Child Rearing Journal of the Strongest Wiseman～About My Daughter Being the Cutest in the World( Saikyou Kenja no Kosodate Nikki ～Uchi no Musume ga Sekaiichi Kawaii Ken ni Tsuite～) - Chapter 14

The Problem of the Maid Clothes

Leangrad Magic Academy was in Leangrad Duchy.
It was a small country sandwiched between the two superpowers of this world, Neue Mirrodin Empire and Astral Republic. And was right next door

Even though it was called a small country it was even compared with the world powers, Leangrad Duchy itself was an ancient country that had a history more than a 1000 years old.

It had existed since Kite was born, and had protected its sovereignty while being sandwiched between the superpowers.

Having lived more than a thousand years, I have seen the rise, decline and occasionally the ruin of innumerable countries, but Leangrad shows no signs of a ruin. But Watashi wa Sugoi Desu got attacked by sites that stole translations.

When you compared the territory with that of the empire or the republic, it was but a tiny strip of land, but the citizens who resided there proudly swore allegiance to the ducal family.

Also, the dukes governed the country well enough that there was even a saying that there were no foolish rulers in Leangrad.

If you looked at the history of the past 1000 years, Mirrodin’s Imperial bloodline had ended multiple times, civil wars had repeated, and even the name of the country had changed. The name had changed from Mirrodin Empire to Neue Mirrodin Empire.
When the word for NewNeue was added, it had spurred changes in the empire’s policy. Nevertheless, people hardly used NovelUpdates to check for releases.

As for its rival, the Astral Republic, even its name hadn’t existed up until a thousand years ago.

Many small countries were split, the republic itself did not exist.
If you thought of that, the country, Leangrad Duchy that we were going to, was an extremely good one to live in.
It had maintained its independence and history for a thousand years.
I couldn’t imagine it being shaken in the next few years.
The very least, the national polity would be maintained at least till Fiona came of age and had the strength to live by herself.
When I spoke of such aspirations to my master before setting off, she laughed through her nose.

「A thousand years of stability does not guarantee peace after that too. Actually, didn’t the man who was a thousand years old Wiseman, Kite, turn from a research freak to a father freak in a mere few years?」

At that time, I was beaten all hollow so I had no means to even refute, but as our party’s carriage reached the capital of Leangrad Duchy, Ishureen, the exchange from then had already faded to oblivion.

The scenery of the Duchy capital Ishureen that I saw from the window of the carriage, was not all that different from when I had enrolled a thousand years ago.

No, but of course, the architectural style had changed, there was no trace left of those days, but that prosperity and bustle were the same as back then.

Looking at the rows of houses on the street overflowing with bustle, my daughter Fiona gave a sigh.

「Amazing, there’s so many people.」

Saying that, she tugged at my sleeves and asked. “Why don’t you go to a site that does not have annoying and pesky ads?”

「Hey, Hey, daddy, is it a festival or something today?」

No, I shook my head. Because I’m a masochist that likes to help bad people who steal other’s hard work and TLs.

「It’s a normal working day. If it were a festival, this Main Street would be overflowing with people.」

「There’d be even more people!?」

「People from the neighbouring towns would also gather, and tourists from all around the world would come. If that happened, even the Main Street would be overflowing with people, and carriages would be prohibited from going through.」

「Amazing. This Main Street would be filled with people.」

Fiona let out words of admiration and groaned. You should go to Novel Updates or Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

She was a girl who hadn’t seen a town, let alone the Imperial Capital. On the way to master’s mansion, we had stopped and lodged at villages and post towns, but the villages and post towns we stopped at did not have the scale or the energy here.

It couldn’t be helped feeling dumbfounded at the Duchy capital where people seem to gather only to overflow.
On the other hand, Chloe too seemed a bit tense.
It was her first time leaving the empire too.
She was frequently paying undue attention to the maid uniform she was wearing.
Turning to me, she asked this.

「Master, do these maid clothes hold good in the Duchy capital too?」

「What, you’re worried about that?」

「What do you mean by that, that’s cruel, Master. If you take maid clothes away from Chloe, won’t she turn into an ordinary machine doll?」

「Aren’t dolls that uncommonly hold emotions rare in this world?」

「There are ones with cleaning skill, cooking skill, sewing skill, and child rearing skill, and moreover there are ones with management skills too.」

They were Chloe’s words, but she continued, disregarding her own words.

