Volume 2 - CH 8

“I’m dying… I can’t go on… for much longer…”

It was just past noon, some time before our afternoon classes would begin.

A half-dead Albert was slumped over his desk, occasionally grunting and groaning in pain.

He was in a rather ghastly state, with his face down on the desk and arms hanging limply at his side unmoving. It wasn’t inaccurate to say that even zombies had more energy than he did now.

“Hahaha! This is the price you must pay for just one fateful encounter, Prince Albert! Perhaps it was too steep a price to shoulder? Hmm?”

The reason he was exhausted was because of what he did that night; he was now paying the toll for entering the sacred garden called the female dormitory.

We mostly trained after classes had ended for the day, but there were times when we did light exercises during the lunch break. However, after that night at the dormitory, I’ve been adding extra early morning training just for Albert.

It was basic really: just short distance sprinting and long distance running while keeping up a magical shell. The severity of the regimen was such that Albert had been, in more ways than one, running along the brink.

“Th-this… is nothing… Not when I get to… spend more time with Lady Mylene…”

And that training has done wonders to improve his will and determination over the past few days.

He was pretty stubborn to begin with, so he seemed pretty well-suited to this training. As an unintended but interesting bonus, it seemed he had grown enough to keep up the banter with Colette, perilously exhausted though he might have been.

He seemed to be developing in a strange away again, but it would no longer surprise me. If anything, it was more impressive to see that not only was he able to withstand this harsh training but also how much he was growing as a result.

That being said, the crown prince wasn’t someone who should standing at the head of the army. I was reconsidering whether it had been a good idea to continue training him… but he had shown amazing results thus far — I couldn’t help but enjoy having Albert around.

It was probably because I had gone a little overboard like this before… In my previous life, there had been people who wanted to learn and train under me, but they all eventually gave up like spineless quitters. Like with Albert, I had them start with the basics, as my Beast Style was built on mastery of the fundamentals, but they would eventually quit, complaining about how I never intended to teach them my ways of fighting — not that their complaints bothered me.

Anyway, because of them, I couldn’t help but like training Albert; he never complained about the training, and he faithfully stuck to it.

“Um, Your Highness..? Could it be that you are… being bullied by Mylene?”

Melissa glanced at me with suspicion in her eyes.

From a third party’s perspective, it probably did look like I was bullying him… Actually, maybe the guys I tried to train back then felt that way, too.

That aside, lately there was almost no distance between Melissa and me, but at the same time, she still seemed to distrust me and avoided speaking directly to me.

“Please do not misunderstand; this is something I requested — that I be allowed to spend more time with Lady Mylene — and which she has so graciously permitted.”

On the other hand, Albert, who disliked Melissa’s hostility, denied her worry with a firm answer.

I was happy, if a little embarrassed, that he answered so strongly since I understood where he was coming from.

“There, there Your Highness. Miss Melissa did not mean anything by them, and I did not mind them myself.”

“…I must have been mistaken then. Please excuse my rudeness.”

Well, though Melissa was still hostile, I no longer felt that deep-seated hatred from before.

More importantly, she wasn’t treating me like I was her sworn enemy anymore.

So when she made a wrong accusation, she would apologize for it. At the very least, she would join the conversation.

“If there are any problems, I would be more than happy to discuss any issues at length.”

“No… At least, not yet. I just… need a little more time.”

But at the end of the day, there was still that one line she had yet to cross.

And that line was most likely something that was related to what I wanted to know.. or, at least, I had a vague intuition of that being the case.

“Very well. I will not force the issue. Please feel free to take all the time you need.”

“…Of course.”

Still, it didn’t seem like Melissa was lying or stalling when she said she didn’t want to speak with me yet.

It really took a long time to get to this point. She looked skittish enough to run if I pushed too forcefully, so I still had no choice but to wait for her to come to me.

I hadn’t yet reached that goal, but I felt pretty emotional about it nonetheless.

“All right students, please take your seats.”

As I reminisced on the encounters I’d had with Melissa up until the present, our homeroom teacher entered the classroom.

Today’s afternoon class should be arithmetic, if I was remembering right. It was one of the most important classes since the kids attending the Academy was expected to learn how to manage the territories they came from.

That being said, the only use I saw myself having for this class was in checking my own expenses.

