Princess Annette’s Treatment
It seems that leaving Princess Annette in the care of the McFarlane’s or the Vardmoi’s wouldn’t be ideal.
In the end, it would come down to the royal family taking care of her, and since her background is known, she can't simply be employed for etiquette training.
The same applies to other noble houses.
If her true identity is discovered, it could become a spark for family conflict.
Because of this, they decided that someone like me, distanced from noble lineages and safe enough to entrust with Princess Annette, would be the most suitable candidate.
Hmm, I have to say, I’d appreciate some time to think this over.
“Um, what exactly would be the benefits for me to take in Princess Annette?”
“That’s the issue. If we can't offer you any compensation, there's no point. Do you have anything you desire?”
Something I desire... something I desire...
Even if you ask me out of the blue, that's difficult to answer.
After pondering with my hand on my forehead, I could only come up with one thing.
“I’d like magic stones. If I have to take care of Princess Annette, I won’t have time to go out and gather magic stones myself. Without a consistent supply, it would affect my earnings.”
“Hmm, understood. I shall grant you a license to handle magic stones. Additionally, I’ll include a clause in the contract for regular deliveries of magic stones. How many would you require?”
“Umm, I’d need over 40 stones of Ogre-level quality or higher every week. With that, I can maintain the production of Mana Spider Silk.”
“… In other words, you can’t make Frost Spider Silk?”
“When I was producing Frost Spider Silk, it was to face Frost Wyverns. I’d need stones of equivalent quality.”
“I’ll agree to that too. Do you have any other requests?”
Other requests... Oh, right.
I need to clarify this as well.
“I don't have enough guards for Princess Annette. The current guards are here to protect me, so I can't be sure they can also watch over Princess Annette. Is it possible to increase the number of guards?”
“Guards, huh? That’s a bit challenging. There aren’t any trustworthy enough guards at the moment who I’d feel safe placing near Princess Annette. Lady Plum, could you not summon someone from the Darshe Principality?”
“That would be difficult. I called for Lily's attendants since she's my benefactor, but I have no connection to this girl named Annette. If she’s under Lily’s care, I can look out for her to some extent, but full-time protection is another matter. That’s a bit too much to ask.”
“I see. That’s troubling…”
Hmm, it seems Rumaja was genuinely troubled by this.
Both the Duke McFarlane and the Marquis Vardmoi seem concerned but have left the matter entirely to Rumaja, suggesting they expect her to handle it without forcing the issue on me.
They're likely thinking that if they pressure me, I might just leave, given that I have connections in the Darshe Principality.
I’d like to do something for Princess Annette as well, but it’s a tough situation.
If the matter of her security were settled, I’d be willing to take her in.
“Hmm, you do seem to be in quite a predicament.”
“Plum, please, that’s a bit…”
“What’s lacking is simply the guards, isn’t it? Then all you need to do is increase the number of guards.”
Just increase them…?
Everyone’s struggling precisely because that’s not so easy to do.
Whether she’s aware of our feelings or not, Plum presented a solution.
“Have Lily tame more monsters. Of course, weak monsters would be meaningless. Seek powerful monsters that Lily could tame. Rumaja, as the head of the Adventurers’ Guild, surely that’s not impossible?”
Plum, that suggestion is a bit unreasonable.
However, since Rumaja didn’t argue, she likely believes it’s the best option.
But, even though I’m a tamer, Talat is unique...
I wonder if I can really tame other monsters.
What do you think about this chapter?
