Chapter 20 – Store Expansion (1)

April has come.
Peach blossoms and azaleas showed off their beauty on the grounds.
When the weather was nice, students would sit on simple chairs on the lawn and enjoy tea time.

This is the time when freshmen newly admitted to the academy are gradually adjusting to college life.
I don’t know, but it seems like there are a lot of special lectures for newbies and the salon is slowly recruiting members.

Maybe that’s why, to me, these were very annoying phenomena that repeated every year.
This is because these ignorant idiots use all kinds of buildings on campus as a means of promoting their salon.
Naturally, the exterior walls and trees on the concession stand site were also the targets.
When I woke up one night, there were all kinds of leaflets stuck up around my house, as if I was looking at a food alley at dawn.
They even put a magic spell on it that makes it fly away if you try to catch it or try to grab it by saying it’s a wizard.

Popular salons operate on a membership system in the first place, so it is impossible to get in without a recommendation.
In order to hold a dance or exhibition, a building, even if rented, was required, so there was a separate certification mark attached to the top or family that would receive financial support.
Therefore, the places advertised like this were relatively close to common club activities that had little to do with the social world.

“Hmm~.”

When I woke up in the morning to collect flyers, Adela would sit next to me, looking closely at her favorite spots.
However, our Valjean’s intelligence was low, but his pride was secretly high, so it didn’t seem easy to find such a place.
She asked, pointing to a piece of paper in my hand.

“What do you think about this place? “It’s a meeting called ‘Investigation into Helzeb’s Realm.'”
“Just go into places like this in moderation.”

I pointed to the ‘super cowards’ shelter’ underneath.
What on earth are you doing that gives you such a name?

“I don’t like it.”

Adela also expresses her refusal.
But her range of choices didn’t seem to be very wide.

“Anyway, you got kicked out in just one day.”

Adela was receiving countless requests to join until a few weeks ago, as if the halo of the competition still remained.
But her performance was so great that she shattered all expectations.

At a classical concert, he created his own muse with the sound of snoring and suppressed the musicians, and at an art style study group, he painted the subtitle ‘Satan’s Gate’ using oil paintings for three days and nights, turning the entire salon into a club for devil worship.

She even entered the most popular magic salon in the academy, and without fail, unleashed second-tier magic, sending the professor in charge, Sir Vincent, to the temple that day.

Just three days were enough for numerous love calls to end.

“I came out because I didn’t like it. “It wasn’t enough to accept my dish!”

It’s especially salty today.
In a peaceful April, it was clear that an invisible bomb was in progress at Parencia Academy.

“What about this? “It’s called a ‘Survey of War Heroes of the Great War’ meeting.”

Adella took off a leaflet that she had put on her door handle, and then she came up to me again and asked.
Although her attitude was as pure as usual, there was one thing that had changed about her.
The distance was strangely close.

“I guess they are going on a field trip to a history museum or magic tower. “Wouldn’t it be good to skip class?”

Her soft, fresh scent was carried over her shoulder.
White wrists were visible from inside the sleeves, which did not even have cuff links properly fastened.
A cape worn roughly and a four-leaf medal hanging crookedly.
There is dirt on my shoes.

Even in this defenseless outfit, the perverse size of her breasts and the graceful curves falling beneath the skirt sometimes shook my spirit.

Flowers of the North Sea.
It really is a fitting nickname.

If you think about it, the proportions are good, the pedigree is outstanding, and the face is pretty, so the packaging is excellent.
However, the contents are strange.

“Teacher?”

The gaze he looked up as he pushed his body completely was full of innocence.
Maybe I’m just being needlessly conscious, right?

***

Since there were not as many things students needed as at the beginning of the semester, the canteen was already becoming quieter.
However, that doesn’t mean that I was spending that time in vain.
Recently, I was making plans to expand the store.
Ironically, Viscount Darling, who is eagerly aiming for my sweet home, paid quite a lot of money for popcorn during the last competition.

The site itself, stamped ‘Land I bought,’ was much larger than the current store building.
The extension itself will not be difficult as long as you build a temporary wall and hit it with a few hammer blows.
The plan is to use the expanded space as a lounge and cafe where people can enjoy simple tea and coffee.
If you bring the bread from the stand, it will sell well.

‘The problem is the lack of manpower that is essential for business expansion…’

In fact, since the size of the store was not small, it was difficult for me to cover it by myself.
The reason I managed to get back to work so far in the first place was because there were no set business hours.
However, like last time, I may suddenly have to leave at any time.
To prepare for such a situation, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hire at least one loyal part-time worker.

Well, think about it later. First of all, construction comes first.

