Josette’s usually clean uniform was slightly stained, and her hair was a little messy. Seeing that there was clearly something wrong with Josette, Kent immediately rushed over to her.
“Good morning, Josette.”
“Good morning, Kent. Is something wrong?”
“Well, if you must ask, there is, but right now I just want to sleep for a little while.”
Josette said with an exhausted expression. Seeing Josette looking so unwell, Kent couldn’t say anything more and decided to wait and see for a while. The students around them were all ears, eavesdropping on the conversation between Kent and Josette, but they looked disappointed, unable to understand the reason behind it. After that, Josette laid her head on her desk and fell asleep.
Eventually, Josette slept until lunch break. Normally, she was a serious student, and being a Duke’s daughter, the teachers looked at her with curiosity, but they didn’t admonish her, fearing the consequences.
“Josette, are you alright?”
It was lunchtime, and the four of them, Kent, Josette, Caro, and Rachel, were sitting on their usual bench behind the school building. Caro, surprised by Josette’s obviously unusual appearance, asked.
“Yes, I slept during the morning classes, so I’ve recovered to some extent.”
“You must have been tired. Please don’t push yourself too hard.”
Although her hair was messy and her uniform was tattered and dirty, Josette’s tone had returned to normal, and Kent felt a little relieved seeing her respond to Caro.
“Older brother, since you seem tired, why don’t you give Josette some energy drinks as a gift?”
“You’re right, it might just be for a brief moment, but it’s a good idea. Wait a moment.”
As Rachel suggested, Kent took out his terminal and ordered the most expensive energy drink.
“Josette, please try drinking this. I think it will help with your fatigue a little.”
“Understood. I’ll have it then.”
Josette drank the energy drink handed to her by Kent without any suspicion.
“It has a unique taste. I feel a little more energetic. Thank you, Kent.”
“So, what happened?”
“Th-that… I can’t say right now. If I tell you, I’ll just end up relying on everyone. I’ve decided to handle this matter myself.”
Kent asked Josette, but she stubbornly refused to talk.
“Kent, let’s leave her be for now. I’m sure Josette has her reasons, and I believe she’ll tell us what she was doing when the time is right.”
“I see. Understood.”
Upon hearing from Caro, who knew Josette well, Kent didn’t press further. Then, the four of them ate lunch and spent the rest of their break.
“Well then, we’ll be heading back to our classroom now.”
“Older brother, see you later, Josette.”
Caro and Rachel returned to their respective classrooms first, leaving Kent and Josette alone. Caro tamed Josette’s disheveled hair with a comb and styling products Kent had ordered from his terminal, just as usual. Rachel then cleaned her dirty clothes using an etiquette brush also ordered by Kent.
“So, shall we head back to the classroom too?”
“Yes, let’s go back.”
Kent and Josette also returned to their classroom, and the afternoon classes began.
Later, after school, Kent, Caro, Rachel, and Patty headed to Marie’s Bakery, where they worked, while Josette acted separately, as she had the day before.
“Older brother, it looks like the craftsmen have already started their work.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
As Rachel pointed it out, Kent looked towards his house and saw that the craftsmen had already gathered, with materials and tools laid out nearby, and had begun the wall repair work.
“Thank you for your hard work. I’m sorry to bother you when you’re so busy.”
“It’s fine. Marie asked us, and we couldn’t refuse. The repairs should be finished by the weekend, so please bear with us until then.”
“We appreciate it.”
The craftsman Kent spoke to was someone he had met before when Marie’s Bakery was undergoing renovations, so they had a prior acquaintance and spoke for a bit. From their conversation, Kent learned that the repairs would take several days.
“Marie, you requested the repairs so quickly.”
“Yes, Caro’s home is comfortable, but I still think my home is the best, so I asked them to do their best.”
Upon entering Marie’s Bakery and speaking with Marie, she replied that way.
“Oh, Kent, you’re back. Well then, Marie, I’ll be heading off now.”
“Thanks for your hard work, Elnet. Are you heading directly to Caro’s house tonight?”
“Yeah, I think so. I won’t lose the lottery today.”
“That’s right. I have to do my best too.”
Elnet finished her work first, had a brief chat with Marie, and then headed off to her daily sword training.
“Marie, is the lottery for deciding who sleeps with who?”
“That’s right. Caro drew the lucky number yesterday, but I won’t lose today.”
Marie was full of fighting spirit.
“Older brother… no, Kent! A moment!”
After a while, a voice called out to Kent from the kitchen.
“What is it? Is something wrong?”
Kent entered the kitchen and asked Rachel, who had called him.
“Um. The hot water has stopped coming out.”
“Hmm? Let me see… you’re right. Could it be…?”
At that moment, Clara, who happened to be in his line of sight, waved her hands frantically, trying to show she had nothing to do with it. Kent ignored that for the moment and went to check the water heater placed at the back of the shop.
“Ah, it’s out of fuel,”
Kent said, looking at the remaining fuel in the water heater’s kerosene tank. He checked to see if there were any leaks, but it seemed the fuel had simply been used up.
“Older brother, isn’t refueling troublesome? Why didn’t you get an electric or gas water heater?”
Rachel, who had followed him, asked.
“I couldn’t procure gas from the terminal, and it doesn’t seem to exist in this world, so it wasn’t an option. For electricity, I wanted to conserve power consumption, so I didn’t want to use it. This place only has solar power generation. Therefore, a kerosene water heater is the best option.”
“If you don’t have enough electricity, couldn’t you just install a generator?”
“I can procure a generator, but I can’t procure fuel like gasoline or diesel.”
“I see. I thought you could procure anything, but there are some things you can’t.”
“That’s why this is the only thing that can be procured.”
“Come to think of it, I think I saw kerosene being sold outside the shop. I saw someone alone guarding it.”
Rachel said, seemingly convinced. Kent prepared an empty jerrycan and operated his terminal to refuel it. The operation alone filled the empty jerrycan with kerosene, making it a very simple task. He then used a pump to transfer the kerosene to the water heater’s tank.
“Alright, refueling is complete. This should make it usable now.”
“Thank you, older brother.”
“It’s no trouble at all.”
With that, despite a minor hiccup, they finished their business for the day without issue, and Kent and the others headed to Caro’s mansion.
“Welcome back.”
As the carriage door opened and Kent and the others disembarked, a servant greeted them. Unlike yesterday, the entire staff wasn’t there to meet them, which Kent felt was Caro’s consideration to not make them feel obligated.
“Well then, I’ll go help with dinner preparations.”
With that, Clara went to help. The remaining individuals decided to spend their time in their rooms until dinner was ready.
