Chapter 32

“As I said, we do not do such things here!”

Mira’s voice echoed to the kitchen.

Cale was about to go and see what was happening, but I stopped him.

It happened occasionally at our bakery as well. Very unreasonable customers would come.

When that happened, it was my good-natured and calm mother that handled them.

It was my mother’s opinion that there was no point in arguing with customers.

However, when it was Mira who was talking, things would only get even more heated.

It would be important to have things settle down as quickly as possible.

“What’s the matter? Is there a problem here?”

I said in a calm voice as I poked my head out.

A young, elegant woman, perhaps in her twenties, was standing there and glaring at Mira.

“Who are you?”

“Someone who works in this bakery. Can I help you with anything?”

Mira looked at me and narrowed her eyebrows.

That was not the kind of face anyone should make in front of customers.

“The opening ceremony for the Dragon Academy is today. Are you aware?”

“Yes, I am aware of that.”

I was attending it, so of course, I knew.

“And are you also aware that it is to held at the Royal Academy on the other side of the street, not the Dragon Academy?”

“Yes.”

What was she on about? I couldn’t tell where this was going.

She must have seen the confusion written on my face.

“Then you should know. The students of the Dragon Academy will have to walk and cross the road to the venue today.”

She said smugly. But all I was thinking was, ‘and what of it?’

If it’s on the other side of the road, of course, they will have to walk.

“Indeed. Uh, Madam…”

“You’re awfully slow. The point is that I can wait for them outside. Understand? Do. You. Understand?”

Apparently, this woman had taken several days to travel to the Royal Capital by carriage, just to meet the Dragon Masters. Her family lorded over some town.

In other words, she was a noble. Well, barely.

She wanted to become a Dragon Master Patron. However, she could not make contact.

In that case, she had to make use of this rare opportunity.

And so she came all the way here in order to make their acquaintance.

“I even prepared presents to give them. I don’t care who it is. But I would prefer someone close to my own age.”

She explained that there had been an accident on the road, and so she had barely arrived in the city on time.

In fact, they had traveled all through the previous night. I became worried about her horses.

And now she had come here to buy bread for herself and her family.

I thought it was rather commendable that she came here herself instead of relying on others, but then I realized it was probably just so she could pick the ones she wanted.

While we didn’t have the largest variety, the bread was almost finished baking.

We could just sell that.

I had no idea why Mira was fighting with her.

“As I said, the bread is not ready yet. And we cannot deliver it to the Dragon Academy.”

Nobles were often like this. If the bread wasn’t ready, then it should be delivered directly to them when it was.

Mira wanted her to wait until the bread was finished, but there was still quite a distance from here to the Dragon Academy.

It was not known how many others would be waiting there as well, but the noblewoman explained that she did not want to lose the best positions.

The best positions…?

In any case, it was definitely an unreasonable request.

“Clearly there is no point in talking to the likes of you. Go and call your master.”

The lady said mercilessly to Mira

“As I said…”

“Very well, Madam. We will deliver the bread as soon as it is ready.”

“Hey? Leon!?”

“Of course, you will. You should have said so from the beginning.”

The noblewoman said with satisfaction and then exited the store.

The bread would be ready in about half an hour.

I could deliver some of it to them.

It wasn’t really any trouble for me.

“Hey, Leon. Why are you listening to the demands of such a person!”

While the noblewoman had been pleased, now Mira was the one that was upset.

And it felt like placating her would be harder work.

“Dealing with customers is part of the business. Things aren’t always fair.”

“I know that! But that doesn’t mean you have to listen to everything they say.”

“That’s true. But on this occasion, the person was a noble from out of town. In other words, she doesn’t have to worry about her reputation in the city as much as others, but still holds a degree of power.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I was thinking that she might antagonize us. Slander from commoners might be ignored, but when it comes to nobles, it could reach the government offices. For instance, she could claim there were sanitary concerns and have us investigated. That won’t be good for business at all. We could be labeled as the bakery that causes trouble with nobles. There could be other accusations that we’ll be forced to answer for as well.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t know if it will go that far, but nothing good will come out of upsetting them. And so I thought that if I could settle the matter by making a delivery, then I would do it.”

Mira did not look entirely convinced, but the matter had already been settled.

“…Oh, well. It’s not like she’s actually going to see anyone even if she waits outside.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“It’s well known that people like that exist. And so access will be restricted in that area. It won’t matter if you’re a noble or a merchant. You won’t be allowed to go inside. No, that’s wrong. It’s made specifically to eliminate people with middling amount of power.”

While they would be Dragon Masters in a year, many were just commoners.

And so it was difficult for some of them to reject the offers of nobles.

It was because of this that contact was kept at a minimum.

“I see.”

“I suppose they generally want to keep First-Years isolated. That’s why the Royal Academy exists. In fact, if you want to meet Dragon Masters so much, you should enter the Royal Academy. Of course, it is terribly difficult to do it. The competition is unthinkable.”

It was very expensive and the tests were difficult.

You have to be born into wealth and have had private tutors from a very young age in order to get in.

In fact, the competition level had never gone below ten. It was often fifteen or twenty times more difficult to get in than other schools.

“It sure seems hard to meet a Dragon Master.”

“Yes. Which is why so many people are desperate. Of course, for some reason, there is one right here who is working part-time.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

I asked. Mira let out a deep sigh.