. Any foolish nobles who might try to exert pressure on Kaito's shop had already been ‘disciplined’ by the Mad God of the otherworld. From the perspective of Ryze and his daughter, this was a huge help; it would stifle complaints from the nobility and make it much easier for the crown to manage inventory requests.
"...The representative's name is Canaris. Does that sound familiar?" Ryze asked.
"No, not as far as I know," Amalie replied. "However, the letter states she will serve as the representative for Nifty as a whole, not just for the branch in the Kingdom of Sinfonia. I assume she must be someone of significant talent."
"If she’s being entrusted with Miyama-kun's brand, the Phantasm King or the Underworld King wouldn't settle for anyone mediocre. Perhaps she was a high-ranking subordinate sent from one of their domains? Let's look into her background, just in case."
"Understood. As for the land we will provide... considering the shop’s high-end focus and its proximity to Miyama-sama's residence, I believe this particular street would be most suitable. It was the right decision to secure this plot early."
"It was easy enough to predict that he would eventually expand into storefronts. As long as Miyama-kun is satisfied, we’ll move forward with opening the shop at this location."
This foresight was not unique to the Kingdom of Sinfonia. The monarchs of the other nations had also anticipated that Kaito's tea brand would eventually require its own space, and they had each set aside prime real estate for that day.
Pleased that things were proceeding according to plan, Ryze and Amalie began to draft a reply. It would be quite some time before they began to pull their hair out over the fact that, no matter how hard they searched, they could find absolutely no information on this mysterious representative named Canaris.
At that same moment, in an office within the royal palace of the Hydra Kingdom, Laguna was also reading the letter from Kaito.
"Well, I suppose so. I expected this would be the next step," she murmured to herself. "I’ve already got a good spot picked out, so that’s no trouble... Hmm? Oh, he’s appointing a representative? True, the burden on Lady Anima must be immense. Appointing someone else would be effect...ive...ly..."
"Your Majesty?"
Laguna suddenly went rigid. As she stared at the letter with a look of pure shock, her aide tilted their head in confusion and called out to her.
However, the voice didn't register. Laguna was too busy grappling with her own frantic thoughts.
(Ca... Ca... Canaris-sama?! Wh-why is she...? Is it someone else with the same name? No, that’s impossible. Come to think of it, she told me she only came to the party to meet Kaito. It’s her. It’s definitely her!)
Of the three monarchs, only Laguna knew exactly who Canaris was. In fact, Laguna considered the woman her greatest benefactor. While her position made it difficult to openly worship a god from another world, Laguna harbored a genuine sense of religious devotion toward her.
Ever since Canaris had raised her growth limits, Laguna could feel herself becoming stronger with every day of training. It was as if she had returned to the days of her youth; she was so happy that she found joy in every moment, and her gratitude was boundless.
(I am honestly delighted to be able to see her again. But that means... the head of Kaito's tea brand is an Almighty God? That boy really is beyond all common sense. Wait, if this is for Canaris-sama, I need to rethink the location. Should it be near the Temple? No, she isn't one of this world's Gods. Maybe it's better if it's further away? Hmm... I'll have to start the selection process all over again.)
The land Laguna had already set aside was excellent, but she felt that anything for the woman to whom she owed so much required far more careful consideration. With a look of intense focus, Laguna spread out a map of her capital and began to deliberate.
It would be quite a while before she finally noticed her aide calling for her attention.
Serious-senpai: "Well, of course they can't find anything. There isn't any information to find. Which means to everyone except Laguna, she’s just some mysterious, unidentified person who was suddenly plucked from obscurity and given a massive promotion..."