“Before we begin class today, I do have an announcement to make.”

The students began taking their seats, and the teacher nodded in satisfaction before starting the lesson… Or, that was how it was supposed to go.

But things were different today, and the teacher’s unexpected words caused a stir amongst the students.

“The Zelfoir Academy of Magic will be hosting our Festival of Sages event in one month’s time. As some of you may be aware, this is an important part of our arithmetic curriculum, so we will be focusing on preparing for that from today onwards.”

The well-behaved students in the class quieted down to listen, but it was clear that the teacher was barely keeping up a face of calm as he explained further.

The excitement and enthusiasm that showed through made it clear that he was expecting the news to be something the students should be just as excited for.

The Festival of Sages, was it? I vaguely recalled seeing the name listed in the Academy’s event schedule, but what was it supposed to be about?

I expected we would learn about it later, and it seemed now was that time; like the other students, I waited patiently to hear our teacher explain more.

“For those of you who were unaware, the Festival of Sages is a traditional event here at the Academy. Many of you or your fellow classmates will later go on to become leaders or business owners, and the Academy hosts this event so as to provide firsthand experience in trade and economics. Specifically, as a class, we will choose how we will be participating, readying the preparations for what we chose, and finally executing our plan. On the day of the event, each of you will take turns managing the operation as well as seeing and experiencing what the other classes have cooked up. And finally, at the very end of it all, there will be awards given out based on sales, customers, and other such factors. It may sound like a lot of work, but all of that — the ideas, the planning, the effort, and especially the results — is what the Academy’s Festival of Sages is all about!”

Our teacher passionately explained the Festival, but the long and short of it was an event where each class managed a sort of eatery and competed for customers.

I felt a twinge of excitement within me; this seemed like a pretty interesting activity.

Basically, it was a way to have these brats get hands-on with finances and give them a taste of starting and managing their own business.

Promoting solidarity through competing for awards was another plus, and overall it seemed the event was a fun way to learn and experience practical business management.

It didn’t seem that useful to me personally since I was only attending the Academy to build up my strength and knowledge. On the other hand, it was boring to only repeat the same training and studying, so maybe participating in this kind of thing would be a good way to shake up the routine.

Hearing all this didn’t excite me like it would a child, but I was still interested nonetheless. As for the classmates around me…

“Ooh! How interesting!”

“So we must needs learn to run a shop? What a wonderful opportunity!”

“Quiet down! Ahem… Remember that we are still in class, and the Festival is part of our lesson plans, so please do not just start talking amongst yourselves!”

…they were already more than excited.

Our teacher was doing what he could to keep them calm, but it didn’t look like he was trying at all. Actually, to me, it looked more like he not only expected this kind of response but also very much enjoying himself in it.

“Then shall we move on with class? We need to decide on what to do for the Festival. Anybody have any ideas?”

And just like that, the usually subdued class lesson exploded with activity now that it was about the upcoming Festival; there was no stopping the students from staying quiet now.

“How about a store selling clothing?! I happen to know a thing or two about quality fabrics!”

“Wouldn’t jewelry be better then? We can hire some of the best craftsmen to make wonderful pieces to sell!”

Noise filled the classroom like a fire that came alight as students happily chattered away.

Meanwhile our teacher had his hands full keeping things from getting too loud while still writing out ideas on the board.

That was a pretty impressive feat, being able to filter good ideas from the rising din like that.

“Hahaha! Running a business, was it? What a novel idea!”

“It will be quite interesting. And it certainly is a rare opportunity for us to do so.”

Colette and Albert both expressed their approval. Well, the noise around us mostly drowned out what they said, but really, only a few people — myself included — understood where they came from.

After all, for these two of royal origins, there would never have been an opportunity for them to even think about running a business. It came as no surprise that they would be interested now that they could try.

“I am beginning to look forward to the Festival, Lady Mylene!”

But, well… These ideas the students were throwing out seemed pretty typical for nobles.

They weren’t bad ideas by any means, but in my opinion, peddling things as mundane as clothing and jewelry wouldn’t be very successful.

Not that I claimed to be an expert merchant or anything to back up my confidence, but I didn’t think luxury goods would sell very well at an Academy event like this Festival.

After all, most of the potential customers would be the children of nobility — that is, other students.

