/
Marco’s complexion was pale as he spoke, it seemed like he was suffering from heavy work.
Feeling sorry for him, Siervian replied with a brighter smile, “Yes!”
It took longer than she expected to reach the Welfare Foundation located in the commoner district.
She was so immersed in studying and devoting herself to learning magic for the first time. So she had forgotten about the Welfare Foundation.
Today, Marco told her he had something to discuss, so her schedule was adjusted quickly.
‘I’ve been too careless recently, I should pay attention to them as well.’
This day, she was visiting them officially as the Princess, so a carriage bearing the sign of the Princess’ Palace passed through the commoner district proudly.
Unlike her last visit, a lot of attention was focused on the carriage.
It felt strange for her to go out confidently like this.
“Look at that building, Princess.”
“Oh!”
While enjoying the commoner district, she could see a brown building in the distance.
It was a relatively large building in a row of small buildings.
“That building is a headache for the owner so we acquired it easily.”
“Why?”
“That place used to be a pretty big mercenary guild. After they moved on, no one needed a place that big. You know those big mercenary guilds prefer the aristocrat district.”
“Ah…”
Actually, Siervian hadn’t known that, so she merely nodded.
Then suddenly she remembered something and tilted her head.
“Other than that, is there a big building that hasn’t been sold for a long time?”
“In the commoner district? I don’t think so.”
‘By any chance, was this the building that was supposed to be purchased by the Justice Guild?’
Siervian’s eyes opened wide in response to the unexpected thoughts.
The Justice Guild would move to the commoner district and buy a large building that had been left unattended.
The public mocked the guild leader’s decision, but soon they changed their collective mind when the Justice Guild prospered.
The guild leader must have deliberately bought this large and abandoned building in anticipation for the future.
“Hmm, if it was a building this size, there might be one near the aristocrat district.”
“Really?”
“But it wouldn’t be left unattended for a long time because a lot of people would want it. Are you searching for something?”
“…No.”
Siervian shook her head as she felt cold sweat running down her back.
‘I guess this is really the building.’
It seemed that she unintentionally took away the Justice Guild’s building.
‘I have to give them a heads up later.’
This building wasn’t necessarily important, but she decided to keep it in mind just in case.
“This three-story building will be used as the mercenary guild’s office. We also decorated the large room on the back as a space for the children to live in.”
When they arrived, Marco introduced her here and there with a smile.
He looked exceptionally happy, so when she read his thoughts, she discovered that he was happy to do the mercenary guild’s task because it was his dream since childhood.
‘What a relief.’
Come to think of it, she had been too careless when she first looked for him. Nonetheless it was great that her plan succeeded.
“Your Highness!”
She was curious about where the children lived, so she came in person. She headed toward the Welfare Foundation’s building before the mercenary guild.
Then Madeleine came out from one side with a bright smile.
She seemed different for some reason. It was awkward to see her approaching her so happily. Was it because they weren’t in the Palace?
“I found a clue!”
“Huh? A clue?”
Madeleine held something out with a very excited face. Her hands were covered with dirt and grass, but she didn’t mind.
Rather, Siervian smiled brightly while taking the item from Madeleine’s hand.
“It’s Cassia!”
It was the flower that saved Madeleine’s daughter and Ellie’s younger sibling’s life.
Worried about the Welfare Foundation with so many children, Siervian told Marco about the Cassia that grew in the Princess’ Palace. She told him to bring the roots to this building.
Since mana was needed to grow the Cassia, sometimes Tanka would stop by to supply mana.
“Yes! I’m grateful to receive your blessings!”
“Ah, a few days ago, the children caught a fever.”
“What?”
Marco’s additional explanation surprised Siervian.
She wondered why Madeleine was so excited and thought that must be it.
“The persistent fevers were familiar, so I tried using Cassia immediately. Then the fever went down!”
“What a relief!”
She thought it was good that she prepared in advance.
It was also because she was worried about the contagious fever the children had.
“In the process, I was able to reach new findings in my research. It was all thanks to you!”
She suddenly realized Madeleine’s hand was shaking. She probably remembered the time when her daughter almost died from fever and was nervous unconsciously.
