Chapter 5 – Noble Manners
Part 1
Holfault Kingdom’s nobles can be traced back to adventurers.For that reason, adventurers hold respectable professions as they work for a guild managed by the country…and many nobles temporarily become adventurers to follow their ancestors.
Regardless of whether they take the regular or advanced class, everyone goes to the Adventurer’s Guild to register as an adventurer, and they take lessons that have them acknowledge and be grateful for the hardship of their ancestors.
There’s no difference between men and women, all adventurers register equally──and then tackle a dungeon as is custom.
Well, whatever the reason is, it’s a way for broke noble youths to earn extra money as an adventurer in the family. It’s a popular occupation, even in the academy, and there are many schoolboys who earn money as an adventurer during holidays or vacations.
It seems that my father and older brother also earned a considerable amount as adventurers.
It makes me shed a sorrowful tear thinking about how that money would vanish towards paying entertainment expenses, like tea ceremonies, for girls.
I’m not troubled about money, but I’m still thrilled to hear about dungeons.
There’s not much to enjoy in this otome game, but this dungeon falls under the adventure part of it.
It would be fun──well, it was supposed to.
It was the middle of May.
It was the day where first year students become adventurers and try to tackle a dungeon within the royal capital. I took a look at my surroundings and worried about sticking out like a sore thumb.
“I was concerned about my friends, Daniel and Raymond, and yet they ran away. Well, if I were in the same situation, I’d run away too. Even so!”
Standing next to me, as I wore standard adventurer equipment, was Olivia, who was still trying to get accustomed to her own equipment.
I basically wore leather armor on top of thick clothing. Iron armor covered portions like the arms, chest, and lower legs. It’s equipment that would make one wonder what exactly is fantasy-like, or rather, stylish about it. Equipment and the like all focus on appearances in this otome game. Much of the equipment tosses practical use out the window, and many of the students are using such equipment that makes me worry about whether its safe to wear.
As for me? I took an emphasis on faultless safety. Something far from being stylish.
Olivia looked apologetic towards me.
“I, I’m sorry. Anjelica said she wanted you to participate no matter what.”
I know that even if I make a complaint towards the worried Olivia, nothing can be done.
However, today’s the day to challenge the dungeon.
An unexpectedly high-class group surrounded me.
A smart, tall, serious boy with blue hair and eyes wore equipment geared towards fashion, which made me wonder how that thing was supposed to defend him. He was a four-eyes──err, cool character that wore glasses.
Only a long sword hung from his waist.
He was a capture target and a serious vanguard swordsman──well, he’s supposed to be an expert swordsman according to the game. He’s “Chris Fier Arkwright,” the son of a master swordsman.
He’s from a well-established family of the royal court. The heir of an earl household that rose to power through the sword.
There was also a muscular delinquent-like guy, with ruffled red hair and rolled-up sleeves, who shouldered a spear.
This rough man, who declared that his doctrine is to get real experience with swordsmanship rather than study it, has been challenging dungeons before his enrollment, and defeated many monsters.
He’s a capture target character. A hearty vanguard from a feudal lord household of earl nobles.
He looks like a delinquent, but is a rich young man.
His red hair and light brown tanned skin makes him look completely unlike a rich young man.
His name is “Greg Fou Seberg.”
He doesn’t get along well with Chris according to the game’s setting, but I believe there was a friendship event along the way. It’s not a necessary event to clear the game, but since the friendship event made it easier to capture him, I went through this event, which made girls fantasize about unspeakable things going on amongst these two, many times.
The crown prince “Julian Rafua Holfault.”
The prince’s foster brother and heir of a viscount household, “Jilk Fier Memoria.”
The heir of an earl house from afar and the narcissist whose pride was in magic, “Brad Fou Field.”
The son of a master swordsman who will succeed an earl household as an expert swordsman, “Chris Fier Arkwright.”
The frank heir of an earl household whose doctrine is to learn through experience, “Greg Fou Seberg.”
These five are the capture target characters──the five who might become the lovers of the protagonist.
In the game, I memorized them in the order of black, green, purple, blue, and red.
