The Tea Party
Satou here. Since convenience-store sweets are so high quality these days, you can pretty much eat cake whenever you feel like it. When I was a kid, though, you only really had cake on your birthday. Although I guess I can technically make it myself now, too…
“Is this the place?”
Once I got back to the mansion, I avoided the attention of our guards—Mr. Kajiro and Miss Ayaume—and headed back to where I’d left my companions.
According to my map, a nearby plaza in front of a water well was being used as a base to treat the wounded.
The dots indicated my party members were in that area, too.
“Master!”
“Welcome back, sir!”
Since they’d been rescuing people from a fire, Tama and Pochi were covered in sweat and soot when they ran up to meet me. I’d have to start a hot bath once we got back to the mansion.
“Did you leave the injured back at the manor, master?” Arisa asked quietly.
“Yeah, they still need to rest for a few days and heal.”
Liza approached me with a grave expression.
“I am terribly sorry, master. We’ve used up all the magic potions you left in my care.”
“It’s fine,” I assured her lightly. “That’s what they were for.”
“Master, the wartime provisions you provided have been exhausted as well, I report.”
Behind the ever-expressionless Nana was a gaggle of children I’d never seen before.
Their clothes were in tatters and looked like they’d been burned away in places.
Most likely, these kids had been mortally wounded, and Nana had used her intermediate potions to save their lives.
“It’s okay. You used them to save these kids, right?”
“Yes, master.”
The children all sighed in relief.
Some of them were girls, so I produced a series of spare T-shirts from Storage by way of the Garage Bag and handed them out.
There didn’t seem to be any more-serious injuries, and all the fires had been put out. I could withdraw for the time being.
Waving at the kids as they celebrated their new shirts, I turned away.
At that moment, a delinquent-looking man stepped in front of me.
“You the young nobleman who’s been handing out high-quality magic potions like candy?”
A few fierce-looking thugs stood behind the man.
“Who are you?” Liza demanded, sensing a violent air about the men and stepping in front.
“Don’t you worry, missy. I’m Skopi, a humble member of the Mud Scorpions who run this little neighborhood. I heard you lot took care of our guys and some of the other fellas around here, so I came to say thanks.”
The man held up his palms to Liza to indicate that he meant no harm.
She stepped aside, and the man bowed his head to me and said “thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I’m Satou Pendragon, hereditary knight. I’ll accept your gracious thanks.”
“We ain’t got any money, but if you ever need manpower, just gimme a shout. And if you’re lookin’ to get anything what can’t be mentioned in public, I can hook you up.”
I didn’t think the latter was going to be necessary, but maybe I would call on him next time I was gathering a workforce.
Saying farewell to Skopi of the Mud Scorpions, I headed back to the soup kitchen area, where Miss Miteruna and the others were waiting.
“It’s certainly a lot cleaner around here.”
“Yes, those kids worked very hard.”
In addition to cleaning and sweeping the whole area, they’d even helped clean up from the food distribution earlier.
Now the group of children stared at me with expectant eyes.
“Master.”
Arisa’s light nudge jogged my memory.
The snacks.
I produced some hard-baked biscuits and bags of dried meat from the soup kitchen supplies.
“Arisa, can you gather the kids so I can hand out snacks?”
“Okey-dokey…”
Arisa and the other girls started rounding the kids up into lines.
“Thanks for the help.”
I thanked each child as I handed out the snacks.
“Ooh, meat!”
“Wow! This jerky smells so good!”
“You’re right! It’s not even super salty or sour!”
“This hard bread stuff smells good, too.”
Some of the comments made me a little concerned about what these kids were eating normally, but all of them were jumping up and down with glee.
A few sneaky kids who hadn’t helped clean tried to line up for snacks anyway, but the hardworking children chased them off.
Good. It doesn’t pay to be dishonest.
But I felt bad for them as they slouched away, so I gave them a few pieces of leftover biscuits, telling them to be sure to help next time.
Because they got far less than the kids who had actually helped, they would probably be motivated to volunteer next time.
“Master…”
“What is it?”
Arisa prodded me, pointing at one of the young maids.
She and the others were watching enviously as the kids enjoyed their snacks.
Even Tama and Pochi had joined them. They must be hungry, too.
“Do you mind, Miteruna?”
I produced some more hard biscuits, indicating the young maids with my eyes.
The head maid, Miss Miteruna, thought for a moment, then nodded.
“You young ladies worked hard, too, so here’s your reward.”
