The Countess Lady’s Pet Dragon

Chapter 14: Some girl (1)

Schwartz was appointed as Milia’s personal attendant, and it had already been three months since he arrived at the academy.

“Miss, where should I put these documents?”

“Take them to Dain. Oh, and bring the materials I organized on your way back.”

“Understood.”

…

“Schwartz, sorry, but could you take this to the student council? It’s urgent.”

“Got it.”

…

“Sch-Schwartz, could you organize the materials I got from Dain? They need to be organized and submitted by today.”

“Leave it to me.”

During the three months, Schwartz, as a member of the General Affairs Department, had become an indispensable, versatile problem solver for Milia, in addition to his role as her personal attendant.

“Ughhh…it’s over for today.”

“F-Finally, we can rest…”

The orange sunset shining through the window as Dain and Neris, having finished the final paperwork, stretched out their tired bodies with groans.

“Good work. How about a cup of tea?”

“Y-yes, please…”

With a voice that sounded like she might faint at any moment, Neris answered, and Schwartz nodded lightly toward her, then began boiling water at the stove set up at the side of the General Affairs Department.

“You’re really amazing…Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s nothing. Do you want a cup too?”

Schwartz smiled faintly at Dain, who spoke as if he was exhausted.

One was serving Milia as a master, and the other as a department head. The mutual understanding stemming from their positions made the two close enough to speak casually with one another.

“I want lots of sugar!”

“Lots of sugar? Got it.”

Schwartz, who nodded at Dain’s order, took out a jar filled with sugar cubes wrapped in paper from the shelf above the stove.

Later, Schwartz discovered that Dain was also a member of the General Affairs Department. When Schwartz asked why Dain hadn’t mentioned it sooner, Dain’s answer was a masterpiece.

[Because I was sleepy.]

At first, Schwartz thought this person was strange, but after spending time in the General Affairs Department and seeing the workload of its members, he began to understand Dain’s response.

With only three members in the department, there was an overwhelming amount of work that could never be handled. There were times Dain worked for three days without sleep.

It was as if the department was exploiting children, but unfortunately, there seemed to be no labor laws in this world.

Despite this, the General Affairs Department had operated smoothly so far thanks to Milia.

Her extraordinary abilities, and the fact that she handled the work even during her limited personal time, ensured that the department ran without major issues. It truly was a “one-man carry” situation, especially after Schwartz arrived, and overtime became rare.

“Here you go. This one’s for Neris.”

“Th-Thank you. I’ll enjoy it…”

“And this one’s yours. Two sugar cubes, right?”

“Thanks!”

As Schwartz placed the cups of tea in front of each of them, they thanked him and picked up their cups.

“Ahhh…”

“Of course, your tea is the best…”

“It’s nothing special.”

As they spoke with expressions of bliss, Schwartz gave a faint smile, feeling a little embarrassed.

“By the way, where’s the department head? I haven’t seen her all day.” Dain, having emptied his cup in an instant, asked Schwartz as he set it down.

“She was called by President Arze. It seems like something urgent.” “Hmm… I’m kind of worried about that…”

Upon hearing this, Dain narrowed his eyes.

Arze calling Milia meant there was likely something for her to do. For Dain and Neris, who had just finished their work, it probably felt like sitting on pins and needles.

Then, at that moment…

“Haahhh…”

The door opened with a soft click, and Milia appeared, looking tired.

“Miss?”

“Department head?”

“Milia?”

Seeing her, all three of them tilted their heads almost simultaneously. Something must have happened…

Neris and Dain, instinctively sensing that Milia’s anger might be directed at them, quickly checked the documents they had already processed to avoid attracting her attention.

“I’ll have a cup of black tea too…”

“Understood, Miss.”

With a tired voice, Milia said this and walked toward her desk with weak steps. Then, with a short sigh, she collapsed into her chair.

The General Affairs Department was filled with a cold silence. As everyone cautiously looked at Milia, Neris and Dain started subtly signaling Schwartz to find out what had happened. No matter how angry Milia was, she had never directed her anger at Schwartz.

Responding to their gaze, Schwartz reluctantly approached Milia and asked,

“Miss… is something wrong?”

“I’m really going to quit the General Affairs Department…” she muttered in a serious voice.

“It seems like you had a tough time… Here, black tea.”

“Thank you…”

Schwartz placed the cup of tea in front of her, and Milia nodded weakly, then picked it up. For a moment, the only sound in the General Affairs Department was Milia sipping her tea.

After a while…

“The upcoming Martial Arts Tournament…The king and princess are going to be in attendance…So, we have to completely redo the plans. The old ones are out the window…”

“Ugh…”

Schwartz let out a groan with a stunned expression.

“Wait, what did you say? Redo everything? From scratch?”

“Are you… are you joking? I must have heard wrong, right?”

Neris and Dain, also in disbelief, tried to escape the reality of the situation. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t escape the reality in front of them.

“What does the president say?”

“She’s my sister, what can I do…She just said she’s sorry…”

Arze probably didn’t expect this situation either. Understanding how Arze must have felt, Schwartz sighed lightly.

“I’m really sorry. You’ve worked hard, and it turned out like this…”

“It’s not your fault, Miss.”

Schwartz gave Milia a light smile as he responded to her apologetic look. If anything, this situation was close to an unexpected accident, and no one could be blamed for it.

“Department head! Do we have to do overtime again? Please tell me we don’t!”

“Uuuughh-!! I just want to go home!!”

“Let’s hang in there a little longer…Once the Martial Arts Tournament is over, we’ll have vacation, and we can really rest.”

Milia said in a comforting tone, as she faced the despairing shouts of Dain and Neris, whose mental state seemed utterly shattered.

“Chaos! Destruction! Aaaaaargh-!!”

