Youngest 055
by Cristae55
I chose the room at the very end of the second floor. It was a bit smaller than my room at the manor, but so cozy that I liked it very much.
Most important of all, the bed was the softest!
“Hot springs.”
Lying on that bed, I gazed up at the ceiling and imagined.
“Hot springs!”
That thing I saw on television in my previous life!
Everyone’s expressions as they soaked in it were the same—utterly melted, pure bliss. It had left quite an impression on me.
“I want to go so bad, but I really can’t!”
Even if it was the Zevert family’s own hot spring, that made it worse. Father, Grandfather, or Void could barge in at any time!
As I flapped my limbs, a curt reply sounded from beside me.
“I’ll keep watch at the right time.”
It was Khalid, sitting off to the side tending his sword. Like a loyal puppy, he’d come running straight to me as soon as he unpacked at the knights’ quarters.
I shot up from bed.
“Really?!”
“What would I have saved my strength for, otherwise?”
Whoa, such a textbook volume-two male lead.
“Khaaaalid.”
I grabbed Khalid’s arm and stretched out of bed like dough.
“…There you go, being cute again.”
“Hm?”
“It’s annoying, the Zevert people. Won’t even let you enjoy a hot spring in peace.”
Ain’t that the truth.
Khalid hastily sheathed his sharp blade, covering his inexplicably reddened earlobes.
“More importantly, are you really going to meet the outpost mage? Do you know her?”
I settled into a prim posture atop the bed.
“Yep! Asha Drukan.”
She wasn’t someone I knew from the original novel. I’d met her by chance on the battlefield, just like Khalid; she was the outpost mage assigned to eastern Babylon.
“Drukan… Is she a descendant of dwarves?”
Khalid pondered midair, then seemed to recognize something.
“Blueprints, huh. The kind that would beguile a master smith.”
“Exactly.”
To keep ahead of Mister Maddox, I needed blueprints ever more stimulating—no, more intricate.
Realizing my intention, Khalid furrowed his brow.
“I told you, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“I know. But having a mage around means it isn’t suspicious if there’s a magical barrier at Zelox.”
The barrier I was building was a double-edged sword.
It would protect me from the Mage Kingdom, but at the same time, it would broadcast that there was a mage here.
‘In short, I need a mage for misdirection.’
Of course, the method of crafting a barrier artifact using a barrier stone was my own secret technique. That I knew this method was a fact unknown to anyone.
‘Which means, no one should be surprised if someone else comes up with it.’
Asha Drukan was descended from a line of ancient master magitek smiths. Her family had fallen on hard times, but still.
If that descendant had stumbled upon northern mana stones, and after much research developed a new defensive weapon—well, it was a flimsy story, but not entirely impossible.
“To be blunt, let me point out two things.”
Khalid crossed his arms tightly.
“Don’t be too blunt, though…”
“First. What makes you think you can persuade Asha Drukan to join your side?”
Thud. I sank to the floor.
“Second. Would Duke Zevert readily allow a mage into his domain?”
And again, my upper body completely merged with the floor.
“What are you doing?”
With clear displeasure, Khalid pulled me up.
“My bones are all broken.”
“Let’s see.”
“I’m… just saying.”
I giggled and counted out with my fingers.
“First off… Asha Drukan owes me a favor, so she has a debt to repay.”
“She does?”
“I saved her younger sibling on the battlefield.”
“…”
Khalid’s expression grew complex.
“Don’t tell me… Among the mages you rescued at Canalran Gorge, was one of them Asha Drukan’s little sister?”
“Yup. Sort of.”
As the silence fell, I finished counting on my fingers.
“And second, Liam Zevert will help with that.”
“Liam Zevert?”
I pictured the boy who was obsessed with magical beast studies. Asha, too, had a solid knowledge of magical beastology out of personal interest. That would be a temptation Liam couldn’t easily refuse.
‘Of course, if Father says no, there’s nothing I can do…’
In the original, Liam had once taken on a mage as his magical beastology tutor. It never said exactly who that mage was.
