Chapter 107 : Chapter 107
Chapter 107
After leaving Brituang's office, I headed first to the room assigned to me. Seeing the room would tell me just how far my standing had risen.
On paper, I was still an apprentice, but I was also the Young Lady's Attending Secretary, so things were bound to be somewhat different.
Brituang had pointed out that I was still an apprentice, but the fact that he had arranged my lodgings near the Young Lady's quarters made it clear that he had taken considerable care with the matter.
And when I arrived at my room, the person standing guard outside it was someone I had never expected.
"What are you doing here?"
"......"
Arthas let out a sigh and shook his head. Judging by how silent he was, he seemed a little embarrassed.
Surely not.
"Did they order you to guard my room? Hahahaha. This is priceless! An apprentice knight who was doing quite well back at the main house, reduced to guarding the quarters of an apprentice butler. If Rohan heard this, he would laugh himself sick."
"Please, just quietly walk past and let it go......"
"Hahahaha!"
The whole thing was so unexpected that I burst into laughter. Then again, since he was participating in this mission as my lieutenant, it was not so strange that he had been assigned to guard my room.
It was exactly the sort of duty Arthas's pride would never tolerate, but the knight order here had its own rules, and he would have had no choice but to obey.
"Stay strong, my friend."
Patting the dejected Arthas on the shoulder, I went inside.
The room smelled pleasant. It had that soft scent of freshly laundered cloth, like clean cotton. There were curtains on the windows, and a round table where guests could be received.
"This is nice."
I looked around the room with satisfaction.
When I turned my head, I saw that instead of a narrow, uncomfortable bed, there was a clean, spacious one. There was even a large mirror for dressing.
"Hm? What is that?"
But there was another door inside the room.
It was a small door. Was there another room beyond it? Curious, I opened it.
"So it is a bath chamber."
There was a wooden tub inside. Beside it stood a basket filled with flower petals.
At a glance, this was clearly not the sort of place meant for a mere butler apprentice. It seemed more like a room reserved for receiving guests, and somehow it had been given to me.
I was no noble, and no one would be heating water for me, but that was a simple problem to solve with Mana. In fact, because the weather had been rather hot lately, I had already been secretly cooling water with Mana before drinking it.
Naturally, heating water to a boil was possible as well. If one used Mana in daily life, it made for an astonishingly comfortable existence.
"This is nice. It almost feels like I have checked into a hotel."
I stepped back outside.
My luggage was arranged neatly off to one side. A quick inspection told me that nothing seemed to be missing.
I had not brought all that much with me to begin with. Most of my luggage consisted of bullets. It would not be easy to manufacture ammunition fitted to my gun's specifications here in the Royal Capital.
Just then, the door opened and Arwen came in.
"Did you check your things?"
"Everything seems in order. Were you the one who moved them?"
"No. I asked someone else to do it. I was too busy taking care of the Young Lady. Still, the people here were very helpful, so that was fortunate."
"And the Young Lady?"
"She is asleep."
I nodded. The journey here had not been easy. For someone as thoroughly homebound as Young Lady Sapiela, enduring it must have been rather difficult.
Since Arwen was here, there was something I wanted to ask.
"Which room is the Young Lady's?"
At my question, Arwen beckoned me outside. The room she pointed to seemed to be the one the Young Lady was using.
It was exactly two rooms away from mine. That was quite close. If only my quarters back at the main house were that near the Young Lady's residence.
"What are you planning to do now?"
"Nothing in particular. We have free time until dinner, so I was thinking of heading out for a bit."
"Ah, can I come with you? I was thinking of going out too."
Arwen asked with a bright smile. In contrast, I looked at her sternly.
"And what do you intend to do if the Young Lady asks for you while you are out?"
"The Young Lady told me to rest well today. Still, I thought I might go out and look around a little, but since it is my first time here, I am a bit scared......"
"Is that so?"
"Come with me. Please?"
She was asking me for help. In the Royal Capital, I was the only person she could truly rely on right now.
That put me in a difficult position.
It was not easy to refuse her request. Usually I was the one asking her for help when I needed something, so telling her no now, when she was the one asking, felt uncomfortable. It would have made me seem completely selfish.
But it would be a problem if Arwen got involved in what I needed to do after going out. It had to do with Metis. I had not brought the Face Mask all the way here just for show.
Since there was no Gate or Teleport I could use, I needed to stay in regular contact with my subordinates.
That was why, before leaving the territory, I had secured a way to use Messenger Pigeons.
This world had an established Messenger Pigeon service for delivering letters, and so long as one paid the proper fee, it was possible to use routes traveling between Adeline Territory and the Royal Capital.
It could not compare to using a phone or sending a message, but it was still far better than having nothing at all.
So I had planned to send off one message saying that I had arrived safely in the Royal Capital, and to check whether any letters had come for me as well.
Someone as thorough as Eluna would surely have sent a letter ahead of time.
It had taken dozens of days to reach the Royal Capital. In all that time, something must have happened. My intuition was sounding the alarm sharply.
Then, all at once, a good idea occurred to me.
"That might work."
I turned and looked at Arthas, who was standing guard by the door. The instant our eyes met, he deliberately turned his gaze away as if pretending not to notice.
I could not help laughing. At times like this, there really were moments when he resembled Rohan.