I handed out the biscuits to the girls.
“Yaaay!”
“Smells good.”
“Hee-hee, they look yummy…”
“Crunchyyy?”
“Mr. Biscuit is hard and strong, sir.”
The biscuits went over surprisingly well.
The young maids’ jaws weren’t as strong as the beastfolk girls’, so they filled their cheeks with biscuits like squirrels.
“Here you go, Arisa.”
“Huh?”
Arisa looked surprised that she got to have one, too.
“…Thanks.”
After hesitating for a moment, she accepted the biscuit and munched on it happily.
As I watched the kids eat, and Arisa licked her biscuit like candy for some reason, she turned to ask me a question.
“Hey, master, do you know how to make fish-oil drops?”
“Fish-oil drops?”
“You know, like in kindergartens and stuff, those soft gummy things they hand out during snack time.”
This sounded vaguely familiar.
They probably used some kind of oil derived from fish liver.
Checking the ingredients I had on hand just for kicks, I was surprised to find a match: There was a simple recipe in the Japanese writings I’d acquired at a dark auction in the old capital.
The notes in the margins said it was a supplement for vitamins A, D, and so on.
“Arisa, looks like I have a recipe.”
“W-wait, really?”
Despite being the one who had asked in the first place, Arisa seemed surprised.
The recipe was a little time-consuming, though, and I suspected it would come out tasting and smelling very fishy if I followed it to the letter.
“But I’ll have to revise it a bit first, so we won’t be able to start giving them out right away.”
“That’s fine, of course. I simply wanted something for those kids, since some of them seem to have really dry skin or weak stomachs.”
So that was why Arisa had requested the fish-oil drops.
Deep down, Arisa was very caring and attentive. She’d probably make a great mother someday.
“Young master, is it all right if we start breaking things down?”
“Yes, please do.”
Once the young maids finished eating their biscuits, Miss Miteruna directed them to break down the soup kitchen equipment and load it up in a cart.
I’d had Miss Miteruna order the cart yesterday. Having her around to do things in my place was a big help.
So on the way home, I posed a question.
“Miteruna, should we hire some more maids for the mansion?”
Raising the little maids, taking care of things around the house, and tackling odd jobs like this was probably pretty difficult.
The suspension-less cart was painful to sit in. In the end, everyone but Lulu, the driver, was walking.
“Young master, I couldn’t possibly increase your costs in such a—”
“Master wouldn’t offer if he didn’t want to, so if you need the extra help, you should just say so.”
Miss Miteruna tried to decline at first, but Arisa cut her off.
Hired help was very cheap here, and I was making money faster than I could spend it, so I had no problem increasing our workforce.
“Well, if at all possible, I could use someone a bit older than the other girls, perhaps someone who already knows how to cook…”
“How about Rosie and Annie, then?”
Lulu made a surprise suggestion from the coachman’s seat.
“Who?”
“The girls who always take charge and help with the soup kitchen preparations.”
Searching the map, I looked at the pair in question with the Space Magic spell Clairvoyance as they walked down the street.
They were around the same age as Lulu: One was very skinny, with dark skin and black hair, and the other was a brown-haired girl with a plain, honest face.
The two of them did look familiar.
“The girls who helped with the washing and vegetable peeling the day we moved into the mansion?”
“Yes, that’s them.”
I certainly appreciated anyone who took the initiative to help out.
“What do you think, Miteruna?”
“If Young Mistress Lulu recommends them, then…”
“But they’ll be working for you, so I’d like to prioritize your opinion.”
Miss Miteruna looked somehow surprised at this, but she agreed to interview Rosie and Annie before making a decision.
Once we got back to the manor, I prepared some maid outfits in the event that the two girls passed their interview.
Instead of Miss Miteruna’s long skirt, these were knee-length maid outfits to match Lulu’s.
The little girls who worked as the maid staff wore simple one-piece dresses and plain aprons until Miss Miteruna deemed them ready for a full maid outfit.
“Don’t you have a tea party soon, master?”
“Right, I should probably get going.”
I checked the time in the AR display of my menu.
“Sorry, Lulu, would you mind giving me a ride to the viceroy’s castle?”
“Of course, sir. I just finished baking the pastries for your gift.”
Lulu had been making various castellas and honey pastries to bring to the viceroy’s tea party in the galley, but she was quick to agree to my request.
“Whenever Miss Miteruna’s free, we’ll go find Rosie and Annie to see about hiring them.”
