15-1 Part 2
A Certain Man's Madness / Midnight in
Erin
- Noisy -
Translator : PolterGlast
By the time I
returned to my own territory, it was already well into the dead of night. And
yet, upon spotting me, the maid ran deep into the mansion without even
welcoming me. It seems the maid had been instructed to do so. As if to say they
would be the ones to welcome me, Atomina-aneue and Carral Hez
came flying into the entrance.
「Geez, Ashley!
Leaving such a cute Carral-chan behind, where did you go!」
「Yeah...
I guess even I didn't expect to be suddenly left all alone either...」
Even though I went
through the trouble of grooming myself before returning, what a terrible way to
put it. Me suddenly disappearing is a regular occurrence. I want them to give
up on that. Confirming Aneue's pout—a face she couldn't show to the
citizens—and Carral's exasperated face directed at me, I thrust out the Shovel
first instead of a reply.
「Oh my,
is that...」
「Yeah.
I couldn't find a blacksmith, so on Zirant's recommendation, I went to Fimbul.」
Aneue took
the Shovel and wonderingly gazed at the black-painted metal lump. Carral
is also a merchant. She seemed to have taken an interest.
「Eh, in
just five days? Ah, because Ashley is a Prince, you must have a really
fast horse.」
「No, I
ran.」
「Heeh,
you ran... Huh...?」
「I'm
sorry, Carral-chan. Ashley is weird, isn't he...」
They've gotten quite
close before I even knew it... Personality-wise, they are both the 'yang' of
yin and yang, so I wonder if they hit it off...
「Don't
tell me you mean, on your own two feet?」
「Well,
something like that.」
I looked deeper in
from the entrance. Partly due to the time of day, the lighting seemed minimal.
If I recall correctly, most of the empty rooms were supposed to be allocated to
the beastman forces.
「Is Puis
here?」
「I
think he's in the study, but no, Ashley. Before that, you need to keep Carral-chan
company.」
「Why is
that?」
「Geez,
don't ask back, just do as your big sister says.」
Aneue used a
commanding tone uncharacteristic of her. If Aneue goes that far to say
it, there is no reason to defy her. I wanted to report to Puis quickly,
but I turned my eyes to Carral.
「I-It's
fine, Atomina-sama, I know that Ashley is this kind of guy... Ah,
more importantly, please let me see that Shovel too.」
「Here,
go ahead♪」
「Thank
you, Atomina-sama!」
Receiving it from Aneue,
the merchant Carral Hez began appraising the mysterious Shovel
left by my ancestor. She seemed to have been quite curious about it; Carral
observed it carefully and began stroking it all over, leaving no spot
untouched.
「Wow,
I've never seen anything like this... But, the level of perfection is
amazing... Is this the one made from that Demonic Spirit Silver?」
「No.
Actually, a lot happened, and that's one I picked up.」
「No,
there's no way something like this would just be lying around... But, this is a
good item! Especially, the fact that the material is unknown is really great,
it has romance!」
「I can
understand that too. Actually, it seems to be one that my ancestor—the first
Emperor, at that—used.」
Even with Carral's
appraising eye, my ancestor's Shovel is apparently of unknown identity.
「Fufufu...
Then Ashley is an atavism, isn't he. Nn... I know, shall we all go for a
night stroll now?」
「A
stroll...? Nn... If Ashley doesn't hate it, I guess that wouldn't be bad
either...」
I wonder if she has
something she wants to coax out of me. Carral cast fleeting glances at
me. Could it be a business negotiation for the merchant company or something.
「Understood,
I'll keep you company. My clothes are still damp, anyway...」
「I knew
it. No wonder I thought there was a strange smell...」
「Haa...
Ashley, you can't go meeting girls in smelly clothes. You're an adult
now, so act properly! Otherwise they'll run away from you, geez...」
Aneue used
strangely strict words. Even though she doesn't complain about me committing
every dissipation imaginable, she won't yield on that? I don't understand her
standards...
「So,
are we going or not, which is it?」
「Let's
go! Atomina-sama, you come too!」
「Oh my,
but won't big sister be in the way...」
「That's
not true at all, having Atomina-sama with us is reassuring!」
「Fufufu...
Hey, hey, Ashley—since we're at it,
why don't you just settle on this girl!」
What are you talking
about, Aneue. I tried to say that, but stopped myself. This is surely
what the books from the other world call 'out of the blue'.
◇ ◆ ◇
A night stroll
sounds nice, but it's really just wandering around the mansion. The starry sky,
which felt distant in the Imperial Capital, had a strong presence here
in Erin. Relying on the lantern Aneue made me carry, we just kept
looking up at the sky and breathing in the clear night air. This is also
something you can't easily experience in the Imperial Capital.
「Couldn't
we walk a little faster? There is something I want to report to Puis
today...」
「Then
it will be fine. He stays up late every night. ...In your room, Ashley.」
「I see,
that's good. ...Wait, in my room, you say...?」
「That's
right. I wonder what he's doing~, fufufu♪」
It was information dropped
casually, but this cannot be ignored. Naturally. There's no one who would
rejoice hearing that a man has settled into their own room.
「That
way of saying it is mean, Atomina-sama. It seems Puis-san is
reading Ashley's books. That person is amazing, he understands the words
from the other world!」
「Ah...
So that's what it is.」
Puis wasn't
doing work, nor was he doing anything nefarious; he was simply turning my room
into a library and hanging out there. True, if our positions were reversed, I
would do the same. On a boring night, the highly entertaining books from the
other world are indispensable.
「By the
way, Ashley... You smell.」
「Are
you still saying that, Aneue...」
「Ah
right, want to use my perfume? I have a somewhat rare one I bought in the coastal
provinces.」
「...I'll
pass. It seems like it would invite unnecessary suspicion from Puis.」
「Oh my,
in other words, that's... what they call a fait accompli!」
「A-Atomina-sama...」
「I
don't really get it, but I think you're completely wrong...」
Why are you making such a fuss, Aneue.
You seem to have taken
a liking to Carral, but... it's also somewhat different from what you direct at Yashu or
Durin... It's like expectation is mixed in, or rather...
「Then I
know! Let's show Carral-chan an appearance fitting for a Lord.」
「Calm
down, Aneue... And even if you say fitting for a Lord. So what should I
do?」
「Fufufu,
leave it to your big sister, Ashley!」
「Princess
Atomina-sama is a much more cheerful and formidable person than I
thought...」
Slowly, we took our
night stroll.
◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
「Ooh~~...
Somehow you suddenly look so elegant...!」
「Right,
I knew it! You see, this is a hand-me-down from Georg that Durin-chan
and I...!」
It's long, so the rest is omitted. When I went along with Aneue's whim, the noisiness simply increased. However, Puis wasn't in my room, but apparently still in the study. Excusing myself saying I wanted to report quickly, I left Aneue and Carral behind in the room.
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