A People Who Know Loyalty
Having finished his contract with Jane and returned to Hills, Blow made his way to the table where the new hires were sitting.
"I'll be counting on all of you from here on."
He held out his glass as he called, and a host of glasses met it with a clink. Working side by side had drawn them close in only a few days, and they were talking without a shred of reserve.
"Senior Linne! Cosette says she's dying because there are too many kinds of quills."
"When did I—I never said I was dying!"
"It's fine! It's your first time. What's the big deal?"
Linne still wasn't quite used to handling her juniors.
"Mister Cunsai, they say your girlfriend is coming up to Caipol to sit an exam."
"No. No! A girlfriend? She's just a friend. An old childhood friend."
"I like that genre."
Alice was the one tattling that Cunsai's girlfriend was on her way up, and Megan smiled as if her interest had been neatly piqued. It was all so peaceful, so warmly satisfying, that Blow watched them with a smile lingering on his lips.
We're already closing in on ten clerks. And three shops.
When he thought back to the day he had come up with nothing but Hans, Jane, and Melo, and a heart full of uncertainty, the growth was remarkable enough to make him stare.
"The first week's the hard one. Thank you all for settling in so well."
"Ah—Young Master, are you heading in already?"
"No. There's a Black Bridge Gathering this Saturday, so I need to go talk it over at that table."
At Alice's question, Blow Deblique pointed to the next table, where Skadi was sitting.
"Everyone, eat and drink your fill tonight."
"Yes, sir!"
With that, Blow crossed to the neighboring table with Jane. Just then a welcome sound came from the kitchen.
"Food's out!"
Alice and Megan rose and headed for the kitchen, and before long the butter-grilled lobster they had been waiting for with bated breath finally showed itself.
"Whoa!!"
The first to gasp were, of course, the Traffic Light Trio. There on the table sat the lobster in its armor, dyed a deep red, and with it came the soft, savory scent of butter.
"Seriously, I'm so glad I work here."
"Really..."
Alice's voice was thick with sincerity. Melo came out of the kitchen and began dressing the lobsters set before Yulia and Skadi.
"Please enjoy!"
"Thanks, Melo!"
And at last, from inside the shell, the lobster's pale, tender flesh revealed itself. Yulia, unable to hold back her admiration, looked at Melo.
"You did this properly, Melo."
"Th-thank you!"
A moment later a lobster landed on Blow's plate as well. He didn't hesitate. He put it straight into his mouth.
The first thing to greet him was the nutty richness of the butter, held in check by the garlic so it never turned too heavy. The texture was springier than he had expected, and a smile spread across his lips of its own accord.
At the staff table, where many were tasting lobster for the first time, the exclamations never stopped.
"Seriously! It's so, so good!!"
"You know, the second I put it in my mouth, I couldn't hear a thing."
"Really."
Melo's face brightened under the Traffic Light Trio's flood of praise. Blow, quietly watching their reactions, thought that even for morale alone, hiring the trio had more than paid for itself.
Skadi, watching him from across the table, spoke in a suggestive tone.
"You look like a proper boss, Blow Deblique!"
"It's a welcome party."
"Still, I liked it better before."
"Before?"
"When we were at the Nyx."
"Yeah? Why?"
Not understanding, Blow looked at Skadi. For no particular reason she twisted a lock of her hair and avoided his eyes.
"Just because."
"Riveting."
The two clinked glasses. Blow drank his beer, savoring the clean bite of it, and glanced over the rest of them—and there was Hervena, eating her lobster with painstaking care.
"Hervena, why does eating look so hard for you?"
"I'm afraid it'll splash on my clothes. You bought me this new outfit, Young Master."
"Clothes wash. Eat comfortably. Relax."
"I'm wearing this to the Black Bridge Gathering, too."
Hervena said it with a pout. Blow let out a short laugh and beckoned Megan.
"Megan, could I get a napkin?"
Megan looked at her friend Hervena as if she were hopeless, then breathed a faint sigh. Embarrassed, Hervena waved Blow off.
"Young Master... I'm fine. I don't need it."
