Chapter 6: Was It Only Natural That His Number of Fiancées Increased?
The party emerging from the Deep Labyrinth savored the outside air for the first time in a while.
“Ah! This feels amazing!”
Drua stretched both arms by the exit and took a deep breath. Grinning from ear to ear, she started touching the soil and nearby trees. After basking in the environment for a bit, humming to herself in a good mood, she walked over to Ryoji, who was tending his weapons, armor, and tools.
“Man, fresh air from nature really hits different. I just had to frolic a bit. Hey Ryoji, you haven’t forgotten that promise, right? The one about giving me lots and lots of water!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep giving you water with everything I’ve got until you shout, ‘No way , my roots will rot!'”
Ryoji used earth magic to form a container roughly the size of a twenty-five-meter swimming pool, then filled it to the brim with water magic. Betti and the others watched his work with stunned faces, the Carena with their serene expressions, and the adventurers who’d come over to see what was going on all focused their gaze on Ryoji.
Unaware of the concentrated attention, Ryoji beamed at Drua and called out.
“Come on, have a bath!”
“Are you stupid?! What is this size supposed to be?! And you can’t expect me to bathe in public with that many people around! You don’t understand a maiden’s heart! And because you’re such a natural charmer, you’ll just keep getting more wives and make the Carena lot suffer!”
“Hey, hey! Drua-chan! Keep that quiet, “
Drua and Carena had become friendly on the way back from the Deep Labyrinth, and she’d been listening to their venting about being swept along by Ryoji’s antics. To get Ryoji to reflect, she took advantage of the gathered crowd and shouted at the top of her lungs.
The ones who panicked were Carena and others. What they’d been chatting about as friendly girl talk was being exposed in front of a large crowd. They tried to stop Drua in a flurry, but they were too late , another bombshell dropped.
“Wait, what? Princess Elena is one of his fiancées, right? And there are other girls who might become fiancées too? At this rate won’t Ryoji end up with more than ten wives?”
The adventurers around them reacted in shock to Drua’s words, murmurs swelling into shouts.
“Princess Elena? Princess Elena, the one called the Smiling Saint, is Ryoji’s fiancée?”
“Come to think of it, I heard Ryoji has five fiancées and ten mistresses, and about fifty women waiting to be mistresses!”
“Unforgivable! I’ll curse him to get lost and bawl his eyes out in the Deep Labyrinth!”
Guesses, rumors, and resentful cries echoed at the dungeon entrance.
“Oh wow. Ryoji’s really popular, huh.”
“I respect Drua for calling that a case of ‘popularity.'”
Ryoji answered with a weary tone to Drua’s light remark. Laughing and watching the adventurers, Ryoji took from storage a huge canteen, a magical item developed by Reynold, packed it with a wyvern magic stone, and handed it to Drua.
“What’s this? Looks like a cheap canteen, but are you planning to use this to keep your promise? I’m gonna be seriously mad!”
“Now, now. Try it. You’ll see how amazing it is.”
Ryoji urged the angry-looking Drua to drink. She placed her mouth on the giant canteen with a sullen face. At first she sipped cautiously, but the taste was so good she couldn’t stop and just drank and drank.
“Hey, how long are you gonna keep drinking? I want to head back to the inn.”
“Wha, ? Wait, wait! What’s this taste?! It’s so good! It’s like spring snowmelt , so soft! So clear as it slides down your throat! So rich that it sinks into every corner of your body! After this, I can’t drink any other water! What kinda water did you give me?! I’m sticking with Ryoji forever!”
“What are you, some kind of critic?!”
Drua pulled her mouth away from the canteen and, with a torrent of praise and an outrageous declaration, continued.
“Oi! Another girl just fell for Ryoji!”
“Wasn’t she the one yelling about Princess Elena?”
“She’s got a cute face too!”
“See? Men need power and money to be attractive!”
“Why does Ryoji get so much attention?!”
“I’m gonna take out my anger on monsters down in the Deep Labyrinth!”
“Alright! I’m coming too! I’ll annihilate monsters up to the fifth floor!”
Drua’s confession sent the adventurers’ spirits soaring; raising their voices, they plunged into the Deep Labyrinth.
“…Right then. We’re dismissed. Report in tomorrow morning. Betti, what are your folks doing now?”
“We’ll sell the monsters we defeated to the guild. With that money we’ll buy new weapons and armor. Honestly, we’d love to keep the weapons we borrowed from the Count. And since everyone made it back safely, we want to have a celebration, “
“A celebration? Because we cleared the Deep Labyrinth? You’re not going to drink, right?”
“Huh? Yes. Ah! It’s fine! Everyone else drinks, but I don’t! I’ll turn over a new leaf from now on, so don’t worry, “
Betti, convinced he was worried about his bad drinking habits, began to answer, moved, but Ryoji lightly cut him off.
“I don’t care about that! If you’re throwing a party, invite me too!”
“Oh? You like parties, do you?”
“Of course! Events meant to be enjoyed to the fullest exist for me! I’ll make this banquet lavish!”
Ryoji clenched his fist and thrust it up, and Carena and Melta both sighed lightly and came closer.
“Ryoji-sama. We’ll handle the preparations.”
“Is that so? Would a budget of about twenty gold coins be enough?”
Handing over a pouch of gold with a wry smile at Ryoji’s still-bizarre money sense, Carena and Melta went off to secure a venue and procure food. With the two of them busy preparing, Ryoji had nothing to do, so he took Kuro, Laila, and Drua and returned to the inn for a moment.
“Ryoji. Don’t we need snacks for the banquet? Let’s use the teleportation magic circle and go pick up sweets.”
“Good idea, Laila. Ryoji-sama, I want sweets too.”
Laila’s face lit up as she begged Ryoji. Pressured by Kuro as well, Ryoji nodded, pulled a teleportation magic circle out of storage, and transferred to the mansion in the Royal Capital.
“Hey. Ryoji. That was a teleportation magic circle earlier, right? Why don’t you use teleportation magic yourself when you’ve got a space-time attribute?”
Drua, who had come to the capital with Ryoji, cocked his head and asked.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You seriously don’t know?”
Surprised, Drua launched into an explanation about teleportation magic. He told them that teleportation magic circles are magical devices developed for people who can’t use teleportation magic; five hundred years ago, those who could use teleportation simply teleported on their own, and with Ryoji’s magical capacity, he could teleport multiple people at once.
“So we don’t have to lug around magic circles? You’re pretty clued up about magic, Drua. For a tree-kid, that is.”
“What do you mean ‘for a tree-kid’?! I told you, I’m a royal of the tree-monster race! If I went all out, I’d toss Ryoji aside in an instant! …Ah. I can’t help but poke fun at Ryoji. By the way, I’m well-versed in magic because I studied a lot to fight. Want me to show you a bit?”
Drua looked nostalgic as he held his palm up.
“Earth Ball?”
“That’s right! See? You can lock a spell in place by abandoning the chant! You’re speechless at my greatness, right?”
While everyone stared at the Earth Ball Drua had fixed by abandoning the chant, Drua puffed up proudly with a smug look. Ryoji gave a mischievous grin and then created and fixed balls of every single element.
“Huh? What? What’s with all those? Every element? The chant?”
“Watch this.”
Unaware that his Earth Ball had vanished in the confusion, Drua remained dumbfounded. Ryoji, with an even more teasing smile, moved the elemental balls at different speeds, fused them together, and so on to show off.
“What the, ! Seriously, what the hell! Bragging? You’re showing off! Amazing, really!”
“There’s no need to be mad. I just wanted to surprise you a little because of that ridiculous smug look you had, Drua. I’m sorry, okay?”
