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“That nasty lady from yesterday wasn’t here, was she?”
“Nope.”

Midway up the stairs, Sufi muttered. She must have been enduring it because interacting with adults brings so many bad memories. There’s just far too many things beastkin must endure in this world.

“She’s currently penalized to clean the staff break room and supply duty.”

Yesterday she wouldn’t let go of her hug, and now my ribs hurt a little.

“It’s a violation of administrative reporting procedures, so she received a punishment for a week, per regulation.”
“…That’s all?”

Sufi sounded unsatisfied, so I ruffled her hair. After all, Philip stepped in right before things turned grave. A week of cleaning duty for forgetting to report seemed reasonable.

“Miss Alice was unlucky. For her, the penalty was a silver lining. If they’d taken her badge away like that, even as a trainee, she probably wouldn’t have avoided disciplinary dismissal.”

I don’t know exactly how serious it is, but dismissal sounds pretty heavy. Still, one part of his statement made me tilt my head.

“Trainee?”
“Yeah, she had a trainee badge pinned to her chest, didn’t she?”

Did she…? Hmm, ah.

“…I couldn’t see it because of the counter.”
“Ahaha, that’s unfortunate. She’s from a nearby rural village, you see. She’s got a bit of a discriminatory mindset. Around here, non-commoners are rare among staff, and alchemists hardly ever come by, so it’s not usually an issue. There weren’t many people waiting in line, were there?”
“…So that’s why there was no line.”

Choosing the place with the shortest wait because I wasn’t feeling well was the mistake to begin with. I’ll be more careful in the future.

“Hence the standard penalty. But of course, if Miss Alice wishes, we can add to it.”
“…Like what?”
“Dismissal for misconduct, for instance.”

Philip stated it matter-of-factly. The conversation stalled, only footsteps echoing.

“Miss Alice, the badge you wear carries that much weight. If you tell us to fire her, that alone would cost her her job. What do you want?”

There was no need to think about what I wanted.

“It sounds like you’re testing me and I don’t like it. The standard penalty is fine. We have no intention of staying long in this town, and I don’t want to make any unnecessary enemies. As long as she stops interacting with us, well, that’s good enough.”

In a country where human supremacy runs rampant, if a beastkin foolishly tries to force their authority, they’re bound to get a terrible backlash. I had neither the energy nor the time to deal with such things.

“Hahaha, you’re something else.”

Mr. Philip laughed, but I was dealing with my own little crisis.

“………………”

I had to let a disagreeable person off the hook, and that’s souring Sufi’s mood. I desperately tried nibbling her ear gently and rubbing my cheek against hers from behind, but it wasn’t working.

“You don’t have to look so scary, Miss Sufi.”
“…Why?”

Philip turned around and smiled slightly, looking a bit troubled, but Sufi remained in a foul mood.

“You see, being a regular employee of the Alchemist Guild is the job with the highest pay and prestige available to women in the western part of the continent. If you work hard and climb the ranks, you can earn enough to laugh at the average man.”

Ignoring her, Philip began to speak.

“Maids for nobles and merchants, regular staff at the Alchemist Guild, and at Adventurer’s Guild—those are the three most prestigious positions women can have. It’s no easy work. Coming from the countryside, she must have studied relentlessly since childhood. Women studying wasn’t looked upon favorably back then. Just think how much effort she must have put in. It’s truly remarkable.”
“So that justifies what she did?”

Sufi’s tone was sharp, perhaps she thought Philip was defending that person.

…But to me, I couldn’t hear any warmth for that woman coming from Philip, be it in his voice or in his ‘sound.’

“…Your sister has the potential to become a great alchemist. Even the headquarters’ executives acknowledge that. However, that girl nearly tarnished Miss Alice’ reputation. And that shuts down any future advancement for her within the Alchemist Guild. Unless Miss Alice falls from grace, that is.”
“…………”
“Basically put, the girl you called Nasty Lady just ended her own future as a successful alchemist due to her own short-sightedness, so please cut her some slack, Miss Sufi.”
“…Hmm.”

Sufi’s anger visibly deflated. My kind sister shrunk away at the prospect of the mean lady’s miserable future, becoming a bit depressed herself. She probably hadn’t expected things to turn out so harshly for the other girl.

Even if it was to calm her down, Philip was being overly mean to Sufi. Judging by his tone and the way he was steering the conversation, one could guess what was going on.

“Sufi, it’s okay. It’s not that extreme.”
“…?”
“Cough… It just means getting promoted would be incredibly difficult… right? Even as a regular employee, if she’s good at her job, she should be able to live comfortably without any real hardship.”
“Ah.”

Sufi lifted her face as if she’d just realized something, puffing out her cheeks.

“Hahaha, exactly! As long as she works seriously, that is!”
“Uncle, you’re mean!”
“Yeah, sorry about that.”

If he teases Sufi again, I’ll make a potion that instantly weakens hair follicles and sprinkle it on his head. Thinking that, I tore my gaze away from Philip’s laughing back.

My gaze shifted to Sufi’s puffed-out cheeks. …Somehow I managed to fool her..

We’re all struggling in this world full of discrimination. I have no intention of sympathizing with her situation. But being unable to advance your career no matter how hard you try… I could only guess how tough that must be.