"Why?"
"It's... childish."
"Still better than eating while you're fretting over it. Just eat in peace."
When Megan held the napkin out, Hervena—the tips of her ears gone completely red—accepted it and answered in a voice that shrank away.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. All right, shall we get back to work?"
"Work?"
"Yeah. Nothing else. This table is the Black Bridge Gathering party, isn't it."
Jane, seated beside him, tilted her head and asked.
"Young Master, am I going too? You said you were taking Hervena. Oh—is it because of the sparkling water?"
"No. You stick with Skadi. Seeing a place like that will be good experience."
"I think you said something like that at the opening. It won't cause problems, though, right? I'm still your confidant."
"Well, they won't be scrutinizing the details that closely."
"Yes. Understood."
Yulia, who had been listening, lifted her index finger and spoke while looking at Skadi.
"I think this would work. Lady Skadi invested in my business and in Young Master Blow's."
"Ah."
"If we frame it that way, it should be fine."
"The investment money..."
"Just a very small amount, Lady Skadi."
"Honestly, I feel like we've already received it. Do you have any idea how much she's spent at the Nyx and at Hills up to now?"
"......"
"Think of it that way, and she's an early investor. A founding pillar."
"...Am I supposed to feel good about hearing that, or not?"
"Why? You planning to actually invest?"
At Blow's careless question, Skadi's eyes sparkled.
"I can?"
"If you're offering, I'd be glad of it."
"Oh my, Lady Skadi! Are you interested in investing?"
Yulia slipped into her business voice at once. The talk had come on rather suddenly, and Skadi hesitated, looking back and forth between Blow and Yulia.
Business was still a difficult, distant world to her. But if it was Blow, wouldn't it be all right? He had come this far from the very bottom. Senior Yulia was solid, too. And she might grow a little closer to Blow...
A bright smile settled on Skadi's face.
"I'll do it! I want to do it too!"
"Sorry to say this after I asked first, but with what money?"
"I'm going to ask my dad."
The epithet of her father, Duke Bjorn—the Butcher of the East—rose in Blow's mind, and he cleared his throat without meaning to.
"Duke Bjorn isn't going to come after us, is he?"
"It's fine! I'll just say I thought about it a lot—that I've been watching from the start! Umhaha!"
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
"And my dad will be happy if I tell him I'm doing something."
"If that's the case, I suppose there's no problem."
Hearing him, Skadi took a beer in each hand and started to hum.
"Now I have to drink even more beer!"
"Sure. Every time you drink, we can just deduct it from the investment..."
"That's mean!"
She said so, but the corners of her mouth were lifted. Yulia, seated beside her, spoke to Blow in a sulky tone.
"Young Master, when you took an investment from me you worried so much. Aren't you deciding this far too easily?"
"Well, you and Skadi aren't the same, Senior."
"Is that so?"
"You were already running a business. And you're my partner. Skadi would be an investor."
"Hmm... that's true."
Only then did Yulia smile, satisfied.
After turning it over for a moment, Blow spoke to Skadi.
"Why not use this at the Black Bridge Gathering to draw a little aggro—no, to stir the room."
"M-me?"
"Just do what you always do when you're drinking beer. 'Another sparkling water!' That ought to do it."
Yulia, listening, pressed a hand to her temple as if her head hurt.
"Young Master, Lady Skadi is a young lady too, you know? Even so, she can't drink the way she's drinking beer now, can she? The gathering is a formal occasion."
She stumbled over the words, as if she felt bad for pointing it out. Blow looked at the beers set in front of Skadi and nodded.
"Right. Just read the room. Lady Rachel will be there anyway, so if you handle it like last time, it'll be fine."
"Mm..."
Something odd came over Skadi's expression. Sensing she wasn't pleased, Blow scratched his chin and said it offhand.
"Or just drink your way straight through it. That's the most you."
"Wh-what are you saying!"
"That... how should I put it. There might be people who like that wild way you throw drinks back."
"No! The dress is uncomfortable anyway, so I can't drink like that!"