Seeing Drua angrier than he’d expected, Ryoji put his hands together and apologized as if he’d gone too far. Drua turned his face away and refused to look at him, so Ryoji tried to make amends.
“As a token of apology, I’ll give you this super-delicious giant canteen. I’ll also include two dragon magic stones! It’ll let you drink water even tastier than the huge canteen I gave you earlier! Good news for the undecided, if you accept it, I’ll throw in one more dragon magic stone as a bonus!”
“No idea! Ryoji, you should reflect more! I’ll take the super-delicious giant canteen as a token of apology! So I just stick a dragon magic stone in here, right? But if you think something like this will fix my mood, Huh? What’s this? If what you gave before was the best water a magic tool can make, this is water made by the gods!”
Forgetting his earlier anger, Drua started asking all sorts of questions about how to make the super-delicious giant canteen and the magic stones.
“I see. So this magic circle brings out the deliciousness. Who designed this? Did you come up with it, Ryoji?”
“No. The basic design was made by my cute under… er, friend Reynold.”
“You were about to say ‘underling,’ weren’t you?”
Drua smiled wryly and studied the magic circle drawn on the canteen with admiration.
“Hey. Can we meet the Reynold who made this?”
“We can even meet him right now. We can teleport to the academy with the circle. Kuro, Laila , come with Drua, we’ll go meet Reynold. Go buy some sweets at the research lab or a café, whatever works. I’ll give you the money.”
“Got it. I’ll do my best and go buy it.”
When Kuro made a fist and declared her resolve, Laila also balled up both hands into fists and put on a serious face. After handing the two a pouch of gold coins and asking them to go, Ryoji took Drua and headed for the academy via the teleportation magic circle.
“Hey! Reynold, long time no see! How’ve you been? I brought someone I wanted to introduce… Oh, are you in the middle of something?”
“Yes. Just a little. Ryoji-kun, could you sit and wait for a moment?” “Yes. We’re good friends. We’re just having a small disagreement and discussing it!”
When Ryoji stepped into Reynold’s head professor’s office, it was a war zone. Charlotte and Rosa were glaring at each other with an ashen-faced Reynold sandwiched between them. Reynold, who’d seen Ryoji as a godsend at his arrival, hastily looked away when the two shot him a glare.
“Huh? What’s going on here? Are they fighting?”
“Nice to meet you. We’re very close. We just have a slight difference of opinion that we’re talking through!”
“Yes. We’re friends. For now, please sit with Ryoji.”
Charlotte and Rosa answered Drua’s murmur in unison. With their immediate reply, Drua nodded, sat down in a chair, and spoke softly to Ryoji.
“What are those two about? Is that pale-faced guy over there their boyfriend?”
“Charlotte is, but Rosa is too, apparently.”
As Ryoji took drinks and snacks out of his storage and began to relax, Drua produced a huge, incredibly tasty-looking thermos and started drinking. The two watched the showdown unfolding in front of them with keen interest, and when Drua put his mouth straight on the thermos to drink, he seemed to get an idea. He used earth magic to form a cup and began drawing a magic circle on its surface.
“What are you doing? I’ve never seen that magic circle before.”
“Oh, I was bored so I thought I’d make a cup for Drua. This magic circle incorporates ice-element magic, so it makes the water cold. By creating an air layer in the cup, the insulation is excellent. And if I draw a rune on the inside too, ”
“Sergeant. If you draw a rune on the inside as well, won’t it increase mana stone consumption?”
As Ryoji was explaining the magic circle, a voice came from behind. The two turned their faces and saw Reynold, notebook in hand, eyes shining.
“Actually, it’s the opposite. With ice magic activated from both sides, it cools faster. And because there’s air, the cold doesn’t escape, so the mana consumption is reduced. Of course, you need a control rune so it doesn’t get too cold.”
“I see. Fascinating. Conversely, if you included fire-element magic you could make a warm cup. And if you could switch between them, that would be revolutionary, right? What do you think, Sergeant? And not just cups, if you made a larger container, ”
“You two ignoring us and discussing magitech with Ryoji? Is that how it is? We were arguing because we’re worried about your overwork, you know?”
“What did Ryoji come here for? If it was to increase the head professor’s workload, I won’t forgive you.”
While Reynold and Ryoji were happily debating, Charlotte and Rosa approached from behind, radiating an aura of anger and putting them under pressure. Reynold turned pale at the two women’s expressions, and Ryoji trembled slightly.
“No! That’s not it! I just heard Drua was interested in magic circles and thought I’d introduce Reynold. Huh? Reynold’s overworked? Working too much is bad for your health. That’s it! I have a potion similar to the secret medicine I made, want to try it?”
“That’s the legendary medicine you handed out during the battle in the trial cave, right? I thought I heard the sergeant say, ‘It’s a secret recipe; I don’t even know how to make it myself’?”
“Just drink it. It’ll take the fatigue away.”
At Ryoji’s words, Reynold drank it down without hesitation. After finishing, Reynold set the container down, clenched his fists with renewed vigor, and shouted.
“Oh! I can feel strength rising from the bottom of my body! All the built-up fatigue is gone! Thank you, Sergeant!”
“Yeah. Now that I know it works, I can sell it.”
High on energy, Reynold began bouncing around, and delighted at finally having a human test subject, Ryoji beamed. Charlotte and Rosa closed in.
“All right, you can sit in seiza for two hours. Reynold, think about your behavior. And Ryoji, thank you for using the secret potion on the head professor.”
“But human experimentation is unacceptable. You’ll do seiza with us.”
Charlotte ordered Reynold to sit in seiza with a frosty expression. Rosa smiled while holding Ryoji’s shoulder so he couldn’t run away. Reynold looked utterly despondent, and Ryoji sat in seiza, regretting that he’d failed to escape.
“I never thought anyone other than Carena or Melta would be made to sit in seiza.”
“We never expected to command Ryoji-sama Uchino, hero of Drugul, to sit in seiza either.”
Rosa handed him a cup of tea with an embarrassed smile. Ryoji set out the sweets he’d brought as gifts on the table, offered them to Charlotte, Rosa, and Drua, and then began eating himself.
“…You’re Drua, the royal-class tree monster from five hundred years ago? It’s my first time meeting a royal-class, and a monster from five hundred years ago…”
“You bet! I’m Drua, the royal-class everyone’s buzzing about right now! Don’t get it into your head I’m Ryoji’s wife or anything! I just got curious about the interesting magic circle that Reynold-san, sitting there in seiza, drew, so I figured I’d come ask him to show me.”
Charlotte and Rosa were astonished by the résumé Drua started giving. When they heard she’d come to see Reynold in the middle of things, a black aura practically radiated off them, but when Drua explained she was a monster and didn’t care for human likes or dislikes, their faces relaxed with obvious relief.
“Drua-chan, you’re knowledgeable about magic circles?”
“Of course! ‘Knowledgeable’ doesn’t even begin to cover it! I don’t know if that guy over there is a genius or a prodigy, but there’s no way a random upstart human could beat a royal-class!”
At Rosa’s question Drua snorted at Reynold, then began to project a magic circle into empty air. Reynold froze completely at a usage of a magic circle that didn’t appear in any texts. Charlotte and Rosa continued to stare at the circle with shocked expressions.
Drua, who’d been keeping this as a trump card to surprise Ryoji, looked thoroughly smug as she surveyed everyone, and, puzzled that Ryoji’s expression didn’t change at all, she launched into a spirited tirade.
“How’s that! Even Ryoji couldn’t pull this off, right? Lost for words, are you? Sure, you can do silent casting, use all attributes, and have boundless mana, don’t get cocky about it… Ah, forget it. I’m starting to feel kind of empty. Honestly. What a busted body I’ve got.”
