SHC58_ARCHIVE_CHAPTER 58:Business Talks After Afternoon Tea (Before)

 

Chapter 58: Business Talks After Afternoon Tea (Before)

 

Is it intentional that they ignore the atmosphere, or do they simply not feel the need to consider it?

It appears that gods can appear anywhere, at any time.

The delightful aroma of tea poured from a delicate white porcelain teapot, featuring a beautiful lily-of-the-valley design, into matching cups, was served to Lord Igor on an exquisite tea set from my family’s finest collection. Alongside the tea, I offered him the rarest white sugar cubes and an extravagant honey made from the deadly Tempest Killer Bee, found only deep in the Kikunoi family's dungeon. Upon receiving it, Lord Igor smiled warmly.

“Thank you. Sorry for dropping by unannounced.”

“No... it’s fine...” I replied.

Well, the timing was awful. Why did he have to show up when I was in my pumpkin-colored shorts?

As I sulked a little, Lord Igor took a sip of tea, heavily laden with honey, and gave a bittersweet smile.

"It wasn’t planned; it was just a coincidence. I had something to discuss, so I stopped by."

"I see..." I nodded.

From behind, Kanade’s voice rang out from the distant sofa. "I didn’t know gods drink tea," followed by someone choking, but honestly, that’s a valid observation.

It seems my scream had been rather loud, as the first to rush in was Professor Romanov, with Kanade firmly pulling him along. Then came Utsunomiya-san and Rottenmayer-san, followed by Viktor-san.

“Even though I enhanced my physical abilities, they beat me, Re-tan and Kanata-tan!?” Viktor-san looked absolutely devastated.

By the way, when Viktor-san saw this, Lala-san whispered, “You need to train harder,” but I’m not involved in any of this.

Anyway, when the group arrived, Lord Igor greeted them all with a cheerful "Hey!" and it was truly a unique experience.

Lala-san, meeting a god for the first time, held me in her arms and kneeled. The two elves, who had met Lord Igor before, also knelt quietly. Rottenmayer-san pulled Utsunomiya-san’s hand and bowed his head.

But only Regulus and Kanade were different.

"It’s rude to suddenly drop in from the ceiling in someone else’s house. You should have called from the entrance first."

“You’re not allowed to do that" Bad!” Kanade added with a pout.

Well, that was a fair point.

Even Lord Igor seemed taken aback, apologizing with a confused “Oh, sorry about that?”

Kids are strong.

With that, we escorted Lord Igor to the parlor and offered him a warm welcome.

Sitting opposite Lord Igor were Regulus and me.

As expected, Rottenmayer-san quickly regained his composure and got back to serving tea, and Utsunomiya-san resumed her maid duties.

Kanade, sitting behind, was drinking tea while the three elves, still unnerved by the god’s presence, quietly stayed in the background.

Now, back to the point—what was it that Lord Igor needed?

Regulus, who had been chewing on a cookie made with all the chef’s heart and soul, was trying to climb onto my lap when Lord Igor began to speak.

“I don’t think this is bad news for you, though.”

“What’s this about?” I asked, inquiring politely.

The topic he brought up was quite beneficial to me. Apparently, the powerful nobles in this country, under the divine protection of Lord Igor, were trying to present a proposal to the Emperor regarding laws I had been discussing with Lala-san. They were considering submitting a law to protect the rights of artisans, especially those of lesser-known crafts.

If it’s above the count level, it must be at the duke or marquis level.

"I went through a trusted route, someone the Emperor highly trusts. But they’re missing specific examples, like techniques or artisans to protect. So, I heard about a hair ornament worn by some famous singer that used a technique I’d never seen before."

After secretly peeking into the heavens, Lord Igor confirmed that the technique used in the singer’s hair ornament was, in fact, something that belonged to one of his divine friends. The creator was also someone who had received divine protection from him.

“Quite the coincidence, isn’t it?”

“Yes... indeed,” I replied, somewhat skeptical.ieceshairpieces.

“...You mentioned that you used a trusted person to present the proposal, and that person was the Empress, correct?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, I’ve heard from certain sources that the Empress has been interested in my crafted hair ornaments.”

