Fuso is the center, the capital... with a population in the hundreds of thousands. This large, world-class city is a much more comfortable place to live than any other city in the country. The city streets, which are paved with stones and bricks even to the side streets, are maintained with water and sewage systems, though primitive, and are constantly traversed by horse-drawn carts and ox carts, not to ntion people on foot. The markets located in the east, west, south, and north were filled with not only dostic goods but also imported goods ranging from daily necessities to consumable goods and luxury items, not to ntion food. The security is good, and the standard of living is considerably richer than that of the local cities, not to ntion the outer city.
In one corner of the city, facing Suzaku Street, one of the main streets crisscrossing the city, is the main office of Tachibana Trading Company, and the residence of the Tachibana family.
"Well, well, Uemon-dono, thank you very much for coming. Please allow to welco you."
Tachibana Hibiki, the head of the trading company, greets Kizuki Uemon as he gets off the ox cart, and then he bows his head to the gorilla-sama and thanks them.
"You are as beautiful as ever, Your Highness," he said.
"Oh, really? Thank you."
The gorilla replies in a manner that is not particularly interesting but at least respectful. Then the gorilla with her arrogant attitude heads inside the house... just before she turns around and says a few words as if she were trying to nail him.
"Tomobe, you wait there. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Princess."
I respectfully agree with the gorilla's caution.
"Now, we're ready to welco you. Please be quick."
Tachibana Hibiki does not glance at , nor does he call out to , but he calls out to the gorilla-sama in a natural way. Gorilla-sama glanced at the leader of the trading company with a sideways glance and accepted his suggestion without saying a word. After gorilla-sama went to the residence, he finally looked at for a mont, but without saying anything in particular, he imdiately lost interest in and walked away. It was a very natural attitude.
Or rather, it was a natural thing that he did not need to say. How could a re servant enter the house?
Although Tachibana Hibiki, the head of the trading company, has had a relationship with the Kizuki family since the last attack on the trading company and the rescue of the Kizuki family, he is only indebted to Gorilla-sama and Fat-mon, and he has no interest in at all. It was not arrogance, but a natural act under common sense.
From the point of view of Tachibana Hibiki, it was the Kizuki family that saved him and his family, gorilla-sama in every sense of the word. At best, it would be a miracle if I am recognized as an accessory, or rather, as a sidekick. In this country with its strict class system, a servant may be better than a discriminated people or a slave, but ultimately he or she is still a person of low status, and his or her actions are only subordinate to the will of the Kizuki family. Therefore, my actions at the ti of the attack were the achievent of the Kizuki family, and it was impossible for to be given any kind of acknowledgnt by them.
(Well, it's a little too late for that...)
I would be lying if I said I had no complaints, but I am 'used' to this kind of treatnt. Besides, I know that I will not get into trouble in this world if I do not make myself conspicuous. In this world where the status system is strict and natural discrimination is rampant, there is not much good that can co from the bottom class being favored, but only a lot of hardship.
Therefore, I was able to stand silently and unobtrusively by the ox cart with a long spear (the fourth version) for the leader of the servant group in my hand. By the way, I also used this period as a ti for ditation. ditation was an effective thod of training, especially in the study of hidden techniques. This act of forcibly maintaining a normal mind, clearing one's thoughts, objectifying things, and minimizing one's presence was an effective practice in such a waiting ti.
However... it seed that this training was going to be terminated in the middle of the training again.
"...Miss, may I ask what you're doing here?"
"Yes. I was waiting for Tomobe's reaction!!"
I was standing by the oxcart when I finally reacted and called out to her. She smiled at like a flower blooming, literally right in front of .
She was dressed in a hakama that reminded of the Taisho era, and her face was strikingly shaped, probably due to the influence of Nanban (southern barbarian/Europe) blood. She was a beautiful young girl with blond hair and blue eyes, reminding of the sun and the sunflower. Her carefree smile is poison to a servant's hard heart. So, please go sowhere else and give everyone that charming, cheerful smile of yours. Or rather, go.
"Well, you're no stranger. So, please don't say that. I'm so sad I'm going to cry!"
"Miss is as strong as a sunflower. I'm sure you won't cry at the words of soone like ."
When I responded casually, the girl's mouth turned into a pout like a child, her cheeks puffed up and she sulked as if she was offended. Still, isn't she so determined that she would actually use her body to get back the business that was taken over?
"Oh, is there sothing wrong with you, staring at like that?"
