Alvin
and the other members of the <Running Wolves>, as well as Akane and
Emily, were gathered in the dining room after breakfast.
「Ah,
we're going to decide what we need to decide in order to go on an adventure as
soon as possible!」
Alvin,
the head of the Wolf family, led the discussion, while Shinji prepared paper
and writing materials to record the discussion.
「Let's
start with the living arrangements. Akane, how many maids do you need?」
「Well...
if it's just cleaning and laundry, I think two maids will be enough, but we'll
need three to take turns being absent. We'll also need a cook, a gatekeeper,
and a gardener, right?」
Akane
is being trained by the Beltz family to be the head maid of the Wolf family.
Her job is to organize the maids, but in addition to that, she is supposed to
supervise the non-maids who work at the Wolf family.
This
is due to the fact that honorary knights are completely different from ordinary
nobles.
The
noble class in the Zia Kingdom consists of the royal family at the top, dukes
with royal bloodlines, counts with territories that include large cities,
viscounts with territories that include small cities, and barons with no
territories but who hold important positions. An honorary knight is a title
equivalent to a baron.
In
order to rule a territory, many subordinates are needed, and their work is
varied. The head of the house is accompanied by the head family butler, and his
wife leads the maids through the head maid, whose job it is to protect the
family and establish connections with other families. In short, his main job
was to use people.
However,
honorary knights go out to slay monsters themselves. In the case of the Wolf
family, the wife is also an honorary knight, and she is not at home most of the
time. In peacetime, they do not have the right to command soldiers, so they
only fight themselves.
Therefore,
they only need to be presentable as nobles, and they do not need to hire a
large number of people to make themselves look good, so the number of people
that Akane alone can supervise is sufficient.
The
hierarchy within the Wolf family is.
Alvin ≥
Milis > Akane > servants
That's
how it is.
「Ah.
As long as there are enough people to run this house, we'll be fine. I'll ask
Christina-san to recommend you again」
Milis
also acknowledges that Christina is serious about Alvin, and since she
supported him at the party, she doesn't have any bad feelings about Alvin
relying on Christina.
（After
all, we need someone like Christina-san to take care of the nobles...）
Milis
knows that if Alvin is going to live among the nobles as an honorary knight, he
needs to be supported by someone who knows the noble culture as well as
Christina. She also believes that if she loves the same person, she can trust
her.
↓ Continue to Read ↓
↓ Continue to Read ↓
（He's
totally connected to the Beltz family. Well, it doesn't matter if he marries
Christina）
Shinji
accepts the fact that the Wolf family, including the <Running Wolves>,
are deeply connected to the Beltz family. After all, as a noble, it is natural
for Alvin to have ties, and it was convenient for Shinji to have the Beltz
family, which has equal power with his birth family, as a partner.
As an
aside, the Oeste city is governed jointly by four viscount families, including
the Beltz family.
「Then
I'll leave the selection to Alvin」
Shinji
wrote this down on a piece of paper. There was no objection, and everyone
agreed.
Originally,
Shinji and the others had no right to interfere in the personnel affairs of the
Wolf family, but since they lived under the same roof, Alvin had arranged this
meeting to share information.
「Is
there anything else we need to prepare quickly, like a carriage?」
「That's
right. We can't visit the nobles' house on foot so we have to prepare quickly.
You got the invitation to the party, right?」
Shinji
looked at Akane, who nodded and placed a stack of letters on the desk. At a
glance, Renka blinks at the sheer volume of more than 20 letters.
「Are
these all invitations?」
「Yes, Sir
and Madam have checked the contents once and separated the invitations」
Alvin
felt uncomfortable when Akane, who was not used to speaking in the same way as
her family, called him “Sir” and Milis had a similar reaction, but she had to
get used to it.
「If
you're going to Christina-san's, it might be a good idea to have her go with
you. There are some houses that are better to get along with and some that are
better to stay away from, and if we were to go to all the parties, there
wouldn't be enough time」
「Sure...
okay, I'll go talk to her about that too! Fortunately, Christina-san said I can
come anytime I want!」
「Then
I'll come with you, Al-kun」
Hearing
Shinji's words, Alvin stood up immediately.
This
is really what Christina said to Alvin. Normally he would need an appointment,
but she had given him special permission for a sudden visit.
This
was a special measure because Alvin was still in the preparation stage for the
actual launch of the Wolf family and Christina wanted to help her loved one.
「In
that case, can we end our discussion for today? I wonder if I should just stay
home」
「I'd
appreciate it if you could. I'll be moving around the hall to continue where I
left off yesterday...」
「Leave
it to me!」
While
Alvin and Milis were getting ready to leave, Emily and Akane, who were staying
at home, also started to move. The sight of the free-spirited Emily taking
cares has become a familiar sight now.
「Thank
you, Emily. We'll go check on the horses」
「Okay,
have a good day, you two」
「See
you later, Emily」
Shinji
and Renka needed to go out to buy a horse to pull the carriage for Alvin, but
with Emily staying at home, they could leave the house without worry.
Thus,
everyone began to do their part.
- More about the Wolf family and the honorary knights.
- Starting a house is hard work.
