## Chapter 329 – Obediently… Uh…?(5)
It was early dawn, as the day was ending, before leaving the pleasure district.
Aurora, who had just finished up at Flora’s Branch No. 3 (formerly Mademoiselle) and returned, and Lanière, who was in charge of the main branch, were chatting amiably at the counter inside the lobby.
Then, Vivian came out of the main branch’s manager’s office with a piece of paper in her hand. At her words, the two girls scurried over and stood before her.
“Lanière, Aurora. Come here for a moment.
There’s a problem with the financial statement. Why don’t you confess now?”
“Huh? N-No way~! I didn’t do anything……!! Hehe!!
Ah!! Ouch!! Vivian-nim!! That hurts…!!”
Lanière, sweating profusely, desperately tried to act innocent and feign ignorance, but she soon found a financial statement being thrust in front of her face as Vivian pinched her ear.
Aurora glanced at it and then wore a sly smile, adding a word.
“It seems like…
…there’s an extra zero on Flora’s main branch’s financial statement.
It would have been a disaster if it had gone up like this, wouldn’t it?”
“Do you know what kind of catastrophe adding one zero can cause?
Do you want to be buried under ten times more towels than you are now, Lanière?
Don’t you remember the last time four times as many radish sacks came, and we ate nothing but radish for days?”
“Eek……!! I’m sorry…!!”
Vivian knew from the start that Lanière wasn’t suited for office work like this, so she smiled faintly at her sullen face.
The reason she entrusted the work to someone who wasn’t suited for it in the first place was because she was the most trustworthy person among those by her side.
Vivian began to coax Lanière, wrapping her arm around her waist and gently pulling her close, starting to talk to her face to face.
“I told you to concentrate when doing calculations, didn’t I…?
You know that Branch No. 2 suffered a lot of monster damage this time, right?
While I take care of Branch No. 2, you’re the manager of the main branch.
If we slip up, who gets hurt?”
“Darling… does…”
“That’s right… he’s the one who loses out.
With the financial statement, you don’t just end up eating radish.
But it’s connected to the taxes we pay to the country.
So you have to do it right without making mistakes, okay…?”
“Yes!! I’ll pay attention and do it properly…!!”
Just when Lanière finally seemed to be reflecting on her mistake, and the conversation seemed to be ending.
Suddenly, Vivian turned her head to look at her, and Aurora wore a tense smile on her face.
“Okay. And Aurora?”
“Yes…? Why me……?”
“Fifteen gold coins are missing, you know?
Did you think I wouldn’t notice if you just fixed it up roughly?”
“Ugh……”
“Remember that keeping double books is against the law, right?
Then shouldn’t you fix it up so it’s less obvious, even if it’s just a little bit?
Fifteen gold coins is a lot of money, you know?”
Aurora had no choice but to shut her mouth at the accusation that seemed to see right through her.
Vivian sighed deeply as she watched her, coaxing her gently as she had done with Lanière, before abruptly switching gears and delivering a blunt remark.
“Haaa… Because it’s you, there must have been a reason for whatever it was.
But shouldn’t you have reported it to me?
Or… do you think you’re ready to try me now?”
“Hehe… Of course not…?
My head would fly off first if I challenged Vivian-nim.
It’s true that there was a reason.
But the reason I couldn’t report it is…
I think you should see it for yourself…?”
“See… it……?”
Vivian tilted her head, puzzled by Aurora’s ambiguous words and seductive smile as she turned around. Vivian followed after her.
Perhaps because it was closing time, the lobby of Flora’s main branch was more than deserted, it was eerily quiet. They passed the small grave of the little girl, Lily, which was simply set up next to the entrance of Flora’s building, and came out onto the street outside. Vivian simply followed Aurora as she began to lead her to another location.
Vivian, who had been wary of Aurora for a moment, saw Lanière fluttering her dress and chasing after her from behind, and she simply gave up on thinking about it.
“This way, please?”
Eventually, they arrived in front of a building, and Vivian approached Aurora without complaint as she tried to get her to come closer.
She watched Aurora, who was grinning slyly at her, grab the doorknob of the building, and she clenched her fist slightly.
“Your Majesty…!!”
“Congratulations!!”
Light poured out as the door opened, and shouts rang out as if they had been waiting.
“What……? What is it…?”
Vivian stood there with a blank expression, only realizing then that the sweet scent she had smelled was the smell of food. The two girls gently pushed her back, urging her into the building.
The tavern was still open, and there were no other customers inside, only those involved with the Henia’s Den.
They were already sharing drinks and food that were piled high on the tables, their cheeks flushed as if they were already slightly drunk.
“What else could it be? It’s a drinking party.
The purpose is… well, it’s for several reasons.
It’s a welcome party for the new recruits.
It’s a celebration party for getting through this incident safely.
And… it’s a day worth commemorating, so it’s also an anniversary.”
“What are you talking about……”
“Until now, you were only called Your Majesty.
