The next day, early in the morning, Sho and his four free employees were gathered in the living room. All of them sat on the couch, a small table set in front of them. Sho wasn't dressed like his usual self. Instead, he looked the part of a young CEO—black suit, crisp white shirt, and his glasses specs-D that gave him a cool, business man like aura.
As for school? Sho had decided to skip it entirely. He'd put on his school uniform just to trick his mom, walked out of the house as if he was headed to class, and then sneaked away straight here.
On the table lay a single business card. Printed across it in bold letters was the name: Mr. BALDDY.
Now, who exactly was this Mr. BALDDY? Sho already had the answer. He'd asked Azazel for details the other night—after all, with the number of spies Azazel had at his disposal, there was practically no information in the world he couldn't dig up. Sho had wanted to make sure the guy wasn't some scammer before making a move.
The report was simple: Mr. Baldy was a half-devil, a well-known businessman who owned countless convenience stores across the human-world and Underworld. Wealthy, influential, and also popular in the human realm. Not on the same level as a devil noble, of course, but when compared in human terms? He was the equivalent of a billionaire or a high-profile tycoon.
"Well then, let's see what this guy has to say," Sho muttered, passing a bit of magic through the business card.
The strange pattern on it began to shimmer, blinking for a few seconds before a faint light shone. Then—fwoosh—a hologram popped up, projecting the figure of a bald man with a rough, bearded face.
'So he really is bald… guess the name wasn't just for show,' Sho thought dryly.
"Well, you finally contacted me," the man said, his deep voice echoing slightly through the projection. "I was actually waiting for you."
Sho adjusted his specs, leaning back slightly. "Nice to meet you, Mr.—"
"You can address me as BALDDY. I know the name sounds weird, but hey, it's unique, right?"
"…I ..am ..Sho Yamato," Sho introduced himself simply.
"Mr. Yamato-san, then. Let's not waste time—I'll get straight to the point." The bald man folded his arms confidently. "I'll invest however much money it takes in Production if Ice-Cream. In return, I'll only take 5% of the profit. All I need is an exclusive contract with you."
Sho's eyes narrowed. Before he could respond, Baldy raised a hand as if to reassure him. "Don't worry too much. I own a chain of convenience stores both in the Underworld and the human world. Sales won't be a problem."
But Sho wasn't hesitating because the deal was bad. In fact, it was almost too good. He was more curious—why was this guy being so generous?
Baldy seemed to notice Sho's hesitation and quickly added, "If you want, I can even lower my share to 2%. I don't mind."
Sho shook his head. "Mr. Baldy, that's not the issue. I just don't understand—why would you put up the money but take such a small share in return?"
At that, Baldy let out a sigh of relief, as if glad the problem wasn't worse. His face softened as he leaned forward slightly. "Ah, so that's it. Well, to put it simply, Yamato-san… the ice cream you created isn't just ice cream it's something else.
The first time I tasted it, it was like nothing I'd ever eaten before. It wasn't artificial, it wasn't bland—it was like biting into a real, ripe mango, fresh from a farm, yet frozen into a creamy dessert. It felt alive, almost… magical. For a moment, I could imagine myself sitting under mango trees, the summer wind blowing through."
His expression turned uncharacteristically crazy for a moment. "It was so delicious I could feel it lingering in my mouth even after I finished. That's why. That's why I don't care about the money. I just want to be a part of this."
Sho stared at him blankly.
'…This guy's completely lost it over ice cream,' he thought.
The deal was sealed. Sho had officially secured a massive order—two million ice creams, to be distributed in both the Human World and the Underworld.
Why only two million and not more? That was Balddy's idea. His plan was simple: flood the market just enough so everyone could get a taste. Once people realized there was nothing else like this ice cream, demand would skyrocket on its own. And when that happened, they could always scale up production, maybe even raise the price a little—not too much, just enough to make it feel premium.
But just as Sho was about to breathe easy, a new problem cropped up. The ice cream's unique taste wasn't from ordinary ingredients—it became special due to "apron" he'd pulled from the gacha. That meant the core batter had to be made by Sho himself.
On top of it he can't buy another Apron from shop since it's Priced at 1500 Gold Coins.
He let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Well, I guess the freezing and packaging can be handled by the machine… but the batter? That part's all on me."
Right after sealing the deal, Sho had a warehouse built in Kuoh Town, barely a kilometer away from his house. It was stocked with all the equipment, containers, ingredients, machinery and even custom-designed packaging—something Sho had copied straight out of his memories.
"Devils sure are fast… to build all this so quickly," Sho muttered, standing on a ladder to pour ingredients into a massive container.
Meanwhile, his four free employees were busy peeling mangoes with the help of a machine. Even then, it was a slow job.
"We'll need to hire more people," Sho sighed under his breath. If production was going to scale, there was no way four hands could keep up.
