Became the Villainess’s Guardian

Admittedly, the title ‘a person sponsored by a successful mage from Martop’ sounded more plausible than ‘a person sponsored by a suspiciously suspicious organization.’

The reason she had Edan’s charitable foundation act as an intermediary, rather than directly sponsoring from her secret organization, was so she could act openly in the daylight, even if her activities were somewhat restricted in the shadows.

But that didn’t mean she was simply using Edan.
An exceptionally passionate philanthropist kept donating to the foundation under the pseudonym ‘Proggin.’

And if Edan himself was aware of this, then there was nothing more to be said.

“Look, Freugne. This ‘Proggin’ person has donated so much money under a pseudonym. The world is still so warm.”

“Well… I suppose so.”

“Hmm, now that this has happened, should I treat them to a meal later?”

“…Is that necessary?”

“Since it’s anonymous, it might be impossible, but oh well. Freugne, you should aspire to become an admirable adult like them someday.”

“Hehe…”

There was no need for such measures, as they were already dining together.
Of course, her mouth itched a little, but it was also amusing to see him remain oblivious despite the person in question being right before his eyes, so she could be satisfied.

And with this sponsorship, what did Freugne do?
She decided to gather children who were truly in need of help and give them each a job.

Let’s rewind time a bit to when Freugne was personally going around recruiting.

As far as her capabilities allowed, Freugne gathered children with all sorts of special abilities.
There would come a day when their roles would be of utmost importance. Of course, she did not overlook children who genuinely needed help amidst all this.

And when Freugne came to her senses, the lodging where she had gathered them had become a sort of charity school for potential secret organization members.
In this place full of mutants, there was one particular girl.

Sif, a girl who had escaped from a factory, did not possess any supernatural abilities.
Whenever Ulr flickered like logging in and out, Sif would slightly shudder and ask Freugne:

“It seems like you brought me here by mistake…”

“No. I brought you here intentionally.”

Her story goes like this.
As a child, Sif’s parents sold her (it was legal since they drafted a contract) to a flour mill, where she received her wages in grains.

“This is less than last week…?”

“Well, that’s because you’re the worst worker.”

“But I met my quota…”

Moreover, the grains she received were not in good condition. Half of the wheat sacks were filled with sand or rotten grains.
How heartbreaking it would be to receive consumable items only for them to end up in the miscellaneous item slot. Naturally, she lodged a minor protest about this, but only received punches in return.

And the conclusion Sif vividly remembered from that day’s incident was that she would burn down the factory she held a grudge against using magic.

Of course, this had not happened yet, and was merely what her future self had mentioned while briefing Edan on the morning news.

However, if she had taught herself magic without proper education, how much greater could her achievements be with proper instruction?
Indeed, the content did not seem false, and like Freugne, Sif, who had quickly mastered the basics on her own, was given the opportunity to attend Cardiff High School together.

Since they were both sponsored by Edan’s charitable foundation, it was only natural for them to form a duo from their first day of admission.

After the roughly concluded admission ceremony, Freugne dragged Sif around various parts of the school.
With a new map unlocked, she needed to scout for potential recruits… no, talents among the students, or at least establish good connections.

Sif could not maintain her composure amidst the well-dressed people.

“There are so many people. They all seem wealthy.”

“This is a sight you’ll have to get used to.”

“Hieek…!”

Observing the flustered yet obedient Sif, Freugne believed she had made the right choice.
Those who would have remained mere urban criminals were given a better future, no longer needing to worry about sucking their fingers and surviving the panic.

Simultaneously, as they delved deeper into the city’s underbelly, Freugne could sense how profound the darkness permeating the city truly was.

Evading taxes through wondrous legerdemain was mere child’s play.

Even now, somewhere in the city, employees were being bought and sold like slaves, quietly disposed of if they died, and disavowed if caught.
The tyranny of the massive Martop swept over its employees, deeply intertwining with the financial sector in an untimely cyberpunk mood.

At this point, one thought crossed her mind:

‘Perhaps it would be better for this kingdom to perish.’

She briefly entertained such a ruthless notion but decided against leaning too far into extremes.

Of course, had she failed to escape from the Brian Factory that day a few years ago.
Had she barely survived with severe burns, the thought might have been slightly different.

“…Because Mr. Edan is here.”

There were certainly many innocent and kind people living in Londinium, and although Mr. Edan seemed overly optimistic, he had said his expectations were great.
Aware of this, Freugne decided to let go of her hatred, if only slightly.

By high school, the children of wealthy families had gathered.
Thus, unlike the relatively open public schools, there was an unspoken vertical structure.