While Drua was sulking to herself over Ryoji’s ridiculous specs, Ryoji, who’d been staring hard at the magic circle, asked a question.
“Hey. The one you just made is a giant canteen magic circle, right? If you touch it with a hand holding a magic stone, will water come out?”
“Wanna try?”
Drua answered lightly to Ryoji’s question. Ryoji, looking pleased, projected the same magic circle. Drua, who’d expected him to touch her circle, looked stunned. Unaware of her expression, Ryoji expanded multiple circles and started muttering to himself.
“I see. The trick is projecting the circles so they’re visible. Maybe you could lay them out like this for teleportation magic, too?”
“W-wait! W-wait a sec! What the hell are you?! Seriously, what are you?! That’s my trump card! I only showed it because I didn’t think anyone could copy it easily! And you, at a single glance, reproduce it, and then improve on it?!”
Stomping her foot, Drua vented her helpless anger at Ryoji, who’d casually projected multiple magic circles.
“By the way, what was the fight with Reynold about?”
“We were arguing over whether to stop development immediately and get him hospitalized, or wait until things settled down and then hospitalize him. Thanks to you, Ryoji-kun, we all agreed on ‘Hospitalize him before he hears Ryoji-kun’s story!’ Thank you so much.”
“How terrible!”
Charlotte answered Ryoji’s casual question with a grin he’d never seen before. Drua, who’d been watching Ryoji’s theatrically feigned dejection, suddenly looked like she’d made up her mind about something.
“All right! It’s decided! I’m going to develop magic circles and magical tools together with Reynold! We’ll make something that absolutely won’t lose to anything Ryoji makes! I’m ditching Ryoji!”
“That’s generous both as headmistress and as an individual, but is Ryoji really okay with that? He’s a valuable person as an earl, isn’t he? And a royal-class, too?”
Watching Drua shouting excitedly, Charlotte asked to be sure. Ryoji did feel like keeping her nearby as a magic-circle specialist, but thinking of Sephilia as a whole, he decided it would be better for her to exercise her talents at the academy and gave his permission.
“That’s fine. Don’t let her beat you, Headmistress Charlotte. And you too, Rosa. If you’re not careful, she’ll be taken from under you.”
Charlotte tilted her head in puzzlement, and Ryoji pointed to where Reynold and Drua were.
“Wha, !”
Charlotte and Rosa, voices harmonizing in shock, looked over to see Reynold and Drua arguing so close in front of the magic circle their cheeks were almost touching.
“Isn’t this spot blocking the flow of mana? How about like this?”
“I see! So that’s why the expected output didn’t appear. As I thought! Master!”
Reynold was looking at Drua with sparkling eyes, and Charlotte and Rosa, feeling a multi-faceted sense of alarm, left their greetings to Ryoji half-finished and sprinted over to the two of them.
Drua was hired by the academy as a temporary advisor, and the faculty approved that she would share a room with Charlotte. At first there was a suggestion to remodel a research lab inside the academy for her to live in, but the headmistress vetoed it, long story short, they could only picture one person constantly hanging around there, namely Reynold.
By the way, Reynold wasn’t present when they were deciding Drua’s lodgings, he was engrossed in his research. After the meeting he heard about it and looked disappointed, but when Charlotte and Rosa shot him a glare he quietly accepted the decision.
“Drua’s staying at the academy, right? Aren’t you coming to the banquet?”
“I only ever feel anything tastes good when it’s water, so there’s no point in me going to a banquet. Besides, living in Ryoji’s domain sounds less fun than working on developments here at the academy. I’ll be improving these magic-circle designs until Reynold-han, who’s convalescing here, comes back.”
Drua answered while gathering the scattered parchments of magic circles. Reynold had regained his strength and shaken off some of his fatigue thanks to Ryoji’s makeshift restorative potion, but at the insistence of Charlotte and Rosa it had been decided he should spend a month in the hospital, half rest, half vacation, half preparation for the wedding.
“So Reynold’s getting married. The headmistress will take time off for the wedding too, right?”
“Of course. I’ll be taking a full month off with Charlotte and Rosa to rest. After all, I was working toward getting marriage leave in the first place.”
In the chief professor’s office, Reynold happily answered Ryoji’s congratulations, but when he noticed Ryoji’s face had gone serious he cocked his head.
“Is something the matter, Sergeant?”
“Didn’t Rosa’s name come up too?”
“Yes. I’m marrying Rosa as well. Is that a problem…? Ouch! Sergeant! That hurts!”
“Die, you blissfully happy couple! I’m not even married yet, why does someone like you get to marry first? And two people? That’s just too enviable!”
Ryoji shouted as he tried to crush Reynold’s head in his hands.
“Ouch! It hurts! Sergeant, you’re far more impressive than I am. Besides Carena and Melta, aren’t there others? There’s a rumor you’re going to marry Sophia and Princess Elena, too. And a recent paper said you could build a whole town made up of mistresses and mistress-candidates! Ow ow ow!”
“Which newspaper is that? I’ll go and give them a piece of my mind!”
Ryoji paid no mind to Reynold thrashing about as he held on, and the women chimed in with barbs.
“Come on, Ryoji. If you’ve laid hands on them, you can’t chicken out, you’ve got to take responsibility all the way.”
“That’s right, Ryoji. You’re an earl; you should be careful around here.”
“There were hot looks when you were at the academy too, right? Huh? You didn’t notice?”
Taken aback by the unexpected onslaught from the women, Ryoji stammered in a flustered defense.
“No, no! That’s information I didn’t have!”
“Then what about the rumor about marrying Sophia?”
“That’s a lie!”
Ryoji denied it outright to Charlotte’s question, but Rosa, who had been listening nearby, let out a great sigh and spoke up to confirm.
“Hey, Ryoji. You say it’s a lie, but you did give Sophia a present, didn’t you? I’m close with Sophia lately, so I heard about it. You sent her a necklace designed like sweets, right? Sophia keeps looking at that necklace with this grin, sighing, and the secretary even said she saw her rolling around on the sofa.”
“I did give presents, but I gave them to you and Headmistress Charlotte too.”
“When you gave them to us, you handed them over at the academy when everyone was there, right? What about Sophia?”
Rosa carefully explained that the situation was different, and Ryoji finally seemed to notice the distinction, wearing a troubled expression.
“What happened?”
When the Carena group preparing the banquet saw Ryoji return with a troubled face they called to him.
“Hey! Kuro. Laila. What happened to Ryoji-sama? I’ve never seen him so quiet.”
“We don’t know either. He came back after buying sweets and he was like that.”
“Yeah. When I went back to the meeting place, Ryoji was in that state, and when I asked him what was wrong he only replied ‘it’s nothing.'”
Carena, feeling uneasy at Ryoji’s unusual behavior, entrusted the preparations to Melta and knocked on the door to call him in.
“Ryoji-sama? Is something the matter? May I come in?”
She opened the door cautiously and found Ryoji face-down on the desk. With only his face turned toward Carena, he asked in a murmur.
“Hey. Carena, did you know about Reynold getting married?”
“Of course. I received notice from Headmistress Charlotte and from Reynold himself.”
Carena replied as if it were only natural, and Ryoji shot up, letting out a startled cry.
“Really!? I wasn’t told about that!?”
“I reported it, you know? I thought he went to the Royal Capital to convey his congratulations on the marriage.”
Carena answered hesitantly to a stunned Ryoji, and Ryoji sat back down and tried to remember. About two weeks after he’d been assigned to the fiefdom, he’d received a letter from Reynold reporting his marriage, and he’d reported that up the chain. Reynold had said, “Alright! I’ve got a fun idea!” and then, according to the letter, had actually been making something in his workshop.
