The [Princess] was still reeling from the decision Joey had taken. How could he dump all of this on her? Just when she had thought that the Human wasn't like the rest of his wretched race, since he literally came from another word, he had bailed.

His bakery was now experiencing an almost insurmountable challenge since the grain prices seemed to have skyrocketed. However, the Human hadn't thought of asking Marcella Tulia Aureamanus. Instead, it seemed that he had decided to go against the woman, to strip her of the ownership over her stake in the bakery.

Why? Why would Joey pit himself against one of his allies?

She knew that Marcella was most definitely involved in some unpalatable business. However, that didn't mean she was someone to be trifled with. Plus, it now fell upon her to deal with the fallout of the Human’s decision.

Had she been duped? Had she been wrong about him?

Her ancestor had followed Joey's words and commands without even thinking about the consequences. She knew for a fact that if it had been anyone else trying to mess with the golden hand, they might have already woken up with a dagger in their neck.

Luckily for the Human, her ancestor, who went by the name Stan now, was perhaps the most dangerous warrior currently on the continent. Otherwise, she wasn't sure how her parents would have taken the matter of the Human ordering the seizing of farmland and the bakery based on a hunch.

And so, as she found herself between a rock and a hard place, [Princess] Laurealia could do nothing but pray that the rotten Human had not gone completely mad.

...

It was night when she made her rounds through the bakery with Aureamanus's daughter, Clodia Tullia. She could perceive the immense awkwardness the woman was emanating by her armored side and decided to cut the dry branches before they could rot.

"Your mother is suspected to have hiked the prices in order to have this place rely more on her financial support and expand her stake in it. That is why Joey did what he did. However, it is still only a suspicion for now. An investigation will take place, led by me."

"Your Highness," the muscled Elf replied, "I—I..."

"It's okay; your mother might be innocent," Laurealia stated.

"I don't think she is," Clodia sputtered. "I really don't. That rotten greed of hers: it just makes sense."

Laurealia was surprised by Clodia’s upfront honesty. She wasn't sure she would have given away her parents so easily, even if they had been indeed guilty of foul play. To do so in front of a member of the royal family took courage.

"Miss Clodia," [Princess] Laurealia said, looking at the Elf, "later, we'll all have a meeting to discuss what has to be done this week. However, I would like to offer some honesty myself: I don't believe leaving me in charge was a good idea. The Human was irresponsible and not thinking about your future, yours, and the others'."

Clodia frowned at that, not fully understanding, "I don't follow, Your Highness."

"I don't know anything about baking. Why did the Human dump this on me? The seizing orders would not be contested even if I wasn't taking the lead. I wouldn't want the Human to have left a mess for me that I cannot clean up in the allotted time, just to be blamed for something that was clearly impossible to tackle from the very beginning."

I don't and can't manage this, Laurealia thought to herself.

"Your Highness, Joey might be an idiot," Clodia said slowly, "but perhaps... why don't I just show you?"

...

[Princess] Laurealia stood in front of huge metallic bowls that were being operated by an efficient crew of mostly men—the ex-[Soldiers] her ancestor was leading. In fact, Stan was standing close by, examining their work and correcting them when something went astray.

"Too much water in that pitcher. If you tilt it too much, the hydration of the bread will be off. We have very precise measurements to follow. Prepare the correct amounts beforehand."

The ex-[Soldier] looked at the massive pitcher he was carrying and nodded, embarrassed. Stan's aura had washed over him and squashed any rebuttal.

"What are those machines for?" She frowned. She was sure that Licinius had received plenty of reports on the Human's activities, but she had barely glanced at the most technical ones that regarded his bakery.

"They are mixers," Clodia explained. "Joey figured out an Enchantment to knead bread in large quantities—that is the main reason we managed to stay afloat even with the rising prices of durum wheat."

"The fool wants to use Mana Stones?" The [Princess] Recoiled. "Isn't that rottenly expensive?"

"No. Joey has..." Clodia frowned, trying to remember the details when a voice came from the side.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Joey has cracked the magic of the Enchantments needed to power movement without the need to use [Telekinesis]. The three hooks you see are fully powered by Light Magic. He said it's something about the Cantrips; the details are complicated, but I'm sure he would love to explain them once he's back."

It was Camilla, who had actually been there the whole time, just hidden behind Stan's massive frame.

"He what?!" [Princess] Laurealia's heart skipped a few beats.

...

[Princess] Laurealia sat on a stool with a silent Camilla and Clodia by her side, admiring how little Mana was being funneled through the machines to knead the bread. By her own mental calculations, this alone must have probably freed the bakery from 80% of its most tedious work. ­This magical discovery not only allowed them to have incredible margins but also to redirect the leveling of their employees. In the long run, its benefits would be even greater than one could have imagined because they compounded.

She was flabbergasted. She had received what was probably the best education in the whole continent, but even she wasn't sure she could grasp the impact that the machine before her would have on... everything.

"Do they cost a lot to build?" She suddenly asked.

