CH 42

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

After that, even though I had slept for two days, I slept for another entire day. That’s almost three days of sleep.

Thanks to that, I feel surprisingly refreshed and full of energy.

While I was sleeping, it seems that a lot happened under the surface.

Immediately after the rebellion broke out, the nobles who were opposed to the alliance with the beastmen country were apparently in an uproar, as if to say, ‘so, did you see that?’. The story of how the academy students treated the beastmen who were injured while suppressing the rebel army and protecting the humans spread and became a popular story. Even the nobility could not ignore the growing voices of the people. Thanks to them, the rowdy crowd has quieted down considerably. I think the story is spreading a little too fast, but at any rate, it was good, wasn’t it?

And today, together with Percival, I’m guiding around Emily the royal capital.

Emily’s family was a peddling family. Just before they entered the Worstitters, they were attacked by a magical beast and her parents died. Emily managed to survive thanks to her parents, who hid her under a carpet that was their merchandise. It is said that Jayden, the beastman uncle, found her and protected her. Since then, Emily has been living with Jayden.

“Uncle Jayden is very kind and funny!”

She shakes Percival’s and my hand and smiles at us. She talks happily about Jayden all the time, saying that Uncle can do anything and that he is great. We listen to Emily’s story while nodding.

“But when he gets angry, I get scared. He got really mad at me when I didn’t come home by evening, or when I ran out into the street and almost got run over by a horse-drawn carriage.”

Thanks to Jayden, Emily probably doesn’t remember the sadness and loneliness of losing her parents. Even though they are of different races and not related by blood, they are still a family. I hope she and Uncle Jayden can live happily together for a long time to come.

Uncle Jaden, who can do anything, repairs fittings, desks, and shelves in the academy that need to be repaired as a thank you for our help. He does that kind of work at Wortitters, and seems to be skilled enough to go to the homes of the nobility.

“So Uncle takes good care of Emily-chan, doesn’t he?”

“Yes! Uncle is also very important Emily!”

“Then let’s buy a souvenir for Uncle today.”

When Percival said so, Emily-chan blushed and gave a big nod.

The three of us enjoyed a stroll around the royal city and bought souvenirs for Uncle at a stall. The shopkeeper mistook us for husband and husband and gave Emily-chan some sweets, saying they were an extra for his lovely daughter.

Emily-chan, who doesn’t understand why she was given sweets, smiles back and says thank you.

We were told that it’s great of us to adopt a child when we’re so young, but no, no, we’re too young and not old enough to get married yet.

When men are married to each other, it is quite normal for them to adopt a child. If there’s no resemblance in appearance at all and you’re holding hands with a young child between you, there might be that kind of misunderstanding. But we’re 14, so we can’t get married yet. Unlike me, Percival is a big guy, so maybe he looked older than his age.

But we are not husbands. If you glance at Percival, he doesn’t seem to be upset at all when he is called husband and husband, nor does he seem to deny it. It’s the same expression as usual. I decided to keep my mouth shut, thinking that if that was the case, it was fine with me too.

If Emily can get sweets thanks to the shopkeeper’s misunderstanding, it’s not a bad thing. It would be tactless to deny it every single time.

Even though there was such a thing, Emily-chan seemed to be fully satisfied with her tour of the royal capital.

The next day, I sent the Worstitters back to their country after their injuries were completely healed. I went to check on Clawis, but he seemed to be very busy. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I quietly returned to my country without calling out to him.

I hope the summoned beasts and the Cait Sith are of some use to him.

There were surprisingly many things, but after the attainment exam was over, the academy was relatively calm with almost no classes. Except that there’s a bit of a fidgety atmosphere around.

“What will Sapphiras-sama do during the long vacation?”

“Eh? Long vacation?”

I went to thank the ladies who had brought me a get-well gift, and that’s how the conversation went. What’s that?

“Um? What do you mean by long vacation?”

“In two weeks time, the academy will be on a long vacation. You will return to your estates or go to summer resorts.”

“……I see.”

That’s why everyone was so excited. So it wasn’t just the end of exams but a sense of liberation. I see?

I don’t have a mansion to go back to, or a place to escape the heat, so I’ll be slaving away in the dormitories, but recently I’ve expanded my range of activities a little, so it might be nice to go on a short trip. And I’m sure Percival will go back to his estate.

When I was walking thinking about this, I was coincidentally stopped by the person I had just thought of.

“Sapphiras,”

“Ah, Percival.”

“Good, I was looking for you.”

“You wanted to see me?”

“Ah. The long vacation will start soon, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me to Vanderwall, if that’s all right with you, Sapphiras?

“Eh?”

“If you stay in the dormitory, the cafeteria will be closed for the holidays, so won’t you have trouble eating?”

“Ehh? The cafeteria closes?”

Ah. There are some students staying in the dormitory, but it seems that the cafeteria cannot be opened for the few remaining students.

Well, if you think about it, that’s right. You can’t make a cook work for a few students.

“Vanderwall is a place with nothing but delicious meat.”

“Eh? Meat?”

“It’s a land of mercenaries and soldiers. Stamina-boosting meals are something of a speciality.”

I thought that the Vanderwall territory is a land of magical beasts and borders, but they have a special meat cuisine? I would love to try that.

“……won’t it be a nuisance if I go?”

“Of course not. We’re an unreserved and noisy family, but if you don’t mind”

“I’ll go! By all means! Thank you for your hospitality!”

“That’s good. As soon as the vacation begins, we’ll head for the territory. There’s nothing to prepare for, so take it easy.”

“Thank you, Percival!”

I’ll be spending a long vacation in Vanderwall territory.

I’m looking forward to the meat dishes!

melon: a relatively short chapter but I hope you enjoyed it. And we’ll be visiting Percival’s family soon! 

This is where things start getting confusing because Percival has a big family and even their maids have names…so a lot more names will be coming up.