Chapter 11: Ruin the Wretched Merchant!

Ding-a-ling!

I smell trouble, Mitsuha thought.

A wholly corpulent man walked into her store, flanked by three other people. His appearance sent off Mitsuha’s internal “scumbag” detector.

“The shopkeeper, I assume?” he asked.

Called it.

“Give me the rights to this store and its supply routes. Mhm, I’ll be taking you under my wing.”

Whoa, what the hell?! Don’t we have laws in this kingdom? I know I look like a child, but that’s too much. I’m kinda impressed, though. He doesn’t give a damn about what society thinks. Is he that rich and powerful?

“Sorry, but who are you?” Mitsuha asked, just for the sake of it.

“What? You don’t know me?” The man seemed genuinely insulted. “I guess I can’t expect much from a little girl. Very well, I’ll tell you. I’m the president of the Adler Company, Nelson Adler!”

“Ohh, the Adler Company?!”

First I’ve heard of it, Mitsuha thought to herself.

“Yes. Rumor has it that this place deals in fish, the so-called ‘shampoo’, and other curiosities. You’re young, but you have potential. I’ll look after you, so you’d better appreciate it.”

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I guess Count Bozes’ pressure didn’t squash nosy merchants too.

“Umm, I’ll need to run this by my trade partner, so could you come here around the same time tomorrow? I’ll make sure he’s here.”

“Mhm. Very well.”

Pleased that his demands had gotten through to her so easily, Nelson turned around and left. He had likely intended to strong-arm Mitsuha if she refused, and her obedience led him believe that she either knew going against the Adler Company was a bad idea, or she was simply an idiot.

Hah! As if I’d make it that easy for him. Also, I said I’d call my “trade partner”, but I didn’t say anything about a supplier.

◇ ◇ ◇

Ding-a-ling!

“Mitsuha! I’m heeere!” came a girl’s voice.

“So you are!” Mitsuha replied, thinking about what a regular Sabine had become.

The girl had initially called her “Mistress Mitsuha” out of respect, but Mitsuha didn’t want the princess’ reverence toward a commoner to seem enforced, which would certainly buy her a one-way ticket straight to the gallows. She had therefore insisted Sabine just call her “Mitsuha” instead, which eventually worked.

Sabine joined Mitsuha behind the counter. There was a small TV and a DVD player hidden there. Customers couldn’t see them, and Mitsuha made sure to stop whatever was playing if she needed to greet someone. For this reason, any customers who arrived during an engaging part of a show earned an intense, largely unmerited glare from Sabine.

Since the princess had become a daily visitor, Mitsuha, unable to tell her much about Japan, had run out of discussion topics. Then one day, she had accidentally pressed the wrong button on the remote, revealing to Sabine the existence of the TV and DVD player. The princess had gone wild over it, and Mitsuha had found herself unable to play off her mistake. Soon enough, the two of them began watching things together.

However, Mitsuha had made sure to tell the princess that the TV was a magic mirror of clairvoyance that would break if she told others about it. She even selected appropriate shows to increase the potency of the lie, including a story about a little witch who would lose her magic if her identity was discovered, and another about a character who lost everything because of a broken promise. It worked spectacularly.

Additionally, as Sabine did not know Japanese, Mitsuha had to translate and dub the shows on the fly. Doing this was so tiresome that intense transformations or special attack scenes, which involved little to no dialogue, relaxed her.

“Ah, Sabine, please give this letter to the chancellor when you’re back. It’s very important, so don’t forget it.”

Though she had a devilish side, Sabine was a bright girl with a good head on her shoulders, and Mitsuha was fully confident in her abilities. The princess nodded with a serious expression, took the letter, and tucked it into her pocket.

Ding-a-ling!

The entrance bell chimed to signal another arrival.

“I brought a contract,” the guest said bluntly. “Sign it.”

Well, then. You sure don’t waste time, do you, Nelson?

“Mitsuha, who is this?” Sabine asked, peeking out from behind Mitsuha.

