Chapter 196 \n196. Society 1\n
āWelcome to the 0thĀ tea party of our [Society] today!ā (Mitsuha)
Even though she hated it, Mitchan is still properly acting as a mistress. As expected of the daughter of a senior nobleā¦
As for why this is the zeroth instead of the first is because this is not yet a formal [Society] tea party.
This time is just a trial. Mitchan talked with a few of the carefully selected candidates, regardless of whether they would join or not, and invited them to a tea party with a brief explanation of the purpose of the meeting and saying [Why donāt you just come to get along for the time being?]. So thatās why this is the 0th.
The place is at the small hall of Mitchanās mansion.
Among the people that Mitchan had talked to, some of them seems to have declined or rejected the invitation due to variety of reasons such as [Because their house are belong to different factions] or [Because they disliked the idea that they would be acting under Mitchan].
Well, I guess thereās that too.
Even though Mitchan is a daughter of a marquis, there are other marquises, margraves, dukes, etc., even among the counts, some of them seems to have an equal level of influence with marquises, so just because someone raised their hand, it doesnāt mean that everyone would be happy to go for it.
Well, if I had explained in detail from the beginning, more people may have participated.
But Mitchan invited them by [simply explained the purpose]. ā¦right, she didnāt explain much about the service from Viscount Yamanoā¦
Because Mitchan said [I donāt need anyone who just lured by the bait]ā¦.
Thereās no way she could blatantly say that the faction of the parents isnāt relevant, and she had to invite those whose family status exceeds hers to a certain level, so she deliberately didnāt mention my name as a trick for selecting [Those who would participates even without the bait].
Well, I guess thatās right. Thereās a saying that [the scariest thing is not a competent enemy, but a stupid ally]. Attracting the incompetents and adversaries is one thing that we absolutely should avoid.\n
Among those who gathered today, those who said that they would like to officially join [Society] will become the founding members. And the founding members will be treated much better that those who joins later.
There will be no equal treatment between those who participated at the start of something unpredictable and those who wanted to join after confirming the success of it. And for those who want to join later, the hurdle will be quite high. After all, they cannot be admitted unless all the members unanimously concur via secret ballot. Those who loves to bully someone using the shade of their family status are obviously out of question.
So today is the welcoming ceremony for the members.
I have to be involved in order for me to be able to utilize this gathering. So, today Iām also taking Colette-chan together with me. Iāll taking Colette-chan here and there from now on, so itās better to have everyone remember her so that they can help us when we have a problem.
Yeah, [Society] has a strong sense of unity⦠it should be.
āWell then, now Viscount Mitsuha von Yamano, the Vice president, will explain about the details of this [Society].ā (Mitchan)
I havenāt heard about this!!
ā¦tte, Mitchanās mouth is distorted. Sheās laughing, no, sheās [Sneering]!!!
Damn, so this is her retaliation!!
But, well, I guess it canāt be helped. Certainly it was me who entrapped her first.\nBesides, providing the supplies is my job anyway.
Well then, letās start from explaining the benefits they can get from the [Society]ā¦
Fellowship and information sharing.
Treat everyone as your own siblings.
Someoneās enemy is everyoneās enemy.
Sweets and drinks are delicious.
Members may preferentially purchase imported goods from Yamano Viscount House at discounted prices, as long as the goods are going to be used by themselves and their families. Those who have made significant contributions to the [Society] will be rewarded with dresses, jewelry, and much more that even a Princess doesnāt have. Except for personally purchased items, all memberships fees are free, including food and drinks.
ā ā ā ā ā āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā ā ā ā ā ā
The ladies, who had only heard about the first two items in the prior explanation from Mitchan, are solidified.
Alright, now is the chance forā¦
āTea and sweets!ā (Mitsuha)
At my signal, the maids who were waiting moved all at once and started carrying tea and shortcake, toffee, fruitcake, potato chips, ice cream, and more to each table.\n\nAs expected, the ladies seemed to have realized that it was improper of them, they seemed to look down with a little blush and reflecting on themselves. ā¦well, itās good, because I was able to confirm the strength of the Japanese sweets industry.
I slowly took something out of my bag, andā¦
āActually, I made something like this ā¦ā (Mitsuha)
What I showed everyone is three framed photos.
The photos of Mitchan which taken with a digital camera the other day has been finished, by working around with color correction, backgrounds, rays, and various other peripheral processing without making unreasonable modifications to the face, she looks like an angel. Face color correction is not a scam, as it can be done with makeup.
And not only theĀ tsunĀ expression, there are also her slightly relentless expression, and her fresh expression, with the three pieces together, thereās an incredibly attractive girl.
āWh, wh-wha!!ā (Mitchan)
Either she wants to protest against the two pieces that are not her clear expressions, or that she is impressed by the workmanship of her own picture, Mitchan turns red and doesnāt say anything. Umu, how cuteā¦
āAnd, like this, you can take the picture of your own figure. Of course, you will be charged, and only if youāre the member of the [Society]. Oh, please take this home with you so that you can easily explain it to your familyā (Mitsuha)
I gave them the photos of Mitchan, in L-size (89mm x 127mm) 3-piece set as the sample. Thereās no way that their fathers who saw this would not order the picture of their daughters so it can be used for their marriage proposal.
If they order more than one, then I just have to print them out, so itāll be a profit for me. Well, the image processing is outsourced to professionals, so it costs money, of course.
And before Mitchan regain her senses and begins to make complaints, I launched the next attackā¦