Chapter 57 - Chapter 55: The Magic Otaku's Social Fatigue
It was the fifth day since leaving The Academy. The carriage had entered the domain of the northern magnate, Marquis Shamir. This was the land ruled by the father of Lady Elisha, one of the renowned Four Marquises. Gently undulating plains spread with farmland and pastures, with tall wheat fields and flocks of sheep visible here and there.
Actually, this was the first time I'd seen livestock other than horses. Sheep look pretty much the same as in my past life. What about dogs... I don't recall seeing any in Arcalai Village either. Based on my experience so far, they probably exist though. Like Azrael-san said in , both my past life and this world are "worlds with relatively similar natures."
"We're proceeding more smoothly than I expected. At this pace, we should be able to reach Ashkelon with time to spare today."
"Professor, when you say Ashkelon..."
In response to my question, Professor Azadh stroked his beard as he answered.
"Indeed, it's the capital domain where Marquis Shamir's castle is located. It's the largest city in the northwestern part of the kingdom. Until now, we'd immediately go to an inn upon entering a town and depart the next morning, but this time we might have some time for free activity in the city."
At those words, Noam and Devora, the younger members, raised cheers of joy. Ah, right, in this group, Ruria and I aren't considered the "younger group" — we're the "little kids group."
"Yes! Is that true, Professor?"
"Um, would we be allowed to look around the markets and such?"
"Yeah, you've had no time to relax with all the carriage travel, lessons, and practical training. A little break once in a while should be fine."
The two of them clapped their hands together in delight at the professor's answer. Nice, I'd like to join in on a high-five too. But I can't do that in public — I have a reputation to maintain.
Ruria didn't react to the suddenly livelier atmosphere in the carriage, instead resting her head on my shoulder, looking sleepy. This girl has a bit of a homebody streak... Even if she can go outside the inn, it probably doesn't particularly stir her heart, probably.
Then I turned my eyes to the last person and met Eli-san's gaze. He smiled softly and said to me, "I've never been to Ashkelon before, so I'm curious about what kinds of things are sold there." Ah, right, since Eli-san used to help out at a merchant's shop, he's interested in that sort of thing.
Then Isis, who had been looking sleepy on Ruria's shoulder until just now, fluttered up and flew over to me. Right by my ear, she whispered, "It's a perfect opportunity. Why don't you buy something for Ruri-chan?"
Ah, so she means a present? Have I ever done something like that before... No, wait, Ruria's magical weapon, the , I bought that for her. It should be in our luggage, along with my .
But man, isn't it embarrassing to deliberately buy a present? But if Isis brought this up, does that mean Ruria actually wants one too? Those two are in sync mentally, so that's entirely possible.
Well, I'll think about it if we really do get free time and have a chance to look around Ashkelon's castle town. Thinking such thoughts, I turned my eyes to the pastoral scenery flowing past the carriage window.
And as afternoon passed, the town of Ashkelon came into view ahead on the highway. As we approached, tall castle walls spread across our entire field of vision, presenting a majestic appearance that rivaled even the Royal Capital and the Academy City. It seemed even larger than Count Sheraha's capital domain, Meirave, which we passed through the other day.
This time too, we passed through the great gate without any identity checks or inspections and entered the castle town. As usual, since the carriage windows are closed in crowded areas, we can't look at the townscape. This custom of "nobles don't casually stick their heads out of windows" is really something to think about. It drastically reduces the enjoyment of passing through streets bustling with people (or so I assume).
In the towns we'd passed through before, we'd split up and stay at inns arranged by each carriage, but here in Ashkelon, we continued quite a distance by carriage even after passing through the great gate. A long distance from the castle walls means we're close to the city center, which means the inns are higher class. We've been staying at pretty high-class inns so far, but since Ashkelon is a major city, this should be something to look forward to.
Then, it seemed the carriage had stopped. Just as I thought we'd be getting off here, the professor opened the window and spoke with someone outside. Huh, did I just hear Open the gate? No way?
And from outside the carriage came the creaking, grinding sound of metal. Why did I... feel like I'd heard this sound just recently? Specifically, when the drawbridge came down in front of Count Sheraha's castle.
