Suddenly, the kingdom of Farrant, which exists in the center of the continent, has four seasons.
To be honest, I don't know if the four seasons in this world are the same as the Earth in the previous life, and maybe they are made up of completely different laws than what I know, but that is not what I think about in the work of scholars.
There is only one important thing here.
── Summer has come
The sun in the heavens has already been raging, showering the inhabitants of the royal capital with relentless sunshine for the past few days.
According to reports, many people collapse due to the heat, and many patients are brought to the hospital in the city every day.
"I want to eat strawberries next."
"Yes, Ojou-sama."
"Ahhh Hmm~"
However, this has nothing to do with this duke's mansion.
In contrast to the intense heat outside, I sit on the couch in a room that has been chilled by magic, pick a strawberry from the plate of fruit on the table, and throw it into the mouth of the lying Ojou-sama with my knees as a pillow.
Looking down at the Ojou-sama who was eating fresh strawberries and looking happy, I smiled and patted her head.
Upon returning from that troubled expedition training, the school went on a month-long summer vacation.
Many students return to their estates, but many remain in the royal capital for their holidays, such as Miss Isabella.
At first, the Ojou-sama was energetically going out and enjoying her vacation, but as the heat gradually worsened, she went out less often, and finally she did not leave the mansion at all.
Fortunately, the Duke family employs excellent ice magicians, so the mansion is always cool and comfortable.
Even now, in one corner of the room, a huge ice crystal made of magic is placed instead of an air conditioner, and cold air is sprinkled around the room until the magic power contained in it wears off.
Without it, I wouldn't have been able to spend my time properly in the heat.
"But do you still have a drink?"
After stroking while feeding for a while, the Ojou-sama muttered in dissatisfaction.
Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I sent Eins to the kitchen to get a drink.
Due to her personality, it is difficult to think that she is skipping.
I wonder if something happened?
"You should be able to come back by now, but it's late.
"Crow, stay here."
"Yes."
He tried to lift his hips to see how he was doing, but the Ojou-sama grabbed the hand that was stroking his head and he couldn't move.
I had no choice but to sit back down on the sofa and waited for Eins to return, stroking the Ojou-sama again.
"Ojou, I brought you a drink."
"It's late, I'm tired of waiting."
"I'm sorry."
In the meantime, Eins finally returns and receives a glass of drink and brings the straw close to the mouth of the Ojou-sama on his lap.
The Ojou-sama lies down, turns to the side, chews a straw, and slowly drinks the contents of the glass.
It's pretty nice to eat and drink while lying down, but we're the only ones here, so there won't be any problems.
"Good job, did something happen?"
"That's it..."
He takes his attention away from the Ojou-sama and turns his attention to Einsu who is waiting in front of him.
The fact that it took so long to simply bring the drinks instructed by the kitchen meant that something went wrong along the way.
Thinking so, Eins looked at the door he had just entered.
"Excuse me."
Soon after, the door that had been closed was opened, and Martha, the head maid, entered the room.
The maid-in-chief looked around the room and spotted a Ojou-sama relaxing on my lap and lifted her eyes in the blink of an eye.
Please stop doing such a rash manner!"
"Well, Martha!? What are you doing!"
Surprised by the sudden reprimand, the Ojou-sama jumps up from the sofa and looks at the maid-in-chief with her eyes black and white.
Certainly, the sloppy appearance earlier would be disqualifying as a Ojou.
However, it is rare for the head maid, who usually leaves the care of the Ojou-sama to us, to visit us.
Besides, Mr. Crow, can you please stop spoiling the Ojou-sama so much?"
"My role is to fulfill the wishes of the Ojou-sama, and I cannot obey her instructions, even if it is the words of the head maid. Besides, it's out of my mind to be told that I'm spoiling to this extent."
For some reason, the head maid is turning to me, but I'm doing my part.
I can assure you that there is no condemnation anywhere.
Besides, I wouldn't get into this much pampering.
"Not at all, who are you..."
I thought so, but for some reason the head maid looked at me like I was stunned.
It's crazy to be looked at like that...
"What do you do for the Ojou-sama more than that? You are busy and you didn't come all the way to talk about this."
"Well, this is a waste of time and let's get down to business."
In order to change the awkward atmosphere, I will ask for a favor.
The head maid, who is usually busy managing the mansion, came all the way to visit, and she didn't just come to chat.
"Ojou-sama, the ice attribute magician we hired in our family just now has fallen."
"Hmm? Then why not prepare someone else?"
What the maid-in-chief has been reporting is certainly important, but I don't think she needs to report it.
Ice attribute magicians are certainly valuable, but they are the most famous Dukes of Variers, and of course they can't be the only one employed by them.
So, as the Ojou-sama says, all you have to do is prepare a replacement...
"Unfortunately, this is not possible, all the other personnel have collapsed due to this heat, and there are currently 0 ice attribute magicians who can work in our house."
As if denying our thoughts, the maid-in-chief shook her head and reported the shocking fact.
As I said earlier, the Ojou-sama is comfortable in this mansion thanks to the ice attribute magician employed by the Duke family.
The fact that they all collapsed and could not work means that
「... Well, what are we going to do then?"
"There is nothing we can do about this, and we will cause you inconvenience until they recover."
"Isn't that a lie!?"
Hearing the ruthless pronouncement of the head maid, the screams of the Ojou-sama echo in the mansion.
