CH 69

I escaped from Mist and now it was after school. Bathed in the red-burning sunset, I pass through the crosswalk, enter the school building where the salon is located, and arrive in front of one of the rooms on the top floor.

“It’s the farthest room on the top floor, so it must be here.”

I checked to make sure I was right and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

I heard a grumbling voice from the back. I did as I was told, slowly opening the door and stepping inside.

As I entered the room, even though it was dusk, my eyes flickered; the walls of the ten-mat room were painted white, and there were glittering jewel-like works of art everywhere, maximizing the brightness of the fire in the three-pronged gilded candelabra.

At the far end of the room, a large sofa covered in animal skin faced the door, with Alfred sitting proudly on it. In the center of the room was a long desk made of sooty copper, surrounded by chairs of poor taste with ornaments all over them. There were two men sitting side by side with a composed look on their faces, as if they had no hesitation in sitting on such an expensive looking chair.

From my point of view, the man in the foreground was so tall that I could see him even when he was sitting down, with short brown hair and thread-like eyes, while the man in the back was a beautiful man with long blond hair tied up in a bun.

“What are you babbling about?”

Alfred asked sarcastically as he sat down.

“Oh, yes. My name is Chris Dreschord.”

I didn’t know what to do, so I introduced myself anyway. Then, Alfred jerked his head toward the two sitting people, and they stood up from their chairs.

“I am Kiku Nemika, the eldest son of the Nemika family.”

That was a brief introduction in a stern voice. He seems to be a stern man, as I expected.

“My name is Yusuk Garden! I’m also the eldest son like Kiku and Chris, so it’s nice to meet you! Let’s work hard together as the next head of the family! Wait, Chris is already the head of the family. I know it’s a little off topic, but I heard that your territory’s specialty bread is really good. I wanted to try it once. How do you make it?”

Yusuk spoke with a friendly smile on my face for a long time. He immediately called me by name, and again, as expected, he was a friendly guy.

“……Yusuk.”

Alfred grumpily called out to Yusuk.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”

“…….”

Alfred clicked his tongue at Yusuk’s light-hearted attitude. I’m surprised that Alfred has such a type of guy in his salon. I thought he wouldn’t like him. Was he forced into it by family connections? No, but the look of exasperation on his face suggests that he doesn’t dislike him that much.

But still, the Nemika family and the Garden family are counts, and among the noble families adjacent to the royal capital, they are the largest noble families after Alfred’s Orrard family.

Hmmm… If these two are following Alfred because their parents told them to, it means that if a civil war breaks out, the House of Nemika and the House of Garden will be closing in on the royal capital from the north, and the House of Orrard from the east.

I don’t know where the battlefield will be, but if Alfred doesn’t join the royal family, the royal family might have to abandon the capital.

“Hey, Dreschord! Hurry up and get started!”

Alfred rushes me. No, he wants me to come here and study all of a sudden. Are you arrogant?

“Isn’t it a little too early, Alfred? I want to talk to Chris a little more.”

“You idiot are wasting your time. You just don’t want to study. Besides, I don’t want to look at his face for too long.”

“Alfred, don’t be rude! Right? Chris.”

“Uh, let me see…….”

……What’s this pretense that I can’t answer? What is the right answer? I’ve seen it in Japan too, the kind of thing that puts you at the center of the class.

“Yusuk, Master Alfred is right. I’m sorry, Viscount Dreschord. Would you be so kind as to tutor me in my studies?”

“Come on, Kiku! You’re too rigid! This is a school, there is no status quo, so let’s be more casual about it.”

“You’re too light, Yusuk. You need to learn from Kiku.”

“That’s terrible, Alfred.”

At Alfred’s words, Yusuk made an exaggerated gesture, a discourteous movement. Kiku saw this and smiled.

“Hmm. That’s what I mean, Yusuk. You should learn a little more from me.”

“You too, Kiku. If you’re an aristocrat, learn from Yusuk and be a little more sociable.”

“I’m sorry. Master Alfred.”

Kiku nodded his head and began to feel seriously depressed. When he saw this, Yusuk started to shout, “Yay, yay, yay!”

I shouted inwardly what I felt about them. What is this peaceful feeling! My shoulders are so tight! I didn’t participate in the friendly conversation between the three of them, and became air. I want to go home. I really want to go home.

“That’s why. Now, get on with your studies.”

“What?”

When he heard Alfred’s words, Yusuk started to complain.

“Thank you. Sir Dreschord.”

Perhaps he was concerned about Alfred’s comment earlier, but he changed the way he called me. He’s such a charming guy.

“Chris, show me the power of the school’s top student.”

I could sense that Yusuk was curious about me starting to teach, despite his joking tone.

“I understand. Then, if I may be so bold, I would like to help you prepare for your history test.”

As I announce the start of class, the two students turn their serious eyes towards me. There’s something I really want to say to them. 　Actually, I haven’t thought about what I’m going to do.