As the metal sound stopped, the carriage began moving again, then eventually stopped once more. When I followed the professor and stepped down from the carriage, there we were—just as I'd thought—inside the castle of Marquis Shamir, the ruler of this land.
"I think you've already figured it out, but thanks to the Marquis's kindness, all of us will be lodging in this castle today. Make sure to thank Elisha later."
At Professor Azadh's words, the faces of Noam, Devora, and Eli-san subtly stiffened. Well, that's only natural. Even I, who barely counts as a noble, felt heavy-hearted when I had an audience with Count Sheraha last time. After actually meeting him, he turned out to be a good-natured old man, so I was relieved, but until then, I was honestly pretty nervous. If three commoners were suddenly told they'd be staying in a Marquis's castle, it wouldn't be strange for them to get stomachaches.
While such exchanges were taking place, carriages from other groups arrived one after another, parking in the front courtyard and disgorging students. The Marquis's castle was about twice the size of Count Sheraha's castle, a "castle-like castle" equipped with multiple spires. The grounds were correspondingly large, and indeed, it could probably accommodate close to fifty people including professors and students, along with ten Academy carriages. They probably host even larger numbers of guests for evening parties where nobles are invited.
Soon everyone was gathered, and with Professor Azadh at the lead, the group began walking toward the castle entrance. Wait, no—the one walking next to Professor Azadh, was that Lady Elisha? At the top of the low steps leading up from the courtyard, a massive double door was opened by two male servants in matching uniforms. As usual this time too, an elderly man impeccably dressed in a butler's uniform emerged from within the castle and bowed deeply to us.
"Head butler, thank you for your hard work."
"Welcome back, Lady Elisha. And welcome to Ashkelon Castle, everyone from The Academy. You must be tired from your long journey—please, do come inside."
"My, how courteous of you. We are in your care this time. By the way, is His Lordship the Marquis in the castle? I would like to go and offer my thanks later..."
"Unfortunately, the master is out at the moment. We have a dinner banquet planned for this evening, so the Marquis should return by then and greet everyone."
"Oh, that's most kind. Well then, please take care of things."
Hearing such exchanges up ahead, we were invited in through the castle's main entrance.
In a hall spacious enough to swallow fifty people and still feel roomy, nearly as many servants as us stood lined up in two rows. As they, dressed in separate uniforms for men and women, bowed their heads in unison, we silently proceeded to the back of the hall. Whether professors or students—everyone seemed awed, walking in silence following the butler.
Along the walls of the hall, I could see a vast number of famous paintings, sculptures, and ceramics displayed, but with the distance and sheer quantity, they barely registered in my vision. In this manner, we reached the staircase at the farthest end of the hall, climbed to the landing halfway up, and there, at the head butler's direction, split into left and right groups to ascend to the second floor.
From there, male servants in uniforms similar to the head butler's guided us to guest rooms arranged in the two wings of the castle. Along the corridors, impressive-looking paintings, vases, and suits of armor were displayed, but I had no time to examine them closely, and lacking the cultured background to appreciate them properly, the only thought that came to mind was "that looks expensive." Pathetic, really.
Upper-class nobles grow up in this kind of environment from birth, so naturally their eye for quality goods becomes refined. As I was having such irrelevant thoughts, we were separated by gender and led to rooms. My roommates were the two who happened to be nearby: Noam and Eli-san.
In the guest room, which must have been at least twenty tatami mats in size, there were three beds. They weren't canopy beds, as one might expect, but they were large enough for the tall Eli-san to lie down comfortably, made up crisply with pure white linen that was almost dazzling. The mattresses and pillows were fluffy, and the floor was covered in thick, long-pile carpet too—it looked like you could just lie down right there. Oh, Noam sat down on a bed, and his eyes went wide at how much it sank under him.
Eli-san and I sat on the sofa placed in the center and looked around the room. Paintings, tapestries, and fresh flowers adorned the walls here too, and the windows had glass panels set in to let in light. This was amazing. The wooden windows were painted with a scene of a monarch knighting a knight, and colored glass was embedded in the crown and the helmet the knight was holding, casting red and green light into the room. It was like a small stained glass window.
