Chapter 57

Finally, the charity bazaar began! Many citizens gathered.

As expected, men, like insects drawn to the nectar of flowers, gathered at the bakery run by the female knights.

Cat ears, strong...

However, Zara and Deputy Captain Berry were also achieving solid results.

"Miss, would you like some bread?"

When Zara and Deputy Captain Berry smiled and called out, they were sure to attract female customers. The beautiful woman in men's clothing, strong...

Urgas was in the back of the store, organizing inventory, preparing change, and packing the products. His efficient movements were quite impressive.

Amelia was also chirping "Quque~" and advertising. She seemed to be capturing the hearts of the women by tilting her head. Indeed, she was the perfect mascot.

The sign that Gal prepared featured the store name, a simple drawing of bread, and even a side profile of Amelia. It didn't look like it was done in a short time. The drawing of Amelia was probably done by Lise Charlotte.

I decided to walk around the venue to promote the bread with the captain.

"Expedition bread for sale~ Expedition bread"

I walked alongside the captain, who held the promotional board with a stern face, explaining the bread.

"Expedition bread?"

"What's expedition bread?"

A child stopped. I lowered my posture and started promoting the bread.

"It's a type of bread that incorporates the rations we eat during expeditions."

"Wow~"

"So, it's what the knights eat~"

I pointed to the captain, indicating that you could become as strong as this knight... or rather, this mountain bandit.

"Ah!"

"Yaa!"

The children turned pale at the sight of the captain's face and ran away screaming. It seemed a bit too intense.

"Captain..."

Was it just my imagination, or were the captain's fingertips trembling? I couldn't find any words to comfort her, so I pretended not to notice.

On the way, we passed by the cat ear bakery. It was incredibly crowded. Just wearing cat ears with their knight uniforms caused such a frenzy. Upon closer inspection, I noticed some knights from the expedition team among the customers. They were probably off duty and in civilian clothes.

"Excuse me, three round breads..."

"Thank you, nya~"

A male customer received the bread with a smile from the beautiful female knight, who said "nya~." The bread being sold was just ordinary bread. It seemed that even ordinary bread sold like crazy when a beautiful woman with cat ears was selling it. The captain snorted at the sight.

"That woman is not a knight but a clerk."

I see. I thought she had a slender build for a knight, but now the mystery is solved. However, everyone looked happy. It was a peaceful scene.

"Do men like that kind of thing?"

"Who knows."

It seemed the captain was not a fan of cat ears. However, cat ears were receiving overwhelming support. It was quite surprising.

After about thirty minutes of walking, the venue, which was quite small, made it difficult to continue the promotion for long.

When we returned to the second squad's tent, there was a crowd. The customers were mostly women, but young men and middle-aged men were also mixed in. I peeked from the side and discovered the reason. The symbol embroidered on the customers' chests was the "Mythical Beast Protection Bureau" emblem, featuring a dragon surrounded by vine patterns. It seemed the bureau members had come to see Amelia.

"Qu~"

"Cute...!"

"The best..."

The bureau members' love for mythical beasts was as strong as ever.

When I went to the back, I was surprised to find that the inventory was almost gone.

"Wow, that's amazing."

"Yes. It's the combined effort of Arts, Deputy Captain Berry, and Amelia."

The momentum didn't seem to be slowing down, and it was said that the bread would sell out in about an hour. It was good. We wouldn't have to live on leftover bread.

Gal had also made a sign that read "No touching the mascot." It was intended for children but seemed to be effective against the bureau members.

And just over an hour after opening, the bread was sold out. It was unexpected, and we had used all the ingredients, so there was no regret.

After closing, the tent would be used to distribute booklets about the knight squad's activities. The knight squad was always short-handed, and I was assigned to distribute the booklets. Zara, the captain, and Deputy Captain Berry returned to the knight dormitory. Lise Charlotte came to take over.

"Oh, everything sold out?"

"Yes, Zara and Deputy Captain Berry, and Amelia did a great job."

Surprisingly, Lise Charlotte had wanted to try selling. Perhaps she was at an age where she was interested in various things.

"Do you have experience working in a store?"