Siervian clenched the thing Madeleine gave her even more tightly in her fist. She felt strangely warm hearing her.
“No, it’s you! You’re a great doctor!”
“P, princess!”
[Madeleine]
Affection: +50
Thoughts: As expected, I should work hard and die here! Thank you for trusting me, Princess. I’ll pay you back someday!
Madeleine had been talking to her without hesitating and was about to return to her gloomy self, so Siervian quickly turned away.
Now that she talked about Cassia, she remembered something else that would also help her.
“Where are the Cassias?”
“Come this way. The children are taking good care of it.”
On the way to the children’s room, they stopped by a small garden.
At first glance, she could see yellow flowers dominating the garden in the middle.
“I’ll put mana on it!”
“Oh, come to think of it. You started studying magic.”
“Yes.”
Although compared to a skilled mage like Tanka, she was still nothing.
Siervian had only noticed the mana flow just a few days earlier.
“It’s gonna take a while. Are you alright with it?”
“Of course.”
Since Marco nodded, Siervian began to concentrate.
[Marco William]
Thought: That Tanka guy is capable, but he’s not reliable. I’ll have to see for myself if the flowers died or not.
Well yes, Tanka was quite lazy.
‘Let’s concentrate on this warm feeling. I’m a beginner so I wonder what the result would be if I concentrated for a while.’
The mana flow which swept around and resembled the wind, slowly grew cold.
‘I don’t know when the children will get sick again. So I must raise this Cassia well. Please help me.’
Siervian asked for a favor to the air without realizing it due to her nervousness. At that moment, just as she seemed to have caught it, she clearly felt the mana flow in her fingertips.
‘It’s time.’
Catching the mana flow, Siervian concentrated again. As if weaving a thread, the mana moved to the Cassia flower. The cluster of lights slowly landed on the petals and became dew.
“Are you done?”
“Yes!”
Marco had been silent for a long time then asked her. He seemed subtly to be asking for confirmation. But shouldn’t he see the shining light?
‘Oh, could it only be seen by the mages?’
Siervian quickly accepted the explanation and urged Marco to hurry up and show her the other parts of the building.
She felt sorry for taking too much of his time.
Then, Madeleine carefully dug up some Cassia and ran to her lab.
“I think we’ll have to hire more people if the mercenary guild receives more requests. When that time comes, I’m going to use this first floor as a waiting room.”
“Requests?”
“Yes, as the mercenary guild grows larger, sometimes we will be commissioned.”
They could buy what the client wanted instead and could deliver the packages.
Such individual requests would bring in a lot of money because they would be dealing with nobles.
[Marco William]
Thought: Well, this is a commoner district, so I don’t know how many commissions there will be.
But it can’t be helped as the environment is better here for children to grow up. I’ll have to think about this later.
Marco feared that if he spoke aloud, his comments would fall into the children’s ears. He acted thoughtfully.
Thanks to that, Siervian also began to worry. She wanted to be helpful for the mercenary guild.
“In addition, our mercenary guild is similar to a place operated by the Imperial Palace, so it’s better to think about it more.”
“Yes!”
“Okay, this is the office for the mercenary guild’s leader. It is now used by Count Navid temporarily.”
An elegant office was located on the top floor of the mercenary guild’s building.
It was decorated as if it was created for Siervian when she became an adult.
‘Here…!’
Although she had to find a home, the foundation for the mercenary guild was built well by her brother and father.
Siervian had nearly achieved her dream of independence and sat down in a seat with a happy face.
Marco naturally gave her a seat and brought up another topic.
“I asked you to meet me today because of our mercenary guild’s short term funding plan.”
“Short term funding plan? Siervy knows that! It’s the movement of money for a short time!”
“Oh, you’re smart! That’s correct.”
Marco told her that the sales and export of the Conoa-scented candles would take more time.
That was why she needed items that could generate income for them more quickly.
“So, do you have any good ideas?”
Siervian predicted that Vuingpi feathers would become popular, so he was probably asking if there was anything else she noticed in the Imperial Palace.
Organizing her thoughts, Siervian began to tell him about what she had been thinking while heading to the Foundation.