Chapter 130 : Chapter 130
Chapter 130
I felt that if I went into Metis headquarters for no reason, I would only end up disturbing Kalmond and the other subordinates, so I called for Eluna alone. The two of us entered a small tea house in the city center.
It was an upscale tea house that only nobles were allowed to enter. Of course, back when I was still an apprentice, I could do no more than admire it from afar, but now that I had become a minor noble and Lord Medici, there was no one who could stop me.
Eluna had no title, but because she was with me, she was allowed in as well.
“Welcome, Lord Medici. I’ll show you to one of our finest rooms.”
“Thank you.”
It never hurts when people speak respectfully even when there is a difference in status. The grade of the room might change because of it, after all.
We followed the attendant up the stairs.
It seemed the entire place was divided into private rooms. When I lightly infused mana into my hearing, there were rooms from which rough moans between a man and a woman could be heard.
So it’s used as a meeting place for lovers too.
Still, most of the conversations were perfectly wholesome. It was the sort of place where ladies came to pour out their grievances and men came to boast about themselves, something like a café.
“Will this room be to your liking?”
At the attendant’s gentle question, I nodded. We ordered something to drink, then sat across the table from one another.
“This is my first time in a place like this.”
At Eluna’s remark, I nodded. She was admiring the view beyond the window.
“It looks like you like it. We should come here together from time to time.”
“Isn’t this the sort of place people come to for dates?”
“If you want your mind to stay sharp, you need to hold meetings in a place like this while drinking tea and eating sweets. Don’t you feel stifled if you stay at the company all the time?”
Eluna laughed. Had she grown bolder in the short time I hadn’t seen her? At this rate, she’d be openly asking me out on dates.
“It is stifling. But when you’re at the company, Master, it doesn’t feel that way. I’ve noticed it lately...... when you’re not there, the whole atmosphere seems to sink.”
“Wasn’t it better without someone there to nag all of you?”
“As if.”
The atmosphere was beginning to feel strangely ticklish, so I cut off her words and moved straight to the point.
“You can roughly guess what I’m about to talk about, can’t you?”
“I think it’s because you were attacked in the Royal Capital. Is that right?”
“Exactly.”
As expected of Eluna. She was serving as my secretary now, but once the company grew larger, she would be more than capable of taking on the role of strategist as well.
“I’ve thought about it a lot, and I think there are two main possibilities.”
After opening that way, I told Eluna every single thing I had found suspicious, without leaving anything out. As she nodded along, concern gradually began to gather on her face.
“For now, I don’t think anyone in the Bahamut Ducal House was targeting me. I just don’t feel like I did anything major enough for them to send assassins after me. What still bothers me is that those Delfino bastards used the phrase ‘main course.’”
“......Are you suspecting me, perhaps?”
Eluna asked carefully.
The concern on her face had come from the fear that she might be the one I was doubting. I coolly shook my head.
“As if I would. If you were the culprit, my neck wouldn’t still be attached. What I want to know is how they learned who I really am. Assuming the Delfino bastards were behind it.”
Eluna regained her composure. I had known that already, but seeing the expression on her face for myself still didn’t feel very good. Even so, this was something we needed to talk about honestly.
“So that’s why you called Simon. How did it go?”
“He wasn’t the culprit.”
“May I ask why you’re so certain?”
“It’s hard to explain in detail, but I have my own method of grasping a person’s true intentions.”
Eluna fell silent in thought. When she said nothing for quite some time, I spoke again.
“If the Delfino bastards really were behind it, then how in the world did they learn who I am?”
“I don’t think it’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because having to wear a Face Mask is a weakness in itself. Even if you put it on in a secluded place, if someone is tailing you, there’s still a chance they’ll find out who you are. If one person goes in and a different person comes out, the one tailing you is naturally going to think something is strange.”
“You think I don’t know that? I handled it so discreetly, and you’re saying it still could have been exposed?”
“No matter what it is, if a person is doing it, it can’t be perfect. Of course, you are extraordinary, Master, but still.”
She really does know how to sting a person and then soothe them in the same breath.
At Eluna’s remark, which struck right at the bone, I couldn’t continue speaking. It even made me wonder if I’d been thinking too lightly about the whole matter.
Of course, even if those bastards spread rumors about my identity, all I would have to do is dismiss them as groundless nonsense. If it came down to it, I could just burn the Face Mask with Fire magic and leave no evidence behind.
But the real problem was that I was continuing to be targeted by some unidentified force.
I could think of it as an opportunity to level up, sure, but I was worried that the people around me might get hurt. More than anything, it annoyed me that I couldn’t strike first.
I only felt at ease when everything was under my control.
It had been the same when I was experimenting in the lab.
An engineer’s instinct, I suppose.
“Anyway, keep digging into this too. I don’t care how much it costs, so find out just how much those Delfino bastards know.”
“I’ll handle it myself.”
“How are you planning to do that?”
“If I meet with the master of the Delfino Merchant Company and talk with him, some clue is bound to come out. I’ll try asking a few leading questions.”
“All right.”
At that moment, there was a knock, and the attendant brought in hot tea and refreshments. For a while, the two of us simply sipped from our cups without saying a word.
“And when you go back, tell Kalmond this. Our Metis has decided to throw its support behind the Third Young Master.”
“So you’ve finally made your decision.”
I hadn’t spoken of it until now, but the leadership had been worried about our supporting all three young masters at once. Their view was that doing so was worse than not supporting any of them at all.
