Dark Auction

“An escort for an auction?”

“That’s right. I’m told it will be held in the black market across the God’s-Crossing Bridge.”

The day after Hayato’s departure, Princess Menea visited me again.

Accompanying her were Yui, Aoi, and her usual escort knight.

The God’s-Crossing Bridge was a large bridge across the big river near the city. It was only labeled as Large Bridge in my AR display, so I hadn’t known it had such an impressive nickname.

“Sir Knight…”

“What’s the matter, Mr. Sebaf?”

The old butler Sebaf approached me with a concerned expression.

He was normally exceedingly polite, so if he was willing to intrude on a conversation with a guest, it must be something important.

“The black-market district, Muraas, is a rather dangerous area. The auction Your Highness mentioned is known as a dark auction that trades in illegal goods, not an officially sanctioned auction.”

Princess Menea put a hand to her mouth to cover her surprised reaction to this explanation.

“With your prowess, Sir Knight, I doubt you would have any problems with ruffians and their ilk. However, Muraas is home to many disreputable businesses, so it might lead to unfavorable gossip if you were seen there. If you do intend to go, I would encourage you to bring a recognition-inhibiting magic tool.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sebaf.”

Having relayed the necessary information, the butler bowed humbly and withdrew without judgment.

No wonder his family had served upper-ranking nobles for generations.

“What do you wish to do, Your Highness?”

I didn’t know what she needed at the auction, but I wondered whether it was important enough that she’d risk going somewhere unsafe for it.

“Why don’t you just get Mr. Satou to find someone to sell us some?”

“Yui!”

At first, Princess Menea got angry with Yui.

However, she must have decided she didn’t have much choice, so she explained why she wanted to go.

“It’s not that I have no money whatsoever, but if I’m going to study abroad in a major power like the Shiga Kingdom, I’m afraid I find myself a bit short…”

Basically, she needed to raise some money.

What she intended to sell was the soul grass from the dragon mission the other day, as well as some things she’d brought from her hometown, including a large lump of dark stone, fragrant wood, tea ware, art, and two memo pads.

“Is this Japanese?”

“Yes, it was given to me by the third person who was summoned.”

No doubt about it. It was a perfect match for the pottery notes I had.

“Have a look at this, if you would.”

I took the memo out of Storage by way of my pocket and showed it to the group.

“Hey, it’s the same!”

“Yeah, I’m no expert, but this looks like the same handwriting to me.”

Yui and Aoi compared the notes and nodded in agreement.

“Sir Satou, wherever did you acquire this memo?”

“From a gray ratfolk friend of mine. I haven’t met the person who wrote it, but…”

I trailed off then.

Princess Menea was starting to cry as she clutched the memo.

“Thank goodness…”

Aoi and Yui comforted her from either side.

At first I thought she might be acting, but it looked like she really was relieved that the third person was alive.

In the meantime, I skimmed over the notes she’d brought. One was Raising Shellfish and Culturing Pearls, while the other was A Table of Alloys and Their Mixture Ratios.

My “Estimation” skill put them at about one gold coin apiece, but I guessed they would sell for more than that to the right statesman.

I wouldn’t have minded buying them myself, but I was interested in seeing this “dark auction,” so I agreed to accompany her.

“Recognition-inhibiting magic tools vary in price by grade. We deal in grades one through six, and the inhibition rate increases with each grade. In addition, grades four and higher can only be purchased by nobles of the old capital.”

I took Princess Menea and her escort knight to the magic-tool shop in the noble district to buy recognition-inhibiting magic tools. Yui and Aoi were waiting back at the mansion, where Arisa and the others were keeping them company.

As it turned out, the grade levels indicated what skill level of “Analyze Person” the item could block.

For example, a grade-1 tool could prevent someone with a level-1 “Analyze Person” skill from analyzing the holder.

As I learned later, an original Yamato stone’s level of “Analyze” was equivalent to grade 10, while replicas like the ones found at city gates were around grade 7.

