Anoseka Volume 2 Chapter 4

This is MTL. So, I cannot guarantee that the translation 100% contextually accurate or appropriate.

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Chapter 4 "Fun School Festival"

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Part 1

The school festival is held for three days.

On the first and second days, the students put out their program as if it were a cultural festival.

Then, on the third day, a competition like an athletic festival is held.

The first and second days of the event will be held with guests invited from outside the school.

But on the third day only invited guests are allowed to watch the competition.

In other words, it is like holding a cultural festival and a sports festival at the same time.

The students will not perform as a class unit, but will participate in groups.

If you spend your school life alone, it will become a very difficult event.

In my case, Daniel and Raymond —— and adding Marie with me, the four of us were going to have a stall.

Today, with the school festival just around the corner, we were at a place where we were going to set up a food stall.

While we were busy doing all sorts of things like setting up and putting up our tools, I complained.

"Actually, I wanted to open a tea house."

Marie, who was preparing with me, looked at me in amazement.

"We decided to compete elsewhere because there are lots of people opening cafes. Even those two are earnest in their purchasing, so why don't you work too, Leon."

Daniel and Raymond are desperately trying to earn points from Marie.

They agree with Marie no matter what she says and are happy to do chores when she asks them.

Thanks to that, even though I told them I wanted to open a cafe, they respected Marie's opinion.

Since it's just me and Marie here, Luxion is faintly visible.

[Master is not giving up either. In the first place, you just want to run a cafe to satisfy your personal desires without regard for profit.]

He hit the bull's-eye.

From my point of view, it's a personal reason to open a cafe.

I don't mind if we end up in the red.

After all, I'm a rich man now.

Marie turns her half-open eyes on me.

"Ignoring profit margins is the worst thing to do, isn't it. Do you seriously want to make money?"

Marie's seriousness makes me draw away.

"It would be weird to earn a living through the school festival —— Areh?"

As I'm making preparations, I see a single female student in my field of vision.

It was Olivia-san who walked while paying attention to her surroundings so as not to get in the way.

I saw her holding a thick book in her arms, was she on her way home from the library?

The way she was concerned about her surroundings, she seemed frightened for some reason.

I was curious to see her condition, and it seemed that Marie also stopped her hand and looked at Olivia.

"She's thinner than before."

"Is that so?"

I was told that Olivia-san looked like she had lost weight, and I wondered if she had?

When I tilted my head, Greg was coming up to her.

"Olivia! Here you are! Hey, if you're not going to join the school festival's program, why don't you come and eat with me?"

"Eh? ——Ah, yes."

For a moment —— a very slight moment, I thought I could see a very painful look on Olivia's face.

But she soon walks away with Greg.

If Greg invites her to go out to eat, it won't be a problem.

"I'm glad to see that the protagonist is smoothly conquering the young nobles. Well, I guess I'll finish my work too."

When I resumed my preparations, Marie looked more serious, so I worried and called out to her.

"Is there something bothering you? Don't tell me you're envious of her again?"

"You're a simpleton, aren't you"

"Eh?"

"Look around."

When Marie told me to look around, I observed that many students were watching Olivia and Greg walking side by side.

I also hear voices.

"After His Highness, the heir to the Seberg family is also crazy about her."

"Is the scholarship student a witch or some kind of monster?"

"Why was such a woman chosen and I wasn't?"

——It seems that she is getting a lot of resentment from the people around.

I let out a small sigh.

"If it's that otome game, things should calm down gradually——"

Unlike me, who is a little worried, Marie seems to doubt the game scenario.

"I wish it would settle that easily."

Since the problem seemed to be deep-rooted, it didn't seem like it would be easily resolved, even to me.

Then Daniel and Raymond came back from their purchases, and we dropped the subject.

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Part 2

On the day of the school festival.

"Welcome~!! It's cheap, it's cheap!"

Marie, who works at a food stall, was raising her voice to attract customers.

Our stall sells donuts.

Thinking that ordinary donuts would not appeal to people, Marie came up with an idea and sprinkled colorful chocolate sprays on them as much as possible.

I'm making it into a ball donut so that it can be put in a cup and skewered and eaten —— but I keep making donuts with mixed feelings.

"I don't think I'd want to eat this."

Next to me giving donuts, Daniel and Raymond were also busy working.

