161-Chapter 10-6 Lanitan Appears

It had been a few months since they bought the land, and it was now the season when snow was dancing in the royal city. The seeds of the lawn that I sowed had sprouted and grown, but the cold weather had stalled their growth, and it was now impossible to enter the field because it would damage the roots. The field is now accessible from the original land, so there's no need to worry about stepping on the lawn, but there weren't much crops growing there, probably because we made the field in the middle of the season or because we didn't prepare the soil well.

'She's in good spirits!'

Ahead of me, Aimee, Tida, and Luna were shoveling snow that had accumulated a few centimeters or so and having a snowball fight. Calling it a snowball fight was just a game of hurling snowballs at nearby opponents, but every now and then Shiroumaru would slip between the three of them and avoid the snowballs by making full use of his physical abilities as a Fenrir, so when Shiroumaru got close to the three of them, it was as exciting as if he was aiming for a bonus character.

All the talk of Aimee being harassed before was put to rest as soon as the three idiots were on his side. This is simply because Sanbaka is treated as an idol at the school, and this may have had an effect on him, but the main reason is that the school's officials told the parents of the student who had the problem that Sanbaka was close to Amy without a second thought.

Most of the parents who found out about it didn't think their children were doing such a thing (if they were, they thought it was only to the extent that they didn't get along with the commoner students), and there were even parents who came up to me to apologize. However, some of the students were following their parents' instructions, and the main culprit was the student who was the main culprit.

That guardian also seemed to have come to apologize to us, thinking that since everyone around him or her had gone to apologize, he or she was just trying to make a formality out of it, and had a very bad attitude. He had a very bad attitude, maybe he didn't feel good unless he was always looking down on me, or he left with the attitude that he had apologized and that it was fine, but later on, he was convinced that he had been wrong.

As a matter of fact, some noblemen had visited our house at that time, and the king and Maria, who were worried about us, had come to check on us. The two of them didn't do anything like they would have done in front of their guardians at that time, but when they returned, they told their closest people, including Caesar and the Prime Minister, about it. The next day, half of the people working at the castle, the next day, people outside the castle, and so on.

The guardians, who were later informed of the story by a superior nobleman, rushed to apologize to me, but I had been told by Mary to not take it up, so I asked them to leave at the gate.

I heard that he didn't actually inflict any direct punishment, but until Tida abdicated, that family would rarely hold an important position until Tida was deposed. I learned from Albert and the others who happened to be visiting that there would be no more students to bully Amy now. However, the parents of the students who learned of Aimee's influence on the case said that there might be people who think they can somehow force her into their children's side rooms.

Incidentally, the guardian of the student who was bullying him is a viscount and works at the royal castle, and his parents, children, and siblings are said to be mediocre or less than mediocre, and if the state of being stared at by the royal family continues for a number of years, it might be difficult for him to maintain his title as a viscount.

I'm watching the three of them playing in the garden while remembering that, and I haven't received any requests recently. But I'm not the only one who hasn't received a request, many adventurers based in the royal capital at this time of year are closed for business. It's not just because they don't want to work while fighting the cold, but also because there are few monsters to be found in some places.

On the other hand, dungeon cities like Seigen are said to be more crowded and attract twice as many adventurers as usual. Most of the adventurers who gather in Seigen are the ones who lack money, and the security of Seigen is said to be worse than usual.

By the way, I've heard that some adventurers drop out of the dungeon city (Seigen) during this period. The reason for this is that even though they are short of money, they still have the least amount of equipment, so they are targeted by thieves and others who are looking for it.

In addition, adventurers are often seen as good prey for starving demons who have no food to eat, and who walk on roads with little traffic. Most of the deaths of new adventurers during the winter months are attributed to bandits and demons that attacked them while on the move. In other words, there's more danger on the way to the dungeon city than diving into the dungeon.

That's why me and grandpa decided to spend some time in the royal capital. We don't need to be active during the more dangerous and difficult times of the year, and we're not in need of money, so we're going to spend this year as lazy and lazy people.

By the way, until last year, I was not even an adventurer, and if I had spent a long time holed up in the inn, the innkeeper would have been quite suspicious of me even if I had paid in advance. It wasn't until I was able to stay at the Manchuria Pavilion that I was able to relax and spend time with them, and even then, at the beginning, my father and wife were suspicious of me, but that's because 'Didn't I steal my parents' money and run away from home?' It was something like that, and after the worried old man used his old connections to gather information about me (that I was living in the guild, cashing in my prey for a living), he started to look at me as a normal customer. Incidentally, "Didn't you ever think that you might have committed a crime to get money? I asked him if he thought he was a well-mannered, well-dressed kid, so he thought he was more likely to be a nobleman's kid than a criminal, so he gathered information along those lines.

