After Megiddo-san was taken away by Kuro, Alice and I decided to take a look around the Art Plaza again, but it’s really large and I’m not really sure where to go.
[……Even if we’re here to see puppet shows, there are several of them here, so which one should we see?]
[Errr, please wait a moment.]
[Unnn?]
After consulting with her, Alice told me to wait for a moment before flicking her finger.
Thereupon, a painter, who was drawing a few distance away from us, comes up to Alice and hands her a stack of papers that he took out of nowhere.
[These are today’s performances. Some are definite ones while some of them are assumed to be shown today based on past trends.]
[Yes, certainly. You can go back now.]
[By your leave.]
After deeply bowing to Alice, the painter returned to his original position and began painting as if nothing had happened…… I guess that means he’s one of them too. That painter is also under Alice’s command……
[Your subordinate?]
[Yes, I have around “18 people” just in this plaza alone……]
[A- As expected……]
It’s not really just a metaphor, as this woman’s subordinates are literally everywhere. Unnn, I can see why the Phantasmal King, No Face is so feared.
Anyway, now that we know where and what shows are being performed, we decided to go see the puppet show by referring to that document.
Probably because these puppets were manipulated by magic, they needed stories thate weren’t quite long, as the puppet shows that was held at the Arts Plaza were all simple stories. There were also magic effects visible in some areas, which looked really new for me who wasn’t used to seeing them, and I found myself enjoying them for a while.
It was now noon, and we decided to have lunch, which was one of the main events of our date.
At first, the plan was to go to the same restaurant we usually go to…… but since we were in an area that I rarely visit, I suggested that we eat here and Alice agreed.
Looking for a restaurant to have a sumptuous lunch, as Alice requested, I took out a certain book.
[……Unnn? Kaito-san, could that be Kuro-san’s “Eating Tour in its Entirety Guide: Symphonia Kingdom”?]
[……That’s the first time I’ve heard of that title, but this book was certainly given to me by Kuro.]
I’ve got a book in my hand about the size of an English-Japanese dictionary, was just as Alice said, something I received from Kuro.
For this day’s date…… To be exact, a few days ago, I consulted Kuro for a good restaurant to go to, since she enjoys trying food at various restaurants.
Thereupon, Kuro responded with great enthusiasm and she gave me this book about the restaurants in the royal capital.
[I somehow received 100 books of the same size like this…… I’m not really sure if they were all written by Kuro or not though……]
[Yes, it’s a book that Kuro-san writes as a hobby. As I’m sure Kaito-san knows, Kuro-san enjoys trying food at various restaurants……. Sometimes, she gathers the information about all the restaurants she liked and compiles them in a book.]
[……Are her books famous or something?]
[Hmmm. They’re certainly famous…… but I guess there were only a few people who have ever seen it in person?]
[Really?]
Incidentally, this book contains Kuro’s evaluation and impressions of each restaurant, and there are even illustrations included in it.
But well, it seems to be an extension of her hobby…… So, the descriptions written on it were subjective, with things like “I want pudding for dessert.” written on it often.
By the way, the ratings are based on the number of stars just like a certain famous guide I’ve heard back in my world. There are some that are rated with 10 stars in the book though, so it isn’t exactly the same……
Furthermore, as for that Red Bear Sandwich store where Kuro and I went before…… Written there was “I went there with my beloved, so it was the best food I’ve ever tasted” with a blushing emoji beside it. I think I must have had a grin on my face when I was reading that part of the book.
Since Alice knew about this book, I thought it must be a famous book, but there was something strange with the way responded to me.
[Yes, according to Kuro-san, it’s just an extension of her hobby…… only family members have that book. In short, Kuro is only distributing them to the people she calls family, and they were not for sale. How they want to handle the book is their own personal choice, so it’s very rare that this book is auctioned…… And when it was, it would usually be sold for a ridiculous amount of money.]
[……Seriously?]
[Yes. All of the things written in that book were handwritten by Kuro-san herself, so I’m sure they would want to spend all of their money, especially the members of the “Underworld King Adoration Association”.]
[……Wait a moment there, I think I just heard a strange terminology mixed with what you said…… Underworld King Adoration Association?]
Naturally going with the flow of conversation, I heard something that sounds very serious. Mainly, it sounded like some kind of organization that a certain fanatic might belong to……
[I guess it’s something like Kuro-san’s fan club. This organization is quite large, and its intelligence network and voice are said to be greater than that of a country…… Well, I guess it’s something like a smaller version of my troops, I guess? The information they were dealing with is also only about Kuro-san……]
[Fuaahhh…… She has a fan club huh……]
[Yes, Kuro-san is one of the most popular people in the world. She had quite an amount of believers among both the Demons and the Humans.]
[……………..]
[……Incidentally, it’s even rumored that if one casually approaches Kuro-san, they will be erased by this organization.]
[The heck is that, that’s scary.]
An underworld organization with power greater than a country. That’s what Kuro’s fan club is…… I see, the reason why Lunamaria-san was well-informed was that this organization is where she was getting her information…….
I mean, doesn’t that look dangerous? They won’t just hunt me down for being Kuro’s lover, right?
[Ahh, it’s alright. Kaito-san is “treated as the honorary president of Underworld King Adoration Association” after all……]
[Wait a moment there!!! Why the heck have I been enshrined without my knowledge!?]
[There are several reasons for this but…… I think the biggest reason would be that “Kuro-san has declared her love for Kaito-san” in all sorts of places.]
[Kurooooooooo!?]
What the heck are you doing!? Eh? How come I was being subjected to shame play in places I don’t know!? N- No, I’m certainly happy when she said she loves me, but I feel more embarrassed from that!!!
[Also, the “president” of that fan club, the person who made it as one of the best organization in the world, is Kaito-san’s believer, so that might also a greater part of the reason.]
[That’s weird? Why would the president of Kuro’s fan club be my believer?]
[……The president proclaimed that “Kaito-san is her second priority within the whole world”.]
[……An unpleasant amount of sweat was running down my back…… Could it be that the president is……]
[It’s Ein-san.]
[I freeeaaakkiiiinggg knnneeeewww itttttt!!!]
Seriously, what the heck are that master and servant doing!? Also, the president of the Underworld King Adoration Association is Ein-san? Good grief, I can understand now why that organization is the largest in the world.
No, seriously, why the heck are outrageous things happening to places where I, the person concerned, don’t know…… Geez, seriously, how the heck did this happen?
Dear Mom, Dad———— I had in my hand a guidebook given to me by Kuro. It turned out that this guidebook made me learn something shocking. No, I knew that she had believers, but I didn’t think that her believers even had an organization…… Unnn———- Apparently, an organization called Underworld King Adoration Association exists.
<Afterword>
In a place where Kuro isn’t around, Kaito uses a mysterious technique to flirt with Kuro.
T/N: 34/202