This country didn't yet have the technology to produce highly transparent, thin glass. No, glass itself was treated as a luxury item. Instead of being able to make the glass windows I was familiar with in my past life, they brought in outside light like this. As I admired their ingenuity, at the same time, the only dumb thought I could muster was, "The Marquis family is seriously on another level."
"As expected of House Shamir Marquis. To display such luxury even in a guest room among many."
Eli-san, seemingly overcome with emotion, let out his thoughts while entranced by the paintings on the wall. Ah, I agree completely. It's probably to flaunt the Marquis family's economic power to invited guests, but even so, the only word for it is "incredible."
The three of us sat in silence, blankly gazing around the room, until eventually there came a knock at the door. When I said "Come in," Professor Hazza poked his usual bushy-haired head in.
"Hey. Got a moment? There's something important to discuss."
The professor entered the room and looked around at us while standing. Scratching his head awkwardly, he said apologetically:
"About the free time in the city we had planned for the gap before dinner... You might have heard about it already, but... it's been canceled."
"No way~~!!"
All three of our voices harmonized unintentionally. Professor Hazza gently averted his eyes and continued.
"With fifty students, including a fair number of noble children, it seems that even the Marquis family doesn't have enough hands to provide guards for everyone. Also, with a group this large, moving through the city would be difficult. So they decided it wasn't feasible."
Oh, come on. Even though the journey had been quite comfortable thanks to the luxurious carriage and spells, constantly traveling still gets stifling after a while. Just when I thought there might finally be an event that could serve as a diversion, this complete turnaround. I wasn't that disappointed myself, but the dejection on Noam and Eli-san's faces was something else.
"But, you know. Thanks to Lady Elisha's arrangements, apparently they're going to call in merchants who work with the Marquis family and hold something like an impromptu sales event. They say local specialties will be available too, so maybe you should check it out?"
Probably because it was all too obvious how disappointed we were, Professor Hazza added this information as if to say, "Here, cheer up." I see—so this is how great nobles usually shop, by summoning merchants to them. This way, our safety is guaranteed, and there's much less hassle.
Look, both Noam and Eli-san have made a V-shaped recovery from their previous slump. This is my first time with an opportunity like this too, so I'm actually looking forward to it a bit.
The sales event was apparently going to be held in the entrance hall we'd come through. After thanking the professor, who said he'd go inform the students in other rooms, the three of us got ready and headed down to the entrance hall.
We chatted with the other students who had gathered for a while. Then the castle's main entrance opened, and the merchants entered carrying their wares for this occasion. First, they greeted Lady Elisha, who stood at the head of us students, then efficiently assembled makeshift sales counters and began displaying their goods. How should I put it... The scene reminded me of the atmosphere before the opening of that festival held twice a year in my past life. Well, not that I participated much myself.
They weren't just laying out products; they spared no effort in promotion, setting up banners with the names of featured items and hanging boards with their shop names on the fronts and tops of the tables. Since the students of the Magic Academy gather from all over the kingdom, they probably hoped to have the names of their trading companies remembered here.
Once the temporary shops were set up in two rows flanking the center of the hall, Lady Elisha turned to us and announced in a clear, carrying voice:
"Now then, everyone. The shops gathered here today are among the finest and most established in all of Ashkelon. Please take your time browsing, and feel free to pick things up and examine them."
As if waiting for those words, the restless students all moved toward the shops at once. There wasn't anyone rash enough to actually run, but I could hear excited chatter, mostly from the female students. It wasn't just the students either—even the professors seemed to be heading toward shops that caught their interest with a certain buoyancy in their steps.
Then, I felt my arm being pulled and hugged. Looking, I saw that Ruria had, at some point, come close and taken her usual position.
"Is there anything you want to buy, Ruria?"
"...Not really."
Her reply was curt as usual, but despite that, her gaze wandered here and there as if surveying the various shops.
"For now, let's just see what's out there."
