Chapter 1404. School Festival Day 2 / After the Festival (Part 3)

We walk side by side o the road in front of the ground, which is now completely dark.

Megu, Nagisa, Mao-chan, Luna, and Kurose Anju.

Yos.h.i.+da-kun, Yos.h.i.+da-kun, Yos.h.i.+da-kun!

Mao-chans sticking to me as usual.

On the other hand, Kurose Anjus walking behind us just like before.

Why are you walking so far behind?

I asked.

Err, uhm, thats because I-Ive never walked alone with a man before so I feel somewhat embarra.s.sedIm sorry

Oh, so thats the reason

Also, Im sorry for losing my composure earlier!

Kurose Anju apologizes for mentioning the Kuromori name in front of Captain Takes.h.i.+ba and the track and field members.

Careful. Theres no helping it today, but, thank G.o.d Luna is here

Luna has her Miko power and can gloss it off.

I mean, why are you here at this time, Luna?

Luna shouldve been in the mansion with Agnes and the girls.

The half-blonde beauty, Agnes, would stand out too much if she comes to our school, so shes staying at home today.

Agnes loves Luna, whos the same age as her, so if only Luna comes with me, shed say that she wants to come too.

Its okay, Nii-san. Agnes-chans quite obedient in that regard

Luna replied.

Agnes-chan is working hard handling our guests right now. You know, Marika-oneesamas friends

Oh, Minaho-neesan did go back to the mansion with Erica, Marika, and Marikas cla.s.smate, Matsumoto Maki-san, and her sister, Miki-san.

Marika-oneesama, whos docile, brought a girl she want to bring to our family. Agnes-chan is interested in her, and Ruriko-oneesamas showing them our hospitality

Agnes is happy to add another to the family.

Thats not all. Nii-san, Agnes-chan wants a girl in school to join our family, right?

Luna said.

Luna and Koyomi-chan go to the same school with Agnes as attendants.

Oh, I heard about it. If I recall, it was Kerama Leona, right?

If I recall, shes a young lady of a brewing manufacturer.

Ill just ask Shou-neechan about her details.

The students of the school for the young ladies are either daughters of n.o.bility, or daughters from families that Jii-chan and Kaan-san accepts.

You cant make a move on her that easy.

Right, Nagisa, do you know about Kerama brewing?

Nagisa used to be the top prost.i.tute at the Black Forest brothel, and even after retiring and running a flower shop, shes got connections with the people from the political and business world.

Yes, I do. Id say that their sales are in the top fourth or fifth in j.a.pan as a brewery. They started with only sake, but nowadays, theyre making western drinks as well

I see. I dont know much about alcohol

Im still in high school.

I dont like to get drunk either.

If it dulls your judgment and actions, then it can result in immediate death in our world.

If its j.a.panese wines, then Sode no s.h.i.+rayuki is a famous one

Kurose Anju said.

Oh, I heard that name before on commercials.

Yeah, its famous for its commercial song.

But, I dont see the Kerama brewery in commercials

I said.

No, their company symbol appears at the end of the commercials

Kurose Anju replies with pride.

I see. I didnt notice

I dont think they appeal their company name since the name of their drinks are directly branded

Nagisa tells me.

Were in the era of holding companies but Kerama brewery isnt mentioned, but you probably heard of Zeus Beer, a subsidiary that produces a variety of alcoholic beverages, right?

Oh, I know about that one

I replied.

Historically, Zeus Beer, is older. If I recall, Kerama brewery acquired them about 50 years ago

So Zeus Beer, the subsidiary is much more known.

Also, do you know about Tucker Kraken bottlers?

Nagisa smiles and asks me.

Yeah. I know that one too. Its an American company that makes all kinds of beverages, right?

Like, sodas and juices.

Many Tucker Kraken drinks are also in j.a.pans convenience stores and vending machines.

Yes, their main office is in America, but Kerama brewery brought them about ten years ago, so theyre now a part of them. They also own several j.a.panese and foreign food companies, and a chain of family restaurants and Izakayas. The name Kerama brewery doesnt show up that much, but theyre a company with a lot of businesses

I see.

I wonder if the girl from the Kerama house can get along with Agnes?

Im worried.

Hmm, its a little complicated

Nagisa replied to me with a complex face.

