CH 90

I visited various shops with Louisa. After all, it’s completely different for her to just walk in and see things with her own eyes. It would have been nice to also see myself opened to opportunities I hadn’t seen before.

Then, I walked down the main street of the royal capital and finally entered Caanza, which was also part of my goals today.

Louisa seems to be interested in soap, so I’ll buy her some soap. I didn’t say that immediately but I was putting up something strange for the store clerk to see how she would react. Even so, the store clerk who was just dumbfounded for a moment continued to serve us with a smile.

I don’t know about this clerk, but this girl is nice. Her face is not particularly beautiful. To put it a little rudely, would she be an ordinary town girl? However, her demeanor is gentle and the customer service is polite and very reassuring.

Sometimes you’ll be too tense when someone’s too beautiful. Compared to that, this female clerk is not that type of stunning beauty, but she is giving that feeling of ease.

Hugo, who is the manager of Caanza Trading Firm’s royal capital branch, seems to be well aware of this. Now, if you recruit workers for Caanza, you will receive applications at a rate of dozens or even hundreds of potential employees. There must be spies from other places mixed in as well. It was a big deal to choose this female clerk from among those applicants.

I don’t know the details because I don’t interview workers one by one. However, I think that Hugo’s eyes are certain to have hired this clerk and appointed her to serve customers. I’m not sure if I would have been able to find this girl if I had interviewed her. This girl is definitely a hit. People like this should be cherished.

While thinking about such things, I listened to the explanation of the product, and she brought me a trial-based scented luxury soap, and since she said that it was still unsold, I decided to buy it.

Is Louisa lucky to have the last one left? Not at all……. this is a deadly situation. This trial luxury soap is sold at a large deficit by Caanza. It’s a super bargain that sells at a price where you can’t even recover the cost of materials, let alone labor costs.

If I were a customer, I would definitely buy it immediately. If there are any available, it’s good enough to buy all of them. The store clerk probably remembers that as well, so they shouldn’t sell too many of them to the same customer, but there’s no doubt that they’re bargains that you’ll want to secure more than once.

It’s still unsold even though it’s been this long since the campaign started. I think this is very bad. The luxury goods department, which sells exclusively to members, is constantly understocked. Even so, the same product is sold at a very low price on a trial basis, but it remains unsold. What is with this?

Louisa also said she wondered if someone like her could shop at Caanza… and all the culprits are there.

Caanza is open to the general public as well. There are no special qualifications or conditions, and anyone can shop freely. However, the general public, who should also be our customers, probably doesn’t feel that way.

I wonder if someone like me can enter casually… maybe it’s expensive… if a poor person like me went there, they would snap at me… I would be in trouble if someone said that I had damaged or stolen the goods…

Maybe that’s what they think. The general section for non-members does not have so many luxury items, and there are many items that ordinary people want to buy casually. But the customer base is not keeping up with the intention. This is a serious situation. I need to come up with some sort of breakthrough. Thanks to Louisa, I also understood the problem.

Just when I was thinking about going home after paying for the item, the door to the business negotiations room opened with a terrible bang. The one who came out was a portly aristocratic older lady. She’s dressed so gaudily that it makes your eyes want to dart away, and her makeup is so caked on you have to wonder if it’s paint, not cosmetics.

It seems that the noble’s contact was Hugo, the store manager. I could overhear Hugo talking while the noble lady was still yelling at him.

Apparently, that noble lady is the wife of Marquis Valtek and was angry that she still can’t become a member. It seems that a county is a member and gets the members-only products sold to them, but she, from a marquisate, cannot become a member and cannot buy those members-only products.

Having said that, Beryl County is a noble House with a territory in the northwest and is close to our hometown. They had been patrons of Caanza even before it became famous, and at that time there weren’t many members, and it was rare for people to pay our high membership fee to join.

Hence, since the early days of Caanza, they have paid the high membership fee and have patronized us, and their credibility is different from the new members who have flooded in after Caanza became famous.

At the time when Count Beryl became a member, the vetting pool for potential memberships wasn’t crowded at all, so the checks cleared immediately and the waiting time for confirmation was short. It is only natural that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people waiting to be verified, and it takes time for their turn to come around.

We don’t choose our customers because they are high-ranking nobles or merchants around here. Everyone is judged strictly and fairly in order. Let alone a marquisate, even duchies are waiting for their turn, so there is no way we can give priority to Marquis Valtek and move them up the order. That would shake our credibility and fairness, which is our selling point.

