Refuse Harem
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Prius
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 211 – Sophie Linier’s Everyday Hard Work
“Seriously, give me a break!”
The man who called out with a reproachful voice to Sophie, who was sitting on a bench reading a document, was Evert from the Black Stars. His expression was bitter, and his brow furrowed in an exaggerated manner.
His sweet features that usually appealed to older women were now distorted with anger, but that didn’t seem amusing to Sophie, and she reflexively cussed, “All good-looking men must perish.”
No matter how familiar Evert’s face had become with Sophie over the past year and a half, the feeling that all men with high facial value were her enemy was hard to shake.
However, even if she was seething with anger inside, she never let it show and was able to play the part of an elegant lady, saying, “Oh my, what is it? You’re saying that out of the blue.”
Since coming to The King’s Sword, Tasuku’s consciousness, which had been showing up more frequently, had now become a piece of cake for Sophie to restrain.
That said, Evert was already used to Sophie’s shameless smile, and his voice became more irritated.
“Don’t give me that ‘What is it?’ here! Can you at least take a moment to reflect on what you’ve done?! Just half a month ago, you caused a commotion, and today, there’s the hostage commotion…… no, being taken hostage itself is fine. But can’t you at least act like a proper hostage and wait to be rescued?!”
“I did wait properly. I just decided that it would be quicker to deal with it myself after I waited.”
“You’re too quick to make a decision!!”
Evert interrupted, forgetting even to use honorific language.
Seeing him panting, Sophie laughed softly.
“It’s not that I’m quick to make decisions; it is you people who are too slow to take action.”
She spoke venomously. Evert’s shoulders slumped in despair.
This exchange must have happened dozens of times already.
The man, who surprisingly refused to give up, said ostentatiously,
“When I’m with you, I feel like my heart is just not strong enough…… I’ve been having really bad palpitations and arrhythmia lately, maybe because of stress.”
“Oh no, it’s because you’re living an unhealthy lifestyle despite being young. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep. Sleep is important, you know.”
When Sophie told him with a smile that she knew that he had sneaked out of the strict black star’s accommodation and gone out to play every night, Evert flinched for a moment. But he quickly recovered.
“I didn’t have any of such symptoms before Miss Sophie came! Besides, that thing from last time really makes my guts turn cold……”
“That thing from last time?”
Hmm, which one is that?
She didn’t know which one he referred to because there were too many things that came to mind.
As Sophie was lost in thought, Evert slammed his hand on the desk.
“It’s about an incident in the slums! Have you forgotten it already?!”
“Aah~ you mean that one.”
Indeed, a while ago, Sophie went to meet with those in charge of the slums.
There were two main reasons why she went there.
One reason was that an additional underground waterway required land in a corner of the slum, and so the residents were asked to move out.
Although the cost of relocation was covered and a place to live was provided, the people living in the slums were practically being evicted. Naturally, the residents protested.
If it had been a normal government official, he would have realized that the land ownership in the slum area belonged to the state, and would have expected those squatters to leave, or in the worst case scenario, they would be evicted through the use of military force.
But doing so would only create conflict. Water infrastructure was a project carried out so that people could live safely. There was no point fighting with the people.
Since that was the case, Sophie thought that, as someone who planned to become a nun in the future, she would be able to speak to people on a more personal level than an official with an aristocratic perspective, so she set up an opportunity for a conversation.
Ferio, Lorenzo, and her escort, Gerald, strongly opposed the plan, but she used her characteristic silver tongue to talk her way into it.
In exchange, Ferio warned that if Sophie were ever in danger during the discussion, they would evacuate immediately, and that if that happened, he would declare capital punishment on the slum residents.
Those words are more of a warning to me, not to the slum residents, right?
If she didn’t want the slum residents to be punished, she had to think carefully before she acted.
Ferio trusted her and granted her the Purple Star, but Sophie felt like he didn’t believe in her at all.
“Well, we were able to safely settle the matter regarding the relocation, so the results were satisfactory.”
Sophie nodded with satisfaction, and Evert gave her a look of disgust.
“Are you seriously saying that?”
“On the other hand, is there something wrong with what I did?”
Sophie puffed her cheeks in protest.
Her attempt at appearing cute only seemed to irritate Evert, as his voice changed to a low, irritated tone.
