"... Takumi, just so you know, we can't accept this."
"That one I sent earlier was for the letter of recommendation. This one is for... let's say lodging, ship fare, dispatching officials and knights—basically, all sorts of fees disguised as a thank-you gift!"
""That's what it is~!""
I had anticipated being told they couldn't accept it, so I had my response fully prepared.
"More importantly! I'd heard about this—I had! But did you really manage to collect all the types!? I was told that forest only grows one type of gemstone at a time. You'd have to be really lucky to encounter all of them during your stay!"
"Well, I can only say we were really fortunate. So yeah, just a coincidence."
"... You little—"
""Coincidence! Totally coincidental~""
But really, it's not like I control the forest's rotation cycle, so it was just a matter of luck.
""Want more?""
"Huh!? Want more what?"
""Branches~""
"No, no, no! What are you even saying?!"
""Huh? Extra souvenirs?""
"No thanks!"
Allen and Elena's back-and-forth with Tristan-sama was getting pretty hilarious.
Pushy kids versus a flustered royal... Honestly, this kind of behavior would normally be considered an extreme case of lèse-majesté.
"Haha, you never know what Takumi will bring back from his trips. But to find a new kind of liquor again—now that's impressive!"
So that's why Lionel-sama was here today—he wanted to talk about the vodka.
"You've tried it already?"
"Of course! Bit of a strong drink, but it's got quite the flavor! I heard it's not exclusive to you and can be brought back by others too, so I immediately put in an order."
"Ah… so the previous shipment wasn't enough?"
"Well, I couldn't keep your goodwill stash all to myself, now could I? Don't worry about it. Now that there's a distribution channel, I'll be able to get more eventually."
Unlike Tristan-sama, who looked completely drained already, Lionel-sama was practically glowing with joy.
"But if you happen to have some extra stock on you, I'd love to buy it. Delivery from Gista will still take a while, after all. Oh! I'd like some of that Nippy liquor and brandy too!"
"Huh? Didn't someone already start producing that?"
"They did, but the flavor's definitely different from the ones found in the dungeon. Each has its own appeal."
Well, that makes sense. Even with the same label, liquor can taste totally different depending on where it's made. I guess he enjoys switching between brands depending on his mood.
"I've got plenty of all three, so that's fine. But man, you really love your booze, huh~"
"Oh, I love it enough to say I plan to die by it someday!"
"... Wait, seriously?"
"Yup. Thanks to you, my collection has expanded. You've got my eternal gratitude. Keep up the good work—keep finding more!"
I'm honestly a little worried he's going to end up with alcohol poisoning someday… or maybe he wants to go that way? That's a level of dedication I can't match.
"Old man! Don't just impose your personal interests on Takumi! Also, you weren't even invited here! What are you doing, just showing up like it's normal!?"
"Takumi and the others just got back—it's only natural I'd come see them. Besides, Takumi and I are liquor-development partners, remember? What about you? You don't even need to be here!"
"Takumi is my friend. That's why I'm obviously supposed to be here!"
Looks like Lionel-sama and Al-sama are still on great terms as always.
"Takumi, this might go on for a while, so feel free to ignore them. They're just being their usual selves. Let them have at it."
"Haha, okay then. So, next topic…"
Following Austin-sama's suggestion, I decided to just leave Lionel-sama and Al-sama to their usual banter.
"Oh right—we got some new teleportation magic tools."
"Hah!?"
"Two of them."
"Wait, hold on!"
"I'm technically the owner, but they're being managed by the Ruven and Risner households. So if you ever need to contact either of them immediately, please use these identification codes."
"No seriously, wait a second!"
I smoothly dropped the info about the teleportation tools, handing over a piece of paper with the recognition codes for both devices.
"Takumi... your conversation transitions are so abrupt. You might be worse than me at this."
"Ahaha~ But if I try to go through everything one at a time in a polite order, we'll never get through it all."
Wald-san gave me a half-exasperated retort.
Yeah, maybe I'm being a bit hasty, but if I stop every time they get surprised, we'll be here all day.
"Anyway, next up—"
"Hey! Don't just move on like that!"
"Is that not okay?"
"Of course it's not okay! Teleportation tools are extremely rare! How are you just casually finding them like that!?"
"Luck?"
"Luck!? What kind of ridiculous—… oh right, your party's luck is the stuff of legends…"
Tristan-sama started getting worked up but quickly calmed himself.
Seems even he has started accepting just how absurdly lucky the kids are.
"If we find another one, I'll bring it here and sell it to you."
"... With you guys, that actually seems possible. Fine. But don't sell it to anyone else—bring it here first."
"Understood."
We don't need any more for ourselves, so I'll just offer the next one directly to the palace.
"Alright, moving on—"
"Wait! We're not done talking about the branches!"
I was trying to get through all the topics, but he stopped me again.
Tristan-sama pointed furiously at the gemstone branches laid out on the table.
"These branches! I haven't said I'd accept them yet!"
""Ehh~ But we wanna give them to you~""
"Even if you do, I'm not accepting them!"
"Then we'll just leave them here~"
"Forgotten and abandoned~"
"Hey!!"
Since Tristan-sama refused to accept them, Allen and Elena were now preparing to take extreme measures.
"Now, now, Allen, Elena—don't just leave them here, even if you don't like his answer."
""Ehhh~""
"Fufu. If you really want to leave them, just make sure to persuade him first."
"What!?"
""Got it~!""
At first I thought Grace-sama was siding with Tristan-sama, but turns out she was helping guide Allen and Elena's strategy.
Whether the branches get "forgotten" or not now depends on how hard the twins push.
"Allen, Elena, I'm counting on you!"
""Leave it to us! We'll do our best!""
And with that, I decided to let the twins handle it.