The inside of Shea-san’s house was stylishly arranged with a cohesive set of furniture, just as Shea-san had mentioned after recently buying new pieces.
It had an antique feel to it. Shea-san seemed to like that kind of design, and from the general atmosphere this place has, it kinda feels like a wizard’s home in the forest.
[You okay with coffee?]
[Ah, yes. Thank you.]
[As for accompaniment…… Kaito, are you bad with spicy stuff?][That’s right. I’m really bad with them!]
[I see. In that case, I’ll get something that’s a bit too sweet……]
This is a crucial point. Although I’m not actually that bad with spicy foods, saying otherwise here could lead me to hell.
Shea-san loves spicy food almost as much as Megiddo-san does, and she once sent us candy with a level of spiciness that was like hell from the Hydra Kingdom. Moreover, for Shea-san, that snack wasn’t even considered extremely spicy.
For Shea-san, tasty spiciness is at a level where people might die. What she considers mildly spicy is already hellishly spicy to me, what she considers normal is extremely spicy, and what she considers sweet is just a bit spicy…… There’s a huge difference in our taste buds, so I need to make sure to emphasize that I’m not good with spicy foods.
By doing so, Shea-san will give me something she considers too sweet. For me, it would be a normal-tasting treat, so I can enjoy it safely.
[……It’s something I received from others, but I got cookies here.]After a while, Shea-san served cookies with the coffee. They were lightly sweet and quite delicious.
[They’re delicious, but I was a bit surprised that you have sweet cookies, Shea-san.]
[Ahh, I got those from the God of Fertility. It was a thank-you gift for helping out with work. I wasn’t sure what to do with them since I’m not good with sweet things, so it’s good to use them up now.]
[I see…… By the way, do you drink coffee often?]
[Yeah, I also drink alcohol, but I drink coffee more frequently. As I mentioned, I’m not good with sweet things, so I prefer beverages that don’t have a sweetness to them.]
So, does that mean she’s generally drinking it black? In fact, it doesn’t seem like she’s gonna add sugar or milk to her coffee…… Arehh? But since there’s a jar of sugar cubes in front of me, does that mean she sometimes adds sugar…… or is it just prepared for guests?
[However, Underworld King really reaches out to a lot of industries huh. Even though she just publicized portable food and bath additives recently, she got another new product huh…… Well, she got a different company for each business though……]
[You know a lot about her businesses huh.]
[Well, I do shop in the Human Realm from time to time. They’re called Instant Food, right? I bought and tried some of those portable foods from the Underworld King’s company, and it was quite well done…… The bath additives are interesting too, and they seem to have a lot of applications. I suppose that’s to be expected from the top of multiple trading companies, I’m quite impressed.]
Come to think of it, when I met Shea-san back when that matter with Dr. Vier was happening, she mentioned being out to buy new snacks, so she might be quite sensitive to trends or the type who checks out new products.
At least for instant foods, they’re still popular and in short supply, so she must have bought them early on.
[Just as Shea-san said, it seems that Kuro has been releasing quite a few new products recently. They were selling magic tools like video and recording magic tools, and he mentioned expanding their business into the Human Realm.]
[Right now, the entire Human Realm is experiencing an economic boom, so she’s probably making sure to catch that wave. Well, the cause of the boom is mostly you though……]
[Eh? Me?]
[To be precise, because you live in the Human Realm, the Six Kings, the Supreme Gods, and Shallow Vernal-sama have been visiting the Human Realm more frequently, which has significantly boosted the economy. Also, though this kinda feels somewhat deliberate, the frequent discovery of new technologies and new types of ingredients recently is a contributing factor.]
[Ahh, that’s probably because there was a change in the agreement between Shiro-san and Eden-san, so the restrictions on products from our world have been relaxed.]
[I see, that explains it……]
Recently discovered new technologies used to be restricted by Shiro-san and Eden-san’s contract, which meant that concepts for such technologies couldn’t be conceived in this world. The partial lifting of these restrictions likely led to a surge in new technologies.
As for the new types of ingredients, some might be prepared by Eden-san for those she calls her children, and there might also be items created by Shiro-san.
……Hmmm…… Areh? But if you think about it again…… Just as Shea-san said, could it really be mostly my fault? Well, I don’t think those were bad though……
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [I think most, maybe even 99% of the stuff happening around has something to do with Kaito.]
? ? ? : [Well, Eden-san’s efforts to listen to requests from the other otherworlders are fundamentally rooted in her liking for Kaito-san and settling in Trinia because of that. In that sense, I suppose most things had something to do with Kaito-san.]
