There Is No Need To Be Obsessed

“Breaking news! Breaking news!”

Early in the morning, junior member Killiburn was running around making a fuss.

“That little shit again.”

“Just ignore him, it’s not a day or two that he goes around fussing about something that doesn’t matter like this.”

“What kind of silly business are you dealing with this time?”

“Well, it seems to me that you’ve been constipated.”

The boy with red hair and characteristic freckles, Killiburn, was known as the fuss lord within the Cheshire Guild.

‘I had a dream yesterday’, ‘the seeds I planted recently have sprouted’, ‘Someone’s horse has given birth’, etc…

All the news he shouted was really useless, so even the members who responded at first started to ignore him no matter what he shouted.

“This time it’s really great news!”

Killiburn was frustrated by the cold reaction the members showed toward him, and pounded his chest.

However, the cold gaze of the members did not change.

Killiburn, who kept shouting that it was terrific news, was asked by an annoyed voice from one of the members.

“Oh yeah? What the hell is it this time? If it’s nothing big, you’re doing all the cleaning today.”

“Fine! Instead, if the news is shocking enough to leave your mouth open, you will have to bow down to me and do all the cleaning for the entire next week!”

Although the conditions were rather unbalanced, the members, confident that it would not be shocking to the point of having their mouths hung open, folded their arms and nodded without much hesitation.

“Alright then! Tell us, Killiburn!”

“Listen carefully….
A new apprentice is joining today.”

Killiburn said with a solemn face.

(whispers stirred).

The members, who were expecting something more dramatic from the boy, turned fed up.

“What is the big deal about that? What a fuss you make!”

“That’s right, Killiburn you idiot! You’re doing all the cleaning today!”

“That’s not the point!”

The members who were criticising Killiburn had their mouths wide agape at his next words.
Some even collapsed on the spot from shock.

“That apprentice is the lover of the vice chairman Leone Finisis!”

♔♚♔

As soon as I got off the carriage, a fierce-looking woman came up to me and took me inside.

She led me to her own office on the second floor.

I settled down on the sofa and looked around her neat interior for a moment.

Then the woman, sitting opposite from me, spoke up first.

“Let me introduce myself first.
My name is Yuphon Alexia.
I’m in charge of the apprenticeship.
Feel comfortable to call me Yuphon.”

Her voice was cold.

“I am Eureia Craycia.
Please feel free to call me by my first name as well, Yuphon.”

“Is that okay?”

For a moment, it was difficult for me to understand what she meant.

She was the apprentice manager, while I was the apprentice.

Why couldn’t she do that to the person under her guidance?

…Aha.

I quickly grasped her mind.

It must be because Leone is backing me.

She might have known that I was a parachute hired.

What she said didn’t mean she was wary of Leone’s being behind me.

It’s rather the opposite.

She was being sarcastic.

I don’t like it.

Well, that’s understandable.
Especially if they held great pride in working for Cheshire, they would most certainly be offended by a free loader like me.

And she didn’t even bother to hide her displeasure.

It must have been because Leone wasn’t the kind of person to do much harm to others just because they treated the person he took in badly.

It was then that the door opened with a knock.

A man came in and put the teacup down in front of Yuphon.

Upon putting down the teacup, the man was stealing glances at me so much that I just wanted to tell him to just look straight at me properly.

“You’ve done a good job.
You may go now.”

“Ah yes…….”

At Yuphon’s words, the man took one last lingering look at me, and then left the room.

“Try it.
It’s tea leaves made from Lokara grass that I’ve recently bought from the Ran tribe in the Alka Mountains.
It’s just a trial product, but you’ll love it.”

Lokara grass in the Alka Mountains…

The Alka Mountains were a large mountain range located in the northwestern part of the continent and were famous for their rugged and dangerous geographic area.

Even explorers and researchers who enjoyed excavating and researching unknown lands couldn’t even afford to visit the Alka Mountains.

Since ancient times, there had been only one tribe in the mountain range.

It was the Ran tribe.

And Lokara grass was a rare grass in the northwest region.

It was said to have a wonderful scent, and if one were to drink it as tea or add it to food as a spice, it would make them feel ecstatic, almost as if all their fatigue had been washed away.

However, it was almost impossible to find Lokara leaves, as it was only occasionally seen at the entrance of Alka Mountains or around them.

Of course, once gone into the Alka Mountains, much more Lokara grass could be found.

But this means they’ve joined hands with the Ran tribe and bought Lokara grass.

As of prediction, once these tea leaves were placed on the case for sale, there would once again be an uproar within the empire.

As expected of the Cheshire business.

I then took a sip of tea, receiving Yuphon’s gaze, which seemed to be evaluating me.

As the warm tea water rushed in, I could feel the subtle scent of wild flowers.
And as soon as the tea went down my throat, the scent disappeared in an instant, leaving a regrettable lingering aftertaste.

It was such a shame that the tea I drank went down.

However…