"It's been a while, Marcus. I heard you came by while I was out and left a message, so is something the matter?"
For a moment, I wondered if he had come specifically to tell me he couldn't make it tonight, but my guess turned out to be wrong.
"Tenma, I've come today because I have a favor to ask!"
The moment I entered the parlor and greeted Marcus, he dropped straight to his knees in a full prostration. If some stranger had pulled a stunt like this and begged me for something, I'd have ignored them completely — but Marcus wasn't the kind of person to do this, so I decided to hear him out first. Either way, I couldn't just leave him kneeling on the floor forever, and I certainly didn't want to chase an acquaintance away without even listening to what they had to say.
"Marcus, I can't even begin to judge whether I can take on this favor of yours until I've actually heard what it is."
"Y-You have my apologies. Lord Albert, Primera, I was rude to you as well."
These two had technically come to sit in as company — Marcus was my guest, but at the same time he was a guest of this estate — though in reality, they had fled the dining hall. By the way, Grandpa was apparently in the bath and planned to make a lengthy soak of it, so I had asked a servant we passed on the way to the parlor to go check on him. It wasn't like something terrible would happen to Grandpa just because he took a long bath, but apparently he had brought alcohol into the bathroom with him, so better safe than sorry.
"So then, what's this favor?"
There were things I could do and things I couldn't, and some things I simply didn't want to do. Ideally, the request would fall within the range of what I could actually help with, and as I was thinking that—
"Actually, it's about Serna. Serna has a boyfriend, but there's a bit of a problem."
"I spotted the two of them at the guild and they looked very close. And the man didn't seem like a weirdo at all, at least from what I could tell."
"No, he isn't the problem. The issue is actually with her family's side. Tenma, are you familiar with the 'Gloriosa Trading Company'?"
When I said I didn't recognize the name of the trading company Marcus had mentioned, Albert and Primera exchanged looks of surprise.
"Tenma, the Gloriosa Trading Company is the biggest trading firm in Gunjou City. They mainly deal in arms and armor."
"If you've been an adventurer in Gunjou City, you'd have used them many times over… You really don't know them?"
Now I understood why the two of them were surprised. And at the same time, I understood why it wasn't in my memory.
"When I was active in Gunjou City, I never bought weapons from a major trading company. Even when I went to a weapon shop, it was just to pick up maintenance tools or disposable throwing supplies — and for that kind of thing, going to a smaller independent shop was cheaper anyway, so—"
Hearing my answer, Albert and Primera both made expressions of understanding. Rather than using inferior weapons, fighting with magic was far more reassuring and safer — and besides, I already had Kogarumaru. In other words, I had never had any interest in "passable weapons that were far inferior to Kogarumaru."
"I may have gone a few times, but if it doesn't stick in my memory, I figure it just wasn't my kind of place. So, Marcus — what does that trading company have to do with anything?"
"Serna's lover… His name is Anri. He's the third son of the Gloriosa family. He says he wants to marry Serna, but his father opposes the match…"
Marcus hesitated at the part about the reason for the opposition, but after a moment, as though steeling himself:
"He learned that Serna was captured by bandits in the past and violated, and he says he can't stand the idea of taking such a defiled woman into the family."
"What a stomach-turning thing to say… Anri, was it? Does he still live with his family?"
"No. He was disowned after saying he wanted to become a painter. Now he works as an adventurer and uses the income from that to cover his expenses."
The Gloriosa Trading Company was based in another city, so Anri had apparently been drifting between various towns and villages. About a year ago, he came to Gunjou City and met Serna, and the two fell in love. Recently, though, his father apparently found out.
Even so, Serna and Anri were planning to hold a wedding, but as the date drew closer, the father's interference was reportedly ramping up.
"He disowned the boy and cut ties — shouldn't he just be ignored? Anyway, when is this wedding?"
"In two weeks. What I'd like to ask of you, Tenma, is for you to attend the wedding."
Marcus had been running around lately gathering information on the father, and among what he'd collected was intelligence that the father planned to crash the ceremony with a nobleman in tow.
