CH 75

I apologize to the seven knights and the coachman who had come to pick me up, but I decided to take a little stroll down the main street of the commercial city.

It was late in the evening and the streets were crowded with people.

“There are quite a lot of people here.”

“It’s the time of day when many adventurers have returned home from outside the city and many people have come to buy food for supper.”

Emilia answered my casual comment.

I was a little surprised inside, but I continued the conversation with an unconcerned face.

“Heh~, but there aren’t any food stalls or anything?”

“The main street is a shopping district with stores. The food stalls are lined up in the central square and the back streets.”

Perhaps she was on a natural high from riding Diana, watching the battle and playing by the river. She may not realize it, but I’m glad Emilia is conversing with me normally like this.

“Ah! Luke-sama, you can’t eat at a food stall, that’s no good! The duke’s cooks should be preparing a meal with skill. Please bear with it for a while.”

“Hah, I know……”

Iris interrupts the conversation and says mean things.

“♪ She made that remark in regards to your welfare. Even though you know that, you can’t resist your appetite?』\

“That’s a meaner statement than Iris’s.”

“♪ Navi is single-mindedly only thinking of Master, right? Navi is made up of 100% of Master’s love.』\

“Lie! 』\

“♪ Well, be that as it may, you’ve got about five people on watch.』\

I don’t break our [telepathy] to protect Iris, but this is the main topic huh?

“I can’t blame the knights for escorting me.”

“♪ No, apart from the knights following behind, it seems that King Zeno has prepared three and Guile two hidden men.”

“Seriously, there’s no response on the map? 』\

“♪ They’re the ones who were ordered to escort. The MAP’s detection function does not respond to people who have no hostile intent.』\

Even though I’m quite skilled, they’re at a level where I’m completely unaware of any signs that I’m being monitored.

“Is Erica aware that she’s being followed? 』\

“She feels stares and discomfort. However, she was informed in advance that she would be escorted secretly, so she was not overly vigilant.』\

Erica noticed …… it’s a little frustrating.

“What about Iris and Natalie? 』\

“♪ They’re completely unaware of this. They’re, however, very vigilant about their surroundings.』\

“Emilia you’re in your own territory, so are you familiar with the stores and such around here? There are a few things I want.”

“What kind of things do you want?”

“A florist and a place that sells medicinal herbs. I’d also like to replenish my supply of eggs, milk, and mithril steel.”

“A florist?”

“Yes. A florist and herbs for shampoo and cosmetics.”

“This way!”

Eh….?

Emilia pulled me by the hem and started to lead the way. …… You have a phobia of men, don’t you?

I was going to stall the conversation with the “I didn’t realize” strategy, but I didn’t want any repercussions later, so I’m going to tell her.

“Emilia,…… even though I haven’t touched you directly, are you okay?”

“Huh! I’m sorry!”

She quickly let go of my cuffs and suddenly started to panic.

“Well, calm down. Are you okay? Any headache, nausea, dizziness, palpitation, cowering and so on?”

“Yes, I am. I didn’t even realize I was touching you until you told me.”

“I think that’s a good sign, even if it is just a desire for shampoo. Just the fact that you don’t have an aversion to me anymore is a little progress. Well then, please show me the way.”

“Ah, yes…… I can talk to you normally, even though we don’t have a table between us……”

I knew she hadn’t noticed. ……

I couldn’t get around much because of time, but I was able to purchase everything but mithril and milk.

After that, we headed to the duke’s mansion in the carriage he had prepared for us.

* * * *

“Welcome back, Emilia!”

When we arrived at the mansion and got off the carriage, Lara ran up to us and hugged Emilia.

“I’m back, Lara, you look well.”

“Yes! And welcome back Luke oni-chan!”

This time she hugged me and I heard a “can” and a squeal from my belly.

“Ah! I had Hati in my clothes.”

Hati squirmed around and poked his face out of my chest.

“Luke! What’s that cute little thing?”

“Lara, calm down!”

I took him out of my clothes and put him down on the ground.

Hati was also sleeping and was just startled by the sudden strong pressure, but does not seem to be injured or anything.

