Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

"Ugh, oh? Sister Li?" Xiao snapped out of her daze. "Sister Li, look! Xiao has been... Ah! Xiao forgot to keep her voice down..."

"Okay, okay, Xiaozhen is so sweet." Li was almost melted by her cuteness. "You're not going to stay here forever, are you? Daytime is already over."

"Eh, eh?"

Xiao then turned around; it was already afternoon. All three of them had things to do, but they hadn't expected to be so busy that they hadn't even had time for lunch.

I haven't had such a fulfilling life in a long time, I couldn't help but think.

“It’s getting late, so we have to go back.” Ning gently picked up the box. “We’ll take it back with us too.”

"Ah, Sister Ning! Let Xiaolai get it!"

"...Then I'll leave it to you."

It was rare to see Xiao so enthusiastic about something, so Ning didn't want to dampen her spirits and handed her the box. Ning carefully carried the box and followed behind the two of them, seemingly absorbed in the task again.

"I really don't know what kind of animal she is," Li chuckled.

"Don't you treat her like a younger sister?" Ning glanced at her.

"You are too, right?" Li looked at her with a smile. "Don't you spoil her a lot too?"

"...So long-winded."

"Haha, you're blushing~"

"you are annoying!"

"Whoa?!"

Enraged, Ning unleashed a magic circle, intending to use magic to shut Li up. Li cried out in surprise, immediately ran to the back door, yanked it open, and fled into the merchant guild.

The two of them stopped bickering when they reached the lobby, but the suitcase Xiao was carrying did attract the attention of the receptionists.

“Xiao, is that a cat?” Leslie, acting as the representative, walked up to Xiao. “Wow, so cute.”

"Shh—keep your voice down." Xiao put down the box and made a shushing gesture. "You'll disturb the cat."

"Oh... everyone, please be quiet, okay?"

After Lai Mei gestured to the other receptionists behind the counter with Xiao's gesture, they also made a shushing gesture and then gathered around, looking curiously at this rare creature belonging to the duchy.

"Ah, so cute~" "It's so tiny, I want to hug it." "I'd heard before that it's a cute little creature, but seeing it in person makes it even cuter than everyone says." "Wow, I can brag to everyone that I've seen a cat now."

The receptionists seemed completely captivated by the adorable kitten, excitedly watching it from around the box. Suddenly, the sleeping kitten stirred, and they all fell silent immediately. Thankfully, the kitten had only changed its position.

"call……"

They all touched their chests and breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at this scene, Li couldn't help but think that soon this place would be completely taken over by kittens. But Xiao is still the cutest.

"Ning, how long do you think it will take the kitten to conquer this place?" Li guessed. "I think it won't take more than three days. Kittens are really cute."

“Cats are very rare in this world,” Ning said. “There are only a few cats within the territory of the duchy. Humans regard cats as messengers of good fortune, and some people even deify them. In short, the people here love cats, regardless of breed.”

"Huh... are cats really that precious in this world?"

Rin thought that cats should be a common pet in any world, but she didn't expect them to be so cherished in this other world. She could understand the feelings of those who smuggled kittens to some extent, but it was still unforgivable.

"Ha... It's quite lively over here."

Olitzo appeared beside them at some point, yawned, stretched, and took a sip of coffee.

The exhaustion on his face was impossible to hide; he must have been working like crazy for a long time.

“Oh, a cat.” Olitto glanced at the kitten in the box. “It looks much better than when I saw it today.”

“But we’ll have to wait and see for a while longer,” Li said with a wry smile. “Nobody knows what will happen in the end.”

“That’s true.” Olitto finished the rest of his coffee in one gulp. “We already have leads on the smugglers, and we’ve handed them over to Natsuki to handle. I’m sure we’ll have results soon. But what I’m more curious about is what you two did in the warehouse. No, I’m not trying to blame you, I just want to know what you did.”

Just as Olitó asked the question, Ning began to emanate magical light, threatening to conjure magic and swiftly kill him to silence him. He quickly explained that he didn't intend to pursue any further action, and Ning withdrew the magic.

"Ning?" Li asked her sisters for their opinions.

"I don't care, you decide." Ning turned her head away.

"Well... let me show you this."

Treasure Chest Osamu opened the lid, and Little Garden Osamu reached inside and took out the newly made cotton lamps. After some adjustments, Ning made a few more. They used four themselves, and planned to buy the rest to pay off Borg's debts.

"What is this...?" Olitto looked at the cotton lamp, completely baffled.