There were a few guides for making recognition inhibitors in the magic-tool books I read in Marquis Lloyd’s library, but it would be a pain to gather all the materials. Besides, I wanted to know how good the ones sold in stores were.

I actually had plenty of recognition-inhibiting magic tools—which must have belonged to the Wings of Freedom members—from grades 4 to 9 in my spoils from the demon lord battle in Storage. However, I wasn’t going to use them this time for the same reason.

“Even a grade three would also make it more difficult for someone without the ‘Analyze Person’ skill to notice who you are, so…”

So it was a different type of item than Nana’s Amulet of Humanity.

“…it should be more than enough for a little trip to the black market.”

“How did you know?”

The shopkeeper chuckled. “Whenever there is a tournament in town, you can be sure that visiting nobles from other kingdoms and fiefdoms will want to visit the black market.”

So that was why they seemed so well stocked.

The escort knight and I chose the mask type to hide the upper half of our faces, while Princess Menea chose the veil type.

“Grade three are three gold coins apiece, so I’ll accept seven gold coins for three of them.”

“That’s quite affordable for magic tools.”

“Well, grade three and below will lose their effectiveness after a few years, and they require the wearer to refresh the magic power supply every few minutes.”

I pulled out enough money to pay for all three as I chatted with the shopkeeper.

“Wait a moment, Sir Satou. I think my guard and I will buy grade-one tools instead, please. Grade one would be a bit cheaper, correct?”

“Yes, that would be one gold coin apiece.”

Evidently, that was still too expensive for Princess Menea.

For someone raised in a royal palace, the princess was awfully frugal.

In the end, I settled things by buying three of the grade-three tools and letting them borrow the extras.

I was sure I could find plenty of uses for spare recognition inhibitors.

When we returned to the mansion, the butler had prepared a small, plain-looking horse-drawn carriage to take us to the black market.

“We’re higher than I expected.”

“Indeed. The height of a ship’s mast, perhaps?”

Partway across the long, long bridge, Princess Menea drew away from the window and pressed against me, trembling a little.

The breeze felt nice, but I guess it might’ve been difficult for anyone with a fear of heights.

Since it was a toll road, there was a relatively small number of passersby despite the convenient location.

Just as I was starting to get bored of the scenery outside, we finally made it across the bridge and entered the black-market district of Muraas, on the opposite bank from the old capital.

Most of the inhabitants were beastfolk, and I saw quite a few people wearing weapons and armor made with monster parts.

These individuals were apparently in the dangerous-sounding business of “mon hunting.”

Searching my map, I discovered there were several of them distributed among the woods and mountains to the east. Most likely, they were hunters who specialized in monsters.

“It’s quite crowded here.”

“Your Highness, please don’t show your face at the window.”

The escort knight sitting beside the coachman chided Princess Menea.

Eventually, the carriage stopped on a street lined with warehouses. The one in front of us appeared to be the site of the auction.

A group of middle-aged human men were filing inside.

…Oh?

Something was strange about them.

Their appearances were transparent, and underneath I could see the faces of white-furred tigerfolk.

According to my AR display, they were covered with some kind of illusion.

The staff checking people at the door didn’t say anything, so either they didn’t notice or a recognition-inhibiting magic tool was covering them.

As I was following the men with my eyes, the staff noticed our approach.

“Well! It looks like we have an esteemed guest here!”

Seeing my noble clothes, a short, stout man in a fancy outfit of his own approached me.

“Would you like us to prepare VIP seating for you?”

“That would be great, thanks. This is my first time here, so I’d appreciate an overview of the auction process as well.”

“Of course. You, guide this gentleman to the nobles’ seating, please. Be sure to give him a thorough explanation of the auction process, as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the short man’s command, a rather scantily clad woman who looked like a promotional model came over to escort us to the auction site in the basement.

The circular area, reminiscent of a college auditorium, was larger than one would expect a basement to be. The highest stage even looked big enough to play basketball on.