“Huh? Me? I made something in a workshop, oh! I remember! That’s right! I definitely made something for Reynold! I was so busy I forgot about it.”
“What did you make for Reynold?”
Carena asked, surprised, as Ryoji scratched his head sheepishly and pulled a teleportation magic circle out of storage.
“What’s this all of a sudden? Where are you going with a teleportation circle?”
“I have to finish what I started. Reynold and the others’ new residence.”
“Huh? W-wait! Ryoji-sama!”
Ryoji said that, leapt onto the teleportation circle, and headed to the partially constructed mansion before Carena could stop him.
“How was it? Huh? Where’s Ryoji-sama? Carena?”
“Huh? Ah! That’s it! Ryoji-sama is acting weird!”
“He’s been weird for a while now, hasn’t he? What are you talking about?”
“No, it’s not that!”
Carena returned to the banquet hall with a face that mixed shock and stupefaction and doubled it. Melta called to her with a puzzled look, and Carena snapped back to herself and began talking a mile a minute.
“Ryoji-sama is building Reynold’s mansion. And he’s building it with magic! When I asked him how much the mansion would cost, he said, ‘It’s free, because I’m making it!’ That’s not how it works! If he meant ‘it’s free because I made it and so it can’t have a price,’ I’d understand!”
“Calm down, Carena.”
“The present is on the same level as what the royal family would give… “
Carena muttered with distant eyes.
“I’m back! How’s the party prep going? Huh? What’s wrong?”
“I have a question for Ryoji-sama.”
When Ryoji returned to the banquet hall, Melta told him to take a seat. Ryoji, who only had the faintest inkling of what she meant, waited for her question.
“You’re giving Professor Reynold a mansion as a wedding present?”
“Ah! You’re asking about that huh? What? I thought you’d known about that. But yeah, I finished it. I think Reynold will be over the moon, he’ll be writhing in delight in a few days, I reckon.”
Ryoji answered with a relieved smile when Melta’s question turned out to be about that.
“Writhing in delight in a few days?”
“Yeah! I put a research lab under the house with the latest gear, everything the idiot could ever want. But to get into the lab you have to get points from Charlotte and Rosa.”
With a mischievous look on his face, Ryoji left Carena and Melta asking for details.
“…I see. From their perspective, that’s an incredible mansion.”
“Right? I worked imagining Reynold squirming with joy. It was worth the effort.”
Seeing Carena’s and Melta’s wry smiles, Ryoji was in a good mood, and he himself began helping with the banquet preparations.
“Today we celebrate the conquest of the Deep Dungeon! Eat and drink your fill! From now on, the dungeon’s operations will be entrusted to those who provided important information and to Betti and the others who dove to the deepest floor with me. Also, we’ll rebuild the guild branch in six months. And I’ll raise the buyback price by ten percent.”
The announcement about the purchase price directly affecting their income drew cheers from the adventurers.
He went on to say the new building would house a clinic, a weaponsmith, an armorer, and an item shop. There would also be a training ground and a research facility. For those who retire from adventuring, positions like clerical work and instructor roles would be prepared based on their contributions to the Deep Dungeon.
“Listen up! Earn as much as you can, get information and don’t die! Those who do their best, even after they retire as adventurers, I’ll take care of!”
Ryoji’s declaration brought a huge cheer from the gathered adventurers. Once the toast was called, everyone surged toward the plentiful food and drink.
“Count! Are you drinking? Of course not, you’re a child. Well then, let’s toast with fruit juice!”
“Truly, we’re grateful! A fine building will be built on the former site of the guild branch!”
“Drink up, Count!”
“The Deep Dungeon will be an important part of the fief’s management going forward. Your cooperation is appreciated!”
Ove, the guild’s vice-captain, expressed his thanks. An adventurer nearby handed Ryoji a glass of fruit water, and he raised it with a delighted look.
Ryoji’s reply was met with raised mugs and shouts of encouragement from Ove and the other adventurers, and Ove raised his voice to address the gathered crowd.
“Hey! The Count went to the trouble of preparing all this food, so don’t leave any! There’s still extra booze the guild brought! Stuff yourselves so you’ve got enough for tomorrow too!”
“Gahaha. Of course! Still, the Count’s a good guy, huh! When I heard he’d gotten more wives and mistresses, I thought about slugging him… Gyaa!”
“Don’t you dare talk about that! Just so you know, I don’t have a single mistress!”
One of the adventurers, meat in hand, came over to Ryoji and shouted. At first Ryoji listened merrily, but when the topic turned to his love life he hit the adventurer with a toned-down Water Ball to force him quiet. Seeing that, Melta and Carena slowly closed the distance and began to question him.
“You always get so worked up when women’s topics come up, Ryoji-sama, don’t you?”
“Ah! I thought so too. You’re hiding something, right? What are you hiding?”
“There’s nothing at all! When I went to the Royal Capital nobody told me I was supposed to marry anyone besides Carena and Melta!”
“Who else besides Elena? Sieve and Kuro are fine, but Laila? But Laila’s a royal beast type… Ryoji-sama. Why don’t you come clean and confess?”
“Now, now. Let’s put that aside and drink.”
Carena and Melta inched closer and pressed him, so Ryoji offered them the drinks nearby and steered the conversation away.
The diversion miraculously worked and the three enjoyed their chat for a while, but then Carena and Melta approached with flushed faces and leaned against Ryoji. He looked pleased by their boldness, but the sudden momentum sent all three of them sprawling.
“Hey! I’m happy, but this feels different than usual. Are you drunk?”
“Carena drank a ton, so she might be d-drunken nya. I’m not d-drunken at all, nya? So, who was that marriage partner you mentioned earlier, nya? What did you say! Nyan nyan. Purr purr nya.”
“There’s no way I’m drunk. Shall we continue that story about you having ten marriage partners? Alcohol is delicious, isn’t it. So it’s me and Melta and Sieve and Elena and Kuro and Laila and Drua and who else was it? This drink is so good! Charlotte’s out, and Elisabeth paired up with Orlando… Ha! Could it be Marco?”
Melta slurred suspiciously, while Carena’s tone sounded steady but her words were a mess. The common thread was that both were in full clingy mode, interrogating him.
“Come on. Ryoji-sama! Just confess already… ugh, I feel gross.”
“Now, now! Down another one! Sophia’s a good girl, you know. Now, gulp!”
“Wait!? Melta! No! Go to the bathroom! Carena, don’t offer alcohol to a kid!”
Melta, who had straddled Ryoji and was trying to interrogate him with unfocused eyes, froze; her face gradually went pale and she began to sway while still holding his arm. Ryoji frantically looked to Carena for help, but she was looming forward with a cup in one hand and a bottle of alcohol raised in the other, no rescue was coming.
“There’s no choice! It’s an emergency.”
With both of his arms held and unable to move, Ryoji activated a teleportation magic circle while still holding Melta, teleported to his room, took her to the bathroom and tended to her, cast healing and purification magic, and laid her down on the bed.
“That was improvised, but I managed to deploy the circle properly. Glad I kept a teleportation circle in my room just in case.”
After confirming Melta was feeling better, Ryoji returned to the banquet hall. The place that should have been lively was strangely quiet, and when Ryoji stepped in, tilting his head in confusion, it was absolute chaos.
“Huh? What happened?”
“Ryoji-sama. Where did you go? You disappeared with Melta all of a sudden and we were terrified. So who is it? Who are you supposed to marry aside from us? Could it be Sophia? Correct! I knew it. Those who guessed right should drink this!”
At Ryoji’s voice Carena hugged him with a smile. She still seemed drunk, her tone was steady but her actions were nonsense, and she handed Ryoji a cup and urged him to drink.