Originally, there was also a handsome boy named “Kyle” that would join. He could be purchased by the protagonist as a slave──an exclusive servant.
He was normally a convenient character that would take personal care of you and would tell you the status of the love meter. In battles, he could use magic act as a support, but he’s not here.
It seems he held a position that was like a cute little brother, but to me it felt like he was just the protagonist’s maid.
I should mention that in Holfault, the middle name “Rafua” is for royalty, “Fier” is for royal court nobility, and “Fou” is for people the come from feudal lord nobles.
The five people made a complete set, and amongst their followers, the ones whose skills stood out fortified their surroundings.
Within that group, Olivia and I were mixed in.
So why am I here?
The reason for that is for the sake of one of the five.
Olivia was an honor student, and I was an adventurer who made an achievement…I suppose that the academy wanted me to escort Julian while guarding him in the dungeon.
Using knights and soldiers from home is considered inelegant, along with using the power of one’s home or its surroundings. However, if there’s someone like me who’s of the same generation and has made achievements, it seems that’s reason enough for us to move together.
I’m not too well-versed on this, but I suppose that since bringing along soldiers or knights without permission is troublesome, they decided to settle on using fellow students to solve this problem.
Even in the academy, it would still be troubling if Julian got injured.
Various things piled up, like the academy’s intentions and Anjelica’s own recommendation, causing this kind of result to happen.
You know…we’re entering a dungeon now, but what we’re challenging is the beginner level of beginner levels.
It’s excessive to have people working like guards here.
Perhaps having the same thought, Julian had a displeased face. That reminded me, I believe that he talks with the protagonist about how he hates things like this happening to him.
The prince’s fiancee, Anjelica, was also in the group while searching our surroundings.
Basically, it was decided that gender had no bearing on entering a dungeon.
This is one of the few cases where the academy treated men and women equally.
The group had about thirty people.
That feels like a lot, but our entry to the dungeon this time is more like sightseeing. There’s likely no problem with this number of people.
“At any rate, there’s not much I can say when I get called out to do this.”
While I looked at my surroundings, Olivia seemed uneasy.
“Maybe we should voice out our opinion?”
“I wonder. It might be better to just follow their directions, since it would otherwise be considered as being intrusive.”
If I’m speaking about my real intentions here, then I’m wondering about who the protagonist is going to go for, but I don’t want to get too involved, so I needed to keep a distance.
Won’t someone here get close with Olivia and set up a good mood…? I was thinking of such things, but I felt an oddly unpleasant feeling.
Why do I have to watch one of these other jerks get close with a good child like Olivia?
…Should I just bear with it for the sake of the future?
I’d like the story to progress by having one of the five guys make Olivia happy. Otherwise, things will turn serious.
The teacher ahead started explaining to everyone.
“Now then, please form groups. If you reach the third floor of the dungeon, come back. Don’t progress any further than that.”
It was decided that we would make five groups of six people. Even so, the thirty people here agreed on moving while close to each other.
Julian, the one that shan’t be hurt, and his clique were in the center while I ended up being in the front. Well, that’s fine.
However, splitting into groups was the problem.
“Like I said, know your place!”
Anjelica’s anger-filled voice echoed in the dungeon.
Everyone turned their head, and saw that she was standing in front of Marie.
The teacher got into a panic in front of the youthful daughter of a duke.
Looking at how the situation was developing, it seems that there was a dispute over a group’s composition.
Marie was hiding behind the prince.
…What a sly one she is.
“Anjelica, leave it be.”
Anjelica talked back to Julian, who was sticking up for Marie.
“Your Highness, are you going to allow this person’s selfishness?”
Marie cast her eyes downward from behind the prince. She held onto the prince’s sleeve with her fingers, seeing her do those cute gestures, as if it was her intent, made me oddly irritated.
“Your Highness, I…just thought that it would be nice to be with you. I don’t mind you refusing me if I’m a bother.”
Anjelica snapped and let out an angry voice towards Marie.
“Don’t get carried away! His Highness’ social status is different from yours. I’ve been tolerating you up until now, but if you’re taking that kind of behavior, then──”
Anjelica gave off a very furious image.
