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Back when I'd frequently sneak into the city to investigate the Church and work as Potternuggets' assistant, I had a very simple job: checking and transcribing copies of documents.

As Jazga was a nation that lacked any public schooling, basic arithmetics was an exceedingly invaluable skill to come by. Especially in a cesspit like Yarzon.

Suffice to say, as a former economics major, I was a perfect candidate for the position.

Since printers didn't exist in this country (yet stuff like gas stoves, lanterns, and pasties did, for some reason) it was a great deal of tribulation to duplicate articles of writing.

Thus, hiring an assistant became common practice for many merchants and shopowners.

It was certainly more convenient and cost-effective than enlisting the services of some traveling sorcerer. Magical photocopiers were surprisingly not uncommon to come by.

Now... the new task I was entrusted with, in addition to painstakingly copying financial statements by hand, was inventory management.

Every week, a cart of crated merchandise would park behind the store. It was my job to record and unload these packaged goods, then organize them in the storage room upstairs.

It required both heavy-lifting and patience, the latter of which I wasn't endowed with.

「Let's see... Box B-1 is supposed to go... on that shelf over there.」

I recalled the contents of the blackboard behind me as I surveyed the place and tried to get a grasp of the storeroom's layout.

With all the items downstairs accounted for, I swiftly went to work and cataloged them here.

The storage was a wide room, spanning a third of the second floor. Rows of heavy-duty shelves were situated in a mazelike formation to make efficient use of the space.

Devoting that much space to unsold wares may sound ridiculous on paper, but given the popularity of the shop, I'd go as far as to say it wasn't even enough to keep up with the demand.

That was how big the Pottershack was.

Makes sense why he'd buy out a former hotel. The extra rooms make for superb storage.

「Items G-1 to G-3.... wait... this is all iron armor. And it all goes to the top shelf?!」

I took my hat off to Potternuggets' daughter, who was unfortunately burdened with this undertaking before I arrived.

God knows how she made it through years of arduous toil without throwing a fit.

Holding roughly fifty pounds worth of heavy gear, I carefully made my way up the crooked stepladder. My time training with Lia thankfully helped me stabilize my footing.

Clunk!

「One box down... two more to go...」

With fatigue already building up in my arms, I climbed back down and prepared myself for the long haul.

As all this effort could afford a warm home for Melyn and Lia, there was not a single complaint I could muster up.

Hours went by, and the pile of goods downstairs reduced significantly. I was down to about five more boxes. They were quite light, so it was easy sailing from here.

The resulting soreness throughout my body bordered on unbearable pain though, so I felt it best to rest a bit before finishing up.

I slogged over to the corner and plopped myself down on a chair beside the stacked shelves. I gandered at all the work I'd done and pat myself on the back.

That wasn't too bad! I could probably get used to this...

My self-congratulatory thoughts served as painkillers for the soul. And my deflated ego gradually puffed up with air again.

I could finally grin to myself knowing I'd accomplished something.

As I did though, an object of interest happened to catch my eye.

One of the crates on the shelf in front of me was lopsided. I leaned in to investigate and noticed a leatherbound book peeking its head out from underneath.

Annoyed by my oversight, I lazily staggered to my feet and addressed the issue at hand.

「It's partly my fault for not noticing it in the first place but... what kind of airhead leaves a book here?」

I groaned, firmly clutching the hardback below, and slowly shuffled the box on top off to the side. Within seconds, I'd wiggled the sucker free and had it in my hands.

The book had nothing but a plain brown cover.

No title, no illustration—just null.

I thought it was perhaps a notebook. Mayhaps an inventory log to keep track of things.

But flipping to the first page revealed something entirely different.

A Butler and his Master—a story written by a Satte Lovebrew...

It was a seemingly ordinary novel. I'd never heard of the author before, nor could I recall Melyn ever gushing about a book with this title...

I returned to my seat and inspected it further.

Quickly leafing through to the end, I happened across multiple empty pages. It appeared as though this particular tale was unfinished; the last sentence was incomplete.