I said that, tugging the hand that Ruria was holding to prompt her. Then, as if overlapping us, a voice came from behind.
"In that case, Ruria-chan and Saki-san shall accompany me~"
And hands were placed on my and Ruria's shoulders. Without even needing to turn around, Lady Elisha revealed herself, clinging closely behind us.
"Lady Elisha. With the members of your household watching, I'd think such unladylike behavior is hardly appropriate."
"Please don't say such cold-hearted things. I've been unable to interact with you two throughout this off-campus activity, and it's truly been painful for me. Besides, precisely because this is my own castle, I can act without worrying about appearances."
Saying this, Lady Elisha brought both her arms around from behind Ruria's back, enveloping her completely in her embrace. Whether because she'd grown used to it by now, Ruria didn't struggle and simply let it happen. Your efforts at taming her with treats have paid off, Lady Elisha.
I glanced around, but the male servants, presumably standing by in the hall for trouble response, didn't seem inclined to reprimand their young lady for this state of affairs. I lightly sighed to the heavens, then reluctantly tugged Ruria's hand and started walking. Ruria walked along, pulled by me, and Lady Elisha followed along as if being dragged with us.
We started browsing the displayed goods from the shops closest to us, working our way through. Accessories, fine confections, high-end clothing, baked sweets, staves and robes, alcoholic beverages, fresh pastries... There are a lot of sweets shops!? Was it because Lady Elisha called them in? Still, the female students' reactions seemed positive, each of them eyeing the displayed sweets seriously while consulting their wallets.
Both Ruria and Lady Elisha seemed very interested in the sweets, so reluctantly, I plunged into the crowd of female students with the two of them. As I stood idly by while they examined the confections, a familiar voice rang out from nearby.
"Hmm, how about this? Would it not be fitting for me?"
"As expected of Yuli-sama! Excellent taste!"
Looking over, I saw Yuli at the neighboring clothing shop, a striking cerulean blue stole draped around his neck, striking a pose while tossing back his hair. The round-faced boy, his sycophantic hanger-on, was flattering him in a way that made me want to ask if he was a shop employee. That goes beyond being a hanger-on; he's more of a yes-man.
But hey, Yuli, isn't wearing a blue stole on top of your already blue robe a bit much? Shouldn't that be where you add a different color as an accent?
I thought so, but well, since he's buying with his own money, he has the right to buy what he likes. It would be tacky for others to nitpick. Just as I reconsidered, it seemed that Ruria and Lady Elisha had finished their inspection at this shop for now, so I decided to take the two of them to the next one.
Having browsed through most of them, the last shop we reached was a jewelry store. Gems that could only be described as dazzling were laid out on soft mats spread over the simple tables. Their colors, shapes, and sizes were incredibly varied. Since today's sales event was targeted at students, it seemed they hadn't brought gems with eye-popping prices, of course. Still, several pieces appeared to be quite valuable and exquisite.
Gems, huh... I actually want some. Not to wear, of course, but as magical tools. Gems are after all items that captivate people's hearts with their brilliance and beauty, and they're said to be highly effective for rituals as well. Someday I'd like to build up a collection of such items and perform some proper ritual magic.
As I looked over the gems from one end to the other, one that seemed good caught my eye. It was a small, oval-shaped gem, colored red—well, more of a strong orange tone. In past life terms, it might be carnelian or mandarin garnet. The price seemed reasonable too; this could be good. I asked the shopkeeper for a soft cloth, gently picked up the gem with it, and examined it closely.
"Saki-san, are you purchasing that? But I think this sapphire would suit Ruria-chan better. Or if you prefer red tones, perhaps this one with a deeper color."
Lady Elisha leaned in from beside me and spoke up. No, no—both items you pointed at are ultra-expensive featured products, aren't they? Those are probably sapphire and ruby. And large ones at that. Even if I'm a minor noble, there's no way I, a seven-year-old son of a viscount family, could buy something like that. Actually, even my parents would probably hesitate, wouldn't they?
"You're mistaken, Lady Elisha—this is something I'm buying for myself."