Alcoholic beverage companies are unique. There are a lot of factions going on in the business world. Especially with beer.

Factions

Beer?

j.a.panese companies go with beer for their first toast, see? Give everyone beer first. Its hard to find one who cant get sake or wine

Nagisa said.

So, major sake brewers in j.a.pan are tied to specific group companies. To put it bluntly, the rules in j.a.panese business is that youre only allowed to drink the product of your companys fellow brewers

Huh?

Well, in simple terms, if theres a brewer in this group company, lets say Misawa Beer, in the Misawa Sangyo Group

Oh right, youd want your company to drink the alcohol from the same corporate group as yours, Its like drinking alcohol with your friends.

But, its not just the patterns that are visible to others

Nagisa said.

For example, if the companys main bank is the same, or the top management of the company is related to each other, or the companies have a long-standing relations.h.i.+p, its difficult to understand from the outside, but theres an unspoken rule from within each company group that their company only drinks beer made from this company

W-What the h.e.l.l.

Of course. Not all companies are like that. But, bigger companies mostly follow that rule for some reason or another

Nagisa smiled wryly.

Oh, I see. IN short, when they have a party or something similar at the company, for example, flower viewing with the company, then youre only allowed to prepare beer from the fellow companies. I see

I can imagine that.

I bet the seniors strictly warn the new hires not to buy the wrong alcohol.

Woah, thats a lot of trouble.

You may think youre being considerate so you bought various kinds of beer from different manufacturers, but once you bring it to them, they get p.i.s.sed off.

Its not on that level

Nagisa giggled.

Even if its their private time, or when theyre having drinks at a regular restaurant, they will not order anything but the beer for their company

Huh, that far?

They make sure to specify the company beer by name. What if the wrong beer is served, theyll get wrong for getting their order wrong

No, but, dont normal bars and the likes have a variety of beers?

I dont know much about bars, but

So, those people often make check when they go to bars to see if they have their company beer

Huh, seriously?

I dont get it.

Havent you seen them? When walking by a bar in town, you see a sign of *** Beer or a poster of a celebrity in a bikini holding the beer on hand with a smile

Nagisa said.

Oh, now that she mentions that.

You cant go wrong if you went inside that kind of bar

I-I see.

Im talking about regular employees, but not the big guys. In some expensive restaurants in Ginza, the hostess checks in advance which company the customer works for, and so even if the customer doesnt say anything, they always serve the company beer

That means that they can drink the beer that they should be drinking even without the need to tell them.

In high-cla.s.s restaurants or hotel parties, the only beer theyll serve is whats designated to that company. If they make a mistake and serve different alcohol, then thats big trouble for them. It wont end with just the person in charge sending a written apology

Is it that important for some big companies to drink alcohol from specific brewers?

Huh, Nagisa? Could it be

I noticed.

Isnt that obvious?

Agnes is attending the school for the young ladies as a relative of the Kouzuki house.

Jii-chan went out of his way to the parent-teacher conference during the entrance exam.

Misuzu and Ruriko went out of their way to greet the students in Agnes school.

I mean, she goes to school in a car owned by Kouzuki house.

Meaning, the students in that school see Agnes as a relative of the Kouzuki house.

Kouzuki group, also has their specific alcohol, right?

I asked Nagisa.

Yes, in Kouzuki group parties, the alcohol they bring out is Seiran Beer

What about the Kaan group?

Kaan-san goes with Benten Beer

That means they dont drink the Zeus beer of Kerama brewery.

Thats why its complicated. Neither Kouzuki-sama nor Kaan-sama has any connection with the Kerama brewery at all

If thats the case.

Then, it would be hard for Agnes, whos a relative of the Kouzuki house, to get along with the daughter of the Kerama house?

I dont think its impossible for children, but the people around them wouldnt like it

Nagisa replied frankly.

They all know that the Kouzuki group doesnt drink alcohol from the Kerama brewery

From the perspective of Kerama brewery, theres no advantage in getting involved with the Kouzuki house because they dont sell alcohol.

On the other hand, those who are in the corporate group who are on good terms would suspect that theyre trying to get close to the Kouzuki group.

And on the other hand, the people at Seiran beer, the one Kouzuki group uses regularly, wont like it if Agnes makes contact with the young lady of the Kerama brewery.

Yes, the young lady of the Seiran brewing is also attending our school.

