As a mobile trading company, the Mikumo Trading Company uses Teleportation Magic to move from place to place to conduct their business. However, although it’s primarily a mobile trading company, they of course have their own headquarters.

  Their headquarters has an office that mainly handles the paperwork and a warehouse that manages inventory. There, in the office equipped with only the bare necessities, the company’s Chairman, Mikumo Akane, was reading a letter with a serious expression on her face.

  [……Chairman, that’s a rather difficult———- strange look you have on your face. Is something the matter?]

  [Can’t you just stay with the difficult look on the face instead!? Why the heck did you have to rephrase that with “strange”?]

  [I just couldn’t help it…… So, where did that letter come from?]

  After throwing a tsukkomi at the maid, Frau, Akane let out a sigh before she began her explanation.

  [Look, you remember Anima-san, who we met last time when we went to Symphonia to stock up, right?]

  [Ahh, that investor who seemed to be a Count-rank huh.]

  [Well, from that Anima-san…… Well, to put it simply, she sent me a letter saying she has a good prospect for me, and she’s asking me if I’m interested. In other words, it’s like she’s checking if we have free time as a preamble to a business offer.]

  [Fumu, are you going to take it?]

  [That’s what I’m troubled about. The first time I met her, I thought she wouldn’t be a person I could get close to…… but she’s a very good businessman, so I think we can expect a lot from her……. but I couldn’t help but wonder why a person of her stature, who would have many connections with other trading companies, wanted to talk us.]

  The letter didn’t say anything about a business deal, but instead, worded it out as if it’s convenient for Akane, she would like to meet and talk with her. From her years of experience, Akane knew that this was an invitation to a business deal of some kind, but she was still unsure of the other party’s intentions.

  [If she’s asking us, does that mean she needs to sell some sort of goods in different areas?]

  [It’s highly likely that that is the case. Our greatest strength is our mobility after all…… However, depending on the details of the dealings, we may end up being bound by some things like place and there may be things that would be difficult for us, right?]

  [Well, there’s a possibility that the product she wants us to sell and the place we sell the merchandise we deal with will be different. However, we won’t really know until we talk to her, so why don’t we just ask her?]

  [I guess so…… However, we’re talking about a real hotshot here, you know? If we go there without caution, we might suddenly end up being bound by some sort of contract, so we really should think things over.

  Akane had highly evaluated Anima’s skill in previous encounters and was aware that if they negotiated on equal terms, they would be an even match in their war of words.

  If the other party came to them with a proposal, the other side would naturally have the advantage of information. In that case, the possibility of being successfully outmaneuvered couldn’t be denied, so she was currently worried about this.

  [Speaking of which, Chairman. You mentioned how you were going to investigate that person, but have you finished your investigation?]

  [Unnn? Ahh, I found out right away by asking various sources. She is a very famous investor in the business world. She appeared like a comet about two years ago, and in just a short period of time, she distinguished herself as the Hope of the business world…… I don’t know if it’s true, but there were rumors that she’s Kuromu-sama’s student.]

  [Heehhh…… She’s quite an amazing person huh.]

  [Yeah, moreover…… There’s that superior of hers.]

  [Superior?]

  Frau didn’t understand the meaning of Akane’s words, so she asked back.

  [I heard that Anima-san has a person whom she adores and calls “Master”. I think that person is probably someone among the top.]

  [……In other words, you are saying that Anima-san, who seems to be a Count-rank, and that beastman who accompanied her at that time, are also in the service of that Master? For two people who are on the level of Count-ranks, I wonder what kind of person they are? They would probably be someone quite famous……]

  [I have no clue who that Master is…… Seriously, I couldn’t find a single piece of information about them. It’s almost as if the information about them has been “intentionally erased”…… I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t even find their name.]

  [……Now that is quite frightening.]

  [Yeah, it’s quite scary. At the very least, they have considerable authority, and a strong connection with experts both in the surface world and the underworld…… For them to be able to manipulate information to this extent, they probably at least have the authority of a country’s ruler.]

  In their minds, they thought of some sort of fixer who rules the underworld…… but it was just a big misunderstanding. No, it is Alice, the Phantasmal King, who is manipulating the information about him, so in a sense, him being a fixer may not necessarily be a mistake.

  However, as per usual, the main subject of the matter, Kaito, doesn’t know anything about that.

  [I guess I will try asking Anima-san about them…… but we might have to be prepared for a lot of trouble.]

  [Ummm, is there any chance that said Master will just show up?]

  [I can’t say for sure, but they’re someone that Anima-san had swore allegiance to, you know? They must be a hotshot of a completely different level…… If they come out, we’ll almost definitely end up being checkmated. We’ll have to resign ourselves to a business on unfavorable terms……]

  [However, this could also be an opportunity……]

  [Yeah, we can’t pass up the opportunity to make connections with such big names…… Now then, as for whether an oni or a serpent awaits us……]

  After contemplating about Anima’s master, who they haven’t seen yet, their faces a mixture of horror and anticipation, Akane picked up a pen and began to write a reply to the letter.

  ……Once again, this might be repetitive, but they just have a big misunderstanding.

  Makina: [H- Hmmm, I don’t know? You could say they are indeed making a misunderstanding…… but my beloved child certainly has amazing connections, and with Alice with him, even if they actually negotiate a deal, my beloved child…… or rather, Alice will win that negotiation hands down, so what they’re saying isn’t necessarily a mistake…… Well, in other words, my beloved child is supreme!!!]