'Ooh, time to stop and come back. You'll catch a cold~

As I was thinking about this, I noticed that the three of them had begun to play, and I told them to take a break and warm themselves up. At first the three of them looked unsatisfied, but then they felt the cold as their concentration was broken, and they came back to the house quickly. Shiroumaru, who noticed the three of them, also hurriedly came back into the mansion. Perhaps he misunderstood that he would receive something when he saw the three of them returning at the same time. They must have been in a hurry to miss out on getting it.

'You three, go wipe yourselves off and get dressed. Shiroumaru, get Jeanne and Aura to wipe you down.

The three of them and one of them were drenched from playing around in the snow. Aina and the others were waiting at the entrance, but as for the three of them, I decided to let them return to their rooms to change their clothes, as they were likely to catch a cold if they just wiped it off.

The three of them actually got their own room in the mansion.

Initially, since Amy is going to remain in the capital for the winter holidays, we decided to rent our room as a base of operations other than our own room in the student dormitory, but when it was mentioned, Tida and Luna also got a room of their own. It's a good thing that they are so close to the castle, so they rarely sleep in the same room that they use when they are at home, but since they have secured a room, they have been coming over almost every day to visit. The two of them are happy to have more room to do what they want, although the rooms that the kings used to use when they came to check on grandpa (two rooms for men and two rooms for women) have been cleared out and made into a double room. Well, maybe Tida is happy because it gives her an excuse to see Amy, even during the holidays...

Because of that, it seems that Tida and Luna plan to stay late at our house on this day, but even though they are children, they are both royalty, so there is a certain amount of work that exists. Therefore.

Lady Tida, Lady Luna. Maria has asked me to come back earlier than usual today because tomorrow I will be working as a member of the royal family.

When they were dressed and warmed up with a cup of hot milk, Aina told them Maria's order (...). The two of them couldn't disobey Maria-sama's orders, and were forced to cry and prepare to leave (especially Tida).

'Temma, we have a visitor here, but he has something to do with Amur.

While they were getting ready to leave, Jeanne came from the doorway and announced a visitor. But the purpose of the visit seems to be Amur, and she didn't know if she could bring him up to the house, so she came to ask me.

I don't think there's any problem, but I'm sure I'll be fine. I don't think there will be a problem, but I'll be there just in case.

Okay.

Jeanne said and was about to head to Amour's room (which was opposite the direction of my and Grandpa's room and next to Jeanne and Aura's room) when Aina, who had been watching us, overheard something and apologized for something with her peckish head down.

'Aina, what did you say to Jeanne?'

It's not a big deal. But since Jeanne is now a slave and maid, I just cautioned her master, Master Tenma, not to speak to her through her own words. Of course, I know Master Tenma allowed this, but it wouldn't be good for her if she did the same thing outside the house, let alone in the house.

Aina says so, but from looking at Jeanne's situation, she might have said more than that. However, it's true that she got into such a habit, and if she spoke to a nobleman in such a tone of voice, I don't know what kind of eyes she would have to face if she knew him, but if it was someone she didn't know.

It's not always me or my grandfather around, so it's something you have to be careful about. Thanks Aina.

No, it's my job to educate them.　

It was something I don't usually pay much attention to, so when I thanked her for making me aware of it, Aina seemed embarrassed for some reason. I don't know why, but let's just say that I was able to see something unusual.

'Temma, who's your guest?'

'No, I called Amur because it sounds like I don't know him... maybe he's sleepwalking?

As he watched Aina's unusual appearance, a sleepy-eyed Amour came over. Perhaps Jeanne hadn't forgotten to explain it to her, so she decided that Amour hadn't listened well... but judging from the way she was sleeping even though it was well past noon, she must have fallen asleep again after breakfast. Come to think of it, I saw him at breakfast since we ate together, but I didn't even feel him come down for lunch. By the way, in our house, when we are at the mansion, we all basically eat breakfast and dinner together, but we often eat lunch separately. The reason for this is because each of us often goes out for something at lunch. For example, Amur and I have been asked to be adventurers, Grandpa has been taking a lazy walk (never call him a wandering old man), and Jeanne and Aura have been training as maids at the royal castle, and so on.

It's a good idea to ask someone from Kukuri village to keep an eye on you, but I've never asked them to do so since I came to the mansion, although the worst case scenario is that the golems stay behind, so there's hardly any security issues.

