After finishing my daily routine of brushing Bell, I changed my clothes and headed for Lilia-san's mansion through the connected corridor.
I planned on meeting up with Sieg-san today, and we were planning to go out together later.
It was regarding how Kuro suggested Sieg-san to receive guidance from someone named Funf-san back when we were bathing in the sea. It seems that Kuro has been talking about this to that person, and Sieg-san herself is eager to learn more about it, so I was thinking of visiting them once to say hello.
I also wanted to thank Funf-san for her help in the battle against the Gods, so we decided to go visit her together, and arranged it so that we would visit Kuro's place today.
When I arrived at the entrance of our meeting place, I found Sieg-san already waiting for me.
[I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?]
[No, I just got here myself.]
When I apologized for keeping her waiting, Sieg-san smiled and told me not to worry about it.
Today, Sieg-san was wearing a white shirt, jacket, and dark blue jeans instead of her usual sleeveless jacket and her trademark scarf.
Well, the scarf was originally wrapped around her neck to hide her scar, and now that the scar has been removed by the Fruit of the World Tree, so it doesn't seem to be particularly necessary…… but she's so used to having it on that she wasn't feeling comfortable without it.
As a side note, the scar on Sieg-san's neck disappeared, but the scar on the right side of my neck didn't disappear even after eating the Fruit of the World Tree.
I did ask Lillywood-san about this, and she said that healing with the Fruit of the World Tree will not remove the scars that strongly believe the person themselves doesn't want to be removed.
It's true that during the time I ate the Fruit of the World Tree, my heart was dragging my parents around strongly without realizing it myself, so that's probably the reason…… Which means, if I eat one now, it might disappear.
Though I say that, I've been living with that scar for about ten years, so I might feel very uncomfortable if it were to disappear when I looked in the mirror.
[I've never seen that jacket before, but it has a smart design and looks great on you, Sieg-san.]
[Fufu, thank you. I bought this a while ago, and since we had this opportunity, I tried it on this time.]
In fact, after the greeting, we were going to take the opportunity to go sightseeing together in the city where Kuro's castle is located. I've been to Kuro's house many times, but I don't remember seeing much of the city, so I'm looking forward to today.
With that in mind, after a short conversation with Sieg-san, I used my Teleportation Magic Tool to teleport to Kuro's house.
Of course, Kuro's house has a Teleportation Inhibition Ward, so I teleported to a place a few distance away from the entrance of her castle. From here, I could clearly see Kuro's house, which is more massive than Symphonia's royal castle, and I was once again overwhelmed by its appearance.
Incidentally, the city where Kuro's house is located is called one of the three largest cities in the Demon Realm, and is one of the foremost cities in the Demon Realm. On another note, the other two cities are Megiddo-san's city and Lillywood-san's Yggfresis.
[Come to think of it, isn't this city famous in the Demon Realm for being a business-oriented city?]
[Yes, not only the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company, this city is the headquarters of several trading companies.]
[Heehhh…… I guess they would set-up their headquarters here because the city has a dense population huh? ……Arehh? But if I remember correctly, I heard that most of the people who live in this city are Kuro's family and people related to them……]
I was thinking that it's normal for such companies would gather in prosperous cities like Tokyo and Osaka in Japan…… but I remembered hearing from Kuro once that most of the people living in the city are Kuro's family members and the people related to them, the people who were recognized by the world as the Underworld King's subordinates.
[H- Hmmm, I'm not really knowledgeable about that either……]
[In that case, I'll explain it to you.]
[P- Phantasmal King-sama!?]
As Sieg-san tilted her head, also wondering about my question, Alice showed herself.
[Well, it's that…… To put it simply, most of the big companies here are "Kuro's trading companies".]
[……Seriously?]
[Yes. In the Demon Realm, most of the top-class trading companies in most fields were created by Kuro-san. That's why Kuro-san is known as the pinnacle of the business world. Incidentally, because she owns multiple trading companies, she basically leaves the role of Chairman to another person, and just places herself in a slightly special position.]
I see, just like how Sei-san was Seditch Trading Company's Captain, that's why there are many companies here huh……
[Incidentally, Kuro-san's total assets are roughly 13% of the world's economy, and her connections and name value are also very high…… and if she really wanted to, she could destroy the economy of a country or two.]
[……That's outrageous.]
Once again, I'm astonished by Kuro's literally unbelievable wealth…… Perhaps, the stores that I used to go to without thinking might actually be under Kuro's management.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [……Hey, why are you putting in information that only leads to despair, like "we're going on a date after the greetings"?]
? ? ? : [Author-san apparently accepted Serious-senpai's suggestion and made it more predictable what the next chapter would be from the chapter before that.]
Serious-senpai : [……You're wrong…… This isn't what I meant.]