Book 4: Chapter 4 (8)

Territory Pioneering 4

Sophie-chan allowed me to safely enter the dressing room.

I quickly healed the damage done by Schael’s punch with my recovery magic. In retrospect, his punch was nothing compared to the punches I’ve become used to from Christina, but I usually have a moment to brace myself for those. It wasn’t even enough to make me angry. Rather, I’m a little thankful to him. Thanks to his punch I was able to see a genuine reaction from Sophie-chan that I’ve never seen before.

But this didn’t stop Schael from bowing and apologizing to me.

“I-I’m very sorry!”

“Don’t worry about it. We should just move past it as quickly as possible to avoid making things awkward….”

“I-It was rude of me to raise my hand against you, Baron. I humbly beg for your forgiveness!”

This situation could’ve been resolved much easier if the man that punched me was a noble, but unfortunately, he is a commoner. Sophie-chan informed me that every member of the band was a commoner.

Perhaps it’s easier for Sophie-chan to use commoners as it would be harder to have nobles travel with her whenever she needs them.

In that sense, Sophie-chan’s concerts are rather progressive in that they have a member of the nobility working closely and equally with commoners.

“Sophie-san, I came here to discuss our contract going forward….”

“I also wanted to discuss a contract after the first week is up.”

“With things going so well, I’d say we can continue with the current contract going forward.”

“What about the rent for using this building?”

“Don’t worry about it for this month. We can discuss the rent and a contract for the rest of the year at a later time.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“We fought side-by-side to save the Princess. This is the least I can do.”

“…thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Surprisingly, Sophie-chan gave me her sincere thanks.

Even if it’s just an act, it’s still cute. This is what is known as an innocent bitch.

“Now then, that’s everything I had to say. I’ll be going –”

But Sophie-chan wouldn’t let things end so easily.

“Schael’s punishment still hasn’t been decided.”

She’s a girl that likes to dance, sing, and bounce around joyfully on stage with her band of commoners, but she is still a traditionalist when it comes to commoners respecting the nobility.

“Even if you say that….”

“He raised his hand against a noble on your first meeting. A strict punishment fitting for his insolence is necessary to fix such insolent behaviour. If this isn’t fixed now, it will create problems in the future.”

“….”

Schael trembled after hearing Sophie-chan’s words.

I won’t lie and say I don’t want to punish the ikemen that punched me, but that doesn’t mean I want to hurt him. If I were to punish him severely for a simple misunderstanding, I’d just be creating an enemy within my city.

There’s nothing that can be done to erase the fact that he punched me. Trying to do so would just be a waste of time and energy.

“I hardly consider myself a noble, so there’s no need to punish a simple altercation between two commoners.”

Sophie-chan was surprised by my words.

“…really?”

“Everything here is thanks to Ester-san’s actions.”

“But you still hold the power of someone of your rank. Most people would use that power to get whatever they want and do as they please.”

“I don’t need this power to find my happiness.”

Sophia-chan, Edita Sensei, and Sophia-chan again.

I would die happy if I could have a threesome with them.

I’d happily die then be brought back to life only to die again if I could cum inside each of them.

“I-I see….”

I’ve only been able to accomplish what I’ve done so far is due to the cooperation of other people. I put in a lot of work myself, but without everyone else’s efforts, there would’ve been no customers to use the facilities Christina and I built. Sophie-chan has also contributed by bringing in all of her fans.

Which is also why I don’t plan on acting like a high-and-mighty noble. Even if this town doesn’t work out, I’d like to escape with the loligon and build a new city on some unclaimed land somewhere.

And that city will be built better.

“Then, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”

“Of course.”

Sophie-chan and the ikemen bowed to me before I left the dressing room.

***

After leaving the hall, I had to return to the mayor’s house to finish up some work.

With the agreed upon date soon approaching, I needed to ensure that all of our expenses and revenue were accounted for and ready to be presented to the King. It was essentially our monthly closing.

We shouldn’t have any problem paying the taxes for this month, but the paperwork still needs to get done and it would be best to finish it up as quickly as possible.

“Umm, T-Tanaka-san, can you come over here…?”

“What’s the matter?”

As soon as I returned to the office, Sophia-chan called out to me. I guess she’s been working tirelessly since I left.

She looked nervous as I approached her and she held out a bundle of paper to me. It was around a dozen sheets of paper held together with a clip.

I wonder what this could be.

Maybe a love letter.

“I’ve put together all of the numbers to come up with our balance. I’d like you to look over or, umm, confirm the numbers…. This is the first time I’ve handled so many transactions so I’m not that confident in my abilities….”

Apparently, she’s already finished the monthly closing. I only wanted her to compile our revenue and expenditures so that I could balance everything out myself. This maid is smarter than she gives herself credit for.

I thought I had a regular calculator but it turned out to be a scientific calculator.

“Thank you. I’ll look through it.”

I took the bundle of papers to my desk.

I carefully looked over the black ink marked on each page. Each category had been carefully organized. It was better than what I was expecting, and, as far as I could tell, there were no mistakes in the calculations.

“This looks good. We can probably submit this as is.”

“Eh!?”

“I don’t know enough about this country to present a financial report better than this.”

“N-No, umm, it would be better if someone else were to submit the official report!”

It didn’t take long for Sophia-chan to start panicking.

Even with sweat stains, this maid is cute.

“Then, please, speak with Ester-san. I’m sure she has someone that manages her finances and if we have that person look over your report, we can ensure that there are no mistakes.”

“Of course! T-That sounds like a great idea!”

My maid was frantically shaking her head up and down like an akabeko doll.

Seeing her like this reminded me of something the noble mage told me.

A lot had happened to Sophia-chan while I was away from the academy. She was also the main reason Nannuzzi-san’s scam was revealed.

Furthermore, she’s taken on the job of secretary since arriving in Dragon City.

Shouldn’t a Baron give something to her as a reward for her efforts? It’s just like Ester-chan rewarding me for my service.

“By the way, Sophia-san, there’s one more thing.”

“Y-Y-Yes!? W-What is it!? Is something wrong…?”

As usual, she’s expecting something bad.

“It seems like there are a lot of ways I’ve become indebted to you, Sophia-san, and I feel like I should repay you in some way. Is there anything that you’d like? It could be money if you wish, or something else if it’s anything I can do.”

Even though I said that, with the funds I have on hold to pay Gonzalez, I’m basically broke.

I could just borrow from Ester-chan if I need to.

“Eh….”

“You don’t need to give me an answer now. Take your time to think about it.”

“Ah, o-of course….”

She was completely flustered and unsure of what to do.

The multitude of rich expressions she’s capable of is quite nice.

But cold, cool girls are also nice.

I’ve met plenty of pretty girls in this world but none that I would call cool. It sounds like a strange thing to complain about, but cool girls just have their own charm that no other type of girl has. I just want a cool girl to give me a cold stare.

Sophia-chan gives me cold looks whenever I get close to her, but she doesn’t have the personality to match. 

Ah, aren’t there any cool girls out there?

***