Well, that's how it is, and if I didn't have anything to do, I wouldn't notice if Amur slept all the way after lunch. Sometimes I take too many naps, too, and I can't sleep at night...

Anyway, I've got guests waiting outside, so let's hurry up.

Oh.................

Amour, who had been following closely behind me while I was dizzy, seemed to wake up all at once from the cold outside and was making strange noises.

'There it is,'

''Hmmm........ah!　Lanitan!

When Amur found his guest waiting at the gate, he showed a little pretense of thinking and then shouted out some pretty name. Incidentally, he's given the name 'Tan' and so on, but the other party is a man with a plump figure.

''Miss I've been there many times, but my name is 'Lani Tintin'.'''

Apparently, Ranitan seems to be a nickname given by Amur, and his real name is Rani Tintin... no, it's just one more 'tan', but it hasn't changed much.

"So, why is Lani Tintin here?

''No, it's Lani Tintin.......I was on my way back from a peddling trip and stopped by the royal capital, so I came to say hello. From now on, Hana-sama and the young lady will be communicating more and more through us, and it's a chance for us to explore new business partners.

The fact that he mentioned Hana-san's name means that they must be reasonably close to each other. I've heard that he came to say hello once before, but he didn't get to see you because we were in the south at the time.

Amur, go upstairs for now. It's not polite to let them stay out in the cold for too long as they might have more opportunities to meet with you in the future, and I'm cold too.

Okay, okay.　

Hi. Excuse me.

I ushered Rani into the parlor and tried to leave her and Amur alone because there were some things I didn't want to divulge to the outside world, but Rani said she had something to do with me as well and asked me to listen to her if I had time.

At this point, I saw that Rani had taken off her cloak and scarf (which was long and seemed to cover her entire face, but when I met her, she was wearing it around her head and neck), and I wondered if that was why she was wearing Tintin, but it was rude to tell her why, so I kept my mouth shut.

'So that's why I'm here, the primary reason for my visit is to say hello, and the second reason is that I was told to ask you what's going on with your daughter, and to see if there's anything you want. And lastly, to Mr. Temma, to introduce you to some of our products in the South and elsewhere in the region.

So, in addition to being a liaison between Hana-san and Amur, you're also going to take orders from us?　

That's right. We don't do it exclusively, so we can't bring you what you want immediately, but we can bring you items from the south that are hard to find in the royal capital at a discount.

They mainly focus on southern products and it can take some time, but Rani seems to know that I like southern food and she doesn't think I'll ever say no to it. Even if I was to refuse at worst, he seems to think that it wouldn't be a loss as his main purpose is to be a liaison between Hana-san and Amur.

And that idea is right. There is no reason for me to refuse, and the fact that I trust Hana-san enough to use her as a liaison means that she is the most trustworthy person I know who deals in southern goods. You can't completely forgive yourself for that, but as long as you don't have anything against Hana-san, you should see no harm in it.

''With the products we have now, I think this is something rare.

Lani, who seems to have decided that my not saying anything gave her permission, placed a white board-shaped object from the magic bag that seemed to contain the goods on the table. It was.........

Sake cake?

'Did you know. It's not rare in the South, but you don't see it much in other parts of the country... Come to think of it, you purchased a fair amount of refined sake in the South.

I replied that it was because the clerk told me about it when I purchased the alcohol. I can't say I know it from a previous life experience, because I can't say I know it from a previous life. And by the way, the clerk told me how to use it, and I told him that they were just out of stock and couldn't buy it.

Then why don't you buy one?　It was just ordered by a client I'm supposed to meet with later, so I can't do everything, but I can make some accommodations.

Rani said, "I can sell this one," and produced five boards of one kilogram of sake lees and said they were two hundred g each. Then.

'Lanitan, there's no point in lying. 'This is the only one' should be the truth, not 'this is the only one'. I don't think this is going to sell that well outside the South. So I'll give you all the rest.

Amr tapped the table as he glared at Ms. Rani. Every time Rani-san tried to say something, Amour slapped the table to silence her, so Rani finally gave up and brought out the rest of the sake kasu.

''There are only four left and more than half of them... As the lady said, the sake kasu that I brought as a sample of the new product, about ten kilograms of sake kasu, which I brought as a sample of the new product, they can taste it because it's a rarity, but no one wanted it.''

Mmm-hmm!　You can't fool my eyes!　If it's all 1,000 g's, I'll buy it!

With that, a smug-faced Amur paid 1,000 G to receive nearly ten kilograms of sake lees and carried them straight to the kitchen. As Amur walked out of the parlor.

