The audience chamber in the Hydra Kingdom’s royal palace was a place rarely used, a reflection of both King Laguna’s casual personality and the nation's general isolationist stance. However, the King had decided to open its doors to welcome the representative of Kaito’s Black Tea Brand—an entity of immense importance not just to the Hydra Kingdom, but to the entire world.
There, in the center of the grand hall, sat King Laguna… a full two hours before the scheduled time.
“Your Majesty, there is still quite a while before our guest is set to arrive,” an aide remarked.
“Ah, I know. Do not mind me. I simply wish to sit and think for a while,” Laguna replied.
Laguna was well aware that the woman known as Canaris was actually an Almighty God. However, that was far from public knowledge. He only knew because he had met her face-to-face. To everyone else, she was merely a mysterious figure who had been appointed the head of Kaito’s prestigious new brand.
(Honestly, I feel terribly awkward welcoming Lady Canaris from such a lofty position. I am the one who should be kneeling to welcome her... Ugh, I can certainly empathize with Lady Lilia's frequent stomachaches. But since I am the only one who knows the truth of her identity, I cannot afford to be careless. This is quite a dilemma.)
From Laguna’s perspective, as someone who owed her a great debt and knew her divine status, he desperately wanted to show her the proper respect by kneeling. However, to any outside observer, no matter how much trust Kaito placed in her, her social standing was technically lower than a king's. Laguna could not simply bow down without raising eyebrows.
Feeling a twinge of frustration at the necessity of the charade, Laguna waited. When the appointed hour finally arrived, Canaris was announced, and the audience began.
“Welcome, Ca—Canaris-dono. Our kingdom is not a place for rigid formality, so please, make yourself at home.”
“Thank you for your kind words. As the representative of Nifty and the general manager of the store opening next month, I offer my greetings to Your Majesty. I expect there will be occasions where I require your assistance in the future, and I look forward to our cooperation.”
“The feeling is mutual. I hope to build a fruitful relationship with Nifty. I pray for a long and prosperous partnership. Now then, Canaris-dono, that concludes the formal introductions. I have prepared tea in another room so that we may speak more freely. What do you say?”
“That is a most gracious offer. I shall gladly accept Your Majesty's kindness.”
With the formalities concluded, Laguna guided Canaris to a private reception room. Once they were inside, Laguna instructed the guards and servants to return to their posts. After confirming they were alone, he closed the door, deployed a barrier of silence within the room, and immediately dropped into a profound, lightning-fast prostration.
“I am terribly sorry, Lady Canaris! For such a disrespectful attitude in the throne room!”
“Huh? Oh, no, please don’t worry about it. In reality, Your Majesty’s position is higher, and even if it weren’t, given the circumstances, it couldn't be helped. Besides, you were being considerate so that my true identity wouldn't be revealed to the public, right? On the contrary, let me thank you for that. Ah, my facial muscles are almost entirely dead, so I always look like this, but please rest assured that I'm not angry. Haha, I apologize for my confusing expression. Like I said before, I hope we can maintain a good relationship, so I look forward to working with you.”
“Those words are more than I deserve. I am truly honored to be able to meet you again, Lady Canaris.”
Though her expression remained stoic, her tone was gentle. Laguna let out a sigh of relief and rose from the floor.
“However, I was quite surprised when I received the letter. I never imagined you would become the representative of Kaito’s tea brand.”
“Haha, Kaito-sama suggested it, so I was put in charge. I must say, Kaito-sama’s guard is quite loose—or rather, he trusts me far too much considering we've barely met. It makes me a bit worried for him, but being trusted is also quite nice, so it’s a bit complicated.”
“Kaito is exceptionally good at judging character, so he likely saw instinctively that you were someone he could rely on. Even so, appointing someone to lead a global brand so suddenly is certainly a bold decision.”
“Goodness, you’re absolutely right. Well, I suppose it’s because he possesses that kind of boldness that he’s been able to achieve so many great feats. Haha, my apologies. I am a great fan of Kaito-sama, so I tended to get carried away...”
“No, no. For me as well, the topic of Kaito makes it easy to converse. It is quite helpful.”
Having relaxed to a certain extent, Laguna continued his chat with Canaris with an air of genuine enjoyment.
Serious-senpai: Laguna seems like the loyal type who never forgets a favor, and his devotion seems pretty genuine.
???: Indeed. By the way, Serious-senpai… did you get enough rest?
Serious-senpai: Eh? Why are you asking that… I have a really bad feeling about this… Is it time for more of that sappy stuff?