There Is No Need To Be Obsessed

I headed to the cafeteria to have dinner with Lia.
And along the way, Lia told me about the members.

“Killivan himself is such a fuss.
Luden is kind and strong.
Annie is also kind, but she is ruthless when I make mistakes.”

I felt a deep affection from the little girl, as if she was introducing her own family.

“Who are you closest to?”

Lia thought deeply about my question and answered.

“I am closest to Annie sis.
But I have another favourite person.”

“Who is it?”

When I asked back, Lia answered with a beam.

“Your la-… no, sister Eureia!”

“Me?”

“Yes.
Because you are the benefactor who saved me and my younger sister.”

Lia, upon saying those words, smiled shyly.

Seeing Lia reminded me of Eril for some reason.
The similarity was that they were both cute.

Come to think of it, I wonder if Eril is doing well.

If I had left her alone, I would have been very worried, but since she was with Hillary, I could somewhat be more at ease.

Before I knew it, we were getting closer to the cafeteria.

Lia lowered her voice as if something had suddenly occurred to her.

“Oh right, but there is a person to be wary of.”

“Who would that be?”

As soon as I walked through the entrance, I heard a shout from inside.

“You are worse than a filthy beast!”

I looked over to the direction that the sound came from.

It was a blond boy who screamed.

Beneath the blond boy, lay flat at his feet was a brown-haired boy.

Food stains were dripping from the boy’s brown hair to the floor.

What’s going on here?

Lia clung to me as if she was frightened.

She then pointed at the standing blond boy and said.

“It’s that person, Geren the bastard.”

“Bastard Geren?”

Lia nodded briefly as confirmation.

“I heard from the other that Geren is the youngest son of Count Cleves.
He grew up preciously and has no respect for others whatsoever… They say it’s better to avoid him because no good would come out of dealing with him.”

“The County of Cleves.”

The name was not so unfamiliar.
I was immediately able to recall their family.

The Cleves County was a so-called rich household, which made money by importing high-quality fabrics from abroad and reselling them.

Seeing as how he thinks he can become the centre of this universe just from his family being able to earn some more money, he’s the typical son of a rich family.

“It’s a bit strange, though.
The other members from the same household would never be so lacking, and should be able to hold their own.”

The Cheshire Merchant was a gathering place for elites who were known as prominent even within the Empire.

Being that elite meant that they got support from their family.

No matter how much money the County of Cleves made, it was strange that he was going all out like that and acted so recklessly.

I then looked at the boy who was crushed under him.
I recognised him at once.

That kid…

“Coco is from a fallen noble family.”

Shrunken shoulders, drooping head, and brown hair that wasn’t trimmed properly.

At first glance, the boy named Coco seemed far from a proud aristocrat.

Without any further detail, I could guess what was going on.

As time passed, Geren’s voice grew louder.

At this point, the surroundings were quiet, and it seemed no one had the intention to step forward to stop him.

Maybe it’s just natural, since there was no reason for them to help Coco and be at odds with Geren, the youngest son of the Cleves family.

As no one was going to extend help, Geren, the rascal, became even more aggressive and harassed Coco more blatantly.

My dear god.

I touched my forehead.
Everywhere I went, there was always something like that, someone just thought they were so amazing and stuck out like a sore thumb.

At times like this, the authorities have to take action, but since they are busy, it’s hard to pay attention to the troubles between the members.

As more and more people gathered, but no one came forward to help Coco, Geren shouted more wildly.

“My clothes got dirty because of you! How are you going to compensate me?”

Apparently, Coco collided with Geren while carrying the plate, and the food on Coco’s plate seemed to have smeared on Geren’s clothes.

Frustrated, Geren pushed Coco, and the poor boy must have been covered with food as he fell.

Nevertheless, Geren’s clothes were relatively clean to say they were dirty.

It must not have been that seriously stained so it could not be seen from this side.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Do you think all would be solved just from you saying sorry? Do you know how much these clothes cost? It’s a very precious outfit made by designer Frea! It’s not something you should dare to stain!”

“Wh- what should I do then?”

“What do you mean, of course you have to pay for it.”

Coco looked up in shock and Geren raised his head arrogantly.

“Well, you’ll have to give me half a year’s salary to reimburse me.”

“Ha-half a year’s paid?”

Coco’s eyes widened at Geren’s unconventional words.

“Lia!”

“Sister Annie!”

While watching the situation, someone approached us.

She was a lovely girl with orange hair and freckles on the bridge of her nose.

I could tell that the girl was Annie, whom Lia had told me about.

“No wonder I couldn’t see you, so you were here.
Huh? Next to you is…?”

“Ah, this noble lady… no, this is sister Eureia! She just joined today!”

“Sister Eureia? Joining today…? Don’t tell me…?”

Annie’s eyes shook as she turned to look at me.

“The parachuted person that is said to be the vice-chairman’s lover…”

When she unknowingly mumbled under her breath, she quickly covered her mouth.

Well, I expected it, but that’s how rumours are spreading.

“I’m-, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, nice to meet you by the way.
I’ve heard a lot about you through Lia.
I am Eureia Craycia.”

When I held out my hand, Annie hesitantly grabbed it.

“I’m Annie Plaque.
Please, call me Annie.”

Plaque was also a familiar name.

It wasn’t long before I was able to recall the Viscounty of Plaque.

“Okay then.
Annie, feel free to call me Eureia.”

“Ah…Is that okay?”

“Of course.
We’re both apprentices.
Let’s be friends from now on.”

When I said that, I smiled brightly.

Perhaps my smile had some impact, but the wariness on Annie’s face subsided a little.

“By the way, is it okay to leave them be like that?”

I asked, pointing at Geren, who was still acting up.

At that, Annie shook her head.

“Someone has gone to call Ms.
Yuphon, but it will take quite a while until she arrives.
Until then, he’s going to keep on with that stupid behavior of his.”

“No one’s going to stop him?”

“It’s no use.
That punk….no one can beat his personality.
He’s stubborn and has a fiery temper.
If he felt wronged in any way, he would pick a fight over anything…Above all, rumours circulate that Count Cleves is close with one of the executives, so we can’t touch him.”

“But that kid is being bullied.”

Geren was now making a much worse fuss, telling the other boy to lick his shoes if he had no money to pay.

“Give me half of your year’s salary! If you don’t like that, you can lick my shoes right now to express your apologies!”

Coco’s face was covered with embarrassment.

“That lunatic.
When is Ms.Yuphon coming?”

Annie harshly criticised.

It was hard to put up with it any longer.

In any community, there were bound to be seeds of conflict like that.
And it may be impossible to eradicate all that absurdity.
But it shouldn’t exist in the place I loved.

The Cheshire Industrial Complex was a place of affection that I cultivated with blood, sweat and tears for ten years.

If no one could stop bullying within a group like that, then it’s only right for me to stand up.

Annie, who noticed my feelings, dissuaded me.

“No matter what you say Eureia, it won’t do you any good.
That guy, once he goes crazy, he won’t discern anything else.
It’s to the extent that only the presence of the superior members could somewhat suppress it.”

“Still, I can’t leave it like that.
What’s more, I’m hungry now.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m hungry, but that idiot is blocking the way, so shouldn’t I remove him?”

I grinned at Annie and made my way through the crowd.