episode_0036

This was Irha’s thought the moment she saw Pisces.

Unlike herself, a very cute and adorable face, a graceful figure..! So far, so good. But ‘Boss’???

Irha had believed without a doubt that she was Ras’s only subordinate, so the current situation was simply bewildering.

“Boss…? Who… who are you to call Ras ‘Boss’…! Ras is *our* Boss-nim.”

Therefore, a questioning tone (which was, of course, not at all frightening) that she wouldn’t normally use burst from Irha’s lips.

‘Oh, really now..?!’

And this was Pisces’s thought upon hearing Irha’s slightly indignant questioning.

Glancing over Irha, she seemed to have a naive and foolish face, and a clumsy-looking body.

Pisces only showed a timid demeanor when it came to opponents like Rosalie, who radiated a sunny aura. In short, she was an example of someone who was strong against the weak and weak against the strong. So, what was the comprehensive combat power Pisces estimated for Irha right now? (By the way, according to Pisces’s standards, combat power = appearance + aura + personality.)

‘She’s… beneath me!’

Pisces, now unchecked, used her experience as a back-alley delinquent to immediately launch a fierce show of dominance.

“Who’s this? I’m Boss Ras’s subordinate. Who are you to look at me like that?”

“Oh…!”

Seeing Irha’s obvious fluster, Pisces constantly churned her clever mind, initiating a pecking order establishment.

“Hey, just by looking at you, it seems like you’ve only run bread errands so far… But unlike a petty errand runner like you, I’m a true ‘confidant,’ got it? How about we try to keep our hierarchy straight?”

“How could you…! No, more importantly, a confidant!”

With Pisces’s accurate assessment and fierce dominance, Irha began to flail, and Pisces visibly started to gloat.

“Hehehe…!! You thieving seagull-like woman, the confidant position is mine, so I hope you don’t aim for it in the future.”

“Thieving seagull?! You… you crow-like woman!”

Eventually, they started a light squabble, and their bickering atmosphere was quite a sight to behold. Should one call it a territorial dispute between a crow and a seagull?

“Ras, aren’t they just too cute? But if they keep this up, Irha might cry. Try to stop them.”

“The sight of subordinates establishing their pecking order is quite rare, isn’t it? It’s a shame to have to stop such a good spectacle.”

Meanwhile, Rosalie and Ras were behind them, watching the two subordinates’ trivial confrontation with amusement.

However, the protagonist of today’s gathering was Irha. If Irha’s mood became down, the surprise would lose its meaning, so Ras decided to step in and mediate appropriately.

“You two should get along. What’s the point of fighting as soon as you meet? Introduce yourselves, shake hands. From now on, you will get along well.”

The atmosphere, with Irha somehow glum from the brief clash and Pisces triumphant, was simply amusing, but Ras roughly adopted a stern demeanor.

“Tch… You said it was a gift, but it’s a complete betrayal. Ras is truly a mess…”

Ras gently stroked Irha’s head, who was shriveled up and grumbling, trying to soothe her.

“The timing was a bit off. When you see the real gift, you’ll regret calling me a mess, won’t you?”

“…?”

With a creak as the door opened, Rosalie, who had subtly gone outside and brought Mirha, unveiled today’s real gift.

“Ta-da-!!!! Irha, look who’s here. This is today’s real gift~”

“Mirha…?? Mirha!!!”

Irha’s downcast expression immediately lifted, as if by magic, the moment she saw her beloved younger sister. Irha quickly jumped up and hugged Mirha tightly.

“Mirha!! I missed you so much. How did you get here!”

“Hehehe! Big Sister~ I came to see you. Ras Oppa brought me.”

Mirha’s mature demeanor was completely gone, replaced by a spoiled younger sister, burying her head in Irha’s arms and acting cute.

At the heartwarming sight, Ras unknowingly broke into a very warm smile and…

“To think the Boss could make such an expression, this is complete favoritism.”

Although she herself felt inexplicably good watching the scene, there was also a grumbling Pisces.

“Mirha, how’s your body? I often heard in your letters that you were too sick to get out of bed.”

Irha had never gone to the capital since Mirha collapsed, but she knew that Mirha’s physical condition wasn’t good enough to move around like this. Especially since Mirha’s condition, as reported in the most recent letter, was at a level where she was barely clinging to life.

“Big Sister, Mirha is fine now. I’m completely healed!! Ras Oppa said he cured me.”

“Ras did?”

Irha looked at Ras with disbelieving eyes, but Ras merely shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“It was just good timing. I didn’t do anything special. Rosalie Teacher-nim went through a lot of trouble.”

“Oh my~ Look at him, he’s shy and giving credit to others. You could brag, Ras. How cute~”

Irha might not truly know how Mirha was cured, or if she was really completely healed, but one thing was certain. The sound of Mirha’s breathing in her arms was as clear and even as it had been when she was healthy in her childhood, and her face glowed with vibrant color.