How odd... Did Potternuggets' daughter buy this from some sketchy bazaar and leave it here?

Still unwinding from the intense labor, I figured I'd start from the beginning and read this piece of literature through till the end. Lest the girl gets disappointed by the book.

I slumped against the back of my chair and readied myself, the light from the tabletop lantern as my sole guide. It took me a sec to fully comprehend the scribbles of ink in the dark.

And as the first words became visible, the book's contents were revealed.

「"Lord Marello, the young heir to a small county in the western region of Postula. His jawline—sharp and defined as his diction. His looks—clean and refined as his diction. The breadth of his chest—broad and strong as his policies. The dashing Pelcazzian gentleman was wooed by nobles and commoners alike. His many peers adored the silky hazel ponytail that draped over his shoulders, his thin but soft lips which birthed an array of beautiful and poetic utterances, and his chocolate eyes sweeter than chocolate itself. Though a few months shy of his 20s, Marello had proven himself to be more than capable of running his land..."」

I paused and rubbed my eyes. I was by no means a literary critic but...

The author's totally trying to sell me on how perfect this guy is huh..?

About five more paragraphs were dedicated to presenting Lord Marello's background and appearance. It was virtually a biography of this fictional character I'd only just learned about.

"Show, don't tell", was no doubt lost on this Satte Lovebrew person. Around the third page, I was already skimming through the story trying to find the interesting parts.

Once I spotted an exclamation mark, I stopped and decided to pore over this page.

At this point, the butler character was already introduced. From what I could deduce, his name was Hadlof and he was a clumsy Ingvardian servant.

Right now, he was in a world of trouble after spilling a cup of tea on Lord Marello's clothes.

「"The blonde musclebound butler was reduced to a shaking mess. He profusely apologized to his sopping wet master. 'A thousand pardons my lord!" he bowed over and over again. 'My actions are inexcusable!'

Marello was unfazed and instead beckoned Hadlof to his side. The mortified servant timidly walked up to his impassive lord, only to be pulled in closer by the necktie. 'Follow me to my quarters.' Marello softly whispered in his ear. He released the butler and stood up, sauntering over to the staircase.

'I've really done it now...' Hadlof said to himself."」

I stroked the bristles on my chin, intrigued by the premise. To witness another man fired from his job would bring me some schadenfreude.

Though... it did make me slightly self-conscious since I was on an unsanctioned break.

Whatever... after I see this guy booted from his position, I'll resume my work.

I perused through the book, anticipating Hadlof's inevitable expulsion. Realistically, a transgression like that would land anyone on the streets.

Yet... as I continued...

「"'Remove my clothes for me... servant boy,' Marello seductively ordered a confused Hadlof, who turned pink at the thought..."」

There was something... off... about the story.

「"'B-but... my lord... we mustn't!' Hadlof stumbled back, his heart racing at the prospect of having his young master's bare skin exposed to him..."」

Believing it was merely this section that was weird, I foolishly plowed on, unaware of the true nature of this novel.

That was until I reached this line.

「"'Nonsense... it's a butler's job to attend to his lord's every desire..' Marello licked his lips and unbuckled his trousers. 'Including... lust'"—」

SLAM!

Suddenly, the book was shut and whisked away from my hands. I looked up and saw a pair of glasses perched on the end of a familiar nose.

「Ah—」

Potternuggets' daughter fixed her specs and glared at me through fogged-up lenses.

「How much... did you see..?」

Her inquiry came with a sinister undertone. And I was left with two choices.

Either one: I could lie and tell her I saw nothing. Or two: I could, for some reason, go into explicit detail about what I'd just read.

There was obviously a clear answer that could absolve me of any problems.

「Nothing really...」

I replied with a straight face.

「O-oh... is that so...」

She let out a breath of relief as she glanced at the book.

「Except for the part where Marello showed Hadlof his—」

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!」

The buxom young girl, flushed and flustered, tossed the novel aside and grabbed me by the collar. She proceeded to shake me around like a doll.

As my strength had not recovered, I was forced to endure her disorienting assault.

So much for the clear answer...