It’s the same in both reality and the game. She’s a character who’s teased as being like an instant water-boiler. Well, she’s the villainess and the protagonist’s rival.
I suppose she’s made an image of herself as an agonizing woman who has a short tempter, good looks, and brandishes her household’s power.
However, in this scene…it’s supposed to be Olivia, the one standing next to me, who’s to be protected. Meanwhile, Olivia’s just being flustered while saying things like “W, what’s going to happen?!”
…She looks strangely cute. It’s different from Marie.
I was pondering about why it turned out like this, but I can only think of one cause.
“Have you noticed anything weird about that Marie girl?”
Olivia thought a bit in response to my words.
“C, come to think of it, recently she’s been bullied harsher than me. The people around her gossip about things like how she’s the daughter of a poor viscount household.”
A viscount household is one rank above a baron.
However, that doesn’t mean they’re rich. There are many cases where despite a household’s ranking being high, the scale of that household doesn’t match up to it. In the past, viscount households had appropriate territory and income, but at present, there are many that had their territory taken away, or just don’t have a balance between court rank and household scale.
While the two argued, the people around agreed with Anjelica.
“It’s unthinkable to get so close to him right in front of his fiance.”
“That girl has gotten closer with other boys too, right?”
“Unbelievable.”
Judging from the reactions of the surrounding people, it seems that this girl named Marie has snatched away the position of the protagonist. As I was listening to Olivia──
“That’s enough!”
Julian raised a loud voice, shutting up the mouths of the surrounding students.
Anjelica made a surprised expression.
“Y, your Highness?”
Jilk, with his usual gracefulness, appeared in front the prince as if he was going to protect him. He stood before Anjelica, held his right hand out sideways, and took a posture as if he was going to then protect both the prince and Marie.
“Anjelica, I prefer if you don’t bother his Highness too much.”
“Bother? I’m a bother? I judged that this was for the sake of his──”
The one who flared up towards those words was Greg, who seemed invested.
He carried his spear over his shoulder, squinted, and looked irritated.
“He’s saying that kind of attitude is annoying. In the academy, we don’t consider outside connections. Seeing this is making me lose my patience.”
Nobody in the surroundings could talk back to the words from a heir of an influential noble. The prince then addressed the teacher.
“My apologies. We’ll be teaming up with Marie. Now we just need to figure out a suitable formation.”
The teacher panicked and nodded many times.
“R, right!”
Anjelica was dumbfounded, but I didn’t fail to notice the smiling grin Marie made while nobody was looking.
Part 2
The dungeon in the royal capital, how do I say it…really feels like an abandoned mine.Wooden pillars and beams were placed at equal distances apart within the wide passage.
Occasionally, there were ores that seemed to protrude from the walls, but those were the dungeon’s treasures. There also seemed to be a treasure chest left somewhere unnoticed, but its source hasn’t been investigated.
It’s futile to ponder seriously about this game-like reasoning.
There’s no point in thinking hard about it.
Olivia was taking the ores that were buried in the wall.
She’s come across iron ores or something like that. To begin with, it’s odd that the iron coming out already seems refined.
“Eheheh, I found one.”
Olivia looked delighted, but was so absorbed in it that when she wiped her sweat with her hand, the tip of her nose would get dirt on it.
“Congrats. That one’s definitely one hundred dia.”
I took the heavy lump of metal and tossed it into my luggage.
The monetary currency here consists of “dia” and “dil”.
One dia is…well, in terms of my previous world, I suppose it’s worth about one hundred yen?
Gold and silver pieces also exist as money, but they’re aren’t seen very much due to there being bills and coins.
Olivia looked at her surroundings.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, you see…I’m wondering why a phenomenon like this is happening in the dungeon. I’ve even heard about there being a treasure chest, and it’s a little strange. It’s almost like someone arranged this.”
There’s no purpose in having feelings of unease about that.
After all, the dungeon is the kingdom’s treasury of materials and funds that help support it.
In the first place, there’s no point in asking for an explanation since this is the result of the game’s setting, a lackluster setting at that.
“How strange. Alright, let’s keep going.”
“W, wait a moment! Leon, are you not concerned about it?”