"No," Clodia replied. "One repays itself in less than a week with all the bread it can produce. If we operated them constantly, each one would repay itself in a few days. Flaminia can single-handedly power every one of them—that's how little Mana they require. But we decided to get an Apprentice from the Mages' Guild to allow Flaminia to take care of more important things."

"If Joey wasn't so dead-set on hiring more and more unfortunate people," Camilla complained, "their impact on our budget reserves would have made us capable of surviving even the worst harvests."

[Princess] Laurealia frowned as she looked at the diminutive blond, but she said nothing, trying to process her words. Then, a deep voice picked up her stray thoughts and answered them.

"Joey doesn't care about profit," Stan said, approaching the table and picking up a piece of cloth to wipe his hands from the sticky floury dough, "he has ordered for as many people to be hired as possible, no matter the cost. We have spent almost ten thousand golds on clearing their debts."

She opened and closed her mouth multiple times, not fully understanding.

"How can a bakery make so much money?" She frowned.

"The contracts we’ve got are bad for market prices but not for our prices," Flavia suddenly appeared. "I was looking for all of you. I'm sorry, Your Highness, but we need to discuss the strategy for the Magical Wheat and, well, Novafamilia's requests for us to take care of the catering for the Day of Blooming event. Now that we have gotten—"

"Is no one working here?" That was Amelia's harsh voice as she approached the now almost complete group.

"If you stopped sneaking away with Clodia into the storage room, perhaps more work would get done around here," Camilla scoffed.

"What did you—"

"Excuse me," [Princess] Laurealia raised her voice, "I would like to call the meeting now."

...

Laurealia looked at the room full of women, with her ancestor actually sitting this one in.

"My first question to all of you is the following: how much do you trust the Human?" She asked.

But she only received a bunch of confused stares in return.

"What do you mean, Your Highness?" Flaminia asked.

"He disappeared after leaving us alone, telling me to take care of his mess. Do you trust that man?"

Everyone looked at each other, and even Amelia seemed to hesitate before steeling her voice and speaking with an almost angry tinge to her words.

"Joey Luciani is... not a fool, Your Highness. He is annoying. He is terribly annoying. However, now that we have the grain at the previous price, you couldn't make a single choice that would bankrupt us in any way."

Flavia picked up from there with a sigh, "what my sister is saying is that Joey has already solved the problem, Your Highness. Now, we have all we need. Every problem in the last two months was caused solely by the continuous hiking of the price of our grain. Our choices now include matters that Your Highness might be very familiar with, such as whether we might want to swallow the rotten apples and buy ourselves out of our loans or whether we should follow Joey's previous directives."

"Which are?" Laurealia frowned.

"He has a list of all those whom he considers at risk of..."

"Killing themselves," Stan said. "Joey had Quintus and Tiberius and someone we don't know evaluate who has it the harshest in the Pratus. We already employed those who were the most at risk."

[Princess] Laurealia was speechless.

"Why does he care so much?" She asked, not fully understanding. "If most of your buildings are under loans, wouldn't paying those in full kill the interest and the financial burden on your bakery?"

Clodia sighed, "Aurora's Bakery is Joey's way of hiring those who need a job, Your Highness. We still recruit higher level [Bakers], but... we are focusing on training. Joey doesn't care about his money, and the rest of us are still paid great salaries."

[Princess] Laurealia felt a massive wave of guilt engulf her.

What have I done that compares to this Human?

Everyone looked at her, expecting to hear some words on what she thought was worth doing. But why had she even considered the loans when the Human—no, not the Human, Joey Luciani, had put her on the precise path she had always been supposed to follow.

My duty is to my people, she told herself. He showed more magnanimity than me after literally coming here from another world and with nothing to his name. What wretched, rotten parasite have I become that I couldn't see that, that I doubted him like that?

It dawned on her that even these latest doubts had apparently been cast toward a man who had been nothing but a [Saint]. So, who was she not to try and follow the best example she had seen since she was born?

"I understand," she declared with a steadier voice. "I'll be here to execute Joey's will. Miss Flavia, would you mind arranging a meeting with Novafamilia? We'll take the job and gouge them for gold. They will likely want the Hu—Joey to fail and sully his name. That's why I need your help, Miss Flaminia. I want to know what we can do to put those pesky nobles in their place."

Everyone seemed energized by her words. Then, someone else spoke.

"Laurealia," Stan said slowly and meaningfully. "I think there's another matter to discuss."

She immediately understood what he was talking about. Among Joey's crazy plans, there was one that still made her shake in her armored boots but that she was now fully committed to follow through with.

"Correct," she nodded and then looked at everyone else, curiosity fully taking over their eyes, "there's a matter of great importance to discuss. It should be kept secret for as long as possible. However, since Joey thinks it will help us, I’ll leave it up to..."

She sighed, looking at the old man on the other side of the table.

"...I leave it up to Stan to explain this matter."

Everyone turned toward the giant Elf, who smiled and declared without any further ado, "what do you know about [Druids]?"