Anis was quite surprised. Shirley hadn’t claimed the credit for herself; instead, she proactively gave it all to Anis as if it were simply a matter of fact.
Given her self-centered personality, this was highly unusual.
‘Is this wicked girl planning something again?’
While the crowd cheered, a voice came from the throng. “But Lord, what should we do when spring comes? Can you support us all the way until the autumn harvest?”
As soon as those words were spoken, the crowd fell into silence once more. Everyone’s gaze shifted back to Shirley.
Anis also looked at Shirley. She had heard about the grain prices in the neighboring territories. Based on the Frolenster family’s assets in the original story, if they truly had to support these people until the autumn harvest, the family would surely go bankrupt.
Shirley smiled in an unhurried manner. “There is a solution, of course. Please give a warm welcome to my dear sister, Anis, for the follow-up explanation!”
With that, she took a step back and handed the stage over to Anis.
?
‘This isn’t what we agreed on!’
Before they set out, Shirley had only asked her to help distribute the relief food and said she would handle everything else.
Why was she suddenly being forced to give a public speech!
Anis glanced sideways at the wicked girl. Sure enough, Shirley was hiding to the side, covering her mouth and snickering, waiting to see Anis make a fool of herself.
Wicked girl!
Ever since Anis had stuffed Shirley’s mouth with bell peppers at the dinner party, Shirley had been finding all sorts of excuses to avoid her for the past week. Her goal was to ensure Anis never had the chance to retaliate!
It wasn’t until last night that Shirley suggested they go together to distribute food to the people. She claimed they needed to find a plot of land to build a glass greenhouse as a pilot site for winter sowing, which was why she needed Anis to come along.
Facing Shirley’s well-reasoned argument, Anis hadn’t thought much of it and agreed.
‘I was too careless!’
Anis took a step forward. Feeling the gazes of the massive crowd falling upon her, her heart couldn’t help but race.
In her previous life, when she was still in school, she had tried standing on a podium to look down. Even if there weren’t many students looking at her, she still couldn’t stop the trembling in her heart.
There was another time when she was forced to perform on stage; her heart hammered so hard she almost had a medical emergency right then and there.
And now, you want me to give a speech?
Anis felt her vision go dark. Her heart felt like it was being pushed to its limit, and her legs grew weak. Just as she was about to collapse…
“Meow~”
A cat’s cry brought her back from the darkness. She looked down to see her cat.
Not only that, but Mimi seemed to have something in her mouth. Upon closer inspection, it was chocolate?
“Mimi?”
Anis crouched down and took the chocolate, which was covered in cat tooth marks. The moment the cat let go, it gave another soft meow.
Seeing her savior, Anis quickly tore open the wrapper and took a large bite. The sugar replenished her brain, allowing her to recover some of her composure.
She hadn’t intended to bring the cat on this trip. Mimi was, after all, the culprit behind everything. Even if her body had been shrunk, there was no guarantee the people wouldn’t recognize her.
However, Mimi’s relentless meowing offensive had made it hard to be firm. So, after making the cat agree to three rules, Anis told her to wait obediently in the carriage.
Anis scratched the cat’s chin a few times. The little cat responded to her master’s tenderness by letting out a high-pitched purr, asking for a hug.
“Alright, alright. I’ll indulge you.”
After consuming some sugar, she felt her bodily functions return. Holding a cat was effortless.
One person and one cat shared an affectionate moment right in front of the territory’s people.
“Ahem, Sister, shouldn’t you explain the follow-up matters to everyone?” Shirley whispered from the side, snapping Anis back to reality.
“Master, do your best. Mimi is here.”
At that moment, the Mimi in her arms spoke in a human tongue again!
The voice was very small and light, audible only to Anis, but it was enough to shock her and serve as a powerful morale booster!
“Yes, you’re right.”
Anis held the cat tightly and faced the crowd once more.
This time, she was no longer afraid.
Good cat.
“Everyone, I felt a bit unwell just now, but I am much better now. I apologize for taking up your time.”
Her voice was soft, but in the silent crowd, it traveled quite far.
Anis waved her wand and cast an amplification spell in front of her. This time, the people below heard her crystal clear.
“I want to ask you all a question first. If I had a way for you to farm even in the winter, would you be willing to give up your rest time so your families could eat fresh vegetables?”
The people fell into silence. After a long while, a man raised his hand. “Can the vegetables we grow be sold for money?”
Anis looked toward the voice and recognized the man immediately.
His name was Peter. He was heavily in debt and lived alone. Compared to eating a bite of fresh vegetables in winter, he wanted to exchange them for money.
Anis seized this opportunity to press the advantage.
“Of course, Mr. Peter. The price of fresh vegetables in winter is very high, and those who buy them are often the royalty and nobility. Think about it—could the price possibly be low? Rather than letting the non-human nations in the south earn that money, it would be better for all of you to take it for yourselves!”
This was no lie. Using the Frolenster family as an example, the family spent a huge sum every winter to buy fresh fruits and vegetables flown in from the southern world to satisfy their dining needs.
If the large sums of money spent by the nobles could be earned by the common people, they wouldn’t have to struggle on the poverty line.
The wages for working as a miner were simply too low.
She boldly predicted that this move would add another industry to the Frolenster territory, and the income would be substantial!
It might even affect the recruitment of miners, indirectly forcing Shirley and the true head of the Frolenster family to increase wages and benefits!
Anis looked at Shirley. The expression on the latter’s face was extremely serious—it had even turned a bit dark! Clearly, Shirley realized exactly what Anis was doing!
That’s right, this was cutting into the Frolenster family’s cake!
She was forcing them to spit out more benefits to the people of the territory!
Robbing the rich to help the poor—she had wanted to do this for a long time.
In any case, as the Plan for the Path of Freedom progressed, she would have to face the Frolenster family head-on sooner or later.
The support of these people would be her leverage against the powerful!
“Then I’ll do it! Please, tell us more!”
Old Peter’s words were like a stone thrown into a still pond, creating ripples.
More and more people began to respond until, finally, the crowd was filled with a roar of voices.
Standing on the stage, Anis flashed a knowing smile. Shirley had tried to get revenge for the bell pepper incident by making her give a speech, but the result was that Shirley had to surrender even more of the family’s interests.
Let’s see how she explains this to that old fogey, the head of the family, later.
Hehe.