"There's nothing strange about a groom's father attending a wedding, but it seems the plan is to bring a nobleman as a guest on the groom's side to make it so the bride's side can't match them. Most likely, he intends to use the fact that despite bringing a nobleman, the wedding wasn't worthy of one, and make some fuss about it."
"This nobleman — who is it?"
"Viscount Abyss."
"Viscount Abyss?"
Before I could react, Albert was already startled. Primera looked surprised too. The fact that both of them reacted meant that the name Viscount Abyss showing up here was entirely unexpected.
"Albert. What sort of person is this Viscount Abyss?"
"Ah, Viscount Abyss is a nobleman who has served the Duke Sanga family since ancient times. He's proud and difficult, but he also despises dishonesty — he really hated that Regil who used to cause trouble for you back in the day, Tenma. But on the other hand, he understood that Regil had value to exploit. Well, when Regil fell from grace, the one who was happiest about it was probably Viscount Abyss."
"He was strict with my brother, it seems, but he was kind to me. And to my sisters as well."
Whether he was kind to Primera because of a difference between men and women, or because she was the heir versus someone who wasn't, I couldn't tell — but from what I'd heard, he seemed like a decent enough noble.
"If that's the case, would you lend your support to a noble like that in disrupting the wedding?"
"No, it seems Viscount Abyss doesn't know about his father's scheme. I believe he genuinely intends to celebrate Henri's wedding."
"So it's his father acting on his own, then? He's not thinking about what happens when the viscount finds out."
In a way, he was the same breed as Regil.
"So the plan is for me to attend the wedding and even out the gap between the guests? Fine. As long as I'm nominally invited as 'a former maid of the Ootori household,' his father won't be able to raise any objections. Even if my time as Serna's provisional master was brief, as long as either Serna or Marcus acknowledges it, it counts as fact."
"Thank you so much!"
When I agreed to participate, Marcus's expression relaxed with relief and he bowed deeply.
"With that in mind, please make sure to invite Serna and Henri to tonight's banquet. I'll personally ask the two of them directly to let me attend as well."
For now, since Marcus's visit to ask for my help was supposed to be kept secret, we decided to go with the story that I'd heard about the wedding somewhere, confirmed it with the two of them, and wanted to attend. That way it would feel more natural, and no one would think I'd only agreed to participate because I'd been asked.
After Marcus left the mansion, I was heading to the dining hall to report to everyone that our stay had been extended when I ran into Grandpa carrying an empty wine bottle. Well, calling it empty was a stretch — the bottle itself was small, so it looked like he'd just had a light drink, but his face was flushed red.
"Don't drink so much when you're taking a bath alone. At your age, you could just up and die without warning."
"What a terrible thing to say... Don't you think so, Primera?"
"Huh? Oh, well, Lord Merlin may be advanced in years, but he trains regularly, so he's in great health and looks quite youthful. As long as he exercises moderation, I think it should be fine..."
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Primera faltered but quickly took Grandpa's side. It must have pleased him, because on the way to
the dining hall,
he wore a beaming smile the entire time.
"Hmm... What on earth is this situation?"
When we entered the dining hall, Grandpa's face immediately shifted to one of confusion and he looked to me for an explanation, but I couldn't explain it either.
"So, um... Chris, could you explain what's going on?"
So I asked the only person in the dining hall who was still capable of moving properly to give us an explanation. For the record, the only ones besides Chris who could still move normally in the dining hall were Slarin.
"Well, you see... it seems I might have preached a little too long."
The current situation was this: the group that had been made to sit seiza-style when I left the dining hall had all collapsed onto the floor and were writhing in pain. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Shiromaru and Solomon had finished their snacks and were peacefully sleeping belly-up. And the unharmed Chris and Slarin were tending to the suffering group... except for Cain.
"I was so absorbed in the sermon that when I finally looked up, Cain was on the verge of passing out. I panicked and checked on everyone else, and they were all the same... Strange, right~?"
"That's a lie... Every time we tried to move, Chris shot us a look like a serial killer and screamed, 'Don't move!'"
Thanks to Reni's revelation, it came to light that Chris had gone too far. Well, I had figured it was something like that, but I did think maybe she didn't need to be quite so harsh.
