Chapter 80
A Connection at a Paper Factory
"After thinking it over calmly overnight, I realized... Could I have made something absolutely incredible?"
"You were slow to realize it."
The next day after school, at the café 'Alf,' Riko-senpai answered my words with a straight face.
Miyu-san, sitting beside her, nodded in the corner of my vision.
"It couldn't be helped. Something incredibly impactful came out yesterday..."
"As far as I'm concerned, what you made was every bit as shocking."
"I agree."
"Well..."
Being told that so directly made me feel embarrassed, even if I had to admit it.
"Could that possibly mean that if I get a patent for it, I can look forward to a life of ease?"
"Yeah. There still aren't any patents related to abilities, though."
"There weren't any even a hundred years from now, actually."
"Miyu-chi, I think the question of whether the system had caught up with your world is a separate matter."
"Yes."
"Really...?"
Miyu-san looked puzzled, but humanity in her world had been on the verge of extinction, after all...
They probably hadn't had the luxury of talking about patent applications when they needed every possible countermeasure. Still, the researchers would likely have been confined—or rather, protected—along with their research results so the monsters wouldn't learn about them.
"For that matter, Japan still doesn't even allow the buying and selling of ability-related goods. So a life of ease is, like, no way, no how, no snail's chance, Otaku-kun."
"Figures..."
I already knew that.
Whether something could make money was important, after all. I couldn't exactly scatter those things around for free. At most, I could distribute them among my clanmates.
I had heard that other production-type ability users likewise exchanged their goods only within their clans. There were even rumors that some were flowing into the underworld through antisocial elements...
That said, in the case of the things I had made, the most important part was the material. Without 'Wakou,' it was fair to say that production by this method was impossible.
They were products of a power that had fallen into my lap. It would be wiser not to get too greedy.
...Though I couldn't just say that and leave it at that.
"I don't want to distribute them for free, but hoarding them like this won't lead to a 'brighter future,' will it?"
"Yes. At present, the only thing that has improved compared to my world is the Rosso-san situation."
"...Speaking of that improved situation..."
The three of us turned our gazes toward the dhampir beside Riko-senpai, who was resting her head against the window frame and basking in the evening sunlight.
"F... fufufu... I... I am here, you know... I am right here..."
"We know."
Miyu-san, I don't think she meant it that way.
Rosso-san was incredibly dejected. No, was she sulking?
"What's wrong, Rosso~n? You're looking down~!"
Riko-senpai rested her head on Rosso-san's shoulder as she leaned against the window frame.
They both looked good, so it made for a picturesque scene. They looked good, anyway.
"...You needn't force yourselves to talk to me... You should simply enjoy yourselves, the three of you, without me... Sob..."
"Don't sulk~. Yesterday was just one of those days when you weren't around, Rosso~n."
"That's right, Rosso-san. On that day, Riko-senpai just happened to come to Miyu-san's house because of 'Kenning.'"
"Uu... Is that so? Is that really so?"
"Yes. There simply wasn't any need to call Rosso-san specifically."
"...Sniff."
"!?"
"Miyu-san..."
"Miyu-chii..."
"!!??"
Rosso-san's eyes filled with tears, and Miyu-san looked flustered as she jerked her head back and forth between us.
That was a terrible way to put it.
"N-no. I haven't been treating you as unimportant, Rosso-san. Really."
"Is that so...? Can I believe you...?"
Rosso-san, whose real name was Ishiyama Iwako, was twenty-five, single, and a self-proclaimed noble of the demon world, watched Miyu-san with teary, upturned eyes.
...What should I do? Her profile had suddenly popped into my head, and this was a pretty serious accident.
Well, this sort of thing happened often at 'Alf.'
"Yes. I count on you."
"Miyu...!"
"Let's continue fighting together."
"F... fufufufufu! You seek my power, warrior from the future? Very well! I, Rosso Vendetta, shall extend this hand to you! Fwahahahaha!"
After gently moving Riko-senpai aside, Rosso-san sprang to her feet and let out a booming laugh.
Her gothic lolita outfit made it difficult to tell, but her ample chest definitely swayed with a soft 'jiggle.'
As I clasped my hands and prayed inwardly, Master came over carrying coffee on a tray.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. What were you talking about?"
"Hmph... I was just reaffirming that I am a great and indispensable presence to these people, Master."
"I see. I'm happy that Ishiyama-chan came here, too."
"Indeed. I am quite popular... Also, I am Rosso. Rosso Vendetta."
"Oh, sorry. I just can't seem to get used to your... epithet?"
"Hmph. It is no concern. It is only natural that mortals would be unfamiliar with such customs. Take your time getting used to it. As a noble of the demon world, I have time to spare..."
With two unnecessarily crisp movements, Rosso-san covered the eye beneath her eyepatch with one hand and struck a pose.
Even Master was an elf, though, so calling Master a mortal was technically inaccurate. For that matter, was Miyu-san the only pure human among us?
