Naive Peace

Somewhere in the capital of Narashel, Harlin, there exists a bar that drew the attention of many residents and tourists alike.

This place, unlike most ordinary taverns, doesn't give off a brick-and-wood home style of feeling; instead, it exudes modernist vibes, as a nightclub would. There are only a few tables, and a significant portion of the entire premise is used as a dancefloor, which is a totally novel feature here in this world.

The bar is also intentionally dimly lit, with light stones of various colors emitting their lights in different ways. Some are blinking, while others concentrated their energy on a narrow beam of dancing color. The combination of intermittent lighting, and strange, upbeat music, has in turn attracted many people, especially the younger ones, into spending their nights at the bar—which greatly pleased the owner of the establishment.

"Fuuu, although I had my doubts at first, my decision to build another branch of my bar here in the capital has proved to be quite a success. It feels like all the troubles I've encountered with the bureaucracy before this has faded away..."

In her office at the back of the establishment, the owner, Myriel, was busy looking at the sales figures presented to her by one of her masked subordinates. These people, though currently serving in her two bars in Narashel, were originally tapped on to take on other 'projects', such as espionage, sabotage, and most especially, assassination. It just so happened that managing a business is such a pain, that she had to ask them to work as waiters and bartenders for her.

"If this keeps on going, my dream of establishing a vibrant nightlife here in this world will be accomplished in no time...hm?"

Without a moment of hesitation, she picked up a paper card from her table and threw it into the dark corner of the room.

Naturally, there isn't anything there apart from some indoor plants. However, upon reaching the shadows, the card suddenly stopped in midair and then crumpled on itself, as if someone managed to catch it by hand.

Displeased, Myriel spoke, "How long are you going to hide in there, hmm? No matter how hard you try to conceal yourself, my eyes can see through it all."

Then, at her words, a figure appeared from the shadows. It was a man with a large build, wearing nothing but black, and a mask with the form of a boar covering his face.

"How rude, Miss Rewriter. I wasn't planning to do a sneak attack on you, you know?" the masked man answered with a very deep voice, laughing. "I was only peacefully observing you from a distance, that's all."

"Is that so?" acting surprised, Myriel replied, "but, I must remind you, though: those who dare spy on me were now forever lost in the records of this world. You do not want to suffer the same fate as them, no?"

"Oh my...now I'm afraid, Miss Rewriter. I am so, sooooooo afraid of your power."

Before their conversation could turn into an endless loop of childish insults and threats, Myriel cleared her throat and asked:

"Then, what brings you here all of a sudden? You are supposed to be there in that strange organization of yours until next week."

She knows, that the man in front of her has been very busy for the past few days, doing various things for the organization where he belongs.

This organization, only known as the Lumiari, has been around for who knows how long and has been working behind the scenes ever since. Their exact goals are unknown; however, they once tried to get hold of the Death Goddess and her brother, by the boar-masked man himself. That's something Myriel couldn't bear to overlook up to this day.

Nevertheless, as long as both of their objectives are still in alignment with each other, she wouldn't make herself an enemy of this man. Hard as it may be, she'll turn a blind eye to his past sins, as well as the future ones.

Still standing in front of her, the man answered, "I immediately returned, upon hearing the news about what you did lately."

"Hmm...what exactly is it? You know I've been working hard ever since the new branch of my business opened, so I don't know what it is you're talking about."

Aware that she's just feigning ignorance, the man let out a deep sigh and said:

"The Death Goddess. You told her way too much."

"Oh my, what's so wrong about it?" finally giving in to her cravings, Myriel took out a glass from a nearby cabinet and poured herself a hearty amount of fine, red wine. "You know that secrets like that will inevitably be revealed someday whether we like it or not, hence I decided that it's best to tell it to that brat this early. It did end up positively for the parties involved anyway, so there's nothing for you to worry about."

Still not convinced, the masked man said, "Even if you say that, our plans for those two—"

"It will proceed as usual," she promptly replied, downing the wine in one gulp. "What I did, was just an insignificant twist in the cogs that we call destiny."

'Even the smallest of changes can bring the greatest effect in the grand scheme of things', that's what Myriel believed. Having such an infinite amount of variability in the possible outcomes, there is no way for everyone to ascertain how things will end up. Not even her, not even the person in front of her.

"You..." holding his forehead, the masked man grunted. "You're saying that, but isn't the real reason behind all of this because you're just bored and you just want to shake things up?"

"Fufufu, was it really that obvious?"