We were led to an area a bit to the right of the main stage, separated by a partition. There was a small table and a sofa that looked like it would fit about four people.

The screen was probably set up so that we couldn’t be seen from the other seats.

“Now allow me to explain. When you wish to bid on an auction, please raise these tags so that the auctioneer on the stage can see them. The white tags denote silvers, and the reflective bronze tags denote gold coins. They are used to indicate how much you would like to offer above the most recent price stated by the auctioneer.”

With this explanation, she handed me four white tags and five copper tags.

Each of the tags was labeled with the number three. That was probably my seat number.

I appreciated the explanation, but I wasn’t sure why she was so close to me. And at an angle that seemed designed to show off her cleavage, no less.

Maybe she was angling for a tip?

I would have considered folding a bill and slipping it between her breasts, but not in front of Princess Menea.

“Might I ask how one can submit an item for sale?”

Princess Menea’s eyes and voice were rather cool.

“Anyone can submit an item by paying the exhibition fee of one silver. A seventh of the winning bid will be charged for handling and taxes to the duke. Incidentally, amounts less than one silver will be considered a donation to the less fortunate.”

Fourteen percent? That seemed pretty steep. And fractions rounded down, too.

“Unidentified items can be sold, but appraised items tend to sell at a higher price. For two silvers, an expert appraiser of grade five or above is also available to write an evaluation, if you would like.”

“Thank you, but they’ve already been appraised in my home kingdom. May I submit these items?”

“Yes, of course.”

The woman rang a bell located at the edge of the VIP seats, and a waiting staff member appeared and took the items for sale in exchange for deposit receipts.

There was about an hour to wait before the auction began, but there was a show on the stage in the meantime involving beautiful girls dancing and beastfolk doing acrobatics, so I never found myself bored.

If anything, I felt like they might make more profit if they sold tickets for this show.

“Thank you for waiting, ladies and gentlemen. The auction will now begin!”

Once about 70 percent of the seats were filled, the auctioneer appeared and started the auction.

The items for sale were incredibly varied, including magic potions, mysterious old documents, art, armor, and textiles.

In addition to the goods, there were rare birds and livestock and eggs of demi-dragons like wyverns, nagas, and even a creature called a lamia.

Incidentally, there was one ancient document with the fascinating title Secrets of the Underwater City Nenelier, so I bid on it and won for seven gold coins.

It was written in a completely unfamiliar language, but Tolma or someone might be able to introduce me to a scholar who could read the text.

In addition, I got a Ghost Magic spell book and a handbook by a shady alchemist who cut magic potions with water.

There were some other items that interested me, like a unicorn horn and a lesser dragon scale, but the other bidders got furious and the prices ended up many times higher than the “Estimation” price, so I quit bidding partway through. A so-called youth-restoring potion even brought in over three hundred gold coins.

Technically, I could’ve afforded it, but it wasn’t like I wanted it that badly.

The lesser dragon scale was the only real dragon scale, with the rest being a load of fakes. My “Analyze” skill told me they were the scales of creatures like scale turtles, scale sharks, and nagas.

From what I overheard with my “Keen Hearing” skill, there were more fakes than usual this time because of rumors about the black dragon from the east.

“Next we have two memos, written in Nipanese, the mysterious language of the hero’s country. These precious articles were discovered hidden in the treasure trove of a certain royal family! Let’s start the bidding at one gold coin!”

At last, the bidding began for Princess Menea’s items.

“Number fifteen, two white tags—one gold coin and two silvers.”

Unfortunately, the bids were going up pretty slowly.

“Number forty-three, one white tag—one gold coin and three silvers.”

After the bid went up by two more white tags, I decided to place a bid of my own.

“Number three, one bronze tag—three gold coins! Any other takers? Going once, going twice… Sold to bidder number three!”

I was trying to liven up the bidding a little, but I apparently raised it too high.

“Did you do that for me, Sir Satou?”

“No, no, I was already interested in them.”