"Yes, my family runs a general store."

"Hmm, you've had a tough life."

"Not really."

It was a miracle that the daughter of a general store owner could become friends with a duchess's daughter. Life is unpredictable.

On the way, I received a contribution from Urgas. It was bread from the female knight's cat ear bakery.

"Got a 'nya nya' from them!"

"That's great."

Urgas seemed happy. It seemed he was a cat person. The bread was round, about the size of a palm. I tore a piece off and tasted it.

"Hmm, the taste is ordinary."

"It's crumbly and hard to eat. The bread Mel makes is better."

"That's true. The bread made by the squirrel medic is definitely better."

"Thank you."

Even if the taste wasn't exceptionally good, the way the product was presented and promoted could change sales. It was a valuable lesson.

Urgas seemed to have work at the knight dormitory and left. I had to work hard with Lise Charlotte for the development of the knight squad.

About a hundred booklets about the knight squad were prepared, but it was difficult to get people interested. I needed to call out to stop people and get their attention. Lise Charlotte was beautiful, but her glasses made her look strict, and men only glanced at her without stopping. I needed to come up with a short and clear way to promote the knight squad. Something like "Free delicious meals three times a day at the canteen!"

I took a deep breath—

"Hello"

I exhaled the air I had inhaled. A gentleman had approached and greeted me. He looked to be in his fifties, with a mix of white hair, a monocle, and dressed formally. He held a cane.

He didn't seem interested in the knight squad.

"Excuse me, what brings you here?"

"Nice to meet you. I am Vario Refla, the director of the Magic Research Bureau."

I was taken aback by the unexpected arrival of a big shot.

"Please, let's get acquainted."

He extended his hand toward me, but—

"Quuuueeee!!"

Amelia jumped onto the stand and tried to bite him.

"Amelia, no!"

"Oops"

Amelia stopped moving, and the director of the Magic Research Bureau withdrew his hand simultaneously.

"Indeed, mythical beasts. Their possessiveness is quite intense."

"It's not possessiveness, it's because you greeted me with a sly smile."

Lise Charlotte bit back at the director of the Magic Research Bureau in a different way. She was fearless.

"My apologies. ...Oh, are you a mage? What a fine staff you have. May I know your name?"

"I am Lise Charlotte Lichtenberg."

"Ah, the daughter of the Lichtenberg Duke. No wonder you have such courage."

Lise Charlotte grabbed the extended hand in a challenging manner.

"Hmm—what a remarkable magical power!"

I was startled by the sight of the director's fingertips. He wore a ring with a crystal, the same type as the one in Zara's house. It was glowing blue, detecting Lise Charlotte's magical power. It was dangerous. If I had shaken his hand, my magical power would have been revealed to the director. Amelia must have known and stopped me. It was a close call.

"Miss Lise Charlotte, would you like to have a chat?"

"No, thank you!"

"Just a short one, please."

The director of the Magic Research Bureau didn't let go of Lise Charlotte's hand. He seemed to be obsessed with magical power. It wouldn't be too much to call him a magical power pervert.

However, I needed to figure out how to handle the situation. Three options came to mind:

Option 1: Punch him

Option 2: Punch him

Option 3: Punch him

I crumpled the knight squad booklet and cautiously approached the director. Just as I raised my hand, someone grabbed the director's hand.

"Wh-Who are you!?"

A middle-aged man in a suit, wearing a hat and dark glasses, had inserted himself between Lise Charlotte and the director.

He silently dragged the director away. I caught a glimpse of his eyes, which had the same color as Lise Charlotte's. It was a familiar, noble-looking gentleman.

The director of the Magic Research Bureau was taken away by the sudden appearance of the man.

"Are you okay, Lise Charlotte?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

The magical power pervert was gone, and peace returned. Still, his obsession with magical power was intense. To go that far with a stranger was quite something.

"Still, it's nice to have helpful people around."

The man in the dark glasses who appeared so gallantly. It was a bit embarrassing, but he looked cool.

"Who could he be? I want to thank him."

He is probably your father. I think the duke was worried about Lise Charlotte and was watching from the shadows. I was unsure whether to reveal the truth or not.