In other words, it has been decided that we will have to endure the same hellish heat as outside for the next few days.
"Ahh
The next day, the Ojou-sama lying face down on the bed in her room was melting.
There was no liveliness from the other day, and her characteristic vertical roll seemed to wilt somewhat helplessly in this heat.
The cooling magic that had already cooled the room lost its effect due to the loss of magic, and the room was lukewarm.
For the time being, all the personnel who can handle magic, including maids, are mobilized to deal with it, but it is still difficult to achieve the same effect as the ice attribute in terms of cooling with other attributes.
To be honest, I think it's cool enough than the outside as it is, but even this heat is unbearable for the Ojou-sama who has been living in a cold room until now.
"Are you all right, Ojou-sama?" We have prepared a drink, so please drink it."
"What's wrong with this? And it's warm."
"I'm sorry."
The Ojou-sama looked up lazily and stirred the contents of the glass I offered her at once, but again ran out of strength and plunged down on the bed.
At this rate, the Ojou-sama probably doesn't have the physical strength.
"Crow-sama"
"How was it?"
I'm not just sitting idly by and watching this situation.
Eins, who had been moving to break the situation, returned, but apparently it didn't work out.
"I'm sorry, I've tried to contact the fourteen ice attribute magicians currently in the royal capital, other than the four we employ in our family, but none of them have responded well."
"Well, I already have a good employer, and there's no reason to change my saddle here."
They already have valuable high-ranking attributes, and other dukes and royal families will not let them go.
If this is a low-class noble opponent, it is possible to pull them out by all means such as blackmail and bribery, but the opponent is too bad.
"In such a case, I guess I should go to a summer resort..."
"I'm not going back to the territory, I don't want to disturb your busy father."
"I know."
The Duchy of Variers, which is located in the northern part of the kingdom, should be relatively cool and comfortable, but it is difficult to force it as long as the Ojou-sama says this.
To be honest, the distorted relationship between the Ojou-sama and her family is not without thought, but I don't think it's a problem that I, who is only a servant, will come out with.
It's frustrating that I can't help her at times like this.
"But yes, a summer resort..."
"Ojou?"
"Yes! There is a perfect place for a time like this! If you decide to do so, get ready immediately. I'm leaving now!"
Apparently, something came to mind in the conversation earlier, and the Ojou-sama who suddenly jumped up jumped off the bed with that momentum and rushed to us.
"Oh, Ojou-sama, I don't understand you at all if you suddenly say it. Where are you going?"
Pushed by the momentum, I arched my upper body back slightly, but I tried to calm her down anyway.
Even if you are suddenly told, you don't understand anything, there is no way to prepare.
"Come to think of it, I've never been to Crow, because I've only been there once before, so I can't help it. Okay, I'll tell you."
I nodded deeply several times to see if she understood what I meant, and she put her hands on her hips and turned to face me again.
"The destination is the city of Mare in the southern part of the kingdom, under the direct control of the royal family!"
Then, as it was, he thrust his finger in front of me and declared.
"Are you ready?"
In the vast grounds of the mansion, there are naturally knights directly under the Duke family who protect the mansion, and there is also a training ground for them.
The Ojou-sama who came to the training ground dressed in a white dress and lace white gloves up to her elbows squinted at the sunlight that poured in without hesitation even through the parasol.
"Ojou, I'm ready, I can go anytime."
The Ojou-sama was greeted by a middle-aged knight dressed in full-plate armor.
He, Jerudo, is the commander of the Third Order of the Duke of Valise, who is in charge of guarding the royal mansion and the Ojou-sama.
He brings together strong knights and gives the impression of being scary due to his stern face, but due to his position, he is a hard worker who is always swayed by the whims of the Ojou-sama.
This time, he was drawn the poor lot, and he was forced to prepare for the suddenly decided journey in just an hour.
"They're excited about their first job in a long time, so I promise them a comfortable flight."
In the large training ground, countless small dragons, wyverns, were waiting with their braces on.
The leader strokes the scruff of the neck of one of the nearby animals, and the wyvern purrs.
This wyvern is a type of being commonly called a servant, in short, a domesticated monster.
Speaking of servants, the bicorn with a strong body and the Pegasus depicted in the family crest of the Duke of Azurite are also famous.
Due to the special training and enormous feeding costs, it is difficult to operate properly unless you are a nobleman of the ducal family, but the ability is overwhelmingly higher than that of ordinary livestock.
"Okay, I'm leaving."
Immediately, the Ojou-sama gets into the basket prepared in the center of the training ground.
Even though it is a basket, it is a special thing made by remodeling the bed of a horse-drawn carriage, and the inside is as comfortable as the carriage usually used by young ladies.
"Leader, thank you for your time today."
"Oh... Leave it to me..."
Just before I got into the cage following the Ojou-sama, I bowed to the leader of the group, but he didn't seem to like me and didn't make eye contact.
However, I don't really care about it because it's the usual.
As long as he does his part, that's fine.
"Let's go, the general flight begins!"
When we confirmed that the maids had also boarded a different basket from ours, the wyvern ridden by the knights flapped its wings powerfully at the command of the commander.
It is pulled up by a rope tied to the wyvern, and when the basket swings slightly, it floats into the sky.
As I watched through the window as the earth became farther and farther and the royal city below became smaller, I pondered the plans of this trip.