"Oh my, you're looking for something for yourself? That's a little... how should I say this... surprising."
Lady Elisha's eyes went round. Well, that's natural—normally, if a guy like me buys a gem, people would think it's a gift for a woman.
"Besides, I have something else in mind for Ruria. Here, this."
Saying that, I pointed to a silver hair clip at the corner of the table. Actually, I'd had my eye on it from the start, thinking it would suit Ruria. Best of all, like the gem I chose, it wasn't too expensive.
After examining a few more items, I ended up buying two things: the orange gem and the silver hair clip. The total was eight silver coins for the gem and one gold coin for the hair clip. Yep, completely cleaned out. I know it's questionable to be spending like this while carrying debt, but five hundred gold coins isn't exactly an easy amount to pay back anyway. I'll think about that after I've become able to earn money.
I carefully tucked the purchased gem into my breast pocket, then put the silver hair clip in Ruria's hair. Ruria watched expressionlessly as I attached the clip, but when she touched it shining in her hair, she lowered her eyes and hugged me.
"...Thank you."
"Ha ha, you're welcome."
Isis floated up softly from Ruria's shoulder and elbowed me in the side of the head in a "there, there" sort of way. Shut up—it's because you said things like "Why don't you buy her something" that I was forced into this unexpected expense.
"I'm so happy for you, Ruria-chan. And Saki-san, what will you be buying for me?"
"Unfortunately, that just exhausted my budget."
"Ufufu, I'm just joking."
Lady Elisha laughed as she said that, but it was hard to tell how serious she was.
"Speaking of which, Lady Elisha, you haven't bought anything at all so far."
"Even if I were to buy things myself, I couldn't carry them all. After this event is over, members of my household will make the purchases all at once."
...As expected of a Marquis's daughter—truly on a different level. For that matter, I wonder if she's ever once made a purchase by taking money out of her own wallet. And furthermore.
"So, having gone to the trouble of calling them here and setting up their shops, you need to buy enough to save face for the merchants?"
"I leave that to your imagination."
After all, the customer base for this sales event was the students of the Magic Academy. Even though there were high-ranking noble children like Yuli mixed in, their purchasing power was limited. As the host of this event, the Marquis family's prestige would suffer if they didn't generate a decent amount of sales, I suppose.
Between the lodging tonight and this sales event, we're completely indebted to House Shamir this time. Of course, there's probably also the aspect of strengthening the Shamir family's influence by showing such generosity and leaving a good impression on The Academy, the other students, and the town's merchant guilds.
Besides, when we entered this castle, the person called the head butler said the Marquis himself was away, didn't he? There's even a possibility that Lady Elisha saw the students' dissatisfaction and decided to hold this sales event on her own authority. I already knew this, but she's not just a deviant woman, I thought as I looked at her back, still leaning over Ruria.
I take back what I said.
At a lavish dining table the likes of which I'd never seen, Lady Elisha sat across from me, utterly delighted, with two young girls gathered in her arms. One was, needless to say, Ruria, and the other was a girl about my age with short blonde hair.
"Oh, I really was so lonely not being able to see Elena while I was at The Academy. I was so worried that Elena might have cried when I was gone. Truly, it's fortunate that this castle was along the path of our off-campus activity."
"Big Sister, I can't breathe."
"I apologize, Saki-kun, for the commotion. It's just us family and you here, so don't mind the manners and enjoy your meal at leisure."
"Ah—yes, Your Lordship the Marquis."
"Saki-san, you're still the same age as Elena, yet you're so composed. We only have daughters in this house, so this is the first time we've had a dinner with a boy as a guest. I'm truly delighted."
"I—I'm honored, Marchioness."
"..."
For some reason, only Ruria and I were made to participate in the Marquis family's cozy gathering. Lady Elisha was too busy doting on Ruria and her biological sister, leaving me alone to entertain the Marquis and his wife. How did it come to this?
After the sales event in the castle hall ended, a servant came to our room to call us, saying dinner was ready. However, there were two servants—one led Noam and Eli-san away, while I alone was taken by the other and guided to a different location.
