“Well then, let’s do this for the first time in a while. But I want to try being the attacker too.”
At Rachel’s suggestion, when the topic of henchmen coincidentally came up, they decided to start a game of pretending to be heroines being bullied by a villainess.
“I don’t really agree with me being the villainess, but who will play which role?”
Josette complained as she asked Rachel.
“Then Caro will be the villainess, I’ll be a henchman, and Josette will be the heroine. Older brother will be the love interest.”
“Oh, with Kent? What should I do?”
Josette blushed and entered her maidenly mode.
“We’re already starting? Alright.”
Seeing Josette’s attitude, Rachel mistook it as a signal to start.
“Wait, Josette. Why are you trying to steal Caro’s man?”
Rachel said to Josette in a theatrical tone.
“Steal? That’s a rude thing to say. I was the one who noticed him first.”
Josette replied with a passionate performance. Kent thought she might have a talent for acting.
“He likes me now. There’s no room for you anymore, Josette… I mean, I can’t possibly compete with you…”
Caro was trying her best, but her acting was awkward. The argument between the three gradually heated up. Kent could only watch.
“I’ve already gone all the way with Kent.”
As the argument continued, the situation gradually changed, and Caro dropped a bombshell.
“W-What did you say!”
“Nice one, Older Brother.”
Caro, who had returned to normal and was surprised, then made a face that said “I shouldn’t have said that.” Seeing her expression, Josette and Rachel were convinced that she was telling the truth, not joking.
“Kent? I told you to treat Caro well, didn’t I? What did you do to her?”
The blame shifted to Kent, and Josette pressed him.
“Um… it just happened…”
Kent gave an ambiguous answer, unable to respond.
“Caro, you too. If Kent forced you, I would blame him, but even if it just happened, why would you act so rashly?”
“I saw Josette kissing Kent, and I thought I couldn’t lose, so at first it was just a kiss… but then we did other things.”
“Josette, you kissed Older Brother? Did you perhaps like him?”
Rachel asked Josette in surprise.
“I thought no one was around, so there’s nothing I can do if I was seen. I like Kent. The reason I stopped getting in your way, Rachel, is because I found someone I like, so I didn’t need to anymore.”
Josette said as if it were natural.
“So, Older Brother, you were the cause of things going off track. I thought it was strange that the event wasn’t progressing well. I see. I never imagined you were two-timing someone.”
Rachel said, looking at Kent with narrowed eyes.
(I can’t tell my sister that I actually have another one.)
“It’s almost lunchtime. Shall we head back to our classrooms?”
Just as Rachel said that, the first bell rang, signaling the end of lunchtime. The four returned to their respective classrooms for the afternoon lessons.
After the afternoon classes ended, Caro came to Kent’s classroom as usual.
“Kent, I’m so sorry. The person on cleaning duty today had to go home early, so I have to do the cleaning instead. Can you go home first? And could you let Marie know I’ll be late?”
“Oh, that’s tough. I understand. I’ll let Marie know. Good luck with the cleaning.”
Kent saw Caro back to her classroom and started getting ready to go home. Josette, who had been watching from afar, thought it was a chance and went up to Kent.
“Oh, Kent. Are you alone today? Would you like to walk home together?”
“You saw what just happened, right? I don’t mind, but don’t we live in different directions?”
“Josette. I have committee duty today…”
A female student Kent didn’t know told Josette.
“Oh, my apologies. I made a mistake. What a wasted opportunity… I can’t help it. I’m sorry, Kent, but it seems I have a prior engagement, so perhaps another time.”
“That’s a shame, but maybe another time. Good luck with your committee work.”
Disappointed, Josette was led away by the female student and left the classroom.
He had no choice but to go home alone today.
As he walked down the hallway, he saw a tall female student with purple hair tied back, heading somewhere in a hurry.
(Um, was it Prim? The tall one from Josette’s clique. I think she said she was the daughter of a merchant.)
Kent felt it was wrong, but he was curious, so he decided to follow her. Prim headed for the school cafeteria.
This cafeteria basically only operates during lunch. Kent had never eaten here, but according to Josette, it’s not very good. They were probably staff. Several people were gathered around a table, seemingly in discussion. Students could enter the cafeteria even after school hours, and empty tables could be used freely for studying outside of operating hours, so he sat a little further away and pretended to study by taking out a textbook from his bag, observing the situation. Prim seemed to be discussing something with the staff.
“Lately, the number of students coming to the cafeteria has drastically decreased.”
Prim said to the staff in a strong tone.
“Yes, young lady. It seems quite a number of students are bringing bread into the school and eating it for lunch. Because of that, the cafeteria’s sales have significantly decreased.”
One of the staff members reported to Prim. However, the way she was addressed as “young lady” caught Kent’s attention.
“Still, it’s strange. Bread alone doesn’t make a meal, does it?”
Prim said to the cafeteria staff.
“Well, you see, there’s a popular bakery that sells fluffy bread, and they have some unusual bread that contains side dishes, making it easy to have a meal. I was surprised that someone could come up with such a method.”
One of the staff members told Prim.
“That bakery, huh? I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve heard it’s supposed to be quite delicious. Come to think of it, I heard a rumor that a student here was the one who came up with that bread. If we procure bread from them, do you think we can recover some of our sales?”
“Yes, I think we can recover at least a little. However, we did approach them, but they are a very small-scale shop, and they replied that they are so busy selling at their own store that they can’t supply to anyone else at this time.”
