MV – Chapter 110: Mira and the Minor Villain

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“I told you to say you were my relative! Why are you revealing your identity?!”  (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach was angry. His anger was directed at the support character, Mira. She was supposed to introduce herself as his relative, but that plan had already fallen apart.

“I did introduce myself as the relative of a minor villain, as per the shoddy script. I’m quite satisfied with my performance.” (Mira)

Mira replied with a completely calm expression, even seeming puzzled.

“But there’s no point if you say you’re an Artificial Spirit at the end! Why do you have to add that final comment? Are you trying to annoy me?” (Lanpeach)

“I have to advertise that I’m an Artificial Spirit every chance I get, or my name won’t spread. If people know I’m an Artificial Spirit, then all sorts of requests will come to me. Don’t you think troublesome tasks will gather as a result?” (Mira)

Mira tilted her head, wondering why he didn’t understand. Lanpeach realized that arguing with her was pointless. Mira clearly thought that troublesome tasks equaled quests.

“Nugugu… You’ve got a point there. Well done, Mira.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach thought the same, so he ended up patting her on the head, praising her despite himself.

“That’s not fair! I’m an Artificial Spirit too, you know? Come on, pat Libra-chan’s head too!” (Libra)

“Koume is Papa-shan’s child! Pat my head too, Papa-shan!” (Koume)

“Kyuu~. Please pat the rabbit’s back too~!” (Mimi)

With Libra and the others clinging to him, Lanpeach had no choice but to give them all headpats.

However, the peaceful scene didn’t last long.

“Hey, old man, is this kid really an Artificial Spirit? From space? She’s from space, right? Oh! I have to say the greeting I practiced! Me Earthling!” (Touka)

“You already did that joke before.” (Lanpeach)

“Not with Mira-chan though! This is the first contact with a humanoid Artificial Spirit!” (Touka)

“Eh, but I am here. We just greeted each other recently, didn’t we…?” (Libra)

Ignoring that sad statement, they were now in the restaurant of the Lanpeach Complex. Dry brought Lanpeach and the others here after Mira’s introduction.

The restaurant was bustling with activity. With an abundance of fish available, everyone was enjoying the sudden “fish bubble” after all.

The residents of the slums had bought new clothes, and were enthusiastically enjoying their meals.

The staff bustled about, and the kitchen was like a battlefield. Most of the food was seafood, which would normally be a luxury elsewhere, but here it was affordable for the residents.

“This tuna is amazing! I never knew it could taste this good!”

“Dad, this is different from what we usually eat. I gotta hold my cheeks so they don’t fall off!”

“We usually eat gadokurie after all. Eat up!”

“Uhahaha, Imma treat today! Order whatever ya want!”

“Kyaa! So reliable~. In that case, we’ll take three seafood platters!” 

Families were gathered. There’s also Guy, who was showing off with the money he had earned, surrounded by his female entourage. Everyone seemed prosperous and happy.

“When fish sells, money circulates. When people spend that money at stores, everyone’s wallets get fuller.” (Chihiro)

“Yeh. With this, the Lanpeach area is secure. Poverty will be eradicated.” (Dry)

“Let’s make some salt later too. It’ll taste way better than synthetic salt.” (Lanpeach)

Chihiro, who had joined them in the middle, showed a gentle smile, Dry gave her stamp of approval, and Lanpeach was already thinking up new business ideas. 

The sight of a crook surrounded by pretty girls -Chihiro, Libra, Dry, Mira, Touka, and Koume- made for quite a strange scene.

“Hey, hey, isn’t it amazing that an Artificial Spirit is with you, old man? So, what did Mira-chan come here for? Where’s her spaceship?” (Touka)

Unlike the others, Touka, who hadn’t seen the initial, miserable state of the Lanpeach Complex, was completely uninterested in the place. She instead turned her attention to the pretty girl, her curiosity piqued.

“Weph, *gulp*… I’m here to help the useless Playe— Oops, I mean, Pla-san get his act together.” (Mira)

Mira replied while chewing on a skewer of grilled seafood.

[After analyzing the so-called “death flags” and running various predictions, simulations, imaginations, and hypotheses, I recommend investigating the source of the Demon Powder.] (Mira)

Mira’s thought transmission reached Lanpeach, who narrowed his eyes slightly and responded mentally.

[Wasn’t that the doctor’s invention?] (Lanpeach)

[It closely resembles an ancient product made by the Harkein Corporation, a long-lost human enterprise. While it’s a crude replica compared to their work, the Space Library suspects that the origin is Harkein technology.] (Mira)

[Hey, I haven’t heard about any of this though? No important information is being passed to me. What happened to reporting things properly?] (Libra)

[Reporting is best left to pipe-smoking sailors. Please give up since you are not a sailor.] (Mira)

[I think girls would look cuter in sailor uniforms!] (Libra)

A pitiful thought transmission was mixed with Mira’s serious one. A bit more kindness would be nice…

“Telepathy! This is Telepathy, right? Pii Pii, I feel it! What are you talking about? Let me in on it!” (Touka)

Touka, who had somehow sensed the telepathic exchange, wedged herself between Lanpeach and Mira with her interest piqued. Touka became transcendental when it came to aliens. Touka’s intuition was so sharp, it left the others speechless.

