“Mister looks really exhausted…”
“He must be worn out from preparing for Her Majesty the Empress’s visit in just one day.”
Aslan sat absentmindedly in his office.
He wasn’t working or sleeping.
He just sat there with his eyes open, looking dazed.
Julia and Charlotte whispered as they watched Aslan through the crack of the door.
“The other people in the mansion looked very busy too.”
They were preparing for the banquet, gardening, and doing a thorough cleaning. It was chaotic.
The employees were so busy that they couldn’t pay much attention to Julia and Charlotte, who were usually adored by them, so how much harder must it have been for Aslan?
He usually stayed hidden and didn’t move much, but today he had been running around without rest.
“He’s not eating well either…”
“He might not have an appetite because he’s so tired. He should eat something sweet and sour at times like this.”
“Hmph. Julia, you’re worried about him, aren’t you?”
“W-What!? Me? Worried? About that man? No way!”
Julia snapped at Charlotte, who was smiling as if she had caught Julia in the act.
That’s ridiculous.
Why would she worry about him?
She should be worried about herself, needing to gather 1 billion Lark to be free.
“Aren’t you worried about him?”
“Yes, I am. I hope he doesn’t get sick.”
“…”
Julia fell silent at Charlotte’s straightforward answer.
She’s really too kind.
Or is it Stockholm syndrome?
Something like that? What a fool.
“Well, I’m not worried or anything, but I agree that it would be better if he didn’t get sick. If he works, we get more chances to make money too.”
They received a 0.1% share of the toll fees from the road construction project.
Aslan wants to use them to make money.
Ultimately, he plans to get each of them to make 1 billion Lark.
So it’s troublesome if Aslan stays in that state.
“Geez, Julia, you’re always thinking about money.”
“Of course. Don’t you want to get out of here? Aren’t you worried about what happened to Yuri? Yuri must be worrying a lot about us too. We need to get out of here quickly. We can’t stay like this forever.”
“If you want to make money, I have a way!”
“A way? What way?”
Charlotte’s eyes sparkled with confidence.
Julia felt a bit uneasy.
Whenever Charlotte had that look, she never came up with a normal method.
“Hehe. We’ll sell our labor to Mister! We’ll make an offer he can’t refuse!”
“An offer he can’t refuse?”
“I’ve learned from watching him do business and work. The key is market research! We’ll present him with what he needs, so he can’t say no!”
“So, what is it?”
“Hehehe!”
Charlotte placed her hands on her hips and smiled triumphantly.
She took something out of her pocket.
.
.
‘I feel like I’m aging rapidly.’
This is strange.
I had a good sleep, and I didn’t do anything special all day.
Yet I feel inexplicably exhausted, unable to focus on anything.
Maybe it’s because I experienced Irene and the Empress’s visits back-to-back.
There was no physical strain.
But mentally, I was so exhausted that my body felt weary too.
I want to take a break for a while.
But…
“Brother. Here are the training ground designs. Should we proceed as planned?”
“Master, we have completed the first round of interviews for the Vermont Security recruitment. We need you to allocate the necessary funds for background checks on these candidates.”
“Master! I swear I’m not making this up, but we need more resources than expected. I swear on the heavens, the earth, and my deceased father and grandfather that none of the staff are embezzling. I have checked everything! If any wrongdoing is found, I will take full responsibility! So please, can you supply the materials listed here?”
“Mister! Dirt-Dirt has dug up the yard! Should I discipline him?”
“Do something about Charlotte. The Earth Spirit keeps coming to me every day, begging me to save him.”
There’s so much to handle. Too much.
Why don’t I have people to take care of these things for me?
Oh. Right. I dismissed them all.
Now, the only loyal person left by my side is Sylvia.
But the most terrifying thing is that things will only get busier and never quieter.
For someone used to the advanced modern civilization, life as a count here is extremely taxing.
‘My body aches. It aches.’
Maybe it’s because I’m naturally frail and thin?
After a bit of outdoor activity and stress, my body is already showing signs of breaking down.
I’m not exaggerating. At this rate, I’ll end up bedridden.
Should I rest?
But if I rest, who will do the work?
As I sighed deeply, the door creaked open and Julia and Charlotte entered.
