Chapter 159: Rest (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159: Rest (4)
Daisy - Even I, gentle as I am, can get angry.
It wasn’t exactly that Daisy was jealous.
For such a feeling to exist, the history between her and Adam Smith contained nothing even remotely rosy—unless you counted the various shades of blood-red.
Actually, if there was anything "red" between them, it was the fact that the blood of dark mages is red.
Normal people would describe those kinds of memories with colors like gray or black. No one looks at a bloodbath and calls it "rosy."
And Daisy was a normal person.
Some might tilt their heads in confusion at that statement, but at her core, she was just a daughter of a low-ranking noble from a plain, rural village. Her life had been more ordinary and frugal than that of a wealthy commoner in the Imperial Capital.
Again, some might find that hard to believe, but it had only been a little over a year since the events that turned her into a RoFan heroine—including her awakening as a Saintess—had begun.
Thus, her essence was still that of an ordinary country girl.
And because of that, nothing had happened yet in her dealings with Adam Smith that would trigger romantic feelings. In fact, unless someone possessed a truly "creative" emotional palette, it would be impossible to feel romance given the nature of the incidents they’d shared.
That was why Daisy was furious.
‘I was the one who commissioned him first!’
People often think of the countryside as a place of warmth and boundless generosity.
That is half-right and half-wrong.
Is the countryside generous?
Yes.
To the students of the Imperial Academy, who can now face dark mages with composure, a monster like an orc is nothing more than walking exam points. But in an ordinary village, an orc possesses the majesty of a final dungeon boss. Depending on how they are handled, a small pack of goblins can frequently lead to the total destruction of a village.
In that sense, the countryside was generous.
No, it had to be.
People had to build bonds and overcome crises together when danger struck. It was a form of contract—a mutual agreement to help each other in daily life so that they could rely on one another when a greater disaster occurred.
This applied not only to commoners but to rural nobles as well.
It took far too long to receive support from the Great Nobles who ruled the region, let alone from the central government. Unlike the central nobles, who could become enemies overnight, rural nobles tended to maintain tight-knit relationships that lasted generations.
Some might say that cold-hearted city merchants are calculating people who count every single copper, while the countryside is a place of warm-hearted barter where people give extra "bonuses" even if it means taking a loss.
However, anyone who has actually lived in the country knows the truth.
Unlike merchants who deal with countless strangers every day, rural bartering is a transaction between people who see each other constantly. In other words, a structure where one side always takes a loss... simply cannot exist.
If one side gives a little extra this time, the other side must return the favor next time. Those who lacked the social awareness to realize this would eventually find themselves with no one left to trade with, forced to survive alone in the cold rural wilderness or flee to the city.
Indeed.
The countryside was a society even more cold-blooded than the city. It was a community of fate, bound by invisible promises and obligations, packaged under the label of "warmth."
And so, Daisy put what she had learned in the country into practice, constantly showing her sincerity.
She was the one who had dragged him into her business first, after all.
Even if he was the most suitable talent for the job—and even if she’d used a bit of blackmail to get him—she believed she had to put in a corresponding amount of effort. She made sure to provide him with appropriate compensation. Even when nothing was happening, she paid up strictly according to the contract period!
She had obtained permission from the Goddess to brew various potions in secret from the Holy Kingdom. She had pulled strings with the Pope to slightly upgrade the Holy Kingdom's treatment of Leon, which had previously been on par with Dale. She had even dispatched personnel with higher seniority than those from Dale to events held across the continent!
‘This is betrayal!’
She wasn't asking for special treatment.
She assumed the other side was also paying a price according to their own contract. It wasn't a fair trade to interfere with subsequent clients just because she had signed a contract first.
However, signing a different contract didn't mean one could neglect the first client. At the very least, the balance had to be maintained by giving her as much attention as the other side was getting.
Of course, there was one possible explanation.
‘...Did Senior Loreliya offer a higher price?’
If it were anyone else, she might doubt it, but this was the daughter of a Duke.
Daisy hesitated for a moment, but then...
“……”
She glanced back toward where they had originally been.
“Spike of Eternity!”
“You crazy bastard, you’re using magic now?!”
“I won’t lose! Sword Spike!”
“Don’t hit the ball with the flat of the blade!”
“Wait, hitting it from the bottom up isn't even a spike!”
She watched the scene, which—aside from the net separating the ball and space—no longer bore any resemblance to volleyball.
“……”
She turned her gaze back to the peaceful (looking) date.
“...Well, there's no harm in asking!”
Her hesitation didn't last long.
The genre of Romance Fantasy is, ultimately, fantasy.
While magic is added, it is usually set in a world based on the Middle Ages. Of course, actual historical accounts of the Middle Ages are often filled with horror stories worse than the eras preceding them, but fantasy is a genre about things that never existed in the first place.
So, even if the setting is medieval, authors tend to take only the aesthetic elements people expect rather than historical accuracy. And if that doesn't work, they just solve everything with magic.
“Alright, I’m taking it now.”
