After taking the letter from Rem, Hayashi Maki opened it. Inside, it read:
"Dear Mr. Hayashi Maki, it's been some time since we last parted. Our cooperation has gone very smoothly in the meantime, and our Hoshin Company has made a tidy profit thanks to you. To show my gratitude, I sincerely invite you and your companions to come…"
Anastasia's message was an invitation for him—and Emilia and the others—to visit the Watergate City, Priestella.
Priestella was a city built on the water. Within the city, waterways ran in every direction, and small boats were constantly coming and going.
It was also the most commercially developed place around—the headquarters of both the Hoshin Company and the Muse Company were there.
Naturally, Hayashi Maki was very interested in the invitation from that cute, Kansai-accented little-lady candidate.
And Anastasia also had that fox artificial spirit by her side—the one that called itself "Echidna."
That made things even more interesting.
Anastasia had a spirit connected to Echidna.
Priscilla, meanwhile, had Al watching over her—and Al also had ties to Echidna, being a "Sage copy" created by Echidna.
As for Emilia's faction… that didn't even need explaining.
Roswaal, Beatrice, and others were all linked to Echidna.
It made Hayashi Maki suspect that Echidna had laid out a board long ago—planting pieces in every important place.
Of course, whatever dark scheme that white-haired witch might once have had didn't matter anymore.
She was already Hayashi Maki's retainer now—his mark had been carved into the deepest part of her soul.
They rose and fell together.
So from here on, going with the flow was fine.
And besides, after settling into a peaceful, warm life, the white-haired witch's humanity was slowly resurfacing—which was the best possible outcome.
After reading the letter, Hayashi Maki asked everyone what they thought.
No one objected. The girls all agreed to go to Priestella.
Liliana was especially excited when she heard the news. She even puffed out her small chest and promised she could serve as their guide—
After all, she was the famous songstress of Priestella.
Once the decision was made, Hayashi Maki didn't hesitate.
So early the next morning, everyone boarded the dragon carriage and set off together.
The travelers included: Hayashi Maki, Rem, Ram, Emilia, Beatrice, Echidna, Aqua, plus Garfiel, Liliana, and Ryuzu Meyer.
Counting it up… it was quite a group.
They brought Garfiel along mainly so he could search for his birth mother.
And conveniently, they could also have him drive.
As for Hayashi Maki himself, he would, of course, stay in the cabin, chatting with the girls and enjoying the soft comforts of companionship.
Under Garfiel's steady driving, the dragon carriage rolled smoothly onward, heading for the port so they could board a ship.
Garfiel's expression was sour the whole time.
He was honestly pretty annoyed.
How could the gap between people be this huge?
Hayashi Maki was that shamelessly flirtatious, he'd even taken the Ram that Garfiel liked—and now Hayashi Maki was inside the carriage flirting with the girls, while he had to suffer outside and drive.
Still, Garfiel accepted it in the end.
What choice did he have? He couldn't beat Hayashi Maki.
And Hayashi Maki had helped him. He'd even given him clues about his mother.
So Garfiel was grateful too.
He'd lost fair and square—so fine, he'd be the junior.
Besides, his sister Frederica was also Hayashi Maki's person. He couldn't bring himself to truly hate Hayashi Maki.
Inside the carriage, Hayashi Maki lounged comfortably with Liliana in his arms, teaching her the language and writing system of another world.
Liliana's cheeks were bright red. This was her first time being this close to a man—sitting on his lap like this.
It felt… strange.
But for the sake of learning the otherworldly language and script—so she could finally understand the lyrics of the songs on that "phone"—she swallowed her embarrassment and let Hayashi Maki hold her while he taught.
While she learned, the other girls listened attentively too.
Emilia studied seriously along with them, even pulling out a feather pen to take notes.
Echidna sat reading a spellbook, apparently researching something lately.
As for Hayashi Maki's otherworldly language and writing system… she already knew it.
Aqua, meanwhile, was asleep against Ram again, snoring softly. Hayashi Maki had kept her up practicing until midnight, so she hadn't slept well.
As Liliana listened to Hayashi Maki's teaching, her face grew hotter and hotter.
Held in his arms, she could smell that strange, unmistakably masculine scent on him—and her heart raced.
But… Hayashi Maki probably didn't mean anything by it, right?
After all, she wasn't particularly pretty, and she hadn't developed much either—flat-chested, petite, a "loli" build.
She was nothing like Emilia or Miss Echidna—so full and stunning.
Hayashi Maki was only holding her because the carriage was cramped. That had to be it.
Liliana kept convincing herself of that as she forced herself to focus on learning.
The songs on the phone had opened an entirely new world to her.
She was drowning in music, unable to pull herself out—her creative fire burning hotter than ever.
No matter what, she had to learn the language and writing system!
Hayashi Maki was taking rare time to teach her. She couldn't waste it.
The pure-hearted songstress had no idea that the moment she sat in his arms, she'd already stepped into his trap.
Once hugging and holding became "normal," the distance between two people naturally shrank.
The dragon carriage rolled along the road… until Garfiel suddenly pulled the earth dragon to a stop.
"Garfiel, why'd we stop?" Hayashi Maki asked, puzzled.
"Boss, there's someone collapsed in the middle of the road. If I don't want to run him over, we gotta stop," Garfiel said with a helpless shrug, hopping down from the driver's seat.
"I'll just toss him out of the way."
He said that—but instead of tossing him, Garfiel carried the gray-haired man to the roadside. Green light gathered in his palm as he started healing him.
For someone who looked so fierce, Garfiel was surprisingly kind.
Hayashi Maki glanced at the man and froze for a second… then the corners of his mouth lifted.
"Garfiel, bring him with us. We're short one workhorse anyway—he's the perfect pick."
"Oh? If you say so, Boss, then we'll bring him!"
Garfiel scooped the guy up, and the carriage set off again.
Hayashi Maki's reason was simple: the guy was Otto—a notoriously unlucky merchant who seemed to lose money every time he did business.
But Otto was incredibly capable when it came to administration and logistics, and he had decent character too.
In other words, he was the ideal "worker."