"I...don't know what to say any more about you, Miss Rewriter."

"Well, no worries—I have everything taken into consideration. I can't just waste the pieces we've placed so far just for my amusement, no?"

Saying that she picked up the diary that she always carries with her, and opened it to a page that was only partly written. Only she can read what's on it, but the masked man could easily tell that the results of her meddling were so far very immediate and very amusing.

"I'm looking forward, to seeing how this page in my diary will be filled up by those people."

-----

"...Mmmmmh?!! Big brother, what is this dish? T-This—this is amaziiiiiinngggggg!!!" Aoi screamed in delight as she greedily took huge bites off slices of pizza in her hands, not minding the surroundings if they were already staring daggers at her.

"Aoi...I'm happy that you liked it, but please eat slowly. It's not that anyone here will take them away from you, no?"

Although my cover's got exposed now by Myriel, I am fortunate that everyone has not harbored ill feelings about me and accepted me for who I am despite me using their kindness against them, and hid the truth away from them for so long.

Still, I want to make up for those mistakes. And with that, for today I decided to start by making pizza.

Why pizza, of all things? Well, for starters, when I looked at the cupboard I noticed that many of our current stock are ingredients that can be used to make pizza, if not their analogues. As always, I asked permission from the siblings if I can use some of them, and they gave me the green light, no questions asked.

Second, it's a great way for me to teach them the way of living that we have back in our world. To know a place's food is to know its culture, traditions, and history. In the case of my world, the foods that first come to mind when it comes to being prevalent almost worldwide thanks to globalization are burgers and pizza. I decided to leave making burgers for later, that's why I went with the latter option.

And lastly, and the most important of all: because I just want to make one. Who the hell hates pizzas? I have never met someone in my life who hates them, and if they do, they're lying.

After retrieving a recipe from a cookbook that I've read a few years ago in my memory using my Arcana and the experiences that I got from Home Economics class when I was still studying, I was able to make a decent-sized pizza—topped with cheese, tomato-like sauce, sliced pepperoni-like sausages, and some green peppers. It's a simple pepperoni pizza for better or for worse, and I can't just make something so complicated for my first run.

"Although the concept is not new by itself, a dish of this kind was something completely unheard of. I would presume that foods like this were popular amongst the populace, but if made with better preparation and ingredients, I believe even the nobles of this world will like it," Lerish said, eating her share with utmost grace, unlike Aoi.

I heard from Lerish that her father is also quite the foodie. Should I also make one for him the next time we come back to the capital?

"Brother Ren, would you mind if we were to add this pizza thing to our menu? Big Bro and I were thinking about expanding our horizons, and with you being here we might be able to make it possible," Saki asked.

"Sure, I don't mind...but wouldn't that also add more work for the two of you?"

Saku patted my shoulder. "Don't worry about that. Right now the two of us can still handle everything but if we were to expand our business, we can just hire more people. That said, it's a mystery how we were able to survive all these years with just the two of us working almost every day."

The prospect of Sandy Fish transforming from the traditional inn to a fast food restaurant of the 21st century made me feel two things: one, looking forward to the things the siblings had in store for everyone; and the other, the corresponding worry that everything might not work out as planned.

I have never expected to be the one giving the final push for them, but here we are.

"...Big brother...for coming into this world...thank you very much! Uwaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

"W-Wha—Aoi?! W-Why are you crying all of a sudden?! Also, did you just eat all of it by yourself???"

With her mouth and hands still covered in grease and sauce, Aoi clung to me, pressing her face against my clothes. Given the joyous atmosphere, however, I can't make myself scold her. In the end, I let her wipe her face with my clothes, then used the [Fool] to remove the stains.

Seeing my little sister like this, makes me think that being transported to another world, isn't that bad after all.

-----

With the plan for Sandy Fish to try selling new items on the menu finally revealed, I was asked to procure all the necessary ingredients for making at least 3 kinds of pizzas. We will only be doing it on a trial run in the meantime though, that's why the quantity needed will not be that much...

...Or that's what I believed at first.

"With this, I believe that a deal between both parties has been properly established, is that correct?"

"That's right, Your Highness. It is a great honor and pleasure working with you and your friends' enterprise from now on."

After both sides have signed a bunch of documents and the merchant affirmed his allegiance to the royal family, he immediately left to prepare for the order that Lerish placed. The old town chief, acting as our mediator, also left, leaving just the two of us in this meeting room inside the town hall.

