Refuse Harem
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Prius
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 029 – Dear Tenma, I Am Already Thirteen Years Old. I Have Become a Fine Lady VI
Bart took out a wine bottle he brought out from the storehouse and poured some into the glass of a man who had a tougher childhood compared to himself, who grew up in an orphanage.
“Is it really okay for us to drink this?”
As Creto leaned on the sofa, he looked at the glass and wine bottle that was passed to him.
“Yes. Sophie-sama asked us to drink and tell her our impressions about it.”
“Fu-hn.”
Creto tilted his glass with a familiar gesture and smelled the scent. By that point, he realized the wine would be greater than all other wines he had. He took a sip and his eyes widened.
“Uwah… this is one of those amazing liquors, right? Is it from another nation?”
“It seems to be a fruit wine made from rare fruits produced in Daksha Kingdom.”
“This is definitely better stuff than what we drank at the viscount’s house earlier.”
“It seems this wine is of a superior class that is supposed to be served only to royalty.”
“…Why are we drinking such a thing again?”
Silence fell between the pair.
The answer was simple: because Sophie’s parents didn’t like to drink liquor that much, and Sophie herself was still below legal drinking age. Due to those reasons, the pair was appointed to judge the quality of the liquor.
Although the baron’s butler managed the inventory, the pair saw what Sophie bought and what was gifted for her. However, the thought that former orphans got to taste the wine that was supposedly served for royalty made them feel weird as they came to their senses. It was a bit too late for that though.
“Is it really okay to drink it all?”
“Sophie-sama said that she’ll turn it into trade goods if the quality is certain.”
“I think the nobles who can actually purchase it will be limited though?”
If people were to buy this kind of liquor, it would cost them a lot of gold. It wasn’t something easily bought unless said aristocrats were fairly high-ranked.
“Daksha Kingdom’s side said they wanted it to be paid not with gold, but with sugar.”
“Daksha Kingdom has a lot of crops that can be used as raw material to produce sugar, right? They should have more sugar compared to other nations.”
“Yes. They indeed have a lot of sugar. It’s just, the sugar Sophie-sama’s produced has less impurities and has better qualities overall.”
As Bart explained the difference in values, Creto was convinced.
“It seems that rather than choosing high-quality goods as price, they chose to avoid having ojou-san’s mood soured.”
“Of course they would.”
Other than Rusha Kingdom, where Sophie picked up Creto from, Sophie had also visited the scorching Daksha Kingdom. The merchant who met her back then managed to notice the wisdom of young Sophie and didn’t look down on her throughout their entire interaction.
“As expected of ojou-san.”
As Creto muttered his admiration while remembering the fairy-like pretty girl’s face, Bart glared at him.
“You should fix your tone toward Sophie-sama soon.”
“Okay, okay.”
Bart already told Creto to fix his tone toward Sophie over and over.
However, of course, Creto purposely didn’t fix his tone.
As long as they considered the time, place, and occasion, Sophie didn’t hate speaking in a casual tone. Rather, she even looked happy when they talked to her the same way as when they first met her. Therefore, he didn’t fix it.
There was also Creto’s consideration that she, the girl he admired, might be unable to differentiate him from Bart, the man who stayed closest to her. Creto definitely didn’t keep his casual tone out of disrespect for her.
The only reason Creto even bothered to wear the suits provided to him at the royal capital was Sophie. Personally, Creto preferred to wear rough clothes and work with soil in the field, but having such an appearance in the capital would bring shame to her. Therefore, he played the role of a good young man in public.
Bart was complaining to Creto while understanding his feelings.
It was Bart who first abandoned the times when they all called each other by their names directly and talked casually.
He abandoned his status as a friend and chose to be a person who served her. He pretended to not see the lonely expression of the girl as he knelt before her. That was the right thing to do. To stay with her as long as he could, that was the correct thing he ought to do. The man, who drew a line to be able to stay together with his precious girl, was envious of the man who chose not to draw his line.
As the silence once again grew between the pair, it was the girl they loved that broke the silence with a loud noise.
“I’ve lost! I couldn’t win, despite using all my conversation skills I cultivated over the years! Everything becomes powerless in front of okaa-sama’s glittering eyes! It made me keenly aware of my powerlessness! Yes, I’m disappointed in myself!”
She was energetic, despite it being late at night, and as she walked quickly toward the pair, she sank vigorously on the sofa.
“Sophie-sama…”
“Ojou-san, please mind some manners…”
“That’s not the thing you should point out right now!”
No, that’s also an important thing, thought the two.
They were in the exclusive room for servants, which definitely wasn’t a place for a young lady to visit casually. Even the owner of the mansion wouldn’t intrude into such a room.
“Sunny, I’m sorry but can you please make some tea? Since I also called Eric, prepare his and your portion too. We’re going to have a strategy meeting now. As for you guys… oh, is that wine delicious?”
As Sophie saw the bottle of fruit wine on the table, she changed her depressed attitude from earlier and asked for their impression with excitement.
“You see, ojou-san.”
Creto opened his mouth in an attempt to give some sermon to her, but Bart called out to Sunny for two additional teas to prevent him from continuing.
It seemed Bart, who had been with Sophie for a long time, noticed early that she wouldn’t listen to their sermon at this point and gave up doing it altogether. Creto closed his mouth that was hanging open and sighed.
“You can just keep drinking your wine, you know?”
“You said it’ll be a strategy meeting, right? Then it’s not the time to be drunk.”
“But I wanted to know your impression regarding the wine.”
Bart, who was already used to Sophie’s words and deeds, didn’t say anything unnecessarily and delivered his impression.
“It was very delicious. It feels light in the mouth, so I think it’ll be popular among ladies.”
“How is it, Creto?”
“…There are no impurities. The color and scent are also perfect. So much so that I wish to know how to grow the fruits used for it.”
Sophie nodded to the pair’s words. Although her expression earlier was that of a child throwing a tantrum, her expression right now was that of a businesswoman. Even if they were already used to it, the change still surprised them.
“Since it moved you that much, I guess we can start using it for trade.”
Really, it made them doubt that the girl before them was really thirteen years old.
As the pair saw the young lady who was weird since the day they first met, they silently finished their glasses of wine.
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lmao, Thanks for the chapter 😀
yea, thx for the comment too
agreed, thanks for the chapters
roger, thx for the comment