My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 146

Enormously big door.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if the term “door” was appropriate for this gigantic structure.

In reality, it didn’t even have door panels, and there were no walls around it—just an entrance constructed, yet we still called it a door.

I was looking at the Solchemia Arch.

“Hey, how much do you think the carriage statue on top of the door and the gem at the end of the scepter would cost?”

“Um… I doubt you could buy them for less than the worth of a couple of buildings.”

“Definitely.”

I was here admiring such a door with Ivana.

By the way, the Roseaki Sisters had wandered off for some snacks while Ella was eagerly listening to the guide.

Ivana and I were also walking slowly, following the guide, but our focus was nowhere near as intense as Ella’s.

We were just meandering around the Solchemia Arch, making odd comments.

“I think it would be fine to put up such a huge structure in the North as well.”

“Is there really a need to construct something like that? It doesn’t seem like a landmark like an arch would draw in a lot of revenue.”

“Hmm… maybe. If we create various attractions around it, it might not be a big issue.”

“Even so, it’s just an arch. The Solchemia Arch might feel like a trademark of the Empire, but suddenly building something like that in the North… wouldn’t that be a bit random?”

“That’s true…”

Ivana seemed to want to make the North a tourist destination.

She brought me into this business talk, but her focus was generally in this direction, which piqued my curiosity.

In my childhood, I used to prepare tourist products related to the North… and since I had never been there, I was honestly disinterested, but I didn’t expect Ivana to be thinking this way.

I was just considering typical businesses like gemstone trading or magic stone mining…

But most of the things she later mentioned were in this vein… hmm.

“Hmm.”

Anyway, she probably didn’t plan on starting a business right away, given she was still an Academy student in the middle of the semester.

Plus, our club’s topic was about business concepts and planning, right?

“Miss Camelia, what kind of business do you think should be started in the North?”

“In the North?”

“Yeah. I think it’s best to start there.”

“Hmm…”

This was a sudden topic that arose while we were checking out the Solchemia Arch.

But it didn’t seem like a question that I couldn’t answer at all.

After all, she had previously brought up business topics with me, aiming to become the head of the Northern region, so it made sense.

Since I previously thought about starting a tourism business in the North, naturally…

“The first thing that comes to mind is finding ways to attract more tourists from other regions to the North. It’s perceived as a cold yet remarkably mystical place, you know?”

“Is that so?”

“There aren’t many exchanges with the North, and it’s even rarer for Northerners to come down. It’s only expected, right?”

“Hmm…”

“Moreover, places that are cold and snowy year-round like the North don’t exist anywhere else. That only makes it harder for people from other regions to visit.”

That was definitely a tourist attraction.

In fact, arguing against using it for tourism would sound utterly foolish—it was a place specially suited for it.

“If you ask people how to get to the North, they probably wouldn’t know anything besides taking a carriage.”

“…….”

“Even if they took a carriage, if they don’t know a good driver who’s familiar with the North, they might end up lost on the way.”

“That much isn’t…”

“That much is absolutely true.”

“……”

But was it because I was from the North and part of the Nordal Family?

I didn’t like how I had to make such cold evaluations.

Maybe they thought they could easily access their region?

If they did think that, then they were exceedingly mistaken.

“Basically, the only route goes through the central road… and that’s about it.”

“That… is?”

“The problem is that getting to the central area from other regions costs money. And traveling from here to the North takes a lot of time, so without a sizable amount of time or money, no commoner or knight could really make the trip, right?”

Sometimes, knights or servants from various families would save diligently for months or even years, pushing themselves to find the fare to travel.

But despite that, there weren’t many travelers heading to the North, and most were going to the Roseaki region.

The sea of Roseaki was pretty too, but isn’t it known that the North is absolutely stunning?

“………”

“On top of that, there are relatively more monsters in the North… in many aspects…”

“……..”

“Well, anyway, that’s the story.”

I just sketched out the general idea.

