I Favor The Villainess

“Why do I have to do such…”

Unable to suppress her irritation, it’s our Claire-sama .

“It’s work, work”
“I understand that . But, this is the kind of work that anyone can do――”
“Be that as it may, Claire-sama is also a newcomer to the Order of the Academy . Isn’t it natural to do the odd jobs”

We’ve been sent on an errand to go shopping in the Royal Capital market by the Order of the Academy .
The place we’re walking through now mainly deals with perishable food, delicious-looking fruits and fresh vegetables are lining the storefronts .
The sounds of businesses booming reverberate, the area is crowded with people .

“With so many people we might lose sight of each other . Shall we join hands?”
“I am fine”
“You are fine with it then . Then, let’s join them”
“W e w i l l n o t !”

Claire-sama hissed intimidatingly .

“Eeh”
“You’re on good terms…”
“Seriously”

The members of the shopping trip are Claire-sama, me, Misha, and Lene .
Even if they’re newcomers like us, as expected there’s no way princes could be made to take care of shopping .
It was inevitable that we’d come with us four .
Actually Claire-sama wasn’t going to come with us, but as there were numerous things to buy, we got her to come along .
Of course, Claire-sama wouldn’t carry them, so she brought Lene .

“So, what do we have to buy?”
“Err, ten parchments, twenty papyruses, two vials of ink, one set of paints, one bundle of leather straps, one set of nails, also some tea leaves and tea confectioneries”
“It is mostly office supplies”
“Because the Order of the Academy mostly deals with office work, doesn’t it”

As I touched on before, even though it might be called the Order of the Academy, it often deals with plain jobs .
Of these, office work dealing with the functioning of the academy is the most common .
Doc.u.ments regarding budget, amount of school equipment used by teachers, et cetera, there are many things that need to be recorded .

“We should at least enjoy shopping for tea confectioneries”
“You’re right”
“Let’s obtain the latest Blume’s confectionery”

“That’s impossible, Claire-sama”

Claire-sama’s proposal was bluntly rejected by Misha .

“How come”
“Blume’s confectioneries are too expensive . If Claire-sama wants to buy them, please do it with your own money”
“How much do you have today, Lene?”
“As there were no plans for personal shopping, 100 000 gold”
“Then I cannot purchase them…”

I have not touched on it in detail so far, but the kingdom’s currency is gold .
To give you a general idea, one yen roughly equals one gold .
100 000 gold is a considerably large amount for commoners, but with money in possession of the upper reaches of n.o.bility it’s a tiny amount, however buying many Blume’s confectioneries is still unreasonable .

“Should we do our job today? We can buy the tea confectioneries another time”
“It cannot be helped”

Good grief, Claire-sama shrugged her shoulders, then suddenly looked towards the wayside and frowned .

“How unpleasant…”

Following the gaze of Claire-sama, who spat that out, there were two begging children in rags .
One of them has an injured foot wrapped in bandages .

“Ever since the strife with the Naa Empire started, the number of beggars has increased”
“The cost of living is steadily increasing…”

Misha stated facts without giving her opinion, Lene sent the beggars a sympathetic look .
That might be a difference between a former n.o.ble and a commoner .

By the way, the Naa Empire is a neighboring country east to the Bauer Kingdom, it’s a headache for the kingdom, having caused numerous conflicts .

“The prices are certainly rising, however so should wages?”
“They haven’t caught up . Since wages are difficult to lower once raised, even if employers raise them, it’s only by a small amount”

Lene explained carefully .
The substance of what she said can also be called Sticky Wage Theory .

“In that case, is it not the employers’ responsibility”
“The employers are also commoners . Their lives aren’t easy”
“…”

Probably thinking about what she saw, Claire-sama looked like she was brooding .

“Claire-sama”

Such Claire-sama stopped, having been called out by a somehow familiar voice .

“Ara, Head Maid . What a coincidence it is”

The owner of the voice was the François house’s head maid .
I met her once during my maid interview .

“I am in the middle of shopping with master, he caught sight of Claire-sama and told me to bring you”
“Father did?”

During my maid interview I also met Claire-sama’s father .
He’s the Minister of Finance, Dor-sama .

“I am currently in the midst of work”
“That’s what I thought, but master said to bring you no matter what”
“It cannot be helped… You all, would you mind for a little while?”

It’s an invitation from a foremost aristocrat of this country .
There’s no way we could turn it down .
Following the head maid we left for the main street .
There, on a shoulder, waited an obviously custom-made luxurious carriage .

“Yo, Claire . And gokigen’you to you, her school friends . Excuse me for saying it from inside the carriage”

A good-looking man in a frock coat, with blond hair resembling Claire-sama’s, opened the carriage door .

