CH 88

Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Prius

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

“Moreover, this nation practices primogeniture. The second son and lower wouldn’t inherit anything worthy of the property, so they had to work hard to increase their property on their own. They might get the help of the connections their family has, but their success depended on their talent and luck. There were those who achieved success and those who didn’t. Most of them became the latter. Looking at that situation, the previous king had thought that a place for knowledge and connections was necessary. That was the beginning of ‘The King’s Sword’ and the stars that are associated with it. The previous king paid particular attention to the gold star. It was because the gold star would be the most important institution for enriching the nation.”

The students were listening to Alan’s story.

Other stars criticize the gold star as the star that could be bought with money.

Originally, people with gold stars had to be sociable and good at making use of their advantage to the fullest, but all the students here looked introverted and subservient, which made Sophie wonder, possibly the slander to the gold star caused a decent amount of damage to their self-esteem.  

“Since then, the era where only middle-class people and upstarts boasting about their business was over, and a system where aristocrats also contribute to the nation in the form of labor was established. Of course, there are still many upper-class people who do not need to work. However, they all play an important role in the upper level of the nation in politics and justice. That is also labor. And they do get paid for their labor. Being paid for the labor people did is not evil. It is natural for successful people to be paid what they’re worth.”

Many gold stars were merchants, the heir to a business whose livelihood depended on said business, or people with decent family pedigree. There were still a few people who often felt contempt for businesses that sought money out there. The gold star students were listening happily to Alan’s story.

“However, there are some people who are not forced into labor to contribute to the nation. And they are the women.”

How will this story conclude? Sophie focused on the story with an uplifting feeling unlike when she attended the morning class.

“The women are forced to contribute to their family, not the nation. That is, to their parents, husband, and children. They are to protect their home and family, which is also an important contribution. However, new winds will always flow with time. Trying to stop such wind would only leave one muddy.”

Alan stared straight at Sophie and then reached his hand toward her as if to escort her.

“Well then, Sophie-sama of the new wind. What do you think is necessary for the gold star?”

It was a sudden question. However, Sophie was a daughter of a merchant family. That answer was always on her mind.

“The gold stars are the people who drive the economy of this nation. The economy will inevitably fluctuate and will never stop even for a moment. However, humans are creatures who love immutability and hate change. They continue to believe that today won’t be different from yesterday and feel relieved about that… Even though nobody knows what tomorrow has in store for them.

The memory of her previous life flowed and she spoke of Tasuku’s personal feelings a little.

She knew she shouldn’t stay like that, so she put on “Sophie Linier‘s” graceful smile and continued her words. 

“What gold stars need are the mindset that is not afraid to change, the ability to read the times, knowledge and information that will erase their hesitation, and connections. There are more things necessary than what I could speak of. But if I am to only say just one, then it would be the eyes to judge.”

“Hou, and why is that?”

“There is a lot of information that enters our eyes. Although we can’t understand people’s hearts, we can judge whether the person we are speaking with speaks truth or lies. It is something that could be judged from minute gestures and glances. We are to judge the information we see and, from that, judge the future that awaits us. The eye to judge things that aren’t visible. I think that is what the students of the gold star need.”

“I see…”

Alan nodded slowly as he scrutinized.

“Recently, I got to visit Talis for some time, but I saw the town named Talis changed greatly compared to the last time I saw it. It was famous as a summer resort before, but it was only popular in summer, and the traffic outside that period was supposed to be sparse. Now, that town has been cultivated and industrialized to become famous for its rich foods and livelihoods, making the town become lively year round. The name that people sing praises for achieving that is your name, Sophie Linier-sama.” 

The gold star students became noisy. Sophie Linier’s name was practically unknown in the capital. However, Sophie’s name was widespread in Talis.

[“Hey, ojou-chan. How can you eat this vegetable better?”]

Starting with the owner of the store that became friendly over the matter of piya, there was also the owner of a butcher and a cook that ran a restaurant. Adults in the town even forgot the fact Sophie was a daughter of a baron family and that she was so young and asked what they wanted to know. After that one time, her interactions with people became wider, and the name of Sophie Linier started to spread.

“It made me wonder. Why is the key person who made a great contribution to the town of Talis not well known in the capital?”

“…Thank you for your generous words. However, I am not the key person. It is thanks to their effort that the town of Talis became as developed as they are now. There is no way a little girl could achieve such development all alone. It is nothing but the result of their effort and power.”

Those words weren’t lies. The merchants of Talis formed their own union, gave their opinions, proposed their plans, and just asked for Sophie’s opinion.

They weren’t acting that way because Sophie wanted them to. Sophie merely gave them her opinion about what they did.