I sighed.
“Not particularly.”
Olivia’s spirits waned.
“You’re cold, Leon.”
She’s opened up quite a bit, but…unfortunately, this girl descends from commoners. Eventually, she’ll be recognized as a saint and become an untouchable presence.
I shouldn’t get married to such a partner, so I’m going to limit it at just being friends.
It’s really regrettable.
If Olivia were a noble, people would get a little pushy in trying to confess to her. The reason being that she’s a person with a kind heart among other things, but most importantly, she’s practically the ideal partner.
She’s from the countryside of an isolated island. She seems to be thinking about returning to her home in the future, though I wouldn’t mind if she stayed over at my house.
…Really regrettable. If she wasn’t both the protagonist and a commoner, I would’ve given her a marriage proposal.
“I shouldn’t get depressed so quickly──whoops, perhaps it’s better to end things here.”
She’s an honor student who will rise to power.
We didn’t get along well with the other group members, so us two had gone on ahead.
I moved behind Olivia and drew out my sword from my waist. Perhaps it’d be more accurate to call it a broad katana.
Luxon talked about how a katana would be better for someone with a Japanese soul. It seems that Luxon is the kind that wants to try something out if it can.
…I’m neither a descendant of a samurai, nor do I practice kendo, but I took it with pleasure.
However, the Japanese sword it created was a fantasy sword.
It’s something that resembles it.
Olivia trembled from behind.
“That’s a…monster.”
A giant ant had appeared. It was a giant insect that spanned about seventy to eighty centimeters in length.
However, things will turn grave if one gets bitten by its large jaws.
Once it came out, several more appeared within the dungeon.
They could be called the cleaners of the dungeon since there are rumors that they carry away dead adventurers and whatnot.
“I can’t use the rifle in a passage like this, so this is going to be troublesome.”
Even though I was raised in the country, my father trained me.
I remember my father saying that I would probably have to earn money through dungeons in the future, so he would train me in fighting.
It seems my father also went through hardships in the dungeon.
The giant ants noticed us and headed in our direction, one after the other.
There were five of them.
I slashed the neck of the first enemy right in front of me.
I moved around, swung my sword down, and had aimed at its relatively thin neck.
Once its neck separated, black smoke appeared from the giant ant as it vanished, but I didn’t pay attention to that and started my attack on the next one.
Giant ants are nuisances, but the joints connecting their head and torso is pretty fragile.
Their chin and head are more or less sturdy, they’ll withstand an unskillful slash of a sword.
For that reason, I made sure to slash at its weak point.
“Alright, that’s two! Now for the third!”
The katana I held tore through and killed one after another.
Being careful about their strong jaws, I took a roundabout path while continuing to swing down my blade, and then the battle finished once I sliced the neck of the last giant ant.
In the game, the turn-based combat meant that one would have to receive the enemy’s attacks, but in reality, one can avoid them if they made good use of their positioning.
However, it goes to say that the opponent can do the same.
It’s really hard to deal with them when one is surrounded. Death is likely.
I placed the katana over my shoulder as Olivia approached. Seeing the monsters, which had now let out black smoke and vanished, scared her a bit.
“You’re strong, Leon. One by one, you were able to defeat those frightening monsters.”
Indeed, a girl would hate the appearance of a giant ant.
Anyone can shoot a gun. The important part was hitting the right spot.
If you know the right way to kill them, they’re easier to deal with.
“That’s because I know their weak points. Once you get experience, you’ll be able to defeat them with ease as well.”
While looking Olivia, who made a troubled expression, I sheathed my katana and suggested that we move forward.
“Leon, you’re reliable.”
“It’s just that this place is easy enough. There’s only small fries that appear. Ah, gotta watch out for traps. Al~right, let’s hurry and go!”
I was concerned about the mixed feelings Olivia was showing.
“If you don’t feel like it, then there’s──”
I then quickly draw out my katana, pushed down Olivia from behind, and held out my left arm. There was plating on the back of my hand to protect it, and a monkey-like monster that had jumped at us then bit at it.
“Shoot! I got careless.”
