Published: September 10, 2025
Satou here. In foreign youth dramas, it's common to see young people going to dance parties. In Japan, you only really see that at school festivals, but I quite liked it since it’s an easy way to experience something out of the ordinary.
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“Are you the Duchess Mito Mitsukuni?”
“Yes.”
“Nice to meet you~.”
When I introduced Hikaru to the manager and Tifaliza, they were strangely surprised.
Although Tifaliza didn’t raise her voice, I could tell from her subtle change in expression that she was quite shocked.
“Ku-Kuro-sama! Did you... did you marry Nameless-sama?!”
“—Married?”
The manager’s face went pale as he pressed me, but I didn’t understand what he meant.
Why would Kuro marry Nameless—?
Thinking it through, I somehow understood her misunderstanding.
She probably saw Hikaru and mistook Nameless for a woman.
“Calm down, manager. I have not married anyone. Mito became Duchess Mitsukuni for certain reasons, but in a way, she is also Nameless.”
“What do you mean?”
To the confused manager, I explained a little more clearly.
“Mito is Nameless’s body double—she acts as Duchess Mitsukuni in his stead, handling social duties with the king and high-ranking nobles.”
“So she’s one of the Golden Knight Order.”
“Something like that.”
I’ll have to make Hikaru some Orichalcum armor soon.
“Then from now on, Mito-sama will manage the Echigoya Trading Company—”
I stopped the manager who jumped to conclusions.
“As for the Echigoya Trading Company, I leave management to you as before. Mito will only handle social duties with the king and the Prime Minister.”
I don’t think Mito, who’s more rough around the edges than me, can run the company, so it will still be under the manager’s control.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Yes! I won’t let down Kuro-sama’s trust!”
The manager declared with high spirits, overwhelming me a bit. I then called the other executives into the office and introduced Mito.
It seems the executives had the same misunderstanding as the manager, but I left it to the manager to clear it up.
By the way, the auction after-party is scheduled for tomorrow night.
Since everyone has been overworked these past days, today is for plenty of rest to hold the party in perfect condition.
After introducing Mito, I was about to take her back to the Pendragon Mansion to change into a party dress, but the manager stopped me.
“Kuro-sama, before you leave, there is an urgent matter to discuss.”
“Go ahead—”
I sent Mito ahead to the unit quarters, then listened to the manager.
“The Prime Minister has requested a renovation of the newly built small airship.”
“For Echigoya Trading Company?”
“Yes. Our factory doesn’t have the equipment to renovate even a small airship, so I declined on my own, but I was ordered to consult with either Kuro-sama or Trismegistus-sama...”
The manager apologized as he handed me the renovation resume, which I skimmed.
By the way, Trismegistus is my alias when making magical artifacts.
“Adding extra defensive shields, crash prevention mechanisms, and shock-absorbing passenger seats. Obviously, the magic power furnace output is insufficient—are they offering the Philosopher’s Stone?”
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I misread the last line mentioning the Philosopher’s Stone.
My storage has many Philosopher’s Stones given by the Elves and Red Coins from Dragon Valley, but generally these are rare items.
Even a large nation like the Shiga Kingdom only uses them for national treasure-class artifacts.
“The purpose isn’t specified, but are they building a royal family’s throne ship?”
“The Prime Minister said nothing about the purpose.”
Maybe it’s an emergency escape ship for the royal family.
Knowing that king, it’s probably not for himself but to evacuate his children or grandchildren.
I was thinking of making a small airship for Echigoya Trading Company, so I might as well build two or three of the same model.
Now that I can use magic, there's no need to have Arisa or Mia memorize new spells, so I can make them quickly.