“Ugh! This is alcohol, right? Looks pretty strong.”
“H-hey… Count, don’t drink that…”
Ove, who had collapsed in the back, managed to stand and spoke to Ryoji. He’d been drinking while watching Ryoji and the others in the corner, and suddenly noticed Carena alone. After looking around for a bit she came over and, asking ‘Do you know Ryoji-sama?’, began offering him alcohol.
“That liquor was the guild’s high-proof stuff, definitely not meant to be drunk neat… I’ll give them credit for not forcing it on those who said they couldn’t drink…”
Ove couldn’t finish his sentence and crumpled to the ground, motionless. Watching the fallen Ove and a perfectly content Carena, Ryoji sighed and continued attending to Carena, keeping her close until she fell asleep.
“I’ve been told everyone woke up safely, and Ove was extremely grateful. Also, the guild’s placed a huge order for the antidote. I figure they’ll use them for dungeons, but what do you think, Carena? For hangovers, maybe?”
“Please forget it. I truly don’t remember recommending alcohol. It all started because Ryoji-sama made us drink that stuff in the first place!”
Ryoji showed Carena the guild’s order form, and she protested with a flushed face. It turned out the trouble had begun because she drank the liquor Ryoji had used without diluting when he tried to cover things up.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t realize it was that strong. Still, Melta was so cute. Say it again? ‘Goro-goro nyan’?”
“I won’t. I didn’t say that. Forget it. I wouldn’t say something like that.”
Melta, cheeks red, protested at Ryoji’s leering grin. The two endured his teasing for a while, but when something caught their attention the women formed a huddle and began whispering.
“Hey? Being excluded and whispered about makes me uneasy.”
“It’s fine. Give us a moment. Okay? Laila said to Ryoji-sama..”
“What!? You can’t say that!? That’s embarrassing!”
“At that timing…”
“Do you think it’s okay with Ryoji as the target?”
“No problem. We’ve got a secret plan. With Melta’s help…”
Bits of conversation floated out from the circle of women and piqued Ryoji’s interest. Laila, who’d been watching for just that moment, stepped forward as he instinctively started to back away.
“W-Want to touch my tail?”
“Huh? Can I? While you’re like that? Seriously!? I’ll touch it! I’m touching it!”
Ryoji reached into his storage to pull out a mithril comb for grooming, but Melta slipped around behind him and locked him in a hold.
“Huh? What? Why are you restraining me? What’s going on?”
Ryoji was baffled as he enjoyed the pleasant pressure against his back, only to be suddenly bound. Melta leaned to his ear and murmured.
“This is about Ryoji-sama getting another fiancée, right? It’s about Sophia, isn’t it?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
Ryoji tried to dodge the subject, but realizing the looks on everyone’s faces left no escape, he began to cast a teleportation spell.
“Melta! Don’t let him get away!”
“Huh? Wasn’t the hold enough? Ryoji-sama! Don’t run!”
“No way! I’m out of here!”
“Now! Melta! Use the secret plan!”
Carena judged that Ryoji would flee if the magic circle completed and barked the orders. Melta steeled herself and whispered softly into Ryoji’s ear.
“Ryoji-sama. P-please don’t go, nyan. Please listen to me, nya.”
The forming magic circle dissipated into mist, and the area fell silent. Melta peered at Ryoji’s face and there was an expression of pure emotion.
“Oh…! Drunk Melta is nice, but the power of being whispered to in nyan-speech with a shy face… I could eat five bowls of rice. Melta. I can’t hide anything from your nyan-speech. I won’t run or hide, I’ll tell you everything.”
“What!? Because of that!?”
Laila couldn’t help but blurt that out at Ryoji’s enlightened expression and determined tone. Ryoji, getting passionate, began to explain.
“Because! The intellectual beauty Melta, she wasn’t even drunk and she spoke nyan—! ‘Please don’t go, nyan’ and ‘Please listen to me, nya’, I was so moved I felt like I’d ascend to heaven. Can I have it again? Please?”
“N-no. Absolutely not. Don’t say any more.”
While Melta let go of the hold and covered her face, curling up in mortification, Carena wrote in her notebook: “Ryoji-sama likes nyan–nya talk.”
“Now, to the main topic. Are you okay, Melta?”
“I’m fine now. Don’t worry about me. If I remember too much I’d roll around in embarrassment.”
Melta managed to regain her composure and handed the conversation back to Carena.
“Then, Ryoji-sama, a question. The strange behavior you’ve been showing lately, is it because of the Sophia matter?”
“Ugh! Y-yeah. It made the front page of the capital’s paper, so I haven’t even been to the lab.”
“I thought so. Sophia contacted me in tears.”
Carena sighed at Ryoji’s admission, confirming she knew about Sophia. She went on to say that aside from that, many marriage proposals had come in from nobles, wealthy merchants, retired adventurers, various guilds, and the church, and that once the domain management settled down, she planned to begin interviewing them.
“Wha, ! I didn’t hear anything about this! Huh? An interview?”
“Yes. An interview. And of course it’s only natural that Ryoji-sama doesn’t know. We told everyone who applied, ‘If you tell Ryoji-sama about this, Princess Elena and we will crush you,’ so, ”
Carena explained with a composed face, and Ryoji’s expression turned to one of shock. Seeing him like that, Carena smiled wryly and continued.
“Ryoji-sama is a hero of Drugul. Do you understand that? I’m not saying you can’t speak to girls, but please think carefully before giving gifts. We agree with the Sophia matter, so that’s fine. But depending on the woman’s position, things can get complicated, so if you want to increase your number of fiancées, consult us beforehand.”
“Wha, ! W-wait! This is moving way too fast, I can’t keep up!”
“It’s only natural that Ryoji-sama will gain more fiancées.”
Carena’s rules about his relationships left even Ryoji bewildered, but when he looked at the faces around him, it seemed increasing his fiancées wasn’t really a problem.
“So I was just worrying for nothing, then.”
He let out a light laugh and a sigh as he sank back into his chair. Carena and the others watched him with amused expressions, but then, as if remembering something, they suddenly became busy and spoke up in a flurry.
“ Ryoji-sama. You gave rings to us, but you haven’t given any to Sieve or Kuro, right? Please hurry and prepare them, including Sophia’s.”
“Huh? But Sieve hasn’t given her answer yet, right? Isn’t this rushing things?”
Ryoji tilted his head at Carena’s flustered tone. They told him Princess Elena would arrive in a week. The engagement announcement would be made the moment she arrived. When an engagement to a member of the Royal family is announced, you can’t become engaged again for a year afterward. That would mean Sieve, Kuro, and Sophia wouldn’t be able to get engaged until after Elena’s wedding, and the papers might make a big, scandalous fuss about it.
“Ryoji-sama is still a minor, so if marriage waits until he’s an adult, it’ll be more than two years of waiting. You don’t intend to make them wait that long, do you? Then please buy the rings as soon as possible.”
“O-okay. At this point it’s basically expected that I make a decision! Got it! I’ll go buy them with Sieve right now! Oh, Laila, do you want one too?”
Ryoji jumped up in a panic and asked Laila, half-joking. Though she was a humanoid monster and everyone acknowledged their good relationship did not necessarily mean marriage, all eyes turned to Laila. She was eating sweets with Kuro and answered Ryoji’s question lightly.
“Huh? I don’t need a ring. It’s a betrothal ring, right? I’d rather have sweets than something like that. Besides, we already made the betrothal promise.”
“I didn’t catch the last part, but Laila doesn’t want a ring, okay. Got it. I’ll take you to the capital for all-you-can-eat sweets.”
