Girl’s Day

Several days had passed since we started supplying bread to the school cafeteria, and once I went to school today, I would have two days off.

It seemed the cafeteria menu had been revised starting with the bread, and the taste had improved, so a lot of customers had come back. Until now, only some people had known about the bread sold at Marie’s Bakery, but once we began supplying the school, even nobles learned about it, and we were promoted to a famous shop overnight.

“Marie-san. They’re done baking. Please get the next batch ready.”

“Kent-san, here you go.”

Marie and I kept baking bread one batch after another from early morning. Since the required quantity had increased, I ended up baking right up until the last possible minute before school. Once Caro and I left for school, our manpower dropped sharply, so how much we could bake in this time window became the deciding factor. Caro worked with me in the bakery workshop making sweet buns. Caro was excellent—she performed well at everything, from baking to customer service. Catherine had gotten used to the register enough to handle the storefront alone. Emily went into the kitchen and handled cooking for the dining space and serving customers by herself. Everyone was working in a hectic rush.

On the first day, the dining space was probably intimidating, so almost no one used it, but word of mouth from those who tried it on day one brought customers starting the next day, and now it was full of people eating breakfast.

“Big brother, I came to help.”

Rachel, who had left the dorm a bit earlier, came in to help. With one more person added, things became a little easier. It seemed Rachel was moving out of the dorm, and she planned to use the two-day break starting tomorrow to handle the move. She also said she would start taking morning shifts. For the shop, having her as manpower was very reassuring.

As it got close to school time, the three of us—Caro, Rachel, and I—headed to school.

“Today was busy again. Starting early every day like this… everyone’s really doing great.”

Rachel said.

“Starting next week, Akane will help too, right? I’m counting on it.”

“Please do your best, Rachel-san.”

Rachel got cheered on by Caro and me.

“Alright, big brother, see you later. Let’s go, Caro-san.”

“Then, I’ll see you later.”

I parted ways with Caro and Rachel and headed to my classroom.

When lunch break came, I headed to the usual spot behind the school building. Caro and Rachel were already there, and Josette was too, waiting for me.

“Alright, here’s today’s bread.”

As I said that, I opened the mouth of the paper bag. Since switching to an electric oven, failures had almost disappeared, so this felt like I was just taking a little from what we sold in the shop. It was the same as what was displayed at the counter, so it looked good too. Each of them chose the bread they liked and started eating.

“Kent-san, here’s some tea.”

Caro handed me tea.

“Thanks.”

“You and Caro-san really get along, big brother. Doesn’t it feel like you’re already a married couple?”

Rachel said to Caro.

“I-is that so?”

Caro answered bashfully. And the relaxed lunch break time passed by.

“Speaking of which, Kent-san. Do you remember what I asked you the other day?”

“The other day… you mean the thing about installing that at your home?”

Since we were eating, I avoided saying the word “toilet.”

“That’s right. So, could you come to my home tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s a day off, so I don’t mind.”

I answered without thinking much, since lately I’d been treating Josette like a friend—but it was easy to imagine that the home of a duke’s daughter would be an incredible place. I had completely forgotten that.

“So tomorrow you’re going to Josette-sama’s mansion, Kent-san. I’ll just clean the house and wait, then.”

Caro said, looking a little lonely.

“A duke’s family mansion has to be huge, right? Big brother, are you going to be okay?”

Rachel said, and the words “mansion” and “duke’s family” made me remember what I’d forgotten.

“I agreed without thinking… what do I do?”

“It’s too late to say that now. Since you promised, you will come.”

When I hesitated, Josette said that, and it became half-forced that I had to go.

The next day, I headed to Josette’s home—the duke’s family mansion. I didn’t own any formal outfit that wouldn’t embarrass me in front of nobles, so I decided to go in my school uniform.

“Kent-san, please be careful.”

Seeing me off, Caro watched as I walked toward the duke’s mansion. In terms of location, the noble district was on the outskirts past the town center, and Josette’s duke’s mansion was there. The town center was lively from morning, with lots of people walking around.