In the late afternoon, when the sun had not yet set, I closed the store early and went outside the academy.
Even if you do the hammering yourself, you have to procure materials needed for construction and various supplies needed to run the cafe through the top.
It would be best to select a company like a bakery that receives bread every week, but since we only have one or two items, I didn’t want to go around selling products.
All you have to do is ask someone who knows better than you.

Low hills and forests slightly away from the city center.
The huge old castle facing south was the residence of Viscount Ruhillen, the richest man in Penheim and the lord of Farencia.
I naturally entered the premises. The security guard saw this and did not do anything to stop him.
I had not come to see Darling. She will still be at the academy.

Thump thump thump!

I knocked on the ring on the lion’s mouth made of brass, and a moment later, the door opened.
What came out from inside was a neatly dressed butler with gray hair.
He looked at me and bowed deeply to show respect.

“It’s been a while, matriarch.”
“You sound like a matriarch. “I came because I needed something, so let’s talk for a moment.”
“Welcome. “Please come in.”

The old butler’s name was Bill.
He is a faithful man who has served his predecessor, Viscount Ruhilen, for a long time, and can be said to be Darling’s closest associate.
They are not simply employees who manage the mansion.
In order to relieve her of the burden of both life at the academy and work as a lord, she was also in charge of upper-level work.

“I received a call from the hostess that she would be back in an hour. “How about having dinner together?”
“Then I guess I should go before then.”

In fact, she was the perfect butler, except that she called her master mistress and treated me like her spouse.

“Did you walk?”
“Uh.”
“If you tell your acquaintances that you are coming here…”
“I came here while talking to the neighbors.”

Last time she came in her carriage, her wheels were dented for some reason and she had quite a hard time turning.
Like her master, she sometimes had a dark side, but she still got the job done.

When she arrived at the guest reception room, a maid brought out simple refreshments and tea.
Without touching them, I immediately took out the business.

“I’m planning to expand the store this time, so please help me find the materials and supplies needed for construction.”
“What do you want to use it for?”
“To make a moderate amount of tea or coffee.”
“Oh, are you also good at tea ceremony? Then, working at a store owned by our top…”
“I’m going to get it myself, so don’t worry about that.”

He nodded his head without any hesitation at my request.

“If you make a list of the items you need, we will send them to the Academy by wagon by next week. Do you also need a draft of the interior design?”
“It would be nice if you made it pretty.”
“Then I will entrust it to an expert.”

Anyway, isn’t this a local tavern? As the nobility had high standards, it was necessary to meet minimum aesthetic standards.

“Here, Daegeum.”
“Haha, it’s okay. “This merchant and the mansion will all belong to Louis, so why should I take it now?”
“That’s not going to happen, so don’t fucking take it.”

I forcefully handed Bill a purse full of silver coins.
If you think about it, this is all currency that came from Darling’s pocket.
The mindset of quickly disposing of it led to an excellent return to society.

After finishing my business, I got up quickly.
This snide butler said it was an hour, so Darling will arrive in thirty minutes.
I was sure that if I bumped into him while I was wandering around, he would start yelling at me again, so I decided to go back to the cafeteria right away.

“Then I’m going. “Thank you for taking care of it.”
“I will prepare a carriage for you.”
“It’s okay.”
“Then at least I can see you off…”

Bill followed me all the way out of the mansion.
A few servants were seen watering flowers in the garden, but their number was not large compared to Viscount Ruhilen’s prestige.
It is not difficult to find the reason.
In the first place, there is only one person they can serve in this mansion.

As I was leaving the mansion, two monuments placed in the best position overlooking the vast Parenzia caught my eye.
On the continent, there were many corpses whose remains could not be found after the Great War.
Perhaps that is why there was a culture of decorating graves where no one was buried with items from the deceased’s life and colorful flowers to soothe the pain.

A grave without a body, a grave.

The previous Viscount Ruhillen did not die during the Great War, but his remains were never found.
And that was the debt I owed to Darling for not being harsh.

“Have you found it yet?”
“Yes. “They have been plowing the western forest, where the monster wave occurred every spring, for seven years now, but there is no progress.”
“…”
“Don’t worry about it. The two of you were already dead, and the whole of Parenzia was on the verge of ending. “If it weren’t for Louis at that time, even Darling would have died.”

Even Bill’s comfort didn’t make me feel much better. What if she had been a little more cautious?
Even before the Parenzia Academy was built. At that time, I was so sharp that I didn’t even care about anything related to demons.

“Please take a look, Mr. Louis.”

Even after receiving the old butler’s sincere gratitude for several years, a bitter regret lingered on my lips.
I still cannot forget the cries of the girl who picked up the remains of fire with her bare hands in the ashes of the Black Forest.