Chapter 283: A Tall Order
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 283: A Tall Order
A huge commotion swept through the merchant group, and by the time it settled, morning had long passed into noon.
In the hall, Karami and the slaves were gathered, in the middle of lunch.
Miro loved this time of day. After all, for five siblings who had lost their parents, the quality and quantity of their meals had been abysmal.
Since coming here, she could eat as much delicious food as she wanted.
But today, even with a special meal made primarily of carrots set before her, Miro couldn't focus on eating.
“Sniff, sob…”
“Hnnng…”
The crying had been grating on her nerves for a while now.
Mirabelle was sniffling, and Rin was whimpering.
Normally, Mirabelle didn't eat with them. She ate with the other maids and would wait on the Master during his meals.
But now, she was eating with them. And she wasn't in her maid outfit, but in casual clothes.
And by casual, I don't mean shabby commoner's clothes, but a beautiful, navy-blue dress.
And that wasn't all.
Instead of a maid's headband, she wore a lovely hair accessory, her hair done up in a cute braid.
Instead of a maid's shoes, she wore footwear fit for a young noble lady.
Reminiscent of a princess of the indigo stars, Mirabelle looked less like a slave and more like a beauty who wouldn't be out of place in high society.
It was a look that showed at a glance just how loved Karami's slaves were.
And yet, Mirabelle herself kept sniffling, for some reason.
Never a quiet day around here~
While interesting events were always welcome, this kind of situation was just uncomfortable.
Miro, who had been focused on training since early morning, had no idea what was going on. She leaned over and whispered to Azyeth, who was sitting beside her.
“Did something happen this morning?”
“Yes…”
“What happened?”
“Yes.”
“I’m asking what happened.”
“Yes, something happened.”
Miro squeezed her eyes shut, then turned to Elize on her other side and asked the same question.
“Miss Mirabelle and Rin played a naughty prank and were scolded by the Master. And Miss Mirabelle has been suspended from her maid duties for the time being.”
“So that’s why.”
Since she was no longer a maid, she was eating with them and had changed her clothes.
“Isn't that a good thing?”
She didn't have to work and could eat with them. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like a reward.
“Miss Mirabelle considers it a point of pride to attend to the Master. So, preventing her from doing so is a punishment.”
“So that’s how you can interpret it~”
Mirabelle was her friend, and Rin was an ally who provided her with a training ground. Miro wanted to help, but with the finals just a week away, she didn't have the luxury of helping anyone else.
It was a shame, that was all.
After finishing her meal, Miro went out to the garden for a walk to aid her digestion and ran into a group playing there.
It was a collection of all the young children staying with the merchant group: Victor's granddaughter Emily and her friends, the young elves, and even Miro's own siblings.
Being of the same age, they all played together. Kids will befriend anyone their age, after all.
Miro's siblings pointed at her.
“Ah! Is that Miro, the finalist in the World Horce Racing Competition?”
Miro pointed back at her siblings.
“Oh! Are those the siblings of Miro, the finalist in the World Horce Racing Competition?”
The Miro siblings, perfectly in sync.
Then, her siblings spotted Karami.
They bowed deeply, like a bunch of young thugs greeting their leader.
“It’s the Boss!”
“Boss, you’ve arrived!”
“Welcome, Boss!”
“Boss…?”
The title felt completely out of place.
Miro narrowed her eyes.
“Why are you calling my trainer ‘Boss’?”
“He’s our boss because he played with us while you were training, sis.”
“What? The trainer played with you? He never once asked me to play!”
Had they gotten that close to Karami in just a few days?
Even closer than with her, their own family?
“Well, you’re always busy, sis. You were at the academy, and you are now.”
“Th-that’s…”
But the moment those words left her siblings' mouths, Miro had to clamp her mouth shut.
In the past, Miro had been busy beyond belief.
She’d wake up early to make her siblings breakfast, go to the academy, come home in the afternoon to make dinner, go to work, come back in the dead of night when the kids were asleep, crash, and then repeat the cycle.
Miro had lived days busier than the head of any household.
Children left without adults tend to mature quickly, and Miro's siblings were no exception.
They knew better than anyone that Miro was sacrificing her own life for them, so they never once complained. They never pestered her to play with them.
They even tried to solve problems on their own, though that often made things worse.
Now that they were Karami's slaves, things were better than in the past, but she was still just as busy with training. They didn't want to get in her way and mess things up.
“…”
She never knew her siblings had been thinking that. It was the first time Miro was hearing their side of the story.
Her eyes grew red.
Overcome with emotion, she couldn't think of what to say.
“I-I’m s—”
“Ah, no apologies. We’re not that childish, and we know how hard you worked, sis. You haven’t done anything to be sorry for, so no apologizing. Got it?”