As I talked to Princess Menea, the scantily clad model brought me the exchange tickets for the items I won.

During two periodic intermissions, these could be exchanged along with money for items won.

Among the rest of Menea’s items, I bought the batch of dark stones for forty-three gold coins. My “Estimation” skill placed the market price at sixty gold coins, so it seemed like a good bargain.

The fragrant wood and the tea ware sold at high prices, but the withered bundle of soul grass and the art ended up going rather cheaply.

In the end, her items sold for a total of 102 gold coins, but after commission and taxes, she would probably get about eighty-seven gold coins and two silvers.

There was still time before the intermission, so I sat with the pleased-looking Princess Menea to observe the auction.

“Next we have a Magic Sword called an Antwing Silver Sword crafted by an artisan in the Labyrinth City Celivera. We’ll start at an astoundingly low ten coins!”

The dull-gray sword on the stage could hardly be described as “silver.”

The auctioneer called it a Magic Sword, but unlike my Magic Swords that I forged with magic circuits inside, this one’s magic seemed to be added with “Transmutation.” That was probably why the blade was shaped like an insect’s wing.

Searching through the books in Storage, I found a guide to make a sword of the same name among the materials I’d acquired from Trazayuya’s study in the Cradle. It looked to require rather large-scale equipment to make.

I was definitely interested, but the mon hunters were all bidding like their lives depended on it, so I decided not to get in their way.

There were other weapons, like a broadsword made from praying mantis monster parts and a steel fan-shaped ax, which the mon hunters snatched up as well.

These monster-part weapons made in Labyrinth City seemed to be quite popular with that group.

There were some mercenaries bidding, too, but strangely, none of the knights or nobles seemed interested. I guess they probably preferred the mithril-alloy swords made by the dwarves.

Incidentally, the monster-part weapons sold for an average of forty gold coins, about a third of the price of one mithril-alloy weapon.

“Now, this is the final item for sale before the break!”

Up on the stage was a white tiger cub— No, wait. It was a white-furred tigerfolk child.

“According to the seller, this is a former princess of the White Tiger Kingdom, which was destroyed by the Weaselman Empire!”

The crowd at the auction heated up at the host’s explanation.

“White Tiger Princess, give ’em a few words!”

“? Raahrr… .”

I was overwhelmed with sympathy for the white tiger princess as she trembled before the fervor of the crowd.

For now, I raised it to level 3 so that I could understand her and activated it.

…Hmm? Something strange is happening on my radar.

I opened my map and checked on the details.

Other beastfolk were gathering near the auction house, especially tigerfolk.

Since some of them were youths of the same species as the white tiger princess, they might be a rescue team.

A few others had infiltrated the hall besides the group of white tigerfolk men I saw at the entrance, too. There was even a squirrelfolk girl crawling along a beam near the ceiling of the stage.

As I watched, she almost lost her footing and fell, so I used Magic Hand to subtly push her back up.

For the moment, I seemed to be the only person who’d noticed, but someone else could look up and spot her at any moment.

The bidding war for the white tiger princess was heating up, already reaching twenty-nine gold coins.

Both bidders were humanfolk. One seemed to be a noble of the old capital, but the other was a noble from a place I’d never heard of, the Makiwa Kingdom. He was wearing a flashy red cloak.

The former wore an expression of pure greed, but the latter’s eyes were frighteningly bloodshot. It was as if he had some kind of grudge.

“Lady Menea, do you know of the Makiwa Kingdom?”

“Y-yes, I do. It’s a relatively large kingdom in the east. I believe the king passed away recently and was succeeded by the crown prince. It used to be a kingdom that was quite kind to beastfolk, but I’ve heard things have changed since the new king took over.”

Princess Menea chose her words carefully, but I surmised that this probably meant the kingdom was now harsh toward beastfolk.

“And do you know anything about this white tiger princess’s homeland?”