“I see. We must bring that shop under our wing and learn their manufacturing methods.”
(This might be something to be a little cautious about. I want to hear more of their conversation, but I’ll be late for my part-time job, so I have no choice.)
Kent put away the textbooks and other items he had spread out on the desk into his bag and left the cafeteria as if nothing had happened. He then went home and headed to his part-time job.
“Welcome back, Kent. Oh? Where’s Caro?”
Marie spoke to Kent, but noticed Caro was missing and asked.
“Um, Caro was asked to fill in for someone on cleaning duty so she’ll be a little late.”
“I see, I understand. Well then, please do your best for the second half too.”
Kent started his work for the second half. In this world, except for Kent’s house, there was no electricity or gas, so bread was baked using firewood. Because of this, the room becomes extremely hot. As summer approaches, it’s quite tough. Marie is primarily in charge of tending to the oven, but Kent sometimes does it.
“It really is tough work when it gets hot.”
“It is. But I think you get used to it after doing it for so long?”
Right now, Kent is watching the oven, and Marie is kneading the dough. Being near the fire is difficult, but kneading dough is also physically demanding. Both of them are working up a sweat.
“Ah, Marie, I’m sorry. I think I messed up the heat control, and it’s all ruined.”
“It’s okay, I make mistakes too, so don’t worry about it.”
Anyway, controlling the heat of a firewood oven is difficult. There are no thermometers or clocks, so they completely rely on their own senses.
“I really want an electric oven…”
Kent mumbled.
“What kind of thing is an electric oven?”
Marie, perhaps curious, asked.
“It automatically adjusts the baking temperature, so you make fewer mistakes. Also, with a large capacity model, you can bake a lot at once.”
Previously, when looking at a terminal, he found a commercial electric oven that wasn’t handled at the Home Center. It was quite expensive, but he thought it would significantly improve work efficiency. Even if they were to introduce it, the problem would be securing electricity. Being a commercial model, it would require a significant amount of electricity. If they wanted to operate just one of these, Kent’s house’s solar system would be insufficient. Introducing a slightly larger solar system would be necessary. Including those costs, it would be quite a sum.
“By the way, how much would it cost?”
Marie, apparently curious, asked Kent.
“Um…”
Kent gave Marie an estimate of the introduction costs.
“It costs that much… It’s a bit difficult with our income…”
Marie said regretfully.
“Oh, if it’s that much, I can pay for it.”
Josette had arrived unnoticed.
“Josette, when did you…?”
Kent said in surprise.
“I helped out at the shop yesterday, and it was a good learning experience, so I thought I’d ask to help again today, and I quickly finished my committee work and came here.”
“About that earlier conversation, it’s quite a large sum, are you sure it’s okay?”
Kent asked Josette.
“The bread from this shop is very popular at our house, so I have my staff buy it every day when the shop is open. I will cooperate if it is an investment that benefits the shop.”
Just then, Catherine entered the bread workshop.
“Mother, someone from the Duke’s family has arrived.”
“Oh dear, is it that time already?”
Marie quickly put on her customer-facing apron and went to the front of the shop. Josette followed her.
“Thank you for always coming. Um, is it the usual order for today?”
A messenger from the Duke’s family, dressed in a maid uniform, was at the shop. A carriage was parked outside. They usually came when Kent was at school, but occasionally they came at this time. They were a big customer for the shop.
“Oh, is it you who is in charge today?”
Josette said to the Duke’s messenger maid.
“Josette, what kind of language are you using with the Duke’s messenger…”
Marie tried to stop her in a panic, but froze when she heard the maid’s words.
“Oh my, young lady. I did not expect to see you here. What are you doing?”
“I’m having a social studies experience. I’m helping out here.”
“I see. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Marie, is the bread to be taken to my house here?”
“Eh? Yes, it is.”
“Then, please take this home for me.”
“Y-Yes, of course.”
The maid took the bread, loaded it into the carriage, and headed for the Duke’s family.
“Um… perhaps Josette is connected to the Duke’s family?”
Marie asked Kent nervously.
“Josette is the daughter of a Duke’s family.”
Kent gently told Marie.
“Th-This is terrible. I’ve been so rude… I didn’t know she was from the Duke’s family, but to have her working here like this.”
Marie said with an apology to Josette.
“I’m doing this because I enjoy it, so please don’t worry about it? You can treat me as just another employee as before.”
“Josette says so too, so don’t worry about it, Marie.”
“I-I understand. I’m sorry for losing my composure.”
“So, about the matter earlier, I don’t mind investing, but if you’re hesitant I can also provide a loan. I saw the ledger yesterday, and with this shop’s revenue, you should be able to repay it quickly, right?”
“Kent, what should we do?”
Marie hesitated at Josette’s offer and asked Kent.
“Since it’s such a kind offer, I think we should accept it. If production capacity increases, we’ll have to turn away fewer customers due to being sold out, and with the added benefit of labor-saving, Marie’s work will also be a little easier.”
“Really? If Kent says so, I’ll accept it in the form of a loan. I’ll work hard and repay the borrowed money, is that okay?”
“I was fine with an investment, but if Marie says so, I’ll do it in the form of a loan. Please let me know the amount later, and I will prepare it.”
And so, with Josette’s cooperation, Marie’s Bakery’s significant upgrade plan began to move forward.
