Chapter 143: A Story of Ordinary Happiness
Heavy snow.
Snow Shoveling is necessary.
If I don’t do it, snow will pile up in front of the house, and I won’t be able to open the door.
As for that Snow Shoveling, I had the brats from the Slums do it as a high-paying part-time job.
This is also part of my donations, meant to keep the brats from resorting to excessive criminal activities.
The richer you are, the more you understand the meaning of the saying, “Kindness is not just for others’ sake.” It’s like that feeling is ingrained in me…
Besides, systems like bonds and such have only just been established and aren’t common yet, so there aren’t many places to put your assets.
Gathering thousands of gold coins! And stuffing them into a treasury! That’s such a poor person’s way of thinking. Rich people usually hold their assets in things like real estate or art.
There are tax reasons, but it’s also risk hedging, and the value of art can increase later. Plus, just owning land generates money, and if you’re upper class, you won’t look respectable if you don’t have at least a villa in a prime location…
…Enough about that. Being rich was in the past. Ah, no, am I still rich now? Yeah, I still am. I have money, I married a nobleman’s daughter, I’m pretty high up in the upper class.
W-well, whatever! Anyway, I gave work to the brats from the Slums.
Even if I give money to the church orphanage, when those kids grow up, they’ll just become people who work for the church.
But if I give money to Hookclaw, there are benefits, like them making sure no thieves show up near my mansion, and the orphan brats respecting me when they grow up.
This is probably more profitable than piling up gold coins in a vault. It’s like I’m buying people’s goodwill and trust with money and storing it up.
…Saying that not having burglars is a benefit! You might think, “Isn’t it normal not to have burglars in the first place?” But you can only say that because you’re Japanese.
You should know that high taxes are used to maintain that society without burglars.
But in this world, taxes are collected, but they aren’t… used as properly as in modern Japan, so you have to give money directly to local influential people or those with military power to get them to maintain public order and such. In that sense, these kinds of donations are like taxes too!!!
“Sensei! The Snow Shoveling is done!”
Oh, Val, huh.
One of the Slum brats.
Hmm… yeah.
The Snow Shoveling has been done properly.
“Alright, I’ve checked. I left your pay with Hookclaw.”
“Alright!”
“Also… you haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll give some food to those who helped out today. Here.”
I handed out steamed buns… well, basically Chinese bun-like things, filled with chopped-up leftover stew.
“”””Yayyyy!!!!””””
The brats were overjoyed.
Really… in this world, food almost never becomes “leftover.”
Even at lavish noble banquets, leftovers are fed to the servants. It’s normal to eat food even if it’s starting to spoil.
To begin with, food isn’t abundant around here.
A European-style climate, European-style land. In other words, it’s not fertile.
Asians, who have long eaten super-grains like rice that yield a ton, thanks to abundant water and warmth, probably wouldn’t know this though.
Wheat doesn’t yield that much, and the land is poor to begin with, so being able to eat your fill is rare in this land.
In places like Missgancia with lots of undeveloped areas, you can get fertile Forest resources in exchange for frequent Monster damage… but even so, it’s still not enough.
In Japan, I think most causes of death are things like suicide or lifestyle diseases, but that’s because those are the only things people die from.
In this world, the main causes of death are being eaten by Monsters, being assaulted, robbed, and killed by ruffians, dying in war… or starving to death. Of course, people also die left and right from diseases or injuries they wouldn’t die from on Earth.
A society where the only way to die is basically choosing it yourself, versus a society where you can starve to death even living normally, which one is better? The former is better, right? That’s how it is.
“So gooood!!!”
Val bites into a huge meat bun.
It’s piping hot, so he’s probably burning the inside of his mouth, but he’s eating without a care. The pleasure of rapidly replenishing nutrients must be stronger than the pain.
“”””Sensei, thank you very much!””””
Is this Hookclaw’s training? The brats bowed their heads, said their thanks, and left…
“The children from the Slums?”
“Rosa… you’ll get cold.”
Oh, Rosalinde.
Did you come out of your room?
But even if it’s just the garden, it’s not good to be outside in this snow.
I took off my coat, draped it over Rosalinde, and pushed her inside the mansion.
I brushed the snow off Rosalinde’s head, sat her down on the living room sofa, and brewed some warm milk tea.
At first, when Rosalinde started complaining about feeling unwell… meaning morning sickness, she was about two or three months pregnant.
Now that another two or three months have passed, she’s in the so-called “stable period,” a state where both mother and child are safe.
If the baby were born now, it would obviously be premature, but the child is developed enough that there wouldn’t be a problem even if it were born…
Ah, also.
Based on what I saw with Clairvoyance magic, the child seems to be a boy.
When I told her that, Rosalinde cried with joy. That’s happy news.
“Dru… no, Darling♡ Are you… giving money to the Slums? …Is it fun?”
“It’s not fun, but if giving a little money can buy peace, then it should be done, right?”
“I see… right. You dislike… telling my Otou-sama and using force to suppress things, don’t you? You want everyone to get along, right?”
“Yeah. I want everyone to get along.”
“Fufu… I’ll get along with your mistresses too, okay?”
“I really appreciate that. …But if you have something to say, please tell me, okay? It’s true that everyone is important to me, but Rosa, you’re included in that ‘everyone’ too.”
“Thank you, Darling. …But, you know? I really… don’t have anything I want to say?”
“Is that so?”
“My Nanny and the servants say things like the Mazoku are evil, or demi-humans are filthy… But I’ve spent more than half my life sick in bed. I’ve never met people like that, nor have I ever been treated horribly by them. So, I don’t understand.”
Ah…?
I see, that makes sense.
“Besides, your mistresses might be Mazoku or demi-humans, but they’re all good girls, you know?”
“You think so?”
“Yes… I think I could live happily with the people you’ve chosen.”
Happiness, huh…
As a person, I’m already more than happy enough.
But, as a parent, or rather, as a family man.
I couldn’t find happiness.
Can I obtain it, in this world?
That family happiness.