“Perfect, thank you.”
I nodded to Arisa, and we set out to the viceroy’s palace-like mansion.
“““Welcome, Master Pendragon.”””
When I stepped out of the carriage at the viceroy’s castle’s main entrance, a big crowd of smiling staff greeted me in unison.
Considering that on my first visit, I’d used the merchants’ parking lot and had been guided through a back entrance by a single curt servant, this was a considerable upgrade.
“I’ll see you later, Lulu.”
“Yes, master.”
Lulu smiled and waved, and the servants bowed their heads and stepped into the entrance.
“Allow me to guide you.”
“Great, thanks.”
An attendant with Western-style beauty guided me down a hallway with an expensive-looking rug toward the tea party, where the viceroy’s wife and company were waiting.
The attendant wore coral earrings on proud display.
Judging by the information in my AR display, this was from the large set of gifts I’d given the viceroy’s wife. She must have bequeathed some of them onto her staff.
Back where the coral accessories were made, I’d bought the earrings in bulk for a single copper coin each. But since there was no coral on the Shiga Kingdom coasts, their value had skyrocketed, and my “Estimation” skill told me that their market value was now anywhere between several silver to gold coins.
“This way, please.”
The friendly attendant opened the door, and I was greeted by a good deal more noblewomen than I’d expected. There were men, too, but not very many.
All of the women were wearing extravagant dresses and dazzling jewelry.
Blue gems seemed to be particularly in fashion; sapphires and blue-tinted Heaven’s Teardrops were quite popular.
Our hostess, the viceroy’s wife, was wearing a heavy-looking sapphire necklace and sparkling Heaven’s Teardrop rings and earrings.
“Welcome, Sir Pendragon.”
“I truly appreciate your invitation today.”
I gave an exaggerated noble bow to the extra-dressed-up viceroy’s wife.
“Sir Satou! It’s been so long since I have seen thee, no?”
Princess Meetia ran up to me with a bright greeting, wearing a very exotic dress.
That said, it had been only a few days since we had rescued her from the hands of the evil plunderers.
“Greetings, Princess Meetia.”
I gave a small bow and greeted the lovely young woman behind her as well.
“S-Sir Pendragon! P-please forgive my rudeness for not yet thanking you for saving me!”
“Oh, no, I didn’t do anything.”
This was Mary-Ann, Baronet Dyukeli’s daughter.
She was only about middle school age, so seeing her all dressed up gave her the charm of a preteen girl trying to seem older.
“You most certainly did!” Mary-Ann’s voice cracked. “The attack that drove off those soldier mantises came from the top of the cliff! It was you who rescued us, was it not, Sir Knight?”
Oh, I guess I sorta remember doing that.
“That was merely incidental. I was able to make it in time only because Sir Gerits was protecting you. If you must thank anyone, please thank him instead.”
“…Gerits did that for me?”
If I remembered right, the viceroy’s chubby third son, Gerits, had stayed behind to protect Miss Mary-Ann. That was probably what prompted me to chase the soldier mantis off with a pebble.
Gerits seemed to care a lot about Miss Mary-Ann, so I didn’t want to get between them.
Far be it from me to interfere in a budding young romance.
“Mary-Ann, you mustn’t bother Sir Knight before he’s been introduced properly to everyone.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mother.”
Her mother was young enough that she could have passed for an older sister.
She was in her thirties but carried herself like a sad young girl.
According to my prior investigations, Miss Mary-Ann had an elder brother who was in poor health.
“Apologize to Sir Knight and Lady Reythel, not to me.”
Obediently, Mary-Ann bowed apologetically to the viceroy’s wife and me.
So Baronet Dyukeli’s wife was close enough with the viceroy’s wife to call her by name, then.
“Shall we, Sir Pendragon?”
The viceroy’s wife led me to the platform in the center of the hall, and the eyes of the nobles all gathered on us.
“Allow me to introduce my friend here. This young man is Sir Pendragon, a very dear guest of our family.”
She emphasized this last part most.
“He is a great man who saved the Muno Barony from an army of goblins being led by a demon, defeated several lesser demons in the Ougoch Duchy, and worked with the Hero of the Saga Empire to drive a black dragon out of the Lumork Kingdom.”
Damn, word travels fast.
It might have been Counselor Poputema (the “green-clad noble”) who investigated all this information, not the viceroy’s wife, but either way, I was amazed that they’d found out so much in just a few days.
