Chapter 131 : Chapter 131
Chapter 131. Pick One. Just One!
After finishing my conversation with the Young Lady, I reported my return to Brituang. Then I heard something unexpected.
“There is a message for you from the Bahamut Ducal House.”
“What sort of message is it?”
Brituang, who had his hands clasped behind his back, did not answer right away. He simply stared at me with a peculiar expression.
“It concerns me, then.”
“That is...... unbelievable as it may sound, His Excellency the Duke is looking for you. The message came not long after you left.”
He had finally taken the bait.
Before leaving the Royal Capital, I had gifted Duke Mydas a high-end fountain pen. He was the kingdom’s Minister of Internal Affairs, a man who used documents and pens more than anyone else. To someone like him, a fountain pen must have been like wings placed upon his back.
That was exactly why I had not presented a fountain pen to the king. There had been no real point of contact in the first place, but even more than that, someone of the king’s station probably had little occasion to use a pen himself.
“I see. Then I should visit him sometime tomorrow.”
“Was this something you expected?”
I shook my head, saying it was not. But Brituang’s suspicions still continued.
“Come to think of it, you once went there alone carrying the Young Lady’s letter, did you not? You did not make some mistake then, did you?”
“I understand that I am still not entirely reliable in your eyes, but I am not bold enough to make a mistake at the Bahamut Ducal House, of all places.”
“That may be true, but human temper is not something that can always be pleased by following the rules.”
“It is probably about something else.”
“What sort of matter?”
“I once gave His Excellency the Duke a tribute gift. A distant relative of mine runs a merchant company, and he asked me to do it separately.”
“Ah, so that was it.”
Brituang nodded. Judging by the sigh of relief he let out, he must have been worrying the entire time until I returned, wondering whether I had made some mistake.
“In any case, I will meet him in person tomorrow and find out what the matter is. Please do not worry too much.”
“You must not have recovered from the journey yet, and I have kept you here too long. I shall look forward to the evening party.”
“Leave it to me.”
After leaving Brituang’s office, I returned straight to my room. Arwen must already have taken charge of the banquet preparations and handled them well.
The one standing guard today was not Arthas, but the soldier I had seen before. He gave me a military salute.
“Congratulations on your promotion! Sir Dilen.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded roughly and went inside. The room felt somewhat different from the lodging I remembered. It had the feeling of having been tidied up.
“Did Arwen clean it?”
Before I had left, spellbooks had been scattered all over the place, but now they were neatly stacked to one side.
A sigh escaped me.
At the same time, now that I felt as if something had finally ended, the tension left my body.
“I should rest for a while first, then read the spellbooks. There is still plenty of time before the banquet.”
I did consider going to the Bahamut Ducal House, but going there immediately after returning would not look good. The one growing impatient right now was not me, but the duke.
In any case, I decided to further develop my mana mental cultivation method and mana operation method.
At my current level, I had no major problem handling Sword Aura, but I did have a problem using Magic. I could not maintain magic for very long.
In short, it was time for training to widen the vessel that held my mana.
If I increased my total amount of mana and improved the quality of the mana I possessed, my Sword Aura would also become stronger, and it would be effective for Aura conversion as well. There was no reason to refuse.
“On top of that, I can learn Hand-Sign Magic from the spellbooks whenever I have time. There must be plenty of spells I can use as trump cards someday, like Fire.”
At first glance, Fire was a completely useless spell. It had no mobility, and unlike Fireball, it was extremely difficult to deal damage with it.
But with Mannheim, and when interrogating Simon, I had been able to use it very effectively.
In other words, the effect of Magic depended on when, where, and how the caster used it.
Humans instinctively feared fire.
Fire appeared in every calamity without fail. It also had an excellent visual effect, so I decided to train in Fire Magic as my foundation.
“It would be nice if I could make about two more clones. One for training. One for butler work. One for master work.”
Muttering something that was half sincere, I lay down on the bed.
I closed my eyes, but sleep did not come easily. Countless problems were sprawled out before me. How was I supposed to solve them one by one?
“First of all...... it feels like there is no longer any reason for me to remain in the Royal Capital, does it not?”
The original reason I had come to the Royal Capital was to avoid the surveillance and slander of Weiss, the Chief Secretary.
But now I had received a baronetcy and acquired my own foundation, including a fief. There was no particular reason for me to remain in the Royal Capital anymore. I no longer held the unstable status I had before.
According to various information brokers, including Rohan, the hostility Weiss held toward me was not as great as I had expected, and that also played a part.
“That means Weiss is collecting protection money through other routes as well. One source disappeared, but if it was only one among many and not the whole thing, it would only sting a little and be over. He can simply increase the number of places paying him tribute.”
On top of that, the situation surrounding the Astria Count House was becoming rather ominous.
They had openly expressed dissatisfaction over Young Lady Sapiela heading to the Royal Capital. The possibility was low, but the Marquis might even summon the Young Lady back again.
“But would that really happen? The Marquis House has its dignity. It makes no sense for it to watch the neighboring house’s mood.”
I opened my closed eyes. The luxuriously finished ceiling entered my view.
“In any case, I think it would be best to finish my work in the Royal Capital as quickly as possible and return to the main house. I have far more work to do after I go back.”
That said, I could not be the first to say that I would step down from the position of Attending Secretary, so it would be best if an order came down from the higher-ups.