“Our kingdom has never had diplomatic relations with the White Tiger Kingdom, so I’m not clear on the details, but…”

According to the princess, the Red Lion Kingdom in the east, the Scalefolk Emirate in the north, and the White Tiger Kingdom in the south were the three major demi-human powers on the eastern end of the continent until the Gray Ratfolk Emirate appeared.

Each of these nations was very different. The haughty red lionfolk treated humans and beastfolk as equally inferior; the scalefolk formed a federation consisting of primarily the greenscale tribe, as well as Liza’s orangescale tribe and other tribes; and the white tigerfolk ruled benevolently over the other beastfolk in their kingdom.

“White tigerfolk are said to be stern but courageous, making them very dangerous enemies. However, they are also known for being very honorable. If you make friends with them once, they will treat you like a blood relative forever, and if they owe you a debt, they are sure to repay you in kind.”

Hmm. So was there a war between the White Tiger Kingdom and the Makiwa Kingdom or something?

At any rate… No matter what was going on behind the scenes, I couldn’t stomach the thought of any adults laying a hand on this small child.

If I had to, I would bid on her myself and give her to the rescue team, but it didn’t look like that was going to be necessary.

I sensed magic taking place next to the stage, so I looked up.

There was a young man producing what looked like black spheres. He seemed to be using them to put out the lights in this room.

“Fire!” A shout came from the exit as white smoke billowed throughout.

Once everyone was in a panic, the rescue team leaped in from the ventilation ducts to save the white tiger princess.

Leading the way was a white tigerfolk swordsman with a broadsword in his hands.

Through the smoke and darkness, I saw a silhouette stand in his way.

“I knew you’d show up, Gargaolon!”

“Hmph! Is your grudge so strong that you would bother to show up here yourself, Marquis?”

The Makiwa Kingdom noble and the white tiger swordsman seemed to have some kind of history. I had to adjust to the tigerfolk man’s hard-to-understand Shigan language.

The nobleman’s retinue pulled swords out of an Item Box and charged at the group of white tigerfolk swordsmen.

This was a pretty serious situation, but since it was happening on a stage and all, it sort of felt like I was just watching an action-packed play.

I might be getting a little too used to the savageness of this world.

“<This is all because of those damn weasels,>” the white tigerfolk swordsman spat in his mother tongue. One of the marquis’s retinue got up on the stage, only to be cut in two by the tiger’s broadsword.

Geh—spare me the gore, please.

I take back what I said before. Clearly, my Japanese sensitivity is still alive and well.

“Aah! Sir Satou!”

Princess Menea clung to me with a cry.

Her escort knight was standing guard in front of the nobles’ seats, but neither the white tigerfolk nor the Makiwa people seemed to have any intention of getting us involved.

“Your Highness, it’s too dangerous here.”

“S-Sir Satou, we should flee, too.”

Ignoring the escort knight’s urging, Princess Menea kept pressing against me.

“Wait a moment, please. I hear footsteps on the stairs. If we go that way now, we might get caught between the reinforcements from outside and the fighting in here.”

Even as I spoke, the guards charged in from the stairs.

Trying to assist the rescue team, I covertly used Magic Hand to roll obstacles at the feet of the guards.

Then, flames rose out of the darkness.

The Makiwa Kingdom nobleman was holding a staff with a large ruby-like jewel, which was emitting the flames.

“Oh no! That’s a Crimson Cane… A cursed staff that attracts fire monsters…”

Princess Menea explained this next to me in a whisper, but there was something else I had to do before responding.

“This is the end of the line, Gargaolon.”

“Tch! He’s going to use that here?!”

The noble’s staff glowed red, and the torchlight-size flames grew to the size of a campfire.

He was about to use a huge flame attack right here in the basement.

…What an idiot.

I used Magic Hand to grab a heavy-looking vase and smash it against the pyromaniac noble’s head, knocking him unconscious.

His level was decently high, so I doubted that would kill him.

“Whoever did that, I thank you!”

The white tigerfolk man shouted into the crowd and went back to taking out the noble’s followers.