The cotton lantern is currently the size of a soccer ball, but it doesn't have any magic inside, so it only glows. The anti-gravity spell it contains can't float because it lacks magic. To others, this is certainly baffling—what's the use of such a large cotton ball?

"It's a lamp."

He infused the cotton lamp with enough magic to make it light up, then released it, letting it float in the air. Once the cotton lamp was lit, the hall, illuminated by candlelight, became brighter.

The receptionist's attention was also drawn to the cotton lamp. Xiao Ze nimbly jumped up and grabbed the cotton lamp, landing without making a sound. Full marks.

She seemed to really like the cotton lamp; she was holding it and kneading it. Speaking of which... while Ning and Li were making the cotton lamp, Xiao seemed to be focused on the little kitten.

"A lamp?" Olitto stroked his chin with interest. "A very nice thing."

“Yes,” Li said proudly. “It’s very light and soft, and it’s not easy to break. As long as you grasp its core and inject enough magic, you can make it light up. And because it has an anti-gravity spell, it can float in mid-air on its own. If you want to adjust it, you just need to modify the spell.”

“…Three hundred silver coins,” Olitto judged. “The materials needed to make a lamp like this are actually quite cheap. The main value lies in the anti-gravity spell and the manufacturing method. And in a world where lighting mainly relies on candles, such a thing would definitely cause a frenzy of buying.”

"...Wow, less than expected." This wasn't the extra chapter Li had originally anticipated.

"How many lamps like these do you have?" Olitto asked. "Our Borg Chamber of Commerce needs some of these. If it's convenient, could you make some for us? Of course, we'll provide the materials and funding..."

"No need, just consider it paying off a debt." Ning waved her hand. "Although it's still not enough to pay off all our debts."

“…Then let’s leave it at that.” Olitto acquiesced.

"Hmm... there are probably eighteen. After the three of us need them, there are fourteen left."

Riku spat out all the cotton lanterns in one go, then casually infused them with magic, making them float in mid-air. The receptionists looked surprised when they saw the cotton lanterns, then reached out to pick them up and examine them.

"Ah, is this the magic core of a plant-type monster?" "Eh, I didn't expect that kind of thing could have this kind of effect?" "Wow, this is great. With this, working the night shift will be much more comfortable." "It really takes light like this to calm people down."

In short, the first implementation of the cotton lamp was widely praised by the Borg Chamber of Commerce.

Chapter 22

Of course, cotton lamps alone are not enough. Ning also talked to Olitto about the electrical boxes. They have now reached a consensus on cooperation. Once they have certain production conditions, Ning will hand over the sales of the electrical boxes to the Borg Chamber of Commerce.

At the same time, to prevent others from cracking the manufacturing process and then manufacturing electrical boxes to compete with Borg for the market, they also agreed on copyright issues... well, these are things that Li doesn't understand.

Their final conclusion was to engrave images of treasure chests filled with gold coins and the Borg family crest on these items made by Li and Ning.

In other words, it's a trademark, so that when people see it, they know, "Oh, this is the person who first manufactured these things." It's the so-called authentic logo. Well, although it still gets copied, they have special methods to do so.

In short, this can, to some extent, curb the influence of other competitors that could jeopardize our market share; copyright awareness is still essential. Li and Ning had actually already paid off their debts long ago; they just lacked the awareness to do so.

But that's a story for later; they still have a lot to do now.

The kittens will probably have to be fostered at the Borg Merchant Guild, since they are not citizens of the Duchy and are therefore not trusted by the Duchy to some extent.

I wonder what kind of creatures cats will become in the principality in the future... Will they become like monkeys in India? If they really become like that, it wouldn't be so bad... At least the cats aren't as mischievous as monkeys.

They went out for dinner with Olito, but they spent quite a while at Xiao's place. She didn't want to stray too far from the kitten, but she couldn't take such a small kitten with her. It took a lot of effort to finally get her away.

With her in mind, Olitto deliberately chose a nearby restaurant for dinner. However, Xiao wolfed down her food and then ran back to the Chamber of Commerce. He figured it wouldn't be a problem letting her go back by herself.

However, we might need to consider what happens next... regarding Akatsuki and the kitten...

They definitely couldn't keep it; they weren't citizens of the principality, and there was some controversy surrounding the adoption of the kitten. But they didn't want to just give up the kitten, and Xiao thought so too.

"Ugh... my head hurts..." Ri rubbed her temples. "I never expected that saving this kitten would turn out like this. I didn't want to hurt Akatsuki either..."

