Partnership and Partnership
Silence drifted through the gallery.
It was Redprine who broke it.
"We're on the same side, aren't we? Young. Mas. Ter. If we're really on the same side, we shouldn't be hiding things from each other, should we?"
"It isn't as though you submit every article for me to inspect, is it? Redprine Blueos."
"Ohh? Why do you keep trying to slip sideways? Is that what you want? Is it?"
"I simply haven't spoken because the time hasn't come. And I have no mind to dodge you, either."
"That is really too much! It isn't even something else—you're hiding things about Young Master Blow?"
Where Redprine was burning up, Julbert remained perfectly at ease.
"Redprine Blueos, there are teas, you know, that only give up their flavor after the leaves have steeped a long while."
"Oh, please. So you're telling me to fold my hands and wait? Right now?"
"And when, exactly, have you ever had your hands folded?"
At the quiet mockery in his tone, the corners of Redprine's mouth—which had only just managed to rise—sank again.
"You are seriously too much, you know?"
"Didn't we band together for the sake of amusement? Wait just a little longer."
"I'm about to stop being amused, though?"
"It will be amusing. I assure you."
"And if it isn't?"
"That will not happen."
With that answer, full of certainty, the Blue Rose Gallery sank once more into silence.
Redprine, who had been staring at him without a word, let out a soft scoff of a laugh and ran her tongue once, clean, around a coffee cup that had been empty for ages.
"Fine! I'll hope it's amusing. It had better be."
With those words she shot up from her seat. Julbert, hands folded, spoke toward her retreating back as if in a whisper.
"Until later."
"Meow!"
The door slammed shut. James's mouth, which he had kept clamped on whatever patience he could scrape together, opened at last around a thin sigh.
"Crazy bitch."
Julbert added not a word, and in that silence gave his agreement. He was already drinking down the last mouthful left in his teacup.
Lunch hour, the day after the booth event at Central Academy.
Blow, having gone over the terms of his contract with Yulia, stepped through the school's rear gate with Jane, and Cunsai, already waiting, came up to greet him.
"Young Master!"
"Hm? You're early, Cunsai. What about your morning classes, coming all the way out here at this hour?"
"It's the day after the festival, so things wrapped up a little early. I came ahead and had a look around the school."
"Did you? What did you think—worth seeing?"
"The scale of the place seems considerable! As I understand it, our total enrollment is much larger, and yet."
"The facilities and all the rest really are excellent here. Aren't they?"
At Blow's words, Jane nodded.
"It's a fine school, so long as one can actually manage to attend it."
"That's a thing that makes me feel sorry, you know."
Remembering that Jane had taken a leave of absence this year against her will, Blow scratched his head, and she hurried to shake hers.
"That isn't how I meant it. The tuition is terribly expensive, and the dormitory fees too. These days Linne talks about nothing else, every single day."
"Does she? Well, Linne is from a commoner house, after all."
"Maybe that's why her loyalty to you is shooting sky-high, Young Master? She says she hasn't a single worry about money anymore."
"Like Megan?"
"Mm... I don't think she could ever reach Lady Megan, though..."
Picturing the face Megan made whenever she swore loyalty to him out of sheer boredom, Jane burst out laughing.
While the two of them talked, Cunsai, who had been listening in silence, suddenly went wide-eyed.
"Young Master!! What are all these papers!!"
Cunsai jabbed a finger at the empty air. Both Blow and Jane drew their brows together at the sight unfolding overhead. Paper of a red that stood in stark contrast to the sky was scattering down like rain. Far off, Redprine Blueos was already winging away. Blow's opinion of her could hardly have been a good one, and his expression hardened in an instant.
"She truly never tires, does she."
"Senior Yulia is going to have her hands full again."
Just then Cunsai picked up one of the sheets littering the ground, and his eyes went perfectly round.
"What in the world is this supposed to be...?"
"Throw that away, Cunsai. It's useless trash, every word of it."
"Ah, yes."
Cunsai hurriedly crumpled the article and flung it into a trash bin. Unlike him, a few of the people nearby began to mutter in low voices.
"This is about Rosaline. A friend of mine is in her class, and she says Rosaline is honestly unbearable."
"If I got stuck on a team with Rosaline, I'd just take a leave of absence and be done with it. But why is Rosaline leaving Redprine alone? Strictly speaking, couldn't she just crush her with rank?"
"The Blueos family is a family, sure, but Redprine only writes what's true about Rosaline. Word is there's nothing anyone can do."
"Haha, right, that's true. So long as it isn't me."
The voices reached him whether he wished to hear them or not. Blow let out a sigh and shoved an article into his pocket. Seeing it, Jane asked, as if something seemed odd.
"Young Master? Are you perhaps planning to read it later?"
"I'm taking it to Senior."
"Ah, true, that makes sense. Shall I grab a few sheets as well?"
"I've already taken one. That should be enough, shouldn't it?"
