CH 104

Eating Together

After Claushezade finished his dinner later, he had to immediately leave.

Sheila felt sorry to ask him to take time out of his busy schedule, but she struck up the conversation while he still was there.

“Claushezade-sensei. Actually, I’m thinking of selling herbal tea.”

Having brewed it several times in the faculty room, Claushezade quickly understood what she was talking about.

“Ah, that rare tea. I don’t mind, but I’m surprised you have a business mind.”

“It was because of Zechs, of course. I don’t have any business acumen, and I don’t want to make money in the first place.”

Perhaps intrigued by the exchange between Sheila and Claushezade, Jornwerner interjected.

“What is this herbal tea you’re talking about?”

“This is the tea made in Denan Village. In the village, there was no such fashionable drink as black tea, so herbal tea was the norm.”

Since it was difficult to understand even if she explained it verbally, Sheila decided to serve everyone a cup of herbal tea that she had prepared.

Jornwerner frowned in bewilderment as she placed the teacup in front of him.

“….. Is this that herbal tea you’re talking about? It looks quite pretty surprising.”

The almost black color of the tea was apparently unappealing to some people. Sheila returned a wry smile.

“That’s the reaction I get at first, no matter who I serve it to. I think even black tea is black.”

“Black tea has a reddish tinge, but this one is pitch black, isn’t it?”

“Well, it’s fine, just try it. It looks very thick, but it tastes light. The villagers used to drink it during and after meals.”

“Sometimes you seriously forget that I’m an aristocrat, don’t you…?”

‘I’m sure you sometimes forget that I’m a woman, too.’

Jornwerner’s eyes sparkled with amusement when he saw through Sheila’s true feelings, which she could never say out loud. Sheila hurriedly held the cup for him, as she felt he was about to say something absurd.

Even though Jornwerner frowned, he sipped it carefully.

“――Heh. It’s surprisingly delicious. It has no particular taste and it’s very fragrant.”

“That’s because it contains roasted grains. Other ingredients such as ginger and bamboo grass are collected over the course of a year.”

Sheila patted her chest as Jornwerner began to drink without hesitation. If he, an aristocrat, could drink it, it might not be difficult to spread it to other people.

Cody and Lulu also nodded as they drank.

“Thanks to this, my health condition has improved a lot. I used to have a weak stomach, and when I got nervous, it would hurt right away.”

“I understand what you mean. My master also drinks it regularly. He also serves it to us servants as well, so I’m familiar with the taste.”

Since Felix lived in Denan Village for many years, he was still familiar with herbal tea. Sheila had also heard from Lulu and Richard that he recommended it to his servants.

‘The people who work there say they feel better than before, so I thought it would be great if it spread throughout the royal capital.’

Clauschezade opened his mouth as he set down his teacup.

“Have you spoken to your guardian?”

“Of course. I just wanted to get Claushezade-sensei’s permission before proceeding.”

Sheila had already informed Felix the other day.

That was enough for him, apparently. Claushezade nodded without showing any particular concern.

“You can do whatever you want. However, if it affects your day job, I will ask you to stop immediately.”

“Yes. I’ll be careful.”

Sheila took the lack of detailed confirmation as a sign of trust and answered with a big smile.

As Sheila and Lulu were cleaning up the teacups after everyone had finished drinking, Claushezade suddenly glanced over at her.

“By the way, if you don’t care about making a profit, what’s in it for you by selling herbal teas?”

There was no hint of suspicion in his peacock-colored eyes, only simple curiosity.

Sheila made a serious face, and left Lulu to clean up the mess, then sat down at the table again.

“I just have a feeling that the people in the capital are not as energetic as the people in Denan Village. I know it’s none of my business, but I’m hoping this herbal tea will have some effect for them.”

“Hmm. So, that’s how it is….”

Claushezade put his hand on his chin and assumed a contemplative stance.

“Suppose, for example, that the number of sick people in the royal capital does decrease due to a certain effect. However, there are some occupations that would be disadvantaged by this.”

Sheila nodded, knowing what he was trying to say.

“Doctors, right? Fe―… My guardian pointed out the same thing to me.”

With fewer patients, small clinics wouldn’t be able to survive. Felix predicted as much. He said that the pharmacy‘s monopoly on profits could attract resentment from other unexpected sources.

It was a political opinion that would never have come up if Sheila and Amy had discussed it alone.

But Sheila had already devised a solution.

“I thought about it. Then I realized, ‘Why don’t we just have regular medical checkups?”

“Regular medical checkups?”

Not only Clauschezade, but everyone around the table showed incomprehension at the unfamiliar word.

“I guess it’s a system that doesn’t exist in the capital. It was normal in the village where I was.”

In the village, there was a rule to see a doctor regularly even if there was no ailment. It was a system for early detection and treatment of various diseases lurking in the body.

Sheila roughly explained the medical checkups that were conducted in Denan Village.

“In our village, we used to give food to the doctors who examined us as a token of our gratitude.”

“…. I really don’t know if your village is progressive or old-fashioned.”

“Really? But bartering doesn’t really work in the royal capital, and it doesn’t really work that way.”

Those living on a shoestring[1] might be reluctant to get regular checkups if they had to pay for them. Felix said that it wouldn’t lead to the spread of the system.

(T/N: To live within a very tight or limited financial budget.)

“So, my guardian said that I should encourage the country to provide subsidies or something like that. To be honest, I have no idea what he is talking about.”

Sheila wasn’t knowledgeable enough to have an opinion about the system. Speaking straight from Felix’s words, Claushezade seemed to understand immediately.

“――I see. In addition to not taking jobs away from doctors, the government could generate subsidies so that even the poorest of the poor could receive medical checkups. If the idea of medical checkups becomes the norm, it will rather guarantee the livelihood of the town doctors.”

Claushezade’s Felix supremacy seemed to be alive and well as ever, as he praised the idea as a great idea that wouldn’t generate any complaints from anywhere.

Cody, who was listening to the conversation, had his eyes lit with excitement.

“It’s amazing. If that system is really enacted, this country will change dramatically. More lives can be saved if a disease can be detected before it becomes unmanageably worse.”

“Hmm. The question is, will the hard-headed aristocrats really release the national treasury?”

It was Jornwerner who made a remark that seemed to put a damper on the current atmosphere. But realistically speaking, that was certainly the key.

No matter how much Felix was the King’s younger brother, he had little to no power after being away from the country’s state affairs for so long. Rather than forcing his policies forward, it would be better to find a supporter, so there would be less friction.

‘He did say that he would put in a lot of groundwork to gather those supporters, though.’

When it came to politics, Sheila was completely helpless. She was frustrated when she realized that she couldn’t achieve anything without the help of the already busy Felix.

“If the number of sick people decreases, the labor force will increase and the power of the country will rise. In the long run, it will be profitable. We will surely gain supporters.”

Sheila nodded in return, feeling a little comforted.

The group was about to disperse, and each of them left their seats.

Sheila tilted her head when she noticed that Zechs, who would be the most talkative on the topic of business, hadn’t said a word.