The Struggle That Follows
“Phil-oniichan, let’s play!”
However, that sense of unease had disappeared by the next day.
After waking up and finishing breakfast, Lily came over with a smile on her face.
“Ah… wait a sec. Right now, I’m about to distribute allowances to the people of our territory.”
“Phil-oniichan, are you super busy…?”
“If I don’t hurry, the kids are gonna riot demanding their allowance. The grudge of children who’ve learned how to use money but can’t buy candy is terrifying, you know? They’ll be lined up in front of the mansion with weapons and everything.”
In his office, Phil put a hold on Lily, who had come to see him, while looking at papers with budget allocations written on them.
Despite appearances, Phil was handling all the work of this territory.
Since his younger brother was useless, he was doing a proper job as the acting lord while their parents were away. The shadow of the playboy who could once be heard if you listened carefully was nowhere to be seen.
But that was only how things appeared on the surface. His head was full of different thoughts.
(But what was up with Lily yesterday…?)
While pretending to look at documents, Phil recalled yesterday’s Lily.
(I’m glad she’s feeling better, but it’s concerning that she doesn’t seem to be dwelling on it at all. Even if Ilya comforted her, she’s acting way too normal.)
The unease he’d felt had completely vanished by now.
It was as if they’d returned to how things were before Nicola came. That was a good thing in itself, but could everything really be going in a positive direction?
He couldn’t help but feel anxious about it.
Perhaps that’s why Phil raised his face and turned toward Lily.
“Lily.”
“Mm?”
“If something happens, you can rely on me, you know.”
At the words suddenly spoken, Lily tilted her head.
However, she immediately broke into a smile.
“Hehehe… Phil-oniichan, you really are similar to Abi-oniichan after all. He said the same thing to me before.”
“We’re not similar. That guy’s not a free spirit like me, is he? I’m the kind of guy who’d run off and leave his master behind the moment the collar came off.”
He said it like he’d deliberately become that way.
Phil put down the documents and shrugged his shoulders slightly.
“Is that so?”
With a mischievous smile, Lily sat down next to Phil.
“But thanks. I’m totally fine now!”
“…I see.”
Phil roughly patted the head of Lily sitting beside him.
Though Lily protested with “Hey, stop it!”, Phil didn’t stop and showed the same mischievous smile.
(Well, she seems energetic, so maybe I’m overthinking things.)
It would be pointless if he poked at her too much and made her depressed again when she’d finally recovered.
Having come to that conclusion, Phil stood up and headed toward the door.
“I’ll play with you after I’ve checked on how the Knight Order’s doing. Apparently, even a cute little pup won’t get excited unless its master’s watching, and I’d like to get that out of the way first.”
“Okay!”
Lily toddled along cutely behind Phil.
Seeing this kind of behavior really did feel like having a little sister.
Perhaps that’s why—
(This must be the kind of thing that made Abi so fond of her…)
Phil’s expression softened without him realizing it.
That said, she was someone who would eventually leave.
Just like with Milis, it would probably make him feel lonely.
Even though she was supposed to be part of a troublesome situation, that fact made him feel a little sad.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
After leaving the office, Phil and the others exited the mansion and made their way to the training grounds within the estate.
In the spacious area, several men in armor were sparring, and occasionally roars so heated they were stifling reached their ears.
Kahlua could also be seen at the training grounds, for some reason watching over the soldiers while holding a whip.
“Now that I think about it, since Kahlua-san is watching, I didn’t need to come see them. Being watched over by a guard scarier than me, even people who want special play can work hard while breathing heavily.”
“What’s ‘special play’?”
“Oops, that was still too early a phrase for someone who doesn’t know the darkness of the world yet.”
He shouldn’t have let her learn dirty words at such a young age.
“Oh my, if it isn’t Phil.”
At that moment, Kahlua, who had noticed Phil and the others arriving, rushed over to them.
