Volume 11 Chapter 1 Part 9
「Well, since this is supposed to be an introduction, then I guess that’s fine. Since it’s an introduction.」
I fell like this matter is going to be important, so I’ll just have to get it over with.
「Yes, a formal introduction. I am indebted to Lord Michio in more ways than one, so it is only natural for me to express my gratitude by inviting you and your companions for a meal.」
「Haa…」
He’s actually saying the truth. It’s a valid reason, so it’s hard for me to say no when there’s really no room for argument.
Help me, Gozeraemon. Where are you when I need you the most?!
「How about tonight’s dinner?」
This is going way too fast.
He’s hasty as ever.
「I need time to make preparations….」
「There’s no problem even if you attend in normal clothes. There’s no need for preparations.」
「Even if you say that…」
「Then tomorrow? No, it won’t be possible since I have plans for tomorrow’s dinner. How about the evening after tomorrow?」
I have succeeded in postponing it by two days. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.
But I don’t know whether it was a good idea to postpone it or not. Well, at the very least, it can’t possibly go any worse now, can it?
What if… what if the Duke were to suddenly pass away? It’s possible since he is actively entering the Labyrinths, but such a plan would put me more at risk than it would him, so it’s better to drop such ideas.
Well, I’m at more risk than him.
「No, I really…」
「… ah, wait, don’t I have plans with Cassia for the day after tomorrow? A dinner with the Countess, if I remember correctly? Actually, isn’t that in three days? Err, there’s no problem with today’s evening I guess.」
The Duke keeps muttering to himself.
Did I hear him correctly? Will Cassia be joining us at this dinner party, too? Well, I guess it was to be expected, really.
Since there will be five members of my Party including me, then it should have been obvious that the Duke would no be hosting us by himself.
The Duke and the Duchess of Hartz are going to be hosting us as a couple, it seems. And since it’s going to be like this, then I can’t possibly refuse an offer to eat dinner together with Cassia.
Or rather, I want to have a dinner with her more than anything else.
There will be no problem if we will be having the dinner together. As long as it’s going to be just that and nothing else, then things should work themselves out somehow.
And besides, since the Duke is going to be hosting us together with Cassia, then there’s no way that he would possibly try making any moves on Roxanne right in front of his legal wife.
「Okay, if you’re insisting so much, then I wouldn’t mind…」
「Do you accept then?」
「Excuse my intrusion.」
After I accepted the dinner party invitation, the door opened and Gozer came inside of the office.
You are late, man! Thanks to you being so late, I have already accepted the unreasonable demand of the Duke without any chances of refusing him!
「Gozer, Michio-dono has accepted the dinner invitation. It will be held today!」
「T-Today?」
For some reason, Gozer was looking at me with resentful eyes.
「Yes, that’s right!」
「…. Understood, I will make sure to finish the preparations somehow.」
「Please do.」
Judging by this conversation just now… I thought that the Duke was thinking about inviting me for this dinner party for some time now, but could it be… could it be that this was actually another one of his sudden ideas?
Yeah, knowing him, the Duke probably decided that all on his own. Looks like his unreasonable demands are not over yet.
However, I am glad to see that this time the target of the Duke’s impossible requests was not myself, but rather Gozer.
「If that is how things are going to be, then I will have to do something about my plans of going to the capital, but I think it’s going to be fine for me to be absent from the meeting today. I will also be attending dinner with Lord Michio and his companions.」
「I see. That is good to hear.」
It looks like Gozer will be attending the dinner with the Duke and my Party as well.
You’d better be there, dude, even if your participation is kinda the Duke’s fault.
「Now then, I am sorry, Lord Michio, but it seems that I have a lot of preparations to make, so if you’ll excuse me…」
It seems that this time Gozer was given not much of an ordeal, but a straight-up time trial, one that required him to cancel his own plans in favor of the dinner party made for me and my Party no less.
He really is a man of the world, and a real hard worker at that.
You really are a good friend, but your Lord is incompetent.
「I see. My bad.」
The Duke is so swift that it’s actually terrifying.
「I am really sorry for all the trouble I have caused you.」
I also lower my head to him in apology, even thoughI don’t think I am the one in the wrong here.
「No, no, there’s no need for you to be feeling guilty about anything, Lord Michio.」
「Well then Lord Michio, since everything has been decided, the please come here with your Party this evening, and don’t feel bothered if you end up coming too early.」
I am sooo making sure that I am not going to be coming to this dinner party early.
「Allow me to excuse myself as well.」
Gozer promptly left the Duke’s office, and I hurriedly followed right after him. Yeah, there’s no way that I am staying in this castle any more than I absolutely have to. After leaving the castle grounds, I headed straight back home.
「Welcome home, master.」
As soon as I got back and stepped through the warp portal, Roxanne and the others welcomed me back like they usually did.
「I have received a dinner party invitation from the Duke of Hartz. Apparently it was a last minute decision for it to be held this evening. That’s why you don’t have to trouble yourself with preparing dinner today, but we can go to the Labyrinth and hunt some more until the very last minute.」
If I inform Roxanne about it in such a way, then we really won’t have to go to the Duke’s dinner party until the very last minute.
However, the real question that I have is: even though he said to do it in the evening, then when exactly should I go to that dinner party of his? Even if there was an appointed time for us to do this, then there are no clocks in this world.
The only clue that I have is that Bode is to the north of Quratar, which means that the sun sets there later than it does here.
I really don’t want to go there only for it to turn out that we did arrive earlier than we should have, but I also don’t want to risk us getting there late.
Well, if I don’t know, I might as well dump the responsibility for it on someone else. Sherry, for example. If anything bad happens, then Sherry, our avatar of common sense, will surely inform me about it.
「Understood. Then we shall have everything ready for master.」
Roxanne clearly misunderstood me here.
「No Roxanne, you don’t get it. We are all invited. All five of us.」
「Us as well? Is that really okay?」
「They insisted on it.」
Or rather, the Duke is aiming for Roxanne.
「Isn’t the Duke of Harz a noble?」
「He is.」
「Even the nobles have slaves employed. She probably believes it is a taboo for them to eat together with slaves.」
Sherry explains Roxanne’s doubts. As expected of the rational Sherry. She said the same thing as the Duke.
「When do you think will be a good time to go?」
「In the evening. However, I think it will be better if it’s a little early. Since they are nobles, I don’t think they will be busy.」
Really? His servants will be the ones doing the preparations, not the Duke himself. Every argument from Sherry seems to possess a persuasive power. I was right to consult her.
「Got it. Then let’s go a little early.」
「Is that really fine?」
Roxanne is anxious, just like I am.
For different reasons, though.
But I think we should be fine.
「Are you ready?」
Fear not. If you are prepared, even the Duke will not be able to push through recklessness.
「Uhm. Yes. Thank you.」
「I will never let go of you, Roxanne.」
As long as I’ll have that determination, then there’s no need for me to be scared.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Harem in the Fantasy World Dungeon
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 60 hours
We’re having dinner with the nobles so go sweat in the labyrinth…..