Karina and Arie were surprised that we brought up the topic of the party right away, but they weren’t as shocked as I was when they told me, “We heard Amy was close to one of the royals, but we always thought she would marry you, Tenma.”
It wasn’t uncommon for successful adventurers to have multiple wives, and in their eyes, I outranked Tida as a marriage candidate in terms of status.
I told them I had never thought of Amy in that way.
They just smiled and said, “Well, you do have a lot of beautiful women around you.”
Now I had yet another secret that no one else could ever find out about...
“We’re finally back!” I said with a sigh of relief.
“It’s a good thing we got here before the snow started,” Gramps said.
After several months away, my party had finally returned to the capital. We had stopped by the guild first to report that the quest was done, and now, we were back at Gramps’s estate. Only the Oracion crew and Leni were here. Kriss, Albert, and the others had said goodbye to us at the guild. They’d had a lot of business to catch up on, even though they’d just gotten back, and had already been grumbling about it.
“Huh? Sounds like someone’s here,” I remarked.
“If someone came by carriage while we were gone, it’s probably Alex or someone else from the castle,” Gramps said.
We pulled up to the front of the mansion with Thunderbolt, and right on cue, the door opened. I thought Aina had come to greet us as usual, but I was surprised to see Cruyff standing there instead.
“Welcome back, Master Tenma, Master Merlin. I’m just here on a bit of business today.”
Hearing the word “business” immediately made me wonder if the king was here, but Cruyff shook his head. Puzzled, we went inside the mansion.
“Welcome home, Master Tenma and Master Merlin!”
“Welcome home!”
Aina did greet us in the foyer as usual, but there were two surprising additions to her maid crew. I was about to ask what was going on, but the look Aina gave me said, Don’t say a word. I played along and walked past them without comment.
“I’m ho— Ack!”
“Waaah! Aura, bwa ha!”
“W-Welco— Pfft!”
“I’m Leni Tantan. I’ll be here for a short time. I’m pleased to meet you.”
The girls’ reactions to our new “servants” were all over the place like it was some kind of comedy sketch. Aina’s icy glare sent the first three rushing behind me. Leni, however, stayed behind to properly introduce herself to Aina and Cruyff with a polite bow.
As for Gramps, he was right behind me. He simply said, “Hmph,” before walking straight to the dining room without much of a reaction. However, the moment he made it in there, he burst into uproarious laughter.
“He was just holding it in, huh? Well, can’t say I don’t understand,” I muttered.
“Hrm. Yes, I under-pfft!”
Gramps had shown more restraint than Amur—she was cracking up in front of the dining room.
As for Jeanne and Aura, they’d been quiet, and they looked like they were still traumatized by Aina’s earlier glare. Their faces were pale and they were moving very slowly, like they were trying not to be noticed.
“Anyway, I guess I should get the souvenirs sorted in case someone shows up. Oh, but first, I should check on Jubei and the others.”
I stepped into the hallway, and just then...
“Baaaaah!”
The door burst open, and a black ball of fluff, aka Mary, came charging towards me.
“Not so fast.”
“Huh? Eeeek!”
I had been ready for that as I’d heard Mary’s hoofbeats pounding from down the hallway. I sidestepped easily the moment I opened the door. Aura, on the other hand, had no idea what was coming. She took the brunt of Mary’s body slam and went rolling a few meters across the floor with the sheep tangled around her.
“Hey, I’m home, Aries! You too, Tama! I’m back!” I called out.
“Baaa.”
“Mooo.”
Aries came trotting over right after Mary’s dramatic entrance, and Tama’s head popped up at the nearest window to the dining room, letting out a cheerful moo.
“I got souvenirs for you guys too,” I said.
Aries tipped his head in confusion, so I pulled the bundle of hay I’d bought in Shellhide out of my magic bag and held it out to him. He sniffed it once and then happily started munching away.
“It’s good, isn’t it? Let’s head over to where Jubei and the others are and eat there. You’ll miss out if you don’t come now, Mary.”
“Baa! Baa baaa baaaa!”
“Aura, let go of Mary now.”
“Okay.”
Mary had tried to crash into Amur after tackling Aura, but Aura had caught the sheep in her embrace. Mary made a half-hearted attempt to charge me once she was freed, but I could tell she was holding back. She probably realized that if she went too far, she probably wouldn’t get any hay.
“Here, I’ll leave it right here for you. It’s premium hay straight from Shellhide.”
Calling it premium was a lie, but their area was known for its horses, so I was sure their feed was high-quality. The margrave had even helped me find a good supplier, and I’d bought it in bulk.
“All right, I should go ask Cruyff what this is all about,” I said.
I headed towards the dining room, but Aina intercepted me and guided me to the parlor instead. After waiting a few minutes...
“I have brought snacks to go along with tea, sir.”
“H-Here is your tea... Waaah!”
“Hot, hot, hot!”
Lyle had just set some sweets in front of me and was trying his best to smile when Luna came in behind him. She spilled hot tea over his right shoulder.