The student center, when they arrived a short while later, was crowded again today. They went straight up to the second floor and knocked on the door of the Public Relations Director's office. As if she had been waiting, the door opened from within, and Marchen, Yulia's right hand, offered them a bow. Blow returned the greeting and stepped inside, and Yulia rose from her seat to welcome them.
"Young Master! Cunsai! I've been waiting!"
"Senior, did you get home safely yesterday?"
"Ah, yes. Thanks to your concern, I did."
Blow let his eyes travel once over the office, a room that felt plain and neatly kept, then held Redprine's article out to her. At that, Yulia's lively expression froze in an instant.
"One of Redprine's articles."
"Yes. I picked it up on the way just now. I thought it better to tell you first."
"Mm... an article about Rosaline? This has gotten a little tiresome."
"If even you say so, Senior, then that girl Rosaline really is a problem."
At his words, Yulia sighed.
"Rosaline won't even see Deputy Maxim when he goes, so I have to go myself."
"That girl, honestly. If she's going to act like this, why didn't she just attend the Imperial Magic School instead of coming here?"
"That is one of the greatest mysteries I have as well, Young Master."
Wearing a bitter smile, Yulia pushed Redprine's article off to one corner of the desk.
"Even so! We gathered today for something good. Let's talk in a pleasant mood."
"Let's."
"Um, am I just supposed to sit beside you and listen?"
At Cunsai's cautious question, Yulia shook her head as if the very idea were wrong.
"No. If you have an opinion, say it without holding back. The matter of the sparkling water will have been prepared by Young Master Blow, so we can read through it together and talk."
"Yes!"
"I'll give it to you right now."
When Blow glanced at Jane, she held out the contract containing the terms for the sparkling water. While they looked it over, Blow explained in a calm voice.
"The sparkling water in my current plan absolutely requires sugar. As you know, I'd like to be supplied with Roten's sparkling water from you, Senior Yulia, and with sugar from Cunsai."
"Excellent! Name the quantity, and I'll see it matched!"
"Young Master, I'll send you a few more samples of sparkling water. It might be good to look them over and choose one. I spoke to Marchen yesterday, so they should arrive sometime next week."
"Yes, that would be better. Senior, when the sparkling water is brought from Roten to here, what would you think of coordinating with Paulos Monastery?"
"Ah? That's right. Now that you mention it, you made a contract with Paulos for beer and wine, didn't you?"
"Yes. It should cut costs, and a larger operation seems better in every respect."
"You're right, Young Master. I'll reach out to them separately."
Yulia sent Marchen a look, and Marchen, who had been diligently recording the conversation, nodded to her at once.
"Oh, and Young Master, this time there's a proposal I'd like to make."
"Please."
"Separate from the sparkling water you're conceiving, I'd like to distribute Roten sparkling water that I've selected, directly through the potion shop."
"You mean, what if we sold Roten's sparkling water in my potion shop with nothing added to it?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Very well."
Back in the days when he was Han Ji-hoo, at least five kinds of drinks had been waiting for him even in a vending machine, to say nothing of the beverage corners in marts and convenience stores. If the number of drinks grew, there would be pleasure in looking as well as pleasure in choosing, and Blow, thinking it a very fine proposal, nodded to her readily. Then Cunsai, who had been listening to the two of them in silence, asked him in a cautious tone.
"We'd like to supply sugar as well, but it wouldn't really suit a potion shop, would it?"
"No. In a shop, the more goods, the better. Only, it would be better not to sell it in large bulk. Small quantities."
"Ah, is that so?"
"Most people will only need a little sugar."
"Aha! Then I'll have to pay attention to what we sell, how much, and how we package it."
"Yes. Hmm... how about a shape like this?"
Blow turned to the very last page of his notebook and drew him a cube. Interest stirring at once, Cunsai asked.
"A cube?"
"You harden the sugar into this form."
"Hmm..."
What he had drawn was a sugar cube. It was a form of sugar never once seen within the Empire of Serdia, and in truth one he had hardly seen even in the days when he was called Han Ji-hoo. All he had ever heard was that horses were particularly fond of them, and that one might see them in a department store's VIP room or at a refined café.
Yulia, who had been studying the drawing closely, spoke to Blow with her eyes shining.
"Young Master, you have a wonderful sense for these things. Wasn't punching the hole in the donut your idea as well?"
"Yes. That was an idea I came up with."
"Even just from the picture, it feels very clean. Take them to a social gathering and they'd catch every eye."
"Pardon?"
Yulia was gazing straight at Blow with the corners of her mouth lifted, and her look was a little burdensome. He turned his eyes aside, as subtly as he could.
"I'm glad I'm the first to make a contract with you, Young Master. Thinking of you talking over flashes of inspiration like these with anyone but me... it gets frightening, you know?"
"You flatter me."
While Blow was at a loss for where to put himself in his embarrassment, Cunsai, who had been thinking hard, opened his mouth toward him in a careful voice.