“You pick fights with those people in the middle of the slums! Do you know how shocked I was……”
“You make it sound vile. I didn’t pick a fight. I just had a little personal business negotiation.”
“Business negotiation?! Even though you told those people from the slums to invest their labor in you?!”
[“Invest in me.”]
[“You people have no money, no people, no home, and no job. Therefore, you should invest the value of your body to me.”]
[“――I absolutely won’t let you suffer any loss.”]
Those were the words she spoke without the slightest bit of fear towards the men who controlled the slums.
Is there something wrong with that?
“’If you lend me your labor, I will pay you your value’s worth.’ That’s a proper business deal, isn’t it?”
“Well, no matter how I hear it, it just sounded like you were trying to pick a fight!”
“My intention was relayed clearly, right? Just saying nice things on the surface is not convincing, after all.”
“In the first place, the idea of hiring slum residents doesn’t seem sane……”
“Aren’t they attractive as a labor force?”
Sophie entered the slums under the pretext of discussing land acquisition, but in Sophie’s personal opinion, the site for the expansion of the underground waterway didn’t necessarily have to be in the slums.
But Ferio told her that considering the decades the construction would take, there would only be strong opposition if it was located even a little close to the noble district, and if things weren’t done right, it could lead to the project being cancelled, so Sophie just went along with his wishes.
Sophie’s main reason for visiting the slums was to secure their labor.
In this world, where there were almost no machines, everything was done by human power.
Water supply and sewerage projects were not things that could be completed by simply building one facility.
There was also the development of reservoirs and waterways.
It was about building an efficient water storage and supply system.
Sophie wanted to build a solid base so that the foundation could be built and operated smoothly.
Therefore, human resources were necessary.
No matter how much manpower there was, it would never be enough.
“Anyway, if a riot were to break out in the middle of a slum like that, we wouldn’t be able to protect you!!
Evert reminded her as if to emphasize the point, but Sophie just laughed lightly.
“They’re not that thoughtless.”
It was clear from their eyes that even in the harsh conditions of the slums, they hadn’t given up on themselves.
That was why Sophie chose those words.
“Their eyes weren’t clouded. Their eyes had the clarity of someone who hadn’t given up on living an honest life.”
The slum leaders weren’t men who waited in the back alleys for prey, but rather weren’t all about violence and exploitation.
They weren’t educated and had no jobs, but their spirits weren’t corrupted.
It was a rather unusual occurrence in the slums, but the main reason for this was the presence of their hero.
“The hero of the commoners.”
The man was born in the slums. At the age of thirteen, he used his formidable might to take control of the slums at the time, then enrolled in “The King’s Sword” and quickly earned three copper stars. After graduating, he joined the Knights and achieved the remarkable feat of receiving five copper stars in an exceptionally short time.
Despite such an impressive career, he didn’t abandon his past and was tough enough to reach out to the people of the slums.
It was thanks to his presence that many of the current leaders of slums were rational people.
But I never thought that someone who was called the hero of the commoners would actually put in a good word for me……
The reason why the people of the slums ended up lending their support to the baron’s daughter who was mocked as “A figurehead Purple Star who only had the title to be a candidate concubine of the first prince” was because such a hero recognized Sophie’s existence.
Sophie had never met the man personally.
But the hero of the commoner was a copper star, who had been enrolled in The King’s Sword at the same time as Lorenzo.
It seemed that their relationship continued even after they graduated, and when he learned of Sophie through Lorenzo, he gave him advice that led to this amicable agreement.
That was a great help.
Therefore, Sophie wanted to express her gratitude and asked Lorenzo if she could arrange an opportunity for them to meet face to face, but――
[“You mean that man who mistakenly believes that everything can be solved with strength? There’s no need to thank that scoundrel. He would only waste Sophie-sama’s precious time. He probably just did it because he found it amusing anyway. I’ll just relay your words, so please don’t worry about it.”]
Lorenzo was also harsh towards the man who was called the hero of the commoners.
He had always been cold toward people of the black star and the silver star, so Sophie couldn’t help but wonder how they had managed to form their friendship to begin with.
Author Note:
It’s already February, but we hope you will continue to support us this year.
And thank you as always for the likes, bookmark, and typo reports!!
Morishita has just been infected with corona. The sense of taste has run away from home. Morishita wants to go on a journey to find the missing sense of taste.
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