This time, I had returned quickly, but if the main house summoned me next time, I intended to stay there for a good long while before coming back.
“The time to properly educate the Second Young Master is drawing near.”
Considering the rarity of Mana Users, the one kidnapping children was most likely him. Otherwise, something like that would not suddenly happen in a place with good public order.
In that way, one by one, the things I had to do were being organized inside my head.
There were many other matters as well, but one sudden thought that surfaced forced me to pause for a moment.
“By the way, how am I supposed to interpret this?”
I brought Sapiela’s Status Window, which I had happened to obtain earlier, back into my field of vision.
====
○ Sapiela de Adeline
Rank: ★★★★★
Level: 17 (+2)
Traits: EleganceS, RefinementS, EtiquetteA, Social DanceA, DignityB, SewingC, PaintingC, PhysicsD, MathematicsD, ChessD, ???
Status: Spring Breeze’s Flutter
Areas of Interest: Expectation toward entering a new social stage. Happiness over her companion’s promotion. Concern over how to form friendships at the Academy.
Favorability: 99
Alignment: Good
[Not Opened]
……
====
It felt a little strange to say “finally,” but her Status had changed to “Spring Breeze’s Flutter.”
Considering that her Favorability was as high as 99 and that the wording in her Areas of Interest had changed, the conclusion was that her feelings toward me had changed overall.
A Favorability of 99 was truly a number I had never expected.
I had not checked Arwen’s Status Window yet, but among all the people I had met so far, this was the highest value.
And that was not all. Until recently, the word used to refer to me in the Areas of Interest on her Status Window had been “subordinate.” But now it had changed to “companion.” It meant she no longer thought of me as someone beneath her.
“The Young Lady clearly has feelings for me.”
This was not premature expectation. It was a reasonable inference.
I had felt it when we were conversing earlier, but she no longer hesitated to add “Sir” after my name.
At times, she even jokingly called me “Lord Medici.” That meant the emotional distance between us had narrowed that much.
It was not as if I had no feelings either.
I did not want to deny the romantic feelings I had toward her. I also had feelings for her, and I had even imagined a future with her.
“But not now.”
There was a proper time for everything.
It was fine to assist the Young Lady, but if I became too bound to her, I would miss my moment. Now that I had confirmed her feelings, all I had to do was spur myself toward the things I had to accomplish.
“And also......”
My eyelids grew heavy. I fell asleep as if I had lost consciousness.
***
“Dilen!”
I opened my eyes at the familiar call. How long had I been asleep? Darkness had already fallen outside the window.
“Arwen. What is it?”
“Oh, Sir Dilen! There is a party tonight. You were not coming down no matter how long we waited, so I came up. Everyone is waiting in the dining hall, you know?”
She was speaking politely, but why did it feel like casual speech? Actually, that was exactly what it was like. Her expression and behavior felt as though she were dealing with a friend.
“All right. I will go down right away.”
“You are not sick, are you? You came back incredibly quickly too.”
“I am fine.”
“You do not look well.”
“It is because I am tired.”
“You did not catch a cold, did you? Even before, you would sometimes catch colds in the summer.”
I did not remember that, but when I traced back to the memories I had from the first time I opened my eyes in Dilen’s body, it seemed plausible enough. Back then, he had poor stamina and a poor frame.
Arwen placed her hand on my forehead with a worried expression.
In that instant, a blue light flashed, and Arwen’s Status Window appeared before my eyes.
=================
○ Arwen Lefebvre
Rank: ★★★★
Level: 25 (+5)
Traits: CookingA, TasteA, Cooking MasteryB, HandiworkB, SewingB, NursingB, CleaningC, EloquenceC, Ingredient AppraisalC, Judgement by EyeC, PlatingC, HospitalityD, CreativityD, ???
Status: Spring Breeze’s Flutter
Areas of Interest: The Young Lady’s health and happiness, looking good in front of her childhood friend. Ways to make even more delicious food. Sightseeing in the Royal Capital.
Favorability: 99
Alignment: Incarnation of Goodness
[Not Opened]
……
=================
They were neck and neck.
Arwen’s Favorability was also 99. I was not sure whether there were more detailed subcategories, but purely in terms of numbers, it was the same as Young Lady Sapiela’s.
What shocked me on top of that was her Alignment.
Not “Very Good,” but “Incarnation of Goodness.” What was this, had an angel descended?
Then again, when I looked at how Arwen usually acted, she really was sincere, kind, and lacking in nothing. That was why Young Lady Sapiela cherished her.
Had I been standing there in a daze? Arwen looked at me with wide eyes.
“Sir Dilen. You really are all right, are you not?”
“Yes. I am just not fully awake yet. Do not worry, and go downstairs. Right, is Arthas coming to the party too?”
“No. He says he is busy today.”
I could roughly guess what he was doing. He had probably been training at the Training Ground ever since we arrived.
I made a circle with my thumb and index finger and was about to send Arwen out, but then I called her back for a moment.
“Decide whether you are going to speak formally or casually. Pick one. It is confusing.”
“I will do as I please, you know?”
She stuck her tongue out slightly and left. I froze for a moment. Was I still half asleep? Or had I brought the Rohan virus back with me from the Royal Capital?
I slapped both my cheeks to pull myself together, then began changing my clothes.