kscans

Chapter 18 - Chapter 2. The Princess's Part-Time Job

"Ricardo-kun. Does the jar marked with the number twelve go on this shelf?"

Alfina asked me from atop a stepstool, stretching up on one leg. To be honest, I didn't care where it went. I just wanted her to not get hurt.

She wasn't in her school uniform, but a long-hemmed white one-piece dress. It was embroidered, but not so much as to be gaudy. Still, I wondered how long it would take even a skilled artisan to create such a perfectly regular wave pattern by hand.

I suppose for a princess, this is something close to casual wear. It just barely passed for the attire of a rich young lady visiting the lower town. As she stood on one foot, the movement revealed a glimpse of the back of her knee, which had been hidden by her skirt. It was a truly precarious sight.

The sweet scent drifting through the narrow warehouse should have been the familiar smell of honey, yet for some reason, it felt sweeter today.

No, running from reality won't do any good. I tried to accept the fact that there was a princess in my family's basement warehouse. It had all started just one hour ago.

It was the morning of the second day of summer vacation. My father, who had gotten his healthy color back since Dorefano's downfall, suddenly appeared at the warehouse, his face drained of all color. I had just finished planning how to tackle the mountain of work that had piled up, only to see all my plans crumble at the front door.

Standing there was a classmate I shouldn't have seen for at least another month, holding a lavish letter of introduction so ornate that simply writing a reply seemed like a loss-making venture, considering our product prices. The letter was, needless to say, from Grand Duchess Bertold, Alfina's guardian and a potential investor with whom I was currently negotiating.

The letter, written in a casual tone, stated that since my response had been slow, she decided to conduct an inspection first. It said she had entrusted the task to her niece, who was apparently interested in our company's work.

I remembered her showing interest in our mock shop at the tea party and spent a good while cursing Mia's friend, Rilka.

Incidentally, my father left his son at the entrance and went off to some meeting or other. To ignore a visit from the princess, it must have been an incredibly important meeting. It was baffling that I, his successor, knew nothing about it.

I invited her into a room with only a table and chairs, intending to smooth things over by showing her a new way of eating honey. But before I could even brew tea, Alfina insisted she wanted to help me. If she was so interested in business, I would have preferred she start with her very first shopping trip.

And so began a hospitality challenge on 'royal' difficulty.

Now, Alfina was counting the empty jars on the top shelf. Suppliers don't always provide jars of the exact same size, and having uniformity affects the efficiency of product delivery, transport, and storage. In other words, the number of empty jars was important. After emphatically explaining this, I had given her what I thought was the safest job.

I worried she might find it boring, but Alfina was working hard without a single complaint. Well, I already knew she was that kind of girl. Still, even taking that into account, she was unusually enthusiastic.

"Ah!"

"Watch out!"

Just as I feared, Alfina's hand slipped. I had anticipated it. But as she reached for the falling jar, her stepstool wobbled. I ignored the plummeting jar and wrapped my arms around Alfina's waist. The jar hit the floor and rolled to a stop in front of us.

Since it was empty, no honey was spilled. But the sweet scent grew stronger.

"I, I'm so sorry, Ricardo-kun. ...Um, but I'm alright."

"Senpai. Are you sexually harassing her already?"

A cold voice struck me from behind. My reliable secretary, who had mastered a word from another world that I had taught her, was standing there.

"N-no, you're wrong. I was just worried she might get hurt."

"From a stepstool that isn't even half as high as your knee?"

I hastily let go, and Mia's voice pursued me and a blushing, downcast Alfina.

"So, how did this amusing situation come about?"

Mia had me and Alfina stand in front of the shelves as she interrogated us.

"It was my fault for insisting I wanted to experience the work. Instead of helping, I just got in the way. I'm sorry, I'll pay for the broken jar."

Alfina picked up the jar from the floor, her expression sad.

"Your Highness, the current value of your labor is actively negative. The more you work, the more you cause a loss for the Vinder Company. This isn't about the price of a broken jar. It's because you are stealing our company's most valuable asset. Senpai's time. You seemed interested in the Shoken Festival, but the Vinder Company is not a mock shop."

"Th-that is... I'm sorry."

"H-hey, Mia, that's going a little too far..."

"Of course, the ultimate responsibility lies with the work supervisor, Ricardo-senpai."

Mia turned to me. The sharp look in her eyes, with her eyebrows raised, showed she wasn't just saying that for Alfina's sake.

"Even so... No, I have nothing to say for myself."

I had been completely thrown off by Alfina. To be like this on my own home turf is pathetic. I hadn't confirmed a single important detail. I hadn't formed a clear plan, only thought of giving her some plausible-looking work.

But come on, anyone would be flustered if a cute classmate, or rather, Her Highness the Princess, suddenly showed up during summer vacation.

"From your perspective, Mia, it must look like I was just playing along with Lady Alfina during work hours."

At my words, Alfina clutched her skirt with both hands and looked down.

"But I just couldn't believe that Lady Alfina came here out of simple curiosity or on a whim."

