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And so, I made my departure from Clematis once again, this time with Armeria and Cosmos. No matter how much magecraft power I used to pull the rickshaw, we were still traveling through the woods—I had to be considerate of the other two as well, so the journey took a rather long time. In the end, after leaving that morning, a full two days passed before we arrived at the town of Canna in Lycoris. But it had been well worth taking our time to get there—we’d arrived at the town’s south gates with nary a scratch.
“Wow! Look, Armeria! They have such a huge gate! And the wall is so biiig!” Clambering out of the rickshaw, Cosmos shouted with excitement, eyes aglow. Armeria climbed down to look up at the gate alongside Cosmos, leaving her book in her seat.
“It really is amazing!” Armeria exclaimed in reply to Cosmos. “I knew Clematis was considered quite rustic... But goodness, other lands are really much more developed, aren’t they?”
“Lycoris has a large population, and I’ve heard there are lots of towns and villages,” I offered as an explanation.
“That must be due to the marquis’s good governance,” Armeria agreed.
“Are there lots of shops too?” asked Cosmos.
“Of course! There are so many, they’ll make your head spin!”
“I want to go sightseeing...” she sighed.
“Let’s make some time soon to do just that. We’ll go sightseeing together, just the three of us.”
“Dandelion’s coming too!” Cosmos exclaimed. Over the past couple days, Dandelion had been following Cosmos around the entire time, and now he was nestled atop her head.
“Chirp!” Raising his right wing, he seemed to be in agreement. Maybe it was because they’d practically been glued together for the ride here, but Dandelion had gotten rather friendly with Cosmos; how wonderful.
“Then the four of us will go sightseeing. You’ll come too, right, Armeria?”
“Yes, of course. I am curious about the town myself.”
“We’ll stop at a bookstore for sure. I’m pretty sure I saw one earlier.”
“Really?!” This time, it was Armeria’s turn to shout with excitement. Nothing caught her attention like books.
“It’ll be my treat—I can spare a little pocket change.” Once I sold the basilisk and dragon parts, I figured I’d have enough money for the lifestyle of a lesser noble. Even aristocrats at the bottom of the social ladder rarely wanted for anything in their daily lives. House Clematis’s poverty was actually kind of unusual.
“I’m so sorry that you have to take care of everything, Hisui... Cosmos and I will work too! I have experience, personally!”
“Experience? Er, do you mean when you helped out back home?” The only “work” we’d done was, at most, helping with the fields or preparing meals—and it wasn’t as though we knew how to do those things professionally or anything. I really couldn’t see my sisters working.
But it was my job to help them feel less like they owed me, so I figured we might as well look for work—at least as a way to pass the time. If we did manage to find something, I’d be free to spend the money I earned as I liked without the stress of saving it for the future.
“I don’t really want you two to push yourselves too much...but I suppose it’s fine if you take some time to look for work.”
“Okay!” Armeria and Cosmos were both pumped to go job hunting. I was planning on working as an adventurer too. The list of things we wanted to do was growing by leaps and bounds. Thinking about how we could finally spend time doing things together as a happy family, my heart thrummed with joy. A grin crossed my lips, and the three of us passed through the massive gate.
Since I hadn’t yet gotten my permanent residency paperwork, I had to pay the toll. But it hardly put a dent in my money, given that they only asked for a few silver coins. After we finished passing through the south gate, buildings upon buildings and crowds of people filled our view.
Armeria and Cosmos’s excitement boiled over once more, but sightseeing would have to wait till later. Right now, I wanted them to meet Claus as soon as possible, and they agreed once I explained my thoughts to them. We merely glanced at the sights as we headed to the town center. After walking for some time, the town’s grandest residence came into view.
“Is that...Marquis Lycoris’s manor?” Gasping at the overwhelmingly large building that sat in front of us, Armeria and Cosmos stared at it in wonder.
“Yeah. It’s got two floors, just like our manor, but the sheer area it covers is kinda crazy, isn’t it?”
“A-And...we’re allowed to live here?! We’re not going to be put in the stables to sleep, are we?!”
“Of course not, Cosmos!” Why would anyone let the family of someone who saved their life sleep in the stables? If Claus did that, his standing among the people would drop like a rock. Terrible rumors would circulate all throughout the region.
“They’ll have proper rooms made ready for you. I already have a room myself, and it’s pretty huge. I bet it’s at least three times the size of the room I had back home.”
“Three?! I-I can’t believe we’ll get to stay in such a nice place...” Armeria squeaked in surprise and began trembling in bewilderment. Cosmos, on the other hand, simply stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
They probably couldn’t even imagine exactly how large a bedroom thrice the size of our old rooms would be. I understood the feeling, I really did. If our positions had been reversed, I was sure my jaw would’ve dropped from sheer shock. But I was glad that things had worked out how they did—I got to give the two of them a rich, happy life. That made me happier than anything.