“A demon?” “So he’s a dragon slayer?” “But he’s so young!”
My “Keen Hearing” skill picked up surprised murmurs from the nobles.
“Most of all, he saved the life of my son Rayleigh, who was adrift at sea on the sugar route.”
At that, there were more mutters in the crowd: “Is Sir Rayleigh okay?” “Let me care for him!”
Rayleigh seemed to be quite popular among the young ladies.
Incidentally, he had spent one night in Labyrinth City, then headed out for the royal capital.
According to the man himself, he had come only to get a letter of introduction from his mother, the viceroy’s wife, so that he could sell Heaven’s Teardrops in the royal capital for large sums of money.
“He has become an explorer here in Labyrinth City and in a short time has already earned a garnet badge, proof of a first-class explorer. And only a few days ago, he saved Her Highness Princess Meetia and some young noble children from grave peril in the labyrinth.”
With that, she gave me the formal curtsy of a noblewoman.
She had already thanked me before, so this was probably a performance for the other nobles.
I bowed to her in return, then introduced myself to the rest of the tea party.
“Thank you for the introduction. As you heard, I am Satou Pendragon, hereditary knight of the Muno Barony.”
Honestly, my instinct was to downplay the exaggerated praise she’d just heaped on me, but it would be an insult to the viceroy’s wife to follow her words with an immediate denial, so I decided to save that for individual conversations.
As the introduction ended, butlers and maids entered the room, pushing tea trolleys.
The trolleys were loaded with the pastries I’d brought for the tea party: In addition to plain and sugar-coated castellas, I’d prepared some Western-style variations with whipped cream and dried fruits on top.
I’d planned to bring only the standard kind originally, but Lulu made a rare error in the oven temperature that led to the sugar coating getting slightly darker than intended, which inspired the toppings.
As it turned out, this error worked out in my favor:
“My, are these castellas?”
“They’re even tastier than the pancakes I had in the royal capital.”
“This white topping is quite delicious.”
“These dried orange fruits are positively to die for. What are they, I wonder?”
“Mother, might I have a little more?”
The ladies of Labyrinth City were even more taken with them than the normal castellas.
“Oh my, everyone seems quite captivated by your pastries, Sir Pendragon.”
“I’m relieved that they’re to everyone’s liking.”
The young noblewomen probably dined on gourmet food all the time, so it was a pleasure to see them enjoying my pastries so wholeheartedly. I couldn’t help feeling a boost to my ego, even if I knew it was only because of my maxed-out skills.
Somehow, the viceroy’s wife seemed even prouder than I was, as if she was a foremost authority on castellas.
Once things had settled down a bit, I went around to greet people at each table.
Most of them were quite friendly and often inquired about how I’d befriended the viceroy’s wife in between praising my castellas.
There were a few barbed remarks among them, but I found that the hostility tended to come from fans of the handsome Sokell, a noble who had fallen from grace when I revealed his wrongdoings.
However, from what the friendlier noblewomen told me later, these were largely people whose families had financial ties to Sokell, so there wasn’t much steamy romance afoot.
I offered some gifts to try to make amends. I didn’t want them resenting me, after all.
Because most of the families in question were low-ranking nobility, I was sure the viceroy’s wife could take care of them for me, but it was better to befriend people than crush them underfoot.
“Sir Pendragon, it seems you have a penchant for helping the less fortunate, hmm?”
The women at one table brought up the soup kitchen, which had only started today.
“Yes, it’s my hope to reduce the number of the hungry so that they might be of some help to Labyrinth City’s workforce.”
“My, it wasn’t simply out of compassion?”
“That, too, of course, but I also wish to ensure that every citizen can be of use to the Shiga Kingdom.”
This came out a little cold, but I was concerned that if I came across as too compassionate, people might try to take advantage of me.
“That reminds me,” said one of the noblewomen. “Wasn’t there some sort of fire in the commoners’ district?”
“Oh dear, how very frightening.”
“Yes, I saw the black smoke from my mansion.”
“I’m told the cause was people raising monsters known as ‘oil slimes’ within the city.”
Huh, really? …Wait, it hasn’t even been a day. How did word spread so quickly?
Maybe they just investigated because they were able to see the smoke, but still.
“It’s impressive that you heard about it so soon.”
“Well, my husband is a supervisor with the guard, you see…”
According to this woman, the guard received word that some people were attempting to illegally breed and raise oil slimes within the city, so they had been planning on tracking them down and arresting them within the next few days.
