I was hoping that the number of people who had gathered in this place had decreased after an hour and a half passed, but unfortunately, the entrance to the temple was still filled with a large number of nobles and priests, and it was a bit difficult to find Lilia-san and the others.
But even so, the majority of the people who gathered in this place are nobles and priests, so it's not as noisy and uncontrolled as a festival, so it's not so crowded that I can't move past people.
However, there were a lot of nobles dressed in expensive clothes here and there, so it was a bit tiring moving around while trying to avoid bumping into them.
[Excuse me. Sorry to keep you waiting.]
[Good work over there, Kaito-san.]
When I joined them after a while, Lilia-san greeted me with a gentle smile.
As we expected, the number of people still gathering seems to be increasing, so we decided to move to the carriage before we get stuck in this place, and as we moved, we talked for a bit.
[Arehh? What's that you got there, Miyama-senpai?]
[Eh? Ah, these are tea leaves that Shiro-sa—– the Goddess gave me.]
Yuzuki-san, who noticed the jar that was still in my hand and not tucked away in my magic box because I was prioritizing meeting up with the others, asked me, so I simply replied as we continued walking.
Then, for some reason, Lilia-san and Lunamaria-san, who were walking in front of me, stopped in their tracks.
[...Kaito-san, errr, what did you just say?]
[Eh? This jar was given to me by the Goddess...]
[...Miyama-sama, w- what kind of means did you use to make the Goddess like you that much just when you met?]
[E- Errr... I just had a cup of tea and chatted with her...]
[ [ You had tea with the Goddess!? ] ]
The words I casually told them were apparently unbelievable to the two of them, that Lilia-san and Lunamaria-san stopped moving and looked back at me with their eyes wide open.
Arehh? What the heck is happening, perhaps, did I make some kind of blunder in saying it...
[... Luna... How many times have we visited this place? For all those times, I've never had a proper conversation with the Goddess, let alone having tea with her...]
[My Lady... Please get a hold of yourself... This is most probably not My Lady's fault, I think it's just that Miyama-sama's social skills are too high.]
[Y- Yeah... I feel like I'm overexaggerating... They've just talked for a bit…]
[Miyama-sama, interacting with the Goddess also shows that you've gained a certain amount of trust from the God Realm. Especially in the nobles' society that places a high value on horizontal connections, it could even be considered a kind of influence.]
[..........]
Ehhhhhhh!? H- How in the world did it suddenly turn into that big of a deal!?
N- No no, seriously, you're misunderstanding it. The reason I got along with Shiro-san is mostly all due to the influence of that little demon girl, and even that topic about me having some kind of earth-shattering communipower is...
As for Lilia-san, it seems like she's looking at me with respect, and if I don't fix this misunderstanding quickly...
[No, Lilia-san, it's just a misundersta—- "Dear me, look who's here, isn't this Duchess Albert-dono?" —–okay?]
Something appeared with superb timing!?
[This is quite an unexpected meeting, isn't it? Count Doukas.]
(T/N: ドゥーカス / Duukasu)
[I haven't seen you since last night's party. Duchess Albert-dono, are you also here to get your blessing?]
[Yes, I just finished receiving mine.]
It seems that the one who appeared with an unpleasant timing was a count named Doukas.
Judging from the fact that he's wearing a fairly shiny and gaudy ornate outfit, it looks like he's a noble. Somehow, he's quite large—- width-wise, I mean.
He's probably that, probably a hybrid between an orc and a human or something like that.
[Miyama-sama, I think I have some idea what you're thinking about... but he's a pure-blooded human.]
Probably sensing my thoughts, Lunamaria-san whispered that to me.
Apparently, he's not a hybrid or anything like that, he's just fat. If that's the case... I think that his size wouldn't be good for his health.
Combined with the number of people in this room, he would probably feel really pressured. I can't really say this since we've only met for the first time, but I think you should cut back on the oily stuff.
[Are the flowers beside you the princesses of the other world?]
[ [ ! ? ] ]
[Not to mention the beautiful Duchess Albert, the princesses of the other world must have looked great in their vestments. I would have loved to see that.]
When Count Doukas turns his attention to our direction, he looks at Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san as if to say that he doesn't care about me, and then, his fleshy face twists to what seems to be a smile.
Uwaaahhh... He looks kind of terrifying when he smiles. It's like he's a toad or something like that, but Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san clearly feels frightened. The fact that they're able to look at them that faithfully with that kind of lust in his eyes makes him, in a sense, an amazing person.
As expected, I wasn't comfortable leaving them exposed to such a gaze that seems like they're being licked, so I took a step forward and moved to get in between them and Count Doukas.
[Muhh?]
Well, I had expected that this would happen, but Count Doukas obviously made a face that turned into something that looks like he's grumpy when I stepped out in front of his field of vision. How should I say this, should I say that he's really faithful to his desires, that he's easy to understand.
Even though I said all that, he's still a Count. Even though he's glaring at me, if I glared back at him too, ti would cause trouble for Lilia-san, so I gave him a fake smile and bowed to him.
[Nice to meet you, Count-sama. I'm the otherworlder, Miyama Kaito. I'm not sure if I'm being rude to intrude in the middle of your conversation, but I feel like I haven't had the chance to greet you yet.]
