Chapter 22

The Young Mistress goes to Town

Now then, it has finally arrived, the promised day with grandfather .

Today, I made preparations to eat breakfast quickly and immediately made arrangements . Since I’ll be walking around town today, as I thought, it would not be appropriate to wear what I usually wear, so I decided to wear something a little more modest . …Though I said that, I clothes I’ve been wearing recently emphasizes more on functionality, and because of that I don’t feel like I think to change anything .

When I headed towards the entryway to wait for grandfather, for some reason, Tanya was there wearing a disguise .

“Tanya… I thought I told you that there’s no need, what’s with your appearance?”

“I will also be going with you . ”

“However, Tanya . I don’t really want to take a lot of people with me during my walk . ”

“It won’t matter much whether it’s two or three people . ”

No, although that might be the case, but…

“Young mistress . Please value yourself more . Gazelle-sama’s strength is indeed reliable . However, in case an emergency happens… it would be difficult for him to fight while guarding young mistress . Therefore, at the very least, please take me along . ”

“But…”

“Isn’t it fine, Iris . ”

“Grandfather…”

“Tanya is also worried about you . It is also the duty of the master to take the feelings of those under her into consideration . ”

…Certainly, in an unlikely chance that something happens to me during an emergency, it will really be troublesome . Especially when both the conglomerate and the fief is finally progressing little by little after so much effort . I cannot be too selfish .

“I understand . Then, grandfather . Tanya . Let’s head off . And also, the both of you, please call me Alice while we’re in town . ”

After we left the house through the rear gate, we slowly walked down the road . Un, the weather is pleasant and it feels comfortable . The spring weather in our fief is neither too hot nor too cold, it’s just nice .

The nearer we go to the center of the town, more and more people we see . There were light brown buildings forming a line, giving a different feeling from Japan . While walking energetically down the main street, I looked at shops here and there . Now that I think about it, this is the meaning of window shopping…

“Waa, it’s so cute . Auntie . This flower, what kind of flower is this?”

Something suddenly caught my eye, and I stopped at the front of the store . It was a lovely flower with purple petals .

“It’s a flower called Ajuga (bugleweed) . It’s a flower that blooms at this time . It is a flower that is comparatively easy to raise . ”

“Heh~ …How much is this one?”

“If you want one that’s already in bloom, it’s 1,000 Bells . If you want the seeds, it’s 500 Bells for one bag . ”

“Then, please give me a bag of seeds . ”

“You got it . Thank you . ”

After I paid the money, I received the bag . As I thought, it’s fun to shop for myself .

“About those, what would you do with them?”

“I thought of raising them by the window of the study . Don’t you think that that room feels a little gloomy?”

“Hahaha… As I thought, it is good for a woman to pay attention to details . ”

After walking for a while, we felt a little hungry, so we walked slightly away from the main road and entered a restaurant . When we entered the store, I had a hunch that the store is quite popular considering that the place was almost full .

“Welcome to the store . Please sit at any vacant seats . ”

We sat down on chairs made out of wood and looked at the menu on the wall . There were variations of meals .

“Then, I’ll choose the set with grilled meat . ”

“Umm, I’ll take the set with stew and bread . ”

“I would like the same thing, please . ”

When the waitress left our table, I looked around the store again . People were going in and out nonstop, and the atmosphere is lively and pleasant .

“Yes, thank you for waiting~ This is the stew you ordered earlier . Young ladies, I have never seen your faces before . ”

Someone different from the earlier waitress delivered our meals .

“We came from the Royal City . We have been really busy because of the move, so we haven’t had the time to come to town until now . ”

“Is that so~ You guys came from the Royal City . ”

“How is the state of this town?”

“Hmm? Right, it is a good fief that won’t lose to the Royal City~ Especially recently, with the changes that are occurring, our lives are getting better little by little . ”

“I’m really glad . ”

I became really happy when I heard the uncle’s impression . Because it tells me that the things I’ve been doing are not useless . Since sometimes, I get scared thinking about it . …If what I’ve been doing is right or not . Of course, it’s not as though there’s a right or wrong answer… No, it’s because there is no right or wrong answer that I wanted to know . To be told clearly that “it is correct . ”

I put those thoughts aside and ate the delicious meal . As I thought, it’s good to be like this once in a while~ …It’s difficult to be the same each day . It’s not like I don’t understand grandfather’s feelings .

After eating a delicious meal, we left the shop and continued to walk around . I wonder if it’s about time we headed home? While I was thinking that, I saw a tiny child squatting down, while another was looking around restlessly .

