Chapter 60

I was busy with the New Year.

I plan to update more leisurely from now on.

The third point that feels off is what the former prime minister said about his humble origins and how he gained knowledge by wandering through towns.

It seems possible to gain knowledge over five years, but the former prime minister from a poor village probably didn't have much money.

Furthermore, even if he tried to do some menial work, without an education, it's unlikely he could get a high-paying job.

Even if he did gain knowledge, how did the House of Gallius notice him? There are many mysteries, to be honest.

There's only one thing that comes to mind.

"The most plausible explanation is that someone helped or assisted him."

"Yes, I thought the same. However, the former Duke of Gallius is dead, so the truth remains in the dark."

It's almost certain that someone intervened, but we don't know who.

It's likely that the person or their associate eliminated the former prime minister. Tendo, who calls himself Tendo, is also a suspect, but I don't think it was him, just a hunch.

On the other hand, Tendo might know something, but I can't meet him even if I want to.

"Understood. Thanks to Owl, we have a direction for our investigation. You can go home for today. If you remember anything else, show this hand sign to the guards, and you can meet me. I'm sorry, but I need your help for a while longer."

"Understood. I'm quite busy, but I'll assist you as much as I can."

"Yes, that's fine. Consider this a favor to me, alright?"

I'm a bit concerned about his smirking, but I don't really want anything anyway.

"Yes, please. I'll leave now, then."

So, I ended up agreeing to help if anything comes up... Well, I'm already in too deep, so it's fine.

Why am I so involved in this? I'm just a commoner, after all. Anyway, if I meet Tendo, I'll ask him about this.

Honestly, there's not much I can do until then.

When I got home, the two weren't there; they were out adventuring again.

Adventurers, huh...

Thanks to selling recipes to the Lebrant Guild, I'm not as busy as before. However, with the academy, it's a bit of a balance.

To be honest, I was getting a bit tired of making sweets. I've always been quick to get bored, and it seems that hasn't changed much even after reincarnation... though it seems to take a bit longer than in my previous life.

Recently, I've been attending the academy and often participating in mock battles with Yolnarde. I feel like my classmates, except for Ray and Marco, are keeping their distance from me.

Maybe they see me as a monster, but that doesn't matter right now.

The point is, I'm starting to lose interest in being an adventurer. Everyone knows adventurers are free, but are they really that free?

Still, there's no need to rush.

...Now that they've succeeded as adventurers, do they want to be freed from slavery?

"Welcome back!"

"Hehe, Master is back."

"Welcome back, both of you. I've made dinner, so let's eat."

Today's menu is bread, tomato-stewed cabbage rolls, spring vegetable salad, and grilled wild boar.

I'm quite confident about today's cabbage rolls. I debated between tomato stew and consommé, but I'm definitely a tomato stew person.

"Hey, both of you. If it's possible, would you want to be freed from slavery?"

"?! Why are you saying that? Are we in the way...?"

"Is there something we've done wrong?"

They were quite shocked by my words. Luna was almost in tears.

"Calm down, both of you. That's not what I meant. ...You've both been doing a great job, and I appreciate your help. It's just that you've succeeded as adventurers, so I wanted to ask what you want to do from now on. Even if you're freed, you can still stay here."

"Even if I'm freed, I want to stay here. This is my home! Plus, it's nice to have a connection to Master as a slave."

"I also want to stay here. My old friends are gone, and I've made new ones. Plus, I have a wonderful Master."

It's quite touching to hear that. I want to hug them, but I'll hold back.

I didn't expect them to want to stay as slaves, but it's secretly a relief.

"I understand your feelings. So, I'll count on you both from now on. But if anything comes up, let me know."

However, I decided to give them a day off every week. I've been giving them occasional breaks, but I strictly ordered them to take a day off every week.

If I didn't, they would have continued adventuring indefinitely. I also wanted to give them some freedom. They seem to be busy on their days off, and it's good to know they've made friends in the capital.

I'm glad we talked, but there's a sense of dissonance between what I thought and what they're thinking.

Maybe I'm not the type to think that deeply, but I feel like I'm not myself.

Being 10 years old might make me more emotionally unstable than I thought...

After the meeting with the king, Tendo didn't appear, so I've been living a peaceful life.

Time flies, and it's already been three months since I enrolled in the academy.

I've gotten used to the academy and can talk to my classmates a bit more. ...I feel like they treat me like I have a contagious disease, but I'm sure it's because of Yolnarde.

Still, there haven't been any significant problems so far, and my academy life is going smoothly.

I thought I might get picked on by noble children, but that hasn't happened.

I think it's because the princess and Alice occasionally talk to me.

Maybe some of the students who know the results of the entrance exam are spreading rumors, but...

I often hear rumors like, "How dare a commoner be friends with a princess and a duchess" or "A commoner is getting too cocky."

They're just rumors for now, but I should keep an eye on how things develop.

While I was thinking about various things in class, Professor Monica entered as usual.

"Alright, everyone's here? I have something to announce, so listen up."

Professor Monica, who is usually cheerful, looked unusually serious. Something must have happened.

