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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