The room I was guided to was about the same size as our previous guest room, but a large table occupied the center, and there sat Lady Elisha, in a state of two beauties at both sides, with her excitement through the roof. I too was seated and waited for a while. Then a tall, nice-middle-aged man and a woman who looked like gentleness itself walking in clothes arrived, and the meal began. ←We are currently here.
The ones who arrived late were naturally the Marquis and his wife, who had apparently gone to greet the professors and other students eating elsewhere. By the way, that gathering was apparently a party-style event in a large hall, and I secretly screamed inside, damn it, I wish I'd been over there instead.
"Saki-kun and Ruria-san both, despite not even six months since entering The Academy, I hear you've already achieved the highest grades in history. As expected of the direct line of Arcalai."
"Not at all. Though I am of meager talent, I strive to study diligently so as not to sully the names of my grandmother and father."
"My, how reserved and modest. I also hear that you've been providing dedicated guidance to our daughter. We would like to thank you as well."
"Your words are too kind."
I had been flattered by the Marquis and his wife for a while now, and I was very uncomfortable. I kept giving humble replies instinctively, but in this world, didn't nobles not usually speak in ways that put themselves down? Ah, whatever, I don't know anymore.
And anyway, Lady Elisha—since they're talking about you too, could you at least throw me a lifeline here? In the first place, isn't the reason we students are lodging in this castle the result of your desire to see your little sister's face and have Ruria stay here, completely leaking out? Right? Admit it!
As I was inwardly casting such unjust suspicions on the host's daughter, a voice came from her direction.
"Um, I heard that Saki-sama is seven years old, the same as me."
Ah, this must be Lady Elisha's little sister. I believe her name was Elena-san. With soft blonde hair and a few freckles around her nose, she was a quintessentially girlish girl. Actually, she also speaks in quite a mature manner for her age. Is she already receiving ladyship education at this age?
"Ah, yes. Both Ruria and I are seven."
"To be at the top of the entire Academy at that age is amazing! Um, I'm also planning to enter The Academy in the future. So if, by chance, I can enroll before Saki-sama graduates, please teach me all sorts of things then."
Ah, this is bad. This is the kind of thing I've dealt with before in the seminar. If I agree too readily here, it might cause trouble in the future. And this time, the request is coming directly from the person herself. I should think carefully and reply cautiously...
"Understood. When that time comes, I'll do what little I can to help."
I can't refuse, can I? From an outsider's perspective, it just looks like an innocent child's request. If anyone were to flat-out reject this, that person would be more than just a bit problematic—they'd be seriously bad news.
"Thank you! Ruria-san, please be my friend too when that time comes, okay?"
"..."
Ah, Ruria's silently glaring at Lady Elena. Seeing the ominous glint in her sleepy eyes, I hastily tried to change the subject.
"By the way, Your Lordship, that..."
I said only that much, trailing off and shifting my gaze to the side. There sat a young woman of about twenty. She had the look of what Lady Elisha might become when she grew up, but she hadn't spoken a single word since earlier, nor met my eyes. She was simply quietly attending to her meal.
"Ah, Liora is my older brother's daughter. Due to circumstances, she's become our adopted daughter. Liora, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"N-no. Father, I'm fine."
The woman named Liora-san, after replying to the Marquis like that, turned toward me. Our eyes met for just a moment, but her gaze was quickly lowered along with a bow.
"I am Liora. Please treat me kindly."
After telling me that in a thin voice, she turned forward again and dropped her gaze to the table. Her attitude didn't seem like she was ignoring me so much as she seemed nervous and afraid of me. What could it be, androphobia?
The Marquis and his wife looked at their adopted daughter with puzzled expressions, but she herself was curled up and seemed not to notice. In the end, the two seemed to decide to leave Liora-san alone. After that, I was constantly bombarded with topics from the Marquis and his wife, and occasionally from Lady Elena, and I was so busy responding that I had no time to worry about her.
For the foreseeable future, I will not be entertaining high-ranking nobles. I swore firmly in my heart.
Before I knew it, it's already April! I'm sorry for making you wait yet again.