“Anyway, I think it would be good to facilitate easier access for people to the North. Just something of the sort.”

“…Is it only the nobles who can come?”

“……..”

“Neither commoners nor knights would spend that much money either.”

…Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm…

“Miss Ivana, you do want to get into business, right?”

“……..”

“I know those folks aren’t big spenders, but if they gather and end up spending a lot, there would definitely be significant profits, right?”

As we wandered around the arch.

Originally, I was following closely behind the guide, but I could no longer keep pace and stood still in the plaza, continuing our conversation.

It seemed like I needed to educate her a bit more…

Since she had brought up business with me, I honestly thought Ivana would have some understanding in this area, but it turned out she wasn’t as well-versed as expected.

After standing and chatting for a while, my legs got tired, so I sat on a bench and kept talking.

I probably spent more than 20 minutes discussing…

“I got it… I understand, so let’s… take a little break.”

“Shall we?”

“…Yes.”

Ivana had somewhat acknowledged that she was at fault.

Yeah, how nice it would have been if she had recognized this from the start!

I felt rewarded for my efforts in teaching her as she nodded along to my words obediently.

“Hehe…”

It would’ve been so much better if she had cleanly accepted what I said from the beginning.

Honestly, if she hadn’t reacted like I was speaking nonsense, I wouldn’t have put in this much effort.

“Hmm… Miss Ivana.”

“What? Do you have more to say…?”

“No, it’s not that. I was thinking about buying some churros over there. Want one?”

“Ah…”

It seemed she thought I was going to continue lecturing her.

I wasn’t really a bad guy who would push someone even harder after suggesting a break.

Of course, this time she genuinely looked like she wanted a moment to rest.

Honestly, if I were to launch into yet another lecture on business right then, I imagined Ivana’s reaction would honestly… be quite entertaining.

“Hmmm…”

I envisioned it, and no matter how I thought about it, it would probably be funny.

Was it because it’s rare to see Ivana in a weak position?

Honestly, she did give off a strong and formidable vibe, but her personality was somewhat ordinary, and while she sometimes made odd judgments, it wasn’t a significant issue.

I too often acted on my whims, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Anyway, it felt somewhat strange to find amusement in bothering Ivana…

“Hmm.”

I was feeling a bit embarrassed about the odd thoughts I just had.

Since it was just a thought, it wasn’t a major issue or anything.

“Miss Ivana, here you go.”

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. By the way, did you understand the discussion we had earlier?”

“…Yes.”

Very slightly.

Ivana’s voice quivered imperceptibly, as if she feared admitting she didn’t grasp it entirely.

If she denied it now, she probably thought I would keep bothering her.

“I’m glad you understood well.”

“Haha…”

I sat next to Ivana, who was back on the bench.

There was still time left until the gathering, and it didn’t seem bad to just quietly watch the arch.

And also, watching Ivana eat churros beside me was unexpectedly more fun than I thought.

If I treated someone from the Nordal Ducal Family like this… ordinarily, she would have been overwhelmed in her Academy life or as a noble, but that wouldn’t happen with me.

After all, she was the one who first brought up the subject of business to me, and I was doing this for that reason.

Despite Ivana’s tendency to act unexpectedly, she wasn’t strange enough to make such requests or do bizarre things without purpose.

“Hmm……”

As I pondered these thoughts, I glanced over at Ivana.

It wasn’t quite as close as when I spent time with Karen at the cafe, but since we were sitting on the same bench, we were quite near.

“What’s up?”

“I was just intrigued and watching you.”

“…?

“I just think it’s fascinating how your hair looks, no matter how long I stare at it.”

Honestly, Ivana’s hair was fascinating to me, no matter how often I looked.

Her pure white hair stood out sharply against other hair colors, a unique hue that was undeniably special.

Even in a situation where I had seen it often enough to get used to, I was drawn to it again.

“Hmm… um…”

“Why do you ask…?”

“I was just curious if your other body hair is also white.”

Maybe asking something like that would make me seem too crazy, right?