The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 157

Chapter 157: Klaus’s Office

“Here’s Baron Luminous’s office.”

After a few days of vacation, Olivia the princess guided me to the office when I entered the castle.

Nobles of baron rank and above get an office in the castle. She said I’d work here.

“Um… Olivia.”

“What is it? Baron Luminous.”

She smiled brightly and tilted her head.

“Well… could you call me by my name without the title?”

Until I officially got the baron title, she’d called me that way, so the formality made me uneasy.

“I’d call a commoner by name, but I can’t take that attitude with a noble like you.”

She explained that she’d used the fitting address for my status before, but now as a noble, it had to change.

It was the strict court etiquette answer I’d expect from her.

“But it feels like… you’re keeping your distance…”

I started to wonder if all the friendly times before had just been in my head.

She leaned in close and stared right at me…

“I see, Klaus is feeling lonely, huh?”

She said it with a teasing smile. She’d switched back to my name.

“Well, I won’t deny it.”

I admitted her point.

“No helping it, then. When it’s just us, that’s fine.”

Olivia the princess gave permission with kind eyes, like she was looking at a needy little brother.

“Honestly, I wanted to just hang out normally with you too, at least sometimes.”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who’d found our time together comfortable.

“But we have to separate public and private, so keep that in mind.”

She cleared her throat with a little cough…

“Now, starting today, Klaus the new baron will work in this room.”

She switched to work mode and started explaining to me.

“First off, jobs in the castle rely on connections. Klaus, you need to get your face and name known by lots of nobles from now on.”

She pointed her finger sharply as she said it. I’d heard the court was full of nobles with all sorts of agendas, each pushing for their own gains.

What I had to do first was figure out enemies and allies, and handle rivals without getting too hated—play it safe.

“By the way, what’s with this huge stack of envelopes on the desk?”

I asked about them during a pause in her explanation.

“Those are invitations to parties and hunting meets from other nobles. They must’ve sent a ton once your office got set up.”

She said nobles with private offices get a lot of these.

“So… do I have to go?”

I’d heard hunting meets involve bows, and I wanted to skip parties for a while. I waited for her answer with hopeful eyes…

“I think you should accept them. In noble society, connections are everything. To run the jobs you take smoothly, you need other nobles’ help—it’s no exaggeration to say a noble’s work is meeting people.”

As expected, she shot down my hope.

“Still, when you say it, Olivia, it really hits home.”

After all, as the kingdom’s first princess, I remembered her getting invites to tea parties from noble daughters all the time.

“But… just skimming them will take forever.”

The envelopes were thick, over a hundred of them. Reading through all that would’ve eaten up all my time, no matter how much I had.

“…Come to think of it, Olivia.”

A sudden question popped into my head, and I voiced it.

“Aren’t you super busy too? Is it okay for you to be here?”

I recalled she’d said her help would only go up to the awarding ceremony.

“Sure, I’m busy, but there’s no one else right for it. I’ll keep teaching you the ropes.”

“That’s great, but…”

It felt bad to tie up a princess of the realm.

“Actually, volunteers flooded Father’s desk to be ‘Baron Luminous’s tutor.’ But you’re such a tricky person in our country—even I could see through the ones with ulterior motives. I didn’t want to hand you over to them.”

She laid out the situation honestly.

“And I’ve got a track record teaching etiquette, plus as royalty, faction fights don’t touch me.”

True, few nobles would complain about dealing with the royal family.

“Besides, like Father said, you’re the one holding this country’s fate. I can’t have some nosy or threatening noble sour your mood and make you leave for another country.”

“I told His Majesty the same, but I love this country, so I’ve got zero plans like that.”

Saying it again seemed to ease her worry.

“Actually, at the party the other day, that count family who doesn’t get it almost pissed you off, right?”

That was Victor and his hangers-on.

“I heard the report later and crushed the paper in my fist without thinking.”

Olivia the princess let anger seep into her voice, which trembled.

I figured I shouldn’t stir her up more, so I changed the subject.

“Speaking of, now that I’m a noble, that means work starts, right?”

I’d come to the castle following the prior briefing, so I wanted to tackle the real duties first.

“Right. Basically, nobles take on all sorts of state jobs—like overseeing park repairs or castle wall fixes. You hire contractors within the budget and get the work done.”

Apparently, nobles manage the budget and pocket any leftovers. The amounts were generous enough that you wouldn’t go red unless you really screwed up.

“But I don’t have any ties to contractors. Is that okay?”

Right away, my lack of connections was biting me. No family ties or merchant links. Could I ask Lorraine or Lucia?

As I pictured their faces…

“Don’t worry. I’ll back you up until you get the hang of it.”

Olivia the princess put her hand on her chest and said so.

“No matter how tough you are physically, experience counts in this field. I won’t take my eyes off you until you’re up to speed.”

I knew her well from the etiquette lessons—her knack for looking after people.

“So, for Klaus’s first job, something urgent came up…”

I glanced at the request form she handed over.

“This one’s too much for you to handle alone, so I’ll take care of it. Mind waiting a bit?”

As she told me that,

“Can I ask something?”

Once I got the job details, I spoke up to her.

“Yes?”

“About this job—”

A sudden idea hit me, so I made a suggestion to her.