Well, Kyoko scolding Reiko and me was a pretty rare occurrence. Usually, Reiko was the one who laid into us real good, with me and Kyoko on the receiving end...er, getting scolded. Reiko and I had both screwed up this time, while Kyoko had been sidelined, so the reversal was understandable. Being left out before grasping the situation was probably what ticked her off about it most, but we hadn’t had a choice. Explaining everything would’ve cost precious time when even seconds wasted put a girl’s life at risk. Even if there was a one percent chance of her demise, that was a risk I wasn’t willing to take. I didn’t have any regrets about my decision, though; even if I was put in the same situation again, I wouldn’t do anything different.
Apologizing to Kyoko was a separate matter, though. We’d wronged her, so I had to apologize. That went without saying. Forgetting about our disguises wasn’t fatal, but it was a major, careless mistake. It was no wonder Kyoko was mad... Her scolding would wind down soon, though. She wasn’t used to getting mad like this, so she’d fizzle out soon and calm down. Her usual anger was colder...smiling serenely all the while.
“I get that there wasn’t any time, so I’m not that mad about being left without explanation,” she said.
That was a lie. Well, she probably did understand, but understanding something and being annoyed about it were two different subjects. But since Kyoko was claiming she wasn’t mad about it, Reiko and I definitely weren’t gonna argue. We weren’t idiots.
“But I’ve been left out a lot lately, haven’t I?” Kyoko added.
Reiko and I said nothing.
“The Trader Shop stuff is fine, I get it. Unlike Can and Edith, who work solo, I have to deal with employees, business partners, and stock, so I’m stuck with less time with you two...but don’t you think you’re keeping too many secrets from me?” she asked. “This happened in our past lives too...didn’t it?”
“We’re so sorry!” we said in unison.
Yup, Reiko and I knew it was true. We hadn’t meant any harm. It was just that we wanted to protect people...including us, from harm. Honest!
We apologized sincerely, and Kyoko relented. She seemed to acknowledge her part in all this, and while she was mildly annoyed at our excessive fussing, she sheathed her sword, so to speak. In exchange, she made us vow that there’d be no more secrets or deliberately delayed info sharing.
We had no choice. I prayed for the many in this world who’d be meeting Kyoko moving forward...
“Now that we’re in this mess, we’ll have to fast-track our plans to protect ourselves from problematic people. My Trader Shop in that town will be demoted from the main store to a branch store. The manager I hired will be the new branch manager and they’ll handle most of the local operations. We’ll tie it to the orphanage for mutual aid, sharing money and labor. If enemies show up, we crush them together. We’ll open the main store in the capital ASAP, one that nobles and royals will value and ally with. This rental will be our hideout and we’ll use the shop’s living quarters as our base and home. Any objections?”
“None...” Reiko and I said.
Kyoko usually wasn’t this pushy. Her insistence showed she was still sore about earlier.
I’d expected the main shop to be changed into a branch. Honestly, that shop had served its purpose and could’ve been closed. It was a hassle for Kyoko to keep it running with all of the restocking and such, but this was classic Kyoko. Once you take in a stray, even a hunter’s heart softens. She couldn’t just abandon those she’d taken in. We had plenty of money and time, so we might as well enjoy the inefficiencies and hassles. There was no fun in living strictly for efficiency, after all.
I had a track record about something similar too—the old Eyes of the Goddess kids and the current Little Silver kids.
We were kindred spirits. Despite our different appearances and personalities, we three were fated to meet.
“I reserved a property for the main shop,” Kyoko said.
“That was fast!” Reiko and I said in sync.
Yup, when Kyoko made up her mind, she moved immediately.
“It would’ve taken too long to spread the news the slow way, so I’m going all out from the get-go. We’re throwing a big opening event.”
Oh boy, Kyoko’s shifted to blitz mode...
When she got like this, she charged full speed toward her goal, details be damned, leaving chaos in her wake. And of course, it was mostly me and Reiko who had to clean up the fallout.
“What kind of event?” Reiko asked.
That was the burning question, of course.
“Something that draws a crowd, makes waves, needs minimal prep, and turns a decent profit... That’s right, we’re doing a wyvern-butchering show!”
“WHAAAT?!”