Chapter 119: If You're Not Working Properly, You're Doing This?
Thus, since the resolution of the Leviathan incident, it took a full week before Ragunna truly returned to normal.
Fortunately, there were no major losses or casualties at the time, allowing everyone to focus more on cleaning up the Order's mess and planning Ragunna's future.
The Rover, as the new king, was deeply beloved by the people. Montelli had become the current pillar of support, and public sentiment toward Fisalia was gradually improving.
With the return of the Fool's Troupe, along with assistance from the Black Shores and Huanglong, Ragunna was now radiating unprecedented vitality.
Thanks to the others, Carlotta's pressure in her current position was far less than she had imagined.
With help from the Black Shores and Huanglong, the difficulty of opening Ragunna to the outside world was greatly reduced. Meanwhile, Cantarella and Phoebe had handled matters related to the shadows and the Order with impeccable order.
It seemed everything was moving in a positive direction.
And Aeron—he was actually working diligently without slacking off, making Carlotta suspect he had been possessed by someone.
"What do you mean, 'possessed'? You people really don't have a single good impression of me."
However, the person in question seemed to deny this.
"Alright, alright, let's not dwell on that. What I didn't expect was that you would actually take the initiative to come find me. Have you finally developed a conscience and decided to properly repay the Montelli family for recognizing your talents?"
A smile spread across Carlotta's face. She hadn't expected the plan devised with the Rover to be even more effective than imagined.
Originally, she had only hoped Aeron would step in when necessary. Now, it seemed he didn't treat himself as an outsider—which was good.
"After discussing with all the poets, I discovered that the path chosen by the Second Young Lady is a vast blue ocean. Therefore, I carefully researched calibration points, aligned granularity, and strived to approach it from multiple dimensions and deep levels—"
"Speak human language."
"I think this job is really interesting, so I stayed up all night these past few days and finished writing the proposal."
Well, judging by the facts, it seemed a bit different from what Carlotta had imagined. This guy's motivation for such strange matters was as high as ever.
"I'm telling you... if you put this kind of effort into other things, you'd succeed at anything."
That was all she could say in response.
"Turning Ciaccona into an idol"—this plan was still in the conceptual stage for Carlotta, not yet ready for formal implementation. When she had mentioned it to Ciaccona before, it was only meant as bait to hook Aeron.
Carlotta hadn't expected him to bite so quickly, even trying to drag the fishing rod down with him.
"Because human energy is limited, it should be spent on things one finds interesting! Working a job only makes people completely disregard the value of their own reputation in life!"
"Where did you get that logic from...?"
"You just don't get it, Second Young Lady. Working a job makes every young day of your life spent hoping Monday through Friday would hurry up and pass. Week after week, what's slipping away is precious life!"
This guy's values and life philosophy were as unconventional as ever—sometimes making sense, other times making no sense at all like a rogue.
But this wasn't something Carlotta needed to worry about. Better to save him from getting carried away again, ending up covered in wounds and drenched in blood, always making others worry.
Thinking back carefully on the time since she'd known him, everything he did had been beyond everyone's expectations. Even Rover had spoken highly(?) of him.
Who would have thought that such a madman had been hiding in the old Order? Thankfully, he was now on her side.
Considering the situation during Carnevale, whether out of personal feelings or for the bigger picture, Carlotta didn't want him standing against her again.
Seeing him like this now, Carlotta felt somewhat reassured in her heart.
"So you haven't just been slacking off all this time, only to mess around with this thing, right?"
"Not exactly. After all, I promised you all, and I haven't neglected any of the tasks I should be doing."
"..."
"What kind of expression is that?"
"I thought you'd take advantage of the convenience Phoebe gave you and start having so much fun you'd forget your duties."
"After spending so much time with me, that's the conclusion you've come to!?"
Even though Aeron's name sounded like "slacking off," and he did indeed love to slack off, at least during this period, he really hadn't been slacking off!
"After all, I'm a priest who passed the official channels to enter the Order and worked hard for three or four years. I've definitely been doing my job properly."
"Oh~ So you were so busy working that you didn't even have time to go home?"
Girl, how do you know about this?
Seeing Aeron's awkward expression, Carlotta, who had only mentioned it casually at first, became interested.
This guy has something to hide.
"I went to your place before, but every time, I couldn't even get the door to open."
Not giving Aeron time to argue, Carlotta continued her attack.
"Uh... Leaving aside how you found out where I live, what were you doing there?"
"Since you agreed to cooperate with Montelli, as a partner, it's only reasonable for me to pay a visit, right?"
Where exactly is the reason in that?
Aeron almost blurted that out, but upon second thought, part of his salary did indeed come from Montelli now, so he kept his mouth shut out of professionalism.