Even if I explain it like that, Marquess Valtek doesn’t seem to be convinced. Or rather, she probably doesn’t listen to people, or even if she did, she doesn’t have enough brains to understand them. The conversation doesn’t proceed at all.

My eyes met with Hugo’s as he glanced at me. Hugo, who is in charge of the store as manager, naturally knows me. He gave me a hand signal telling me to keep quiet and I silently nodded a bit. Apparently, this was part of a test.

“Ah! Hold it, you little girl! What do you have? That must be the soap they’re selling, isn’t it?! Why are you selling it to this little girl when you can’t sell it to me!?” Marquess Valtek yelled.

“When I told you earlier that there was one left for non-members, you said you didn’t want it…” Bianca said.

The story can be easily found out since Marquess Valtek was just talking to Hugo. She was told that there was a trial product for non-members, so we could sell it to her, but she must have been angry that she, a marquess, was being sold something even the general public could buy. That’s what this auntie is like.

“Hold it, that’s mine, so give it to me.”

“Huh? Umm… I bought this…” Louisa said.

And finally, Marquess Valtek finally marched up to Louisa and snapped at her. She is a very helpless old lady. She doesn’t seem to understand that threatening to destroy Caanza or telling Louisa to give the soap to her when Louisa had already bought it will only make her more likely to be rejected in the membership screening. 1

“Dear Customer, this item was purchased by this young woman first. Please understand that in our company, we are supposed to follow the order of turn regardless of the customers’ statuses.”

The female clerk cut in before Louisa, who was being harassed by Marquess Valtek. This is fantastic! This female clerk must be protected absolutely. Even if the other party is a high-ranking aristocrat, Caanza must protect the clerks who won’t give in no matter what… otherwise, the store clerks will not work with a resolute attitude and peace of mind that their jobs are safe when they just do their duties. If the store clerk hasn’t yielded to the Marquess’s threats, the store can’t afford to, either.

“Did you hear what that man over there said to me?!” Marquess Valtek yelled. “I was told you’d sell it to me first, so it’s mine! Give it to me!”

Even so, this Marquess is too cruel… well, her daughter is also that way… her parents should probably also be no better, either. Speaking of the Valtek Marquisate, there is only one House with that name. Perhaps this auntie is the mother of my classmate, Emma Valtek. The incoherent and emotionally-charged hysterical screaming is quite similar.

“When I recommended it you, you said you didn’t want it, so I sold it to the next customer,” Bianca said. “If you had promised to buy it first, it’s my fault, but you said you didn’t need it, hence, that product belongs to that young woman.”

“Is that how it will be?!” Marquess Valtek yelled. “I admire your courage! If this is how it is, that’s fine. Then, I’ll crush this trading firm, so remember that!”

After saying that, Marquess Valtek stormed out, thudding all the way. I felt like I was watching an episode of those TV shows with all the angry people. Caanza is a purveyor that sells products to the royal family, so I don’t think it can be crushed by the likes of a marquisate, but caution and vigilance are necessary. I don’t know what kind of harassment we’ll get.

“My apologies for the disturbance,” Bianca said, bowing her head to us.

It’s wonderful that you can take responsibility even though you’re not the one at fault. You could say she sacrificed herself to protect Louisa, and this female clerk is a very good employee. There is a possibility that Hugo and the staff might do something to reprimand her, so it would be better to have a little discussion with them to increase their vigilance against that and any potential harassment from elsewhere.

“How did you feel about getting involved in this weird incident?” I asked Louisa.

I was a little curious. Maybe with this, she won’t want to go to Caanza anymore. With that thought in mind, my worries were unnecessary.

“Mm,” Louisa said. “Even a poor girl like me was properly treated…and to be protected from a noble lady… you’re really cool, Miss. Would you do the same for me if Floto weren’t around?”

Hm? If she says it that way, it sounds like Louisa thinks they gave their best just because I was there. The salespeople shouldn’t have thought of that. If it’s managed according to my policy, even if Louisa comes alone, she should treat be the same as this time.

“Of course. We look forward to seeing you again,” Bianca said.

And at that, everyone bowed their heads and see us off. Mm, mm. It seems they’re properly educated according to my policy. I can’t educate everyone one by one, so I leave that kind of work to my subordinates. If it is properly handled, it means that the managers and educators are doing it properly.

This incognito inspection was very meaningful. Meeting and getting tangled up with the Marquess Valtek might be a bad memory, but even if you don’t subtract that, it was a satisfying result.

Louisa and I look down on the royal capital from a slightly elevated hill as the sun sets and it’s getting darker. This is a hidden scenic spot where the hill is maintained as a park and overlooks the city.

