Chapter 18
18
Ezekiel is in the kitchen, diligently whisking eggs. He was wearing an ivory apron, I don't know where he got it from.
I approached him and asked.
"Don't tell me it's going to be rolled omelet for lunch and rolled omelet for dinner too?"
It reminded me of my grandfather, who would make only one thing for a whole week once I said it was delicious.
Ezekiel, who was diligently whisking the eggs with his small hands, looked up at me and made a 'hmph' sound.
"This is all we have. Are you on some Denbark diet? Why is there only eggs at home?"
That's because Dante bought ten cartons of eggs after hearing my sad story of breaking all the expensive eggs I had bought before.
"I'm going to go grocery shopping soon. You're growing, so I should buy a lot of meat."
"We can get meat from the mountains. Dike Brigadier General went to catch some with Toto. You've hired a high-performance housekeeper."
I looked at Ezekiel's pretty golden eyes and tilted my head.
"You know, why aren't you using magic and doing it yourself? It would be easier with magic."
"I want to try doing it with my own hands. I've relied too much on magic for too long."
The child spoke like an old man about to turn eighty.
How long have you even lived?
I reached out to Ezekiel and touched his softly swaying pink hair. Wow, it feels so good.
Ezekiel frowned and quickly dodged my touch.
"Don't touch me without permission. And don't treat me like a child."
Tsk, like a prickly little kitten.
"Okay, what are you making now?"
"I'm going to bake egg bread. I'm going to start with bread first."
"Can I help? When I was young, I was so impressed by a very famous patissier that I tried making bread too."
The pink head, which had been fixed on the egg bowl, turned slightly towards me.
"Who is it?"
"Kim Strawberry."
I remembered wanting to change my name to Kim Strawberry, the name of the main character in a patissier manga in my previous life.
Ezekiel looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Is there such a name? If they're famous, they would be exclusively for the Imperial Family, but I've never heard of them."
"Yes, in a very distant country."
"Do you want to meet them?"
I shook my head.
"It's too far to go there."
Above all, even if I return to my original world, they wouldn't be a real person. Instead, I might meet many Kim Strawberries who grew up watching that manga and achieved their dreams of becoming patissiers.
I'm not just Kim Strawberry, but Mia in a strange world.
"Come to think of it, I don't really have a dream. Everyone else seems to know exactly what they want to do."
"Didn't you have any hopes for the future when you were young?"
Ezekiel asked bluntly, listening to my lament. I thought back to the past when I was born and lived in this world.
"I just wanted to eat delicious food in an ordinary home."
When I was young, I was in a place where the light of dreams didn't reach. Born with the mind of an adult from the beginning, I only had the will and instinct to survive.
Ezekiel still had a expressionless face.
"Are you perhaps from an orphanage?"
It was a colorless voice, without pity or aversion. I scratched the back of my neck and shook my head again.
"No. But I think my situation was similar. Fortunately, my grandfather took me in, so I was barely able to escape."
"Still, you got what you wanted. You have a home now, and you eat delicious food."
Ezekiel, who said he wouldn't use magic, was already holding a warm egg bread in his hand. He shoved the egg bread into my mouth and said.
"I don't think it will taste good since I made it myself. I still need more practice."
"Gommamwong."
I mumbled my thanks. Ezekiel's eyebrows twitched slightly at that.
"Talk after you finish eating. It's messy."
Despite his indifferent and cold attitude, the egg bread tasted kind. I swallowed the bread and smiled at him.
"Ezekiel, do you want to go to the market with me? To buy bread ingredients."
"Why are you making up nicknames as you please? Fine, do whatever you want."
Ezekiel replied curtly.
With the great Magic Tower Lord, nothing dangerous will happen.
"I'll go change my clothes."
I waved my hand at the back of the child's pink head and left the kitchen.
As I was heading to my room to change, I ran into Elluaerd in a navy suit in the hallway on the second floor. In his hand were two old, yellowed letters.
"Master, these were in the mailbox."
What is it? There's no one who would send me a letter.
The demon butler looks at me with a fake, social smile. It's like he's sprayed an enchanting perfume on the artificial flowers. But that seems like a good combination.
I awkwardly took the letters.
