I Was Reincarnated as a Commoner. I Can’t Stand Living Like This, so I’ll Become an Aristocrat! C153

153, Director

"Director, is it okay for me to stay here for the next 12 weeks? Leon would also like to stay here for just a few days."

"Yes, of course. This is Ronnie's house, so feel free to come home."

“Thank you, Director-sensei!”

“Then I need to make some extra food for the two of us. Everyone who went to work will be home soon, so let’s start making dinner. I think Emma and Liz were in charge of cooking today. ? Is the preparation finished? 

Asia-san said that and looked at the two of them. I guess there's someone in charge of cooking. That's why Ronnie was able to cook from scratch. 

"Yes! It's almost finished."

"Thank you. Now, let's go to the kitchen. The person in charge of serving food should come in a little while. Ronnie and Leon, please take it easy."

"Well, we'll help too. We bought a lot of ingredients as souvenirs, and we also have sweets as souvenirs! Please let us make those too."

Ronnie said as he slightly lifted the heavy cloth bag filled with ingredients. It's so heavy that I have to put it on the floor every time I stop. Until we got here, Ronnie and I took turns carrying it. 

"Is it okay to buy so much? It seems quite heavy... And sweets must be expensive. Even if it's not, the Royal School is expensive..."

Asia-san said that and looked at Ronnie with great concern. She was certainly Ronnie before she started working at the food stall, and she wouldn't have been able to buy souvenirs. 

"I work at Leon's food stall, so I have some money saved up. Also, the sweets are a souvenir from Leon."

“Leon-kun, are you running the stall?”

"Leon is a little... special. He really helps me."

When Ronnie said that, Asia-san probably thought there was something difficult to say, so she stopped pursuing him. 

"I'm glad Ronnie has a good friend."

"Yes! He's a really good friend to me!"

Ronnie, I can't believe you thought that...! I'm embarrassed but happy. Lately, I've been amazed by Ronnie. 

As we were talking, someone appeared pulling Ronnie's sleeve. 

“Brother, do you work at the food stall?”

　

Liz asked Ronnie with sparkling eyes. I'm sure Ronnie said that. I think she was talking to her sister about how she could eat as much food as she wanted if she worked at a food stall. 

For Liz, working at a food stall is a dream. She certainly likes having her own shop. 

"That's right. They sell a food called crepes. I bought the ingredients as a souvenir, so I'll make some for everyone tonight."

"Really!? I'm so happy!"

"Let's move to the kitchen."

And so we headed to the kitchen. On the way, I asked Ronnie something I had always wondered about. 

“Ronnie, everyone uses honorific language for Asia-san, but why should you use it?”

It's normal for commoners to not be able to use honorific language, but everyone uses honorific language towards Asia-san. I've been wondering this for a while now. 

``The director taught me to be able to use honorific language and do simple calculations. He said that if you can use these two things, especially honorific language, you will have a better chance of finding a good job in the city center. It seems like I really want to teach them how to read and write, but I don't have the time to do that, so it's difficult. Everyone can do it at least a little."

Is that so... That's amazing. It usually costs a lot of money to learn in this world, and there are very few people who will teach you for free. 

It's a special place called an orphanage, but it teaches a lot of children for free... If this is applied, compulsory education could be implemented in this world as well. 

Even if compulsory education is not possible, if we were to make it possible for people to take classes at church, the level of education in this country would rise significantly. 

Well, it's difficult to do that. 

In any case, Ronnie was really lucky to come to this orphanage. Or rather, who is Asia? 

Church employees are basically commoners, right? I'm sure I've heard it before. I've heard that it's a simple test for reading and writing, so it's difficult for people who have never studied before, but anyone who has had the opportunity to learn even a little bit can pass easily. 

But I wouldn't be able to teach honorific language at that level... 

"That's a great blessing. Why do you have so much knowledge, Asia-san? Normally, church employees are commoners, right?"

"I'm really grateful. I was also curious and heard that the director's parents were semi-nobles. Apparently that gave him a chance to learn."

If Asia's parents are semi-nobles, does that mean her grandparents are aristocrats? Asia-san's status is a commoner, but she's a descendant of a noble family. 

"That's right. Why did you become the director of this orphanage?"

"I don't know much either, but he said that he didn't like living in the downtown area because it was tiring. I heard that there are many commoners whose parents are semi-nobles who work as employees at various facilities in the downtown area."

　

 That's right……. Now that you mention it, I've never thought about where the children of semi-nobles go, but there are certainly staff members at the Royal School, and there may be a lot of people working there. 

But if you're studying, wouldn't you consider joining the Royal College? If I graduate, I can become an official. 

“I was just wondering, but don’t children of semi-nobles enter the Royal School?”

“Hmm, I don’t know either, but there aren’t that many, right?”

"Yeah. If there is one, it's in our class, right?"

“That’s true, but…ah, I think there was only one girl who said she was a child of a semi-nobleman.”

　Wow, before I knew it, I was talking to a girl. I've never even talked to a girl at school, let alone a girl in my class. 

No, there were two of them. Martine and Stacey. But Martine is in a different category, and Stacey-sama seems to talk to anyone... 

But the two of you who talk to me are extremely valuable. Let's cherish it... 

“There was a child like that.”

"Yeah. I know you'll make fun of me, but you said you really wanted to enroll, so maybe there are a lot of people who don't enroll because they don't want to be looked down upon by aristocrats."

It's true that my grandparents are aristocrats, but I'm a commoner, so my position is very delicate. He probably doesn't want to be looked down upon by the aristocrats, and he knows that he will feel bad if he enrolls. 

Besides, if you don't have to go to the tough royal school, if you can get a good job, it's fine. Even if you are a commoner, you can only become an official if you enroll, and even if you become an official, if you work with an aristocrat, you will likely be looked down upon for the rest of your life... 

If you think about it that way, isn't there almost no benefit for a commoner to go to a royal school?　

It's possible for a poor commoner to enroll with the aim of becoming a government official, but if you're a commoner who is already reasonably well-off, there may be no point in enrolling. 

In fact, most of the commoners are the children of businessmen. Maybe it's because the children of the company are looking for a connection with the aristocrats and it's about status. 

　

“Indeed, there may not be much benefit for a child from a semi-noble family to attend a royal school.”

"That's right. I think so too."

As I was walking and talking to Ronnie in a whisper, we arrived at the kitchen. 

To get to the kitchen, first go to the dining room from the backyard, then go through the dining room and enter another door to reach it. It seems that the door that Emma and Liz first came out of was the kitchen.