Anne-san’s gaze flusteredly moved about, but after a few moments, she looked aghast and bowed her head to Tre-san.

[P- Please excuse my rudeness. My name is Rimegithe Lenoria Githurd Armetes Anne. M- My apologies, I don’t have a business card with me.]

[No, please don’t worry about it. Would you mind if I call you Anne-san?]

[T- That would be fine.]

[Well then, I feel apologetic bringing this up with you at this party in which we just met, but would you mind talking about work for a little bit?]

[Y- Yes!]

How should I say this…… Tre-san in her work mode just feels different. No, she’s a tall, model-like beauty, so she looks good being crisp…… but with her usual personality being like that, seeing her like this feels quite disconcerting.

That aside, they’re going to talk about work…… Anne-san is a Kruel, and upon seeing her, Tre-san said it was right timing, so is what she’s going to talk about some kind of job she needs to ask a Kruel to do?

[I’ll confirm just in case, but can I assume that Anne-san is involved in the mining business?]

[Yes. Umm, I’m technically the representative of our union.]

[I see, how big of a union is it?]

[We are technically a medium-sized union of more than 50 members, but we just have 54 members, so we’re just barely medium-sized.]

[Do you have technical qualifications?]

[Ah, yes. Including myself, 7 people have a 1st-Class Qualification, 15 have Semi 1st-Class Qualification, and the rest all have at least a Semi 2nd-Class Qualification.]

[That is quite excellent. Do you have an exclusive contract with any group or company?]

I don’t really know much, but from their conversation, it seems that there’s some kind of qualification needed for mining, and the union led by Anne-san seems to have very good qualifications. From what I’ve heard, 1st-Class sounds like it’s the highest, and for those with lower qualifications, they’d at least be 3rd-Class or so.

[Ah, no, we had basically been accepting short-term work. Umm, I’m ashamed to say this, but the members of our union may have been skillful, but we aren’t very good with connections, so we don’t have a lot of experience with big jobs.]

[……I see.]

After hearing Anne-san’s words, Tre-san seemed to be pondering for a moment, then smiled lightly and spoke again.

[……I suppose saying “That’s just perfect” here would be rude, but that indeed is the ideal union. Anne-san, first of all, thank you for answering my questions.]

[Ah, no.]

[With that said, I’d like us to get to the main point of the topic, so to make a long story short…… Would you like to sign an exclusive contract with us?]

[…………Huh? Eh? U- Umm…… With the Seditch Tool Trading Company?]

[Yes. Recently, our trading company has been expanding in scale in the Human Realm with the concept of increasing the number of Magic Tool Creators. The same goes for the magic crystal department, where we have secured several magic crystal veins to expand our operations in the Human Realm, and we were just looking for someone to handle the mining. When it comes to mining in the Human Realm, the Kruels are the best, so I was planning to visit the Kruels’ city later to find a union with which we could make a contract.]

It makes sense now that she mentioned it, and I guess the program for training magic tool creators that Mom and Dad are participating in is just one part of that project.

[Even though we are expanding our scale in the Human Realm, we aren’t going to expand drastically all at once, so we were looking for a small to medium-sized union, and Anne-san’s union fits the conditions perfectly. Of course, there are likely considerations on Anne-san’s side as well, and discussing the detailed contract here would take a lot of time, so I would like to arrange a separate meeting for negotiations at a later date, but would that be alright?]

[Ah, y- yes. That’s already more than we could have hoped for on our end……]

[Well then, let’s exchange contact information and I’ll inform you of the date and time of our meeting later. I’ll have you visit one of our company branches, but please rest assured that we’ll cover all transportation-related expenses.]

[Y- Yes. Thank you very much.]

Anne-san, with a humble demeanor, bowed repeatedly as she exchanged contact information with Tre-san. And then, after a brief silence, the atmosphere around Tre-san changed…… how should I say this…… It’s like some switch had been turned off.

[……Alright, that’s enough talk about work! Heck, why do you always have that complicated look on your face, Kaito?]

[No, you should already know why. I know that Tre-san is someone who can handle work properly, and I understand that you’re the type to do things properly when necessary…… but seeing Tre-san looking like a capable woman really just feels out of place……]

[That’s strange? The way you said it, it sounds like when I’m not in work mode, I’m a no good woman…… Rather, can I ask something? What do they mean by no good? It’s apparently something used a lot by otherworlders, and I kinda get what it’s implying because of the situations in which it’s used but……]

[Ah~~ Errr, I think it was originally used for broken cars……. mechanical products……]

(T/N: The word originally used here was ponkotsu, which kinda mean something like clunky, but the word eventually got used to no good people.)

Hearing Tre-san, transitioning from work mode to a completely relaxed atmosphere, suddenly asking about something trivial with genuine interest, I answered with a wry smile. As I thought, I really feel more comfortable when Tre-san is laid back like this.

It’s just, Anne-san was looking at the sudden difference in atmosphere in a daze now……

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [As expected, the benefits that come in exchange for stomachaches are huge…… I should also get some sort of benefit……]

? ? ? : [For Serious-senpai, he’s providing sweet development, which could be considered a stomachache issue, and in return for that, isn’t Serious-senpai bringing about that sugarization phenomenon?]

Serious-senpai : [Aren’t those just demerits!? Where are the benefits?]

Makina : [Isn’t knowing me thanks to my beloved child the greatest benefit of all?]

Serious-senpai : [That’s just too big of a demerit!!! WHERE ARE THE MERIIIIIIIITS!?]

Makina : [……Arehh?]