It took nearly two hours just to prepare the batter—the peeling process ate up most of that time. The rest was easier; machines handled the mixing, freezing, and processing. Baka and Jiro worked on packing, while Taro pulled the finished ice creams out of the magic-powered freezer, which instantly froze the product. Sho himself finally sat down to rest, leaving Goro to supervise the others.
By the end of three hours, they had managed to complete their first full batch. Considering only three people had actually been handling the bulk of the work, the results weren't bad at all. Stacked high in the warehouse was a massive pile of neatly packed boxes filled with Sho's ice cream, ready for delivery.
When Sho contacted Mr. Baldy, a strange bat-like creature appeared out of nowhere. With a flap of its leathery wings, it sucked up all the boxes in one go and vanished without a trace.
'Probably a familiar,' Sho guessed, watching the creature disappear into thin air.
"Goro, Taro, Jiro, Baka—come here," Sho called out.
The four of them immediately lined up in front of him, standing shoulder to shoulder like obedient soldiers waiting for orders.
"Here," Sho said as he pulled out a small pouch and carefully laid out the contents—five small, glimmering steroid pills for each of them, along with a single mana potion. He handed the sets over one by one, his tone serious. "Take one pill a day for five days. No matter what, don't take more than one in a day. On the fifth day, you'll drink the mana potion. Got it?"
The instructions were clear and firm. Sho knew that if they were going to keep working for him, they couldn't stay weak forever. They needed to get stronger, to toughen their bodies and, more importantly, unlock their potential to use magic. Mana potions weren't just about refilling magical energy—they helped the human body adapt, awaken, and open new pathways to magic.
Without hesitation, the four of them accepted the pills and potions.
...
After finishing the day's work, Sho slipped away into a small room tucked at the back of the warehouse. It was basically just a storage space, but for him, it was the perfect spot.
"Today… no disturbances," he muttered, pulling out the Dimensional Key.
He clutched the key and focused. As he imagined the keyhole, space itself seemed to ripple and crack. A glowing keyhole formed in midair. Sho slid the key in and gave it a twist.
With a soft click, the air split open into a swirling portal of blue and white light, churning like a vortex. Sho took a deep breath, then stepped forward.
The next instant, he emerged into a different world. His eyes widened as he glanced around—the place looked like a café. There were tables, chairs, and a long counter, but everything was empty, abandoned, as if no one had set foot here in years.
The Glowing vortex vanished as the key fell on the floor, sho picked up the key and put it inside the Inventory.
Then—WHOOSH! A sound like a fighter jet tore through the sky above, making the walls tremble faintly. Sho's instincts kicked in as he quickly stepped outside.
The sunlight hit his eyes hard, forcing him to shield them with his hand for a moment. As his vision cleared, he took in his surroundings. The streets were deserted, buildings worn and lifeless. Yet, something about the world felt eerily familiar. The signs on the café, the writing on scattered posters—all in English.
"This… looks like Earth," sho muttered.
Sho walked further down the cracked road, his footsteps echoing through the silence. Abandoned cars lay scattered, some overturned, their windows shattered. From one half-broken house, he could see a flickering television screen still running static, the faint crackle reaching his ears. Smoke curled up from distant buildings, staining the sky.
"It doesn't feel like this place was deserted long ago…" Sho muttered under his breath. "More like… everyone ran away, recently."
Before he could think further, the ground beneath him rumbled violently. A deafening BOOM followed as the entire street shook, a massive gust of wind and dust blasting toward him. Sho instinctively shielded his face with his arm.
"What the hell…?" he muttered, his eyes snapping toward the distance where something glinted through the haze.
At first, he couldn't make out the shape through the swirling dust clouds. But when the air finally cleared, Sho froze.
It wasn't a monster—not in the usual sense. Towering in the distance was a colossal, black, machine-like structure, almost alien in its design. Its front end split apart into massive claw-like appendages or tentacles into the ground as it emitted a terrible hum. Then, from its core, a beam of searing energy shot down into the earth. The ground rippled like water, trembling under the sheer force. Buildings around the blast shuddered and cracked, dust rising high into the air.
"What the fuck… is that?" Sho muttered, eyes wide. The massive machine in the distance kept shooting some laser type thing in the earth, sending tremors racing through the ground. His thoughts spun wildly. Is that some kind of alien digging machine? Or… did aliens really attack this world?
He wanted to move closer, to get a better look, but before he could even take a step forward—
BOOM!
Something crashed into the street not too far from where he stood. The shockwave rattled the broken cars around him, glass raining down from shattered windows.
But it wasn't the crash that stole Sho's attention.
It was what he saw in the sky.
A figure, slowly descending from above. His eyes caught the flutter of a red cape, rippling against the wind as sunlight outlined the man's silhouette.
Sho's throat went dry. His lips moved on their own.
"Su… Suuuuu…"
He couldn't even finish the name.
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200 Power Stones = +1 extra chapter
400 Power Stones = +1 extra chapter