(I really need to sort out some clothes for going out soon…)

I thought that while looking at the outfits displayed in shop windows. When I reincarnated, I had no belongings other than what I used for school. With a bit more money now, I could order things through my device and get by, but clothes were a different story. I could obtain fabric and sewing tools, so the materials were available, but I didn’t have sewing skills. Then I remembered that Akane used to make cosplay costumes herself and attend fan convention sales events.

(Maybe she could help me get clothes, too?)

Anyway, clothes in this town were expensive. Among commoners, I often saw people wearing patched-up outfits that couldn’t honestly be called nice. Students who attended school received uniforms from the state, so wearing those at least made them look presentable. But it seemed you had to return the uniform upon graduation. That meant I’d need to secure my own clothes after graduating.

Thinking about that, I left the town and entered the district lined with noble mansions.

(So this is the noble district… there really are impressive mansions everywhere…)

In one corner, I saw a mansion with a signboard that read “Seized Property.” From the location, I figured it was the place that had once been Caro’s home.

(If I ever have enough money, it’d be nice if I could give this mansion back to Caro…)

Thinking of how devoted Caro was to me, I felt that. But someone living a life where they couldn’t even buy clothes wasn’t going to be purchasing real estate anytime soon—it still felt like a distant dream. After walking farther, an especially grand mansion came into view.

“It’s so… big.”

Stunned, I ended up blurting out a line from a manga—the one where a handsome guy in a blue jumpsuit sits on a bench.

In front of the gate stood two men in armor with swords at their sides—guards, or maybe security. I called out to them.

“Excuse me, I’d like you to announce me to Josette-sama.”

“What business does a lowly commoner have with a duke’s family! Leave at once!”

“I have an appointment to see her, though?”

I couldn’t just leave, so I said that to the guards.

“We have heard nothing. We know you are lying. Otherwise…”

One of the guards put his hand on his sword. With that kind of response, there was nothing I could do but go home.

“Understood. Then I’ll return home for today. Please tell Josette-sama only that Kent came. Excuse me.”

After leaving my message, I headed back home.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back. Kent-san, you’re early.”

Caro welcomed me with a smile, and it soothed my heart so much that I ended up hugging her.

“What happened? You look terribly tired.”

Caro leaned into me without resisting and said that.

Then I told Caro about being turned away at the gate.

“I see. The guards at Josette-sama’s mansion tend to be very rigid. Maybe the message got stuck somewhere.”

“By the way, where are Marie-san and Catherine?”

I hadn’t seen the two of them, even though I thought they would be home.

“Today, they went shopping together as mother and daughter. It looked like they planned to buy things, not just browse, so they may be late coming back.”

“Maybe it’s good for them to enjoy some mother-and-daughter time once in a while.”

“Yes.”

When I said that, Caro agreed.

“Caro-san, since we’re finally alone… it’s okay, right?”

Saying that, I pulled Caro close and pressed her down.

“Honestly, Kent-san, you couldn’t hold back anymore? I want to say it’s fine… but right now, it might be impossible…”

“What’s wrong?”

I hadn’t expected Caro to refuse, so I asked why.

“Actually… my girl’s day came today.”

“Ah… I see.”

Once she said it, I understood. The monthly thing.

“What are you doing about it right now?”

“Huh? I’m just using a cloth, but…?”

At first, Caro didn’t understand what I meant, and there was a pause—but after thinking, she realized I was asking how she handled it.

“Sorry I didn’t notice. Wait a bit…”

I took out my device and ordered sanitary pads and painkillers.

“What is this?”

“They’re sanitary pads. If you attach one to your underwear, you won’t leak, so you won’t need to use cloth. But there’s a limit to how much they absorb, so you have to change them regularly. After you’re done, put it in the triangular box inside the restroom. I’ll keep some stocked in the restroom, so tell Marie-san and Catherine… though they’re not back yet, I guess.”

I carefully explained how to use them to Caro.

“Thank you. I’ll use them carefully.”

Caro thanked me.

“Also, it seems some people get stomach cramps depending on the person, so if it hurts, take this medicine.”

I handed the painkillers to Caro.

“Then I’ll go put it on right away. And I’ll take the medicine too.”

Caro headed to the restroom as she said that. It seemed she had been enduring the pain. I regretted that I hadn’t noticed the change in her.