I wanted to get up and move imdiately, but everyone insisted that I stay in bed for another day.
The person who helped the most during that ti was none other than the maid assigned to take care of .
"Now, open wide. Ahhh."
"I can feed myself..."
"Shush. Open wide. Ahhh."
"…Ahhh."
"Good job."
She smiled and patted my head when I obediently complied. I looked at her with a confused expression, but it had no effect.
"You should’ve known better than to overdo it, right?"
"I didn’t overdo it..."
"Then try standing up and doing the first form of ceremonial swordsmanship. If you can’t, that ans you pushed yourself too hard."
"What?"
Not even Aria or Lapiere could do the first form of ceremonial swordsmanship. Despite my incredulous expression, the maid kept smiling.
"Anyway, you’ll be leaving the city soon. Until then, rest."
She patted my head once more before taking the empty dishes and leaving the room. The room fell into silence again.
"Ugh..."
Now, with no one to talk to, not even for small talk, I groaned in frustration.
‘I’m so bored...’
And it was true—I had nothing to do except lie in bed. I really wanted to move around, but it seed the exhaustion I experienced after such a long ti had hit hard.
Whenever I tried to get up and walk, my legs would imdiately give out.
Going for a walk was out of the question. And when I tried to think of sothing I could do while sitting, I realized I’d spent the past few years doing nothing but researching magic, so nothing else ca to mind.
‘If only I had just a little bit of mana...’
But the Ultimate Star-spear only activated once it had accumulated a certain amount of mana, so all I could do was wait patiently.
"Ugh... Master key, please save ..."
The master key and my pen were all stored away in the pocket dinsion, so I couldn’t summon them. Even if I could, all my materials and magical tools were packed away, so I couldn’t even entertain myself with those.
In the end, all I could do was stare blankly out the window.
"…Co to think of it, didn’t the count say there was a festival today?"
I’d heard that Count Alphares was hosting a festival to honor the hero’s party and the soldiers who fought against the demons. Apparently, there would be additional rewards for those who had directly participated in the battle as well.
"Judging by appearances, it looks like it’ll be a festival of poverty and hardship..."
"That’s a bit unfortunate."
"Yikes!"
Startled by the sudden voice, I looked toward the door. To my dismay, the count himself was standing there with an awkward smile.
What was he doing here?
‘Well, I guess it is his house...’
"The maid told you were awake, Louie. I ca by because I had sothing I wanted to say."
"Ah, um, sorry..."
"No need to apologize. I understand."
Count Winer Alphares stroked his ample belly and his unkempt beard as he spoke.
"As the ruler of a city and the representative of my family, I should be mindful of my appearance. But to be fair, I’ve been too busy lately to worry about that."
For soone with so many servants, he must’ve been incredibly busy to let himself go like that.
"Between my responsibilities as a noble, managing politics and economics, and now this new issue with demons and monsters, I’ve had no ti to spare."
"Ah."
"Even now, I’ve just gotten up from my desk after drafting a report about the fortress incident for His Majesty and reviewing docunts to submit to the lower officials."
The fortress incident had ended the day before yesterday. Considering he’d been working non-stop since then, he had probably gone two days without sleep.
"…"
I felt genuinely sorry for him.
I, too, had stayed up countless nights working on my research. I rembered all too well the exhaustion I felt, barely able to keep going, pushing myself to the limit to finish my work.
But that was sothing I chose to do. Count Alphares, on the other hand, hadn’t wanted this burden at all...
"I’m really sorry..."
"No need to apologize. My wife and daughter have been worried about , too. This is sothing I need to resolve myself."
Now that I thought about it, I rembered how beautiful Countess Alphares was. There was a reason for that. When soone is as kind-hearted and diligent as him, they naturally attract beautiful people!
"Anyway, I ca to ask you one question, Louie."
"What is it?"
"Louie, who are you?"
"I’m sorry, but the mont I learned you had joined the hero’s party, I started investigating your past."
"…"
"But nothing ca up. Not with magical tools, not even through the traditional thods using informants."
"Is that so."
Of course, it was.
I had rarely shown my face in public before. Ever since leaving my master’s nest, I had lived in near-anonymity, interacting with the outside world as little as possible. Very few people knew about .
‘Though it’s not as if no one does.’
There were indeed people who knew who I was. Had Count Alphares dug deeper into those sources, he might have uncovered my past.
But even if he had, approaching those people directly would’ve been difficult. Because the ones who hold my information aren’t the type to deal with soone like a count.
"For the past year, the hero’s party consisted of four mbers. They faced no failures and continued to rise in prominence. I, too, placed my faith in them to guide the future of this city. However, when the hero’s party arrived in the city, there were five mbers."
An unknown mage had joined the party.
It was only natural for Count Alphares to be suspicious.
If I harbored any anti-imperial sentints or if I was a demon in disguise, the city’s fate would be in peril.
"That’s why I looked into you. But no information ca up, and any doubts about your abilities have been dispelled."
"…"
"I’m sorry. I’ve wronged a hero who saved the city."