Grandfather was a member of the Royal Academy, father was an earl, maternal grandparents were wealthy, and so on.
Amidst these divided social strata, the students cautiously formed cliques and kept an eye on other groups.

Yet, with Edan supporting her from behind, Freugne could still secure a reasonably good position.

She didn’t boldly demand, ‘I am Edan’s cherished maiden, command alcohol and bachelors for me,’ but she wasn’t discriminated against simply for being an orphan. Sif was in a similar position for the same reason.

And this was only among the teachers.
Some of the children from public school had received home education in factories or at Martop, so they were well-behaved, and even if they were asked about being orphans to their faces, there was no malicious intent.

However, it was still a time when they overlooked the fact that others could be hurt by words, just like themselves.
The young and arrogant students were a different matter.

Thus,

“You two, don’t have fathers?”

“…”

On the first day of admission.
While scouting for talents around the school, Freugne was subjected to taunting.

She had expected such confrontations would occur sooner or later.
But she could never have imagined it would happen on the very first day.

The other students gradually distanced themselves, and Freugne’s eyes narrowed.

However, she did not rashly react.
It was a remark she had frequently heard even before meeting Edan. She was too weary to respond to each instance now.

And would she not disappoint Edan, who had gone to the trouble of sending her to high school?
In fact, it was unsightly to plan on ruining the life of a peer student. The most appropriate response here was to simply wait for them to tire of their own ranting…

“You said you live with that mage named Edan, right?”

“You knew about that?”

“Ha, looking at your appearance, I can see the level of that mage Edan too. Is he really as inflated as the newspapers claim?”

“…”

She had felt no particular indignation when they were merely insulting her.

“…Haah.”

But in that instant, Freugne’s mind went blank.

After sending Freugne off to school, I completed the final preparations for Martop’s big event.

As my name was called, I stepped out onto the stage and grabbed the microphone.
And I willingly gave the investors filling the massive presentation hall the answer they desired.

“As this summer draws to a close, I am pleased to announce that Martop has once again achieved record-breaking profits.”

“Wooaah!!”

“Now, let’s delve into the details. While sales of the chimney-cleaning vacuum were sluggish-”

“Wooooaaahh!!”

People seemed to be ecstatic with every word I uttered.
I was starting to get confused whether I was presenting Martop’s performance or playing Doki Doki Keres Martop.

Had I perhaps mistaken the genre?
But such thoughts were momentary, as my expectations were brought back to reality as the performance report neared its conclusion.

“Now, as always, it’s time to unveil this quarter’s new product.”

“Wooaaahh!!”

“With significantly improved output from previous shortcomings, we have finally released a washing machine!”

“Woah…?”

“Yeah, that’s what we need.”

“But… from my calculations, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just hire a child laborer?”

“Gah!!!”

I was definitely brought back to reality.

However, this obstacle was overcome with sponsorship from the Edan Foundation!
The continuous donations from someone named ‘Proggin,’ instructing me to use the money well, meant I wasn’t particularly burdened. I just had to rely on their generosity until production costs could be lowered.

Come to think of it, the pseudonym was quite similar to Freugne’s name, though it was likely just a coincidence.
Still, the thought was amusing enough for me to chuckle it off.

No, realistically speaking, how could an ordinary high school student acquire such a fortune?

In any case, this could be considered a success.
After the somewhat satisfied investors had left, I sat down on a nearby staircase and soothed my parched throat from all the talking.

“Hm? Mr. Martop, where are you going?”

As I raised my head after a brief rest, amidst the bustle of cleaning up the presentation hall, I noticed Freyja hastily gathering her belongings.

“Ah, I was just going to check on my niece for a bit.”

“Isn’t it the start of the school term for everyone now?”

“Well, my niece got into a bit of trouble. Had a major fight with a friend, apparently.”

“You have my sympathies. Raising children must be difficult.”

“It’s manageable to this extent. But I do feel a bit sorry for not being able to look after her properly.”

I understand the feeling of being too busy to properly care for a child-like existence.
Since I’ve already spoken up, perhaps I should buy her an admission gift on my way back.

After suggesting they go ahead and finish the remaining work, I asked:

“But why would Mr. Martop be involved with your niece’s affairs…?”

“She’s my brother’s child. Her parents passed away in a carriage accident.”

“Ah, my condolences.”

And as Freyja stood by the door, scanning for a carriage, she muttered as if complaining.

“I wonder why she got into a fight with that Freugne girl…”

“…Hm?”

I had turned to head back into the cool building but stopped in my tracks.

I felt like I had just heard a familiar name.