[...Hohh, excuse my impoliteness. You look so plain, that I thought you were their carriage driver or something like that.]
Whoa, he just casually dissed me. I admire this kind of refreshing interaction with him, in some ways.
However, unfortunately for him, I'm already used to reactions like "Who the hell is this guy?", and I've already received the glared of people more powerful like him like Acht, so I don't feel intimidated by his glare at all. That's why, I just replied to him with a smile on my face.
[I apologize for my shabby appearance. Unfortunately, I'm a youngster who came from a world unrelated to nobility, so I would appreciate it if you would be lenient regarding our manners.]
[...Hmph.]
I don't know where those nice words "Noblesse Oblige" has gone, and I know that he may be angry, but I hope that he would at least return my greeting.
Well, though I say that, even though he would have a smile on his face while greeting me on the surface, he probably isn't very pleased with me hiding Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san behind my back, so Count Doukas just sent me an abhorrent look and turned his gaze away.
And in the end, without returning my greeting, he just exchanged a couple of words with Lilia-san before leaving. Seriously, he really is the template of a no-good noble.
[Miyama-sama, that was quite splendid.]
[... How should I say this, he was quite the easy person to understand, wasn't he?]
[As you can imagine, he was a Count that was quite well-known for his lustful nature... Even in the evening party last night, he tried to talk to Kusunoki-sama and Yuzuki-sama many times.]
[To have that kind of faithfulness to his desires, in a sense, I kind of respect him... Anyway, are you two alright?]
[Y- Yes. Thank you very much, Miyama-san.]
[Ugghh, I don't like those kinds of people.]
It appears that Count Toady is a trauma-level of an opponent for the two of them, as they were clearly relieved when they came out from behind my back.
Certainly, that smile of his was terrifying. Even I, as a man, had goosebumps looking at it, and it would have been hard for young girls when face with something like that. I could even say that Lilia-san, who had managed to calmly handle him, was really the embodiment of a noble.
[Well, most of the men who approach My Lady are like that after all.]
[Please don't say anything... Luna.]
[Shouldn't we rely on Miyama-sama's power and have him pull a good candidate for you, My Lady?]
[Ughh, I envy you, Kaito-san.]
Come to think of it, I remembered hearing about it before. Although Lilia-san is royalty, it is said that she had some difficulty in making connections with others because she rose from a Knight to a Duchess and because she's the female head of the family.
For a noble, the horizontal connections can be said to be their power. Even though Lilia-san had a really great connection with the royalty, as a member of the Knight Order, she's been out of the social circles for a while. Aside from her connection with the royalty, she ended up not having a lot of connections with the people who have really great influence.
[In other words, Miyama-senpai has become a manekineko huh!]
" "
[Hina-san, what is this manekineko?]
[It's an ornament that brings in better luck from our world. It was said to bring in good luck—- whether it's luck in money or people.]
[I see! That is to say, if I were to pray to Kaito-san...]
[There's no benefit in that, okay!?]
(T/N: Manekineko (beckoning cat) is that cat swinging one of its paws up and down. You would usually see them in shops.)
Thanks to Yuzuki-san's unnecessary words, Lilia-san had her hands together while looking at me, as if she's really praying. Even if you do something like that, nothing would happen, you know!?
Well, of course, Lilia-san wasn't really doing it either, as she immediately laughed and started walking again. I thought of saying a few words to Yuzuki-san who was the cause of all these ruckus—- but that's when I noticed it.
Yuzuki-san's fingers, which are holding the sleeves of my clothes like she's pinching them before I knew it, were slightly trembling in contrast to the bright smile she had earlier.
I see, I tend to carelessly forget it, but she's the youngest among us.
If that's the case, then the insecurity she carries behind her smiles is probably the biggest too. Thinking back on it, I also heard her cries back in our first night in this world...
Feeling that, I decided to pretend not to notice her trembling fingers and just quietly murmured.
[If something like that comes up in the future, you can just hide behind me. I might not be that reliable but... Well, I should be able to figure something out.]
[ ! ? ]
Only saying those words, and while pretending not to notice that her grip on my clothes has become a little stronger, I started walking while matching my stride to match Yuzuki-san's.
I can't say cool things like I will be protecting her, but even if I'm useless, I think I need to show them what it means to be their male senpai.
And if that lightens her anxiety, even just a little bit... I will have to try my best to do something, even though it might be something I don't usually do.
[...Thank you very much... Also, that senpai just now... was really cool...]
Although we encountered some trouble along the way, we managed to safely leave the temple. And just when the number of people dwindled, the surroundings suddenly turned noisy.
[She arrived! The Goddess of Time is here!]
Hearing such voices, the noises grew louder and louder.
Why—- exactly on this timing? No, really...
[My Lady, it looks like praying to Miyama-sama immediately brought his blessing.]
[... No, as expected, I wasn't really wishing for something this outrageous to happen...]
Dear Mom, Dad—– After the Goddess, came a toad, and finding myself becoming a manekineko, a Goddess arrived in this place again. It appears that ever since I arrived in another world—– It seems like I'm attracting trouble.