“...Okay. Sniffle!”
Somehow, her second sister, Mire, was more level-headed than she was.
Miro sniffled and nodded.
The mood had grown heavy.
Karami stepped into the awkward atmosphere.
“What is there to be sorry about? You can just play with them now.”
“Is that really okay?”
“Why would you think it isn’t?”
“Well, the race is next week, so I have to practice…”
“How can a person do nothing but train? You need to clear your head sometimes. Besides, I’m not a babysitter. How long do you expect me to play with Miro’s siblings?”
Karami’s actions sometimes seemed pathetic, and at other times he felt like a kept man, but he was an indispensable person in this world.
The Merchants of Death had become the undisputed top merchant group on the continent. He played the role of helping its de facto manager, Narsha, recover from her fatigue.
The moment she collapsed, countless people connected to the merchant group would lose their jobs and be thrown out onto the streets.
He had to put up with the pranks of Rin, who could plunge the world into lightless darkness with a single joke.
He had to be a drinking buddy for Alfia, who housed Servants, beings superior to spirits. Otherwise, the spirits would rampage and lay waste to nature.
If he didn't maintain the balance between Elize's vampire and saint sides, the world would once again be stained crimson.
If he didn't tell Azyeth a fairy tale every day, the world would be covered in a never-ending winter.
And Mirabelle went without saying.
Depending on your perspective, it was no exaggeration to say Karami was playing the role of a hero protecting the world.
For such a person to waste time playing with a few kids didn't make sense.
Of course, Miro knew he wasn't saying it for that reason, but that it was his way of being considerate, of telling her not to worry.
Miro secretly wiped her tears away from the kids’ sight and put on her usual energetic smile.
“Then shall we play with the kids for a bit~? What did you do with the trainer?”
“Running!”
“Running with the trainer? He’s a terrible runner.”
“I’m not that bad.”
“The Boss is super slow! We played tag, and he couldn’t catch us even once!”
Miro let out a chuckle.
“Then how about you try with me this time? I’ll be ‘it,’ so all of you run. I’ll catch every single one of you. I’ll count to ten. Ten~”
“Waaaah! Run!”
Miro’s countdown began.
The children scattered in all directions.
When ten seconds were up, Miro kicked off the ground without even taking a proper stance.
In an instant, she caught the human children like Emily first, then the elves who were fleeing on wind spirits.
Last were her siblings.
Even at their age, they were still horse beastkin. They fled at a speed that would get you arrested for running in a school zone.
But they were no match for Miro, and the rest were caught before they could get far.
“Aaaand done~”
“Whoa~ You’re so fast, sis!”
“Hehe, this is nothing.”
“That’s right! My sister is even competing in a race next week, you know? If she gets first place there, she’ll be the fastest horse in the world.”
“Wow, is that for real?”
The youngest, Miyu, said with a triumphant expression, her hands on her hips.
It was that peculiar pride-fueled one-upmanship that exists among children, acting as if they themselves were the amazing one.
The little ones’ eyes sparkled as they looked at her with admiration. Feeling burdened by their gazes, Miro scratched the back of her head.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Ooh!”
The children’s gazes toward Miro changed. It was as if they were looking at a huge celebrity.
The children surrounded her.
“Please sign an autograph!”
“An a-autograph? I’m not that big of a deal…”
“...Really? What, she says she’s not a big deal.”
The children were disappointed.
The way they looked at Miro’s siblings changed, too.
Her siblings' faces fell, having been instantly demoted to the boy who cried wolf.
Mire mouthed words at Miro, giving her a desperate look.
‘Hurry up and say something! Don’t crush the kids’ dreams!’
‘You’re still a kid yourself…’
‘Hurry!’
‘But what am I supposed to say?’
‘Ugh.’
Unable to watch any longer, Mire quickly intervened.
“My sister is a big deal, you know? There’s no one stronger than her in this competition. She’s definitely going to win. Right, sis?”
“I’d like to, but the finals have some really amazing people…”
“You can definitely win. Right. Sis?”
“Ah, of course. I could win on one foot.”
“Wow! Please sign an autograph!”
“One by one, bring me a pen and paper.”
Miro signed autographs for every single child. She even drew little horse ears and a tail next to her name.
“Thank you! I’m gonna go brag to the grown-ups! That the fastest sister in the world gave me her autograph~”
“That’s a bit…”
“But what if you don’t get first place after all this?”
“Nah, no way~ She said so confidently that she could.”
“Right?”
With no way to escape, Miro felt Karami approach her side.
“Looks like you have another reason you have to win.”
This was no longer just Miro’s problem. It was now a battle for the pride of the entire Miro family.
“I’m done for…”