Chapter 31: Residence

Finia was grateful to Cortina who immediately took care of my wounds.

「Thank you for taking care of that, Cortina-sama」 「Don’t mind it. After all, I also consider Maria’s daughter as my daughter from now on」

There are only two women in the Heroes’ Party. In that sense, Maria and Cortina’s relationship is not bad. Even during Maria’s wedding, she was the one who blessed their marriage but also the saddest one when they announced their retirement.

「That’s why, I made sure to meet her first here」 「Now that you mention it, how did you know in advance that we would be arriving……」 「Well, it’s from calculating the distance from the village where Maria is, assuming the average speed of the carriage along with delays in case it was attacked, also the condition of the highway due to the weather and――」 「Is— is that so, that, that should be enough already」

Finia immediately stopped Cortina who began to show off all of her calculations. After all, she always had a habit of not stopping when you let her explain something. That was a nice cut there.

「Muu, is that so? We are ready to welcome you any time, so let’s move there immediately」 「Are we going to your house?」 「Yeah. I consider Nicole-chan as my daughter, you know? That’s why you are also going to live at my house!」 「Wha……?」

This was a little unexpected even for me. Probably, even Maria and Lyell didn’t expect such a thing to happen, and although it might have certainly been misleading, this was ultimately how it ended up. But if I’m living with Cortina who is also blessed with a lot of gifts, then there will definitely be a point that she would end up knowing who I really am. It is something that I would really like to prevent if I possibly could……

「Maxwell was also convinced that it would be safer this way! He has already given his support to this, you know?」 「Guhe」

It’s no good, if she already has been given his full support, it would only become more troublesome if I reject Cortina’s offer. The decision was made by both Cortina and Maxwell. With them being my guardians, there’s no way I would be able to refuse. Also, if I strongly oppose, there is a possibility of some misunderstandings to pop up instead. Cortina is one of the Heroes. Nevertheless, she is a star of hope for common people who contributed not by pure talent and ability but by being able to use her ingenuity.

It is impossible and would be seen as strange if you actually decline her request of living with her. If you could sell this preferential treatment to someone else, it would probably be priced at a worth enough to operate a small town or even more.

「Auu…… I, I will be in your care」 「Eh, is it alright for me to come along too!?」 「That, Michelle!」

When Michelle insisted to come along, her mother rebuked her. Even Cortina had an unusually troubled expression.

「Hmm, I’m sorry. My house is not really big enough to include a whole family, but if it’s you alone」 「But, but…」 「Michelle!?」

Her mother’s face started to pale because of her attitude, which was certainly a little too bold. Though I know Cortina’s character well, she certainly doesn’t mind that kind of attitude nor would she find that rude.

「That can’t be helped. Instead, I have another house nearby, so do you want to use that instead? We will be neighbors」 「We will be neighbors with Cortina-sama!」

Michelle-chan expresses her delight with a hurray, and on the other hand, her mother could only bow her head down because of her daughter. It is also true that with her gift, she might be in danger of being targeted by the nobles of this town. We should be careful not to let that happen in the future. On the contrary, her cheerfulness does bring a smile to everyone’s face. So it’d be best if she keeps improving in that area. I suppose the pros and cons even each other in that regard.

After such exchanges, we set foot to the city of Raum. There is no need to provide identification to enter the city, but a strict examination and confirmation will be conducted before you are allowed to step foot in the city. As for us, we are exempted from that because they know that we are Cortina’s acquaintances and that I am the hero’s daughter, so we were easily able to get inside without the usual checks.

The Magic Academy that I’m going to attend is located near the edge of the city. The reason it was not being placed in the city center is because there will be many dangerous spells fired off during class.

Cortina’s house is close to the school’s outer edge. It is an extremely small and frugal house that you won’t normally expect to be a hero’s residence. The size of the garden is also small enough that it can only fit two horses. It is a really modest residence if compared to our place.

Next to it was a house of the same size.

「This is my house. It is a bit on the small side, but please bear with it. Michelle’s place will be that neighboring house over there」 「This is…… Compared to Maria-sama’s…… that is……」 「Well, I understand what you are trying to say. It’s just me trying not to be too extravagant. On the other hand, Maxwell’s mansion is really amazing, you know」

Well, that is to be expected due to the fact that Maxwell is a royalty of this country. But, didn’t he go back to being an adventurer? He is now the director of the Magic Academy though. Because he also had the qualifications to be a king, his connection to politics is not to be underestimated either. It seems like because of his status, his residence was made to be more extravagant as the heavyweights of the country would often come to visit him to ask for a consultation.

「Well, moving on, let me show you to your room first. Maybe we could go to Maxwell after dropping off your luggage? It sounds very troublesome though, maybe we can do it later」

While pushing me inside the house, Cortina winks at me then show me around her house.