Chapter 31

Early the next morning, I used the underground waterway to head to the commercial district. My job at the Fluffy Bouloire was waiting for me.

I was now quite familiar with the route there and back.

Every once in awhile, there would be a new detection barrier, as if someone was trying to bully me. But I never got caught in one again.

I was surprised myself. But it seemed like I was able to detect them a lot better than before. This passage had been great in terms of training.

“Good morning.”

“Ah, morning.”

“I’m going to start then.”

“Aye.”

I greeted Master Rob and then got to work.

After concentrating on my work for some time, I suddenly heard Missus Faine’s voice coming from the house.

It sounded like she was arguing with one of her daughters.

Judging by her voice, it was the older one. Mira.

“It’s quite early. Is something happening today?”

Usually, Mira only got up after I had finished preparing the dough.

“Hm? Ah… Well, we weren’t sure if you’d be coming in today, Leon. So she insisted she would help instead. I’m sure she tried her best to get up, but it’s still quite late. Regardless, I don’t let her help with the dough yet, as she is still far from perfect. That’s why she’s angry.”

Apparently, Mira wanted to take over the shop one day and become a baker.

It was hard for me to imagine her kneading dough in the back, but I’m sure she would improve her baking skills eventually.

She had a competitive streak, and so it was probably better for her to do that than face customers directly.

As for the younger sister, Kuchino, she was quite smart. And she was learning to take care of the bakery’s finances like her mother.

“It’s nice that both of your daughters are working toward the same goal.”

“I don’t know about that. They aren’t the most skilled.”

Mira had all the enthusiasm, but not the ability. And for now, she mainly did deliveries.

But apparently, my arrival had made her feel quite threatened, and she started to study baking more seriously.

“Back at home, my father would always scold me as he taught me how to bake. But my sister worked with the customers.”

Whenever my sister was in the front, we would sell more bread.

She was rather pleased by this fact, and so actively stood by the counter.

Now she was married and doing the same thing in a general goods store in a different town.

“There are some customers that come every day just to see me.” She had boasted.

However, I always thought it was strange.

A general goods store didn’t seem like the place to make loyal customers that came to see you every day.

It was a place you went to restock on consumable goods.

As I mused over this, Mira came to us from the store.

“Morning, Mira.”

“You. But father said you weren’t going to be here today.”

“Mister Rob was just being nice. I can still make it in time after finishing my morning work here.”

“Huh. I see. So, why are you so busy today?”

“Uh, the school entrance ceremony.”

“But, isn’t that incredibly important? Are you sure? Don’t you have to prepare?”

Mira looked at me severely.

Of course, her expression was a lot less severe now than it was when we first met.

“Well, it’s not like I need anything. The country provided me with a uniform and the venue is on the other side of the road. I just need to go back to my dormitory and change. That’s all.”

“The country provided you with a uniform? Are you royalty? Really, I have never heard of such a thing. I’m sure it’s only the Dragon Academy that the country pays that much attention to. In fact, a lot of people pay attention to it. My friend told me that the academy’s opening ceremony… Wait. Huh? Huuuuh?”

“Yeah. I’m going to enter the Dragon Academy today.”

I showed her my left hand.

“What? The Dragon Mark? No…way?”

For some reason, she was stunned.

Had I really not shown it to her before?

Well, it was on such a noticeable part of my body.

Though, I did put on gloves after finishing with the dough.

But as I worked early, I probably hadn’t met Mira while I was doing that yet.

Of course, Mister Rob and Missus Faine and even the other workers, Cale and Miranda had noticed it immediately.

“Well, I don’t want the town’s people to know, so I usually wear gloves. Sorry for not telling you.”

I said, in hopes that she wouldn’t get angry.

They only made as much bread as they could sell out in a day.

So they would prepare the ingredients the previous night and then make the dough early in the morning.

Everything was finished by the time Mira got up. During the day, I would help with the ovens or deal with customers, and so I wore gloves to hide the mark.

In that case, Kuchino probably didn’t know either.

Though, I later found out that she did.

Cale had secretly told her.

“Wait, so that means you’re going to be a Dragon Master. Then why are you training at a bakery?”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Because I’ve been making bread for as long as I can remember. I haven’t even had this Dragon Mark for a year yet. How can you expect me to suddenly change?”

I understood why she was confused but I had my reasons.

There was no changing the fact that I was to become a Dragon Master. However, I still hadn’t given up being a baker either.

And so I didn’t see the harm in continuing to train.

And so I wanted to work here while attending the academy.

“…You’re really weird.”

“You think so?”

“This is the Royal Capital. No one will leave you alone if you have the Dragon Mark. You could be more popular than most nobles or knights. …I can’t believe you would rather train at a bakery.”

“Still, you won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Of course, not. If it was known that someone from the academy worked here, people would swarm around the store to see. It would be a disaster.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

And I really thought she was.

“Are you open?”

A voice rang from outside the store.

“Yeeees!”

Mira answered.

It was actually a little early to be open, but the smell of freshly baked bread was probably already spreading outside.

Sometimes, customers would be lured in by such smells.

I went back and continued preparing the dough. After a while, I heard arguing coming from outside.

Mira was fighting with a customer again.

Mira. She needed to fix her personality a little.