Laboratory of the Kanista Kingdom 1
After a week of traveling by ship
and carriage, I arrived in the Kanista Kingdom. Ashren-sama
delivered the resignation letter and the letter addressed to my parents on my
behalf before our departure.
When he offered to prepare the
necessary clothes and underwear, I declined, sold the dress and accessories I
was wearing, and hurriedly gathered them at the port town. It's surprisingly
manageable when you try.
「I am sorry
after such a long journey, but I wanted to introduce you to everyone at the
laboratory as soon as possible, Layla. Are you tired?」
Inside the carriage progressing
along the cobblestones leading to the royal castle, Ashren-sama lowered
his eyebrows apologetically.
「I am fine.
In fact, I feel quite well.」
During the ship ride, I spent most
of my time sleeping in the room I was given. At first, I was worried about
seasickness, but to me, the rocking only felt like a pleasant swaying that
invited sleep. Of course, that was also because I was suffering from chronic
sleep deprivation up until then.
「It is
true, your complexion has improved remarkably.」
「The
moisturizer I made on the spot seems to have been effective as well.」
There were a few medicinal herbs
loaded on the ship, so I made a moisturizer to kill time and applied it to my
hair and skin, which had a greater effect than expected. In three days, my
ruined skin regained its texture, and my dry hair gained luster.
「To think
you could make this with commonplace medicinal herbs, I am amazed by your
talent, Layla.」
「It was a
coincidence, you know? It is not guaranteed to succeed every time, and I have
more failures than successes.」
「That is
what research is like. If you fail a hundred times and succeed once, that is a
splendid achievement.」
This person truly is a researcher.
He knows that success is built upon many failures. Carter-sama would
always yell at me every time I failed, though.
「What is
wrong? Is there something on my face?」
It seems I was staring at him
intently, as Ashren-sama shot me a puzzled look.
「No, you
look handsome today as well.」
「Thank you,
though when you say it, Layla, I can only think you are teasing me.」
During the week we spent together,
we became able to have casual conversations. Ashren-sama seems much
easier to talk to than his appearance suggests. Though there's no mistaking
that he's two-faced.
As I was chuckling, a castle wall
made of stacked white bricks came into view. It was smaller than the royal
castle of Jilgista, but it was still a splendid castle. The carriage
passed through a gate that looked like it was hollowed out of the castle wall
and turned right.
「Straight
ahead is the royal castle, to the left is the knights' training grounds, and
the laboratory is in a separate building because apparently there was an explosion
there a long time ago.」
Who on earth messed up like that?
「There are
four staff members: my boss, the Director; me, the Deputy Director; someone in
their fifth year; and one newcomer.」
「There is
no one doing chores, I see.」
「There is
not. The person who uses the equipment prepares and cleans it up. Of course, we
cooperate with each other, but that is the basic rule.」
The Kanista Kingdom is a
small country. Even though the population is small, they have double the staff
of the Jilgista Kingdom.
「Now, it
seems the carriage has stopped. We sent an advance notice, but they probably
received it an hour ago, so it would be good if everyone is present.」
What awaited us after getting off
the carriage was a one-story laboratory larger than I expected. Ivy was growing
up the walls toward the roof in places, so it seemed there hadn't been an
explosion for a while.
「Be
careful, the doors are made thick just in case and are quite heavy.」
「Understood.」
Is this also a remnant of someone
messing up? It is certainly unnaturally thick.
Beyond the door Ashren-sama
opened for me was a long hallway. Walking down it, Ashren-sama stopped
in front of the first door and tilted his head.
「What is
the matter?」
「No, I just
thought it was awfully quiet. Perhaps everyone is in the testing room.」
Saying that, he proceeded further,
lightly knocked on the next door, and opened it. When he did:
「Welcome
back, Deputy Director!!」
「Congratulations
on your return, bringing along your future spouse!」
Along with the sound of a party
popper going pop, words of welcome and applause flew about…… but. Hm?
Wait a minute. What did they just say!?
「U-Um.
Spouse?」
When I looked up next to me while
blinking my eyes in confusion, my gaze met with Ashren-sama, who had
similarly gone wide-eyed. And then, a beat later, he started panicking with a
red face.
「Hey, wait
a minute! What is the meaning of this? Did the advance notice not arrive?」
「It
arrived. The Director said, 'Ashren-sama is bringing a cute girl, so
let's celebrate,' so we hurried to prepare this!」
「It was
sudden, so we could only prepare things like sandwiches and bagels, though.」
A man with black hair and brown eyes
grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously.
「I'm Tick.