Two years had passed since the 'Day of Return,' yet the specific lifespans of elves and dwarves remained a mystery.
"Here you go. Enjoy."
"Oh, thanks."
"Thank you."
"Thanks."
"I thank you, Master."
Master took Rosso-san's words in stride and placed a cup of coffee in front of each of us.
I hadn't drunk much coffee before joining this group, but I had become quite hooked on it.
I added a little extra sugar and milk and stirred it with a spoon. Beside me, Miyu-san was adding even more sugar than I was.
"Hmph... It seems children still don't understand this flavor."
Rosso-san watched us with a smug look on her face.
She brought her cup, still black, close to her nose and slowly inhaled.
"Heh heh... Even I, a dhampir, am captivated by this aroma. More than anything, I like its blackness, which calls to mind the darkness of night."
"Uh-huh."
"Heh heh..."
"...Aren't you going to drink it?"
"...Wait. I'm preparing myself mentally."
If she couldn't drink it black, she should have just used sugar and milk like a normal person.
I didn't point that out, though. Until recently, I had thought that being able to drink black coffee was what made someone an adult, too.
...Was this really okay, Ishiyama Iwako, twenty-five years old...?
"Oh, right."
Master tucked the silver tray under one arm and clapped one hand against the other.
"About that paper factory, you know? I might know someone who could help."
"Really?"
"Yes."
I instinctively half rose from my seat at Master's words.
At present, I was checking whether the recipe alone was enough to produce unlimited quantities of mana-infused paper without an ability user involved. I was having Miyu-san and Riko-senpai follow the same procedure as well, to see whether anyone besides me could reproduce it.
The results were still pending because the paper was drying, but if that recipe worked, we should be able to produce it at a factory.
What? All the test subjects, me included, were ability users?
...The only non-ability user I could ask to do this was Rosso-san's mother. And she was busy with court cases and all sorts of other things...
"However, I don't know them personally."
"Do you mean one of Master's acquaintances has an in at a paper factory?"
"They're someone I know, and also one of your companions."
"...Huh?"
Oh, I was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
"Apparently there might be a connection at 'Ryugu-chan's' family home."
That weirdo's family, huh...
In my mind, I saw Tatsumin-san wearing her mascot costume.
Even among the members of 'Alf,' all of whom aside from Master and me had their own quirks, she stood out in a class of her own.
She wore that mascot costume all the time, after all. I had met her at the welcome party, but I had never actually seen her face.
"So Tatsumin's family home is pretty far away, huh?"
"Have you been there?"
When I asked Riko-senpai, who was resting her chin in her hand, she gave me a wry smile.
"A few times. It's in another city over, in the opposite direction from the one Rosso used to live in. It's in an area with a lot of mountains."
"Huh..."
To be honest, I hadn't really been over that way, so I couldn't quite picture it.
For that matter, did she really come all the way from somewhere that far away in that outfit? How did she manage on the train...?
"Tatsumin culls the monsters in the dungeons around there to protect her hometown. I've explored with her a few times, too."
"That's... something."
Apparently, Tatsumin-san was a surprisingly good person. I just hadn't known it.
"But because of that, Ryugu-chan is busy too, so apparently she doesn't have time to make an introduction. Normally, Inubosaki-chan and Riko help her out."
Master rested a hand against one cheek, eyebrows drawn into a worried V.
I saw how this fit together now.
"Then if we help cull the dungeons, she might introduce us to the factory."
"I know it'll be difficult, but..."
"I wanted to raise my spiritual rank anyway, so this works out perfectly."
We could get the introduction without telling them about the future or the details of our circumstances. Since we'd be asking for the introduction, it was only natural to accept whichever dungeon they designated for us.
Though that would only apply if it were just me.
"Um... Would it be all right with you and the others too, Riko-senpai?"
To be honest, I didn't want to go alone to meet someone I hardly ever interacted with. It would be awkward, too.
I asked a little anxiously, and all three of them nodded.
"Of course, Otaku-kun. We're best friends forever, right!?"
"Hmph. One more person seeks my power... I suppose this, too, is the duty of the strong."
"No problem. I will accompany you."
Thank goodness. If I ended up alone with Tatsumin-san, I wouldn't have known what to talk about...
Master smiled and nodded at our answers.
"All right. I'll let Ryugu-chan know!"
"Yes. Please do."
"There's just one thing I want you to be careful about..."
"Yes?"
I tilted my head at Master's slightly worried expression.
Rosso-san and Miyu-san looked puzzled as well, but Riko-senpai alone had a distant look in her eyes, as if she had realized something.
"There are thirteen dungeons clustered around Ryugu-chan's hometown. So don't overdo it, okay?"
"Thirteen?"
Isn't that too many? Was Tatsumin-san's hometown cursed or something?
It was enough dungeons to make me accept why she was so busy.