"Ah, how peaceful..." (Mitsuha)
New Continent, Kingdom of Vanell. In that royal capital, there was a local product store that served as my alibi for saying, "I live here!", which also served as my residence, an antenna shop, and a transfer station. —It was a residence in name only, and the second floor, which was supposed to be the living area, had no furniture or anything. The main use of this place was as a "Transfer Station", no one had ever stayed here even once, and there weren't even any beds or futons here.
The store on the first floor didn't have any notable products, so not many customers came there. When the store first opened, many nobles' messengers and shopkeepers who wanted to make connections came, but that had now died down.
It was quicker for nobles to talk directly with each other at the party venue. The head of a noble family would not travel to a place like this himself, nor could they summon me to the residence, nor could entrust a messenger to speak to me, a noble from another country. That would be disrespectful towards me, the head of a noble family.
…No, I don’t really care about that sort of thing… But, well, it's not that simple from the other side...
The merchants in this country understood that I only do direct business with the Lephilia Trade, so no one came to the local products store (this place) to do business anymore. Well, that's why, even though I occasionally opened my local product shop just to show off that I ran a store or that I lived here, no customers came and I was bored.
In the first place, even if they came more than 10 times, it had only opened once, so there was no reason for regular customers to go out of their way to visit this store. The prices were also high— At the very least, ordinary commoners who weren't merchants would never come. There's a security guard station next door, so even thugs and ruffians didn't come near. From the start there was no intention to do honest business or make a profit, and the store part was just a dummy, so that was fine.
According to Micchan, the children from the orphanage had finally made their debut. They were children from an orphanage who were working hard in order to earn donations, having practiced hard on songs and dances based on Earth's animes. I was busy with various things on the Old Continent so I couldn't make it, but it seemed most of the members of Society went to see the debut.
The orphanage's goal was to have the children perform at parties for noble and merchant families in order to gain donations, but in order to do so they must first perform tricks and advertise themselves so that they would be invited to participate. Therefore, for the time being, in order to advertise, they were allowed to attend a party held by the Baron's family, who was on friendly terms.
Apparently, they wanted to release it for free for promotional purposes, but considering future developments, that would be a bad idea. ...It wouldn't be good for word to spread that the performances at the orphanage are free. However, when the members of the Society (our friends) offered, "If the children from the orphanage are going to perform, we'd like to be invited as well," it was apparently agreed to immediately.
Of course, there was no way that the beloved children of the goddess, the members of the Society, known as the Saints, would turn down an invitation to a party for a baron's family. It's not just recent fame, the majority of the members were originally daughters of Count or Marquis families— The Baron's family would have been overjoyed.
And, naturally, it seemed that their debut at the Baron's house was a great success. Of course. ...Donations to the orphanage, in other words, whether they can eat their fill, depend on it, and no orphan would fail such an important job. Literally, their livelihood and the lives of their juniors depend on it... I'm sure they practiced that to the point of vomiting blood. …So it was only natural that it would be a success. It was a perfectly normal result.
Yes, I hope that the activities of Society (Home) will be a catalyst for making children happy...
"...Is this the Viscount Yamano territory product store?" (Girl)
Something's here!!
A blonde girl around 15 or 16 years old who clearly looked like an aristocratic young lady. ...My eyes feel a little tight. There were two young men with swords on their waists who seemed to be guards. They looked to be under 20 years old. Well, they're all adults here, and that means they're all responsible for their own mistakes.
"Yes, but... what can I do for you?" (Mitsuha)
Yeah, it doesn't look like they came to buy anything...
"This is not something we should be discussing in front of the store. Please let us in!" (Girl)
...Even if I allowed them to come in, this place wasn't that spacious, so the only empty space on the first floor was a corner of the storeroom and a small room for drying your body with a basin of water or hot water—There were rooms on the second floor, but there weren't even any tables or chairs...
But, I can't just turn away a noble lady without listening to her story... I don't know if these people know that I am a noble from another country. But if I were to be so rude, I wonder how the two guards would react...
If they ask me to join the Society or sell them cosmetics, I'll refuse and send them away. Even if they're Counts or Marquises... But it doesn't seem to be that kind of story. Now, what should I do...?
"For now, please come inside." (Mitsuha)
With that, I invited them inside the shop, hung a "Closed" sign on the outside of the door, locked it, and closed the curtains.
"Excuse me, I'll clean up the room on the second floor a bit, so please wait here for a while." (Mitsuha)
It may be rude to keep a noble's daughter waiting, but they were also a noble and showed up unexpectedly without an appointment, so it shouldn't be a problem. It didn't seem like a complaint or anything, and I had a feeling it's going to be troublesome, but I thought it's "They're the ones asking for help." That's why no one complained.
As soon as we got to the second floor, we used multiple teleports to bring in chairs and a table from our mansion. And then…….
"Sabine-chan, there's something I'd like to ask of you..." (Mitsuha)
"Wow! ...Hey, Ane-sama... It's been a while since you've come directly to my room. Is there a hurry?" (Sabine)
Fortunately, Sabine-chan was in her room in the palace.
That's right. It's hard to say no when a noble you don't know asks you for a favor. Of course, I will firmly refuse things that are obviously impossible, or if they are just for profit or are trying to take advantage of me, but if the other person has no ill intentions, if I feel sorry for them, or if it's a welfare-related request, I find it difficult to say no...
And that's when Sabine-chan comes in handy. Although I can't use her position as princess in the New Continent, when I'm in trouble she'll skillfully step in and solve the problem. ...And it will lead us to turn down the request.
As expected from Sabine-chan. Sasu-Sabi!! ...But you will still get the "loan points" added to your account... Well, I guess that can't be helped. You can't have your cake and eat it too...
"What is the outline of the emergency?" (Sabine)
Since I was teleported directly to Sabine-chan's room, it was obvious that this was urgent.
"A young lady of a noble family accompanied by two guards visits a local gift shop. The smell of trouble is strong. Please assist me in politely refusing and chasing them away!" (Mitsuha)
"Okay. I'm free now, so I can go on like this." (Sabine)
"Thank goodness! Then, transfer!" (Mitsuha)