"Young Master! The shape is truly pretty, but brown sugar has a somewhat sticky quality, so production may be difficult. Even so, I'll speak to the factory once."
"Is that so?"
"Oh dear, what a shame."
Blow's face showed the same regret as Yulia's. Cunsai said it might become possible if the technology advanced, and that he would talk it over with the people at the factory. With that, they finished signing the contracts.
"Cunsai, I'd like a word with Senior Yulia, just the two of us. Would that be all right?"
"Ah, yes! Of course! Is there anything more you wished to discuss with me?"
"Truthfully, I only have the one restaurant, so at most I'd take a little more sugar if I need it. Senior will probably need the sugar more than I will."
Yulia's gaze, which until then had been resting on Blow with open pleasure, shifted to Cunsai.
"That's right. Shall we talk later, over dinner together?"
"Ah! I— truly?"
"Yes, of course!"
"Such an honor, for me..."
"You don't need to feel so burdened."
"Where would it be, if I may ask?"
"Hills, obviously?"
At the familiar name, Blow's eyes flicked toward her, startled for an instant.
"You mean my restaurant, the one that hasn't opened?"
"Yes. Young Master! Would it... not be allowed? I want corn cheese..."
Yulia's expression was turning into that of a cat caught in the rain, afraid she might not get to eat it, and Blow answered at once.
"No. Of course it's allowed."
"Haha, what a relief. Young Master."
Her face brightened, and Cunsai, having set their dinner, returned to his own school. Then Marchen was holding out to him and Jane a proposal containing the terms of the investment in Blow.
"Well, Young Master, may I explain?"
"Yes, please."
"I thought there ought to be an investment sum, at least in name. So I reduced it to five hundred gold. I took care to keep it lighter than last time."
"It feels, overall, as though you've brought yourself level with me. Thank you for the consideration."
"Yes. This contract focuses on the restaurant. The flagship you're opening this time is solely your equity, Young Master Blow, but if you open branches later, my stake will arise there."
"Very well."
Blow nodded; he had already expected as much. Yulia, looking a little tense, turned a few pages and went on.
"Also, Hills' recipes will be shared with the hotel restaurant, and our side will pay a guarantee to you. And the menus will state that the dishes are Hills cuisine."
"So our dishes would go into the hotel restaurant?"
"For now, my idea is to separate the space and sell them in a lighter way. Things like roasted potatoes, corn cheese, and Red and Yellow."
"Ah, that's good. Our menu does feel a little too casual to sell in a hotel restaurant, doesn't it?"
At Blow's words Yulia smiled as if they had understood each other, and went on to the next point.
"In exchange, the condition is that when you expand the business later, you must consult with me. Including the sparkling water you've been working so hard to plan."
"Good. That's what I had in mind when I brought it up."
"Then you will be going ahead with the contract, after all?"
"Yes. That's why I came."
Yulia, who had been thinking one never quite knew, only then let out a sigh of relief.
"So I... have been acknowledged by Young Master Blow."
"Isn't it... usually thought to be the other way around?"
At his words, Yulia shook her head.
"It may be so now, but from here on, no one will think that. As for me—I feel truly wonderful. I hope you feel exactly as good as I do, Young Master Blow. Just that much."
"Thank you for always looking upon me so kindly, Senior."
"I feel the same, Young Master. Shall we leave the signatures for a little later? You'll have things to review."
"Good. I'll look it over one last time, and we'll proceed sometime next week."
While Jane was putting into her bag the contract Marchen had offered, Yulia, her tension gone, proposed in a bright voice.
"Now that we've become a team, I'd like us to run a project that holds a goal we share."
"A project?"
"Yes. It is a restaurant, after all. What if we tried to start a trend in Caipol—a dish, or an ingredient?"
"If a trend is something one can actually make happen, I can't think of anything better."
It was talk that might have been a daydream, but this was Yulia of House Edfolk, and Blow found himself thinking there was nothing she couldn't do.
"Then how about this: from here on, we don't talk. We write it on paper, and see whether we match."
"That sets a nice mood. I like it. Jane? Do you want to try?"
"It would be... all right... if I couldn't match your answer... wouldn't it, Young Master?"
At the lack of confidence in Jane's voice, Blow laughed as he answered.
"If you don't match, you make the corn cheese today instead of Melo."
"That's too much. I did all of yesterday's accounts myself."
The moment she heard it, Jane puffed out her cheeks. Blow, looking at her as if she were adorable, patted her shoulder.
"I'm joking. Just joking."
"Hmph."
Yulia, who had been staring at the two of them, cleared her throat and cut in.
"I am definitely going to match!"
"It would be nice if our thinking lines up."
"Really! I will match, no matter what! Then... shall we write the main ingredient first?"
"All right."
"Yes."
Unlike Blow and Yulia, who had their answers down in no time, Jane worried for a long while before she set her letters to the page. A short while later, they laid their answers open on the desk at the same time.