Simply put, most of them wouldn’t have much money to spend. And it wouldn’t matter how good the product was; if a customer couldn’t afford it, then there would be no sale.

And it wasn’t like coming from a noble family meant being able to frivolously spend money. In the first place, not all aristocrats were wealthy; in fact, just as we had students from royal families here, there were also others whose houses were on the verge of ruin. That was simply what the student body attending the Zelfoir Academy of Magic was like.

Right now, the most important thing to consider was the atmosphere of the Festival; people will want to go around and see all the things they could. If there were several shops for them to visit, they would be reluctant to spend all of their money on expensive products at one place.

On a whim, I muttered quietly into my hand, going through some of the ideas I had.

I didn’t have much experience in running a business, but it was fun to think about.

Right now, the class was still talking about what was the best thing to be selling, but the way I saw it, if we wanted to win the Festival competition, then…

“Lady Mylene!”

“Mylene!”

“What’s up?”

Oh oops; I must have gotten lost in my thoughts.

Albert and Colette both suddenly called out to me, and I answered without thought from behind my cover.

“I-is something the matter?”

For a moment I dropped my cover, but I quickly recovered and smoothed over my slip-up with a smile.

Albert had a wry smile while Colette snorted in astonishment. It seemed they had been trying to catch my attention for some time now, but I hadn’t noticed. What a blunder…

“Good grief… How unusual though. You must have been quite deep in thought.”

“Have you any idea on what to do, Lady Mylene? I would love to hear your thoughts!”

Maybe it was because I looked so deep in thought that they had called out to me.

But unfortunately, their repeated calling had drawn the curiosity of the rest of the class, and I found myself the center of attention, with everyone waiting with bated breath to see what I would say.

…Ugh, this wouldn’t end well.

I figured I shouldn’t involve myself too much in this Festival clearly meant for kids, so I had intended to keep my ideas to myself.

But it would now be disrespectful for me to continue staying quiet now that royalty — and two of them at that — called upon me.

It was times like these that having to maintain my image felt more troublesome than it was worth.

“I do have some ideas, but I do not believe they are anything worth mentioning or considering, so…”

“Worry not, Mylene! I am still interested in hearing the ideas you have come up with!”

I tried to excuse myself with a polite decline, but Colette urged me on, leaning toward me in great interest.

That was probably her way of saying she didn’t intend on letting me off — she was the kind of person who wouldn’t be satisfied once her curiosity was piqued, after all.

Albert also nodded in agreement; it seemed his curiosity was stronger than the “loyalty” to me he loved to boast about… No, wait, he probably thought this was a good opportunity to boost my standing among our peers, and it wasn’t like I had anything to lose by participating in a childish game like this.

“…Then, if you would excuse my presumptuousness, please allow me to explain.”

Well, there was nothing more I could do about it now. I was curious though; I did want to see how well they would take to my idea.

I needed it to sound as impressive as possible, so I took some time before continuing to arrange the ideas I had in mind.

And those thoughts were…

“If our goal is to do well at the Festival of Sages, I believe we should…”

To win at this competition, first we needed to not fight for a piece of the same pie.

This was an event for the children of nobility, but at the end of the day, that was all they were: children. The money in their wallets was not unlimited.

If we were to sell luxury products like the class was suggesting, we would be in direct competition with other classes, fighting over the limited funds in those wallets.

That meant the one with a lower price had an advantage. On the other hand, when it came to selling crafted products, the cheaper stuff was of much worse quality than the more expensive stuff. So how were we supposed to figure it all out?

“…provide an ‘experience’ instead of selling items.”

“I see! But how would we do that? What does it mean for a store to ‘provide an experience’?”

Colette asked in a testy tone, but I already saw the corners of her lips curling with interest at what I proposed.

So I had caught the attention of the most influential student in the room. That should mean the rest of the explanation should go well.

“On the day of the Festival, for that one, single day, we will offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience at our store… Well, there is no point in wasting any more time, so here is my proposal: we, as a class, should open a cafe for the Festival of Sages!”

“…A cafe? What is that?”

“It is a type of store that specializes in tea and snacks, Princess Colette.”

“So something like a teahouse? It is true that we had not considered serving food, but do you not think such a business is a bit… ordinary?”

After hearing my suggestion, Colette’s face became blatantly disappointed.

