After chancing upon Elis-san during her surprise inspection and chatting for a while, she reached out and presented a sleek, high-end black card.
"Kaito-sama, this is a Dia Royal Chocolate Membership Card. Please present it whenever you visit us in the future."
"Thank you. Actually, I’m planning to come back to this city soon—next month, to be precise—with an acquaintance. I was thinking of dropping by if we have the time."
"Is that so? And might I ask who this companion is?"
"Well... one is a former Hero-role and a fellow otherworlder. Then there’s one other person."
I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to mention Olivia-san here, so I decided to keep it vague for the time being. To begin with, the reason we were heading to a different city instead of the Friendly City was to ensure that Olivia-san—who was a major celebrity—wouldn't be recognized and cause a commotion. While it might have been fine to tell Elis-san privately, I couldn't exactly say it out loud in front of the other customers.
"I see, friends from your home world... You mentioned it isn't set in stone yet, but if you do decide to visit, please let me know in advance. I would like to prepare an elaborately designed assortment for you—consider it a small token of my appreciation."
"That’s very kind of you. I’ll be sure to reach out when the time comes."
"Splendid. Oh, but listen to me—I’ve kept you from your shopping for far too long. My apologies."
"No, don't worry about it. Actually, since you’re here, I’d love to hear your recommendations. If you have a personal favorite, I’d be happy to try it."
In truth, I hadn't come with the intention of buying anything specific; I was mostly just browsing to see if anything caught my eye. If the owner herself had a recommendation, I definitely wanted to experience it.
"In that case, perhaps our chocolate using dried fruits would suit you? While fresh ingredients have become much easier to obtain in the Arclesia Empire thanks to the God of Fertility’s Divine Protection and recent technological advancements, the soil was once quite harsh. Because of that history, our dried fruits are of exceptionally high quality."
"Dried fruit, huh? That sounds delicious."
"You're right about that! They didn't have these the last time I was here, ze-i!"
"Just as Jutia-sama says, this is a new seasonal release. If you would like, please, have a sample."
Elis-san gave a brief instruction to a staff member with a gentle smile, and before long, tasting samples were brought out to us.
True to its status as a luxury boutique, the presentation was elegant and refined. I took a piece and found it filled with finely chopped dried fruit and a sweet-and-sour fruit sauce. With one bite, the bright flavors of the fruit mingled perfectly with the chocolate, spreading across my palate.
"It’s wonderful. It has a very refreshing taste and a clean aftertaste, and the flavor of the fruit is much more distinct than I expected."
"I see, I see... You're using magic tools to flash-dry them instead of the traditional method, aren't you?"
"Precisely. We use dried fruits processed by a special magic tool that performs flash-drying. The manufacturing costs are quite high, making it difficult to justify for anything but a high-end boutique like ours, but..."
I see. Being a high-end store, they must have obsessed over everything from the raw materials to the manufacturing process. Since the chocolate was genuinely delicious, I decided to buy several boxes to take home.
After that, I continued to enjoy my shopping while Elis-san introduced several other varieties to Jutia-san and me.
Once we finished our shopping at Dia Royal Chocolate, I made sure to register the location in my teleportation magic tool before heading back home with Jutia-san.
"Jutia-san, thank you for coming along with me today."
"Don't mention it! I really didn't do much anyway."
"No, not at all. I had a great time shopping with you. Oh, that’s right... if you have the time, would you like to stay for some tea?"
"Oh? I’d love to! I’ll gladly take you up on that, ze-i!"
While I was lucky that Elis-san happened to be there, Jutia-san's presence was a real comfort. I still tend to feel a bit out of place in those luxury stores; I think I would have been much more tense if I had gone alone.
As I prepared the tea, I remembered the new blend Canaris-san had given me a few days ago—the one that wasn't on the market yet. Since I had plenty to spare, I figured Jutia-san might enjoy being one of the first to try it.
Serious-senpai: "And thus, the next round of stomach pain—Stomach Pain's Next Bullet (Olivia)—is casually chambered..."