Julius walks the streets with a pale face.
“—I can’t land a job.”
He tried hiding his status for interviews, but as Luxion said, rumors spread and no one hired Julius.
The embassy offered a temporary part‑time gig, but it was obvious they were being careful.
Julius couldn’t accept the embassy’s mercy.
Because—.
“—Brad’s become that popular, huh?”
He looks at a flyer stuck to the wall.
Brad seems to be performing some kind of magic trick.
He’s gaining fame as a good‑looking entertainer.
A while back Julius also saw Jilk dealing in antiques.
Surprisingly successful, moving a lot of money.
Greg and Chris are also working, and when they show up at the academy for make‑up classes they look exhausted. Still, they wear satisfied smiles.
“Yet I’m so pathetic.”
He felt bitter.
The other four were proving Luxion’s claim about high “vitality.”
And yet he alone was still unemployed.
Sinking into gloom, a wonderful smell wafts over.
It’s the scent of grilled chicken.
The stall owner points a skewer at Julius, who’s looking up.
“Hey, bro, you’re down again today. Have a bite.”
“No, I don’t have—”
He has no money.
All he’s got are a few coins, borrowed from Leon.
“It’s on the house. Something up?”
“Actually—”
He explains his situation, and the owner bursts out laughing.
“Want a job? You’ve been fretting over that?”
“It’s no joke. I got rejected at every interview.”
“You want to work even though you’re not in need? I don’t hate that. If you really want a job, I’ll pay you low wages, but you can work here.”
Those words make Julius grin.
“Really?”
Julius, who’s always liked skewers, suddenly gets interested in the stall.
“The term’s short, and I’d only need you for odd jobs while I teach you the work.”
“I’d love to!”
And so Julius finds a job.
◇
The part‑time eatery.
At night it feels like an izakaya.
During the day it’s just a regular public cafeteria.
“Hey, you rich guys, you look like a bunch of clowns. Buy us a drink!”
The local old men keep teasing Julius’s older brother and his friends who are working there today.
The drunk crowd can’t speak any foreign language, so they keep pestering him.
“Leon, this old guy’s been saying something all night, huh?”
I smile and explain to my brother.
“They’re just praising you, sir. If you buy them a drink they’ll be over the moon.”
My brother looks delighted.
“Eh, does it look that way? I guess I’m starting to act a bit noble. Hey old man, you’ve got an eye for talent!”
Around us, Raymond and Daniel are watching my brother’s joy.
“Nick’s already got the bearing of a future baron.”
“Those Republic old men really have an eye. Hey, Leon, go buy them drinks!”
I grin and say,
“Thanks as always—boss, pour the booze!”
The boss flinches at my face.
“—I don’t know what you said to those customers, but I get that you’re the one who tricked them.”
“Sometimes truth hurts people, so I lie with kindness. Everyone gets along, the shop makes money. See, nobody loses. Besides, I’m kind, so I don’t want to watch fights break out.”
“I don’t trust anyone who calls themselves kind. Jan, Noel‑chan, bring the drinks.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Leave it to me!”
Jan hurriedly pours drinks, and Noel carries them.
Noel works briskly, clearly used to the tavern’s vibe.
When a drunk reaches for Noel’s rear, she slaps his hand away.
“Hands off! My butt isn’t cheap.”
“Whoa, scary.”
The owner glares at the misbehaving patron.
“Sir, you’ve had too much. I’ll cut the tab for you and the brothers.”
“W‑wait. Sorry. I won’t be bringing any more drinks.”
In the noisy shop I keep doing my job.
Jan comes close.
“Boss, you really like Noel, don’t you?”
I laugh.
“She’s named after my daughter, Noel. Maybe I felt something fated about it?”
The boss’s daughter is named Noel, and Jan’s dog is also named Noel. Everywhere it’s Noel.
Noel giggled at Jan’s story.
—I haven’t forgotten that I got a slap from my fiancée because of that.