"Arthas."
"What?"
"What exactly is your assignment? To guard me, or to guard my room?"
"Are you making fun of me?"
He ran a hand over his sword. At this rate, it felt less like he was guarding me and more like he intended to kill me.
"Do not misunderstand me. I am asking seriously."
"......Obviously my assignment is to guard you. I was told to carry out my duties as your lieutenant properly. If you go out, I am supposed to follow."
"Then take Arwen out with you for a while."
"Out?"
"Get some air, buy a few things. Arwen says she wants to go out, but I do not feel entirely comfortable sending her alone. What do you say? That sounds better than standing guard here, does it not?"
When I glanced at Arwen, she smiled and nodded enthusiastically. She truly meant it. Apparently, it did not particularly matter to her whether it was me or someone else.
Since the two of them were still somewhat awkward with one another, Arthas asked carefully,
"That would be better for me, sure, but would it really be all right for me to leave my post so casually?"
"I am going out too, so it should be fine. We can smooth things over with the higher-ups well enough. For now, let us all leave the mansion together."
"All right, then let us go!"
Each of us had a different purpose in mind, but just like that we joined forces and headed for the front gate together.
It was easy enough to leave the mansion. At the main house, one needed a permit to go out or stay overnight elsewhere, but we were here on active duty, so we were free to come and go.
More than anything, the people at the branch residence were favorably disposed toward me. That was thanks to the sheer physical distance from the main house. By the time rumors traveled all the way here, they had already grown badly distorted.
I had briefly had a chance to speak with a few people, and the guess they had arrived at was that although I appeared to be only a butler apprentice, my true identity was actually a secret operative of the house.
Well, if one looked only at the facts, I was intelligent and strong, so it was not exactly wrong.
"Are you heading out?"
"Does it not look like it?"
"Would you perhaps require a guide? The Royal Capital is extremely large, and you might lose your way......"
"Do I look like this is my first time in the Royal Capital? Do not take me lightly!"
"M-my apologies. I am sorry."
That was part of a conversation Arthas had with some soldier right before we passed through the front gate. He really does take his frustrations out on people. I should count myself fortunate that Arthas is not my superior.
Once we were out the front gate, we entered an alley lined with tightly packed houses. We paused there for a moment and finished making our plan.
"We will have to come back together, so let us meet outside at a fixed time. What time would be good?"
"How about seven? Arwen will probably need at least that much time to be satisfied."
At Arthas's suggestion, Arwen nodded vigorously. I could practically hear her heart beating from here. Her mind was already halfway to the commercial district.
"All right. Then when the seven o'clock bell rings, we meet in this alley. Sorry to repeat myself, but take good care of Arwen."
"Do not worry about that. But where are you going?"
"Just out for some air."
I raised a hand and slipped out of the alley into another one nearby. Once I had checked my surroundings and confirmed there was no one around, I put on the Face Mask.
Now it was time to do what I had to do, not as Dilen, but as Suhyeon.
***
The people of the Royal Capital were kind. The city was so vast and the streets so tangled that it had not been easy to find the post office, but I had finally managed to track it down by asking around.
There was a signboard plaque hanging out front, engraved with the image of a pigeon carrying a letter in its beak, so this had to be the Messenger Pigeon Center.
I opened the door and went inside.
There were three people standing behind the counter. Two men and one woman. Since they were wearing uniforms, they seemed to be reception clerks. There were not many customers.
The one who received me was the man standing farthest to the left.
"Welcome. How may I assist you?"
"I would like to confirm my Messenger Pigeon activation. My name is Suhyeon of the Metis Trading Company."
"Mr. Suhyeon, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please wait just a moment. Once I confirm the record, I will proceed with the activation process."
He was remarkably courteous. He opened a large drawer behind him and began sorting through documents separated by color.
After some time, he pulled out one file and examined it carefully.
With a pleasant smile, he came back to the counter.
"Thank you for waiting. Mr. Suhyeon, I have confirmed your application. You selected the route connecting Saint Lucia and Adelaina. The fee was paid in advance as well. If you would sign here, you may begin using the service immediately."
He held out a pen and ink. I dipped the pen and signed with practiced elegance.
At least within the Alphrost Kingdom, most contracts were concluded by signature. There were cases where seals were used instead, but those were quite limited.
That was why I had created a handsome signature and practiced it. Thanks to that, I could now sign my name with style.
"Your service has now been activated. Shall I also check whether any new Messenger Pigeons have arrived for you?"
"Yes."
"It may take a little time. Please sit and wait comfortably. Would you like me to prepare something for you to drink?"
"That will not be necessary."
I took a seat and waited. Now and then people came in to use the Messenger Pigeon service, though not many. Most of them were dressed rather well.
The service was fairly expensive, and anyone without serious business had no reason to use Messenger Pigeons in the first place.
If time did not matter too much, it was far better to use a hand-carried courier, which cost much less.
"Thank you for waiting. There are two new documents for you. Please confirm receipt."
I signed for both documents, then stepped outside carrying the two notes. There happened to be a bench nearby, so I sat down comfortably and crossed my legs.
When I opened the notes, nothing was written on them. They were clearly from Eluna.
I let Mana flow into them.
VMMMM.
Across the blank notes, black writing slowly began to appear, as though a curtain were being drawn back.