Maybe that investigation was why I had seen the green-clad noble heading downtown during the soup kitchen.
“I sent one of my servants to investigate, and he saw some pink slimes get defeated by garnet-badge explorers, only to regenerate and attack again.”
“My, how frightening! I suppose slimes do have that trait.”
…“Regenerate”?
“They must not have aimed for the cores when they defeated them.”
“Cores?”
“Yes, a core is a slime’s weak point. If you pierce the core, it’ll self-destruct and turn into ordinary liquid.”
I shared the information Liza had told me way back in the Seiryuu City labyrinth.
Maybe there were some slimes that could actually regenerate, but the oil slimes I saw in the upper stratum of the Celivera labyrinth didn’t have any such ability, so my hunch about the cores was probably right.
“I would have thee come here, Sir Satou.”
As I was finishing up my greetings to the tea party nobles, Princess Meetia waved me over to a table that was primarily populated by children.
Besides the princess herself, the rest of the group I’d rescued in the labyrinth were there, too, including Miss Mary-Ann of Baronet Dyukeli’s family; the viceroy’s third son, Gerits; and his friends.
There were also some kids I’d never formally met, like the viceroy’s third and fourth daughters, Miss Gohna and Miss Shina.
“Sit thee here!”
“All right. Thank you.”
Princess Meetia patted a free space next to her on the sofa, so I sat down.
This put Gohna and Shina next to me on my other side and Gerits across from me.
The viceroy’s fourth daughter, Shina, had once had the status conditions Goblin Disease: Chronic and Miasma Poisoning: Chronic, but now the latter had changed to Miasma Poisoning: Mild.
This was probably thanks to Princess Meetia’s Breath of Purification.
According to some of my documents, Goblin Disease was a lifestyle disease brought on by vitamin deficiency, so it would be better treated by a change in diet than a cure-all from my Storage.
“Sir Pendragon, there are no words sufficient enough to express my gratitude to you for saving us the other day.”
With that, the handsome young boy sitting next to Gerits stood and gave me a high-class noble’s bow, prompting Gerits and the others to thank me one by one.
Normally, being children from upper-class noble families, they wouldn’t need to be this polite to a lower-ranking noble like myself. A brief Thanks for saving us would have been more than enough.
It’s possible that their parents put them up to it, but I decided to take this as a sign that they had simply been raised very well.
“You brought the pastries today, didn’t you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Miss Gohna, who looked a good deal like her mother, requested more pastries from one of the maids before turning a rather haughty gaze on me.
“They were rather delicious…”
A lady-in-waiting wiped away some crumbs from the corner of her lips, but she swatted the woman away impatiently and continued speaking.
“…so I’ll have your chef, thanks.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Goodness, you’re slow! I’m saying my family will employ your chef!”
What’s this kid’s problem?
“I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid I cannot fulfill your request.”
“And why not?”
“Because I baked these castellas myself.”
Lulu had made half of them, but I didn’t want to mention that, lest it complicate the situation any further.
“H-how dare you lie t—”
“Lady Gohna.”
Gohna’s lady-in-waiting leaned in and whispered in her ear; I caught phrases like “Miracle Chef” and “your mother’s orders.”
“…I apologize for my rudeness. Please do me the great honor of forgetting what I just said.”
I was a little concerned about why Gohna had turned so pale, but it was clearly because of whatever her chaperone had said, so I simply nodded.
Her elder sister seemed to be a light eater, as she had finished only about half her pastry.
Still, she was focused on it intently as she lifted her fork. It must have been to her liking. Her manners reminded me of a cute, little animal.
“Sir Pendragon, did you bring that famous sword of yours today?” Gerits inquired.
“No, I…”
I was going to say that it seemed improper to bring a weapon to a tea party, but I swallowed those words when I noticed that he and his friends had put their swords on a side table next to the sofa.
“Awww. I was hoping to see it, since Princess Meetia said the mithril was ever so pretty…”
Mary-Ann looked disappointed, as did the boys.
“I promise to bring it to the next tea party, then.”
I made an empty promise in the hopes of cheering up the disappointed children.
On that subject, the kids convinced me to tell them tales of my labyrinth exploration.
“Are areamasters really that big?!”
“A-and you defeated one?!”
“Level thirty? I wouldn’t even be able to defeat its spawn.”
I stuck to the truth as much as I could but omitted certain details like the fact that I’d defeated several areamasters by now.
