Looking back, the whole thing had started on a whim. The idea had suddenly struck me the day before my cafe date with Illness-san.
"…Alice, do you still have that accessory-making kit I used before?"
"I do. Or rather, I can just use Machina-san’s Heart Tool to make a copy…"
"Machina-san’s Heart Tool? Oh, so she has one too?"
"Yeah, well, it’s a useless tool for the Omniscient and Omnipotent Machina, and it’s not meant for combat at all. But it has the ability to duplicate anything except living things, so it’s actually quite handy. It takes a while to copy things, but with Space-Time Magic, I can cut that time down to practically nothing. It's great for reproducing handmade items that take a lot of effort… and since it only costs magic power, with as much as I have, I can make as many as I want."
That sounded like an incredible ability… though, wait. Since Machina-san has the Power of Creation, she probably doesn’t even need a Heart Tool for that. She’s Almighty, after all. She could probably make duplicates whenever she wanted without any help.
"…I mean, if that’s the case, wouldn’t that solve the cost problem for those kits?"
"I mean, sure, but they wouldn’t exactly fly off the shelves at my general store. And if I consigned them somewhere else, it’d be a hassle to keep making and delivering them regularly, so I figured, why bother? Besides, I originally made those during that DIY accessory craze a while back. That trend has passed, so even if they did sell, it would only be mediocre."
"I guess you’re right. If people are going to spend that much on a kit, most would probably rather just buy jewelry made by a professional."
Even if they could be mass-produced, those kits used a lot of expensive materials. When you factored in the balance of the market, the kits themselves would still end up being quite pricey.
At any rate, I was just glad I could get my hands on one so easily. Now I could finally make what I’d planned.
"Kaito-san, I happen to have some high-quality rose quartz. Interested?"
"…I'll buy it."
"Thanks for your business!"
Even without me saying a word, Alice seemed to know exactly what I was planning. She produced the perfect gemstone in an instant. Seriously, she was only a shark when it came to me.
Regardless, I could now make the accessory I intended as a gift for Illness-san. Back when I made them during the Arclesia Empire Founding Anniversary Festival, she hadn't been my lover yet, so I hadn't made her one. But since I’d given them to all my other lovers, it felt wrong for her to be the only one left out. I was going to make this for her.
Serious-senpai: "…Now that his romance experience has increased, he’s actually starting to take the initiative and trigger lovey-dovey situations himself…"