"By the way, there was a mailbox?"
"Yes, you probably didn't see it because it was covered in ivy. It's a letter from the El Pasa era, 150 years ago."
"Um, then shouldn't we donate it to a museum?"
Wait, did someone send a letter 150 years ago and it just arrived now? Even the slow mailboxes in tourist spots aren't that late.
I tried to check the recipient and sender written on the mail, but it was written in an unknown language, so I couldn't read it at all. It looks similar to the letters I saw at the emotional cafe last time.
I should ask Mathias about it later.
"By the way, Master. You don't spend enough money compared to your income and assets. It's like you're just breathing and living."
At Elluaerd's calm voice, I tilted my head with a puzzled expression.
"Isn't it good to save money?"
"The country is collecting a lot of taxes because it's right after the war. You'll probably have to pay a huge amount of taxes."
Back when I was working part-time, I was on the verge of breaking my back because of the taxes collected under various names such as war funds. 2/5 of my salary went to taxes. It's the same even after the war ended.
"The Garshiel mansion is rumored to be haunted. So it won't be worth much, so the property tax won't be that high, right?"
"The value of this mansion is over 10 billion."
Wow. I can't even sell it, and I'll end up paying taxes I can't afford. I'll end my life paying taxes instead of buying another house.
I think I know why they open old houses and use them as tourist attractions.
Should I try it too? If I put those handsome men forward and use their charms, people will flock to it.
"What happens if I can't pay the taxes on time...?"
"A late payment fee will be added. And the tax collectors will come directly. They'll find even tax evaders hiding on deserted islands and collect it relentlessly."
Ugh, are they collection agents or something! Elluaerd, who was looking at my disgusted face, continued in a gentle tone.
"There are two ways to reduce taxes. First, spend efficiently for tax savings and throw money at corrupt places like the denomination. Second, withdraw all your cash and submit manipulated books. And..."
Elluaerd's lips curved with satisfaction after a brief pause. Judging from the madness in his red eyes, that's a sincere villain's smile.
"You're a terrible cheapskate, so of course it's the latter, right? I'm already excited about committing illegal acts together. We can do so much."
Apart from the fact that his smiling face is an amazing sight, I don't want to collude with a demon to evade taxes. I waved my hands in horror.
"No! I'll save taxes by spending and donating."
He seems to be averse to the good deed of 'donation', as befitting a demon. He swept back his platinum blonde hair and let out a low sigh.
"That's a shame."
His face gradually turned expressionless, and the atmosphere cooled down.
I'm going to do good, why is he making such a serious face!
"I believed that I would be a good partner for Master in this area."
He cut off his words and let out a heavy sigh again, then added briefly.
"Yo."
What the hell is this human - no, he's not human. He's a demon in human skin.
"Please refrain from using semi-honorific language that could be misunderstood." By the way, can't we process employee labor costs as expenses?"
"Well, 10% of the service fee is added to the determined tax amount..."
My head hurt from the difficult words that followed. I don't know the national tax laws of this country well, and it's cumbersome to get information because there's no internet. I should go to the library sometime.
"Elluaerd, can I ask you for some reference materials on tax savings? Even if it's not the denomination, we can donate to orphanages or animal protection organizations."
But he still had a cold face.
"I've prepared it in advance in case you refuse. I'm going to take care of everything anyway, but you can refer to it if you want."
He handed over a document.
This man, his words get shorter depending on his mood, but he does his job well. His statement that he would increase my wealth was somehow believable.
Let's just pretend I didn't hear the ominous muttering, 'I didn't think I'd ever use this...'
He flipped through another document in his hand and said.
"Getting married and transferring this mansion to joint ownership is also a way. The population has decreased a lot recently, so there are many subsidies and benefits as a marriage promotion policy."
"I don't have anyone to marry? And I don't have the ability to take responsibility for a family."
When I made a gloomy face, Elluaerd replied in a very businesslike voice.
"If you really don't have anyone, I'll marry you. Don't worry about being a good wife. I'll still look like this even when you become a grandmother, but it'll be fun in its own way. Demons know how to please humans."
The handsome demon gave a languid smile.
I brought in a mastermind as a housekeeper