“Someday, I want to try to beat an areamaster and even a floormaster, too, like a real hero!” Gerits said dreamily.
“Don’t say you ‘want to,’ Gerits. Say you will!”
“C’mon—we’re not cut out for that…”
“Shut up, Luram! Don’t ruin our hopes and dreams!”
The young boys’ dreams for the future were so bright that I could barely look at them.
Since they were near the back of the inheritance line, they probably wanted to make names for themselves as explorers instead.
That said, they didn’t appear to have done much physical training, and only one of them had any magical abilities to speak of.
Just then, a piercing shriek rose from a table near the entrance.
“Sir Jelil!”
“You aren’t wearing your shining armor today, hmm?”
“Have you lost a bit of weight, good sir?”
It was Baronet Jelil, the garnet-badge explorer.
“I apologize for my lateness, Marchioness Ashinen.”
I guess he called the viceroy’s wife by her family name.
“It’s quite all right. How goes your conquest of the areamaster?”
“Thanks in no small part to your support, madam, we were able to defeat it just last night.”
Huh? Didn’t I see you getting ready to fight that thing more than a week ago?
But I appeared to be the only one with any such doubts.
“Already? That’s the Red Dragon’s Roar for you!”
“To think you were able to defeat it in less than a month!”
“Thank goodness he managed it without a scratch to that handsome face.”
The noblewomen chattered away.
“Sir Jelil is something, no? Let us go congratulate him, Sir Satou.”
Princess Meetia tugged my hand, leading me into the throng of young women.
Fortunately, the viceroy’s wife called me over, parting the crowd so that I didn’t suffer any incidents.
“Oh, hello again. Damn, it’s pretty impressive that you’ve already been invited to one of the marchioness’s famous tea parties.”
Mr. Jelil seemed to remember me and beckoned me over to sit next to him.
“Sir Jelil, hast thou brought thy mithril sword today?”
“A pleasure to see you again, Princess Meetia. Alas, it seems my swordsmanship was insufficient, as it broke in the battle against the areamaster.”
“What?! Even with thy skills, Sir Jelil? This areamaster must have had tough armor indeed, no?”
“Yes, even a sturdy mithril alloy war hammer was unable to dent it.”
That made sense for a beetle monster of around level 50.
High-level monsters also sometimes had multiple magic barriers around them, so they could easily be tougher than their appearances let on.
“But surely thou will challenge a floormaster next, no? Will thy new weapon be ready in time?”
“I will ask all my contacts, but it isn’t easy to come by a sword like…”
Jelil trailed off mid-sentence, looking at me.
You can’t have my fairy sword, okay?
I didn’t think he heard my thoughts, but he shook his head briefly and turned toward the viceroy’s wife.
“Marchioness, might I beg your assistance in procuring a new blade?”
“Yes, but of course. I believe Emma is in contact with some weapon merchants in the old capital, so I shall ask her whether she might be able to acquire a mithril or Magic Sword.”
She was referring to Emma Ritton, Count Ritton’s wife, who I’d heard was well-known among the high-class nobles of the old capital.
“Sir Satou, could thou not lend Sir Jelil that Flame Sword that Ravna is currently borrowing?” Meetia asked me quietly.
Come to think of it, the stern knight Lady Ravna still had the Magic Sword prototype I’d lent to her.
That was from my third round of Magic Sword–making, so I probably couldn’t give it away so easily.
“…A Flame Sword? I—I would love to see it!”
Somehow, the sharp-eared Mr. Jelil overheard her whisper and leaned in close.
“Is that all right with thee?”
I nodded, and Princess Meetia beckoned to her knight, who was standing by the wall.
The princess explained the situation, and the knight promptly handed me the sword, wrapped in cloth.
“I apologize for not returning it sooner, Sir Pendragon.”
“Will you be all right without a sword, though?”
“This may be but an iron sword, but it is still a treasured heirloom of my family.”
The knight showed me a one-handed sword hanging from her waist. Because of her sturdy build, I’d assumed it was just a dagger.
“A wonderful sword. I can tell it has a noble history.”
“Indeed. It may be a bit short, but four hundred years ago in the demi-human war, it once…”
I was certainly interested in the history of the sword, but this wasn’t the best time.
Mr. Jelil had been staring at the cloth-wrapped Magic Sword since the moment it appeared.
“Later, Ravna.”
“Ah! I do apologize.” She closed her mouth and took a step back.