I stabbed the monkey with the katana, but it kept strongly biting at my arm until it disappeared. It turned into black smoke and vanished, but when I looked at my arm, its teeth had broken through the plating and reached my flesh, causing blood to appear.
Olivia, who was sitting on the ground, sprung up and got into a panic when seeing my arm.
“I, I’m sorry. It’s because you were protecting me──”
Seeing Olivia getting teary-eyed and worried about me made me think about how a guy would probably protect this child when seeing her like this.
In the game, I thought that the protagonist had deceived those five guys and made them meat shields who would sacrifice themselves, but…I don’t feel anything ill now.
“I got negligent as well, so it’s fine. An injury of just this much is fine, so──”
“N, no! We need to treat it right away!”
Olivia took off the plating covering the back of my hand, rolled up my sleeve, and held her hand over the location of injury.
A faint, white light came from her palm, and it felt very warm.
“…Healing magic?”
There’s lots of people who can use magic, but only a few can use healing magic.
I recall the protagonist being one of the special ones who can do it.
Olivia smiled while looking at my arm.
“That’s a relief. The wound closed.”
“Th, th, thanks.”
This is a fantasy world with magic, but the rarely seen healing magic gave me a bit of a surprise. Olivia’s smile then turned towards me.
“This has been my strong point for a long time. After a traveling scholar taught me a lot as a teacher, I’ve been doing self-study.”
“…How amazing.”
Was there such a setting? I can only remember the part about healing magic being the protagonist’s pride.
“I’m glad that I was useful for you, Leon”
I had a single thought when seeing Olivia delighted like that.
There really is something special about this child.
Part 3
The group led by Julian was essentially one that was in the middle while following behind the one in front.There was also a group behind him, so Julian and his teammates were protected both from the front and back.
However, monsters still jumped out within this dungeon and its complicated branched paths.
There were also dangerous moments when traps appeared.
They advanced through the floors in the dungeon.
Though it was the first and second floors, they could die if they let their mind wander.
Julian broke into a cold sweat from his first dungeon and combat experience.
Next to him stood Jilk, who looked strained while protecting Julian.
The normally rude and chatty Brad had clammed up, and even Chris didn’t let go of his sword’s hilt due to the tension.
Greg was the only one accustomed to a dungeon, but perhaps thinking that there was no meaning to the academy preparing a venture of this level, seemed to be leisurely.
Julian paid attention to the woman behind him──Marie.
“No problems with the pace we’re walking at?”
Marie smiled towards his slightly clumsy speech.
“It’s fine, your Highness.”
For Julian, Marie was a girl who gave a fresh impression, the type that nobody in the royal palace had.
Listening to the stories of her hardships stirred up his desire to protect her.
The biggest reason for that was their encounter, though.
Marie appeared when Julian was alone, since sometimes his relation with Anjelica got troubling and bothersome, and then took an impolite attitude as she got angry.
He never experienced a girl of the same age getting angry at him, and was surprised when Marie got a little rough, slapped him, and scolded him like she was his mother.
That left Julian with both an impression of surprise and freshness, and he couldn’t help but pay attention to Marie afterwards.
“If there’s anything you’d like me to know, then feel free to speak out.”
“Alright.”
Marie’s smile relieved Julian, but Greg clicked his tongue when seeing the two like that.
“I’m more worried about his Highness the crown prince than about Marie. Those raised in the royal palace are weak against feudal lord nobles, like Marie, who are more strong-willed than they seem.”
Chris tightened his gaze in response to those words.
“…You have some nerve for a wild bumpkin. However, I cannot overlook you being impolite towards his Highness.”
Jilk soon intervened.
“You’re too serious as well, Chris. We’re students of the academy right now, so pulling attention to such things is unnecessary.”
Greg made a roaring laugh.
“Apologies. However, if you think hard enough, you’ll remember that feudal lords tend to get very arrogant. My bad.”
The person he was referring to soon realized what he was saying.
A vein appeared on Brad’s forehead.
“A meathead thinks about everything in terms of brute strength. Marie, you’ll face trouble if you marry a man like that.”
Greg talked back while Marie made a bitter smile.