"Ah, right. Of course. Did the dress come out the way you pictured?"
"Yeah... I tried it on yesterday."
"Karlfeld outdid himself, didn't he?"
"Yeah."
Skadi recalled how she had looked in the dress yesterday, and her face went red.
Yulia, who had been listening in silence, tilted her head and asked Blow.
"Young Master, did you buy Lady Skadi's clothes, too?"
"No. Skadi bought them with her own money. I only helped her choose."
Yulia narrowed her eyes and spoke with a smile.
"Choose mine for me later, too."
"If the chance comes."
"It must. Shall we all have a drink?"
Yulia raised her glass, and everyone met it. Some time later, when Hervena—who had been wholly given over to her lobster—finally emptied her plate, Blow, who had been waiting for just that, opened the subject with Yulia.
"Senior, the truth is I've only ever heard about the Black Bridge Gathering. It's my first time, so I was hoping you'd tell me what I ought to watch out for."
"Ah, yes. That would be good. First of all, since we attend school together, our relationships are fairly level, aren't they?"
"Yes. Relatively speaking. That's the spirit of the school."
"But once you're at the gathering, you'll need to observe the hierarchy carefully. Jane, Hervena—you understand?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Yes. Understood."
Jane was already calling her my lady, and Hervena nodded readily. Yulia looked at Skadi, who sat beside her listening with a blank face, and added a word.
"In particular, both of you need to be careful when you deal with Lady Skadi. Lady Skadi is the daughter of a ducal house. Please keep that fact firmly in mind this time. If others make an issue of it, things get tiresome."
"Hard to believe, though."
Hervena watched Skadi quietly draining her beer. At that, Skadi set the glass back down, quietly, as if embarrassed.
"If it's difficult, keep silent."
"Yes. Understood."
"What should we do about the other confidants?"
When Jane, who had been listening hard, asked, Yulia smiled.
"It does depend on who their master is, but confidants don't pull rank on one another all that strictly. Not unless the confidant comes from a noble house."
"Still, better to keep some distance."
"That would be safer. It's everyone's first time. And this is the most important part—there will be a subtle tension between the schools of the Imperial Capital and our schools here in Caipol."
"Ah, I think I've heard of it. That the Capital and our Caipol are something like rivals..."
"Well, it's a little embarrassing for us to put it that way. These days the balance keeps tipping hard toward the Capital."
"Ah. Yes. Understood."
"So some of the people from the Capital may be rude to you. When that happens, please handle it calmly."
"Do we have to just endure it, no matter what?"
Hervena, who had listened in silence before she spoke, was frowning as if something displeased her. Yulia gave her a bright smile.
"No. There will probably be a chance."
"Don't tell me—a duel or something?"
"I don't know exactly, but Lady Rachel, the host, likes that sort of thing very much, so she'll probably come prepared."
"Then I think it'll be fine. I'm looking forward to it. The level of the Capital's academy, which I've only ever heard about."
Hervena smiled a satisfied, faintly sinister smile. Skadi and Jane, gone tense, swallowed dryly.
The more he listened, the more tired Blow felt he was becoming, and he let out a deep sigh.
"I'm exhausted already."
"Once you're actually there, it'll be fun, Young Master. From here, I'll introduce the people from the Capital."
After that Yulia explained them one by one, in detail. As Hervena heard each facet of them, the smile that had formed earlier never left her lips.
The day before the Black Bridge Gathering. Friday. The basement of Hills.
Seeing the mana stone set in the center of the basement, Ornn stroked his chin and marveled to Blow.
"The scale of this mana stone is truly enormous."
"Right? Top-grade mana stone."
"As expected of you, Young Master."
Ornn had come today because of the plan for the underground cold storage. Bahama and Rihendel were looking over every corner of the basement, checking what needed to be checked, while Blow and Ornn talked at the head of the stairs, from which the whole of the basement could be seen.
"Young Master, didn't you say you would do both a freezer and a cold store?"
"I did, didn't I? For now I'm thinking of focusing on refrigeration magic. The sections would be a warehouse for the beer, a warehouse for the provisions—"
Ornn listened closely to the explanation that followed and nodded again and again.