Many of us have probably experienced wanting a cat but being told by our family that it's not allowed. I've been through that too, and it was a huge blow to me; I was heartbroken for a long time. In the end, my grandmother, who felt sorry for her granddaughter, bought her a cat to raise in her place.

Because she had experienced that, she didn't want Xiao to go through it again.

But she couldn't figure out what to do. It didn't make sense to leave them with the Borg Chamber of Commerce, and besides, they couldn't live there forever.

She no longer has the mindset that things will work themselves out; this matter is truly important.

"You're so noisy..." Ning, who was looking at the book, picked up the corner of the book and tapped Li's head. "Olito, arrange a maid or butler for us, anything but a man."

“Hmm… I think I already have someone in mind.” Olito nodded, then asked, “Why not a man… Okay, never mind.”

When he deliberately tried to ask the reason, a chill ran down his spine. He was asking a question he already knew the answer to, but he mainly wanted to give Ning a helping hand. The problem was that he was just too slow to understand.

Ning also has a problem; she could have simply let go of this inexplicable mindset and reasoned with him properly.

The road ahead is fraught with difficulties... Olitto sighed helplessly.

"...Hey? Ning?"

"What?"

"What you just mentioned, you're planning to hire a maid, right?" Li was a little confused. "But why? The three of us are enough, aren't we? I can do the housework too..."

“Although I really want to see you… oh no, no.” Ning quickly corrected herself, “If we’re going to keep a cat, why don’t we just hire a citizen of the principality to work for us? They can provide food and lodging, so we won’t have to bring the kitten around.”

"That seems to be the case... How come I didn't think of that..." Li suddenly realized.

"Because you're a stupid box."

"I'm not stupid!!"

As usual, the two of them would drift off into unrelated topics after only a few words, but looking at their lives, Olitto felt quite good about it, because he hadn't had a proper rest in a long time, and just looking at them made him feel energetic again to go back to work.

Ah... what am I thinking...?

Olito looked up at the double-moon night sky, thinking about things that had nothing to do with him.

The next day.

In the morning, the three sisters were awakened by the sound of tiny kittens meowing. Xiao, still half asleep, saw the little kittens walking around in the box, jumped up excitedly, and then accidentally fell to the ground.

"Seriously... even if you're happy, you don't have to be like this."

After helping Xiao up, Li gave her a lecture and then focused his attention on the kitten.

"Don't follow me..."

After the kitten was taken out of the box, it followed Ning around, rubbing against her legs obediently. Ning seemed a little bad at dealing with kittens, and it was rare to see her struggle with it.

After noticing that Li was looking at it, the kitten slowly walked up to her and meowed, as if to say thank you.

"Good morning." Li squatted down. "It's so nice to see you looking so energetic."

"Meow~" The little kitten happily rubbed against him.

"Ah! I want one too!"

Xiao, who was watching with a tingling heart, couldn't resist moving closer. Instead of scaring the kitten, the kitten affectionately rubbed against Xiao. Xiao happily picked it up, unable to put it down.

"Although you two seem very happy, I have to remind you," Ning said, adding a touch of cold water, "we haven't washed up yet, have we?"

“That’s true…” Li nodded. “Xiao, let’s take the cat out with us. We need to give it a bath.”

"Ok!"

The three sisters once again used the space by the back door. Li first taught Xiao how to bathe the kitten, and the kitten cooperated very well, so the process was quick. After the bath, they dried the kitten's body and then handed it over to Ning to watch over, while Li groomed Xiao.

After Xiao obediently let Li dry her hair, she immediately ran to the kitten's side and played with it.

"Oh, if only I had a camera..." Rin regretted not making a camera first. "If I had a camera, I could record Akatsuki and the cat's growth."

“…That kind of thing is too troublesome to sit on.” Ning shook his head. “It will take me at least a month to reproduce it.”

"Ha...that's asking too much." Li understood Ning's feelings perfectly. "Well then, I'll eat more gold coins and see if I can make a camera...the next 'Treasure Gathering' will probably be in a month..."

"Hey, time to wash your hair?"

"Whoa?! It's so cold!? Don't spray me with water all of a sudden!"

Chapter 23

"Haa..." "Ah... I'm finally done..."

The door to the Borg Chamber of Commerce's office on the second floor opened, and two men walked out. They were exhausted and disheveled from continuous work.

But finally, it's all done, and I've taken care of everything for them.

Thinking about this, Olitto felt that it was all worth it.

Just as the Dragon King once said, reason is the key to changing this world. The elements for change are already in place; what is needed is the help of certain organizations.

No wonder it came to me... No... who knows who I might meet next... This is probably fate.