Once the staff fell from his hands, its flame weakened and finally went out. His bright-red cloak was on fire, but a young boy who seemed to be his page was hurriedly stomping it out, so he should be fine.

Once he’d defeated the last attacker, the swordsman knelt in front of the white tiger princess.

“<I’ve come to take you home, Princess Luniya.>”

“<I knew you would come to save me, Sir Gargaolon.>”

“<Brother Gar, we must make haste.>”

“<He’s right. Those guards were one thing, but if the old-capital army arrives, we’ll have a hard time getting out in one piece.>”

“<All right, then—let’s go!>”

“““<Yes, sir!>”””

With the swordsman in the lead carrying the princess, the group of beastfolk fled, knocking over the guards as they ran.

Following them on my map, I saw that they were able to escape the district and make it safely down the river.

Once the pyro noble recovered, he gulped down a potion to heal his wounds and chased after them with his retinue in tow.

He seemed to have a serious obsession with the white tiger princess.

Later, after some more commotion, I was able to pay for and pick up the items I’d won.

On the way home in the carriage, I saw a few mon hunters being carried to a temple on wooden boards. They must have gotten caught up in the fight over the princess.

The dark auction was a little violent, but it was certainly pretty interesting. I hoped I would have a chance to come here alone sometime during my stay.

“Oh man! Japanese food!”

“Tofu, miso soup, and even natto!”

Yui and Aoi were overjoyed at the spread of typical Japanese food.

The day after the auction, I invited Princess Menea and the kids over for a farewell party for Miss Karina, who was heading to the royal capital.

The king was in the old capital, even if it was just a body double, so I thought getting an audience here would be good enough. However, it was considered important for a lord’s proxy to go to the royal capital to report, so Miss Karina had no choice but to do so.

She was taking a large aircraft from the old capital to the royal capital, so there was probably no need to worry about her safety.

Incidentally, Arisa had stumbled on the natto when she was looking for coffee beans.

“How nice, Sir Satou! I can’t believe you knew that we were departing on the same aircraft as Mistress Karina the day after tomorrow!”

Princess Menea looked delighted.

I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I hadn’t actually known that, so I just smiled back at her.

“All right, all right, that’s enough~.”

“Mm. Too close.”

Princess Menea drew closer to me as she rejoiced, but the iron-wall duo of Arisa and Mia blocked her immediately.

Generally, that would be pretty rude behavior, but since one was a former princess and the other an elf, even Princess Menea had a hard time saying anything to scold them.

“Sir Pendragon, you’re really going to have Her Highness Princess Menea sit at the same table as those beastfolk?”

“Yes, Lady Menea has given her permission.”

I politely dismissed the complaints of Miss Karina’s younger brother, Orion.

If Princess Menea had refused, I would have set up separate seats for the invited guests, but she had happily consented, so we could all eat together.

Her compliance was very helpful, since Miss Karina had insisted that she wanted Tama, Pochi, and Liza to join us.

The three of them had set up camp in front of a mountain of steaks, eagerly awaiting the start of the feast.

“Thank you all for gathering today for Lady Karina and Princess Menea’s farewell party.”

I got things started with the kind of introduction you might hear at a company party.

I’d decided on a buffet-style party in the garden so everyone could enjoy eating and chatting without formalities.

We were planning to leave the public city ourselves in six days, once we received the other scrolls I’d ordered, but Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen had promised to throw us our own farewell party then.

“This kobumaki is delicious.”

“Right? Our master’s cooking is the real deal!”

“Are you guys old farts or what? The chicken and potatoes are way better!”

Aoi and Arisa were enjoying the traditional Japanese dishes, while Yui seemed to prefer the fried food and meat skewers.

“Oh, that’s junk food. But if that’s what you like, we have chips and soda water over there, too.”

“For real?!”

“R-really?”

Yui and Aoi got teary-eyed at the taste of the potato chips and the sweet soda water.

They must have been remembering their old homes.