Since the princess was just ten years old, few citizens knew what she looked like at a glance. She was also wearing plain clothing so as not to stand out. As pretty as she was, in her current state, no one would assume she was royalty.

“He’s from a big company and says that he wants to take me in,” said Mitsuha.

“Whaaat? You’re going away? Nooo! Please don’t!”

What an actress. This girl actually scares me sometimes.

Upon seeing a girl who was exceedingly charming even by noble standards, Nelson cracked a fleshy grin.

“Oh? If you want to stay with her so much, why not come along? I’ll allow it.”

“Really?!” Sabine jumped for joy, and just as Nelson’s smile stretched even wider...

Ding-a-ling!

The bell chimed yet again.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.” The newest visitor showed himself in.

“Wha—Chancellor?!” Nelson couldn’t withhold his surprise.

Yep. Everyone’s here, Mitsuha thought.

“Sorry for calling you like this, Saar.”

“Oh, don’t be. Your calls come before all other matters!”

She refers to him by his first name?! Nelson panicked. And why is the chancellor so humble with her?!

He had a bad feeling about this.

“This man told me to hand my store over to him for free!” said Mitsuha. “He also wants to take me away, and the princess as well. I just wanted to tell you that... well, I might have to refuse the king’s requests from now on.”

“Oh? What’s this I’m hearing, Mr. Adler?” The chancellor gave the large man an icy glare.

“Huh?! Wait, I, uh...” Nelson was sweating bullets.

“Do you truly intend to interfere with the business of a merchant working directly for His Majesty the King, lawlessly possess her place of business without compensation, and coerce young girls into becoming your property?”

“What? No, uh, not at all!” By now, the president of the Adler Company was as clammy and desperate as a fish out of water.

Is he even breathing? Mitsuha wondered.

“‘Not at all’, you say?”

“No! I mean, er, yes! Exactly!”

“Then I trust you will not meddle with this store or anyone associated with it, directly or indirectly?”

“I won’t! I swear by the goddess!”

“Then I would like you to keep watch for any obstruction of this business. You will be held responsible if something happens, so you best inform any pertinent parties right away.”

“Certainly!”

With that, the Adler Company was now obligated to make sure that not only its own members, but all businessmen in the capital, avoided meddling with Mitsuha’s General Store. Mitsuha couldn’t even imagine what kind of punishment the chancellor would bring down upon Nelson, were he to fail. It had come at a cost, but Nelson had made it through the most dangerous moment in his life... or so he thought.

“One more thing, Mr. Adler,” the chancellor continued. “I hereby revoke your permission to set foot on the castle grounds. Starting tomorrow, employees of the Adler Company are barred from entering the royal palace.”

“What?!” Nelson turned white as a sheet.

For the Adler Company, a purveyor to both the palace and the government, a ban from the palace was far more than merely a loss of sales. It also meant losing the people’s trust and becoming a laughingstock among fellow merchants. Even the top businessmen in the capital—no, the country—wouldn’t have been able to pick up the pieces from this degree of damage.

“Why would you do such a thing?” Nelson had believed he was safe when he agreed to keep the other merchants in check, but...

“Simply put, His Majesty the King is a gentle man, but even he would not tolerate the presence of his young daughter’s would-be abductors.”

“Huh?”

“Now, let us return, Your Highness.”

“What? But I wanna play with Mitsuha some mooore!” the princess whined as the chancellor dragged her out of the store.

All that remained was a fat man collapsed on the floor.

Rest in peace, Nelson.

Soon after that, the president of the Adler Company retired, leaving everything to his son.

“Do not lay a hand on Mitsuha’s General Store.”

His last order as acting president may have been uttered through gritted teeth, but it was heard by all the merchants in the capital—no, the country.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Hey, Sabine! Wanna inherit the title of ‘Plumber of the Opera’ from me?”

“No! That sounds weird! You just want to push it on me to get rid of it, don’t you?!”

Such keen senses! She really is scary!