Now you’ve become the true mistress of the fairly launched ‘Enic Kingdom.’
Of course, the founding day was a few days ago, but you should at least show your face to the people, right?
That’s also called ‘the duty of royalty,’ isn’t it?
At least, that’s what the humans living comfortably inside that castle say.”
Aurora pointed vaguely toward the royal palace, perfectly fulfilling the conditions for treason, and then smirked and pulled Vivian over to sit in the seat of honor at the table.
“Ahahahahaha!! Your Majesty!!”
“Were you surprised!! You’re so cute!!”
“With fifteen gold coins… you only chartered a tavern…? Haa……
If it was something like this… just tell me…”
“Giggle!! Won’t you accept a drink!?”
“Pfft…!! Ugh… It’s bitter……!! What is this…!?
This is… Chao Xing’s potent liquor…!!”
“Kyaaak!! The liquor is bitter!! So cute!!”
“Your Majesty can’t handle strong liquor either!!
So, so cute!!♡”
The women burst into laughter as they looked at her.
Humans and beastmen, who wouldn’t normally be able to do so, were mixed together in one place.
Seeing their faces, which seemed to be free of any worries or concerns, simply laughing with pure enjoyment.
Vivian smiled and picked up the glass in front of her again, putting it to her lips and gulping down the contents in one shot.
“Uhuu……”
“Oh my!! Your Majesty!!”
“If that liquor doesn’t suit you, there are other things…!!”
The women, who had been startled by Vivian’s one-shot, thinking that she wouldn’t drink it a second time, approached her, but Vivian waved her hand and told them to sit back down.
“You guys are… haa……
Do you have a hobby of suffering while listening to academy deans’ lectures or something?
I hate those because they’re too long.”
She made a slightly disgusted, dumbfounded expression and held out the empty glass slightly in front of her.
“So I’ll keep it short.
To the people who have come to stand by his side.
And to the people who have been with us all this time.
Thank you all for everything so far, and please continue to take care of me in the future.
Let’s… enjoy ourselves to the fullest today. Was that short enough?”
She thought she had said it well enough, but in front of Vivian, who had finished speaking and was tapping her glass, a barrage of boos erupted.
“Oooo!! It’s too long!!”
“I can’t read more than three lines…!!
I really can’t because I don’t know how to read…!!”
“Ahahaha!!”
“Hehe!! Ahihihit!!”
Of course, among the women who started laughing at such playful nonsense, a lively atmosphere quickly took hold.
Watching them, Vivian muttered, “They’re teasing their superior…” and chuckled in disbelief, turning to leave, but at that moment.
“And this.”
Vivian stopped short as she saw Aurora and Lanière suddenly rushing toward her.
Vivian felt something slightly heavy on her head and struggled to raise her eyes to look up.
The golden, ornate tiara that had been placed on her head shone reddish in the light of the torches that filled the tavern, and gasps of admiration began to pour out from the surroundings.
“Waaaah……”
What could make people yearn for something as much as gold?
But that yearning was soon buried under an even greater yearning, which shaped the greater yearning even more beautifully.
The absolute monarch, the one above all others in the Den, in name and reality.
The one who receives all of his affection and the most love, young, capable, a flower in bloom, and a beautiful female like the blue sky.
It was as if she was truly being defined as a queen, with a simple but beautifully crafted tiara.
The eyes of everyone who looked at Vivian wearing the queen’s crown were filled with longing and admiration, as if they were about to pierce through her.
“So… fifteen gold coins…
I thought there wouldn’t be enough money to just charter the tavern with that…
How many went into this?”
“Ten…!! Hehe!!”
“You know that counterfeiting and damaging currency is a crime, right?
But… anyway, I like it. Thank you.”
She was clearly trying to act nonchalant and aloof as a queen, but everyone already knew.
That her eyes were filled with an unimaginable surprise and an uncontrollable embarrassment.
“Then since you received something nice, you’ll give up Master for today, right?”
“Th-There’s no way I would……!!
Take it back!! He’s mine…!!”
“Wow!! Applause for the Queen for giving up Master!!
This is true class!! Noblesse oblige!!
The Queen will be sleeping soundly with her crown on tonight!!
The night is our party~!!”
“Who said I could sleep whenever they wanted!!
No…!! That’s not it!!
I’m going to play with him too…!!”
“Huhuheut!!”
“Ahahat!! Huit!!”
Even though she felt like she had become a clown, she didn’t mind it.
Vivian touched the tiara on her head, which Lanière and Aurora had prepared with all their heart, and then let out a small laugh.
‘Still, I won’t give him up to anyone.
Maybe a tentacle or two.’
The beautiful queen was, in fact, an extremely greedy person who could not be compared to anyone else.
That night, Vivian flaunted her tiara and monopolized the tentacles, thoroughly destroying the senses of her two subordinates, the Henias, and the new human recruits.
Only the tentacles, which had not grasped the situation, were wriggling on their own as if they were puzzled.
.
.
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