'By the way, Lani-san. I heard once that sake lees don't cost more than a hundred g's per kilogram...

'Yes, I don't. It's about fifty to eighty g's. Even with the fees we've brought here, if we get a hundred g's, we'll still make enough money... or something like that.

I knew it was as I thought. Hearing Amur point out earlier, and hearing Lani say "I brought ten kilograms" when she brought out the rest of the sake lees, I thought that bringing only ten kilograms to peddle, no matter how many samples, was too little, as far as I was concerned. Even if they didn't sell, they could prevent them from deteriorating by putting them in a magic bag, and the Royal Capital should be able to handle several dozen kilograms of rare products from the south, just because they were rare products. I'm sure that if you tell a vain rich person that it is something that ordinary people can rarely eat, even if you think it's unpalatable, there are plenty of people who will buy it just to show off.

''As I've heard, you can't be too careful, Temma-sama. And yet the young lady........I will have to properly inform Hana-sama of this. By the way, I still have about 40 kilograms of sake kasu (rice cake) left over, would you like to buy some? Of course, I'll give you a lower price than I sold to Master Amur.

So I decided to buy the rest at 90G per kg. I was told that the ten G less than the asking price was a first-time offer.

As I was paying, I asked, "Could it be that reporting to Hana-san is payback for being called a 'Ranitan'? I asked, and Rani smiled at me. It seems that Rani-san is angry with Amur to the extent that she gets even without Amur's knowledge.

By the time Amur, who doesn't know what's going on, came back to the parlor, the sake lees I bought had already been put into the magic bag, so Amur continued to make a smug face without noticing anything.

In the parlor at this time, I was happy because I could buy sake kasu cheaply, Lani was happy because she could sell her stock and had the pleasure of getting even, and Amur was happy because he thought he could beat Lani to death....... The space was very nice.

Lani asked me what I wanted to order. I told her I didn't have anything for now, but next time I'd come back, I might ask for some miso or soy sauce, and she said she'd bring me a lot of things to sample next time.

'Tenma-sama, you have a visitor.

Again?　I mean, you weren't home yet.......maybe Luna was spoiled?

When the discussion with Lani had come to an end, Aina came into the parlor to announce the visit of a new visitor. I thought she had already left with Tida and the others, so I was a little surprised by Aina's appearance.

'No, I didn't spoil it, but I just showed my waywardness by sluggishly changing clothes, forgetting things, and holed up in the bathroom.

It's the behavior of Luna that makes you think there is more to it than just being the king's grandson after all. The moment Aina talked about Luna, she was so angry that she thought the temperature in the room had dropped below freezing.

I was not the only one who felt Aina's anger, Amour and Rani also moved to the edge of the sofa to get as much distance from Aina as possible.

''For now, shall we go pick up our guests?

He's waiting for you at the front door.

The fact that Aina was allowed on the premises means that it was someone close to me. And if it was the people of Kukri village or the kings, they would come straight to me, so it would be someone else.

"Could it be that Albert and the others have come?

No, not Lady Albert, but your father, the Duke of Sangha.

I hurried to the front door, thinking it was unusual, and found the Duke of Sangha and his guard.......Steele waiting for me with his cloak off.

''Sorry to have kept you waiting,''

'No, it's just that this one came out of nowhere. Besides, we haven't been waiting for much.

Since Rani was in the parlor, I was going to show her to the other room for now, but I saw Amur and Rani coming towards me from the parlor.

'Temma, Lani Tan is leaving,'

That's why it's Lani Tintin.

I was having an exchange that was becoming a routine.

"Lani Tintin!　You've got the ear of the South coming to you!

It was Steele, who had been quietly oblivious to Lani's name, who responded to Lani's name.

''You like that, Shadow of the Dukes!

Reacting to Steele's voice and anger that was close to killing, Lani-san took a battle stance. But..........

Steele!

Lanitan!

They were both stopped and lowered by the Lord and the main muscle. However, they both stared at each other in a position where they could jump out at any time. By the way, Steele was stopped by Duke Sangha in front of him, but Rani-san was stopped by Amur by being punched by him.

''Southern Raccoon........''

The duke's dog...

Both of them are talking badly about each other as they drop. I guess we are more alike than I thought. By the way, Lani-san is a raccoon beastman. The reason I thought it was reasonable when I heard the word 'Tintin' just now is because I remembered the song 'Tantan Raccoon'............ Also, Steele is not a dog beastman, but an ordinary human race. It's just that Lani couldn't think of any other bad words to say. And that was the line he'd had while rubbing his head after being hit by Amur.