“…Look, I don’t really want to ask this, but why are you holding a whip that only certain people would be happy about? Did you start some kind of service?”
“When I hold this, the soldiers’ motivation somehow goes up. I tried hitting someone once as a test, and the customers responded favorably.”
“I’ve never wanted to hear the meaning of ‘favorable’ less than right now.”
Just imagining that there were people like that among his knights made him feel embarrassed somehow.
Everyone has their own preferences, but Phil would prefer to decline if possible.
“You came to check on the knights, but they’re about to finish, you know?”
“Nah, if it’s over, that’s fine by me. I only came to check on worker ant-san, turns out a shocking truth came to light right before I was about to play with Lily”
“So we can play now?”
“Yeah, I’ve finished all the work I needed to do, so we can play.”
“Then I’ll join you too. And while we’re at it, let’s call Ilya who’s weeding the garden.”
“I don’t really want to say this now, but Kahlua-san who casually assigns jobs that you absolutely shouldn’t give to a mage is seriously amazing.”
“Seriously amazing!”
Most likely, if the bigwigs of the world heard this, they’d be shocked.
Using a mage who could single-handedly change the tide of battle as garden weeding personnel—it was too audacious for them to even attempt.
However, Lily, who was one of those bigwigs, was following up with a smile, imitating the unusual phrase Phil had just used.
“That said, what should we play… Recently the gallery folks have been bullying poor Privacy-san, so I don’t really want to go into town—”
“Oh ho? If you’re going to play, why don’t you let me join in too?”
“””?!”””
At the suddenly appearing voice, Phil and the others reflexively turned around.
There stood Sherry with her lustrous blonde hair flowing, wearing casual pants and a shirt unlike yesterday, with interest clearly written all over her face.
“Y-you-Scared me… Don’t erase your presence like that. Are you a stalker? Did you have some puppy you wanted to chase around that badly?”
“I didn’t mean to erase my presence, but it’s true that there’s a man I’m interested in. Of course, I’d like to object to a princess undergoing such a dishonorable job change to stalker.”
Sherry shrugged her shoulders slightly.
At that moment, Lily, who was beside him, pulled on Phil’s sleeve and tilted her head cutely.
“Phil-oniichan, who is this person…?”
“I introduced myself to that maid over there, but not to you yet—First Princess of the Kingdom of Aluarde, Sherry-Aluarde. Nice to meet you, Princess who excels in [Virtue].”
“…Princess…”
Sherry smiled and extended her hand to Lily.
In response, Lily timidly shook it back, a slight unease showing in her eyes.
“So, what business does Sherry-sama have, suddenly starting a prank show? If you appear so suddenly, all we can prepare is the extras’ surprised faces, you know?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I came to play and I have no intention of giving up. I’m staying at a nearby inn for a while, so naturally anyone would want to play with acquaintances rather than play house alone, wouldn’t they?”
“Give up…?”
“Kahlua-san, you’re looking at the princess with eyes you shouldn’t.”
It seemed something had erased the highlight from Kahlua’s eyes. The way she tilted her head slightly was terrifying.
“I-If that’s the case, couldn’t you just play with the guards you brought with you?”
“Those two said things like [I’m gonna find a casino!] and [I-I… don’t want to go outside…] and won’t keep me company.”
“You definitely chose the wrong people as guards.”
“Their skills are solid, so it can’t be helped. You won’t easily find better guards even if you searched all the retail stores in the world.”
Well, setting that aside.
Sherry peered into Phil’s face and tilted her head.
“So, what are you going to play? If possible, I’d be happy with something thrilling that sends chills down my spine or something that satisfies intellectual curiosity.”
“What are you saying?! If we do that, Lily will cry!”
“I’m not gonna cry!”
“I… I’m still not confident about childcare yet…!”
“That’s why I said I won’t cry!”
Lily puffed out her cheeks and pounded on Phil’s back with her fists.
It wasn’t painful at all, rather it was just the right amount of force to be pleasant.
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