“This is the last hamburg steak I’ll have for who knows how long…”

As Karina finished the last of the giant heap of hamburg steaks, she let out a contented sigh.

“Karina, come with uuus?”

“Tama’s right, ma’am! Let your maid person go to the royal capital so you can travel with us and master, ma’am!”

“…Could I really?”

Miss Karina turned to me with hope sparkling in her eyes, but unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.

I had to make sure she carried out her duties as an important noble.

If Orion were an adult, she probably could have made him go instead, but it would be considered improper to send a minor as a proxy.

When Pina the maid and I shook our heads, Miss Karina slumped with disappointment.

Just then, one of the housemaids appeared with a fresh plate of hamburg steaks.

“Ah, another chance! Are you still at full power, Tama and Pochi?”

“Aye-aye, siiir.”

“Pochi is always at full power, ma’am.”

Those would be pretty cool lines if they didn’t basically mean “we’re going to binge eat.”

I’d better give them some stomach medicine later.

Miss Karina’s two escort maids were also working on dishes as they looked after their charge. This was their farewell party, too, after all.

“The tofu steak is delicious as well, I report.”

“Mm. Yummy.”

Mia had started promoting the tofu hamburg steak to the others.

Nana, her latest target, seemed to enjoy it.

“Is everything good so far?”

“Yes, this ankake sauce is quite delicious.”

“Amazing as always, master.”

Lulu and Liza showed me their dishes as they sang the food’s praises.

I didn’t want everyone to get sick of deep-fried whale, so I made a thick sweet-and-sour sauce called ankake to accompany it this time.

“Sir Pendragon, may I have a moment?”

“Yes, of course. If you’d prefer to speak alone, we can convene over there.”

Orion looked rather serious, so I invited him to the gazebo.

“Sir Pendragon, I want to know what your real intentions are.”

“…My intentions?”

Huh? Did he think I was planning to take over the territory or something?

“That’s right. Given your valor and achievements, it’s clear that you’re aiming for the seat of viceroy. A few gossipy friends of mine were saying that you might be aiming for an even higher position, sir, but I saw for myself that you had no such plans when you undertook that baptism.”

Orion fell silent and stared me right in the eyes.

I probably should have told him sooner that there was some sauce on his face.

It was definitely making it hard to take him seriously.

“However, if you intend to use Karina as a means of becoming a viceroy, I cannot allow that.”

So he was a siscon after all.

Generally, political marriages were pretty standard among nobles here. Marrying for love like in modern Japan could never be more than a dream for them.

Magistrate Nina had informed me back at my induction ceremony in the Muno Barony that marriage was nothing more than a means of deepening ties between noble houses.

“Lady Karina is quite important to you, isn’t she, Lord Orion?”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t consider their family important?”

What an impressive declaration.

“I promise you—you have no need to worry. I have no such ambitions for power. The baron and Magistrate Nina did bring up the possibility of my marriage to Lady Karina, but I have already refused.”

“What?! What is there not to like about Karina?!”

Pick a story and stick with it, please.

“It’s not that, of course. It would simply be unfair for a lowly new noble like me to be paired with someone from such noble lineage as Lady Karina.”

“R-right, that’s certainly true.”

“So please rest assured that I will never attempt to woo Lady Karina.”

“I see now. My father must be pleased to have such an honest vassal as you, Sir Pendragon.”

“That’s very kind of you to say.”

Finally, I seemed to have cleared up Orion’s suspicions.

The next day was spent preparing for Miss Karina’s journey, and in a flash the day of her departure arrived.

“Karinaaa?”

“I’ll miss you, sir.”

“Oh, you two…”

Tama and Pochi squeezed Karina tightly.

I hadn’t realized just how close this trio was. I guess they were on a similar wavelength.

Tama and Pochi started flailing around as they got squished between Karina’s enormous breasts, so I tapped her on the shoulder to suggest that she release them.

“Here, I made you a list of conversation starters. You don’t want to end up a spinster, do you?”