"Yes. Understood. It's good that you already have a plan."
"Are there places without one?"
"Plenty of places leave the whole of it to us. Working with people like that does get a little tiring."
"That's right! Tired to death!"
"The boss is stressed!"
Rihendel and Bahama kept shouting. Blow, used to it by now, shrugged. Ornn studied his face and spoke in a careful tone.
"I am truly sorry I could not attend the opening. Something came up suddenly."
"That's nothing. It's fine."
"Thank you for understanding."
"So I was hoping you'd take this with you."
Blow tapped an oak cask set neatly beside the stairs, and Bahama and Rihendel shouted in excitement.
"As expected of the boss!"
"Slayer of Dusk Block! Blow Deblique!!"
Their voices boomed and echoed underground. When Ornn glared at them, they shut their mouths again.
"Even if I say I will not accept it..."
"I'll tell you to take it."
"Thank you, Young Master. I will do my very best on this job as well."
"Pay some attention to the ventilation."
"Yes. You have emphasized it so many times that I have written it in my notes here. May I ask the reason?"
"I think it'll get musty. Mold, too."
"That could well be. As expected of you, Young Master. The more I look, the deeper your knowledge of this seems to run—deeper even than mine."
"Is that so...?"
At those words Blow scratched his cheek, embarrassed. All he had done was remember, from his days as Han Ji-hoo, the exhaust fan that had turned with such presence in the storeroom behind the convenience store's walk-in.
"It's winter. Is there a lot of work?"
"Ah, we are about to begin the remodel of the Nyx Inn. You introduced us to that as well, Young Master."
"Well, I promised, didn't I. Finish the remodel properly, and I'll leave every related job to you."
"You would not believe how many people fail to keep their promises. Even so, thanks to you, Young Master, there has not been a winter as warm as this one. How am I to repay this kindness..."
"Boss, thank you!! Thanks to you, I sent a lot of money home!"
"And we eat meat to our hearts' content!"
Against the backdrop of those words, Ornn bent his huge frame once more. Blow scratched his head and spoke.
"In that same vein, we actually need to do some construction on the second location, too. I was going to ask you for that as well."
"Ah—truly?!"
"Yeah. I'd like you all to handle the work there, too."
"Thank you. If that is the case, I will have to put a few more of our kin in Caipol to work!"
"I'm counting on you. As for the details, let's go together to the potion shop by the main gate and talk there."
"Thank you so much!!"
Ornn seized the hand Blow offered in a crushing grip.
At that moment came the sound of someone thundering down the stairs. Nobody at Hills came down making a noise like that. Puzzled, Blow looked up.
Long orange hair, and a massive black greatsword planted across her back. Seeing them, Blow stepped back and quietly hid himself behind Ornn.
"Blow Deblique!! Come out!"
"......"
"Come out while I'm still asking nicely!"
Rachel's sharp voice filled the basement. Behind Ornn, Blow was busy calculating just how many degrees he ought to fold at the waist.
In that instant Bahama and Rihendel stepped up beside Ornn, and the three of them began to draw out a fierce, blazing presence.
...Hm?
Sensing a bad aura, Blow tried to step forward, but Bahama blocked his way.
"Boss! Stay behind us! We'll handle it!"
"...Handle what?"
He could feel Rachel's anger on the far side of the barricade the barbarians had thrown up, and cold sweat ran down his back. In that same moment, the footsteps coming down the stairs stopped dead.
"And who might you be?"
From that side came an incredulous, empty laugh.
"Me? Rachel Campbell."
"...And what of it?"
Blow somehow stuck his head out between the barbarians, and what met his eyes was Rachel's face, staring ahead in utter disbelief.
...We're dead.
"If you're a Campbell, you're the house that picked a fight with our boss!!"
"That's right! Certain!!"
Startled for an instant by those words, Blow tapped Bahama and Rihendel.
"Now, everyone? Calm—"
"I'll break your spine!"
At that merciless shout, Blow squeezed his eyes shut.