Mitsuha had been racking her brain for ideas since last night. For the former, she was considering an aerobatics demonstration like the ones performed by Blue Impulse of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force or the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, accompanied by a formation of combat helicopters playing Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” over loudspeakers. The inability of the pilots to practice beforehand and familiarize themselves with landmarks would make that difficult, however. Mitsuha could take aerial pictures and have someone chart it; the pilots were professionals and should be able to use that to put together a decent show as long as they didn’t attempt to do any difficult maneuvers.
For the latter, Mitsuha had in mind a weapon demonstration using tanks, self-propelled artillery, mortars, and guided missiles in what would basically be a miniature version of the annual Fuji Firepower Exercise in Japan. She wouldn’t ask Japan, of course, but rather a country that could suit her needs. One of the militaries from the nations that attended the World-to-World Meetings might be willing to help. They’d ask for payment, but a bucket of seawater and two or three hallucigenia-looking things would be enough.
Oooh, I just thought of another killer idea. What about a night-time laser show or projection mapping against a building? Or a fog screen projection? I think it’d be doable if I used the castle’s outer wall or set up machines on the spires to create a mist…
None of this has to be perfect. The people in this world have never seen laser shows or projection mapping before, so it shouldn’t take much to amaze them.
That’s three ideas. I hope that’s enough…
“C-Can they be done at the royal palace?” Count Bozes asked.
Ah, crap… The aerobatics demonstration, the laser show, and the projection mapping will be fine, but there’s no way the dragon fire is gonna work! They’d have to be out somewhere in a barren field for that.
After a brief discussion on how to deal with the politics of Beatrice’s future, they decided to move on to other topics. The Bozeses’ payment to Mitsuha was one of them. She gave them a quote before the party, but there was always bound to be a discrepancy between the quoted budget and the actual money spent.
“Your total for the fireworks is 5 million yen… Which converts to 200 gold coins here. I’m charging an extra twenty percent to cover other miscellaneous fees and so I can make a profit, which brings your total to 240 gold coins.”
The food I gave to the pyrotechnicians wasn’t free, you know! And that’s only one of the many things I had to spend on behind the scenes!
“Huh?! That’s it?” The count leered in disbelief.
To the average person, 240 gold coins would feel like around 240,000 dollars. That was a trivial amount to a powerful noble like him considering the impact the party would have on his daughter’s future. The fireworks were by far the most expensive element; the rental mascot costumes, power generators, stalls, and the food cost next to nothing in comparison. Mitsuha even saved them money by grocery-shopping on Earth for some of the ingredients that were considered a luxury in this world.
She also bought a cotton candy machine instead of renting one. It wasn’t expensive, and it could be used on other occasions like for small events at the orphanage. Other expenses like the payment to Wolf Fang didn’t amount to much.
That was from the count’s─soon-to-be marquis’s─point of view, not Mitsuha’s, of course. She didn’t want to overcharge the Bozeses, especially not for an event as important as Beatrice’s debutante ball. A twenty-percent commission was modest.
That said, I had no intention of doing this for free or for a loss, and I certainly wouldn’t give such a good deal to other noble families. I’m saving gold for my retirement, after all. There’s no telling when I could lose my world-jumping ability, get stripped of my peerage and territory, or be forced to flee this kingdom. Money makes the world go round!
Count Bozes’s payment to Mitsuha wasn’t his only expense for the party; he had other things like the extravagant food and alcohol. Despite all that, it was unlikely the party cost him anywhere near 1,000 gold coins, which was equivalent to about a million dollars. Considering the power the Bozes family displayed last night to the nobility and populace of Zegleus, and the potential effects of making them believe they were connected to the Goddess, a few hundred gold coins were well worth the price.
Last night is going to be an unimaginable boon to Beatrice and the Bozes family… So I’d thank you not to lecture me any further about it, Count Bozes.
And thus, while some anxiety about the future lingered, Mitsuha and the Bozeses managed to reach a solution that would let them avoid any immediate crises.
After the talk, Mitsuha grabbed her LED lights, power cables, generators, and batteries, and decided to head home. She’d warned everyone not to clean up without her, so the equipment was exactly where she’d left it. The last thing she wanted was for someone to tug on the cables and burn them out or break an LED light. Some of them were rentals, and some she was hoping to reuse.
Okay, time to clean up!
Sabine was currently around eleven and a half years old. That gave Mitsuha three and a half years until her debutante ball. Leuhen was almost ten; she still had five years.
It wasn’t time to panic yet. Science would advance in the next three years, and circumstances could change. There was even a tiny chance the age of adulthood in Zegleus would be raised to eighteen by then.
Who am I kidding?! The chance of that is zero! Nada! Damn it all…
Regardless, Sabine’s party is a few years away, so there’s no need to worry about it now. Not thinking about it for three years and then full-on panicking a few days before the date is much more preferable to stressing about it for years. I’ll pretend this problem doesn’t exist until I can’t anymore.
Why do today what you can put off for future-you to tackle? Hasta la vista, baby!
Anyway, Operation Beatrice’s Birthday was now complete. Regular birthday parties were held every year but they weren’t nearly as extravagant as debutante balls. All Mitsuha would have to provide for those were food, alcohol, and sweets. The host could figure out entertainment on their own.
I’d break if I was expected to put in this much effort for every birthday party every year. I’d also end up having to do Alexis’s and Theodore’s, the three princesses’, and the two princes’ birthdays. That’s eight a year. I would literally die!
The Bozeses may have been a count’s family, but they’d run out of money fast if they threw parties on the scale of yesterday’s every year. They threw many other parties throughout the year too, including birthday parties for Count Bozes and Lady Iris, anniversaries for when the first Bozes earned his title, and goodwill gatherings in their territory to show friendship to nearby nobles.