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Although the clothes they were wearing is clean, it looked worn out . And their body were thin overall .

“…I become a lost child . ”

The girl who was looking around restlessly said while her tears were threatening to spill from her eyes .

“Oh my, that must be really hard on you . Did you get separated from your mother and father?”

“No . I live with teacher and the others . ”

Since I don’t know where the lost children lived, it’ll be difficult to help… Now then, I’m stumped .

“Young mi–… Alice-sama . These children, could they possibly live at the institution?”

Earlier… Tanya, you almost wanted to call me ‘young mistress’ didn’t you? …Or rather, that aside, these children are more important .

“What do you mean by ‘institution?'”

“It is a facility somewhere in the downtown area that takes care of children who lost their parents . ”

“Oh my, what a wonderful thing to do . For the time being, let’s take these children there . ”

Grandfather lifted the little girl who was sitting on the ground, as for the one I was talking to, Tanya held onto her hand .

At first, my impression of the place was pleasant as we passed by the orderly row of buildings, but as time went on, the place gradually became slightly dirty .

Although I was wondering if this was the correct place, the eyes of the children began to sparkle . When a building that looks like a church came to view, the children started running towards it .

In front of the building, there was a woman who was looking around anxiously for the children . When she saw the children, her eyes momentarily turned wide in surprise… looking like she was about to burst into tears .

“Really…! I was seriously worried about you two… Where in the world did you guys go…!”

“We’re so sorry, Mina-sensei . When we went exploring, we got lost before we knew it . ”

“Oh dear… In any case, I’m glad you guys were able to come back safely…”

The woman whom the children called ‘Mina-sensei’ hugged them tightly . …It was good that I called out to them at that time .

“…Oh my, these people are…?”

When the woman finally noticed us, she looked at us in wonder . While I was wondering what I should say… the children were the ones who responded for me .

“They were the one who brought us here~”

“Oh my…! I am truly very sorry to have trouble you all . ”

“No, it’s fine . ”

“Although I cannot express my gratitude enough, maybe some tea…”

Although we refused the offer for tea, we decided to intrude when the children asked us to play together with them .

Albeit the inside was every bit a little old-fashioned as the exterior, and repairs seemed necessary here and there, the cleaning was done beautifully .

“Truly, thank you very much for today . ”

“No… Or rather, I’m really sorry . Ah, although it’s a little late, I am called Alice . ”

“I am called Mina . …Alice-san, where did you find those children?”

“On the side of the main street . As for their actual location, it is in the neighborhood of Azura Conglomerate . ”

“Ahh, as I thought…”

“What do you mean by ‘as I thought’…?”

“Nothing really, though I’m really ashamed to say this, I don’t know where the children heard it from, but they heard about the ‘chocolates’ that the Azura Conglomerate makes . They kept saying that they want to try it at least once . ”

“Oh my… And so they went all the way there…”

“It’ because they are full of spirit . So the moment I took my eyes off them, they immediately fled somewhere . ”

“By the way, why is Mina-san here taking care of all the children?”

“…To be honest, I am also one of the people who was brought up here . My adoptive parent was a Sister of the Darryl religion and managed this church . And then she picked me up, an orphan, and raised me here . After Sister died, I decided to stay here to succeed her . ”

“…I see . Excuse me for asking this but, what do you do to earn money? Umm… with that many people to support, it must require quite a bit of money…”

“Previously, we used the contribution made to the church . However, when Sister died, the contribution has decreased tremendously…”

Un… Well, the present situation is not directly connected to the Darryl region . At this moment, rather than saying the people do not want to contribute to the church, it is more likely that the people do not want to donate to the children . Having said that, it doesn’t look like Mina-san is able to go outside to look for work…

Or more precisely, I should say that this problem is something I should tackle . When I return to the house, let’s immediately talk to Sebastian .

“…Well…”

“I’m very sorry for talking about gloomy things . Please take your time and relax here . I will be making preparations for the evening meal . ”

No, no, no! We cannot be indebted any further than this! I was thinking of refusing her offer, but Mina-san left the place really quickly .

…Perhaps I should say that I’ve been really careless because I was busy playing with the children .

When I looked around, grandfather was playing with the children, and it looks like the children really like him . …Grandfather, you’re not going to give them training, are you?

And then, I saw Tanya teaching a girl how to braid hair . Unn, Tanya is unexpectedly good at handling children .

…By the way, while I was being troubled, the children started to gather around me one by one . There are both boys and girls around… I wonder what should I do . Although I do like children because they are really cute, but because I haven’t played with them much, I don’t really understand them .