I won’t be used for free.

Even though my crafts might be considered insignificant, in my previous life, they were part of a long-established and wonderful technique. I want these to be used as a profession for the people, not to be seized by some noble.

Even if it’s a god, if they try to suppress it, I won’t stand for it.

I felt a surge of distrust and unease, and the atmosphere in the room became tense.

The only thing that remained calm was the gentle expression on Lord Igor’s face, but his eyes were probing, as though we were both trying to read each other.

Breaking the silence, Lord Igor scratched his cheek awkwardly and looked away.

“Don’t be so wary. If you keep raising your guard like that, he might show up.”

“He?”

“Hyakka. You’ve got strong protection from Hyakka, so if there’s anything unusual, Hyakka will know immediately. As much as I hate to admit it, Hyakka is stronger than me.”

Lord Igor shrugged with a smile before frowning slightly.

“Sorry about that,” he waved his hand dismissively.

“I can do the back-and-forth, but not everyone likes that. Merchants generally enjoy that kind of probing conversation, but you’re more of an artisan type than a merchant. I should’ve just been honest and asked for your help from the start. I made a mistake in how I approached you.”

“I see... so it wasn’t just a coincidence.”

“Well, just a little bit of one.”

The conversation, which could have been brief, took a surprising turn as Lord Igor explained that the proposal to the Emperor came from a second son of a duke, who had bypassed his stubborn father and elder brother to take his own route through the Empress.

The Emperor, known for his genuine concern for his subjects, had initially supported it, though he was hesitant due to the lack of concrete examples.

“The second son wanted to be an adventurer and used that as an excuse to roam the streets in disguise. As he did so, he noticed the suffering of the common people, and eventually, he took in his half-sister, the daughter of his father’s mistress. His father and older brother, both aristocrats with narrow views, were cruel to her, and he wanted to protect her. Eventually, he considered running away with her to escape the mistreatment. But with no money, he thought about starting a business, and that’s when he met me.”

“I see,” I replied.

“The second son woke up to the idea that ‘if the world isn’t kind to people, it won’t be kind to my sister either.’ He decided to act to improve the world and started by protecting the rights of craftsmen and their techniques. He had dwarven allies, and he couldn’t stand seeing their work being exploited by his father and other similar-minded aristocrats.”

I was starting to understand now.

Apparently, the Empress wanted the hair ornament because she thought it could serve as a concrete example for this new law.

The second son of the Duke, despite being related by blood, had completely different views from his father and elder brother.

On that note, if nobles are just exploiting the common people without giving back, then it’s only right to force them to return something.

This law would be the first step in that direction.

The second son had consulted with Lord Igor about using the hair ornament’s technique as one of the examples for the new law.

“And you know, Hyakka has been complaining about how you gave that hair ornament to that girl, saying she wanted to keep it as a keepsake, but still calling her ‘just a friend’ and all that... So, I thought, if it was related to Hyakka and you, it’d be perfect. That’s why I gave it my stamp of approval.”

“Ah, I see...” I said, "Processing this.

“The Empress wants the ornament, and if the maker knows, it might be presented as a tribute. In exchange, it could become part of the law’s applicable techniques... That was the plan. So, I spread the rumor that the Empress was interested in the ornament you made...”

However, there was a problem, Lord Igor said.

The issue was my own personality.

“Because you told Hyakka, ‘If I don’t have the right materials, I can’t make it,’ right? Hyakka proudly boasted about that. ‘A true artisan must be like this.’”

“That’s not quite what I said!!”

“Really...?” Is that another of Hyakka’s misunderstandings...? Well, in this case, though, it’s true. You used high-quality materials for a singer's ornament, so naturally, the Empress's tribute would be even more refined. It’s not easy to make.”

“Exactly...” I replied, somewhat reluctantly.

Lord Igor looked at me curiously.

“Ah... so you were thinking about that too?”

“Ah... I was talking about the idea of doing business, but...”

“Oh, I get it now. That explains the mismatch in our conversation. Got it.”

So it seems we had different understandings of the situation.

PAYPAL

Eun: THANKS FOR READING!!~

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