“A…what?”

Miss Karina blinked in confusion as she accepted Arisa’s social crib notes.

“I bequeath this stuffed animal to you, I declare.”

“Mm. Wind chimes.”

“Thank you, my friends.”

Nana’s and Mia’s gifts were very cute.

“Here, these are from Miss Liza and me. They’re pastries, so you can have a snack on the journey.”

“Oh my, pastries with nuts? I shall treasure them.”

“N-no, you should eat them before they go bad…”

It was a rare comeback from Lulu to Miss Karina’s airheadedness.

After watching this scene with a smile, I walked over to Yui and Aoi, who were waiting for the ship.

“Here, these are for you two.”

“Oh man, potato chips! And is this flask full of soda? Dude!”

“Come on, Yui, thank him properly. We’re very grateful, Sir Satou.”

Along with the sweets, I gave them each an omamori-style charm.

There was a single gold coin tucked away in each one, just in case Yui and Aoi ever got lost or anything.

“What are these?”

“I heard that the Japanese have good luck charms called omamori, so I attempted to make them for you.”

“Thank you very much. It’s wonderful.”

Aoi put the charm carefully into his pocket.

“Oh yeah? That seems kinda fishy…but I’ll take it. Thanks.”

Yui, too, accepted her charm and put it in her pouch.

Though we were saying good-bye for now, I resolved to see how they were doing when we went sightseeing in the royal capital.

Yes, Princess Menea was their guardian, but I wanted to look out for the closest thing I had to kin here.

“Sir Satou!”

Just then, Princess Menea dragged Miss Karina over to me.

“Come, Mistress Karina, give Sir Satou a farewell embrace.”

“Oh, I, um…ah!”

Karina hesitated, so Princess Menea pushed her forward.

Just like that, her voluptuous body was pressed against my chest.

Wow, that is soft.

“There!”

Menea embraced Karina and me with a bright smile.

Her chest felt pretty large for her age, too, though hers could not compare to Miss Karina’s.

Based on this scene alone, you’d think I was the protagonist of some harem series.

“Sir Satou, if you do marry Lady Karina and become a viceroy, please make me your second wife, okay?”

Menea’s voice was playful as she whispered in my ear.

I didn’t know how serious she was, but I hoped she would become good friends with Miss Karina, even if it was partly motivated by ambition.

“Excuse me! That’s way too close, even for a farewell scene!”

“Mm. Guilty.”

“Hee-hee, I’m sorry.”

At the iron-wall duo’s complaints, Princess Menea politely withdrew and apologized to them.

Miss Karina, on the other hand, was in a full-blown panic; her face was bright red and her eyes dazed, as if she was about to collapse.

Between her androphobia and her social awkwardness, that must have been too much for her to process.

Luckily, her maids came rushing over to take care of her.

“Well, have a safe trip.”

“Thank you, Sir Satou. Once you find a place to stay in Labyrinth City, please do write to me at the royal academy. I shall be sure to reply.”

“All right, I promise.”

I agreed to Princess Menea’s proposal, since that way I could also find out how Aoi and Yui were doing.

Overhearing our conversation, the revived Miss Karina came flying over.

“P-please write a letter to me, too…at Muno Castle. You simply mustn’t forget!”

“I won’t—don’t worry.”

I’d already planned to send letters to Baron Muno and Magistrate Nina once we got to Labyrinth City, so I could easily include one for her also.

“W-well then, I’ll be on my way. Satou, when you finish your business in Labyrinth City, please come back to Muno City— No, I know! I, too, shall obtain permission from Father and come to train in Labyrinth City myself!”

“Certainly. If the baron permits it, I would be happy to see you there.”

I barely disguised my surprise at her sudden declaration.

I doubted that Baron Muno would allow his precious daughter to go to such a dangerous city, but there was no point in saying that now.

Instead, I smiled warmly as Miss Karina, Princess Menea, and the others waved to us from the deck of the airship.