Therefore, I decided to tell a fairy-tale story to the children . It is a fairy-tale story that everyone in Japan has heard of . Because the children’s eyes were gradually getting brighter and brighter, as time goes by, I got more and more into it . Although I have never acted before, I did my best and performed .

…Oh, my? Before I was aware of it, almost all the children had gathered . When I first started, there were only three children, but now, it has increased to eight children . The two other children were with grandfather and Tanya . Or rather, grandfather, where did that wooden sword come from…?

I pushed that thought aside for now and continued telling the story to the children . …One way or another, the child holding the wooden sword looked really happy . Because it might be of some use to the child in the future, so let’s just give that excuse and pretend I didn’t see anything .

Now that I think about it, does this world not have a picture book? If it doesn’t, let’s immediately have Azura Conglomerate handle it . It will be good for the children’s education, and it will also contribute some profit .

While I was thinking that, I suddenly heard a and loud angry voice coming from outside .

“I know that you’re in there! Hurry up and come out here!!”

…Wh-what is it?

With a deep and rough voice, the man repeated his words over and over . Naturally, the children were afraid and huddled themselves . Finally, with a crashing sound, a stone was thrown .

“… . Everyone! Are you okay?”

Mina-san, who heard the sound, rushed to where we were in a panick .

“Exactly what in the world is happening here?”

Tanya asked . Although she’s expressionless as usual, I felt that she was a little angry .

“…In fact, although I’m ashamed to say this, but we’ve been demanded to evict…”

“Why is that?”

“Sister is gone and the Darryl religion has washed their hands off of this place, so a successor won’t be coming . Therefore, that gentleman seemed to have bought this land . However, if we were to leave this place, we will have nowhere else to go…”

And because of that, it has become a dispute . Unn… Although I’m not praising the gentleman outside, he does have justifiable claims . And because his place is relatively close to the main street, the location is pretty good…

For the time being, because the angry voice seems to be getting louder, I went outside .

While I was walking out, I heard Tanya saying ‘Please stop it,’ but it’s not like I can do that either . If Tanya were to go out there, it will be futile because she’ll probably be overwhelmed, and if it’s grandfather, the person will get intimidated .

“Ha? Who the hell are you…”

Two grim looking men appeared to be suspicious because of my arrival .

“I am a person who came to this place to worship . …Apparently, a mass hasn’t been conducted for a long time now . However, this place is still a church of the Darryl religion . To throw a stone into this place, I can’t say that I’m in admiration . ”

“Ha? This is a place that has been bought out by our employer . ”

“If that’s the case, then this place no longer belongs to the Darryl religion . ”

“That’s right . Nevertheless, there are still brats living in this place, so we are here to drive them out . ”

“Is that so . …However, to throw a stone inside a church, as a believer, it’s a barbarous act in which I cannot forgive . Thus, in order to prove that your claim is legitimate, please present the deed to the land awarded by the government office . And then proper measures will be taken . To use violence against feeble people, it is an outrageous act . ”

“Shut up!”

“If you continue to make a racket, the guards will be called . ”

“…In the first place, it’s the children who are at fault because they don’t want to come out . ”

Another man showed up from behind the two people . The man who just appeared must be the employer they spoke of because the men seemed to obey this man . And because the man was wearing clothes a little too elegant for this place… He is their employer, that much I understand .

“I will agree with that fact . That said, however, it is still not proper to resort to violence . If you indeed have legitimate claims, please tell the government office . ”

“Hmph . I will let bygones be bygones if those people who are living inside illegally pay the rent fee . Moreover, why would I trouble the government when all is needed is for the people to move out . ”

When he said that, I indeed agree . Well… However, it cannot be helped if one is suddenly to tell them to leave this place . To make matters worse, what is a rent fee .

“…Or rather, are you saying that you are the substitute for the rent fee?”

“…Huh?”

No, no, what is he saying? He’s not asking if “I will be paying the rent fee” but rather, “I will be the payment for the rent fee?” In other words, he intends to sell me?

“Please allow me to refuse . …Or rather, what are you talking about . With that negotiation . ”

“I will probably receive a good price for you . No, it will be a waste to sell you immediately…”

“That’s why, I said that I refused . ”

“Ha . You will be protecting those kids, isn’t that a good thing? The brats’ rent will be wiped clean, and you’ll be able to wear beautiful clothes and eat delicious food . And I will receive income . Alright, you guys . I will take this fellow . ”

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