“Stop sighing so negatively. It spreads a bad atmosphere.”
“Yes, they say smiling makes you healthier.”
“Ah. Yeah. Sorry.”
[The Evil God, ‘Kali’, glares.]
Ah.
I realized I had made a mistake after I spoke.
I apologized for spreading a negative atmosphere in front of an evil god.
Is it angry? Is it upset?
[The Evil God, ‘Kali’, demands that our necromancer and dark knight smile at all times!]
Oh. That’s right.
Kali cares for those kids as much as I do.
I remembered that belatedly.
However, I was definitely sighing alone.
It was those two who came in.
I felt a bit unjustified, wanting to explain myself.
“Hehehe. But I won’t tell you to smile unconditionally. Forcing yourself to smile when you’re tired and irritated just makes it worse.”
“At the orphanage, it was awful when church people or sponsors visited and they made us smile forcibly.”
“…So, why have you come here?”
Seeing Charlotte and Julia chatting made me feel better…
But the problem was that I was very busy right now.
If it wasn’t urgent or important, I’d have to put it off and deal with it later.
Just as I was about to shoo them away, they spoke up.
“Mister, you look very tired! We came to sell you this!”
“…?”
Thump.
Charlotte placed some pieces of paper on the desk.
Curious, I looked at them.
They were crudely made coupons, handwritten on colored paper.
“A massage coupon…?”
“You can use this to get a massage from me!”
“I’ll buy it right now. How much?”
“A billion Lark!”
“…”
A moment of silence fell.
Julia slapped her forehead.
Isn’t a billion Lark too expensive…
“Uh? Hmm! Julia is here too! So, 2 billion Lark!”
“Too expensive.”
“Why? This massage coupon is the only one in the world, available exclusively from me, making it a rare item…”
“I don’t think the massage is worth 2 billion Lark. I could call anyone in this mansion and get a massage for free. Why should I pay such a large amount?”
“Oh no! I thought since you’re rich, you’d spend money lavishly… My plan was off, Julia!”
“I told you it wouldn’t work…”
Charlotte’s massage.
I really wanted to get it.
I wanted to buy it no matter what.
But I desperately suppressed my smile and pretended to lose interest, focusing on the paperwork.
Seeing my act, Charlotte started to fidget nervously.
Good. Everything is going according to plan.
“I’ll give you a discount!”
“How much?”
“500 million Lark! Half!”
“Hmm.”
“2-200 million Lark!”
“With that money, I could hire a professional masseuse for a whole year.”
“1-100 million…?”
Charlotte mumbled in a tiny voice like an ant.
When I ignored her without even giving her a glance this time, Charlotte’s lips began to quiver.
She seemed to be weeping slightly.
“It’s still too expensive.”
“B-But… I need to make a lot of money…”
“How about this? When the security company is established, I’ll give you a suitable job. You can keep the pay for that.”
“Wow! Really!?”
“And on our next outing, I’ll buy you a doll. It’s been annoying hearing you grumble about how only Julia got one. I’ll buy ten coupons for that.”
“Really!? No take-backs! I’ll sell it for that! Here, take it!”
Charlotte beamed as she wrote ‘X10’ in big letters on the coupon and handed it to me.
I had already planned to use her in the security company, so I essentially got ten massage coupons for free.
Good. Very good.
[The Evil God, ‘Kali’, is eagerly anticipating our dark knight’s massage.]
I’m looking forward to it too.
Just as I was about to use a coupon, I noticed Julia seemed to be gathering her courage to speak.
“…What did you come to sell me?”
“Hmph. Mine is not as shabby as Charlotte’s. You’ll be intrigued. You can’t just dismiss it…”
“Shabby!? My massage?”
“Yap!”
As soon as I spoke, Yulia took out a piece of paper and showed it to me with interest, as if she had been waiting for it.
I looked at it and froze for a moment.
What is this?
“A 1-on-1 tutoring coupon?”
“It’s a coupon to receive a one-hour private lesson from me on any topic! How about it? Don’t you want it? You said my explanations were so easy to understand during the last lesson that you wanted more…! Hmph!”
“…”
I don’t want this at all. Not even a tiny bit.
What should I do?
Seeing Julia’s confident face was making things really awkward.