Well, I wasn’t that surprised; for all the grandstanding I did, what I proposed just sounded like a glorified eatery, so it was obvious Colette would feel let down.

“Hosting a tea party is not anything new, nor is it uncommon for the host to provide refreshments and treats. In fact, the Academy chefs even prepare and provide for it on weekends. Mylene, you called it a ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience’ but I cannot see of how it is any different from a normal tea party.”

“Fufu, that is exactly right, Princess Colette.”

That was how it went. Most students at this Academy came from one noble family or another, so having teatime was perfectly normal and routine, and leaving home to live in a dormitory would not have changed that.

There was also the matter of the first-rate chefs working at the Academy that prepared top quality offerings for those tea parties. Suffice to say, satisfying the extravagant tastes of these noble brats required something truly outstanding.

And that was why the options we had were limited; since we would be doing business with noble kids — kids that are used to fancy meals and luxury — we had to catch their interest with something better or with something they had never seen or experienced before.

And that was probably the way most classes handled the Festival: by offering items that were high quality but also unique in their own way. In fact, I would go as far as guessing that other classes at the Festival would do just that. However, as I noted earlier, offering something at a lower cost was another available option.

But in that case, opening a cafe that sold food at a lower cost to these young nobles already used to delicious meals was a terrible idea.

From the beginning, I had talked about selling ‘the experience’…

“Allow me to elaborate on what I mean: it will not just be a place where we serve food. No, what I am proposing is a focus on the ‘service’ — wherein the customer experiences the pleasure of being served by attentive staff dressed in wonderful clothing!”

…After all, we weren’t just ‘a store where you can enjoy some tea’; no, we had to be a ‘cafe’ — that is, a place to enjoy an experience.

“A focus… on the service?!”

“Indeed. This may sound vulgar, but there is no person that would not enjoy the attention of a handsome man or beautiful woman. So if we were to provide that — for a customer to be served by a beautifully dressed lady or gentleman — we would be offering a truly unique and valuable experience, one that is far removed from the ordinary.”

I proudly extolled the virtues of my idea, but… well, to be honest, it wasn’t something I came up with myself.

I mentioned the vulgarity of it because I had first seen the likes of it, these kinds of establishments, in the time when the Kingdom of Iltania was beginning to fall — that is, when public morals and decency lost their importance.

There were places that hired beautiful women and dressed them up in revealing clothing to serve customers. It was indecent but extremely popular.

Adan had taken me to a place like that once. At the time, I had been thinking about how pointless it was for him to go since he had a wife to go to if he wanted a woman… but the way the business was run left a strong impression on me.

After all, the food and drink they offered was mediocre, yet the place was packed full of customers. Well, I did think it was possible that we had come to a place where their offerings just happened to be bad, but I remembered always seeing the place full of customers every time I noticed it.

That was when I realized how it was all possible. It wasn’t that the customers were there to enjoy a drink; no, the guests — including my friend, with his lecherous grin — were there to take in the sights and enjoy the company of the waitresses wearing skimpy outfits.

In other words, it was like they had come to watch a performance, one whose entry fee came in the form of mediocre and overpriced drinks and snacks.

And before long, this ‘cafe’ establishment became more and more common. There was one type I remembered that became exceptionally popular, just before the civil war began — called a ‘maid cafe.’ The main gimmick was dressing up the waitresses — like household servants, but with shorter skirts — and having them treat customers like they were the master of the house, and… well, the details should be obvious from there.

“Let me be clear: the importance is not the taste of the tea and sweets — that is a secondary concern. Our primary objective — what we must focus our efforts on — is providing an experience that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. That is the true essence of the ‘cafe’.”

Naturally, the most important part of this ‘service’ experience was having good-looking workers. Fortunately, the students of this school, born of noble blood, were blessed with those good looks. This class was no exception, and we should have no problems securing the workers.

It wasn’t uncommon for nobles to hire servants based on appearance, but there was a different sort of confidence that only those from the privileged class showed. Some would call it elegance, but, in my eyes, the name didn’t matter — what mattered was using that aura of confidence to uplift the service experience.

“…So this is what you meant by ‘providing an experience’.”

Colette let out a quiet sigh as she thought over my explanation.

Now then, my cards were all on the table now, but there was still one last hurdle to clear.