Ryoji, who couldn’t quite hear what Laila said in a small voice as she blushed, asked again, but she didn’t seem willing to say more. Resigned, Ryoji activated a teleportation magic circle and headed for the Drugul mansion.
“Yo! I’m home!”
“Welcome back, Ryoji-sama. A sudden visit, what brings you here?”
Sieve greeted Ryoji as he returned via the teleportation circle. When Sieve first saw him she lit up with a bright smile, but she immediately turned away and put on a cold, distant attitude.
“What’s wrong, Sieve? Are you mad about something?”
“I’m not mad… No. I’m not angry at all. Ryoji-sama should finish his business and go back to his fiancées in the capital or the territories as soon as possible!”
While Ryoji was bewildered by Sieve’s sudden change in mood, the assistant head maid approached and spoke to him.
“Welcome back, Ryoji-sama. Since she saw the newspaper sent from the capital about a week ago, Head Maid Sieve has been in a foul mood. For a while her eyes were bright red. I think her sudden change is because of that.”
“Wha, hey! Mel! That’s not true. It’s not like that! I’m not crying or anything!”
Betrayed by the woman called Mel, Sieve’s face went beet red as she denied it, then she ran off with tears welling in her eyes.
“Sieve!”
Ryoji hurried to chase after her, but Mel stopped him.
“What brings you back today? May I ask the reason?”
“Ah. Today I’m planning to go to the jewelry shop with Sieve to buy a ring.”
“How wonderful. For Sieve, who’s been depressed after seeing the paper, I was planning to grab Ryoji-sama by the collar and give him a good grilling soon.”
“I came to make the vague engagement talk clear. Please, try to soften the atmosphere. I won’t let Sieve be unhappy.”
Ryoji, having explained himself to Mel, who had been closing in with a black aura and had begrudgingly forgiven him, was about to dash off after Sieve when a voice called from behind.
“Miss Sieve really is working so hard thinking only about Ryoji-sama. After she read the paper she smiled sadly and said, ‘If I, as a weaponsmith’s daughter wants to stay near Ryoji-sama, I have to do my best as head maid.’ Please understand her feelings.”
“Got it! You can leave it to me! Oh! And from this moment on, Mel is the head maid! I’ll take Sieve with me, so I leave Drugul and the garrison mansion in your hands!”
“Understood. Leave everything else to me.”
Mel accepted Ryoji’s words with a graceful motion.
“Sieve. So you were here.”
Ryoji found Sieve in the flower beds out in the garden. She’d been staring at the flowers sadly, but when she noticed Ryoji she wiped her tears and forced a smile.
“Ryoji-sama. I apologize for earlier. I won’t make such a mistake again. I have work to do, so I must take my leave.”
“Wait a moment! Listen to me! I’ve come to take you as my fiancée, Sieve.”
“YOU CAME HERE TO TAKE ME AS YOUR FIANCEE?”
Grasping Sieve’s arm as she tried to retreat into the mansion, Ryoji told her why he’d come. Sieve listened to him with a puzzled expression, but when she understood she became flustered and her speech broke into halting words.
“Eh? I’m the weaponsmith’s daughter. Ryoji-kun became a count, didn’t he?! Things are different from back then! There’s a difference in status, we can’t possibly get married! That’s why I decided to do my best as head maid! Don’t make me keep dreaming like this!”
Sieve didn’t even notice she’d slipped back into casual speech. Ryoji closed the distance and whispered in her ear.
“Tell me if you want to marry me. I’ll say it again. Sieve. Please marry me. I’ll make you happy, I promise.”
Feeling the sincerity in Ryoji’s voice, Sieve nodded repeatedly, huge tears welling in her eyes as she pressed her trembling lips together. Ryoji wiped her falling tears with a handkerchief and then spoke softly.
“We’ll go buy an engagement ring right now. Okay?”
“Yeah! Of course! Even if this was a joke you can’t take it back now! Ryoji-kun, you’re responsible for this until the end!”
Sieve’s face flushed scarlet as she beamed a grin in full bloom. Ryoji nodded at her and, feeling natural, pulled her into an embrace.
“Woooo!”
“We did it!”
“If only my boyfriend had that kind of backbone.”
“Alright! Now shove him down!”
“Go for it, Count!”
“Young people are wonderful.”
“Today’s a feast, so finish up work early!”
“If it’s a feast, leave it to me , the butcher!”
The moment Sieve and Ryoji embraced, cheers erupted from the windows and around corners where people had been hiding. Flustered and clinging to Ryoji, Sieve tried to pull away, her whole body bright red, and scolded the onlookers.
“What are you peeking at?! Get back to work! Hey! Where did you hear this from?! Huh? From the start? And Mel-san and even the butchers who come and go…?”
“Sorry to interrupt. Also, I’ve been ordered to be head maid. It seems Sieve has been sent off. But since she’s pitiful, Sieve-san, go buy your ring with Ryoji-sama.”
Mel approached the two of them with a look of genuine happiness and spoke to Sieve. Embarrassed, Sieve hid behind Ryoji and Mel gave her a light push as if to say she could leave the rest to them.
“Everyone. Thank you for your congratulations! I’m off to buy a ring with the newly fired Sieve. Finish today’s work to the bare minimum. Consider it a little share of my happiness! Throw yourselves into the feast!”
Ryoji laughed as he handed Mel a pouch of gold coins, then took Sieve and headed for the jeweler’s.
“Let’s go to the jewelry shop right away.”
Arm in arm, Sieve and Ryoji walked, looking like an adorable young couple to the residents of Drugul. Sieve’s earnestness was well known in the town and in the garrison, and those who knew she’d been acting out of love for Ryoji waved happily at the pair; older women pressed handkerchiefs to their eyes as they blessed them.
Basking in the townsfolk’s congratulations, Sieve blushed and waved back or cried along with them, but once they moved into a quieter street Sieve hesitantly spoke up.
“Hey, Ryoji-kun. Is that romance with Miss Sophia that was in the paper true?”
Ryoji explained the whole situation. Hearing what he’d done, Sieve put a hand on her hip with an exasperated look, let out a sigh, and began to scold him.
“If someone you like gives you a present, anyone could get the wrong idea! Especially you , you’re Drugul’s hero and now a count. It’s fine to talk to girls, but you must never just go handing out presents so easily!”
“Right. Carena and the others really laid into me about that… I’ll be careful not to let anyone get the wrong idea again.”
“Really? You promise?”
At Ryoji’s words, Sieve wore an expression of doubt. Ryoji’s face went a little flustered, but Sieve’s eyes were laughing; when she realized he was joking she gave a wry smile.
“Well now. Ryoji-sama. Long time no see.”
“Hey there. Business seems as brisk as ever.”
When Ryoji and Sieve entered the jewelry shop, the shopkeeper, a man, greeted them. He was the sort of merchant who seemed to have an information network that made you wonder where he’d gotten his tips , the textbook example of a businessman.
“Are you here to buy an engagement ring for Miss Sieve?”
“As expected of you. Yes. Could you bring out a few rings that might suit her?”
At Ryoji’s request the shopkeeper produced three rings from a display case in the back. Each was a masterpiece centered on a magic stone; they clearly showed this was a high-class store.
“How about this one? The central gem is a magic stone from a rampaging horn-ox , it changes color depending on the angle of the light. It’s not a magecraft item like last time, so the price is more modest.”
“W-wait. Ryoji-kun, this is too expensive. It wouldn’t suit a commoner like me. And I don’t want to get something pricier than what Carena or Melta got…”
Sieve tried to refuse at the sight of the shopkeeper’s extravagant rings, but the shopkeeper cut her off and, with an elegant motion, began explaining the prices.
“This one is less expensive than the rings given to Carena-sama and Melta-sama. Think of it as roughly the same price as the strength-enhancing bracelet you’ve been wearing , about fifty gold coins.”