Anyway, thanks to my brother and friends, business is booming.
When I go to carry drinks, the boss talks to me.
“Huh? Leon, are people from your country allowed to drink at that age? You never drank, right?”
Right, I don’t drink.
“It’s a personal rule. I don’t drink until I’m twenty.”
“Oh, really?”
The puzzled boss returns to work.
The customers who got a free drink from my brother are happily guzzling.
“Thanks again, bros! You’re looking like good guys now. That’s proof the booze is kicking in!”
We shoulder‑bang and laugh.
“I don’t get what you’re saying, but I know you’re complimenting me! Leon, another round of drinks and snacks!”
“Thanks as always~”
My brother is pretty hammered.
They’re showing that as long as there’s booze, words aren’t needed.
—Hilarious.
◇
On the way home.
I’m escorting Noel back to the mansion.
I also swing by the mansion to see Angelica and the others—part of my daily routine.
We chat casually on the walk back.
“Professor Kureman keeps muttering scary stuff. He’s debating whether to go single or splurge on a double. The way he looks at Chris and Greg is terrifying. What the hell are those two up to?”
Kureman, who we see during make‑up classes, looks at Chris and Greg with a scary gaze.
They seem a bit thinner, more toned.
Their skin’s glossy, but they look exhausted.
I don’t think they’re doing anything weird—.
“Kureman? I heard he’s taken to going to public baths lately.”
“Public baths? Like, lewd?”
“Public baths aren’t lewd, it’s just a bath.”
What’s going on between the older sister Kureman and those two?
As we walk, a stomach growl erupts.
—Not me.
Noel, embarrassed, holds her stomach and tugs at her hair.
“Sorry. It smells good.”
“Is it grilled chicken?”
I peek at the nearby stall to see if we can buy something—
“Hey, welcome!”
—There’s Julius, his hair twisted in a headband.
“What are you doing here?”
Startled, Julius straightens up, hand on his chest.
“I’m working.”
His confident stance says he’s not ashamed.
I’m not trying to say street stalls are bad or anything.
But it’s way beyond what I expected.
Noel looks at Julius, then whispers to me.
“This guy used to be a crown prince, right?”
“Yeah. He’s a funny guy. If we weren’t involved it’d be laughable, but the people close to him can’t be laughed at—that’s the point.”
I can’t just laugh either, which is a problem.
The stall owner laughs behind Julius.
“This kid’s never even butchered a chicken. Young people today don’t know anything.”
Julius apologizes to the owner.
“Sorry. The first time I tried to cut a chicken I caused trouble.”
“What? You can do it now. Keep at it.”
The owner doesn’t know, but that guy is a prince of the Holfart Kingdom.
What should I do about this?
Noel looks just as confused.
But Julius is smiling.
“Barthofort, I’ll become a proper man right here!”
—When are you planning to stay in the Republic?
You’ll be back home once you’re a proper man, right?
“First, give me twenty skewers.”
“Got it!”
I stop overthinking and just buy the skewers.
◇
Meanwhile.
Angelica is waiting at Marie’s mansion for Leon to arrive.
She’s worried he’s taking longer than usual.
“Leon’s so late.”
Floating Claire teases Angelica.
‘Oh? Worried? Don’t worry. The cranky one’s watching, and the Master’s a wimp, so he won’t lay a hand on Noel.’
Libya, who’s with her, isn’t convinced about the Noel situation.
“Angelica, are you really planning to take Noel away? It’s cruel not to check her wishes.”
Angelica gives a small smile.
“You’re kind. But the house you’re born into is still a house. That woman and her sister can’t escape fate. If you have the priestess’s talent, it’s even worse.”
When Libya gets down, Claire comforts her.
‘It’ll be fine. The Master won’t force anything. If you want, I can figure out a way to extract energy from the sapling. I’m good with that kind of thing. I don’t need a priestess.’
Libya looks up.
“Leon, what do you really think? We can’t even tell what Noel’s thinking.”