It was the most important requirement to fulfil: was it possible for the young, noble boys and girls of this class to properly serve customers?

They had all the overbearing pride of an aristrocrat and were not even half as noble as their lineage would have suggested. The problem was making them willing to serve customers, but there was an easy way to force them to…

“Oh, I see, so it is like the customers are coming to a restaurant to watch a performance! That certainly would be a special experience!”

…and that was by taking advantage of a certain ‘voice’ of authority.

Nobility respected hierarchy without question, so if the imperial princess of Colhoun, one of the most powerful countries, said my idea was interesting, then everyone else had to find it interesting as well.

And while it was a tradition at the Academy for every student to be considered equal in status, being able to establish a connection with the imperial princess was a very desirable prospect; anyone with even a little bit of intelligence would know to avoid drawing her ire.

The only one with equal status, that could disagree with Colette, was Albert, but of course…

“What an amazing idea, Lady Mylene! How amazing it is that your idea was to not focus on the food and drink but to instead value the service itself! I am truly astounded by your greatness!”

…as long as my ideas weren’t something truly outrageous, Albert would never object to them. I’m worried about the future because he was always so quick to agree, but… Well, at least in this case, it seemed he understood how businesses worked, so he surely wasn’t just supporting my idea without a second thought.

“Furthermore, this way, we will not need to worry too much about what we will be serving, and there will be no need to hire a cook. The main cost should be in the outfits. However, we need only to prepare enough for the staff that will be doing the serving jobs, and it isn’t something that can run out. If we do it like this, it should cost much less to arrange than if we tried to sell jewelry or clothing.”

All that was left for me to do was to explain what made my idea suitable for the Festival.

There would be many students participating, and they all wanted to win; winning was a matter of pride after all — proof that they were better than their peers.

“She was already thinking that far ahead..!”

“How can one person be this talented in so many different areas…”

Seeing as both Colette and Albert were interested in my idea, the rest of the class was quick to follow, and there was nobody who objected to the plan.

I had dismissed the whole thing as a childish game of pretend at first, but still, it didn’t feel at all bad for things to go the way I had planned.

“Then, does that mean everyone approves of my suggestion?”

“No disagreements here!”

“Of course!”

I asked again for confirmation, speaking confidently and clearly, in a tone that would take no argument.

Smiling, I turned to face our gaping, dumbfounded teacher. He quickly closed his mouth and cleared his throat to catch the class’s attention again.

“W-well then, our Phoenix Class will be opening a ‘cafe’. I have never seen a class agree on one idea so quickly… I thought this would take much longer.”

It went without saying that this Academy was full of headstrong, willful children, so I wasn’t very surprised when our teacher noted our quick decision.

It did feel really good to get this result though, seeing how well and quickly I had put my ideas together.

“Hmm, what should we do with the extra time… Leaving you all to self-study when we only have half of our class time remaining would be…”

“If that is the case, then could we use the remaining time to assign roles?”

“Ah, that would be a good use of the time. Let us discuss it now then.”

I called out to our teacher, who was staring at the clock with a troubled look, and gave a suggestion.

Now, all I had to do was forcefully volunteer myself for an easy, relaxing role.

“May I start with a suggestion of my own? I do not mean to boast, but I do have some experience with cooking, so if there are no objections, I would like to volunteer myself to be in charge of the food preparation…”

And the role I had in mind was one of making sweets.

It would be easy enough to make bannock, a classic teatime treat. It was a simple enough pastry that could be made by mixing and baking basic ingredients together. It could even be made in large amounts ahead of time and then served later with something like jam as a splendid snack to go with tea.

Making the jam ourselves was also possible, but since it kept well, it was easy enough to buy what we needed from a store. I would only have to put in a little bit of effort, but I would be able to take it easy afterward.

There was no way these noble brats have any experience with cooking. Well, the same could be said about their experience in serving people, but they should have at least interacted with their servants enough to have an idea of what to do — I doubted the same applied to cooking. I expected these brats wouldn’t want to do a job they were completely unfamiliar with.

In other words, I, the one behind the cafe idea, was securing the easiest job for myself.. or, at least, I should have….

“Hm..? What are you saying, Mylene? The most important part of this ‘cafe’ was having beautiful servers, was it not? Then, who better to be in charge of those servers than yourself?”