Luna replied to my thoughts.

Shes in her fifth grade however

Its hard to move when daughters from both brewing companies are in school.

Oh. So thats why Shou-neechans late to report

Shou-neechans trying to find a way to deal with it.

Especially, trying to get the Kouzuki and Kerama house together in politics and business level behind the scenes.

Yeah, I get the situation now. Lets continue observing for now

I sighed.

I want it to go smoothly for Agnes, but

Lets leave it for now, going back on topic, why is Luna here?

I asked again.

Well, thats because Tsukiko-oneesama had to return to the mansion first

Luna replied.

Oh, Tsukiko took Igaras.h.i.+ Izumi back to the mansion, right.

Kinosh*ta-san drives the car.

We need at least one shrine maiden in the mansion as it is now

Yeah, the thirteen girls from Southeast Asia are now much more stable, but

Who knows what will happen, its better to have a shrine maiden who can keep their minds in check.

Then, Nagisa-oneesama arrived from work together with Tsukiko-oneesama. And she brought me to Nii-sans school to take out the seeds of the problem

Seeds?

Nii-san, back then, you introduced Mana-oneesan as your little sister to the students in this school, right?

Huh?

Now that you mention that.

I remember it now.

I need to find someone with those memories and replace it with me as Nii-sans little sister, instead of Mana-oneesan

Oh, I see.

Mana did grow taller shes become surprisingly beautiful.

And, shes helping out in our bakery as of now.

Her appearance has changed, but

Some may look at Mana now and suspect her as the little sister I introduced to them before.

You cant replace that memory unless you have Miko power, but you only need the minimum when touching peoples minds like that. Thats why Im the one who came in as a replacement.

Lunas got the same height as Mana half a year ago.

I mean, Tsukikos already an adult, and Koyomi-chans too young.

And Yomis got her huge t.i.ts, so shes too different from Mana before.

Thats the pretext

Huh, Luna?

To be honest, hardly anyone remembers the one Nii-san introduced as his little sister

Luna said.

They wont notice that the Mana-oneesan today is the girl from before

Then why?

But, Mana-oneesan fears it

Oh, I see.

Mana fears that shell be discovered as s.h.i.+rasaka Maika.

Right. We know that Mana-chans changed a lot in the past six months, but

Nagisa said.

But Mana herself isnt aware that shes changed so much. She doesnt look at herself in the mirror

Manas scared. All the time.

Tsukiko-oneesama read through Mana-oneesamas thoughts and shes worried about her

Luna will rewrite the memories of the people who met Mana.

Its all to give peace to Mana.

I see. I guess Im liable for that. Im the one who asked Mana to help out in the bakery without thinking

Mana doesnt go outside the bakery, so she hasnt met any of the students who met her past self

Its okay to be considerate from now on. Well also back you up

Nagisa said.

Mana must have it hard too

Then.

Megu who had been quiet until now, speaks up.

Uhm, Nagisa-oneesan

Shes not as energetic.

Whats wrong, Megumi-chan

Nagisa looks at Megu with her usual smile.

Is it okay for me to dance with Yos.h.i.+-kun at the party?

Oh, I knew it.

Megus got this bad habit of asking Is it okay for me to

I think its good. Dancing at the closing party isnt something you experience that many times

Nagisa said.

But, I feel like its always just me, Im the only one who gets to experience it with Yos.h.i.+-kun, and I feel sorry about it

Megu looks down.

Yos.h.i.+-kuns been working with Katsuko-oneesan and Ai-chan the whole day, I didnt even help out, and on the second half of the day, I had to go back to the track and field club

This isnt a good pattern.

Kana-oneesans also a student here, I think she wants to dance with Yos.h.i.+-kun too. Besides, Edie and Nei-oneesan

Youre worrying too much

Nagisa said.

No, after hearing about Mana just now, I realized that Im the only one among the students in the school festival who got to enjoy the school festival with Yos.h.i.+-kun, and I feel sorry for the other girls

Megus eyes are tearing up.

Thinking about Misuzu-san and Ruriko-san who werent allowed to come here, I

I told you, youre overthinking it

Nagisa pokes Megus forehead with her finger.

Why did you think I came here?

Speaking of which, its the end of the school festival, and yet.

Why did Nagisa come here?

Im also coming here to dance with him

Eh?

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!!!