"Uh...I know your influence in this country is quite big, to say the least, but to think that you were able to contact one of the biggest companies in Narashel that supplies fresh ingredients for the palace and have him agree on our terms is still something I can't get used to," I remarked to her, still dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events that I witnessed.

Sipping on her tea, Lerish answered, "I am only returning the favor both Mister Saku and Miss Saki have given to me ever since they let me into their domicile. There is no need for you to be so tense about it."

"Returning the favor, you say..."

Because this isn't the first time she has done something like this, I chose not to give it much thought. I'll go crazy if I dig deeper into her personal details, trying to uncover how much actually is her net worth.

Hm? While I'm chilling with my tea, I noticed that she's been looking at me for some time now. Her gaze, it's like she's expecting something from me.

Let's see...what does she want from me...ah!

"Hah. Alright, come here. Even if you don't say it, I could tell from your eyes what you want me to do."

Immediately, Lerish pulled herself closer to me, tightly clinging onto my arm as she asked me to pat her head.

Ever since we started going out, she has become like this whenever it's just the two of us, especially if she did something worthy of praise. It's like all of her limiters were turned off all of a sudden, and she can act a bit looser than usual.

"As always, you did a great job, Lerish."

"Fufufu, feel free to pat my head even more..."

"Fine, fine."

Because it would be very suspicious for the town hall employees if a boy and a girl stayed inside the meeting room for a long time, we immediately left the place after I patted her head. To them, Lerish might just be another social worker currently stationed here in Plate Town, but I can't imagine the uproar that will ensue if they find out that the Princess of Narashel was alone in a room with some unknown guy.

It's not that I did something wrong, right? It's just headpats, for Aoi's sake...

"Ah!"

"Ren? What is the matter?"

While walking home alongside Lerish on the street, I suddenly recalled something that's been at the back of my mind for a while now, causing my legs to stop moving.

"I almost forgot. I have to buy that new custard cake for Aoi. She said that she's been wanting to try that at least once."

"Custard cake...is it from the patisserie in the opposite direction of this street?"

"Yeah. The famous one."

"If so, then we have to hurry. I heard that even nobles would go there to buy their cakes, that is why they are always sold out."

With no time to spare, I decided that the fastest way is to run. However, just as I'm about to hit the streets...

"UGUUUUUHHH!!!!!"

At a nearby food stall, we saw a young person lying face down on the floor while he or she was being beaten up by the food stall's owner. It's hard to discern whether the person's a boy or a girl because they were covering themselves with a brown hood, but what's certain is that the person has reddish-brown hair.

"Take that! And that, and that—"

"Please stop it, Mister!" I rushed to the scene to stop the owner from killing the young person. "Did this person do something so bad that you have to beat them up?!"

"Let go of me!!!" the owner yelled at me who was holding him down. "That rascal, how dare that person to eat in my place without paying! If that person can't pay with money, I'll make sure to have him pay with his life!"

"O-Okay, okay! I get it now," I said, keeping the two separate from each other. "How much was it, the food this person ate? I'll pay for it."

When I said that, the owner immediately stopped resisting and told me the cost of the food this person lying on the ground ate.

20 copper coins? It isn't a huge amount, but with that money, you can already buy a meal for an entire family. Does that person really have some inhuman appetite too, just like Aoi?

"Here, 20 copper coins. With that, everything is settled now, right?"

"Yes, pretty much," the stall owner said, looking distastefully at the person on the ground. "You there, consider yourself lucky this time. The next time I see you though, I'll make sure that not only that you'll get from me. You hear that?!"

"Ah, go back to your stall already, will you?" I replied, pushing him back to his place.

When the commotion finally died down, I then checked the person's condition. I could still feel their heartbeat, but the fact that this person's been motionless for some time now sent a slight panic in my heart.

"Hey, are you alright? Hey, hey—"

Then, as I was about to lift their hood, the person instantly got up, looked daggers at me, and ran away, disappearing into the crowd while holding down their hood.

I was so caught off guard by that person's actions, but the only thing I could confirm is that that person definitely looked like a girl.

"How strange. I helped her and yet, she..."

"Ren, I have brought medical personnel along with me to...Eh? Where did that person go...?"

In front of Lerish, who seems to be as confused as I am, I could only shrug my shoulders in response to her question. I've had my share of weird people ever since I came here, but this is the first time I've met someone who shows aversion to the goodwill I've given to them. It's like telling me that I shouldn't have come to her aid, and instead, let her get beaten shitless by that man.

Oh boy. It seems that I've poked my nose into something I'll definitely regret in the future.