Agatha and I sat inside the Wizard of Oz, drinking tea and chatting about this and that, watching the witches and Monsters wandering aimlessly along the street as we whiled away meaningless hours.
"The Other Side has changed a lot too! They even have shopping streets like this now?"
The little thing's projection pressed itself against the shop window as she spoke.
Their technology was advanced and they were powerful, but they had no culture of their own. Assimilating them through humanity's soft power would therefore be more effective than conquering them by force.
"A reverse cultural invasion? Isn't peace like this pretty nice? If they'd made it clear twelve years ago that they wanted refuge on Earth, humanity might have accepted them, right?"
That was hard to say...
Just as I was about to point out that humans weren't all that friendly either, the other tenant inside me woke up.
"Hmm? Having tea? You two have quite a taste for the finer things, don't you?"
Since Aldebaran had spoken up, I asked, "Why not have your Second Research Institute branch out into a side business? Earn some Living Points for your daughters?"
"Oh? What do you think they could do, then?"
Turning the question back on me?
"A restaurant? An arcade? It doesn't necessarily have to be a business that exists on Earth."
I stirred the shifting colors in my drink with a straw.
"Besides, that's not something I need to figure out. You're full of crafty ideas. Surely you don't need me to come up with one for you?"
Agatha looked a little confused by what I said, then caught on.
"Aldebaran's awake?"
"Yeah."
Though she seemed reluctant, she still said:
"Then let's head back once we've finished our drinks."
"Take your time. There's no rush, and what