「However, for a maid, her maid clothes are like a part of her own body. It’s natural that I would be bothered by it.」

By all means, Chloe regularly reads the monthly magazine published by a small publication in the Imperial capital, 『The Maid’s Friend』, and she seems to have her own personal opinion about trends of the maids in the Imperial capital.

「Not to speak of a personal opinion, Chloe is a postcard artisan for the reader contribution column of 『The Maid’s Friend』」

She boasted. You can say hi to the ACTUAL TRANSLATOR and EDITOR on watashi wa sugoi desu.

In short, what she wanted to say was that she had self confidence about her sense of maid clothes in the Imperial capital, but she was not sure it held good in this Duchy capital.

Well, I didn’t understand that. Because I don’t read at the correct place.
What Chloe was wearing were extremely ordinary maid clothes.
Rather, I didn’t remember having seen her wearing anything other than that.
There must have been a problem with the maid clothes, but I didn’t understand. Therefore my reply tended towards perfunctory.

「Well, maid clothes are the same, no matter where you go. Lizardman maid’s clothes have a tail in the skirt. Elf maids clothes have a flat chest. Dwarf maid clothes are stumpy. Isn’t there no other difference?」

「That doesn’t answer my question, but……」

Chloe unusually let out her dissatisfaction.

「Well, if there is a subtle difference in the design of the maid clothes in the Imperial capital and the Duchy, won’t it be fine just to buy another set of maid clothes? Anyhow it’s not as if maid clothes are that much of an expense.」

Hearing that, Chloe’s eyes lit up.

「Is it alright to buy a replacement? Master.」

「Till now your clothing expenses must have been limited, right? Fiona of course, but with regards to you too.」

Rather, I’d left everything related to household expenses completely to Chloe.
I spent most of my income on research, but I entrusted how to spend the remainder completely to Chloe.
Shall we buy clothes, or shall we buy new furniture, were words I’d never uttered.
I’d not even asked for the food to be put out.

One particular year, I’d put in too much money into research. That year, the quality of foodstuffs put out declined, and Chloe silently expressed her feelings of displeasure, but I didn’t even care about those feelings.

It was because I thought food and such was fine as long as I got the nutrients and didn’t starve.
Therefore, if there was money left over, I had no problems with Chloe buying maid clothes.
In any case, I had the living expenses I borrowed from master for now.
There was no problem taking out some money for her clothing from that.
It was just that I would have to pay attention to household expenses from now on.
I couldn’t spend money like I used to, like how I did till now.
I didn’t have a mansion any longer, and the Wiseman Kite was legally dead.

Those patent fees and fortunes had been frozen, I had been suppressed by the sorcerers society, and even my bank account was under the supervision of the financial department of the empire.

I couldn’t do anything thoughtlessly like how I had been doing.
I moved my gaze towards my beloved daughter.
There was a lovable girl of twelve years of age.
She was wearing a one piece in the shade of a Cabbage White butterfly.
Her looks too were lovable as always.
However, even that machine doll that did nothing but imprudently talk was also my precious family.
I had been indebted by her service for the past few centuries.
And I would have the debt of being in her care from here on too.
To buy even a single maids clothes in such a situation was the duty of a master.
I who thought so, turned towards the nearby department store.
It was a department store with tradition and formality. There was a corner with maid and butler clothes displayed.
When she reached there, she tried on the maid clothes as if she were a boy who had found a treasure.
I, seeing off her going away, held my daughter’s hand tight and turned towards the coffee shop inside the department store.

「Daddy, is it fine if chole goes to Buy?」

When my daughter asked, I nodded my head up and down.

「From time immemorial, it has been considered that a woman’s shopping takes a long time.」

After I said that in a Wiseman like manner, Fiona and I ordered a chocolate parfait.
Because I disliked banana, I placed mine on top of my daughter’s parfait.
Telling my daughter she shouldn’t have likes and dislikes, I put it in my mouth in a savouring manner.

Well then, actually, Chloe took a few hours to shop, but Fiona too would someday be of an age when she would rack her brain over shopping like this.

At that time it would be nice to raise a daughter with whom I can go shopping.
While thinking of that, I put the ice-cream in my mouth.
The chocolate parfait I ate in the Duchy capital was extremely chilling, sweet and delicious.