"Still, even if Cain was unavoidable, she should have let the others go sooner."
If I pressed Chris about Cain too, she'd probably get defensive and turn into a real pain to deal with, so I decided to let Cain remain the sacrificial lamb. This was absolutely not because I had a grudge to settle! ...At least, that's what I wanted to believe, but I had zero confidence in that.
"Anyway, that aside, our stay in Gunjou City has been extended. Which means, unfortunately, we'll be reuniting with Lion. I know it's going to get noisier, and I'm sorry about that... but given the reason, I'd like everyone to agree to it."
Amour and Aura gave me the 'You call that an acceptable explanation?!' look, while Reni and Jeanne were more interested in hearing the actual reason. It was fortunate that Cain, who would have kicked up the biggest fuss, was still down for the count. If he'd been in one piece, he would absolutely have thrown a tantrum just for the fun of it once I said we were reuniting with Lion. And settling him down would have taken a lot of effort, and I might have ended up having to use force... When I thought about it that way, it was almost a shame he was unconscious.
"S-so, Tenma-kun, what exactly is the reason?"
Chris was the first to ask for the reason, but it was pretty obviously an attempt to change the subject. Well, there was no need to point that out, and Amour was behaving himself for once, so before any unnecessary jabs could come my way, I told them I'd be attending Cerna's wedding.
"A wedding, huh..."
Once she learned the reason for the extended stay was a wedding, Chris's mood soured a little. Just as Amour had described, she was getting anxious about approaching thirty, so hearing that someone else was getting married probably wasn't a fun topic for her.
"Chris, you're so narrow-minded."
"Ngh—"
The words Amour muttered under his breath landed a critical hit on Chris's heart, and she shifted awkwardly in discomfort.
"Understood. Then what should we do?"
Since Reni was asking what they, as outsiders, should do, I answered that I'd like them to join us if possible.
My answer was a bit vague, and it seemed like everyone had their doubts, but when I explained that since I'd just finished talking with Chris and still needed to get their own approval, nothing was set in stone yet, they accepted it.
"Even so, Tenma sure does love putting nobles in their place."
"Don't be ridiculous, Amour. I only deal with nobles who try to do me harm. And apparently, there's a good chance that Viscount Abyss had nothing to do with this whole scheme."
When I corrected a few things, Albert and Primera nodded.
"We'll go into more detail after talking with Cerna and the others, but... why were Amour's group made to sit seiza?"
With the wedding discussion settled for the time being, I decided to circle back and ask about the constellation. If it was because they'd been causing a ruckus, I would've been stuck sitting there with them too. But I was curious about the reason Chris had judged me as "white." Also, it was strange that they'd taken eavesdropping on something that minor so seriously.
"The reason is this! The two conversations Amour's group was having split into two separate topics!"
Chris, who had gone quiet after landing a critical hit from Amour's words, suddenly perked up as if she'd spotted her chance to strike back. Meanwhile, Amour's group wore distinctly uncomfortable expressions.
"What Tenma overheard wasn't really a big deal for Amour's group — nothing they'd mind being heard. However, what they were talking about after Tenma left was the sort of thing you really shouldn't let men listen in on. Amour's group heard Cain say 'Tenma was eavesdropping' and assumed he'd overheard the conversation that wasn't meant for male ears. If they'd asked what Tenma actually heard and what the situation was before giving chase, they would've realized it was a misunderstanding and that Cain's report was false. But they went on the rampage while still under that misapprehension, and that's why I was angry!"
Chris rattled off her explanation in high spirits, as if venting her earlier frustration.
"Yes, yes, I get it, so you don't need to come any closer. And I understand the reason now — I'm partly to blame for doing something that could be misinterpreted. So please, let everyone go except Cain."
"Hmm? Well... I suppose, setting Cain aside, we may have been a little too hard on Amour's group."
And so, everyone except Cain was released. When Cain heard that he alone would not be saved, he pleaded with his eyes for help from me and Albert, but we both ignored him. After all, both of us had suffered pretty badly because of Cain. So there was no reason to help. Primera apparently felt the same way — she averted her gaze when his desperate stare landed on her.