"Sorry for the delay, but the school festival will be held in a month. Each class needs to come up with an event, so I want you all to think about it. By the way, other classes, including upper grades, have already decided on their events, so make sure yours is different."

Really, at the last minute...!! A month might seem like a lot of time, but it's actually not that much!

"Here's a list of what other classes are doing. The school festival will last three days, by the way."

A girl in the class wrote the list on the blackboard. The contents were quite unusual, very different from the cultural festivals I experienced in my previous life.

- Instant Noble Experience

- Delicious Food Festival

- Cavalry Riding Experience

- Magic Demonstration

- Play: "The Hero and the Demon King - The Final Battle"

- Noble Exchange Event

- Ballroom Dancing Experience

And so on...

While they seem to target commoners to some extent, I doubt many commoners will participate. I won't say anything, though.

Still, I'm a bit curious about the play. ...Oh, it's being done by the seniors. I definitely want to see it.

"By the way, you're supposed to collect money from the guests. The group with the highest revenue will receive a grand prize from the principal, so do your best!"

I'm a bit excited about the grand prize from this scale of an academy.

I should try to get into the spirit of the academy and participate more.

I want to enjoy my student life to the fullest. Of course, I need to be careful to some extent.

I don't like getting involved in trouble, but I also want to have fun and experience youth with my friends. Even with the memories of my past life, I'm 10 years old in this world, and my mind is now Owl's.

So, what should we do for the school festival?

Most of the class consists of children of commoners and merchants, with a few noble children.

Even the commoners are children recognized by local nobles, probably the children of maids or commoners with connections to nobles.

So, they have some knowledge and education.

Fortunately, there are no arrogant noble children in this class.

Ray and Marco are kind to commoners, and the other noble children understand commoners, so I'm lucky with my class.

The girl who wrote on the blackboard is in charge, but it seems we don't have any good ideas yet.

It's understandable that commoners wouldn't have many ideas when asked to come up with something on the spot.

Since the school festival is open to everyone, including commoners, merchants, and nobles, we need to attract a wide range of guests to aim for the top revenue.

That narrows down our options.

"Hey, Owl, do you have any good ideas?"

"Yes, I was thinking the same. I have a feeling Owl has a good plan."

Marco and Ray have high expectations, but I'm not sure if I can come up with something good.

"To avoid overlapping with other classes and upper grades, and to maximize revenue, food-related events are probably the best."

"I thought about that too, but other classes are also doing food stalls."

Marco has a point. There might be many food stalls, but they're mostly for eating inside.

The other classes, composed of nobles, might not have noticed this.

"I think we should sell food from a food cart. That way, people can eat while walking, and it will serve as good advertising."

In such a large academy, effective advertising is crucial for attracting guests.

Nobles might have ways to advertise, but we don't need to.

"Yes, I didn't think of that. However, many nobles dislike eating while walking. How do we handle that?"

"I've thought about that too. We'll provide designated eating areas. We'll have different grades of seating."

I came up with three levels of dining areas. To increase turnover, we'll have time limits.

Commoners won't mind eating while walking, and it will appeal to the vanity of nobles who want something special or to show off.

We'll also have different grades of food to sell.

For commoners and merchants, we'll have items priced in copper and silver coins. For nobles, we'll have items priced in gold coins.

When I suggested this, everyone agreed unanimously that our class's event would be a food cart.

The professor was so excited that he left to secure the location. It seems the location meeting was today.

...Is it okay for him to forget such an important thing?

"We agree to the food cart, but we need to decide what to sell."

"Yes... It's difficult to find something that's easy to eat while walking and can generate high revenue."

"Will we have to gather the materials ourselves?"

The girl who wrote on the blackboard asked. The professor explained to her earlier.

According to her, there are no set rules for gathering materials. Usually, nobles use their family's resources to prepare everything.

So, the class of commoners, Class 10, always ends up in last place.

The academy provides some preparation funds, but if you want to do more, you have to pay for it yourself.

In other words, you can use anything you can prepare yourself.

"So, it's basically anything goes, right?"

"Yes, it is."

"Right, it's a free-for-all. I'm up for it!"

To find something that appeals to everyone, is easy to prepare, and can be adjusted in quality, and is easy to source...

...How about fried chicken?

The oil is relatively cheap, and I can ask Luna and Yomi for the meat.

For eating while walking, pita bread seems like a good option. Thanks to Lebrant, it's quite popular in the capital.

For the sauce, a spicy chicken sauce might go well with leafy vegetables and pita bread.

We can also have salted chicken with lemon or mayonnaise.

These are simple and easy to prepare. Even if they become popular, it shouldn't be a problem.

I can prepare the sauce myself, so it shouldn't be easy to copy.

Skewers were also suggested, but after I shared my idea, we decided not to do skewers this time.

Lebrant can provide the necessary equipment, and I'll ask the two for the meat when I get home.

With a month, we should be able to secure a significant amount.

Our goal is to be the top revenue earner! Let's aim for an upset in Class 10!

I'll update regularly.

I'd appreciate your reviews and bookmarks.