Chapter 29: My Bias is Precious

“Arban-sama, what is this bird-like thing?”

A young hunter points at a monster and asks in the middle of sorting it out after hunting.

“It’s a cockatrice. It’s poisonous, so put it in the black container. Ah, you can’t touch it with your bare hands, okay!”

Today, dozens of monsters appeared near the living area in the territory. Therefore, I hurriedly went to battle.

It is originally my older brother and George’s duty, but they couldn’t be absent from the tea party that invited the royal family, so Arban goes as a pinch hitter.

The skill of hunters in Palace is top-notch, but because it’s a sudden departure, only young hunters gathered, making the sorting work take a lot of time.

During the time ancient magicians put up an extensive barrier, a nation was founded. It was the beginning of our kingdom. Since the effect becomes weaker as it gets farther from the barrier’s center, monsters periodically appear in the borderland Palace from the part facing the state border. Those monsters are very diverse, and it’s hard to get a grasp of them.

Outside the border is the world of monsters, so humans have never gone to that side.

The fact that the feudal lord goes hunting is also because he has inherited the knowledge from the past generations to identify and sort out a diverse variety of monsters.

George is excellent at monster hunting, but he is somewhat lacking in classification knowledge. On the contrary, William is less talented in hunting skills but is steadily learning how to identify monsters.

They have grown up just like us brothers.

After our father’s death, Leonard desperately memorized the classification of monsters. Thanks to that, Arban has been able to leave far away to study at the university in the royal capital.

Although among hundreds of hunters in Palace, some know the classification, the feudal lord’s lineage is the one who will do the final check.

Classification is a job that has a direct connection to the citizens’ life.

The hunted monsters are divided into:

Food supply Clothing (fur, leather goods) Tools, weapons (bones or horns) Disposed

If a highly poisonous monster like cockatrice is sorted as food supply, the citizens who eat it will die.

Since its appearance rate is low and looks a lot like a bird, amateurs tend to want to put it to food supply, so it is one of the monsters that need special attention.

Cockatrice is classified as ④disposed, but since it needs to be detoxified before it is discarded, it takes a lot of labor.

Seasonally poisonous monsters, monsters that ignite when coming in contact with water, monsters that split and multiply when cut with a sword, we need to remember all and classify them.

After finishing sorting out more or less everything, Arban leaves the cleaning up to the hunters and goes home.

Once the sorted monsters are put in different colored containers, the feudal lord’s job is over, and it is the hunters’ job to carry them to their respective destinations.

This time’s disposed monsters is only one cockatrice, so they only need to write down the detoxification serial number and send it to the processing place, then the rest is to be sold in the market.

My steps returning home are heavy.

Nobody complained in front of Arban but based on my older brother’s family’s personality, they don’t hold the royal family in high respect. Their sense of authority is also low, so they must think that it’s a troublesome matter in their hearts.

I feel sorry that I got carelessly caught by the prince and the princess’ messenger.

The prince and the princess’ mother, the royal concubine, Rose Alicia Royal’s reputation in the royal capital is not very good.

She spends money lavishly, is selfish and arrogant. Even though she is a concubine, she schemes to make her son the next King.

Can my older brother’s family, who is totally unexposed to people’s ill will, bear to converse with her? I wanted to finish the hunt as soon as possible and at least stand in between them to help, but it already became dark. Today’s tea party that has many invitees from afar will be over already, won’t it?

Even if my steps home are heavy, a horse’s legs are fast. Because I put on a saddle and ride a horse instead of riding a carriage, I arrived at the mansion even earlier.

While hoping the angel-like Emma isn’t hurt, I open the door to the living room meant for relaxing.

There, the three siblings sit directly on the floor, and each is wrapped by a cat. I was surprised when I first saw it, but I got used to this strangeness after a week.

They might as well lie down on the floor instead of sitting directly on it. There are places where I think it’s improper or dirty, but it seems it’s settled to take off shoes on the carpet newly laid on the room.

No matter how many times I point out that a cat isn’t something that supposes to wrap you up, it doesn’t get through them.

Emma usually clings to a cat called Koumei.

She gives the cat a more relaxed and heartfelt smile than to her uncle, who miserably dotes on her. It’s frustrating but is also cute.

George is often with the black cat Kan-chan, William is with the other calico cat Ryuu-chan, my older brother and my sister-in-law are with the white cat Chou-chan.

William previously said that everyone has their own bias cat, but what is a bias cat?

“Arban, welcome home. Did you finish the hunt safely?”

Today, even my older brother Leonard is brushing the long white cat fur that is wrapping him.

“I’m home, older brother. Today, one cockatrice appeared, but there are no other unusual monsters.”

“Cockatrice?”

George makes a question mark. This is what I have to teach him all the time during my stay here.

“Nii-sama, cockatrice is that bird-like guy, you know!”

William explains.

William, great answer.

“Nii-sama, it’s the guy who appears in FF and dora**e.”

(T/N: FF= Final Fantasy, dorakue = the Japanese abbreviation for Dragon Quest.)

For some reason, Emma also explains.

FF? Dora**e? Words that I don’t understand pop out one another.

“Ah! The poisonous chicken?”

George somehow gets it from those words I don’t understand.

“Yes. Because it has poison, it cannot be used as food, clothes, and tools. It needs to be detoxified and disposed of! It’s serial number 28.”

William smoothly answers.

He truly has a good memory. As expected of someone who accomplished the test of so many silkworms’ samples without making mistakes.

“Somehow… I kind of feel that my gaming knowledge will be useful.”