Please take good care of Ashren-sama!」
「Tick, suddenly grabbing her hand is rude. I apologize, my name
is Flora. Ashren-sama has a bad mouth, but he is fundamentally a
good person, so you will be fine.」
A woman with red hair tied up on top
of her head patted my shoulder. Her freckled face and friendly smile made her
approachable, but our conversation was definitely not meshing.
「No, no,
wait a minute. Where is the Director! Just what kind of explanation did she
give to cause this?」
It was the first time I had seen him
in a panic since we met. His usual cool face was nowhere to be found, and not
just his cheeks, but even his ears were red.
「If it's me
you're looking for, I'm right here. Welcome back, Ashren.」
Turning around at the glossy voice,
a woman in her mid-forties with silver hair tied back stood in front of the
door, floating a soft smile with cool eyes.
「I have
returned. By the way, did you properly read the advance notice?」
「Of course.
That you found an excellent woman in the Jilgista Kingdom and were
bringing her back. For you, who has always taken a cold attitude toward the
young ladies who court you, isn't this a huge step forward?」
「Yes, she
is an excellent woman. A person necessary for this laboratory. Why does that
make her my spouse?」
Closing in on her, the Director
patted Ashren-sama's shoulder with a fufu laugh, without a hint
of guilt.
「It is my
desire. As a mother, I am worried about your future, you know.」
「I am
begging you, please do not do anything unnecessary. Do you intend to let this
excellent human resource who went out of her way to come here escape?」
Ashren-sama held his head with a weary face. I could hear a small
scream of, "Please, just stop."
Wait, mother? Does that mean she is Ashren-sama's
mother? Now that she mentions it, their slit-like eyes look exactly alike.
「U-Um. It
is a pleasure to meet you. I am Layla Wilbas, and I will be working here
starting today. Please take care of me.」
When I hastily bowed my head while
feeling somewhat overwhelmed, voices called out saying things like, "The
pleasure is ours" and "We look forward to working with you."
「Layla, I am sorry. It seems there was some misunderstanding.」
「I am
sorry. Since the girl my boorish son forcefully brought along was so cute, I
ended up getting a little ahead of myself.」
「No, it is
fine. Um, I was surprised, but I am alright.」
Being apologized to by both mother
and son together, I waved my hands in front of my chest. If the
misunderstanding is cleared up, there should be no problem. No, was the fact
that the misunderstanding occurred in the first place the problem?
「Anyway,
please have a seat. You must be hungry, right?」
Tick brought a chair and urged me to sit. The others also
brought their own chairs and sat surrounding a large workbench. Food and drinks
were overflowing on the workbench, and I thought it must have been tough to
prepare all this in such a hurry.
「Well then,
let's eat.」
At the Director's voice, everyone
reached out as they pleased and took some food. How should I put it, it's a
very homely workplace.
Feeling bewildered by the atmosphere
that was so different from my previous workplace, Ashren-sama, who sat
next to me, took a sandwich for my plate, and Flora poured orange juice
into my cup.
「Layla, may I ask you to start working tomorrow?」
The Director asked while elegantly
drinking black tea. Her movements were so beautiful that I unintentionally
found myself fascinated.
「Yes, I
look forward to working with you. Um, are there women who serve as Directors in
this country as well?」
There are women working in the royal
castle of the Jilgista Kingdom too, but they are all doing chores.
「Of course.
Half of the important positions are held by women.」
「As much as
half!」
I had heard that the Kanista
Kingdom was advancing in women's participation in society, but to think
there were that many.
「It's only
natural. Since half the population is women, half the important positions
should be too, right?」
Tick spoke while chewing on meat as if it were a matter of
course. Next to him, Flora lightly glared at him.
「Tick, do not talk while eating. In the Jilgista Kingdom,
there are few young ladies who work. Layla, if there is anything you do
not understand, please ask us anything. Not just about work, but about this
country, the city, anything at all, so please do not hesitate.」
「Thank you
very much, Flora-san.」
These two seem like siblings. It
looks just like a reliable older sister scolding her younger brother.
「In the
past, only men worked, but the working population became insufficient. There
was a movement to invite laborers from foreign countries, but that would mean
money flowing to other countries, wouldn't it?」
「So women
started working as well, I see.」
「Yes. Just
by doing that, the working population doubles.」
The Director listened to the
conversation between Flora-san and me while nodding. Next to her was Ashren-sama,
who still had a displeased face. Today, his two-facedness had vanished, and he
was like a child. It's somehow a bit cute.
Just a few hours after arriving, I was convinced that my decision to come to this country was correct. After all, this is the first time in my life I've had such a fun meal. If you can enjoy a meal deliciously, then that choice is usually not a mistake.
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