Ordinary people don’t climb up to this place and see the scenery. People who are busy with their daily lives probably don’t have time to climb the park hills and enjoy the scenery. Also, nobles, wealthy people, and merchants who have free time and money do not bother to walk to such a pedestrian location. Although it is a well-maintained park, it is a lonely place that is not used much.

But thanks to that, not too many people come and I can quietly look at the beautiful scenery. Louisa and I sat on the bench and looked down at the royal capital, and the lights were starting to light up here and there in the town.

“Wow! It’s so beautiful…” Louisa said.

“I agree……”

I stare at Louisa’s profile as she sits beside me and gazes at the scenery with sparkling eyes. I think that the distance between the two of us has shrunk a lot since the misunderstandings and misconceptions of the past have disappeared.

What if…if I hug Louisa’s shoulder now with one arm, how would she react?

Would she hate it? Would she back away? Will she be quiet and put her head on my shoulder? Will be rejected? It’s totally unpredictable. If I were a man, I might have hugged Louisa’s shoulder without hesitation. But now I have a woman’s body and Louisa is also a girl. If you think about it normally, will Louisa accept this unorthodox combination?

It’s scary to think about it. I can’t move because I’m afraid to take another step.

Claudia, who confessed that she likes women and is a homosexual, wouldn’t mind if I embraced her, would she? Still, just because someone is gay doesn’t mean she’ll let me hug her. It doesn’t matter who the partner is, whether it’s the opposite sex or the same sex. Just because someone is gay doesn’t mean they’ll be with anyone of the same sex as them.

“Louisa…”

“Hmm? What?” Louisa asked.

Ah… oh no. Even though I hadn’t decided to say anything or had anything to say, Louisa’s name slipped out of my mouth.

The lights of the town are reflected in Louisa’s eyes that shine in this direction, they’re glowing brightly. She’s not particularly beautiful, but…she’s charming and makes me feel at ease. When I see Louisa’s face, I… I naturally touch her cheek…

“Huh? Floto? Um…”

When I touched Louisa’s cheek, she stares at me with a slightly troubled face. But I don’t mind. Maybe she won’t mind if I kiss her like this…

My face and Louisa’s faces gradually approached. After all, Louisa doesn’t hate it. She stares back at me with slightly wet eyes.

I can do it! With Louisa like this…

“That’s enough, Miss Flora!”

“Hii…!” I squealed.

I thought my heart would jump out of my mouth at the sudden voice. Just when I thought my lips were about to touch Louisa’s, Katharina suddenly emerged from a nearby bush. She’s covered in leaves. Since when has she been there? And if Katharina is there, what about Oliver? I thought he should be around, but Oliver doesn’t seem to be.

I’m not a master of anything, so I can’t read my surroundings perfectly, but I can at least vaguely know that Oliver isn’t around here. In the first place, if you really think about it, if I kissed Louisa in front of Katharina and Oliver, it would have been a big deal.

In a sense, it can even be said that it was a good thing that Katharina stopped me. I’m glad I didn’t end up kissing Louisa because of the mood, even though we hadn’t confirmed our feelings for each other yet.

“Ms. Louisa! You said you weren’t going to do anything out of line, didn’t you? What happened to your promise?” Katharina said.

“What are you talking about? It’s fine for Floto to be the one to take the first step, isn’t it?” Louisa said. “I didn’t force her to do anything…”

And for some reason, Katharina is talking to Louisa, not me. What’s this about a promise?

“No! Not yet!” Katharina said. “You promised fairness, equity, and equal opportunity!”

“Tch~…” Louisa clicked her tongue. “It was such a good mood…”

Hmm? What is… Louisa’s mood? Could it be that I was about to be set up?

Is it highly likely that this was some sort of trap set by Louisa, even though Katharina had butted in before that point? I don’t know what they promised or what, but it seems I was almost caught in a trap.

Let’s be a little more careful from now on. Don’t be carried away by the atmosphere. Louisa seems to be planning various things behind the scenes. I didn’t think she was a girl with two faces, but there are many kinds of girls. There are things you can’t see beneath the surface…

Somehow, that delicate atmosphere was gone, so I decided to join Oliver, who seemed to have exterminated the thugs who lurked around here looking for victims, and with the way clear, we headed home for today.

T/N: Moments like these make me wonder if Katharina was trained to be some sort of ninja maid. She is astoundingly good at entering silently, hiding her presence, and dealing with matters in the background, away from Flora’s sight or awareness.