"It’s fine. I would have done the sa."
And I ant it. I felt no anger at all over the fact that he had investigated .
‘Honestly, he seed so good-natured and upright that it felt like sothing was missing.’
Now, at last, I was seeing the count act like a proper noble. Though even now, he was still on the nicer end of the noble spectrum.
"The hero’s party receives the emperor’s blessing, and naturally, they attract trouble. With great responsibility cos great scrutiny."
"Thank you."
"So, are you curious about my true identity?"
If he wanted to know, I could tell him a little. But Count Alphares shook his head.
"No, Louie. Since you saved the city, it doesn’t matter to . But..."
"But?"
"Do you know the titles Mage of the Fortress and White Smith?"
Those were familiar nas.
"The mysterious grand mage said to protect the imperial family, and the anonymous mage who continues to astound the world by creating remarkable magical tools."
"I’m very familiar with them."
"I hope you’re not either of those people, Louie."
"Why?"
"Because that would an another star has risen to protect the empire."
"I see."
"That’s all I wanted to say. Please rest well."
With that, Count Alphares left the room. As I lay in the now-silent room, I continued to mull over his words.
"…Sorry, but your wish won’t co true."
Because I am the White Smith.
Before joining the hero’s party, I had used that alias to sell the magical tools I created. The reason I chose that na was simple.
I had white hair, and I made magical tools like a blacksmith would.
‘I didn’t expect Count Alphares to know about the White Smith, though.’
The White Smith only dealt with the highest-quality magical tools. The prototype versions or downgraded versions of those tools were all sold under different nas, so the White Smith’s reputation had grown significantly.
Still, I hadn’t thought anyone would recognize it unless they had the wealth and connections to purchase those top-tier tools.
"Now that I think about it, soone like Count Alphares would have enough resources."
In any case, I wouldn’t be able to grant his wish.
As for the Mage of the Fortress...
"…That’s not ."
The face of a woman flashed through my mind. Her shaless smile, despite being older than by just a few years, ca to the forefront of my thoughts, making slightly irritated.
"Well, I’m sure she’s doing fine."
No matter what, she wouldn’t forget her duties just because I wasn’t there.
Having sent off my unexpected guest, I once again looked out the window to pass the ti.
"Huh?"
"Hehe. Bored, aren’t you?"
To my surprise, a familiar elf appeared beyond the window. It was Lapiere.
"What are you doing here?"
"I thought you might be bored, so I ca to visit."
Really?
If that’s the case, I’m genuinely touched.
"Heh, from the look on your face, I guess I ca at the right ti?"
"Who said I was crying?"
"Dunno. But your hair sure looks white."
"Ugh."
"Hahaha! Anyway, co here. Look down there."
"Down there?"
"Louie~!"
"Louie, how are you feeling?"
"Aria, Serlin."
Three heroines had co to visit , worried about my health. Of course, they had each co separately yesterday and today, but the fact that they all ca together now moved even more.
"Where’s the hero?"
"Aswell? He said he’s having a al with so high-ranking officials, so he didn’t co."
The elf replied in a slightly annoyed tone. It seed the hero had declined their impromptu visit, and judging by her mood, he had probably annoyed her by doing so.
"So today, it’s just us girls hanging out. There’s a festival, after all."
"Sounds fun."
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the energy to join them for the festival.
"So, let ask you this—if you move, will you die?"
"Uh?"
Her ridiculous question left stunned, and I gave a deflated response.
"Of course not..."
"Good. Then get on my back."
"…??"
"Let’s go see the festival."
"W-wait. Ah!"
Without waiting for my response, Lapiere made a gesture, and suddenly, a gust of wind carried toward her.
"Thanks, everyone!"
Everyone? Did she an the spirits?
With no choice but to comply, I allowed Lapiere to carry , jumping down from the window while I, now without even a robe, found myself helplessly slung over her back.
"You look cuter than usual when you’re sitting still like that."
"I know, right? Hehe."
"Don’t tease ."
"Where should we go?"
"I think it’s only fair for our hero to decide."
"I agree. Louie, you should pick our destination!"
"Uh, well, I was thinking of that magic materials—"
"No magic material shops. No magical tool shops. No magic-related anything!"
"..."
We had a slight disagreent, but overall, it wasn’t a bad experience. With Serlin and Lapiere taking turns carrying , the four of us enjoyed the festival together.
‘This is fun.’
Thanks to them, nothing else occupied my thoughts during that ti.
Not mories of my past life, not the story’s plot, not even magic.
The only thing that occasionally crossed my mind was the one party mber who wasn’t there.
‘Next ti, the hero should join us too.’
And so, we enjoyed a day at the festival, and the next morning ca.
"I can move now."
"Such a sha..."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. Now, let’s try standing up slowly with my help."
"No, I can do it on my own... Actually, I’ll take your hand."
Thanks to the maid’s help, I slowly started walking again. Gradually, I increased the ti I spent moving, and two days later, we were ready to leave the Alphares estate.
Reviews
All reviews (0)