Chapter 175: Chapter 159: Gifting

The next day after Rebecca-san’s birthday, we were taken by Matthias-san to the castle.

“”What we doing~?””

“N?”

“”Baking bread~?””

“No, no. We haven’t come today to bake bread.”

Speaking of what we came for today, it’s to give the pearl accessories to Grace-sama and Aurora-sama.

“We are here today to hand over the gifts to Grace-sama and Aurora-sama.”

“”I see~””

Although I say that, there’s a high probability that the royal family would want to award us with a suitable amount of cash, so it’s very hard to call them strictly “presents.”

I’m told that... the nobility cannot receive gifts from the nobility without a proper reason. That’s because even if we don’t even think about it, it might look like we are trying to bribe them to others.

Therefore, it might be correct to say that we are going there for “high-pressure salesmanship.”

“Sorry, have we made you wait?”

Immediately after Matthias-san and I were taken to the parlor, the King-Queen couple and the Crown Prince-Crown Princess couple entered.

“Not at all, thank you very much for making time for us, Your Majesty.”

“No problem.”

Matthias-san gave the greetings to the four as our representative.

“And so, what’s the matter? You had Grace and Aurora accompany us as well.”

“Yes, we have something we would like Her Majesty and Her Highness to accept.”

“Hou~”

Hearing Matthias-san’s words, Tristan-sama glanced at me for some reason.

“Since you are together, it means that Takumi did something again, no? So, what have you done this time?”

“......”

Tristan-sama advanced the conversation while assuming that I did something from the beginning.

“Fufu. Dear, you don’t have to speak like that since the very beginning~”

“That’s right, Father. You are making Takumi-dono uncomfortable.”

Grace-sama and Austin-sama defended me immediately after hearing Tristan-sama’s words, however—

“No, His Majesty’s words aren’t wrong.”

“See?”

“Oh my~?”

Matthias-san sided with His Majesty.

I somehow can’t accept that the matter with the pearls is something I have to feel guilty about, but it would become more complicated if I spoke up here, so I decided to hold my tongue behind my mouth.

“I think it would be faster to show you the articles we would like you to accept first.”

Saying that, Matthias-san handed over the box containing the pearl accessories.

“Hmm. Let’s have a look then.”

“Father, I will-”

Austin-sama received the box on behalf of the four royal family members and opened the lid. Then——

“What the hell is this!?”

“This is...”

“”My!””

All four of them raised their voice with surprise.

“These are pearls. I have not seen pearls this magnificent ever before!”

“This is my first time seeing pearls of such neat shapes. Also, I have never thought of ever witnessing colored pearls in my life.”

“How wonderful articles these are~”

“Yes, truly.”

Tristan-sama and Austin-sama observed the pearls while not believing their eyes, while Grace-sama and Aurora-sama looked at the jewelry, spellbound.

“I see, Takumi, huh! These come from Takumi then!”

“Yes, you are correct.”

With Tristan-sama’s words, the gazes of the four gathered on me.

“I was given these pearls. By the way, I believe their place of origin to be in the vicinity of Bailey.”

“”””............””””

I have said that they were given to me just like I told Matthias-san before, but the silence continued.

Matthias-san who saw the situation could only shrug his shoulders while looking like he wanted to say “Good grief.”

“Errr... I had these accessories made for Grace-sama and Aurora-sama respectively, would you please accept them?”

“”Oh my~””

Thinking that it would be better to advance the conversation here, I conveyed that these articles were gifts for Aurora-sama and Grace-sama.

Grace-sama and Aurora-sama who heard that raised their voices in joy while looking at their husbands.

As I thought, it seems that they can’t just say “I will accept it.” or “Yes, thank you.”

“They are such fascinating articles. Even I would like to get my hands on them. Takumi, please give us these articles by all means. Naturally, we will pay you a suitable price.”

“I’m fine with gifting you these, but... as I thought, that can’t be done, huh.”

“Indeed. We are grateful for your feelings though.”

As I have expected, I have to sell them.

“I’m sorry for increasing your expenses all of sudden.”

“Don’t mind it, my wife seems to like it. It would hurt my reputation as a man if I didn’t buy it for her.”

“My! You are so handsome, Dear.”

His Majesty and Her Majesty displayed their affection.

Looking at Tristan-sama and Grace-sama, they too seem to be in a harmonious relationship.

“”Getting along~?””

“Indeed.”

When Allen and Elena started giggling and frolicking because the couples were getting along, Tristan-sama cleared his throat to change the subject.

“Ahem. So, Takumi. Have you decided the value of these articles?”

“No, I have not. However, the pearls were given to me, so I am unable to attach value on them... as for the rest, the bases are made from metals and then there are the craftsmanship expenses, so I don’t think they should be that expensive...”

Tristan-sama asked me for a price, but... I honestly don’t know.

Anyhow, far from paying for the accessories, I made money by selling them the pearls.

“No, no, no! Takumi-dono, you are talking about the cost price, right? We don’t mean that, but the value of the accessories themselves, alright? You may give whatever price you like. These accessories should be of considerable value, you understand?”

As I was thinking that I could ask for the price it took to produce these accessories, Austin-sama immediately stopped me. It unexpectedly didn’t work.

“Personally, I am fine with the minimum you are willing to pay, but...”

“That would be easier on our pockets indeed, but that’s not good! Rather, why is the selling side trying to bargain with us for a lower price!?”

Normally, the selling side should be trying to exaggerate the price as much as possible, right? Austin-sama lightly scolded me.

“Is it hopeless?”

“It is!”

“”Hopeless~?””

“Y, yeah, it’s hopeless!”

Allen and Elena who can’t read the mood tried to cover for me, but Austin-sama wasn’t budging.

“”Please~””

“Ugh...”

When Allen and Elena pleaded with Austin-sama to make doubly sure, Austin-sama’s next words were finally blocked.

“”Fufu.””

Finding such exchange amusing, Grace-sama and Aurora-sama spilled out laughter.

“It’s supposed to be the exact opposite, but... trying to sell something cheaply, it’s my first time hearing such a request.”

“Truly, Mother-in-law. We are so not used to it, it’s us who are getting troubled instead.”

Grace-sama and Aurora-sama were attentively watching the course of events.

After that, thanks to being continuously supported by Allen and Elena, the pearls got sold for the bare minimum amount of cash.

“Allen, Elena, thank you! You did well!”

“”Ehehe~””

Although Austin-sama seemed to be worn out at the end, I praised the children for their effort.