Whether or not she noticed my staring or not, Kayo, the only daughter of Tachibana Hibiki, the head of the Tachibana Trading Company... was still looking up at with a smile on her face that I don't know what she was enjoying...
"...I can't play with you because I have work to do, okay?"
"Don't mind . I'll try not to bother you."
"Please understand that your re presence here is a burden to everyone, including ."
The guard on the side of the trading company looks puzzled, and a staff mber of the trading company passes by with a dubious look on their face. That's understandable. Because, why is the only daughter of the head of the trading company crouched down in the ox cart yard?
"Is it a nuisance to you, Tomobe-san?"
"It will interfere with my work."
"Is it your job to sit here and wait?"
"It's an important job to protect and serve the ox cart, which is the property and foot of the family."
I know it's a sh**tty job, but I don't talk about it. It is said that a wall has ears and a door has eyes. I never know where people will hear it. ...No, it's quite unusual that I'm talking so much...
In the first place, why am I having such a conversation with the daughter of a trading company, who is also a daughter of a noble family, whom normally I am not allowed to see face to face?
The story began when Gorilla-sama rescued Tachibana Trading Company before I almost died in a battle with a monster fox at the orphanage. A few days after that, the Tachibana Trading Company expressed their gratitude to the Kizuki family and to Gorilla-sama, and invited them to their house once.
At the ti, I was busy monitoring the orphanage, making contact with the old man, and preparing various asures against the foxes, but I was in no position to refuse to accompany them if ordered to do so. So, I reluctantly accompanied the invitation with my tired body, and while the gorilla-sama was being entertained as in this case, I was waiting by the ox cart... and I t this young lady again.
After staring at as if to examine , she rushed up to and greeted . It is not often that a person of her position greets a servant, so I was a bit surprised, but since she greeted , I had to greet her. So, I bent my knees and bowed reverently to the younger girl and said...
"I don't think that mask is very cute. Why don't you take it off?"
The young lady of the trading company tilts her head with a smirk and makes a suggestion. By the way, I almost lost the mask before! I was also lost my face. Of course, I have not crossed the line of death yet. Anyway, I stopped her by avoiding her hand.
"This mask is the official equipnt of a servant. It is not a re decoration for personal adornnt."
It is undeniable that the masks worn by the servants have a simple resistance to illusions, and that they serve to protect their faces. Of course, the main reason for this is to make them hide their faces to make them look eerie and to prevent people from getting attached to them... but I'm not sure if this young lady would be convinced by that.
"Hmm, Tomobe-san, you are so an. You don't listen to a single one of my requests. If it was our servant, they will do whatever I want!"
The girl's face, which is young enough for her age, frowns sullenly. She looks so cute that I almost want to relax my expression, but I can't.
"Please don't ask too much of . I am a lowly servant, but I am not your servant. I serve Kizuki's household, Princess Aoi, to whom I am directly subordinate. I am very sorry, but please understand that I cannot follow your orders."
Yes, after all, a servant is not obliged to obey anyone's order. Especially when they are under the orders of their masters. And it is the Kizuki family that I am obeying, not the Tachibana family, so it is obvious which family's orders take precedence over which.
"Muuuu... uuuu..."
Kayo Tachibana growls in frustration at my words. In the original ga, she is not a captured character and does not have a yandere, so she is relatively easy to talk to... but I may have been a little too rciless in my words. She was spoiled by her father for so reason, and if she never lost or lost her family, my words might have made her emotionally angry, regardless of logic.
(I'm getting carried away...)
As I was regretting my comnt after all these years, Tachibana Kayo suddenly muttered to as if she had co up with sothing.
"...So, Tomobe-san, if you were mine, you would do whatever I ask?"
"...what do you intend to do?"
I narrowed my eyes at her oblique reply and faced the girl in front of with so caution.
"Tomobe-san is a property of Kizuki's family, isn't it? If so, I was wondering how much they are willing to sell you to ."
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl smiles innocently and cutely. Her frank and unassuming manner, as if she thought it was a good idea, gave a sense of hate and at the sa ti, a certain satisfaction.
Human trafficking... a word that would be repulsive to the values of my previous world, but this world is a depressing ga, and at the sa ti, the worldview is based on the dieval and early modern tis, and above all, the view of life and death is completely different from the previous world because human life is lighter than in the previous world. So, human trafficking and similar transactions are not completely denied, although they are regulated by law.
(The situation is similar to the one I'm in now...)
