Volume 5 - CH 5.5

Leaving the matter of preparing breakfast entirely to Roxanne and Sherry, I warped to Bode together with the mirror.

「I would like to request an audience with Lord Gozer.」

「Of course. Please, come with me.」

When I talked to the same Knight as yesterday, I was told to follow after him to the back of the castle through the labyrinth of corridors along a familiar way. I am being led to the Duke’s office, even though I explicitly told the Knight at the reception that I wanted to have an audience with Gozer. The Knight that was leading me stood in front of the door and then knocked on them a few times, until the voice called out to us from the other side.

「Come in.」

That was Gozer’s voice. There is no mistaking it. Instead of the Duke, he was the one who replied to the Knight’s knocking on the door.

「Pardon the intrusion, my Lord, but there is a guest who wishes to speak to with you.」

The Knight said as he entered the room, and I followed closely after him.

「Ahhh, Mr. Michio.」

Inside of the office, both the Duke and Gozer were sitting at their respective desks doing something that looked like an awful lot of paperwork. It would seem that I am disturbing them when I really should not yet again.

「Forgive me for intruding upon you when you are in the middle of work, but I have come to deliver the Palmasque Mirror once again.」

「Ooooh! Is that it?」

As soon as the Knight who guided me to the Duke’s office leaves the room, the Duke looked over the mirror that I have brought in with me.

「That is right.」

I placed the mirror on the desk.

「Hmm……」

「Certainly, that is a mirror without any decorations.」

「Yes, and even though this office is dimly lit, the quality of the image that it reflects is still good.」

After commenting on that, the Duke took a bell in his hand and rung it. And then, just as soon as it was yesterday, a person appeared out of the hallway outside of the office, even though there was no one there when the Knight was leading me here. But in that case, where were they hiding if it was impossible for me to detect their presence at all? If it is someone who is serving as the Duke’s escort, then is it a part of their job that they must not allow anyone, not even the Duke himself, to realize that they are here?

「Your orders, my lord?」

「Call Cassia here.」

「As you wish, my lord.」

As soon as the servant received the order from the Duke, they left his office immediately.

「Since I am not at all knowledgeable about mirrors or any other such items, I am going to have my wife Cassia look at it for me. I have already talked to her about it before, so she should come and join us soon.」

The Duke explained to me, most likely because he saw all of the question marks floating above my head when the name 「Cassia」 was mentioned. It would seem that women of this world are more knowledgeable and interested in such things than men, in which case it would mean that this trend is not much different from how thing were in Japan….. and thinking about it, I guess that the same principle applies to me as well, because technically speaking, I was not the one who obtained the mirrors that we are now giving to Gozer and the Duke. The ones who obtained them, and at such favorable prices as well, were Roxanne and Sherry, and therefore they should be the ones who should take the full credit for it.

「Just as you requested, the mirrors will come in various sizes.」

「They are? Great, this is exactly what I wanted.」

「However, their exact number is going to increase a little.」

I explained to Gozer while we were waiting for the Duke’s wife to arrive. His initial order was about ten undecorated Palmasque Mirrors, but now, that order of about ten mirrors has grown up to about thirteen mirrors.

「As long as we will be able to get our hands on them, the exact number does not really matter. Even if it turns out they are not going to be up to standard, there will always be other uses for them.」

I see. Gozer’s goal here was to give the mirror to the third imperial prince as a Gift Item on the occasion of his wedding, but if it turns out that they will not be deemed something that can be used as a gift for such an important person, then Gozer will be back to square one here: with nothing to give as a gift and with thirteen mirrors that he will have to find a use for, but the Duke said that it is going to be okay either way, so if that is what he claims, then it really has to be like that.

「Also, it turns out that amber can indeed be sold in Palmasque for a profit, so allow me to extend my deepest gratitude for writing me that letter of introduction.」

I thanked the Duke for giving me the possibility of doing business by selling amber. However, just to be on the safe side I decided to omit how much money I was able to make by selling the raw amber that I managed to obtain from the cat-eared merchant in Bode. For the time being, I went to Palmasque this morning before coming to Bode to be able to report if anything would have happened. Selling local goods to Duke and Gozer might not be such a bad idea after all, and I was definitely glad that I came to make my report this early.

「I have arrived, my lord. Did you call for me?」

「Yes, you may enter.」

A female voice called out to the Duke from beyond the door. That must be the Duke’s wife. The door opened, and a beautiful woman wearing a dress appeared. Or you know what? I take back what I said. Just calling her beautiful is like doing her a huge disservice. She is actually extraordinarily beautiful. But… there are actually three of them? Does…. Does that mean that the Duke of Hartz actually has three wives?! No, wait, the one who is his wife must be the young woman in the middle, and the other two must be…. Her attendants, I presume?

She is especially beautiful. She is by far the most beautiful woman that I have seen since coming to this world. All three of the women who came are pretty in their own right, but as I said, the one in the middle is in a class of her own, and the other two cannot even measure up to her. Her beauty was so radiant that it was almost making an illusion as if there were rays of sunshine shining down on her with every step that she took. She had bright golden hair, skin as white as freshly fallen snow large eyes the are pale blue in color and cherry-colored lips. If I were to liken her to something, it would have to be nothing less but the biggest, most beautiful rose in the entire bouquet. Yes, compared to all the other beautiful elven women that I have seen up to date, she is like a whole level…. No, two levels higher. Just one glance at her would be enough for everyone to realize that she is a cut above the common rabble, someone who should not be approached unless you are of the same social position and stature as her. Since the one in the middle is the Duke’s wife, the Duchess of Hartz, then the other two have to be her maids.

「Allow me to introduce you. This is Cassia, my wife. Cassia, this is Michio, one of the Adventurers who helped us with the distribution of the relief supplies after the floods.」

The Duke introduced me to the beauty in the middle. So, my hunch was right after all? That person really is….?

「It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cassia.」

The Duke’s wife, Cassia, stated her name and gave me a curtsy. That kind of greeting would have been elegant no matter who performed it, but when she does it, it looks that much more dignified. And, although it pains me greatly to say this, unlike Roxanne, there seems to be both perfection and beauty in every move that she makes, and every step that she takes.