Preparing for the Future desu wa! (Part 2)

The flower-selling girl gave her name as Summer.

She was an orphan with bright chestnut hair.

"Alright then. Emma! Submerge this girl in boiling water and scrub her body with my special poison!"

"Eh!?"

"Ah, please don't worry, Miss Summer. She means to say to take a bath and wash up. The young lady sometimes says things like this."

Emma explained.

"Ah. By poison, do you mean detergent?"

"If you drink it you'll get a stomachache, so it's a poison, isn't it? Make sure none gets in your mouth. If you do drink it, do it in front of me."

"Ueh… Well, that's true, I suppose. But how should I put it… you're playful, aren't you? How lovely."

"You don't need to force a compliment. Think of it as the young lady's way of hiding her embarrassment and get used to it. I have."

"O-okay."

With that, Emma took Summer off to the bath.

Of course, Koleha did not join her; she decided to wait in her room, sipping tea.

After a while, Summer returned from the bath.

Even without a close look, she had a cute face. And her chestnut hair had become a transparent, shining blonde. Just how dirty had she been?

"Oh my. As I thought, your features are well-formed. Very well then, Summer."

"This hair color… She might be the illegitimate child of some noble, perhaps."

"Well, that's half the role of orphanages… It's possible, desu wa."

Koleha nodded to herself as she looked at Summer's face.

The trope of the capable orphan, the ridiculously talented orphan, or the orphan with striking looks often had a neat explanation: they were a noble's lovechild — a bastard.

It explained far more rather than simply being a commoner.

She'd even seen stories in her past life where their parent turned out to be royalty from another country. She was well-versed, you know?

"In that case, I might be able to make you my lady's maid!"

"Eh — m-me, a noble lady's maid!?"

"It depends on your training, Summer. Do you have the motivation? If not, there's always fieldwork. You can work there instead?"

"I do!!"

Summer answered, leaning forward with eagerness.

"Then, Emma. Along with her maid duties, teach Summer proper manners. Be strict. Harsh enough that she won't be an embarrassment standing next to me! If she drops out, well, we can just make her a maid in the manor then."

Naturally, Koleha planned to personally observe that strict education.

Calling it Spartan training for the girl's sake… Koleha could go through three slices of bread on that alone.

"As you wish."

"I intend to bring her to the academy as my lady's maid if she proves herself excellent, so teach her with the utmost strictness! Oh-ho-ho-ho!"

"I see. If she's outstanding, it's possible to attend the academy in a maid position."

The academy — the game's stage. It would be better to have even one ally there. Even if her fiancé was stolen by the heroine and she found herself isolated, school life would be easier with an ally who wouldn't betray her.

"M-me, Ojou-sama's lady's maid…!?"

Summer trembled. Oh, she's scared, she's scared. Yes, that's the face I wanted to see! Koleha grinned.

… Come to think of it, what about the heroine in the game?

If she recalled correctly… Wasn't she taken in by some noble house, and that's how she attended?

And separately, it was revealed she was a noble's lovechild. Yes.

Which meant that Summer could be a counter to the heroine!

When the heroine said, "Because I'm a former commoner orphan, you treat me so horribly… sniff!", with Summer around, she could reply, "Oh my. My lady's maid is a commoner orphan."

—She already looked forward to the heroine's speechless face!

"Kukuku. Summer, my academy life depends on you!"

"To place such expectations on me…!! I'll do my best!!"

"Well, if you're not exceptional, you'll be a maid here or a field hand… In any case, there will be work! We don't throw away what we once picked up, so rest assured!"

"Yes, Ojou-sama!!"

Such tremendous zeal. Surely then, just as planned, she would become a "pointlessly competent, utterly loyal retainer."

Which, by definition, meant the story was headed straight for a serves-you-right plotline with Koleha as the protagonist.

"Fufufu… I'm starting to look forward to the academy, desu wa!!"

Imagining future serves-you-right developments, Koleha laughed aloud:

"Oh-ho-ho-ho!"