77: Who was the person who came to visit?

"Nice to meet you for the first time, Lady Viridiana."

Well, five men in suits approached us...

First, a man who seemed to be the representative greeted us.

Then, one by one, they stated their purpose.

"I am the president of Fikando Corporation..."

The first one is from Fikando Corporation, a company that produces canned food using fish from the Flaretanbo star system.

"I am a director of Flaresuden Corporation..."

The second person is from Flaresuden Corporation, a company that manufactures and sells snacks using rice—a major crop from the Flaretanbo star system.

Since both of these individuals are from food-related companies, they were invited to this tea gathering.

That said, they aren't people deeply involved in logistics, so they're not in a position to be invited behind the scenes.

Apparently, it's fairly well known that the Vilijanira's public activities across their star systems—emphasizing tourism and dining—are largely for show.

Though invited to the same tea gathering, Vilijanira appears to be idle at first glance.

Seizing the opportunity, they apparently invited the others: "If your schedule and interests align, would you like to tour our facility?"

It's not hard to understand why they didn't come alone... Seeing Vilijanila surrounded by the current occupants, it's clear enough.

"I am the general manager of the Sphipool Hotel..."

The third one is a person from the Sphipool Hotel.

It seems the facility is designed to utilize the Sw of the Flaretanbo system, enjoying moderate popularity among local residents, but apparently that wasn't enough... Upon learning of the arrival from outside the Flaretanbo system—Vilijanira—they've decided to make a sales pitch.

Though seemingly unrelated to the cosmic monsters... if viewed as a rest facility, it's not entirely unrelated to the military either.

"I see. In that case, I can't guarantee any specific coverage in the article, and since we have our own matters to attend to, I can't promise a visit, but I'll certainly consider it if the opportunity arises."

"Oh, thank you very much."

With that, Vilijaniela decided to accept the request from the three individuals.

Hmm, their sales pitch was actually quite reasonable, and there was no issue with accepting it.

Seems like it could make a decent tourist destination too.

"Alright, shall we get started? I'm a racer in the spaceflight race of the Nelianipotts system..."

"Please take your leave."

"Huh...?"

"Are you going to make me say it twice?"

And the fourth one... this one was a no-go.

Well, the Nelianipotts system, that's the next system after the Flaretanbo system, right.

He was apparently someone actively working as a professional racer, but immediately after announcing his candidacy, he tried to woo Viridiana, only to be swiftly rejected.

Even after being rejected, he continued pursuing her, and was eventually carried out by the servants.

Indeed, one might expect such loyalty from servants serving the Flaretanbo noble family—though not all of them are like that. A few have mastered body-enhancement mods and can handle rough situations with ease.

They were all stunned, apparently not expecting such a reaction from him.

Well, after all, they didn't know much about someone they'd just happened to meet on the road, heading in the same direction... yeah.

"And you?"

"Oh, yes. I work for the lens manufacturer Tehiro Kakuo, and I've come here today to inquire about the cosmic monster Blackfall Shark, on behalf of Lady Vilijanira."

Now, the fifth one.

It seems this person isn't here on company business, but rather out of personal interest in Lady Vilijanira.

Apparently, they enjoy stargazing as a hobby and also observe large cosmic monsters said to inhabit distant celestial bodies.

Naturally, they've never come anywhere near a cosmic monster, nor do they know much about them.

They heard about the recent news and, wanting to learn more about cosmic monsters, have come here today.

"I'm sorry, but all I know comes from my conversation with Count Flaretanbo, so I'm afraid I can't fulfill your request."

Still, Virijianira had already said everything she could, leaving nothing more to share.

"Understood. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

"Ah, wait a moment. This isn't a request from Vee, but from me—do you have any photos or footage of the observed cosmic monster? If so, I'd like to see them."

"Yes, we do have that. Would you like to view it?"

"Indeed, please. Thank you very much."

In fact, the information he possesses might be more useful.

Deciding as such, I choose to watch the footage he pulls up on his data terminal.

Whether due to relevance to this case or not, the eyes of the other three—Vilijanira, Memokshi, and the servants—were also fixed on the image displayed on the screen.

"This image was captured using our company's latest lens technology, showing a different star system located about twenty light-years away from the Flaretanbo system. It's roughly twenty years old..."

"..." (silence)

To cut to the chase... it turned out to be far more useful than the information we already had.

This individual had never left the Flaretanbo system and had never shared his hobbies with many people.

Nevertheless, as part of evaluating his company's products, he had consistently conducted astronomical and alien monster observations almost every day.

Yet, precisely because he had focused relentlessly on a single direction, it so happened that this direction was fortuitously fruitful.

His recordings showed multiple alien monsters the size of planets.

Moreover, this included individuals I hadn't even known about.

Of course, since this star system lies twenty light-years away from the Flaretanbo system, the alien monsters captured in these images must have existed more than twenty years before the footage was recorded.

But to cosmic monsters capable of faster-than-light travel, twenty light-years isn't such a significant distance.

The sight of multiple planet-sized cosmic monsters just that far away... It was entirely understandable why Sw of the Flaretanbo system had developed such a strong aversion to cosmic monsters.

"Send this person to the count immediately. You're far more important than I am."

"Indeed, sir."

"Wait... what? Huh?"

"Rest assured. Your information will be valued highly, that's all."

"H-ha... um, thank you? I guess..."

With that, he was escorted by the servants of the Count Flaretanbo toward the count himself.

Though it was uncertain how much the information he provided would reveal about the space monster, one thing was certain—it would be incredibly valuable.

"Life truly has unexpected talents hidden in the most surprising places."

"Indeed. I never thought it would be someone like that..."

"I agree, Vee-sama."

"……"

There was no need to mention that everyone around the table nodded in response to Vilegianira's unexpected words.

11/02 Correction of typo