“You’ll have to tell me all about it next time,” I reassured her. Then I unwrapped the sword and handed it to Mr. Jelil. “Please do take a look.”
“Bronze, is it…?” Unsheathing the sword, Jelil looked a little crestfallen.
Since it wasn’t coated in mithril, its cutting edge and physical attack were a tiny bit lacking.
“Do not let its appearance fool you,” Ravna the knight offered. “Try putting some magic into it.”
“Magic? …Good heavens!”
When Mr. Jelil passed magic through the sword, a faint light surrounded it, and then it began to produce flames.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“A flaming sword!”
The women around us shrieked in surprise.
“What incredible magic conduction…”
Mr. Jelil was so taken with the Magic Sword that he didn’t even seem to hear their cries.
As he muttered to himself, intensely shining “Spellblade” appeared around the sword.
“And it produces ‘Spellblade’ so easily…”
“You’ve noticed, then?” asked the knight.
“Yes, I feel power coursing through my body.” Jelil nodded.
This Magic Sword had several features besides the flame, like “Body Strengthening,” “Sharpblade,” and even the ability to provide the user with energy and stamina recovery.
“To think that the ancient Flue Empire made such an incredible sword!”
The handsome Mr. Jelil was monologuing like a hot-blooded protagonist.
The copper sword from the labyrinth that I’d used as a base certainly was from the Flue Empire era, but the rest of it was all my personal handiwork… But I couldn’t say that out loud, of course.
“Sir Pendragon! Could I persuade you to bequeath me this sword? I will gladly pay any price if you—”
“I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t part with that sword.”
I felt bad for not going with the flow here, but this sword was loaded with secret technology, so I couldn’t just sell it to someone else.
But Mr. Jelil evidently wasn’t going to give up that easily.
“Please, I beg you to reconsider!”
Well, this is a pickle.
“Sir Pendragon, could thou not simply lend it to him for the battle against the floormaster?”
Princess Meetia intervened with a compromise.
“Good idea. That would be all right with me. How about you, Sir Jelil?”
“B-but the floormaster will be terribly dangerous. Since I’m fighting on the front lines, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to return the sword intact…”
I didn’t really care if it broke or melted or whatever. I just didn’t want anyone to take it apart and try to figure out its secrets.
“That’s okay. Such is the nature of a sword.”
“But isn’t this sword important to you?”
“It is. Enough that I cannot think to sell it for money, at least.”
“Then why?”
Mr. Jelil didn’t seem to understand my values, so I used the “Fabrication” skill to come up with an explanation.
“If a sword breaks in battle, then that is its fate. Though I would hate to see it mishandled, if it was to break in the hands of a skilled swordsman such as yourself, then neither I nor the sword would complain. Please fight with it to the best of your ability and show the blade’s true worth.”
“Sir Pendragon, your appreciation for swords has truly moved me. I shall show you a battle worthy of this blade.”
…Wait, what?
“Please participate in our battle against the floormaster.”
“Ohhh! That would be amazing, no?”
Princess Meetia and the others all cheered at Jelil’s utterly insane proposal.
“Generally, we wouldn’t include a party that didn’t already participate in the battle against the areamaster, but allow me to invite you along this time as a temporary member of Red Dragon’s Roar.”
Hang on—don’t look at me like you’re treating me to some lavish feast.
Sure, it sounded fun to get front-row seats to a big battle, but if someone’s life was in danger during the fight, I’d probably end up saving them and risk exposing myself in the process.
If somebody died far away, I could say Must have been a difficult battle, but I wasn’t cold enough to just watch someone die in front of me.
Princess Meetia was gazing up at me with sparkling eyes, but I would have to decline.
“An incredibly tempting offer, but I would hate to cause any dissent in your group by receiving such special treatment. If you’ll tell me the tale of the battle afterward, that would be more than enough.”
“I—I see…”
Mr. Jelil looked let down, as if he hadn’t expected me to refuse his offer.
I decided to throw him a bone. “For the time being, perhaps you could share the story of your battle against the areamaster?”
“If that is what you wish, I’d be happy to oblige.”
With that, Mr. Jelil detailed their fight against the areamaster, starting with their preparations.
“Such a wonderful voice.”
“It is as if we are on the battlefield with thee, no?”
Jelil was a natural storyteller; the tea party went wild for his tale as he artfully painted the scenes and emotions.