“Wha—? Ryoji-kun? The strength bracelet was expensive? You said ‘sorry it’s cheap’ when you gave it to me!”
Sieve cried out, shocked at the price the shopkeeper mentioned, staring down at the strength bracelet she was wearing.
“Well, it was cheaper compared to the rings I gave Carena and Melta. By the way, I’m not telling you how much those two rings cost. Now then. Besides Sieve’s, I’d also like to buy rings for Kuro and Sophia, is that alright?”
“That’s not recommended. Kuro might be fine if you give her some popular sweets from the capital along with it. As for Sophia, she’ll accept it with a smile, but she’ll be hurt in secret.”
Sieve, who had overheard the conversation between Ryoji and the shopkeeper, turned to Ryoji with an angry look.
“No way! You have to come buy them with me! If you do something so insincere, the god Iorus will be mad!”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
When Ryoji tilted his head at her protest, the shopkeeper added an explanation. Engagement rings are normally bought by the couple together; it’s unusual to buy one alone and present it.
“That was close… I almost bought and handed them over. So I should come with you to pick them out, right?”
“That’s right! If someone gave me a ring they bought alone, I’d be sad too.”
Conceding after receiving rebukes from both Sieve and the shopkeeper, Ryoji quickly surrendered and told them he’d get permission before buying anything.
“All right. We’ll size Miss Sieve’s engagement ring to fit in about three hours. Would you like to purchase anything else? From what Miss Sieve said today, Carena and the others worked hard as well. Perhaps you’d like to give them something as a token of appreciation?”
“You’re something else. I’ll play along , we’ll be indebted to you for a while yet.”
Ryoji gave a wry smile at the shopkeeper’s knack for business. He then purchased some of the necklaces and other accessories the shopkeeper had brought out.
“I’m back. I managed to buy the engagement ring with Sieve. She says she’ll come to the provincial capital after she finishes handing things over. Now we still need rings for Kuro and Sophia, right?”
“I’m glad you remembered. That means more to me than getting sweets.”
Ryoji reported back and told them he’d go buy rings for Kuro and Sophia as well. Kuro, expressionless as ever, nonetheless sounded pleased. When Ryoji said he would tell Sophia about the engagement, Carena and the others said they wanted to come along too.
“I don’t mind, but why now? You didn’t come with us when it was Sieve’s turn.”
“This situation is different from Sieve’s. We’ll need to hold a little meeting of the fiancés.”
“A meeting of the fiancés?”
Ryoji didn’t really understand Carena’s explanation, but since he had no objection to them coming along he was about to set up a teleportation circle when he remembered the gifts he’d bought at Dryugul.
“What’s this?”
“Just a little something to show my gratitude for all your help. For Carena, earrings that boost wind-element magic. For Melta, a necklace that increases magical power. For Kuro, an armlet-type item box I made myself. For Laila, a ribbon that gradually restores mana.”
They all looked pleased by Ryoji’s gifts, but when he explained they were magical items Carena and Melta both wore resigned expressions.
“Ryoji-sama, do you know the value of magic items?”
“What’s with the sudden question? I know they’re valuable , they raise your abilities, after all.”
Ryoji tilted his head as he answered Melta’s question.
“That’s not all. Magic items are expensive because they’re rare. Ordinary adventurers can’t even possess them. In other words, they’re far too costly to be just a token of thanks.”
Hearing Carena’s added comment, Ryoji replied lightly.
“If it’s a magic item, I could make one myself.”
“That’s, yes, that’s right… Normally, someone who has perfected the craft of ornamentation devotes their life to making magic items. Please don’t think there are people who can casually say, ‘I’ll make a magic item’ like Ryoji-sama.”
“I see. I had no idea. Maybe I should show a little restraint? No. That’s impossible. Ah! Right. There’s actually something I wanted to make, just a little.”
Melta and Carena exchanged looks as they watched Ryoji take out a mithril ingot and begin working it.
“There’s no count who can fight three minotaurs at once and take on a dragon alone, invent magic circles, be a high-rank adventurer, be filthy rich, and not only make sweets but also potions and magic items, right?”
“And he’s got aptitude in every element and insane magical power. He makes the heroes and great figures from myths look pathetic. I’d intended for Ryoji-sama’s fiancée to be only Sophia, but that won’t do , we need more, don’t we? I should talk to Elena about raising the number.”
Their conversation was too quiet for Ryoji to hear, so he busied himself with sweets talk with Kuro and Laila while working the mithril. Carena and Melta watched him.
“Good afternoon, Ryoji-sama. What brings you here on such short notice? It’s unusual to see you all together.”
Sophia’s secretary greeted Ryoji and the others as they arrived at the Sandstream Sweets Promotion Research Institute.
“Sorry for the suddenness, but I want to talk with Sophia.”
“That sounds serious.”
Sensing the mood, she promptly adjusted the schedule and led them to the director’s office.
“About the jewelry I sent before, ”
On the way to the office, Ryoji apologized, saying giving jewelry from a man to a woman could be misinterpreted and might have been a confusing thing to do. The secretary laughed and said there was no need to apologize.
“I’m married, so I wouldn’t misunderstand. It was a present from Ryoji-sama, the hero of Drugul and Count, so I bragged to my husband at home. He said, ‘I can’t give expensive presents, but I won’t lose in terms of feelings!’ I was grateful. He usually never says anything.”
“Wishing you both happiness for many years,” Ryoji said, relieved despite being forced to listen to the lovey-dovey story. The secretary, suddenly serious-faced, began to talk about Sophia.
“Lately the director has been like a love-struck maiden. It’s almost embarrassing to watch. Is today’s visit connected to that?”
“Yes. I came to make good on what was written in the papers.”
“I’m glad. Please take good care of the director.”
The secretary bowed happily at Ryoji’s words.
“Ryoji-sama, please wait a moment.”
“Huh? What do you mean? I came to propose marriage, right? Why am I being made to wait?”
Told by Carena to wait in front of the director’s office, Ryoji blurted the question, drawing glances from everyone.
“We need to discuss Sophia’s future with her as well. Ryoji-sama, please talk with the secretary for a while. Don’t worry , we won’t bully you.”
“U-Understood!”
He nodded vigorously and agreed to wait with the secretary by the door. As he saluted, Carena and the others smiled wryly, opened the director’s office door, and went inside. Curious about what they were discussing, Ryoji restrained himself from eavesdropping and chatted idly with the secretary. The door opened a crack and Kuro stuck his head out to signal that Ryoji should come in.
When Ryoji entered the director’s office, Carena and the others greeted him. Carena was beaming, Melta wore an awkward smile, and Kuro and Laila were sampling the new sweets on the desk while jotting notes.
“Huh? Where’s Sophia?”
Ryoji scanned the room for Sophia, the important person, and noticed the difference in expressions between Carena and Melta.
“She’s in the next room getting ready,” Carena replied.
Ryoji looked puzzled, and Melta added an explanation.
“It seems she used flour in a new sweets recipe and had practically pulled an all-nighter, so she fell asleep on the sofa. Her hair was a mess and her face was covered in flour, so I told her to take a shower.”
They told him that she was getting ready in the inner room, so the fiancés’ meeting ended without a hitch, and all that remained was Ryoji’s conversation.
“If she’s in the shower it’ll take a while.”
“It was a bit sudden, so she seemed flustered. Seems like she took a shower to clear her head too.”
While Carena and Ryoji were talking, the inner door opened and Sophia, her hair wet, poked her face out.
“Hwaaah, “
She noticed Ryoji and her face went bright red in an instant; she hurriedly shut the door.
“We’re here. Do your best.”
