●Character Refresher
Futa – Gatekeeper of Village Five’ transfer gate. A fortune teller who looks like a mage. Woman in her thirties.
Hih – A military officer working in Village Five. A seasoned middle-aged warrior.
Loch – A civil servant working in Village Five. Young bureaucrat.
Nana – A spy working in Village Five. Village girl.
Miyo – A young maid working in Shashaato’s town. Very young girl.
-0-
I am in Village Five.
It’s partly a reflection on the matter with the third princess of the Gozlan Kingdom.
The third princess had wanted to hand a letter from Tiselle directly, so she requested a eting. But I made her wait far too long.
Yes, there were reasons. She hadn’t declared herself as royalty, nor did she ntion Tiselle’s na. Still, one of the causes was that I hadn’t been visiting Village Five very often.
Youko told not to worry about it, but I decided I should show my face here on a shorter cycle.
That said, at the mont, no one is requesting to et with .
There are always people who want to approach to gain so benefit, but those requests get filtered out beforehand by Youko’s secretaries.
When it cos to actual business matters or making connections, everyone naturally focuses on Youko, who is actively working in Village Five every day, rather than on , who hardly shows up.
That makes sense.
Of course, if soone cos to the village council hall hoping to et Youko and finds there, they might think they should at least greet .
But if they greet , it won’t end with just a greeting.
They’ll try to talk about sothing.
The problem is, they’re already handling business matters with Youko.
If they start discussing it with , there’s the risk that I could overturn whatever agreent they’ve worked out with her or whatever project she already approved.
At the end of the day, I am Youko’s boss.
The representative of Village Five.
My decision carries more weight than hers.
That ans if I say sothing careless, or if I let soone push into saying sothing I shouldn’t, it could cause problems for everyone involved.
It’s risky and troubleso.
So the right move is to leave things with Youko or her secretaries, say “Please give my regards to the village chief”, and walk away.
That’s probably why Youko told not to worry about it.
Well, fine.
At least I was able to see how Ririus and the others, who are working hard in Village Five, are doing. And I’ve had more chances to talk with Gol, Sil, and Bron, who co here for work.
The problem is, whenever I travel to Village Five, my escorts, Gulf, Daga, and Reginleif, always co with . And on top of that, as my attendants, one person each from the High Elves, the Angels, the Beastkins, and the civil servant girls accompany .
It feels wrong to just wander around aimlessly or sit idly in my room while all of them are on duty for my sake.
I’ll probably return to the usual routine before long.
-0-
Right, by going to Village Five more often, I’ve also had more chances to talk with Futa, Hih, Loch, and Nana, the rcuries I usually don’t interact with much.
They even join for lunch.
During those tis, Futa and Loch talk about administrative matters in Village Five, Hih talks about defense, and Nana covers information-related affairs.
Since I already get regular reports from Youko, it ends up more like confirming details, but it’s still very useful.
Of course, it’s not just business.
We chat as well.
「Do you know what Futa’s private room looks like? It’s gone through all kinds of experints and turned into sothing incredible」
Nana told that Futa has been working hard to give herself so kind of individuality.
But it’s not like she doesn’t have any, right?
She already has the image of a fortune teller who looks like a mage.
「Fortune telling… no one has ever asked for that…」
Ah, r-right, maybe that’s true.
「And with Loo-sama and Tier-sama around, I can’t exactly call myself a mage with pride… Besides, there’s also that ghost sorceress」
Ah… so that’s why she’s struggling.
「Actually, there was a ti I thought about making my speech style my defining trait…」
Oh really? Like what?
「Like speaking in a slow, relaxed way to act like an oneesan type… or making the ends of my sentences sound languid to give off a bewitching air」
Apparently, at one point she even ended her sentences with things like 「nya-haa」 or 「desuu」.
So, did anything work out?
「They were all received terribly」
I-I see.
「I even asked Zabuton-san and the others for advice and tried to stand out with clothing…」
When Futa said that, Hih and Loch gave bitter smiles.
「Throwing away your dignity just to stand out is a bit much」
「If soone thought we were the sa race as the one wearing that outfit, I’d rather not…」
It seems the reception was disastrous, so she ended up only showing it to close acquaintances.