“Impressive, Touka-san. Actually, we were planning a mission to have Lanpeach infiltrate the magic academy.” (Mira)

[Oi oi, why the magic academy?] (Lanpeach)

[Upon gathering information, we concluded that the ruins beneath the academy are suspicious. It turns out those ruins are a Harkein Corporation branch.] (Mira)

[Leeeet meeeee join toooo!] (Libra)

Lanpeach was surprised by the sudden turn in conversation, but he realized Mira had been thoroughly planning everything. She was nothing like a certain shrine maiden. But couldn’t she keep things a bit more secret?

“The magic academy! Hmm, I can totally help with that!” (Touka)

“Dry can help too if it’s for Peach-oniichan.” (Dry)

“Um, is it really okay to be talking about this here?” (Chihiro)

“I’ve already set up an anti-espionage barrier, so it’s fine.” (Mira)

Touka and Dry, who were both students at the academy, offered to help. Chihiro was worried about discussing such scheming in the open, but Mira had already taken care of it.

“Hmph, this fish is really good!” (Libra)

The other person was entirely indifferent to the conversation and happily ate fish. But they let it slide since she is cute. However, calling her just a support character no longer seemed accurate.

“But the magic academy? Can I ask what exactly you’re planning to do there?” (Chihiro)

“But the magic academy? What are sho planning to do there?” (Koume)

Chihiro was determined to play the role of strategist, and Koume copied her since she thought that was cool. Young children love to mimic others.

Leaving that aside, Lanpeach couldn’t help but feel that this mission from the Underground District Artificial Spirit or something will be incredibly difficult. His suspicion was probably right; he is in Lanpeach difficulty after all.

“The magic academy of the Surface District is said to have the best facilities, so we’re planning on investigating the cafeteria menu. We’re also hoping for some souvenirs.” (Mira)

“So you’re not going to tell me anything, huh?” (Chihiro)

Not that she had been expecting much, but Chihiro let out a sigh, disappointed by Mira’s lack of transparency. There’s a slight chance that she was being serious though.

“Hm~, Old Man, I have a great way for you to infiltrate. The magic academy is looking for part-time workers to help transport goods for their ruins investigation.” (Touka)

Touka casually mentioned this while poking at a lobster.

“Ruins? The magic academy has ruins?” (Lanpeach)

“Yeah, I think they called it a ‘botanical garden’. They’ve been doing various things to get it up and running. Heard it’s been on the grounds for a while, but they only recently realized it’s a ‘botanical garden’.” (Touka)

“Dry saw that too. Bunch of people gathered around this petrified dome-looking building. Job listing was so weird that it stuck with me.” (Dry)

There were apparently ruins on the surface as well. Perhaps unrelated to the Harkein Corporation branch?

“Weird how?” (Lanpeach)

“Asking for explorers below Star 1. A porter job.” (Dry)

“That’s a strange requirement for investigating ruins… I guess they expect no danger, so they’re worried about spies or saboteurs.” (Lanpeach)

Anyone above Star 2 would be more than capable of overpowering regular researchers. The ruins must have significant value.

“They’ll probably bring in mana measuring devices, so there’s no fooling them.” (Lanpeach)

In other words, psychic abilities might slip under the radar. Perfect for sneaking in. Lanpeach flashed a crooked grin and went ‘uhihi’. You could only see him as scheming something evil. 

“Good. Let’s go with that. Sign me up for the job. On the resume, write that although my rank is low, I’m highly motivated and always took the lead in club activities to guide others.” (Lanpeach)

“That’s quite a generic resume. I’ll add that your specialty is watching movies and your hobby is reading. But to give it more impact, let’s say you’re a traveling young man with a small daughter, recently divorced and struggling to make ends meet. The child is always hungry, crying ‘kyuu kyuu’ for food. Hah, my screenwriting skills are frighteningly good.” (Mira)

Mira ran a hand through her hair with a smug look, proud of the resume she had just whipped up.

“Wait, am I married to a rabbit? And my child isn’t Koume but a rabbit?” (Lanpeach)

“Papa-shan’s child is Koume! It’s Koume! Mira-oneechan, it’s Koume!” (Koume)

“Hmm, that means I’ll have to make a pushcart. Let’s leave that to Pla-san.” (Mira)

So Pla is now official? What a terrible nickname…

Koume enthusiastically smacked the table at the mention of “child”. Mira shrugged and rewrote the resume.

Yup, this doesn’t feel promising. Could a resume like this really get accepted?

“I’ll add that you’re saving up for a second marriage. That’ll earn the interviewer’s sympathy and increase your chances of getting hired, Lan.” (Chihiro)

Chihiro didn’t forget to appeal that she is the one he is getting remarried to.

“Alright, fine. You handle it, Libra.” (Lanpeach)

“Huh? Do I really have to do that? Sounds like too much work. Can’t we leave it to Mira? You know, the right person for the job and all that. Pass me the soy sauce, will you?” (Libra)

Libra tried to pry a mollusk out of its shell. Can you believe she is supposed to be a support character?

“Haah… Well, fine. Mira, I’m counting on you. And no bunny suits, okay? Even if it’s a demon bunny suit, it’s absolutely forbidden!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach couldn’t risk damaging his minor villain social standing by being linked to making a young girl wear a bunny suit.

“Understood. Oh, and don’t worry, I will keep the photos you took while saying ‘guhehe, you look so cute in a bunny suit, little girl’ a secret, okay?” (Mira)

“Stop spreading baseless rumors.” (Lanpeach)

“Just kidding. I’ll submit your resume as the wolf Lanpeach with a little girl.” (Mira)

“It’s amazing how just changing ‘child’ to ‘little girl’ makes it sound creepy!” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach sighed at his snarky support character, but a few days later, he received the good news that his application had been accepted.

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