“I’m sorry, doggy.”

Hati approached Lara and began to sniff her, but soon his tail began to wag slowly.

“Hati seemed to have taken a liking to you, Lara. And this cub is not a dog, but the child of the divine beast Fenrir.”

“it’s so cute♡”

I’m pretty certain Lara wouldn’t understand the rarity and awesomeness of a divine beast or anything like that.

I looked next door and saw Anna, who was greeting Mifa and Emilia, locking on to Hati.

“Welcome, everyone. We’re not here to stand around and talk, so please come in.”

I think she’s the family orderly who organizes the duke’s family.. Guile-san is supposed to be away as he is in King’s Landing for tonight’s meeting.

When we enter the mansion, we were greeted by the butlers and maids in the entrance hall again.

After all there are beautiful places … very good!

Even at my uncle’s mansion, which is quite wealthy, there were no beautiful women in maid uniforms. He told me that a part time lady came twice a week to clean and do the laundry.

I often gazed at the scene that I would never have seen if I had stayed in Japan.

Erica gave me a tap on the back …….

“Master Luke…..”

She mumbled something in a whisper that only I could hear, and I followed her gaze to see Mifa looking at me with a mousy expression on her face.

That’s right…. this girl could tell people’s emotions by their color.

I guess she found out I was excited by the beautiful women in maid’s uniforms.

The butler tries to show me to the common room, but I decline.

“For now, I’m going to check on Sasha-san first. Would Emilia like to come with me?

“I’m coming!”

“Will Lara-chan come, too?”

“Yes! I want to go!”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Of course I was going to ask you, Anna.”

“Ah, you’re lying……”

Mifa! Don’t say unnecessary things!

I took the three sisters and headed for Sasha-san’s bedroom.

The butler knocks on the door and only calls out without opening it.

“Mistress, His Highness Luke has arrived. He said he wanted to greet you first, so I am escorting him to your room. May you see him now?”

“Yes, please come in.”

I put an infection-prevention [air shield] on everyone and went inside.

“Thank you Luke, for taking time off from school to come here for me.”

“No, mother-in-law, we are going to be a family, so please don’t worry about it.”

Sasha-san smiled and bowed lightly to me, then looked at Emilia.

“Emilia….”

“Mother! You’ve lost so much weight……”

I also put on [Air Shield] on Sasha-san, opened the window of the room to ventilate it and used [Clean] to sterilize the room.

“How are you feeling, Mother-in-law?”

“I’m much better than before, but I have a slight fever again.”

I put my hand on her forehead and measure her temperature.

“You have a slight fever, but it’s still just a little high. Are you coughing?”

“No, I don’t have a cough and my chest is not painful as it was before.”

I treat her the same as before.

“Oh my! As I thought, Luke’s treatment is great! I’m no longer feverish or tired…♪”

The three sisters seem very happy to hear that.

“Thank you, Luke onii-chan, ♡♡♡”

Lara, is an angel!

That smile alone is enough to make me happy!

“Luke-san, would you like me to join you for dinner this evening?”

“Yes, that’s all right. Oh, the housekeeper said it would take about an hour to prepare, so please stay in your room until then.”

“You guys called us at the beginning and said you would be here around 9:00 p.m., didn’t you? You  arrived two hours early, so everyone was in a hurry to get ready.”

Anna tells me that the cooks were in a hurry.

“The dragon was faster than we expected. We should have called them when we arrived in town.”

“♪ The knight contacted the mansion upon your arrival in town. At that point, they rushed to prepare to pick you up.”

” Luke-onii-chan, I saw it from my room window! It was a pitch-black dragon!”

“It must have looked small from the house, but it was very big and cool. I’ll give you a ride next time.”

“Yes! I want to ride it!”

Lara, your eyes are shining!

“I’m going to go check on the girls who were taking care of you. You can all stay if you want, but please be moderate so as not to tire my mother-in-law out before dinner.”

“Yes. I will leave the room in about 10 minutes. Thank you, Luke, for treating my mother.”

Emilia thanked me with tears in her eyes.

Sasha and Anna were very surprised to see Emilia who spoke to me herself.