After enjoying the second party with Kaido, I returned home at a fairly late hour.
“Welcome back, Giro. Would you like some water?”
“Ah, I’ll have some.”
Even at that late hour, Himik was waiting for me. She stopped knitting, which she was doing while sitting on the sofa, and went to the kitchen to get me some water.
I think it would be faster to do it with magic, but she insists that it’s better to do these things by hand and doesn’t spare the effort.
Grateful for her taking the trouble, I took off my jacket and hung it on the back of the sofa next to where Himik was sitting.
As I loosened my tie and let out a big breath, Himik returned with a pitcher of ice water and a cup.
“Thank you.”
She then poured water into the cup, and I accepted the cup she offered.
The water had a faint hint of lemon.
I could feel the homemade lemon water immediately soaking into my body, which was craving hydration after drinking alcohol.
“Did Suella and the others already go to bed?”
“Suella went to bed with the children, but Memoria is bathing right now. Evia is staying over and won’t be back tonight.”
“I see. What about Keiri?”
“Keiri, if I may say…”
After rehydrating, all that was left was to go to bed. But I felt bad about Himik waiting for me to do just that.
I decided it was okay to go to bed a little later.
Thinking so, I sat on the sofa, and her back wings fluttered slightly.
It was a gesture she made when she showed happiness, and her expression softened a little with it.
“Keiri…”
Following that, Himik also sat down next to me.
And now, I’ll check what my wives are up to.
I can sense who is where within this mansion.
Suella and the children are in the bedroom, and Memoria is in her private bathroom, not the large communal bath.
Since Evia’s presence isn’t here, she’s not in the mansion. Himik is in the living room, and for Keiri…
“She just got back.”
The teleportation circle that led to this mansion was activated at the entrance, and I could sense Keiri’s presence from there.
And that presence was heading straight towards me.
“I’m homeee.”
Without hiding her exhausted expression, she opened the living room door and walked towards me.
“I’m tired~ Give me some comfort~.”
She collapsed onto the sofa, coming to rest by my knees with just the right amount of force.
“Your suit will get wrinkled, you know?”
“I have spares, and the maids here are excellent.”
“That’s true, I suppose.”
As I gently stroked her hair, I cloaked my palm with magic and cast a healing spell.
It’s not limited to just the Dark Elf race, but many races on the continent are sensitive to magic.
This is partly because they cannot survive without it, and partly because the magical energy, the source of magic power, is readily available.
Among them, races sensitive to magic have a slight perversion—a liking for the magic of the opposite sex they are attracted to.
Preferences vary from person to person.
Suella, Himik, and Evia tend to lean that way, while Memoria is not as much.
Among them, Keiri likes it the most.
She wore a sweet, innocent smile, not her usual carefree grin.
“Hmm, that’s unfair.”
“Then you should cling to Jiro-kun. I’m doing the work he asked me to do~ This is my reward~.”
Himik, who arrived later and felt like she was being cut in on, scowled slightly, not liking the exclusive moment. But Keiri, perhaps not intending to be exclusive, advised her to cling even more.
“That makes sense.”
“Be my guest~.”
Convinced by her words, Himik gently moved closer to me until our breaths were almost touching.
“Come on, come on~ Give me your magic~.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Here, once~.”
Keiri watched this with satisfaction and urged me to give her more magic. I circulated healing magic throughout my body in a way that resembled magic circulation, letting my magic flow out.
“As expected, Jiro’s magic is good. It’s gentle, like sunlight filtering through the leaves.”
“I know what you mean~ Jiro-kun’s magic is somehow comforting~.”
Magic has qualities, and its “flavor,” so to speak.
And people have preferences for it.
It seems my magic matches their preferences, and they bask in it as if savoring it.
“Haa, Jiro-kun’s handover of the department manager position seems to be going smoothly, so this should reduce my workload a bit~.”
While being healed and completely relaxed, Keiri felt drowsy but still didn’t feel like sleeping.
“That’s right. All the conditions should be met by the end of this month.”
“The intelligence department has also moved, and as long as the opponent isn’t a country, things should be resolved easily.”
Keiri, as if it would be a waste to go to bed immediately after returning from work, reveled in my magic.
And Himik quietly snuggled up to me, listening to our conversation while enjoying my magic.
“Thank you both always for supporting me.”
I expressed my gratitude to them.
“You’re welcome. You can thank me even more~.”
“I have decided to walk with Jiro. This is nothing.”
Suella, Memoria, and Evia, who are not here, feel the same way.
I’ve been helped by them in many ways.
Keiri and Himik showed opposite reactions.
I still believe that getting absorbed in hobbies by cutting into time with them is somehow wrong.
That’s why I understood that the Master’s suggestion was, in a sense, correct.
“If it’s any more than this… should I pick you up and spin you around?”
“That would be nice, too. For now, I want to be like this, so please do that later~.”
“As for me, perhaps you could help me with my wing maintenance?”