“She’s really nervous, so speak gently.”
“Tell there’s too much sugar in it.”
“That’s not the line for right now, I don’t think.”
Encouraged by the fiancés’ words, Ryoji smiled broadly, knocked on the bedroom door, and went in.
“Sophia. I’m coming in, okay?”
“Y-yes! I-it’s fine. Today is an auspicious day… no, wait! Um. Uh…”
Ryoji entered and spoke. Sophia, her hair still wet, replied with red-rimmed, tearful eyes, clearly still flustered. Sophia’s nerves rubbed off on Ryoji and a silence wrapped around them.
When the silence lasted too long and their eyes met, Ryoji couldn’t help but smile. Seeing that, Sophia gave a small smile of her own and the tension that had enveloped them loosened a little.
“Um, you probably heard this from Carena and the others, but… I gave you a present and it was even written in the paper, yet I didn’t say anything and made you anxious. I want to end the days where Sophia worries. Will you accept my engagement proposal?”
“Yes…! Yes! I’d be delighted! I gladly accept. I’m unworthy, but please take care of me for the rest of our lives.”
Tears streaming, Sophia nodded repeatedly with joy as she accepted the engagement. Ryoji, relieved, moved closer and began drying her hair with a composite-magic hairdryer.
“H-hey? Ryoji-sama? What are you, “
“You’re my fiancée now, so at least let me dry your hair. I’ll brush it too.”
He took a mithril comb out of storage and began brushing. Sophia looked bewildered, but with her face bright red she nodded slightly and let Ryoji take care of her.
“Done! Your hair’s dry and glossy. You look incredible. Cute Sophia just got even cuter.”
“S-stop… C-cute…!”
When Ryoji smiled and called her cute, Sophia flushed all the way to her ears and fidgeted. Then, with a look of sudden determination, she took a small step back and raised her right hand high.
“Magical Transformation!”
“Huh? Wha, ? Waaah!?”
Ryoji was bewildered as Sophia raised her arm and shouted a transformation phrase. From within a burst of light Sophia appeared, her whole body a deep red as she fixed Ryoji with a serious expression. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide.
“Thank you for the brushing, nya! I’m so happy, nya.”
Sophia now had fox ears and a tail. She clenched her right hand and placed it near her temple. Her left hand rested on her hip. Stunned by Sophia's sudden behavior, Ryoji couldn't even respond; his mind raced and he ended up asking the most pedestrian question.
"Can I ask why you're dressed like that and speaking nyan?"
"Yes! Carena told me, 'Ryoji-sama goes wild for people dressed as beast-people with animal ears and tails, and Melta's nyan-speech completely did him in!' So I thought, do you like it, nya? Did it make you happy, nya?"
Striking a pose, Sophia looked earnest. Ryoji gave an awkward smile.
"Wait here a moment. You can relax your posture."
"Eh? Umm, Ryoji-sama?"
Ryoji told the confused Sophia to wait and returned to the director's office.
"How was it? Did Sophia accept happily?"
Carena greeted Ryoji excitedly when he returned to the director's office.
"Did you give Sophia the transformation pendant, Carena?"
"Yes! In my Ryoji-sama notes it said, 'Ryoji-sama reacts to Laila and Feril-sama's animal ears and tails. Also was utterly melted by Melta's nyan-speech!' It was actually a product I developed for myself, but I specially lent it to Sophia this time! Did she like it?"
"No, I'm glad, but! I'm glad you put that much thought into it, Carena, really, but, it's not quite right! And a fox cosplay with 'nyan' is just wrong!"
Ryoji's shout echoed through the director's office.
The next day Ryoji came to a jewelry shop in the Royal Capital with Kuro and Sophia. They had originally planned to come on separate days to buy the engagement rings, but Kuro said it was fine to go together, Sophia agreed, and the three of them were looking over the jewelry.
"How is it? Ryoji-sama. Did any of these catch your eye?"
"Huh!? The shopkeeper?"
A voice called out to Ryoji and the others as they were inspecting several rings. When Ryoji turned his gaze to the speaker, the owner of Drugul's accessory shop stood there smiling. The shopkeeper greeted the stunned Ryoji with a graceful smile.
"The Ryoji you're referring to is the man who runs the accessory shop in Drugul, yes? Then that's my younger brother."
"Oh, ? Really? Even though they look exactly alike? …That's way too on the nose."
"I've heard a lot about you from my brother. But even if you're not his best customer, my service won't change. Now then, these are the engagement rings for Kuro-sama and Sophia-sama today. I've prepared some special pieces for such special young ladies."
With a graceful motion the shopkeeper laid out rings before Kuro and Sophia. In front of Kuro were rings centered on magical devices; in front of Sophia were ordinary rings set with gemstones.
"Kuro-sama's ring here can be imbued with wind or lightning attributes. In particular, this one can use the power of a magic stone to grant lightning to a weapon. Wouldn't that let her fight the same way as Ryoji-sama, the hero of Drugul, also known as the one who dons lightning?"
"Mm! That's perfect. Ryoji. I want this lightning ring. Is it okay if I buy it?"
At the shopkeeper's explanation, Kuro, who expressed joy in a gesture only Ryoji could read, picked up the ring.
"This ring, can it change size whenever one wants?"
"Well, that's a bit, "
The fact that Kuro's body can change between adult and child was known only to certain people, and Ryoji fretted over how to explain it to the shopkeeper. Before he could figure out what to say, Kuro tugged his sleeve and spoke.
"Ryoji-sama. I'll put it on a chain, so it's fine."
"Then make her ring the one that can be imbued with lightning, please."
"Very good. And what would you like, Sophia-sama?"
The shopkeeper handed the task to a nearby clerk and instructed them to prepare chains for wearing around the neck. Then he addressed Sophia, who was still undecided.
Sophia, teary-eyed because she couldn't quite choose, had Ryoji sit beside her and they began picking rings together.
"Which of these do you think is 'definitely not'?"
"Well… this one has a gem that's too large for me… this one has a color I don't like… and this one is way too expensive…"
As Sophia answered Ryoji's questions, he held the two remaining rings and began consulting the shopkeeper.
"Shopkeeper. Can you combine these two rings into one?"
"I see. That could make for an interesting piece."
The shopkeeper's interest was caught by Ryoji's suggestion. After a moment's thought he said it was technically possible, but the price would go up.
"How much would that be?"
"Let me see. Those two rings together are about thirty gold coins. To combine them… we'd need to redesign and rework them. That would be fifty gold coins and two weeks' time, would that be acceptable?"
Hearing the price, Sophia's face went pale and she was about to refuse, but Ryoji nodded lightly and made a counterproposal to the shopkeeper.
"The price's fine. But I'd like the time to be shortened. I'll design and have it worked, so please sell it exactly as I design."
"Ryoji-sama will make it himself? Splendid. Many customers would certainly buy such a thing."
The shopkeeper laughed lightly, taking Ryoji's proposal for a joke. Watching that, Ryoji opened his storage and took out a piece of mithril ore. He used his Extraction skill to form the ring shape, then finished it with his Design skill.
"How's this?"
"How did you, ? In an instant you made such a work… No, that's not the point. The important thing is that there's this marvelous piece right in front of me. How much would I be willing to pay for it? This innovative design, the fineness of the craftsmanship, and the fact that it was made by Count Ryoji Uchino, the hero of Drugul, how could one possibly put a price on it? No. However…"
The shopkeeper looked bewildered. Feeling amused, Ryoji continued happily crafting ring after ring while listening to Sophia's preferences.
TN: After this is epilogue and a side/short story, epilogue is done on my side, I'll post it soon enough. Long chapters from LN take more time than normal WN chapters.
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