Ball donuts are placed in cups and decorated with toppings.

"You'd better get to work, too."

"That's right. It will be Marie-san's important living expenses."

These guys are doing their best to help the unfortunate Marie, but they also have an ulterior motive for wanting to be introduced to female students, so they can't be honestly happy about it.

I continue to silently make donuts.

Fortunately, there is no surplus in large quantities.

The reason is that Marie has successfully captured the interest of customers and is selling donuts one after the other.

For that, though, I'll have to keep making donuts.

"That Marie is plain awesome."

Sometimes by force, sometimes by talk, and sometimes by tears —— I am impressed with the way she uses every means to sell donuts.

As I muttered, Luxion, who was hiding, spoke to me.

I don't know how he does it, but Daniel and Raymond, who are busy working next to me, don't seem to hear Luxion's voice.

[Shouldn't Master learn from her?]

"I don't want to work because I'm rich."

[That's a lousy statement.]

"I don't hate myself for being such a lousy person, though. If anything, I love it because it's just like me."

I accept who I am now, and even though I say I love myself, Luxion ignores me.

He switched the topic to donuts.

[Rather than that, please remove the donut from the oil.]

"Yes, yes."

I simply take out the donuts as instructed by Luxion and they are just about ready to go.

It was easy for me because all I had to do was move my hands as I was told.

[——Master, the second donut from the right does not meet the product standard. Please follow the portion size properly. They are too small.]

But this guy nagged at every turn.

"You're too detailed. I'll eat it when I take a break, so that's fine, right."

When I was talking with Luxion, Marie's voice echoed.

"Welcome~!! Would you like a colorful ball donut~!!"

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Part 3

Break time.

With the failed donuts, I left the stall and sat down on a bench in a less popular area.

It is helpful to have a place where there are no school festival programs because it is less crowded and more relaxing.

I came to this place to deal with some failed ones and have lunch.

I invited Marie to join me, but the donuts were more popular than I expected and sold one after another, so she continued to sell them without lunch.

She was saying that I couldn't stop laughing.

I honestly admire that guy's motivation for work, but I'm not trying to learn from her.

"I've been making so many donuts, so I'm kind of sick of looking at them."

[You said you were going to take care of the failed products, right? It's Master's mistake, so it can't be helped.]

"You hate me, don't you."

[I don't like you, but I don't hate you either.]

"What's with the ambiguous answer? Even for an artificial intelligence, you're not very clear."

Eat a donut with a munch.

Thanks to the recipe that Luxion had prepared, it was of high quality for a student to make at a school festival.

"Ah, it's pretty good."

[It’s only natural since I helped you.]

I quickly finished the first one and was just about to bite into the second one —— when a female student passed in front of me.

The girl was walking with her head down and seemed to be thinking a bit.

Such a girl suddenly presses her stomach with both hands.

By coming in front of me, she must have smelled the sweet smell of the donuts, because her stomach made a lovely "ku~" sound.

Her face turns red and the girl looks at me.

"D-Did you hear that?"

Normally, I'm a gentleman who pretends not to hear "Yes?" But when I saw the girl, I nodded my head somewhat nervously.

"Ah, yes——N-No, I didn't hear it!"

It was too late to correct it in a hurry, and the girl —— Angelica-san blushed and started to make excuses.

"I-I was so busy that I didn't have time to eat lunch. B-Besides —— there were no people who are usually by my side today, and"

I don't know what she was trying to say, but I could tell she was hungry.

After all, Angelica's eyes are glancing at the donuts in my hand.

I thought she was a more arrogant girl, but the gap looks cute.

My nerves subsided and I held out the cup with the donut in it.

"Do you want some?"

Angelica is puzzled.

"A-Are you sure?"

"Go ahead."

"I'm sorry —— I'll pay for it later."

It seems that she does not have small money or intends to come back to the stall later to pay for the food as he accrues change.

However, I could not receive payment for these donuts.

"Please don't worry about it because it's the failed ones."

When I say that, Angelica is surprised as she bites into the donut with her small mouth.

"Failed ones?"

She looked worried, so I reassured her that it was okay.

"It's a failure, like the size is too big or too small. There's a guy who's picky and won't let me sell the product if it doesn't meet his product standards."

"They're good enough. If anything, the little ones are crunchy, which I prefer."

"That's good to know."

