CH 394

8-10 minutes

Those Who Knew, Knew

Phew. . .  What a meeting!  It looks like things are going to get hard.

Mia also didn’t expect to be given a homework, and as she left the student council office, she sighed at the thought.

Rafina, who was also going back to the girls’ dorm, walked next to Mia with her normal polite smile on her face.

“Gosh, it’s not that big of a deal,” Rafina said in a soothing voice.  “There’s no need for you to worry about it.”

“You say that, but for me it’s a big deal.  I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”

“Just be honest.  Go tell the students how you feel, and I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Mia liked Rafina’s words of support, but she didn’t think they would work.  Just as she was about to tell her she was wrong, she had a thought that made her laugh instead.

To worry about something like this…  At this time… While Miss Rafina was encouraging me…  It’s a blessing, though, isn’t it?  I really should be thankful.

Mia’s attitude was getting better now that she was back at Saint-Noel Academy.

After all, Ludwig said we’ll be fine no matter what. As planned, we’ve stocked up on more food.  I guess I’ll just have to stop worrying at some point.  The only thing that worried me was whether or not Cyril would figure out how to grow wheat that could handle the cold.  But even if that doesn’t happen, things will probably still work out, right?

They set up routes for food and supplies and filled up storehouses.  The reserves were getting bigger, and growth was steady.  Since she had been through famine before, she thought she knew how bad things would get and how much planning was needed.

They were surely ready now.  She fell into the trap of experience, forgetting that circumstances could change and make her past information useless.  The result of her lack of care would happen quickly and suddenly, right in front of her as she and Rafina walked down a hallway.

“My, what are they doing over there?”

A group of older students was encircling a girl who looked like a new student. This made them stop talking.  One of the older students pushed the girl on the shoulder, which made her lose her balance and fall to the ground.  She stayed face down on her hands and knees as the circle of attackers started to insult her. Mia looked at the bullies quickly and sighed.

These young nobles, who were acting crazy in front of Rafina, had to be out of their minds. At least none of them were from the empire.

Then, with a spring in her step, she went up to the group of people who were bullying the girl.

“Pardon me, but could you please stop picking on the weak?  It’s not a very nice thing to do.”

“Wait, what?  Who are you? Oh….”

One of the bullies turned around with an aggressive answer, but then choked it back down in the middle of what she was saying.

They couldn’t afford offending the person talking.

“P-Princess Mia. . . and Rafina-sama? !”

“It seems like we have a problem in our hands.  It’s not okay for students at this academy to pick on new students,” said Mia.

“No, that’s not it. She’s one of ours.  A commoner from our kingdom.  We thought it must have been a mistake for her to go to Saint-Noel Academy, which has such a noble name.”

Rafina quietly walked up to the student who was making excuses and said with the softest smile, “Mia, the head of our student council, doesn’t like this kind of behavior at all.  As do I.  No matter what country you are from, it is never okay for a big group to pick on one person.  Is that right, Miss Mia?”

“Yes, of course it is.”

Rafina’s fearsome presence scared not only her victims, but also Mia, who flinched just a little bit before regaining her composure. “Your parents and place of origin don’t matter,” Mia said as she crossed her arms and nodded.  “This kind of unfairness is not okay, and I won’t let it go unanswered.”

She gave the bullies her most threatening look, which didn’t have as much of an effect as Rafina’s but still made them back away in fear.  Mia was currently the most powerful person in Saint-Noel, so it made sense that they were scared.  She was the princess of a powerful empire, and the Holy Lady supported her, so she was at the top of the list of people you shouldn’t cross if you want to stay in this school.

“Fortunately for you,” Mia said, “I believe in second chances.  As long as you change, I won’t bother you about this any more. Do not harass her again ever.  If you claim to be a noble, you should act like one. Be respectful and noble in how you act.  Get away from bad things like bullying the weak.  You should use your power to help the weak, if anything.”

Then, after a hmm, she said, “You said you were all from the same kingdom as her, right?  In that case, I’ll put you in charge of her safety.”

“… What?”

“From now on, if I hear that she is being bullied again, I will make you all answer for it, even if you had nothing to do with it.  And a warning, in case you ever want to do something behind my back: don’t underestimate how good my eyes and ears are.”

Then, in a moment of mischief, she decided to copy Rafina’s smile.  The end was a great success.  With a terrified scream, the bullies ran away.

Hm, hm.  I see.  People can sometimes be scared by the way you smile.

She thought it was interesting as she reached out to help the girl on the ground.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, I think so.  Um, thank you a lot. But, uh, why would you help someone like me?” began the girl, who was feeling awkward.

Mia had a laugh.  “Why should I not?  It just makes sense to do it.”

After all, Rafina was there.  It was never a choice not to help.  She felt a chill at that moment.  It took her a while to understand why.  Slowly, another idea came to her as she thought about being forced to help.  She thought that, with the famine coming, she might be in a similar position again, but this time on a much bigger scale.  In the past, she never had to think about this problem because the kingdom was too busy taking care of its own people.

Now, things had changed.  The empire had everything it needed.  They had more than enough food to get through a year-long famine.  But the hunger would last much longer than a year—it would last for many years.  No one else knew that except Mia.  She was ready for a long drought, but it’s likely that the other countries weren’t.  Most likely, they would think it was just a bad year.  Then, how would they feel when they looked to the empire after their hopes were dashed and saw huge food stores that could last for years in case of a famine?

What’s more important is how Rafina and Sion would feel.  She had already told Sion, and she planned to tell Rafina as well.  At the moment, though, everything she said was at best guesswork.  What if there was a famine and they came to her for help? Asked her to save some of what seemed to be Tearmoon’s many supplies? She’d have to swat away their begging hands and say no to their sincere and desperate pleas for help, all because of something that was at best just foresight and at worst just a guess.

Another thing she hadn’t thought about was the fact that her group of friends was getting bigger. As president of the student council, she had met all kinds of people from all over the continent. As part of her job, she had gotten to know a number of them very well, to the point where she was friends with many of them. What if one of these friends came to her for help, and she had the means to help them?

If another country ends up in the same situation as my empire in a past life, could I keep our stockpile and just let them suffer?

Mia’s worry was a real and important problem, which may have surprised some people.  She was now in a whole new kind of trouble because she had planned for a famine that would last for years.  She was ready to sit back and relax because she thought it was time to cruise. This sad realization caught her by surprise. So, Mia unwillingly waved goodbye to her mental hammock and put her brain back into work mode.  The next thing she had to do was meet the new students at the opening ceremony.