The man could’ve charged a lot more, given the long hours and significant labor fees the job would require. He was also willing to go through the trouble of submitting the permit requests to the municipal office─not that it was necessary this time.
…I have something much grander in mind than the little “surprise” he believes I’m organizing, though.
“Hmm… How many fireworks would you be able to launch for 3 million yen, including a few shakudama?” Mitsuha inquired.
“…Huh?”
I have no intention of cheaping out on Beatrice’s debutante ball. I mean, it’s the count’s money, but still!
Spending 10 million-yen worth of Count Bozes’s money on fireworks would’ve been going too far so she settled for a 3 million-yen budget, which was equivalent to one hundred and twenty gold coins in the other world. To the count, it’d feel like spending around 12 million yen. Whether the count would find that price tag steep or cheap… Well, he’d have to see the fireworks for himself to judge.
I received two hundred and sixty gold coins for planning Adelaide’s debutante ball. That’s apparently a bargain for such an event. Actually, the total cost of the ball was more because the viscount purchased the food ingredients available in their world.
Viscount Ryner is new to high society. Count Bozes’s family, on the other hand, have been titled for generations and he’s about to be granted the rank of marquis. The budget is going to be significantly higher. Spending a hundred and twenty gold coins on fireworks should be no problem.
The pyrotechnician asked, “Miss, is your daddy a big corporate executive or something? Are you launching fireworks to celebrate his company’s event?”
Uh… I guess no high schooler is gonna have three million lying around to surprise her parents with fireworks on their wedding anniversary.
“Um, yeah, something like that,” replied Mitsuha. “It’s the coming-of-age party for the daughter of a major company’s president, and I want to make it one to remember… Also, I know I look young, but I’m nineteen years old. I’m an adult, and I was hired to organize this event.”
“EXCUSE ME?!”
Oh come on, this can’t be that unusual of a job. The owner of a pyrotechnics workshop like him should be used to customers asking him for fireworks.
…I know, I know. It’s not the job he’s surprised about, it’s my age. Shut up already!
And so, Mitsuha and the man settled in to discuss the project.
“I’d like the fireworks show to be a slow-paced one. Can you reduce the number of shells overall, so we can have more of the bigger ones? The thing is, my guests have never seen fireworks before. I want the audience to watch them one at a time so they can take it all in, and then give them a multiple-shot grand finale at the end.”
“So there’ll be a lot of small children…” the man speculated. “If this is gonna be their first fireworks show ever, we’ve gotta do this right. All right then. Now that summer’s over, we have plenty of time now. We already made most of our earnings for the whole year. I’ll give you a special deal at the same price.
“Next, we need to go over the date and location, iron out the details of the program, and inspect the site beforehand. We’ll also need to plan a rain date in case of inclement weather and stuff. Can I assume the party’s gonna be over a month away?”
“It’s in three weeks, actually… Sorry.”
“WHAT?!”
And thus, Mitsuha and the man got down to the specifics.
“Is the venue nearby?”
“Yep. We’ll be there before you know it,” answered Mitsuha.
Who would choose to hire a fireworks company that’s far from the party venue?
The next day, Mitsuha, the workshop chief─I’m not sure if that’s his title─and one of his employees were driving out in the company car to inspect the launching site.
Normally, the company only accepted jobs that were at least a month in advance. That made sense, given that they didn’t just sell the fireworks; they also did their own site inspections, submitted the paperwork, made the shells, and more. They even offered customized fireworks that depicted letters and symbols. The short notice of Mitsuha’s request left them with no time to waste, despite it being the off-season.
“Is everything we agreed upon yesterday still okay with you?” asked Mitsuha.
“Of course. Skill and trust are the backbone of this trade. I make sure all my employees know that. Next to safety, nothing is more important than honoring our agreement with the client and maintaining confidentiality.”
Mitsuha had asked him that question a few times already, but she wanted to check one last time. They were on their way to do the site inspection, after all.
Installing the equipment was normally done on the day of or the day before the event, so the workshop chief wanted to take care of the inspection in advance. He was under the impression that the party space was local.
In reality, they were hundreds of miles away from Mitsuha’s house in Japan. The event was obviously nowhere near her hometown, so she didn’t need to pick a pyrotechnician close to her and increase the risk of being identified.
“By the way,” said the workshop chief, “the only name you’ve given me is ‘Nanoha’. I’ll have you fill out our contract form when we get back. There’s also the paperwork─the report and permit─we have to submit. Don’t worry; all we need is your address, contact information, the date, and what you’re using the fireworks for. It’ll only take a minute. We’ll take care of submitting the forms ourselves. Oh, and bring your hanko stamp next time.”
“Huh…” Mitsuha was dazed. Häagen-Dazed.
I gave them my made-up princess name to be safe. Japan has the best fireworks technology in the world (in my opinion), so if the other countries find out that I bought fireworks from a Japanese vendor, they won’t think anything of it. What I can’t afford is for Nanoha to be linked to Mitsuha Yamano.
The workshop chief trusts me because I already made the 50% down payment. That’s the only way he would’ve accepted such an expensive job from a girl who claimed to be nineteen but looked (and acted) like a child. I offered to pay full price upfront but he insisted on half.
I figured it was enough to convince him this wasn’t a prank… And that it might get me out of having to prove my identity. But now that I think about it, he’s obviously gonna need the client’s details to submit the permit. It’s a decent-sized fireworks show, after all.
Mitsuha groaned internally.
Wh-What should I do…
Eh, oh well. I’ll talk to the workshop chief about it after the inspection. He has no idea what he’s in for…
“Oh, park in that empty lot to the left, please,” guided Mitsuha.
“Huh? Okay…” The workshop chief was dubious, but he relayed the instruction to his employee who was driving.
He was rightfully confused. The lot had barely enough to park a few cars, let alone set up fireworks equipment. There were no event spaces nearby for hosting a party, and while it wasn’t too far from the city, it was too far to walk from the nearest train station.
Little did they know that the spot had absolutely nothing to do with the actual scene of the party.
The vehicle pulled in and stopped. Mitsuha kept a sharp eye on the driver, making sure the engine was still on, the gear was in neutral, and the emergency brake was pulled─just in case the driver slammed the gas pedal in panic.
She began to chant, “O Otherworldly Goddess, please allow these skilled craftsmen to cross from this world into yours… Open the Aura Road!”
The incantation should act as a warning before I jump us to the other world. I’m sure it’s enough to clue them in on what’s happening… They are Japanese, after all!
“Jump!”
“WHAT THE HELL?!”
The three passengers and their car vanished from Earth, leaving behind only the echo of their cries.
“Hello-o-o! Welcome!”
Sabine peeped into the car window and greeted Mitsuha and her two guests. Her Japanese sounded quite natural. She was now fluent enough to watch Japanese DVDs and Blu-ray discs without any help; basic conversation was easy for her.
Standing behind Sabine were several guardsmen. The two newcomers may have been Mitsuha’s VIPs, but they couldn’t be left unsupervised. Especially considering she’d jumped the car directly inside the palace grounds.
The fireworks were going to be launched from the royal palace. It had an expansive courtyard and training ground, and it was located in the center of the capital.
And as expected…
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” the two pyrotechnicians exclaimed again.