As I interacted with them, I wanted to get their opinions on this idea.
“Understood. We still have time. But, before that, would you listen to me for a moment?”
However, the way I started the conversation wasn’t ideal.
“Is there some trouble?”
“I’ll do anything I can.”
In times like these, I can only lament my troublesome nature.
As soon as I brought up the topic, Keiri’s relaxed state vanished, and she became business-like. Himik’s gentle demeanor also turned serious.
“No, no, it’s not work-related. Don’t make such a stern face.”
I’ve always been thorough with communication regarding problems.
However, because the consultation topics were consistently about troublesome matters, they seemed to have developed that perception.
Flustered, I denied it, stroked Keiri’s hair, and gave Himik a cheek kiss.
“What’s this? When you bring up a consultation, it’s almost always about something serious, so I thought something happened!”
“Indeed, I thought so too.”
“Sorry, sorry. This is purely a personal matter this time.”
I couldn’t deny that my daily actions were the cause of this.
Therefore, I resolved to try my best to handle my future actions with their words in mind.
Mentally resolving this, I explained what I had discussed with Kaido today about my hobby, and then spoke about the conversation I had with the Master and the two of them at the end.
“That goes beyond the scope of a hobby, you know.”
Keiri pointed this out with a stern look.
“Indeed, Giro. Isn’t the scale too large for a hobby?”
And Himik agreed.
“I expected you to say that. But, there are people who consider investing a hobby. I thought it wasn’t a bad idea.”
“I didn’t say it was bad. It’s just that when you, who always do work or family service, decide to start something, I think it’s good. It’s just that what you’re doing is completely outside the realm of a hobby.”
To summarize the Master’s story, there are quite a few sake brewers who are skilled but lack funds and are overlooked.
Most sake brewers on the continent work under merchants or nobles, where they are provided with facilities for training and honing their skills.
However, it is difficult to become independent from there.
They are artisans, not businessmen.
They can save money and build their own sake breweries, but learning business management know-how is quite difficult.
Sales channels are basically controlled by merchants.
Many of them have to pay brokerage fees to use these channels, which reduces their profits and leads to a decline.
As a result, many brewers fall into debt and are forced to work for low wages in exchange for their debts being taken over.
There is no environment to properly judge skilled brewers at a fair price.
The Master lamented this, wishing that they could work in a better environment and be saved.
So, when I was talking about my hobby, he suggested that if I have financial resources, I could become a patron and have them brew sake to my liking.
If I provide a work environment, teach them business know-how, and act as their backer, they will happily work for me, and in the future, they might even be supported in their independence and come under my wing.
“In the end, that’s just expanding your faction, isn’t it? You’re planning to create your own trading company, not just use Memoria’s Toris Trading Company, aren’t you?”
“Originally, it was supposed to be about brewing sake that I like, or brewing sake that my children can drink together when they grow up… but somehow it turned into a serious discussion.”
“Isn’t that completely work?”
Although I started by talking about a hobby, it had turned into a business discussion centered around sake.
I have the sales channel of Earth.
As for Japanese laws, I have the cheat of being able to somehow manage them using Kirie-san’s connections, and the brand of “otherworld sake” is quite interesting, which are favorable conditions.
Unless I do exceptionally poor branding, I can’t imagine it not selling.
“Are you trying to add unnecessary work?”
However, if I really do this, it won’t stay within the scope of a hobby.
Keiri, pointing this out, pulled my cheek.
“For now, they will focus on sake brewing and taste research, so all that will be needed is the construction of fields and sake breweries. Discussions about sales channels will be with Memoria, so it will take at least ten years, meaning I won’t be busy right away.”
“Haa, do you think it will be that easy? Isn’t your outlook a little too optimistic? Knowing you, you’re probably planning to open up part of the dungeon, aren’t you?”
“…Correct.”
“This is unprecedented. Sake brewed within a dungeon. The magic content is likely to be incredible.”
“If I’m not careful, it might turn out to be sake no different from a potion.”
The conversation, which started from my hobby talk, eventually turned into a discussion about establishing a trading company.
Although they seemed a bit exasperated, they didn’t oppose it.
“Fine. I’m curious about the sake you plan to make, and since the funds will come from your pocket money, I’ll help you.”
“There might not be much I can do… but I can make dishes that go well with that sake.”
This is how they offered their help with smiles.
“Jiro-san, if it’s about starting a business, I’m the specialist.”
“She’s here. You’ve arrived at the perfect timing.”
“Indeed. It’s better to have a professional for this matter.”
At that moment, Memoria appeared, her cheeks slightly flushed from her bath.
I had sensed her approaching from the bathroom, so it was truly perfect timing.
Adding Memoria, who was slightly displeased that I hadn’t asked her first about starting a business, we would be staying up a little later tonight.
He doesn’t know it now.
That this story would become the beginning of Tanaka Brewery, which would later become famous even on Earth.
Today’s word:
Hobbies enrich people.
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