“Hey, stop lying! Marie, a woman who comes over to my place won’t face any trouble. If you become that heinous Brad’s wife, you’ll get tired of his meticulous personality. If you come to my place, I’ll let you live as you please. Aren’t you getting sick of the formal life of nobles as well?”
It seemed he was panicking while trying to clear up a misunderstanding with Marie.
The team of guards felt awkward listening to this conversation amongst Julian and the others.
There were groups that were defending Julian, and amongst them stood Anjelica.
They were a noisy group.
However, the mood changed completely once Greg immediately readied the spear in his hands.
“…Hey, everyone be alert. We’ve got giant ants.”
All members held up their weapons in a panic.
They were in a dungeon. It would especially be frightening to use guns in this passage since it could lead to friendly fire.
For that reason, one was not supposed to rely on guns.
Jilk and the girls had a handgun for self-defense, but the boys were not allowed to carry firearms.
Greg got slightly impatient.
“There’s…six of them. They’re going to come out from that side road.”
A slightly irritated Brad criticized the other groups.
“You group in the front, what are you doing?!”
Chris drew his sword in silence.
Then, he took an elegant posture.
“If they’re coming from the side road, they’re not going to cross paths with the group in the front. At any rate, six of them is a lot. Your Highness, please step back.”
However, Julian took a momentary glance at Marie, stepped forward, and took out his sword.
(As if I’ll let her see such a shameful display of myself here.)
Greg whistled.
“How nice, your Highness. You’re part of the royalty, for sure.”
While being surprised by Julian taking a fighting stance, Jilk took out his handgun. Jilk was exceptional at handling small arms, so despite him being a boy, he was allowed to possess one.
Anjelica was in the back.
“What are you doing! Defend his Highness!”
There were two pairs of six people that were protecting Julian and the others. They were supposed to be the opponents of the monsters.
However, Greg shouted.
“Move back!”
Wielding his spear that had an ornament attached which was the same color of red as his hair and eyes, Greg leaped forward, pushed aside the guarding students, and swung his weapon down to strike a target.
While a squashed giant ant was wrapped in black smoke, two more approached and tried to sandwich Greg.
When he raised his spear, one of them had already been bisected by a slash, while the other was roasted in flames.
When he looked, it turned out that Chris, wielding his sword, had entered the scene.
“Your movements are unwieldy.”
Behind him was Brad holding a staff. Brad was the one who released magic.
“You really are a meathead. I could defeat three of them at the same time if you weren’t in the way.”
Immediately after were the sound of two gunshots.
Two giant ants got their heads shot through, were engulfed in a black smoke, and vanished.
White fumes came out from the muzzle of Jilk’s revolver.
“You’re losing focus. ──Your Highness.”
The last one that remained headed towards Julian.
Anjelica shouted.
“What are you doing! Hurry and protect his Highness!”
Jilk spoke to reprimand the shouting Anjelica.
“Just watch for a bit. Anjelica, his Highness is not weak.”
Unlike Anjelica, who was in a panic, Jilk was calm.
Julian started running, and raised his broad, double-edged Western sword.
“Ha!”
With one downward swing, the giant ant’s head and torso had cut open, black smoke appeared from it, and it disappeared.
When Julian wiped the sweat on his cheeks, he noticed that he was trembling. Then, he struck his sword onto the ground, causing a stone to bounce upon contact.
He didn’t wear gloves, so the back of his hand was cut just a little bit.
Upon which, Marie ran up from behind and clutched Julian’s hand.
“Your Highness, are you alright?”
Julian felt reassured by the warmth of her delicate hand that was holding onto him.
(What a relief. Is this affection? No, is this love? ──Hmm?)
Julian noticed Marie’s hand lightly shining. Then, when Marie took her hands off, he saw that the wound had disappeared.
“Marie, you──”
Marie then said “Shh~” while holding her finger to her lips. Noticing that she wanted him to remain silent about it, Julian closed his mouth.
“It’s good that his Highness is safe. Of course, it’s a relief that all of you are safe as well.”
For Julian, Marie, who had worried about him even after the fight ended, seemed more pleasant than Anjelica, who tried to stop him when he was about to enter battle.