“Gokigen’you, father . What is the matter? I need to shop for the Order of the Academy after this”
“Nn? I don’t have any particular business, but is there any reason not to call out to my daughter whom I caught sight of?”

Dor-sama said quite indifferently .

“Father… Even though it may not look like it, however I am busy”
“I don’t think that’s something you should prioritize over me”

Dor-sama tilted his head as if he stated something obvious .
He’s a person who’s more or less the embodiment of aristocracy .

“If you’re going shopping, get on . Even you commoners, I’ll exceptionally allow you to ride with us”
“Is your destination not the n.o.ble district?”
“It’s fine sometimes . Seeing the lives of commoners is also a n.o.ble’s duty . Go ahead”

And that’s why, we joined Dor-sama .

And that’s why, we joined Dor-sama .
The three-horse carriage was s.p.a.cious enough that it didn’t feel cramped even with five people inside .
I wonder if the suspension is showing its effect, the ride is surprisingly comfortable .

For a while, n.o.body talked .
Misha and Lene are pitifully nervous .

“How has the academy been recently, Claire”

It was Dor-sama who spoke .
With the smile on his face, He looked happy to be able to talk with his daughter who lives apart from him in the dormitory for the first time in a while .

“It is nothing special . The commoners’ movement is a little annoying”

Claire-sama answered coldly .
Having a daughter of that age must be difficult .

“The commoners’ movement… An act of fools who misunderstood His Majesty’s meritocracy policy . That’s why I was opposed to it…”

Good grief, Dor-sama ma.s.saged his temples .
Dor-sama is said to be at the forefront of the n.o.bles opposed to the meritocracy .
He doesn’t seem to have sympathetic att.i.tude towards the commoners’ movement, for which the meritocracy was heaven-sent .

“What do you think, Rei Taylor?”

Such Dor-sama suddenly took interest in me .
Claire-sama’s eyes opened wide .

“Father, what kind of turn of events is that? To not only remember a commoner’s name, but to even call out to her”

Even for Claire-sama, who knows Dor-sama best among us, his behavior must have been surprising .

“What, it’s just a trifling whim . I’ve heard she’s achieved outstanding results among these year’s admission students .  What kind of person is she, I wondered”

It’s not something he thought particularly deeply about, Dor-sama stressed .

“Let’s see… Claire-sama asked me something similar, but I don’t care one way or another . For me, as long as I can spend my days with Claire-sama, I couldn’t care less about other things”
“Hm . It’s a proper way of thinking for a servant . However, it’s the reality you are a commoner . Don’t you yearn for life similar to n.o.bility’s?”

For example, dressing like my daughter, Dor-sama specified .

“Rather than living in luxury, I like seeing Claire-sama being happy . I don’t particularly yearn for aristocratic life . It’s enough if I can receive that every day”
“Is that how you really feel?”
“It is”

Dor-sama fixedly stared at me .
In this world there’s no rule saying that making eye contact is disrespectful, so without much thought I stared back .

“Hm . Unlike the commoners these days, you know your place . I’d like to see more commoners like you”
“I’m thankful”

I responded to Dor-sama’s satisfied smile with a light bow .
Rei’s rei1, just kidding .

I may refuse from the bottom of my heart, but I’ve never thought the commoners’ movement is something worthless .
I understand it’s a n.o.ble ideology, and I think it’s a good idea to shrink the wealth inequality .
However, rather than partic.i.p.ating in the commoners’ movement, I just want to work as Claire-sama’s maid .
In the end, it’s a matter of priorities .

“I feel a little good . I will buy you sweets . Head Maid, head towards Blume”
“Certainly”

The carriage changed its course .
As an aside, the coachman is the head maid .
To be able to drive a carriage, what an all-round person .

“Hey, father, please don’t decide that on your own . As I have stated earlier, we are at work?”
“Isn’t it fine to take a little detour? If anybody complains, it’s fine to use my name”
“That is not the problem here”
“Then, what’s the problem?”

Dor-sama said freely .

“Have you eaten Blume’s confectioneries? As a commoners you have probably never tasted the likes of chocolate”
“I haven’t”

Misha, being the one asked, answered .
I’ve eaten it in my previous life, in the first place, I’m the one who brought it to this world, but I remained silent to not cause any problems .

“That’s right . It’s a novel confectionery . Blume has a truly capable development team――”

Afterwards, we went to Blume with Dor-sama chattering in a good mood, and we really got confectioneries .
As we were allowed to also use Dor-sama’s carriage for shopping for the Order of the Academy, despite making a detour we unexpectedly returned to the academy earlier than planned .

That we brought back chocolate as a booty and were admired by every member of the Order of the Academy is another story .

1) Rei can mean a bow