Well, the first semester of this year has ended, and a long break has come.
So, what happens now?
…It’s that time of year again—the noble party.
During this time, almost all the nobles gather to hold a party.
This year-end party is the only event where even the most insignificant or rural nobles are allowed to attend, and invitations are sent out.
…Well, it seems my father didn’t go.
He was a guy who had just risen from being a soldier to a noble, so the way he raised me was probably more like “education of a captain” rather than “education of a noble heir.”
Thinking back on it now, it’s clear that leaving a noble heir unattended and without any education until they grow up a bit is quite a commoner’s approach to upbringing.
Leaving them alone until they grow up enough not to die and then starting sword training! That really is the bottom of the barrel…
Normally, a noble would be cared for from childhood to ensure they don’t die and kept in sight.
Having multiple kids and only raising the ones that survive! That’s something you’d expect from wild animals, in other words, the impoverished.
But, well, thanks to that, I was able to do as I pleased without my parents watching me.
The power I gained during that time still supports me now.
So… the party.
This party feels like a year-end gathering or something similar, where even the least social people are expected to show up.
As I mentioned earlier, those who don’t attend this party are either true bottom-dwellers like my father or crazy people.
“Hey, hey, Exus? About this year’s party…?”
It’s called voluntary attendance, but essentially everyone has to participate…
Including the children, who are like students before becoming nobles.
In other words, me and Fran-chan, too.
So, Fran-chan immediately approached me, rubbing her hands together as if to gauge my mood.
“Ahhh, what to do?!”
So I answered cheerfully.
“Hey, really, please, this year too?! Just coming would be enough! Please?!”
Then Fran-chan desperately tried to cheer me up.
Her servility was flawless… impressive, indeed.
Grace and Yuki wouldn’t act like that.
Grace is way too determined; if I said I didn’t want to, she’d just follow along. Useful, but not interesting.
As for Yuki… despite being a noble, she doesn’t care at all about appearances. She seems to show something through her actions, but she’s generally unfit as a noble.
Thus, stuck between societal and noble expectations and my power harassment, it’s always Francis who lets out amusing cries of distress. Fran-chan.
When Fran-chan suffers, I enjoy myself.
It’s better to torment her psychologically than physically.
Of course, if I keep bullying her, I’ll lose her loyalty. So, I give her benefits, praise her when necessary, and treat her gently on the floor.
Fran-chan herself might be a bit of a masochist; it seems she enjoys being tossed around by me.
“Hey, Exus! If you attend the party, I’ll do anything for you…”
“Anything for me?”
“…No, if I casually say I’ll do anything for you, you might actually make me do ‘anything,’ so that’s a bit impossible.”
That’s true.
That’s a wise judgment, good for her.
“Please! I’ll give you a kiss!”
“Even without that, your entire body is my property, you know.”
Fran-chan is my toy, and at night, she becomes an adult toy. That’s our agreement.
“Um… then, the data I got from my home…”
“Receiving that is a condition for sending robotic weapons to your family, so it shouldn’t count as compensation.”
Oh my, is she underestimating me?
Even if she was a senior executive in an organization, I wouldn’t let familial ties allow for the sharing of benefits.
Organizations like that rot away quickly.
We’re not a small band of thieves like those typical “I’ll spoil my family” protagonists.
We’re building a grand organization that could, quite literally, control the world from the shadows.
Meritocracy, strict adherence to discipline, and compliance with regulations. Without these, a large organization can’t be sustained.
And since it’s an “organization”…
A protagonist with cheat abilities solving everything on their own and just being praised by the heroines (who are nothing more than sex toys) is merely a one-man bandit group.
To run an organization, mutual cooperation is essential.
I make them study various things so they can conduct their own unique research on what I don’t know and handle tasks I find bothersome.
For now, this is how it is, but in the future, I intend to develop them to the point where the organization can run smoothly without me.
So, I prohibit anything and everything from being shared just because of familial ties or being lovers.
“Not that! I mean the operating data of home appliances! …Last time I went home, it was so foul and dirty I couldn’t stand it, so I sent home appliances I bought out of my own pocket! I’m having them write a report on that, and I’ll submit it after I edit it! …How about that?”
…However, that’s our brilliant Fran-chan for you.
She has a proper head on her shoulders.
Unlike the Japanese youth who are often criticized for lacking initiative, she’s different. Well, I guess the Japanese youth have learned that they’ll get scolded for acting on their own, so they avoid taking responsibility by doing nothing…
Anyway, Fran-chan is thinking for herself, conducting her own research, and trying to contribute to me and the organization. That’s wonderful.
“Well, I was joking. I will attend the party. …But it’s good that you’re preparing something as a bargaining chip with me. That’s the mark of a leader in the organization.”
I gently rub Fran-chan.
“Ah… ehehe… You’re really paying attention to me?”
“Of course! Fran-chan is a toy to be played with, but beyond that, I trust her as a leader and have expectations. There’s no pretense or joking about that.”
“Ah, so you’re that type. Completely separating home and work…”
Fran-chan murmured something, but that’s how it should be, right?
Isn’t it common sense not to mix personal feelings into work?