Anjelica then approached. At that moment, she pushed Marie aside to drive her off.
“Your Highness, I have a towel.”
However, Julian found Anjelica annoying.
“…I don’t need it. Anyways, let’s move on ahead.”
Saying that, he took Marie’s hand and moved forward.
◇
We entered the third floor.Olivia and I had arrived at the destination for today’s lessons.
A teacher was waiting there to make sure that no student would get carried away and keep going, so when we arrived, we ended up having to wait for the others to come.
Looking at the contents inside the luggage I was carrying put a smile on my face
“As expected of the royal capital’s dungeon. When we had gone on ahead of them, those rich nobles thought we were going to get ourselves killed, but now we’ve managed to get a hold of so much metal.”
As expected of a fantasy world, the metal that popped out of the dirt had taken on the hues of iron, copper, and other various colors, as if they had already been refined. I shed tears in my gratitude.
There were also pretty crystals that were called demon stones.
Olivia took a crystal into her hand and looked at it.
“It looks like a jewel. What in the world are these things used for?”
While calculating how much this stack of treasure would sell for, I explained the matter of demon stones.
“Let’s see~, this and that would be worth two hundred dia, so──oh, you asked about demon stones? They’re energy resources. It seems that when you’re forging metal, you can toss them into the kettle and expect good results. I don’t know the details, but they’re pretty amazing stones. That doesn’t matter though, since we’ll be able to sell them for a high price.”
Once we sell the stuff we obtained, we’ll get about five hundred dia.
It’s good that we were able to get this much after going on ahead. This amount of treasure isn’t much for the rich guys at any rate.
“Even after dividing this much amongst two people, it’s still…not even enough to cover a tea ceremony. Darn, I need to earn more.”
I still have the tea utensils I bought from last time, but once I start purchasing the tea leaves and sweets, the expenses will soon rise from one hundred dia to two hundred dia, and so on.
While I was feeling down, Olivia then spoke to me.
“Why did demon stones appear? I’d understand if it were metal, but there’s no such thing as a mine where demon stones pop out. I’ve heard that they appear only in dungeons, so it’s been on my mind.”
Since it seemed that she was going to be so keen from now on, I didn’t take her reaction seriously.
While pondering as such, I ended up speaking out loud.
“Oh~, it’s that. That. When monsters are killed, their magic power is released and accumulates into the ground. That accumulation takes the form of a demon stone.”
“Is that so? This is the first time I’ve heard something like that, though. Err, it was written in the textbooks that there still isn’t an explanation found for it yet.”
“Trust me. I’m sure that I’m not mistaken since I remember reading about it somewhere. Huh? If that’s the case, then perhaps the treasure chest was also formed from the accumulation of magic power as well? Magic, or rather, magic power sure is convenient.”
For the next tea ceremony, perhaps I should get items that are more tailored to the other party?
In that case, I’d have to repurchase a tea set, but wouldn’t that result in an embarrassing situation where it seems that I only made the utensils elegant in an act of foolishness?
Damn it, why does tea have to be this profound?
Or perhaps it’s just me wanting to have a famous tea set.
I sort of understand the feelings of a Sengoku era Japanese military commander stocking up on tea utensils now.
It seems that the tea ceremonies in this world also follow the Way of Tea. (TLN: The Way of Tea refers to Japanese conduct in the preparation/presentation of tea gatherings.)
While I was thinking deeply about it, Olivia looked into my face.
“…What?”
“Leon, you’re pretty knowledgeable. That surprised me.”
Knowledge. That’s not it.
Basically, even though this is my second life, on the entrance examination of the academy, I was ranked as being in the upper-average score of seventy points.
If it’s about excelling students, then find one of the others scattered around.
However, I’m pleased that she praised me while being glad.
I’m just an insignificant human. However, I don’t hate how I am.
“R, really? If there’s something you don’t understand, how about I help teach it to you?”
A full smile appeared on Olivia’s face when I said that.
“Yes, please!”
Well, there shouldn’t be a problem in taking care of studies during the break periods of searching for a marriage partner.
Source: 2slow2latemtl.icu
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