…But there had been one miscalculation: Colette’s voice of authority, which I had taken advantage of earlier, was turning against me.

“Wha..?!”

I froze up in surprise from this sneak attack.

By the time I realized what she was saying, it was already far too late. As with earlier, Colette’s statements were no different from a unanimous class decision.

“If we are just serving teacakes, then anyone can make them. This is about assigning the right person to the right role, so it is ridiculous to even consider having our very best do such an unimportant job… More importantly, I simply must see you wearing cute clothes!”

And Colette’s unusual inclinations made this a bigger problem than usual.

If she’d said something like that in front of a cook, they would be outraged; cooking was a real skill that took training, and Colette simply brushed it off like it was nothing. It seemed for her, ‘cooking’ was nothing more than asking for food and then eating it.

“E-even so..!”

I looked around, trying to find help from among our classmates, but all I saw was how they were nodding along to Colette’s words.

These damned brats..!

“I agree! After all, we cannot talk about beauty without also mentioning Miss Mylene!”

“Oh how I wish I could be the leading star of such an innovative store! But if it cannot be me, I believe there is no better alternative than Lady Mylene!”

“As the one who thought up the plan, it would be fitting that Lady Mylene also took the leading role!”

I gnashed my teeth in frustration; Colette’s words had made the serving role out to be glamourous than it was.

And because it was a suggestion from the indisputable ruler of the classroom, there was no way for me to refuse.

…No, there was still one chance!

“Y-your Highness..!”

If it were him, surely he would understand what I wanted!

Albert, who was aware of my true nature, should know exactly why I didn’t want this role!

I couldn’t afford to care about appearances anymore. I turned and gave him the strongest glare I could, silently imploring him to disagree..!

“Ah..! Lady Mylene should… She should… She should be in the leading role, as best befits her! That is what I think as well!”

I had suspected it would come to this, but to be betrayed now of all times, like this..!

After struggling with a choice, Albert finally gave an opinion of his own — one in agreement with Colette.

…This had to be a really bad joke. I might’ve been getting used to wearing female clothing, but that didn’t mean I liked doing it. But now? I’d have to wear skimpy clothes? And to serve people in a cafe?!

“Ugh… No..!”

But I could fix this; I could request an outfit with less exposure. I was the only one aware of how much would work best, so I would just have to push for a more subdued design than what I remembered.

But that would also jeopardize our chance at victory.

I already invested so much of myself into this idea that if we were to fail just because I got a little embarrassed, I wouldn’t be able to live down the shame.

“I… understand. If everyone believes so, then there is no way I can refuse…”

But thinking about it, it wasn’t like I would lose anything by trying harder. And actually, in that case, there were still cards I could play to improve the chances of our success.

“…but I cannot do this alone. Princess Colette, Prince Albert, would the two of you please help me with this?”

And that meant I wasn’t going down alone; I’ll be taking these two with me.

Normally, just asking a member of royalty to serve was grounds for execution by decapitation, but this was fine since this was just a game of pretend. All I had to do was make a request ‘as a friend’ and make it seem like it was for fun.

“Of course! It goes without saying that I must do this!”

“I-it would be an honor if I am able to assist you in any way, Lady Mylene!”

Colette… Well, that was expected. Her confidence was unflappable no matter what she did, so it was more like she was making the most of this event. At best, she might just consider it a price to pay to get what she wanted.

That Albert though… I wouldn’t forgive him nor let him off easily for betraying me in my hour of need. Him alone I would single out and make sure he fell with me.

Albert was smiling happily, blissfully unaware of what I had in store for him… That smile would soon become cold sweating.

The ladylike smile I had on hid the wolfish grin revealing my true feelings. I was an honest, meticulous person, after all; I always repaid my debts.

You’d better look forward to what I had in store for you, punk…

“I-is there something more you need from me, Lady Mylene..?”

“No, not at all. In fact, I believe I should thank you once again for agreeing to cooperate with me, Your Highness. It would have been so terribly unfortunate if I had to do it all on my own…”

Albert raised an eyebrow, hearing my unusual remark.

But he should still be unaware of what awaited him.

Even if I could get no one else, I will not let you get away, little prince. And to make sure of that, I was more than happy to continue hiding my fangs under the mask of a lady — until there was no where left for you to run.