Kawaragi Momoka seemed quite embarrassed about crying in front of a boy younger than herself—even though Asakura was her boss.
So when Asakura offered her a second tissue and said she could stay in the shop's attic, she made an excuse about needing to go back and pack her things and hastily fled. If Asakura hadn't been sure that her pockets were empty and she was having trouble with food and lodging, he would have even felt that she would never show up again.
As for whether the other party was trustworthy, and whether the back door situation would be exposed, Asakura didn't care much.
After all, compared to unreliable memory modification (physical), he truly possessed memory modification (magic).
"With that, the staff is set..." Asakura stroked his chin, "As long as we do some minimal renovation, we can start operating."
Unlike making main courses, where house-elves might occasionally surprise you with some authentic (single-arm full rotation) proper British cuisine, you can always trust their dessert skills.
Just as Asakura was considering whether to take advantage of this rare free time to go to the Chinese medicine shop in Chinatown to stock up on raw materials for brewing Essence of Dittany, his phone rang.
He looked at the caller ID, answered, and skillfully said in a broadcast-like voice, "The number you have dialed is out of service. Please try again later..."
[Out of service at a time like this, really...] Amakusa Shino's rather carefree voice came through the receiver.
"..."
[Huh, shouldn't there be a voicemail prompt after this? Like 'Please leave a message after the beep' or something...]
"That's usually a landline feature, you know."
[Oh, I've learned another useless piece of knowledge... Hmm? Something seems off?]
"...Please leave a message after the beep. Beep."
[Beep your head! You're right here!]
"The subscriber you have dialed has turned off their phone."
[Then who am I talking to?!]
"Actually, I am, AI."
[Really? Has Japan's AI technology advanced so much already?]
"Humans, dangerous, eliminate."
"It's Skynet, yo! Actually, for an AI of that level, humans are completely harmless, aren't they?!"
"Humans only cower and perish."
"Well, it's true that after AI became widespread, the general public used AI an unusually large amount in this regard... But this also means that reproduction is human instinct, a natural inclination rooted in living organisms, something all humans cannot resist. It can be said that it comes from ancient times, an absolute iron rule in genes even older than Luka! I can boldly state that the root of all humans is lust! So dirty jokes..."
"I'm hanging up."
"Wait a minute—!"
Amakusa Shino, who had originally intended to continue brainwashing Asakura with a method similar to Ping's Math Magic Blade, had to temporarily give up her dirty joke evangelism and began to speak of serious matters.
"In short, I hope Asakura can help buy some things. I'll send the list to you via Line later. Some items on it probably aren't sold in Toyama Shopping District, so you might need to go to a farther place."
"Why should I run errands for you?"
"Asakura, you don't want to see me hung on the Student Council's pillar of shame, do you?"
"Usually, shouldn't the bargaining chip for threats in such situations be something on my side?"
"Betting with fate, I'll use myself as the stake~?"
"Are you Jackie Chan?!"
(Note)
"Onegai, now, besides Asakura, I have no one else to rely on!"
"Don't say things like that in a high-pitched voice; you're giving me goosebumps… What about the other members of the Student Council?"
"They're all busy with the school festival… What I need you to help buy are some necessities for the Manga Club. Because that club always misappropriates its budget to buy illicit items, their supervising teacher simply had the Student Council convert all their club budget into art supplies and distribute it directly. However, everyone is busy with the school festival this week and doesn't have time to buy things, so I can only trouble you to make a trip. You can come to the Student Council later to get reimbursed for the money you spend."
"Got it. You owe me one."
Asakura sighed. It seemed his free time today was gone again.
"How about I treat you to yakisoba or takoyaki during the school festival?"
"No need. I plan to save this favor for now."
"Huh? Could it be that you want to use it for something strange? But it won't work until you collect all seven!"
"Are your favors Dragon Balls?! I just want to wait until you become Student Council President, then it'll feel like the favor has appreciated in value."
"A petty man."
"Mind your own business."
After hanging up the phone, Asakura opened Line and looked at the shopping list the other party had sent.
Just as Amakusa Shino said, some items on it were quite specialized, at least not sold in places like Toyama Shopping District.
Should he go all the way to Akihabara, where these art supplies were definitely available, or try looking in art supply stores here in Chiba? Asakura pondered for a moment. He thought that Kawaragi Momoka might bring her luggage to the shop at any time. If he went to Akihabara and couldn't return for a while, without using Great Blessing for teleportation, she would probably have to wait alone for quite some time.
Considering that when the shop wasn't open, his own shop also had a Muggle-shielding effect (Kawaragi Momoka had already been designated an employee by Asakura, the Secret-Keeper, so she wouldn't be affected by this), she would likely feel as if she were wearing a stone hat during that time, with passersby completely ignoring her.
Recalling the tearful face of the other party just now, looking as if she was about to be crushed by the heavy reality, Asakura decided not to go to Akihabara for the sake of his employee's mental health and just wander around nearby instead.
However, when he passed a convenience store, he unexpectedly ran into two acquaintances.
"Ijichi-san and Yamada?"
"Why is Nijika 'Ijichi-san' and I'm just 'Yamada'?"
Yamada Ryo asked indignantly.
"Ryo, Asakura is just joking, don't actually go over and pick a fight!"
Ijichi Nijika quickly pulled her back.
"Discriminatory treatment, social hierarchy!"
Yamada Ryo protested loudly.
"Ryo!"
Feeling the stares from the strangers around them, Ijichi Nijika hugged Yamada Ryo even tighter in fright, her movements becoming much more flustered.
"Ugh…"
"You can't say any more weird things!"
"Um, Ijichi-san—" After silently appreciating Yamada Ryo's expression for a moment, Asakura said with a smile, "Is it possible that Yamada isn't trying to say weird things, but just can't breathe?"
"Eh?"
The blonde girl looked down and saw that her best friend was about to foam at the mouth. "Ryo, ahhhh—!"
As expected of Ijichi-san, who has developed super arm strength from often carrying Gotō Hitori; she easily accomplished something we couldn't!
Note: Here, Amakusa Shino is singing the theme song from the movie "The Foreigner" starring Jackie Chan. I feel this movie is one of Jackie Chan's better later works, and he seems to have quite high popularity in Japan.