Because Tachibana Kayo was taken over by Kizuki's family in exchange for money due to the fact that her family was a poor farr who had only a small piece of land and could not make a living even if she worked hard to cultivate it, doing side jobs or small farm works. It is not reasonable to be offended by her words.
...however, I can't help but be instinctively displeased by her words.
"...Tomobe-san? Is sothing bothering you?"
I think it was just a slight, very slight resentnt. But is it because she is a child that she is sensitive to this kind of emotion? The daughter of the trading company asks , looking at my face hidden by my mask, puzzled and anxious. It might have seed to her that I had suddenly beco angry.
"...No, I'm just a little tired, that's all. Don't worry about it."
Yes, it is nothing for her to worry about. What she said is common sense in this world, and it is more bizarre for to be indignant.
"More importantly, are you assuming that they will sell to you?"
"Uh... Oh, yes! Because a servant can be replaced, can't he? It's true that Tomobe-san seems to be more skilled than the others, but it shouldn't be a problem if I offer them double, or even triple, the market price!"
When I made a deep dive into the matter, she imdiately changed her mind and put a price tag on without hesitation.
"Tomobe-san, it would be better for you to work for us than for the exorcists, wouldn't it? If I tell my father, you can work as a guard in a secure residence. I'm sure you'll be treated better here. You'll get white rice for all three als and snacks if you want! ...Oh, right! I wouldn't make a foolhardy request to make you fight with other exorcists, okay? I'll only let you do the work that suits your ability! I think it won't hurt if they sell you to , right?"
Tachibana Kayo-chan made the proposal with a sparkle in her eyes. She is like a scout for idols. It is a promise that this kind of sales slogan is different from reality. To be honest, I can't say in front of my eyes that I don't trust her.
(Still, why did she know about the trouble with Murasaki Ako the other day? Where did she hear it from?)
No, she may be well inford because she is a mber of the trading company... but still, she is very enthusiastic in her recruiting of a re servant.
"I'm glad to hear your words and the offer is attractive but the question is whether my lord will agree to it—"
"—Hmm. I don't have any plans to sell him right now. If you want a toy, get another one."
My comnt is followed by the familiar bell-like voice of a girl. I look at the girl with a bitter expression.
"Princess, you're back so soon. Is sothing wrong?"
"Well, I have a rather interesting offer to make to you. But... it seems you've been having quite a pleasant talk over here?"
The next mont, I hear gorilla-sama's voice, narrowing her eyes and choking with a cold smile. I shudder, and my shoulders shake slightly. It was fear, because what I should call my sixth sense was telling of danger.
"Princess Aoi, I'm happy you're having a good day!"
The innocent daughter of the trading company greeted her innocently as if she didn't care about my nervousness.
"Yes, I'm glad you're having a good day too... but while I like your enthusiasm for business, I don't like your bad habit of doing things improperly, okay? Don't play with other people's toys without permission."
Gorilla-sama declares gently, but warningly. On the other hand, the rchant's daughter smiles unconcernedly.
"You don't have to talk to like that! I'm just asking if Tomobe-san can work for us!"
Kayo makes a childishly grumpy face. Her rollicking, emotional expression is adorable and appropriate for her age. However, the gorilla did not seem to be pleased with her.
"That's exactly what you should not say to a servant. It doesn't matter whether he wants to or not if he's bought and sold. It's not sothing you should be talking about directly. ...Well, anyway, this is not the place to talk about the business."
With that, the gorilla princess breaks off the conversation with the rchant's daughter and turns her attention to .
"A job offer, Princess? What sort of business is this?"
"It's a small chore, of no importance. It's just... there was a good reason for to accept it."
The gorilla smiles at with an aggravating smile. The way she says it reminds of what she said the other day when the eting with Ako Murasaki was canceled. Oh, I'm beginning to get a general idea.
"I heard it's not good to get hurt in a hand-to-hand fight. So, this ti we'll be dealing with the usual... So why don't you go clean the ditch?"
Her words were exactly what she ant when she declared so calmly. That is, the task of exterminating youkai, the small fry youkai that nest in the sewers beneath the capital, which had been released as an early quest in the original ga's capital route. But...
"...haha, seriously?"
I muttered in a voice full of despair, my face scrunched up behind my mask. At first glance, it was indeed a quest to hunt small fishes in the underground of the capital. But in fact, I knew that it was a trap quest that set up many players to be killed on the first try...
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