If I said I was interested, she might show , but I’d rather not get caught up in sothing weird, so I kept quiet.
By the way, the place we usually eat is Youko’s mansion.
At first, we used the dining hall in the village council building, but it made things difficult for everyone else, people felt uncomfortable using it when we were there.
Well, Youko herself doesn’t eat in the dining hall either, she usually eats in her private room or office.
-0-
Right, Nana.
How’s the third princess of the Gozlan Kingdom doing?
Is she getting by without any trouble?
「She’s fine. It seems like she’s enjoying life in Village Five」
Any complaints?
「If anything, she wants to work. But she’s still young, so she can only help out in small ways」
I see.
And what about her attendants?
They were close to the princess.
Having grown used to a life of luxury in the royal castle, they might not be satisfied with life in Village Five.
「That’s not really a concern. She’s actually said herself that life in Village Five is better than what she had in the Gozlan Kingdom’s castle」
Really?
「I spoke to a few of them, and… they all said pretty much the sa thing」
I see.
Thinking about it, the Gozlan Kingdom has always been close to war.
Its finances were probably weighed down heavily by military expenses.
Well, as long as they’re satisfied with life here, there’s no problem.
「Ah, there’s this one thing」
Sothing else?
Nana glanced at Loch, and he answered.
「Most of the princess’s attendants used to work as civil servants in the Gozlan Kingdom」
Oh, that’s great news.
Youko and Miyo will be pleased.
「No, it’s not that simple」
?
「The scale of the economy here in Village Five is far too different. They can’t really keep up. To make them into useful civil servants, they’d need to spend several years working at the bottom, building experience」
Even so, if you think long-term, wouldn’t it be worth hiring them?
Better than starting with complete amateurs.
「But as underlings, their pay would be poor…」
Ah, ah… I see.
I get it now.
You can’t give a full wage to soone who isn’t pulling their weight.
If you do, it’ll just lower the motivation of those who are working properly.
「Yes. That is why a proposal has been made to provide financial support for those who wish to beco civil servants but are forced to give up because they cannot make a living on the wages alone. Of course, anyone who receives this support will be required to work in Village Five for a set number of years, but still…」
That sounds good. Content originally cos from NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Youko would approve.
And if it ans we can hire the Third Princess’s companions as a civil servants, all the better.
When I said that, Hih raised her hand and spoke.
「I think military officer candidates should also receive financial support. There are quite a few who have the drive but give up because of wages. Also, we should establish an academy for training military officers.」
An academy for military officers, huh.
Wouldn’t the guard corps be enough for that?
They already have a pretty systematic training program, don’t they?
「The guard corps does cultivate command ability and martial skills, but when it cos to paperwork, they’re below even the lowest-level clerks.」
Ah, r-right, I guess that makes sense…
「So can handle it, but those individuals end up carrying the whole burden.」
That’s no good.
「Yes. Which is why I think an academy that also teaches paperwork would be ideal.」
Got it.
I’ll discuss it with Youko.
「Thank you very much.」
-0-
The al ca to an end, and tea was set out on the table.
「Also, this is a family matter, but…」
Nana spoke up softly.
「I think Miyo in Shashaato should also have chances for these kinds of conversations」
When Miyo visits Big Tree Village, I try to talk with her as much as possible… Alright.
I’ll make sure to give her more opportunities to join in.
「Thank you very much」
Yeah, there are things about the Kissinley couple and other matters I’d like to ask her about too.
Co to think of it, what happened to the Royal Warrior we brought to Village Four?
I went through the trouble of obtaining him at the auction.
I hope he’s working properly now…
-0-
Cafeteria staff: 「Whenever Youko-sama eats in the cafeteria, everyone starts ordering the exact sa thing and it’s a problem…」
-0-
Staff A: 「Futa-san was referring to himself as ‘wacchi’ today」
Staff B: 「But yesterday it was ‘chin’?」
Staff C: 「I wonder what it’ll be tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it」
Nana: 「She’s attracting strange fans…」
-0-
Futa, dressed in eccentric clothing: 「How do I look?」
Yoru: 「Absolutely not! Where did you throw away your sense of sha!」
Bell: 「…It might not be bad」
Yoru: 「Bell? Wait, what?」
Reviews
All reviews (0)