Sightseeing
Miss Diana’s guards secured our seats, with their own seats placed on either side of us. Since standing around would make it awkward for others to eat, they took their seats as well.
I’d brought plates for Atre and the others, so I transferred a bit of each dish onto their plates, and Atre and the White Dragon immediately dug in and polished it all off in no time.
Both of them asked for seconds, saying it was delicious. Ripka, on the other hand, was eating slowly, savoring each bite.
“You two eat way too fast. I haven’t even taken a single bite yet, so you’ll have to wait a bit for seconds,” I said, prompting Miss Diana to offer, “If you don’t mind, may I serve them for you?”
“Miss Diana, aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’ve eaten here many times. Besides, the food is best while it’s still warm.”
Taking her up on her offer, she helped refill Atre’s and the White Dragon’s plates. Lately, it felt like the two of them were competing with each other—maybe it was just my imagination.
We ate everything, and it was all delicious. Unfortunately, more than half of it was devoured by Atre and the White Dragon, leaving nothing for Meyer and the others. Sorry about that. We’ll rotate who gets time off, so everyone can come back another day to eat here.
After the meal, we strolled along the beach. Since we were wearing leather shoes, we couldn’t walk on the white sand. It’d be convenient to have something like beach sandals… but since they didn’t exist, there was no helping it.
Atre, Ripka, and the White Dragon weren’t restricted, so Atre dashed around the sand, while Ripka and the White Dragon flew through the air.
Suddenly, Atre used wind magic to splash seawater toward Ripka and the White Dragon, and the two scrambled away, though they seemed to be having fun. Maybe this was their version of post-meal exercise.
“I’d heard familiars are like children, but their magic is impressive,” Miss Diana said, eyes wide as she watched their play.
“Our house is even more intense. Ice, lightning, fire, wind magic—everything gets thrown around,” Brother Gerald said, and Meyer and the guards nodded in agreement.
When all our kids play together, they use the knights’ training grounds, so Meyer and the guards probably knew better than anyone.
Playing in the garden was only allowed if they held back or if only two or three of them were playing at once—Mother’s rule. One time, they all went wild, ruined the garden, and got scolded by Mother and punished with no dinner. Ever since, they’d all behaved.
“Is that an island across the sea? Does anyone live there?” I asked.
“No, that’s an old volcanic island. No one lives there. It hasn’t erupted in decades, but the land is buried under volcanic rock and ash.”
“Are there any monsters that adventurers would go after?”
“I’ve never heard of any creatures worth taking a boat all the way there to hunt.”
As expected of someone who helped with the local lord’s duties, Miss Diana knew a lot about the territory.
Next, we visited the harbor where many foreign ships were anchored, looking at the ships and browsing shops selling foreign goods.
“Brother Gerald…”
“You noticed it too, Hardt.”
“We’re being followed, aren’t we?”
“Gerald, shall we apprehend them?” asked Meyer.
“Let’s let them swim a bit. Just report where they end up.”
“Understood.”
“Miss Diana, let’s head back for today. We don’t want any trouble.”
“Of course. I’ll gladly show you around again another day.”
We took the carriage back to the Southcourt estate.
While waiting for Meyer’s report back at the estate, I spoke with Brother Gerald.
“Hardt, you kept asking Miss Diana detailed questions about that island beyond the sea… do you think there’s something about it?”
“I thought maybe that was where Cherry used to live?”
“I see. That’s why you brought up the adventurer question.”
“Grandmother probably suspects the same. Since she can’t go herself, she’s hoping we’ll look into it.”
“If we’re going, we’ll need to secure a ship.”
“We’ll ask Grandmother first.”
There was a knock at the door. Georges checked and informed us Meyer had returned with a report.
“The Southcourt knights say it was someone from an information broker.”
Apparently, Mick from Westland and a Southcourt knight had followed them and confirmed they’d entered an information broker’s building.
It seemed to be a legitimate information broker focused on open investigation requests, not illegal dealings. However, Mick said the Southcourt knight seemed to know more than he let on.
“Were they investigating Brother Gerald?”
“Someone from Southcourt, perhaps?”
“Possibly,” Brother Gerald replied.
I asked if it didn’t bother him, and he said,
“We investigate people we hire, too. It’s the same thing.”
That basically meant he didn’t mind being investigated as a potential son-in-law…
I was fine with it, but still.
I couldn’t help but wonder—who in Southcourt was having Brother Gerald investigated?
What do you think about this chapter?