Noel hasn’t really talked to the two of them much.
Claire senses why.
‘She almost went after another man’s wife. It’s bound to be awkward. She’s not as bold as Marie‑chan, is she?’
“What do you mean!”
Marie, listening nearby, gets angry.
But Angelica silences her with a stare.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. I’m telling you, I haven’t personally forgiven you, so don’t forget that.”
“—I’m sorry.”
Libya returns to the topic.
“But she’s about to be taken away. She must be scared. And it’s weird to take just her when she has a sister, isn’t it?”
‘Emil Raz Prevan—apparently dating the next head of the Six Great Houses. The Prevan family won’t let her go, I guess?’
“But—”
Angelica sips tea.
(—What terrible tea.)
The aroma is bad, the taste worse.
How did she even buy this leaf?
She didn’t know that Jilk bought a massive amount and was forced to drink it daily because he couldn’t get rid of it—Marie’s sad backstory.
She puts the cup down and speaks.
“Even if she stays in the Republic, it won’t change. That woman won’t be happy. So at least—”
She’s cut off as the head maid shouts.
“Lady Angelica!”
Footsteps rush in, and Angelica springs up, looking at Claire.
“What’s happening?”
‘The Republic soldiers are here. I want to contact the cranky one—but I can’t reach him. This is a hassle. There are a lot of them.’
“What? What’s going on!?”
Marie panics, Libya stands up too.
“Angelica, why are Republic soldiers coming?”
Angelica closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them slowly.
“The Respinas affair got exposed, it seems.”
◇
“It’s true. I’m a man who never lies.”
On the way back, I’m talking with Noel.
“Lies—yeah, because I never lie, right? You were tricking our hometown friends again today.”
Talking with Noel, who’s different from Angelica and Libya, is surprisingly lively.
“You’re harsh. I’m selling honesty as my brand, after all.”
“So… what does that honest Leon plan to do with me in the kingdom?”
A sudden serious question lands.
I’d expected it someday.
Holding the paper bag of skewers I bought with one hand, I scratch my hair with the other.
“—I’m not forcing you to go. Angelica will persuade you herself.”
“Is that really okay? If you take me back, won’t Leon get a promotion?”
“Promotion? I’m already at my ceiling, no more climbing. Besides, I just want a slow life in the countryside. I hate the court’s dirty politics.”
Noel looks down, a sad expression as if she can’t understand.
“I get it. My family was the same. We’re twins, always fighting over who’d carry the family name.”
I hadn’t heard that from Relia.
“Relia didn’t seem to know anything, though?”
“—She had no aptitude. She was on the brink of getting dragged in, but that actually saved her.”
I felt she was hiding something.
For a split second her expression changed—maybe I imagined it?
“Priestess aptitude, huh? How do you test that?”
“—My mother said Relia had no talent. That’s all. Priestesses can talk to the Sacred Tree, so it’s probably the Tree’s judgment. The retainers who tried to take Relia were disappointed, but that was fine. If we’d messed up, one of them could’ve died.”
Everything’s messy.
“Did Relia not know because she was never told? If you have no aptitude, you don’t need to know.”
“That’s fine. Even if she had aptitude, it wouldn’t have mattered to us back then—”
A sound of something approaching reaches my ears.
I’m standing with my back to a wall, shielding Noel, and look up.
“Above?”
There’s an Alogantz descending.
Luxion seems to be with it.
‘Master, prepare for combat. The Republic has deployed force.’
“Now? You’re slow to notice. You’ve been lazy.”
‘No, it’s not that. The jamming—’
When the Alogantz lands before us, the area brightens sharply.
A blinding light hits us, making it hard to open my eyes.
Squinting, I hear footsteps.
Armed soldiers surround us, and a man steps forward.
Noel murmurs,
“—Serge”
In the backlight his face is hidden, but his tone is solemn.
“Long time no see, Noel. —I’m here to take you.”