"This kind of thing is Lion's job!"
Cain shouted, only to receive further scolding from Chris.
"Tenma, I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm truly sorry."
As I watched Cain getting scolded, Jeanne, Amour, and Aura came over together to apologize.
"Tenma, I'm really sorry."
Lastly, Reni apologized, but knowing Reni, there's a possibility she'd already figured out that Cain's report was false and chose to act anyway. Well, that's just my guess.
"Regarding that, I also played a part by eavesdropping and causing the misunderstanding, so I'm not holding it against you anymore. Cain is entirely to blame. So none of you need to worry about it."
I'd already decided to pin all responsibility for this incident on Cain, so I accepted everyone's apologies and told them not to dwell on it any further.
"That was supposed to be Lion's job, though..."
With the time to head to Manpukutei drawing near, Cain — who'd finally been released — started grumbling again. It's true that Lion has the image of being the one who scolds over things like that, but in my ranking, Cain and Albert come right after her, and since there's no clear first place or tie involved, it wasn't at all strange for all the responsibility to fall on Cain.
"Alright, alright, time is running short, so go get ready already!"
Cain's complaints were brushed aside by Chris, the very person who'd caused them in the first place. Cain wore an expression that suggested he wanted to protest it was unfair, but as Chris pointed out, time was indeed running out, so he went off quietly to get ready.
"Honestly,
I thought things would be a little easier without the biggest troublemaker around,
but when number one is absent, number two moves up, doesn't she?"
Chris seemed to be thinking the same thing I was. In my personal ranking, Chris ties with Amour for fourth place, right after Albert and the others. Well, from Chris's perspective, I'm probably in a similar position myself. Also, my ranking includes four members of the royal family, but those four are essentially hall-of-fame material, so Lion is still number one.
"I'm ready~"
With Cain's return, everyone had finished preparing.
"Well then, shall we go?"
"Indeed! Jeanne, Aura — from here on, it's a battlefield. Don't let your guard down!"
"Right!"
"Yes!"
Amour, Jeanne, and Aura eagerly surrounded me. Amour took the front, Jeanne and Aura flanked the sides, and Reni casually positioned herself behind me.
"This way, no cat gets close!"
Amour's wariness of the "Wildcat Princess" was nothing new, so I decided to let her do as she pleased. It was more of a "fight-friendly" kind of rivalry, so as long as it didn't turn into an actual brawl, it was fine to leave them be. But,
"I'm sorry about forming up a Formation, but we'll be traveling by carriage."
With that, I pointed at the carriage hitched to Raiden. With a noble present, we certainly weren't going to walk all the way to the Manpokutei.
If we went to the Manpokutei in my carriage, we could stow it away in the Magic Bag, and we could also leave Raiden on standby in the Dimension Bag for the long haul. Raiden probably wouldn't like it, though.
"There's no other choice... We'll form up again after we get off."
Amour grumbled in a clearly annoyed voice but was the first to climb into the carriage, staking out a spot near the entrance. Jeanne and Aura were stationed nearby as well. Once we arrived at the Manpokutei, they'd no doubt immediately reform that same Formation from before. I really wished they'd keep it within the bounds of "fighting like friends."
"But are you sure it's really okay for us to come along too?"
Primera looked worried, but the old man and the others would never turn Primera and her group away. If anything, they'd probably be excited about having someone to spar with.
"Of course it's fine. If I didn't bring you along, I'd probably get chewed out. Besides, the meals are being prepared on the assumption that I'm bringing everyone, so it'd be a real problem if you didn't show up."
"That's what he said! You're in luck, Primera — Tenma says he needs you! *Guh...*"
The moment Albert butted in from the side with that cheeky remark, Primera struck him in the ribs without a heartbeat's hesitation. And then I followed Primera's example and punched him in the other side.
"Merciless, aren't you..."
"That was the same thing Lion always gets, so it's fine. Well, Lion and Albert do differ a bit in terms of durability."
"Indeed. Once my brother becomes head of the Duke Sanga household in the future, there won't be anyone around to put him in his place like this. So,
you need
to take a little pain now and truly understand what the word 'consequence' means!"