I'd never seen her so animated before. Perhaps I answered flippantly to see what she was like beneath that stoic facade.

She then ceased her screaming and stared me down.

「If dad hears about this... If anyone hears about this...」

The girl released me and instead pulled out a coil of rope from behind her, gripping it menacingly.

「This was my last resort but...」

「Woah woah woah woah! What's this about your last resort?!」

「Say, Lorenzo... do you like dark spaces..?」

「OKAY! OKAY! I SWEAR I'LL NEVER TELL ANOTHER SOUL! I'LL TAKE THIS SECRET TO THE GRAVE! HONEST!」

She slackened her clutch and averted her gaze.

「You seriously won't tell anybody..?」

I nodded profusely, beads of sweat dripping off my chin.

Confirming my promise, she sighed deeply and dropped the rope.

「Fine, I'll just have to take your word for it...」

The girl backed away from me and picked her novel off the floor. I narrowly dodged a bullet there.

「By the way, are you done organizing the merchandise?」

「Oh... I'm almost finished. I was only taking a short break is all.」

「You'd better be taking this job seriously. Dad may have taken a liking to you, but I'm still on the fence about allowing you to live here. If you're taking advantage of his kindness...」

I knitted my brows at the suggestion I was exploiting Potternuggets' goodwill.

「I would never do that... Melyn and Lia are depending on me. To betray those expectations...」

Thrown off balance by my sour mood, she hastily tried cutting through the heavy atmosphere.

「A-ah no... Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything it's just...」

A glimpse of her saddened face made me realize that she too harbored some gloom.

「He never consults me about things...」

She muttered under her breath.

A gloomy lull occupied our remaining time together. It was chased away when I decided to hop out of my seat and speak up.

「Well... I better finish carrying up the remaining boxes... It was good talking to you, uh...」

It then occurred to me I didn't know her name. All these years I'd known her as "Potternuggets' daughter".

It was... not an ideal title to have.

「Tessa.」

「Huh?」

「My name's Tessa. I never properly introduced myself.」

She awkwardly inclined her head, both her hands behind her back.

「Oh. Um... the name's Lorenzo. Though... I guess you already knew that...」

Hm..? Tessa... Satte...

「Wait... are you Satte Lovebrew..?」

Tessa's cheeks reddened like a ripe apple upon hearing my inference.

「W-w-w-what makes you think that?!」

「Your reaction's giving it away...」

Her eyes glazed over and she riveted her attention on the length of rope lying on the ground.

「On second thought, maybe I should tie you up and stuff you in a crate...」

「THAT WAS WHAT YOU WERE PLANNING?!」

My exclamation was followed by jolly laughter from her. She was a lot cuter when she smiled. Then again, many are cuter when they aren't morose all the time.

「Hahaha! Your reactions are too good!」

「And you're too quick to resort to crime..」

She chuckled away as I scratched my head. I didn't get an ounce of rest throughout this self-imposed break, yet seeing the usually-collected Tessa enjoy herself did energize me, if only somewhat.

The girl had that infectious quality about her.

「Hey, Tessa...」

「Y-yeah..?」

She recovered from laughing and came back with a breathy response.

「The subject matter aside... I think you're a remarkably talented writer.」

Her eyes widened as though to fit the round frames of her glasses.

「I'm not a big reader or anything... especially of that sort of literature... but I don't think it's something to be wholly ashamed of...」

「Lorenzo... I...」

BAM!

Before she could finish her sentence, Potternuggets burst through the door with a concerned countenance.

「Lorenzo! Oh... and my daughter, you're here too. Good.」

「W-what's up dad..?」

「It's Melyn... she's locked the door. And the food and water you left by her room this morning remain untouched. I tried knocking and she wouldn't answer. I'm probably overthinking it but...」

Tessa and I took a step back, shocked by his news.

Mel... what are you..?

That was the last outcome I wanted to think about. I hastily left the storage room without another word.

The thief girl was hurt, that much I could accept. But if she was going to harm herself further, it was up to me to protect her.

I was not going to lose another one.

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