Chapter 701

Report on the magic tool maniac group.
Tonight we would have dinner here at the royal capital mansion, and tomorrow morning Otousama would accompany us as we headed to the territory.

“Count Willard’s son wants to visit our territory during the long vacation?”
“Yes. Ronnie-sama is passionate about magic tool crafting, and he seems to admire—well, almost worship—Owen-san, who is renowned as the foremost authority in magic tool creation…”

I couldn’t exactly say “both of them are complete magic tool maniacs,” so I phrased it more politely, but Otousama still grimaced as if just hearing about it was troublesome.

“The Willard family is famous for being full of eccentrics, relatives included. You’re not being followed around by this Ronnie, are you?”
“Eh? No. Nothing like that…”
“Good.”

Apparently, when Otousama and Okaasama attended Adelia Academy, a son of the Willard family—Ronnie-sama’s father—was also enrolled as an upperclassman.

That man was obsessed with magic and once spent a period pestering noble students with high mana reserves—such as Otousama and Okaasama—to help him test magic output.

Stalking for magic output tests… terrifying.
Unlike that, Ronnie-sama prefers to stick close to Teacher Marlen, since he wants to ask questions and talk endlessly about magic tools. He doesn’t try to follow me around.

Well, even if he did lock onto me, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with deep magic tool talk, so he’d quickly lose interest anyway.

But when Owen-san is involved, his enthusiasm skyrockets to a shocking degree.

At this point, it’s probably safest to introduce them quickly and then fade out gracefully like a matchmaking auntie: “You magic tool lovers enjoy yourselves now~”

“In any case, they say they wish to visit our territory during the long vacation, so I’d like to request that you issue passage permits that will serve as their identification.”
“Hm. So they are *not* asking to use our mansion’s warp room?”

Otousama looked at me with a slightly curious expression.

“Of course not. The warp room is not something to be used lightly. I haven’t even told them it exists.”
“Mm. Quite right. We must not forget that, especially since it’s been used rather casually of late.”
“Yes.”

Well… originally, the room existed for emergencies, yet because we have such ridiculous mana reserves, we’ve been using this mana-eating warp room far too freely.

I *can* warp by myself, but Otousama insists I avoid doing so casually. If I come and go without using the warp room, they can’t keep track of where I am.
It also seems to be a “If you’re heading home anyway, stop by and show your face” sort of reason.

“Umm… i-is it truly all right for someone like me to use such an important facility…?”

Mariel-chan raised her hand, pale-faced and trembling.

Ah—she’s probably imagining all sorts of security-related scenarios.
True, the warp room is also an escape route for the ducal house and even the royal family in emergencies. But back when I was holed up in the territory, Otousama still used it casually…

“Oh, Mariel-san, I invited you, so it’s perfectly fine. I’d feel much more secure having you with me.”
“Indeed. You are Cristea’s good friend, and someone who can teach her the common sense of the world. I ask that you remain by her side.”
“E-ehe… h-heh… I-I see… um, teaching her common sense…?”

I think she whispered, “C-can I really do that…?” but let’s ignore it.
If anything, her cheeks flushed for a second before turning even paler—but let’s also ignore that.

It’s fine! We’re both reincarnators with proper common sense. No need to overthink it.
Look—she must look so scared that Otousama even said, “Do what you can within reason; that is enough.”

Even Okaasama added, “Don’t worry, we’re not placing any responsibility on you. Just take it easy, all right?”

Sure, I’ve studied noble etiquette thoroughly, so the knowledge is there—even if my practical skills are terrible.
And while I was a commoner in my previous life, I understand perfectly well that “common sense” here is *very* different from that.

Still, I don’t think I’m *so* out of touch that I need this much concern…

“A-anyway! Ronnie-sama and the rest of the magic tool-crafter tour group will enter the territory separately!”
“What are you saying? If they’re heading to the territory for the long vacation, naturally they will go by carriage.”
“Eh? … Ah!”

Right.
A few times a year, nobles have to travel between their territory and the capital while spending money at inns and shops along the way.
It’s part of “noblesse oblige”.

“For students like them, hiring guards for the journey would be difficult. Since they’re your classmates, it’s realistic to have them accompany us on our return trip.”
“… Yes, that’s true…”

Ehhh…
It’s finally the long vacation, but if Ronnie-sama and the others are around, I won’t be able to relax and unwind!

“However, once we arrive, even if we assign them guards, they will act separately. I dislike noise. We will direct them to safe lodging, but staying in our mansion is not allowed.”

Seeing me droop, Otousama cleared his throat and said that.

“Eh… is that all right?”
“It matters not. Those magic tool maniacs will be too busy talking about their craft to notice anything else. They’ll talk all night and still not be satisfied. I refuse to let such fools disturb us.”
“You’re absolutely right!”

Ahh—thank goodness.
In that case, we’re safe.
We can introduce them to Owen-san and Galvano Ojisama at the beginning, and after that, we can just teleport straight to the port town.

“First, confirm how many permits are needed and make sure they all receive permission from their guardians,” Otousama instructed me.

So I decided to speak with Ronnie-sama next week, and tonight we spent the night at the royal capital mansion.

… And let’s keep it a secret that Mariel-chan and I got so lively during our pajama party that we could hardly fall asleep.

What do you think about this chapter?