With that, she abandoned Albert as he lay crumpled on the floor.
The Primera I was looking at now was quite different from the image I'd had of her, but when I considered that there was a clear difference in how she treated strangers versus her own brother, it really wasn't that strange... After reaching that conclusion, I decided not to think about it any further. The current Primera gave off an atmosphere reminiscent of Maria when she was even slightly angered, which was frankly terrifying — so if ditching Albert would bring Primera back to normal, then I was naturally on Primera's side.
Incidentally, everyone else seemed to find Primera just as frightening. "Well, she's not wrong. Albert was the one in the wrong!" the old man said immediately. Chris clearly averted his gaze from Albert and Primera, pretending not to watch. Cain, Jeanne, and Aura were trembling in fear.
As for Amour, after declaring, "This is all his fault!" in a move that practically announced she was on Primera's side, she said, "This is in the way, so let's put it off in a corner somewhere," and she and Reni hauled Albert out of the way together. Then she locked herself in the bathroom. Reni had clearly been planning to escape to the bathroom as well, but Amour had gotten there first, so after a brief moment of hesitation, she sat down next to Chris.
"It looks like we've arrived. Tenma, let's go."
The silence inside the carriage dragged on for a while, but the moment it came to a stop, Primera opened her mouth, and I felt the heavy atmosphere lighten just a little. I was about to enter the Manpukutei with Primera pulling me by the hand, but right before we stepped inside, Amour appeared with Jeanne and Aura in tow and positioned them around me and Primera. When Amour threw open the door of the Manpukutei—
"You're finally here! Ten—"
"I won't let you! Jeanne, Aura!"
"Yes!"
The three Lily sisters came charging straight at me, and Amour's group each moved to guard.
"You're going to interfere again?!"
"Why?!"
"This is supposed to be our free time!"
"Well, um…"
"That was then, this is now."
"No matter what happens, I'm not letting you get close to Tenma! You… you thief cats!"
"My Lady, fight~!"
Jeanne, who had surged forward on pure momentum alone, was on the verge of buckling under the three sisters' protests, but Amour and Aura didn't flinch. Behind the three of them, Reni was cheering Amour on.
"Tenma, if we stop here we'll only get in the way. Let's go inside quickly. Cain—"
"That—"
"—can be left behind."
"Roger that, Captain!"
And Primera didn't flinch either. Cain had been worried about Albert, but Primera dismissed her own brother as "that," told Cain to just leave him be, and delivered the whole thing as practically an order. Cain, for his part, the moment Primera said it, looked away from the carriage as if he'd forgotten all about Albert, saluted, and followed behind Primera. Meanwhile, Grandpa and Chris quietly slipped along, doing their best to erase their presence.
"Oh! You made it, Ten…ma?"
"Hey, pops, you got the place reserved for us, didn't you? Thanks."
"Tenma, you should probably go say hi to Serna first. Henri looks like he's about to keel over from nerves."
I was a bit concerned about how off Dad seemed, but even more than that, Henri was frozen stiff next to Serna, just as Primera had pointed out.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to go greet those two first. The timing was off when I visited the guild, so I didn't get a chance to talk to them at all."
"Oh, yeah, sure. You're right — maybe it'd be best to talk to Henri first and help him loosen up. At this rate, he won't enjoy a thing. And honestly, I could use a moment to get my own head straight, too…"
"Hm? Well, all right then, I'll be back shortly."
I excused myself to my somewhat odd-acting father and made my way toward the table where the two guests of honor were seated.
"Oh! It's been a while, Tenma. I'm sorry I couldn't greet you properly when you came to the guild. This is my… the person I've been seeing…"
"H-Henri! It's nice to meet you!"
Serna only got flustered and nervous during the actual introduction of Henri, but Henri had been tense the whole time. When I asked why, he said that as a part-time adventurer, even being told he'd be meeting top-class adventurers today, he had no idea what kind of conversation was appropriate.
"So, there's something I'd like to ask… are you two dating?"
Serna's abrupt question left both me and Primera frozen in bewilderment.