But he swore he wasn't lying. During this time, he had truly been working diligently as an ordinary priest for Ragunna—tidying up after the Order during the day, then returning to that big mansion at night to rest and work on proposals. He hadn't neglected any of his duties.
Although he didn't know why Carlotta had personally come looking for him, the matter itself wasn't a big deal. He might as well be honest with her.
"Well... you know, the Second Young Lady, Cartethyia, does own real estate... but considering Avinoleum's special geographical location now, relying solely on my tiny little room definitely isn't enough."
...What on earth is this guy talking about?
It sounded more and more absurd. Carlotta was determined to see what kind of story he could come up with this time.
Maybe... she could even catch him on something else?
Thinking this, Carlotta chuckled softly and picked up where Aeron left off:
"You could've just told me earlier. It's not like Montelli doesn't have vacant apartments. I can arrange one for you."
"No need to trouble yourself with that. Cantarella has already arranged everything for me, and Cartethyia likes it too. Right now, the two of us living there is quite..."
Aeron's voice grew softer and softer, because he noticed that the smile on Carlotta's face had frozen.
Huh? Did I say something wrong? What's with this awkward atmosphere?
"So, during this time, you've been working diligently at the Order during the day, then returning to the mansion Cantarella prepared for you and Cartethyia at night, and focusing on drafting this plan to turn Ciaccona into an idol, right?"
"...Yeah."
What's right about that, I ask you?
Why does it feel like I've done something wrong when I'm just telling the truth?!
Aeron admitted he might have some psychological issues, but he wasn't completely clueless. He could sense the dissatisfaction in Carlotta's words, but the question was—why?
First, he hadn't done anything immoral. Second, he hadn't damaged Montelli's reputation. So why was she upset?
What should he do now? He finally had the chance to play a real-life version of "The Idolmaster"—was he going to get banned because of this?
No, calm down, Aeron! Are you the kind of person who panics over something like this?!
At times like this... he should think about what Rover would do!
First, he needed to put himself in the other person's shoes and figure out why they were angry.
With that thought in mind, Aeron looked up at Carlotta.
Carlotta still wore that beautiful smile on her face, her hands crossed elegantly under her chin. Her pale blue eyes narrowed slightly as she scrutinized Aeron.
Hmm, completely unreadable. Narrowed eyes are terrifying.
But it's okay—he had a second move!
Even if he couldn't understand what Carlotta was thinking now, as long as he recalled what happened before, he was sure to find some clues.
Last time, too, Carlotta had inexplicably come to talk to him, asking Aeron to personally say he would help Montelli... Though the current situation wasn't exactly the same, there were still similarities.
After organizing his thoughts, Aeron finally calmed down. It seemed he had been overthinking things from the start.
After all, even in such a high position, Carlotta was still a young girl at heart. He just needed to point out her thoughts and observe her reaction.
"...Are you sulking?"
"Who's sulking?!"
Alright, Aeron confirmed she was indeed sulking.
Seeing Carlotta's expression completely crumble at that one sentence, he knew his line of thinking was correct.
"Don't worry, Second Young Lady. I know you're concerned about my position, but you should also know that such things can't hold me back, right?"
"Hmph, doesn't that just prove your credibility is questionable?"
"At least in my heart, you've always been the top priority, Second Young Lady."
"...Smooth talker. Who knows if you say that to everyone?"
After hearing Aeron's words, Carlotta turned her head to the side. The earlier coldness and distance had faded quite a bit.
"No need to worry about that. Whether it's you or anyone else, I've never broken a promise I made to you. And it's because I trust you that I came here, Carlotta."
Hearing Aeron suddenly call her name, Carlotta was taken aback for a moment, and the slight discomfort she had felt earlier vanished completely.
"Sigh…"
Even she marveled at how easily she was swayed, but it was true that her emotions had momentarily overwhelmed her. It was rare for Aeron to come to her in person, and as the host, she really shouldn't have shown such an attitude toward a guest—especially when that guest had done her a favor.
"I was indeed a bit rude just now… I'm sorry."
"It's fine, I'm used to things like this. In fact, I'm quite happy to see that the Second Young Lady still has the heart to be sulky. If I saw you being tormented by pressure, that would be my responsibility."
"…"
Carlotta had underestimated the thickness of this guy's skin. How could he just casually say anything that came to mind?
"Anyway… as long as you understand, I won't dwell on it too much. Now, let's talk about why you're here."
"Great! I was waiting for you to say that!"
As soon as Carlotta relented, Aeron immediately jumped in, pulling out the thick stack of proposals he had prepared from his pocket and slapping them onto Carlotta's desk.
"Then listen carefully, Second Young Lady. This is a one-of-a-kind, absolutely unparalleled plan!"