The object before me was a magic tool, commonly called an artifact. With a flash of light, it used a magic stone to print the current scene onto paper. It was a device no different from a camera from my previous life.
Because of that, I knew how to handle it to some extent.
“You... take surprisingly good photos.”
In my past life, I liked taking photos, but I never liked being in them. However, having been born in a country where "proof shots" were mandatory wherever you went, I eventually learned a certain truth through forced experience.
“If we’re going to take them anyway, there’s no need to do it multiple times.”
If you act like you don't want to take the photo, people just say it didn't turn out well and make you do it again. The best way to minimize the number of photos taken is to just do it right once and satisfy them.
“So, what should we take next?”
“Hmm. Let’s see.”
Contrary to her image, it seemed she had started this on a whim. After only a few shots, she had already run out of ideas.
“Is this... enough?”
“How should I know?”
She said they were for her family to establish an alibi, but it wasn't like I knew anything about House Jeyka.
As the two of us stood there pondering, a chilly voice drifted from behind us.
“You two seem to be having fun.”
I turned my head to see Daisy, her eyes smiling but her expression cold.
“Hmm.”
Basically, the first lover (contract) had witnessed the scene of me with the second lover (contract). Usually, this is where a chaotic scene would erupt, but...
“I heard this was an opportunity that couldn't be missed.”
“Yes. We’re both busy at the Academy, so we lacked the time to prepare evidence.”
If you were looking for a typical RoFan development, you’d have to look over there, not at me.
“...What are those guys doing?”
I looked over at the RoFan male leads. Those bastards were now firing Meteors from their hands.
“...They said they’re competing to decide the teams?”
“That?”
“Yes.”
“……”
It looked like they were just having a blast, but I didn't say anything more.
“So I came over to see... and you’re taking photos?”
“Yes. Senior said she needed proof shots.”
“Proof shots?”
“Apparently, the collateral branches of her family talk a lot whenever they’re bored.”
“How annoying,” Daisy muttered.
She looked back and forth between me, speaking indifferently, and Senior Loreliya, who was sighing deeply. Then, Daisy pouted and whispered.
“You didn't take any with me.”
“You didn't ask.”
“...If I ask, will you take them?”
“Yes.”
“……?”
She looked completely caught off guard, which I found absurd.
“Given how much I’ve received from you, I can at least do that much.”
“You certainly have received a lot,” Senior Loreliya added, nodding as if it were obvious.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Please remember, Senior, that your payment is still pending.”
“I’ve been taking care of you every quarter, aside from that specific item...”
“Oh, um. Well. Then. Can we take one?”
I mean, we could, but...
“Do you have a photography artifact?”
“No... they’re expensive...”
They were originally developed for military use, so they were indeed pricey. Our gazes naturally drifted toward Senior Loreliya.
“Well, I could lend it to you.”
Senior Loreliya gave her permission with a generous expression.
“In exchange, however, there is a price.”
At the mention of a price...
“Then I guess it can't be helped.”
I gave up instantly.
“Don—Don't give up so fast!”
Daisy protested, but I shrugged.
“It’s not like I’m the one borrowing it. It doesn't make sense for her to demand a price from me.”
“……?”
“……?”
We couldn't help but be puzzled by Senior Loreliya’s surprisingly logical demand.
Living in a world full of irrationality had made me wary, but her request was simple.
“Alright, taking the shot now.”
Compared to suddenly being demoted from photo model to photographer, it was relatively less confusing.
“Hmm, not yet. Get a little closer.”
“L-Like this?”
To think she would throw Daisy into such confusion. As expected of the natural enemy of a RoFan heroine—a true Villainess.
“A little more.”
“O-Our skin is touching?!”
“We’re in swimsuits; isn't that only natural?”
I thought she’d have some resistance because of Boradori, but apparently, Daisy’s resistance to other women wasn't that high. Even though they were both women, she was freaking out just because their chests brushed or their skin touched.
As expected of an original novel from South Korea, a land still filled with Confucian Dragons even in the 21st century.
“Artifacts that take photos are expensive. The recording magic stones that act as catalysts and the printing paper are also no joke. You didn't think you could use such a magic tool for free, did you?”
“Ugh...”
Daisy finally surrendered to Senior Loreliya’s whispering.
“……Alright, I’m really taking it now.”
“Yes, go ahead. Now, Daisy.”
“Yes, yes...”
“……”
Against the backdrop of the blue sea, a photo was taken of the Empire’s Lady and the Saintess standing intimately together.
“Hmm... the expression is a bit lacking.”
“I can't do any better than this...”
The result was something that, if uploaded as a cover for some withered webnovel, would make readers scream about a "GL Drift."
“Hmm. Then next.”
“A-Again?”
It seemed Senior was intent on getting her money's worth this time.
“As I said, photography artifacts are expensive. And the catalyst roles...”
“I—I just won't take any more...”
“It’s too late for that. If you give up now, the photo we just took becomes useless. To say it once more...”
“Photography artifacts are expensive! I—I get it already, Senior!”
Watching Daisy being dragged away while screaming at the top of her lungs, I silently picked up the artifact and followed them.