“Ughhh-!!”

It would probably take some time for those two to pull themselves together. With the sweet holiday so close, only for it to disappear into the distance, their despair would undoubtedly be immense.

‘I should probably start boiling some tea.’

Schwartz opened the container holding the tea leaves, knowing that in the next few days, he would be so busy he wouldn’t even have time to make tea.

“Ah…”

“What’s wrong, Schwartz? Is there a problem?”

Milia tilted her head as she noticed Schwartz’s sigh while staring at the now empty container.

“It’s nothing. The tea’s all gone.”

Due to the recent overtime spent preparing for the Martial Arts Tournament, the tea had run out.

“It’s already gone? I remember buying more just last week.”

“I’ll go buy more. The usual one, right?”

“Yes, please.”

Milia pulled a shiny gold coin from her pocket and handed it to Schwartz, responding to his question.

“Do you need anything else?”

“Hmm…I don’t think so. Could I pick up some snacks? Something sweet if possible.”

Schwartz accepted the gold coin and, as he placed it in his pocket, asked. Milia paused briefly, then gave a soft groan as she thought before answering.

“Yes.”

Schwartz nodded and left the General Affairs Department, heading outside.

“Thank you.”
“Hope you sell a lot.”
Humans are often referred to as animals of adaptation.
I’m not sure if dragons adapt as well, but since they aren’t so different from humans, it probably doesn’t matter much. Thinking this, Schwartz took the bag with the tea and began walking toward the crowded street.
At first, all the streets of Barenberg seemed alike, but now it wasn’t so confusing.
“What should I get for snacks…?”
Muttering to himself, Schwartz continued walking.
Following the busy path filled with people, a vast square unfolded before him.
He walked briskly across the square and soon arrived at a small shop on one side.
“Hello.”
“Oh, it’s you. The black-haired young man, right?”
As he opened the door and entered, the warm smell of bread and desserts greeted him, and a woman with a kind demeanor greeted him.
Her name was Ronera.
She was the owner of this bakery.
“It’s been a while. Have you been busy lately?”
“Yes, quite busy with various things.”
Ronera smiled brightly as if happy to see him, and Schwartz politely bowed his head in response.
“Well, come by often. It’s not easy to meet someone from the same hometown around here.”
Schwartz had only recently learned that Ronera was from the Valentine County.
Although she had left the county before Milia was born, Schwartz had never seen her in person. However, just the fact that they were from the same place made Ronera give Schwartz little treats whenever he visited.
“I’ll try my best.”
Schwartz responded with a light smile and began carefully examining the desserts displayed on the counter.
Though he felt people occasionally staring at him, he had grown somewhat accustomed to it by now.
“By the way, I heard you have a limited-time snack sale. What was it?”
“Oh! The raspberry tart?”
Remembering something Milia had mentioned once, Schwartz asked, and Ronera approached a display case on one side and brought out a tart filled with bright red raspberries.
Even now, Milia’s favorite fruit was raspberries.
Considering what had happened, it seemed that she really liked them.
Thinking back to the day five years ago when he almost lost his life after being attacked by a manticore while picking raspberries, Schwartz let out a small laugh.
“How many are left?”
“Just four pieces. How many would you like?”
“Give me all of them.”
‘Just right,’ Schwartz thought as he watched the tart being placed into a box.
“Thanks as always, young man. I’ve also added a few macarons for you as a service. Enjoy.”
“Thank you. I’ll come again later.”
A moment later, Ronera handed him the box, and Schwartz nodded at her before turning to leave.
And then, in that instant…
“Excuse me!!”
The door of the shop swung open, and a girl entered, calling out in a frantic voice.
Her body was hidden under a robe, so Schwartz couldn’t tell who she was, but there seemed to be some urgency, as her heavy breathing could be heard beneath the robe.
“Do you have any raspberry tarts left?”
“Oh dear, what do I do? This young man just bought them all.”
“Ah… I see…”
Upon hearing Ronera’s reply, the girl spoke in a defeated tone.
“Uhm…”
As he glanced back and forth between the girl and the box of tarts, Schwartz cautiously spoke up.
“If you’d like, I can give you one.”
“Is, is it okay!?”
The girl exclaimed, her voice filled with surprise.
It wasn’t easy to give away something as rare as a limited-edition item to a complete stranger.
So, Schwartz understood the girl’s reaction.
“I bought all of them, but I don’t really like sweet things, so I don’t mind giving one away.”
“Thank you so much!! I’ll definitely repay this favor later!”
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
Schwartz waved his hand, signaling that the girl didn’t need to be so polite.
In truth, he wasn’t fond of sweet things, so he was perfectly willing to share.
“Please, allow me.”
“You’re really a kind young man. Wait a moment, I’ll gather up some leftover snacks for you.”
After Schwartz handed the box to Ronera, she nodded, clearly impressed, and took the box inside.
A few moments later, Ronera returned with a small box containing a raspberry tart and handed it to the girl.
“Thank you! I’ll never forget this favor!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
The girl bowed repeatedly as she accepted the box, paid, and then quickly rushed out of the shop, clutching the box as though it were a treasure.
“I wonder what was so urgent.”
“She must have had her reasons.”
Ronera muttered, watching the girl disappear, and Schwartz nodded in agreement before bowing his head to Ronera.
“Well, I should be going. Sorry for the trouble.”
“Oh, don’t mention it. It’s no trouble at all. Come by again sometime.”
As she waved him off, Schwartz turned and walked out of the shop.
“The sun is already setting.”
The sky, once bathed in orange, was now darkening into a deep blue.
“Let’s see… I don’t need anything else, so I guess I should head back.”
Looking at the scene, wondering if he had forgotten anything, Schwartz nodded and crossed the busy square toward the academy.