Chapter 556 - I Think It's a Lover's Privilege

After a while, Luna-san finally regained her consciousness and bowed to me and Kuro.

[Im sorry for having you see something unsightly.]

[U- Unnn. Are you alright?]

That kind of unsightliness is something I see rather frequently are words that I somehow managed to stop myself from saying. Even Kuro was slightly confused with her actions, worriedly looking at Luna-san.

Well, anyway, putting the useless maid Luna-san aside, I talked to Hina-chan.

[Hina-chan, you looked like you were hesitating about something, is there a magic tool you want to buy?]

[Eh? Ah, yes. Please look at this, Kaito-senpai! Isnt this amazing!?]

Saying this, Hina-chan pointed to what seemed to be a shoe-shaped magic tool.

Errr, lets see Fatigue Reduction, Wind Magic Support Function Ahh, I see, a magic tool specialized for running. Its certainly a great choice for Hina-chan, who loves running.

[Heehhh, it looks like it would be handy for running.]

[Isnt it!? With this, I might be able to run twice as fast as I do now! In that case, its something Id really like to have but the price is]

The price is fumu, five gold coins huh? It doesnt seem to be that expensive No, wait, calm down, me. Its just my money sense whos paralyzedFive million yen for a pair of shoes is very expensive. Hina-chans money sense is more normal.

Its all because Alice has been making custom-made clothes for me lately, and they are rather expensive. Thinking about it again, the clothes Im wearing right now are also very expensive, ten million for a set of three.

As I was thinking about this, Kuro nonchalantly spoke.

[Unnn? Hina-chan, why dont you just use the allowance I gave you before?]

[Eh? Ahh, speaking of which, I havent opened that yet. Sorry.]

[There should be 100 gold coins in there, so it should be enough for you to buy something.]

[Uwehhh!?]

When Kuro said this, Hina-chan made some kind of strange sound. Moreover, Aoi-chan, who also seemed like she hadnt checked the contents of her allowance, also had a stunned expression on her face.

I mean, 100 million yen for pocket money H- Hmmm. Perhaps, the reason why my money sense is paralyzed is that Im surrounded by people that have too much money.

[K- Kuromu-sama!? I- Is it really alright for us to receive that large amount of money?]

[Ahaha, dont worry so much about it. Its not that much anyway]

[Shes really rich. Its the line only rich people are allowed to say.]

I mean, shes the richest person in the world after all

[Speaking of which, Kuro. I know its a bit late to ask this, but Kuro being rich I guess its because the profits of Seditch Magic Tool Company really are high huh?]

[Hmmm, theres certainly that but Its mostly because I own nearly 80% of the patents for magic tools in existence, and I also own about 70% of the mining rights for magic crystals. Also, Ive invested in quite a few things, so Ive made some money from that too.]

[I- Is that so Rather, this is also something thats late to say but there are also patents in this world huh.]

[Unnn. Or rather, Shalltear created such a system and normalized it. I also have my patents managed by Shalltear in exchange for 20% of my income.]

[Heehhh]

I see, Alice really had her reach over a lot of things huh I guess that answers some of the questions Ive had for a long time, like where she gets the money to pay all of her staff This is where she gets her income from huh.

Well, even so, Kuro is really amazing. First of all, she has patents for most of the worlds most iconic technology, magic tools, but for her to also secure the rights to mine the magic crystal thats essential for those magic tools I dont know if I should say its to be expected of Kuro or not.

[Well, though I say I have the patents, it doesnt mean I kept all of them to acquire money. Ive freed up patents on things like how to process magic crystals and what to use to write down the magic formula.]

Hmmm, I dont know what to say here All I can say is that its amazing. She really had thought things through

As I was overwhelmed by Kuros awesomeness once again, Hina-chan seemed to have decided to use the allowance Kuro had given her to buy a magic tool, and handed the shopkeeper a gold coin.

Seeing this, Kuro calls the woman who owns the stall after she had finished handing the magic tool to Hina-chan.

[Can I ask you something?]

[Underworld King-sama!? Y- Yes!]

[Did you write down the formula for this magic tool?]

[Y- Yes. I did.]

[I see Its a beautifully-written formula. Its well organized and well simplified.]

[I- I- I- Its an honor!]

The woman who was spoken to by Kuro bowed her head several times, clearly looking nervous.

[By the way, do you have a contract with any companies right now?]

[N- No, not yet]

[I see]

After nodding at the womans words, Kuro took a piece of paper and a pen out of nowhere, wrote something on it, put it in an envelope, and held it out to the woman.

[If youre interest

ed, it would be great if you could come visit the Seditch Magic Tool Company with this letter of introduction.]

[!? U- Underworld King-sama T- This is]

[Unnn, Id like to hire you if its possible. Of course, I wont force you.]

[T- Thank you very much!]

Apparently, she was scouting for the woman who owned the stall. After deeply bowing to Kuro, the woman received the letter of introduction with her trembling hands.

Being scouted by the worlds largest Magic Tools Trading Company The joy on the womans face could be clearly seen.

After waving to the woman, who deeply bowed to her again, and told her that she would be told the details when she visited, Kuro left the stall and approached me.

[Sorry to keep you waiting.]

[No Was she a really skillful person?]

We couldnt stay in front of the stall forever, so we exchanged words as we walked away from the stall with Lilia-san and the others.

Im really not sure how good or bad her craft is, but I think Kuro saw something bright in the woman who owned the stall.

[H- Hmmm, in terms of technique, she still isnt quite great yet. However, she was very good at simplifying her formula. Its very important for a magic tool artisan to have a sense of how to put together a compact formula. With a compact formula, the magic crystal used can be small, and the cost of the product can be reduced. So, a girl with that kind of sense is suited for product development.]

[I see]

I dont know if this is what they call the face of an administrator, the expression Kuro currently had is very dependable. She has the decisiveness of the head of the worlds largest trading company, immediately scouting for talent when she sees it.

As I was thinking about this, I felt Kuro squeeze my hand, and the serious expression she had turned into a smile.

[Kaito-kun, after the magic tool area, where should we go next?]

[Hmmm, lets see]

Dear Mom, Dad I think its cool to see Kuro with the expression of a manager or a king, but I like her best when shes smiling and enjoying herself like this. The best part is that I get to see it up close- and I think this is a lovers privilege.

Serious-senpai : [T- This feeling this is bad! My experience and intuition is telling me s- sugar will be gus.h.i.+ng in the next chapter!?]