“Raaas…!!!”

Irha’s voice was choked up, unable to speak, but the way she called Ras’s name was filled with boundless gratitude.

“Ras, I’ll truly repay this kindness by your side my whole life. Whether as a subordinate, or running bread errands… I’ll just repay it all..! I’ll repay it even when I’m a bent old woman.”

“Good. I’ll work you like a wicked employer, so don’t even think about running away.”

Ras chuckled and stroked Irha’s head. Thinking that Irha’s head was like a perfectly round bead, making it wonderful to stroke.

“Oppa..! I’ve decided too. I’ll also be your subordinate, just like Big Sister…!”

However, Mirha said something terrifying in the midst of it, so he had no choice but to firmly cut her off. Ras was not wicked enough to exploit his sister’s first love, a child whose growth plates hadn’t even closed yet, as a subordinate.

“Not you. If you become my subordinate, Rinaldo will resent me terribly, won’t he? Well… anyway, if I’m going to exploit subordinates, I need to feed them well first. Let’s eat our region’s specialty, the Hiols course meal, before it gets cold.”

And so, the luxurious meal for the five people continued for a while.

*

“That was truly delicious. The capital is nice, but I still prefer Leone.”

After finishing the relaxed meal, the five of us went out and sat around a quiet cafe, enjoying teatime. Rosalie Teacher-nim wore the expression of someone who had returned home, contentedly enjoying her dessert. If you look closely, Rosalie Teacher-nim eats even more than Irha, yet her waist is slender and she has no excess fat. Where does all that food go….. As I wondered and observed Rosalie Teacher-nim, I realized that all the nutrients were being converted into immense divine power.

“Nom nom!! Ras, this is the chocolat you bought me last time. I like this.”

“Hmph…! Why emphasize ‘last time,’ I wonder? It’s completely transparent.”

“W-what?! I just said it, okay? Oh, you’re coming to a cafe with Ras for the first time, aren’t you…!”

Meanwhile, Irha and Pisces were once again engaged in a bickering subordinate battle.

“Good grief. Stop boasting about your subordinate prowess in front of the child, and you two will see each other often from now on, so just get along.”

“Right. Boss, where should I stay, by the way? I had no idea you were an academy student….”

Pisces said to me with a slightly troubled expression. From the start, this guy had no idea I was a Leone Academy student and just blindly followed me.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll be paying for your lodging anyway. For now, find a place to stay nearby and live with Mirha for a while. You can look for a house starting tomorrow.”

As a side note, Pisces is like an illegal foreign worker, so naturally, it’s a bit difficult for them to sign housing contracts. Since he’s someone whose identity can’t be easily verified, landlords often don’t accept contracts unless he’s carrying a massive amount of cash or jewels.

“….! My own house!!! Oh yeah!! I’m finally getting a proper home for the first time in my life. Master~ Thank you!!”

Meanwhile, seeing the shrewd Pisces immediately fawning, calling me “Master” and whatnot just because I said I’d find him a house, made me let out a slight sigh.

Looking at the clock, it was almost seven, so it was about time to head back….

“Hey, what are you doing there?”

A grating, annoying voice squawked from behind, suddenly sending my discomfort level soaring. That idiotic Emma had come into the cafe with some boy, spotted me, and came over to pick a fight. How ridiculous that she, supposedly a lady, was walking around with a boy by her side on a weekend evening.

“What am I doing? Drinking tea and eating cake at a cafe.”

I thought about why she was acting like that, and it seemed she was displeased to see me enjoying myself, surrounded by pretty women.

“Ha. You said you didn’t even tell Lizley you were going to the capital, didn’t you? And then what you do when you come back is…”

“Ugh, how annoying. I even sent a heartfelt apology message, so why are *you* squawking at me, and not her? You just focus on your date, and don’t pick fights.”

“W-what? This is practically cheating…”

Just as I was about to retort to Emma’s squawking, an icy cold voice cut her off.

“Emma, that’s enough. From what I hear, you’re being quite rude, aren’t you?”

Rosalie Teacher-nim stood up from her seat, arms crossed, and approached Emma with a cold expression I had never seen before. It just so happened that Emma’s upper body was quite “lacking,” so standing face to face with Rosalie Teacher-nim, a sad “wealth gap” was palpable. I hadn’t felt that at all with Irha or Pisces…. Hang in there, Emma..!

“Regardless… I am an academy professor… Isn’t it only proper and polite to greet me first when you see me? And that’s not the only thing I need to address…”

“Hmph…!”

This ‘manners injection’ seemed to come from some country at the far eastern end of the continent that emphasized etiquette…. And so, Rosalie Teacher-nim’s fierce attack began.

“As expected… a Dragon..! Rosalie Teacher-nim is a Dragon!”

“Ugh… How can I get rid of that woman and take the spot right next to him…?”

And the sight of the subordinate duo muttering to themselves while watching it was, as always, utterly insignificant.