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 Divine 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.]
[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—- widthwise, 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.