George also seems to have grasped something.

“Then! I will make a karuta for you! Monsters karuta! It will be great to memorize while playing.”

Lately, I can’t understand part of what Emma is saying, but George looks happy, and William is eager to help, so let’s just leave it. I’m lonely, though.

“Umm… How is today’s tea party?”

Nobody shows signs of being in low spirits, but I’m curious and ask.

” ” “It was so much fun!!” ” “

The three siblings excitedly say at the same time.

It’s indeed the first time for the three siblings to meet the royal family. The prince and the princess’ black hair is a beauty rarely seen in recent years, so maybe they didn’t have any impression of Rose-sama‘s selfishness? Even so, maybe my brother and sister-in-law have an unpleasant experience. But when I look at my older brother, he nodded with satisfaction to the siblings.

“To think that such a beautiful person exists.”

If even my older brother is entranced with the prince and the princess, wouldn’t Rose-sama surely get angry…

“Uncle! Next time Rose-sama will introduce me to her family, you see! I’m super looking forward to it.”

Emma happily says.

There are no girls that won’t fall in love when they see Prince Edward’s black hair.

It’s a saying I often heard at the royal capital, but even my Emma…

“Emma, I understand you admire the black-haired prince, but Rose-sama is infamous in the royal capital, so you would better not think about getting engaged…”

“Why! Is Rose-sama‘s reputation not good?”

William let out a surprised voice.

“She spends too much money on dresses and various things, and the dresses are also… too exposed, or vulgar…”

Emma is trembling. I wonder if Rose-sama is being harassed.

“It seems those people in the royal capital don’t understand anything.”

Emma exhales.

“The amount of money needed for such Rose-sama‘s beauty is just an insignificant amount!”

“…hn?”

“Dresses that could fit a jewel-like body acquired from the accumulation of daily efforts can’t possibly be cheap goods!”

“…hn?”

“Those people who say she is vulgar even though she has generously exposed her beautiful body to us need their character to be questioned first!”

“…hn, hn? Emma… what? …eh?”

“Rose-sama is a national treasure. Isn’t it obvious for a national treasure to be costly!”

When I look around, Leonard, George, and William are nodding as if affirming Emma’s words.

After returning home after a long time, I notice a feeling of alienation once in a while.

“Eh? Does Emma like Rose-sama, not the prince’s black hair?”

“Uncle-sama? Isn’t it natural that the royal family’s hair is black?

Everyone gives me a ‘what is this guy saying’ look. Am I the weird one?

“Does uncle have no thought towards Rose-sama‘s beautiful body?”

I am looked at by Emma with eyes that seem to be saying, ‘this guy is hopeless.’ It appears that I can’t recover my standing as her uncle. How painful.

In fact, I have seen her several times in the royal capital’s high society, but to be honest, I haven’t really look at her because the prince and the princess were always nearby.

“Arban… you have no eyes for women.”

My older brother looks at me as if I am a pathetic child even more.

No, George and William also look at me like that.

“If the country says such mean things, let’s make Rose-sama‘s clothing ourselves, Dad.”

George suggests an outrageous thing.

The cost of clothing for the King’s concubine is already tremendous. More than that, Rose is criticized for choosing high-end products excessively.

“What a good idea! George! Let’s do so!”

An unexpected immediate reply!

“Father! Let’s use all the things from Emma’s shed for the fabric. My artistic side can’t help but get excited to be able to decorate that beautiful body!”

Hiii!

This is also what I learned after returning home. The most valuable, high-quality, and expensive silk of all Palace’s silk goods is the one from the silkworm that Emma raised. However, although it is on a scale that is beyond the scope of Emma’s hobby, it is still a rare item with a proportion of less than 0.003% of the total silk on the market.

It’s an astronomical price to use all that on Rose-sama‘s clothing.

“Emma… If you do that sort of thing, we will be bankrupt, you know!”

“…? It’s fine, uncle. We have abundant stock. It’s just, we end up selling it in small amounts because Joshua’s father wants to raise the market value.”

‘It’s just a merchant’s wit,’ Emma happy-go-luckily answer.

All Palace’s silk sales are monopolized by the company managed by Joshua’s father.

It is this father’s skill that makes the company much wealthier than the Stuart family. He is also a significant and indispensable existence to the Stuarts, who are not good with troublesome stuff but have good craftsmanship.

To be frank, we mostly just leave it to and rely on him.

Just like this, all the fabrics worn by Rose Alicia Royal after this will be the phantom silk “Emma silk,” which is hard to get even with a lot of money.

The Stuart family is completely unaware, but in the royal capital, the rumors that the disappearing leading nobles of the second prince’s faction has emerged and is planning to make the prince King and the eldest daughter of the Stuart family Queen is spreading around.

The Stuart family is using an enormous fortune to take possession of the country. The royal concubine sold the prince and princess to the Stuart count family for money. The prince and princess are puppets.

Along with Rose, the Stuart count family’s reputation worsen, but the whole family living in the borderland doesn’t know.

No matter how worse it gets, the nobles can’t quit buying Palace’s silk.

Some nobles from the first prince’s faction started a boycott, but it only increased the export to other countries and didn’t do much damage.

Instead, they receive more benefits because export is more profitable.

The lower their reputation gets, the higher the sales.

With the aid of the merchant Joshua’s father, the Stuart count family, who only lives every day nonchalantly, build up an even more immense fortune until the time they live in the royal capital a year later.

Even though they only made clothes from the excess fabric for their bias.

Author’s note: Lack of cats any time now.