It was true she seemed a bit giddy, and she wasn't so much helping as getting in the way. I knew she was a girl with a strong yearning for a world she had never seen. I'm sure that was part of it.

But for all her awkwardness, she tried to tackle each task seriously. That's precisely why I couldn't figure out her true intentions.

"Senpai, you pretend to be a strategist, but you're a real pushover, so I can't trust you. Lady Alfina, please tell me why you took such an outrageous course of action."

Mia looked directly at Alfina. Alfina let go of her clenched skirt and turned to face Mia.

"...I wanted to see the world that you see, Ricardo-kun."

"Huh?"

What in the world does that mean...

"It's about the prophecy. Back then, my words didn't reach anyone. At first, I thought it was because of my bloodline. So, I was happy when you listened to me, Ricardo-kun. You said you wouldn't believe it but would verify it, and just the fact that you took my words seriously made me so happy."

Alfina paused for a moment.

"But that wasn't all. You were completely different from me, Ricardo-kun. And you moved Professor Fulsy and my aunt, and you ended up moving the entire kingdom. I understand. No matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to do what you did. But I wanted to at least understand. I thought if I learned about your work, Ricardo-kun, maybe I could get a little closer to that..."

The words poured out of Alfina as if a dam had broken.

When I first met her, she was a princess in a world of flowers, out of touch with reality, right down to her sense of responsibility. But she refused to bow to pressure, spoke what she believed to be the truth, and in a stunning reversal, became the saint who saved the nation.

To be honest, I had been a little suspicious. I thought her modest demeanor was just an adaptation to her unfortunate circumstances and that a backlash from her past might surface.

Still, the realist and survivalist in me spoke up. I couldn't just be unconditionally moved by this. What she experienced was, from a self-preservation standpoint, the worst possible thing. It was an experience one should never have. I'd almost be more relieved if she became a little arrogant.

"...But that was just my own selfishness. I think I was taking advantage of your kindness, Ricardo-kun."

With that, Alfina lowered her gaze again.

"So, it's Vinder, but not just any Vinder..."

Mia muttered to herself, her expression growing more troubled. She unconsciously began wringing her hands, a habit she had when she was conflicted about something.

"...I must admit, you were more serious about your work than Senpai, who was busy gawking at a girl."

"H-hey, Mia."

"Very well. I will permit Lady Alfina to help with our business," Mia said, looking vexed despite having insulted her boss as she pleased.

"Are you sure?"

Alfina looked up in surprise.

"...It is against my better judgment, but Lady Alfina must be made aware of our company's affairs to some extent." That was something I had naturally considered as well. She was the nominal lord of Leylia and the niece of Grand Duchess Bertold, with whom we would likely become deeply involved.

"However, there are two conditions. A pervert senpai is out of the question as an instructor, so I will take over her training. You will only be able to see the environment Senpai works in, the Vinder Company as it is. Is that acceptable?"

Mia looked straight at Alfina.

"Thank you. I'll be in your care."

"Understood. As for the other condition..."

I braced myself, wondering what insult would come flying at me next. But Mia, with a look of resolve, pointed at Alfina's long skirt.

"We can't have you in that outfit. Please change."

The door closed with Mia's parting words, "Senpai, please go dote on your ledgers, not on girls." I had no choice but to go to the next room and stare at the account books. I don't dislike crunching numbers, but thinking about what was happening on the other side of the wall made the figures swim before my eyes.

Just as I stubbornly buried my face in the ledger, I heard the door open.

"U-um, Ricardo-kun. How do I look?"

I timidly lifted my head from the ledger. Standing there was a simple, beautiful girl. If I were to analyze her using my knowledge from modern Japan, the answer would be an innocent-looking maid.

She wore a simple, dark gray one-piece dress that made her look like a merchant's daughter at a glance. The skirt was a little shorter than her previous one. Over it, she wore a white apron dress. It had small frills at the shoulders but was otherwise a perfectly normal outfit. However, the combination of a cute girl in a high-contrast outfit was simply unfair.

On top of that, she was fidgeting awkwardly, tugging at her skirt and glancing down at her chest. If she had been wearing this when I'd caught... when I'd supported her earlier, I might have been in serious trouble.

"What's wrong, Senpai?"

Mia grinned mischievously. She knew exactly what she was doing and was enjoying it. The frills were unique to this particular outfit. When I had made it slightly larger for a growing Mia, I'd added them on a whim. My father, incidentally, had sealed it away, saying it was absolutely forbidden. I now understood that he had been right. It was a seal that should never have been broken.

But wait a minute. I'm not the child from the story who points and says, "The emperor has no clothes!" The truth can be cruel. The truth spoken by the weak isn't just cruel sometimes. It's almost always cruel. Especially to the one who speaks it.

"...It suits you very well."

In this case, however, my compliment and my true feelings were one and the same.

"I'm so happy."

Even though being told that a commoner's clothes "suited" her should have been an insult, Alfina pressed her hands to her cheeks and smiled.

The first term had been a raging storm. I had hoped for at least a moment of peace during the summer vacation. It seemed such hopes were no longer meant for me.