Of course, choosing the Third Young Master didn’t mean we would suddenly cut off support to the others.
I still intended to keep supporting them under the pretext of developing the territory. That would reduce friction when it came time to bid on business projects. You could call it a kind of price. The only difference was that the direction of our focus had now narrowed from three paths down to one.
I explained that to Eluna.
“It struck me that rather than staying half-involved, it would be better to attach ourselves firmly to one side and secure the profits. It may look like a somewhat sudden decision, but I want you to follow my judgment.”
“I trust your insight, Master. You’re wiser than anyone.”
“The Third Young Master is going to summon all of you about business matters before long. When he does, go and bring things to a proper close.”
“Understood. But...... it’s a little unexpected.”
“What is?”
With a faint smile, Eluna asked carefully.
“I thought you would like good people, Master. You’re warmer-hearted than you seem, so I expected you to choose the Second Young Master.”
“Ah, that’s because...... there are more people than you’d think whose outside and inside are completely different.”
“Are you saying that’s the Third Young Master?”
I raised my teacup to my lips and quietly nodded.
A little later, we left the tea house. Eluna looked somewhat regretful.
“I’ll deliver everything you said to Sir Kalmond properly. Don’t worry, and travel safely.”
“Good. I’m counting on you.”
Thanks to that, I was able to entrust all of my duties to Eluna, Kalmond, and Spinel, and set out for the Royal Capital with peace of mind.
***
We were not attacked even once on the way back to the Royal Capital. Arthas, who had been tense the entire time, practically went limp the moment he dismounted.
“So it really was just a coincidence. You must have wandered down some strange road and gotten attacked there. That makes the most sense.”
“It’s still too early to be sure.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s a world of difference between attacking a Butler Apprentice of a marquis house and attacking a retainer of a marquis house.”
A Butler Apprentice couldn’t yet be called a true member of the house. He hadn’t been formally appointed yet. But I had already guessed this much when I returned to Adeline to receive my title. If no one attacked me, then the title must have had a major effect.
“Hm. That’s possible, I guess. But the best outcome would still be if it really were all a coincidence, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s true, but if things in this world resolved themselves that easily, who would ever have to struggle?”
“That makes too much sense to argue with.”
“Make some time this evening.”
“What are you planning to make me do now?”
“If my subordinate gets stronger, my life gets safer, doesn’t it? I’ve learned a decent Aura Mental Cultivation Method. I’ll pass it on to you.”
Since I’d successfully passed it on to Kalmond, I ought to be able to raise Arthas’s level by one stage too.
“......Are you serious?”
“Have you ever seen me lie?”
As expected, Arthas flinched. His shoulders actually trembled.
An Aura Mental Cultivation Method was essentially one of an Aura User’s greatest secrets. It wasn’t something a person could teach to others lightly.
“It would feel wrong to receive the Merdiang Sword Art and then just wipe my mouth and walk away as though nothing happened.”
“Don’t run off somewhere, and make sure you come to the Training Ground tonight!”
After hammering that into me, Arthas handed his horse over to the driver and returned to the Knight Order. Just like me, he needed to report on his mission.
From the front of the mansion onward, the guards and the butlers alike celebrated my return. They especially admired the treasured sword hanging at my waist.
“As a token of thanks, I’m planning to host a celebration banquet this evening. I hope all of you can attend if possible.”
“If it’s Sir Dilen’s banquet, then I absolutely must attend.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it!”
I had brought some funds from Metis, so holding a banquet would be fine.
People were beginning to gather more and more. If this kept up, I felt I would only get trapped there, so I smiled, promised there would be another time, and quickly moved away.
At first, I intended to report my return to Brituang, but then I changed my mind. I wasn’t an apprentice anymore, so there would be no great problem if I acted as I pleased.
My steps stopped at the residence of Young Lady Sapiela.
The Young Lady was sitting where she always sat.
But perhaps it was because she hadn’t seen me in so long, or because she hadn’t expected me back this quickly, she rose from her seat and began walking toward me.
A moment later, the two of us stood facing each other.
“Sir Dilen.”
“Please just call me Dilen. I’m still your Attending Secretary.”
She smiled. I relaxed my formal courtesy and stood proudly before her. She was still shorter than I was, but only now did it feel as though our eye levels had finally begun to match, at least in spirit.
“Did anything happen on your way back?”
She was using honorific speech. It felt a little unfamiliar.
“Nothing happened at all. Perhaps we rode so fast that they couldn’t catch us. Ah, your lectures should have started by now. How were your classes?”
“They weren’t bad.”
“That’s good to hear. Starting tomorrow, I’ll escort you to the Academy myself.”
Sapiela quietly nodded.
“I plan to host a banquet this evening for the people of the mansion. If it wouldn’t trouble you too much, would you be willing to attend as well, Young Lady?”
“Very well.”
Sapiela answered without the slightest hesitation. At that moment, Arwen’s voice came from behind her.
“Young Lady. Pardon me, but Baron Quiln is scheduled to visit this evening.”
“Tell him to come another time.”
“Ah, yes......”
I could practically picture Brituang’s flustered expression the moment he heard the news, and I had to struggle not to laugh.
The way she could be endlessly gentle with those she considered her own people while remaining cold to others had begun to feel like an irresistible charm.
Perhaps tonight I should ask the Young Lady for a dance.
For some reason, I had the feeling she wouldn’t refuse.