According to his story, they had fought a flying areamaster called an elder hard beetle by luring it into a passageway too small for it to spread its wings, then using Earth Magic to tip the floor in the passage so they could attack the weak point on its stomach.
They’d accomplished this by having a group of Earth Magic users construct the trap while the rest of them whittled down the other monsters.
It was a very plain strategy that never would have worked in a game, but it was still much better than just attacking head-on and incurring a bunch of losses.
“I never knew you could defeat hard beetles like that!”
“I shall have to reassess my opinion of Earth Magic, no?”
Thanks to the expert spinning of the tale, Gerits, Princess Meetia, and the others all seemed very satisfied.
Gerits spent the rest of the tea party boasting, but it was still fun overall. Once the tea party was over, the viceroy’s wife invited me into a private living room.
“Are you quite tired?”
“No, I enjoyed myself very much. Thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear you had fun, then.”
The only people in the room were the viceroy’s wife, Baronet Dyukeli’s wife, a few other noblewomen, and me.
The viceroy appeared to be inspecting the site of the fire with the green-clad noble.
According to my map, he was actually in a high-class brothel of mostly male prostitutes, but I was sure I was just imagining that.
“Oh my, is that gelato?”
“And it’s grape flavored this time!”
The women were thrilled over the frozen dessert.
It had been hot lately, so I was glad to see it, too.
The viceroy’s wife encouraged me to take a bite, and the cool, elegantly sweet taste melted in my mouth.
“Frozen treats are the perfect thing for a hot day like this.”
After saying that, I felt a little self-conscious about my own choice of pastries.
Next time, I would have to bring ice cream or something instead.
“Oh-ho, even gelato is no great surprise to you, Sir Pendragon.”
The viceroy’s wife smiled, though she looked faintly vexed.
Her expression reminded me of the time I’d eaten malt syrup candy with Zena, the magic soldier, in Seiryuu City.
I haven’t grown at all. I was supposed to act all surprised here, wasn’t I?
“Sir Pendragon, do you have a refrigerating magic tool at your mansion, too?”
“I expected no less of the Miracle Chef.”
Though some of the nobles in Labyrinth City had cold storage, few seemed to have a refrigerating magic tool.
Ice stones were very valuable, so it was probably considered too wasteful.
In my case, we were able to simply use my Freeze Water spell, reducing the amount of waste.
“Incidentally, how goes your welfare work?”
“Quite well, thank you. A great deal of people came to the soup kitchen, and we’ve begun remodeling the private orphanage. I plan to interview some caretakers very soon.”
I appreciated the viceroy’s wife’s concern, and I gave her a full report.
“I see… If you were short on hands, I would gladly provide some of my servants, but it seems that won’t be necessary.”
Again, she looked a little disappointed.
She’d already given me permission for these things right away and even provided supplies for the soup kitchen. I felt like asking for anything more would be imposing too much.
At the moment, my companions and I were the ones acquiring the potatoes and beans, but if we could outsource that work, then I could probably entrust the rest to our maids, hire some local housewives as part-timers, and so on.
Hopefully, that would mean that the girls and I could go back to exploring the labyrinth and doing as we pleased.
“You’ve already given us more than enough support.”
“Well, if you need anything else, do let me know.”
“Thank you. I will.”
I bowed my head, grateful to have such a dependable backer.
After that, I enjoyed chatting with the viceroy’s wife and her friends for a while before taking my leave.
An attendant guided me to the room where Lulu was waiting.
“Master!”
Lulu and the maids of the house all greeted me brightly.
“I’ll prepare the carriage right away.”
“Great, thanks. Want to say good-bye to these ladies before we go?”
“Thank you, sir!”
Judging by Lulu’s expression, she and the maids had become quite friendly.
“Sir Knight, thank you for the wonderful pastries.”
“They were delicious, sir!”
“The honey was so pretty, it felt a shame to eat it.”
The maids all smiled as they shared their thoughts.
The honey pastries Lulu had been making before we left were specifically for the maids.
Like in the old capital, the servant network here seemed to be pretty extensive, so we loaded these honey pastries with high-quality sugar and honey as a sort of prior investment.
We’d done this instead of castellas because Arisa advised that there should be a difference between the employees and the employers.
“I’m glad you liked them. Should your paths ever cross, I hope you’ll treat our maids well.”
“Yes, of course!”
I would have to bring them another round of tasty sweets next time we came.
I waved to the maids as they gathered to see us off, and we left the viceroy’s mansion behind.
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