All I was doing was trying to advance that event a little sooner.
“Don’t worry. If the second angle doesn’t work, I’ll just ask Asha for blueprints.”
Either way, I win!
As I grinned brightly, Khalid let out a quiet sigh.
“As if there’s nothing to worry about…”
Just then, the gentle jingling sound rang out.
“Ah! That lovely, welcome sound!”
I jumped up. Khalid, taking off his bracelet, held out a hand to me.
Lightly placing my pinky in his, his large hand clasped my wrist.
“The mana here is lower than back in Zelox. Don’t overdo it.”
Feeling the refreshing surge flood over me, I nodded. Of course—who did he think he was talking to!
“When should we go? I really, really want to try the hot springs!”
“Wait for the right vibe.”
Khalid kept his reply short, focusing once more on transmitting mana. Feeling wonderful, I leaned close and whispered conspiratorially.
“If I’d really been a boy, we could have gone together. Too bad, huh?”
“Wha…!”
“Huh? Why’d you stop?”
I gazed wistfully at the abruptly cut-off mana flow. Khalid, rubbing his ear in a plea for me not to say strange things, quickly took my hand again.
“What? Boys bathe together, don’t they? Best friends? Wait, no; there’s a word boys use for that…”
I squinted at the ceiling, searching my memory. Ah, that was it!
“Right! Brothe—”
Suddenly, a big hand shot out and covered my mouth.
“Please.”
The crown of his bowed head rippled with dark hair.
“Have mercy on me…”
The mana inside him was seething turbulently.
Noble carriages were arriving one after another in Ipsen, where the Verdant Festival was held. The city was abuzz with joy and anticipation for the spring festival, bustling with excitement all day.
When the emperor’s entourage arrived from the capital, prayers would be offered to the gods for peace in the coming year, and then the festivities would begin in earnest. The nobles’ feasting would start after that.
‘Arriving early makes this whole thing feel like a vacation.’
In the morning, I wandered around Ipsen with Void and Grandfather. There were lots of people and it was lively, but unlike Zelox, it wasn’t quite as fun sightseeing.
In the end, I spent the afternoon back at the villa.
“Does the Duke even have to work here? Poor guy…”
I rolled around on the sofa, teasing Father as he signed documents at his desk, looking utterly worn out.
Crunch, crunch. His tired gaze fell on the giant fruit candy in my hand.
“Give me a bite, and I won’t eat you.”
“Hmmm…”
“Can’t believe you’re thinking this over.”
I giggled and began getting up to offer him the candy, when suddenly there was a knock at the door.
“Your Grace, Count Camelan has arrived.”
“Bring him in.”
Butler Adolf hesitated before adding,
“Ah, but… he has brought his daughter, the count’s young lady, as well.”
At those words, Father, who had been pushing his documents aside, looked up and, as if resigned, swept me up in his arms.
“Let’s go to the drawing room. Prepare some refreshments.”
What greeted us there was a sea of tears.
“Hwaaah. Huff. Hic.”
“There, Titi, it’s all right. It’s all right.”
Count Camelan’s daughter, Sortie Camelan, with her fluffy sky-blue hair, burst into sobs at the sight of Leviathan.
“It’s scary! So intimidating!”
Count Camelan, looking troubled, tried to comfort her by picking her up, but the child was already too startled to calm down.
Now that I think about it, that’s right.
Leviathan groaned quietly, massaging his forehead. He’d almost forgotten, but children always reacted this way to him.
“We can come back later—”
Just then, a familiar silver-haired head poked forward.
“Um, Young Lady. Our—uh, Dad isn’t scary.”
Before I realized it, Rubian had crossed to the opposite sofa and approached the girl in the Count’s arms.
She stood awkwardly, fidgeting with her index finger—a bit embarrassed, but she kept talking.
“See, look.”
With a quick motion, Rubian turned her head towards Leviathan, sitting at the farthest end of the sofa.
“He’s sitting all the way over there because he’s worried you might be scared.”
Her eyes curved gently as she smiled.
Sortie’s sobs began to fade.