“Oh? Are you, perhaps...the marquis’s guest?” When we reached the front entrance of the marquis’s estate, the same knight who’d been stationed there two days earlier was once again at his post. I nodded to him in greeting.
“Thanks for remembering me. Is it okay for us to go in? I’ve brought my family with me.”
“Of course. The marquis left orders to let you through once you returned.”
“Thank you.” While I’d been away for the past two days, Claus must’ve heard the situation from Rose. That really made things easier.
Thanking the knight, I pulled the rickshaw through the yard to the manor proper, with Armeria and Cosmos riding atop. It wasn’t really needed anymore, but I figured I might as well use it to finish our victory lap.
Leaving the rickshaw in front of the foyer’s main entrance, Armeria and Cosmos climbed out of the cart carriage. Shoving the entire thing into my storage bag, I moved to push open the luxurious beige-colored entrance doors, but before I could, they opened from the inside. Light filtered into the building.
“Welcome back, Lord Hisui.” Standing just past the doors was the elderly butler who had delivered my reward two days earlier, dressed in an elegant black tailcoat. Offering me a single, graceful bow, he stepped aside as he spoke. “Please, step this way to the study. Lord Lycoris and Lady Rose await you there.”
“All right.”
Beckoning Armeria and Cosmos inside—the two of them watching over me from behind despite their amazement—I headed to the study. It was on the first floor, directly ahead on the far left. Making our way through the vast space, we finally arrived at a stately wooden door. I knocked.
“Who is it?” When I knocked, Claus’s genteel voice sounded from within the room.
“It’s me, Hisui. I’ve returned with my two sisters.”
“Oh, Hisui! You’ve returned much earlier than I expected. Do come in.”
“Excuse me.” With his permission, I opened the door and stepped into the study. Armeria and Cosmos suddenly fell very quiet, and they trailed in close behind me as if they were my retainers.
“Good to see you back, Hisui. That was quite the distance you traveled, and you’re already back! With your two sisters, no less.” At the far end of the study, Claus sat situated behind a desk, holding a teacup. A small smile graced his countenance.
“I hurried as quickly as I could. My sisters aren’t used to staying in the forest.”
The marquis chuckled at that. “I don’t blame them! There are countless people in town who’ve made the same choice as you. Well, your return was rather fast, but I suppose your journey there must’ve gone even more quickly.”
“It took about a day, I think.”
“One day?! I imagined it might take a week by carriage, considering the distance, but you managed it in a single day...”
“I expected no less of you, Lord Hisui! Your might must be on par with that of the royal guards in the capital!” gushed Rose.
“Hardly... I think you’re a little mistaken, Rose,” Claus said, as he set his teacup down on his desk.
“Hisui was able to defeat a green dragon alone, and quite easily at that. So you’re right—his abilities are much closer to those of the captain of the royal knights.”
“The captain?” I looked at Claus curiously. This was the first I’d ever heard of such a person. But I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. The capital was far larger than even the Lycoris marquisate, so of course they’d have an order of knights there. And those knights would need a leader, so somebody would have had to play the role of captain. Hearing that filled me with a strange sense of novelty. Right, of course—knights always need a captain!
“Oh my, oh my! You mean to say he’s a match for the sword master, Duke Pendragon? Lord Hisui is most certainly a child prodigy, then.” Unlike me, Rose apparently knew of the aforementioned knight captain. She’d been to the capital before though, so of course she’d know.
Still... Both captain of the knights and a sword master, and he was called “Pendragon”? How much of a stereotype was this guy?
“Indeed. Hisui is a new light of hope for our kingdom. I’d like to send a missive to the king immediately regarding Hisui, but before I do that”—and here, Claus paused to look at me directly— “would you be so kind as to introduce your sisters?”
Claus’s gaze shifted to the two girls behind me, who had kept their silence. Noticing they had his attention, Armeria’s and Cosmos’s shoulders shook in surprise. Their nervousness was evident. Claus spoke once more, probably to ease them into the conversation.
“Let’s introduce ourselves first, then; it’s only proper that we should. My name is Claus—Claus Mil Lycoris. I am the governor of this town.”
“And I’m Rose, Rose Mil Lycoris. I was saved by Lord Hisui. I do hope we’ll get along.” After the two of them finished their greetings, Armeria began to introduce herself, voice slightly wavering.
“I... I’m Armeria,” she paused, finding her words. “Armeria Belcoure Clematis. I see you’ve been taking care of my brother...” She trailed off, and Cosmos took that as her cue.
“I’m Cosmos Belcoure Clematis. I-I’d like to be friends too!”