Angelica-san sits down beside me and eats the donut deliciously.

Angelica-san, without her cronies, gives a different impression than usual and feels relaxed. (TLN: This is Angelica? I think she's a new character)

Usually, she has an unapproachable aura about her, but now I don't feel it in the slightest.

"The people around me won't let me eat this kind of food. It is so refreshing."

The villainess of that otome game —— Angelica.

However, the sight of her eating donuts didn't make her look like a bad person.

Marie has said it before.

The protagonist who steals someone's fiancée is a much worse person, she said.

I'm not in a position to say anything about other people, though, since Marie was the one who almost committed such an act that could be called an evil person.

When Angelica-san finished eating the donuts, she looked a little sad.

"What's wrong? Was it still no good?"

I was worried that it didn't suit her palate, but Angelica looked at me and smiled.

"No, it was delicious. But I never thought I would get a chance to talk to Bartfalt-dono like this."

"——Eh? Y-You know me?"

How did Angelica know about me?

Seeing me in a cold sweat, Angelica-san is smiling like a mischievous child.

"You are a successful adventurer and the man who captured the sky pirates who were hiding in the royal capital. You should be aware that you are a well-known person."

"No, it was, look —— just a coincidence or a lucky shot."

"I think it's a great accomplishment, even if it's a result of luck. You should be more proud of yourself. ——Now, I have to go. I'll thank you next time for the donuts."

Angelica stands up with a giggle and leaves happily.

"Am I famous?"

[It's shocking that you did so much and didn't realize it.]

I brushed off Luxion's fault-finding comment and, after scratching my head, decided to get up and head back to the food stall.

If I don't get back soon, Marie will complain.

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Part 4

After parting ways with Leon, Angelica felt a little better.

(Not as bad as I thought. That personality might be just what His Highness needs on his side.)

By chance, she had the opportunity to talk with Leon, and her impression of him was more than she could have expected.

(I will introduce him to His Highness in the near future. I am sure that His Highness, who wants to enjoy school life, will accept the opportunity to expand his friendships.)

In order to improve her relationship with Julius as much as possible, Angelica was thinking of making her own approach.

And she recalls the taste of the donuts she ate.

(I've eaten something similar a few times, but today's donuts felt exceptional. —— Will there be another chance to eat it?)

Angelica still remembered the taste of the donuts she and Leon had eaten together.

Lately, everything has been a headache with all the problems, but just now she felt released, like she could forget about everything.

(I said I'd be grateful. Should I send him some sweets next time? Or should I get him something else?)

As she thought of a gift to thank Leon, she smiled without even realizing it.

However, a female student comes in front of Angelica that she doesn't want to run into.

That female student, walking face down, was unaware that Angelica was there.

When the smile fades from Angelica's face, she calls out to the girl —— Olivia as she passes her.

"It seems that His Highness likes you quite a lot, scholarship student."

"Heh?"

Olivia looks up in surprise, and when she realizes that it is Angelica, her face turns pale.

She tried to say something, but all she could do was move her mouth.

Angelica furrowed her brows.

"I hear you are good friends with Jilk and the other guys. Their fiancées are worried. They're getting too crazy about the scholarship student."

"No, you're wro——Because, ano!"

Olivia was desperately trying to say something, but Angelica didn't care.

Rather, she didn't even want to look at her now.

——She feels as if her earlier good mood has been ruined, which makes her feel even more angry.

"You ignored my warning. ——Don't forget that."

(What are you thinking of, deceiving His Highness, who will eventually succeed to the throne? Even if you were to marry His Highness, become a concubine, and enter the royal palace, a power struggle awaits you. How can a commoner's daughter like you live in peace?)

After saying that, Angelica leaves.

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Part 5

Olivia was seriously shocked by Angelica's words.

"W-What——should I do——"

Olivia has recently come to understand that Angelica, the daughter of a Duke, holds a high position among the nobility.

Due to the fact that she has little or no interaction with the female students, she is unable to obtain detailed information.

Also, Julius and the others do not like to talk about Angelica.

"If I talk to His Highness Julius and the others, this time I will offend Angelica. What should I do? If I do that, my hometown will be——"

The words that had been said to her by other girls in the past flashed back.

When she angers Angelica, she imagines that the Duke will send an army to turn Olivia's hometown into a sea of fire.

"I'm scared——Anyone, help me——"