Chapter 85 – Greetings 2
85 – Greetings 2
「Sir Rain~! Where are you~?!」
When I heard Florence’s cries, I proposed we reconvene. The two of them reluctantly agreed.
The second she found me, Florence smiled radiantly – and we were once again by the entrance. Florence stopped wrapping herself around my arm though, perhaps wary of Eleanor.
Next to arrive were the kids, led by Ferris. The girls’ eyes sparkled when they saw how big the mansion was.
「This is Mister Hero’s house?!」 said the rabbit-eared Carro excitedly.
「Well, for the time being.」 I replied.
「This calls for…an expedition.」 she said.
「Sure, but I can’t leave this spot. Find someone who can tag along with y-」
「Leave that to me, freeloader Rain.」
It was a young girl in her early teens with long, white hair and red eyes. She also had fox ears, and was just about the same height as Mika was when she was a Human. I’ve seen her once before. It’s the Demi-human fox form the white fox sacred beast takes.
「Oh, White Fox. Okay then, I’m counting on you.」 I said.
「Mm.」
After seeing the white fox nod, I looked at Carro and patted her on the head. 「Be careful not to break anything, expedition captain.」
「Okaaay~」
Some of the kids went off with her on an expedition. I looked around and spotted the black-haired maid Ferris greeting Eleanor and the others. When she was done with her greetings, I called out to her.
「Ferris, sorry for always troubling you.」
「Not at all. I enjoy taking care of people. It’s just…」 Ferris looked gloomy.
「What’s wrong?」
「Lately, I have not had the pleasure of taking care of Master Hero. I find myself feeling a tad lonely…」
「What’re you saying? I see you every day.」
「You say that, but you often leave me to go off somewhere on your own… I’m supposed to be the maid assigned you, Master Hero, and yet…」
Ferris said that with a hand on her cheek and a lonely look on her face. I felt a stinging feeling in my chest when I saw her like that.
「Y-you might be right about that. Well, I’m not going anywhere today, so let’s enjoy our time together.」
When I said that, Ferris smiled broadly. 「Ufufu, I might have to take you up on that offer, Master Rain.」
As I’m talking to Ferris, I could see Florence and Eleanor whispering to each other in the corner of my eye.
「Isn’t that Lejie’s older sister…? You’re the one who arranged her as Sir Rain’s maid, right, Eleanor?」
「Yes, well… She’s an excellent maid and a wonderful individual.」
「Isn’t she too close to Sir Rain?」
「If it’s Ferris, we have nothing to worry about. I’m more concerned about your servant.」
「What? You think Sebastian would seduce Sir Rain behind my back?」
I could hear a voice say「It’s Celine, milady.」coming from the dining hall cum party venue. I could sense her determination to always correct the nickname that her master gave her. As expected, Florence was also surprised.
The next batch of people was fairly large.
「Mister Hero.」
It was Myuri, the Demon King’s daughter. A Majin girl the same age as Carro and the kids, her purple hair fluttered about as she trotted towards me in her lovely little dress. Being careful not to wrinkle her dress, I hugged little Myuri, who practically flew at me.
「Oh, Myuri. Thanks for coming.」
「Yeah. Thanks for inviting me, Mister Hero!」 she said with a dazzling smile on her face.
I put her down gently, and she began having friendly conversations with the kids who didn’t go on the expedition.
「Mistress Myuri, I told you not to just run off like that…」
The red-haired Dragonkin Azla chased after Myuri with a troubled expression.
「Ahaha, looks like you have it rough today, too, Azla.」
「Master Hero…no, I suppose Rain is fine now. You’d better be careful with this one too.」
「Mm, I’m a good girl, and I think I’ve been good enough for this.」
「You behave when you’re in front of Rain, maybe! No, Mistress Myuri has been working hard on her studies, and it’s good that she’s lively. Her ability to give her maids the slip is also getting better and better.」 Azla scratched her head with a complicated look on her face.
「S-Sir Rain. I am honestly, truly, utterly thankful for your invitation.」 came another voice.
The other half of the pair of maids assigned to Myuri came a little after Azla. She was a black-haired Majin that wore the same maid outfit. In contrast to her sister, she has a pair of asymmetrical horns. She is a special maid assigned to escort royalty. She is Ferris’s younger sister, and one of the Seven.
She doesn’t like fighting, but she is called the Weapon of Annihilation Lejie, perhaps because of the magic she excels at. Her tendency to hunch over and look down is the same as ever, but her voice sounded excited.
「Same here, thanks for coming, Lejie.」 I said.
「Huh? “I’ve been waiting for you, Lejie.”? 」 she said.
『I’m not saying anything.』
「O-oh, Sir Rain… You’ve called out to various people, but you really only needed me. I get it. I understand, Sir Rain. We get each other…fufufu.」
『Nope, guess I have to say something. Is this girl alright in the head?』
While it’s true the way she mishears is reaching auditory hallucination levels, that’s just a part of what makes Lejie quirky…I think. It takes all sorts to make a world.
Yeah, let’s go with that.
「Don’t worry ’bout it, Lady holy sword. She’s an honest girl when it’s got nothing to do with Rain.」 said Azla.
「It just occurred to me… why are you dropping the “Master” part when you say his name?」 asked Lejie as she moved in close to her.
「Ow owowow! He gave me permission to call him that! This is a private party, so he shouldn’t mind!」
「That’s right… Sir Rain is kind and Azla is reliable, so I’m not saying that you two can’t get along, okay? As his closest friend, though, I just want to confirm one thing, Sir Rain is just a friend to you, right, Azla?」
「That’s what I friggin said! Hey, my arm’s about to pop off!」
「You’re a Dragonkin, so it’ll just grow back, right?」
「Not even a real dragon can grow back an arm! You’ve got it all wrong!」
While the two maids were on a roll with the conversation, Myuri’s Majin older brother – the young man Fripp – arrived. The twin-tailed Magic Academy student Jural came with him too; perhaps they rode in the same carriage. Both of them are friends I made when I experienced my time as a student in the Magic Academy, and they are also among the scant few similarly aged friends I have.
「Fripp! Jural! You came.」
Fripp smiled. 「Yes, thank you for inviting me. Father wanted to come as well, but he has been busy as of late.」
As the Demon King, he cannot ignore the threat of a God-class Demon coming from Makai. There are things he has to do, not just for this country, but for this world. In such a situation, he tries his best to create free time for us as much as possible; so there is no doubt that he is a person to be respected. Not just as a king, but also as a Majin.
「Wow, everyone here is gorgeous… And they all have exceedingly amazing mana… I…feel so out of place…」 Jural looked nervous.
A talented individual is able to create a large amount of mana when necessary. Also, if they aren’t able to do that, they circulate mana within themselves. If they don’t, they won’t be able to cast magic instantly.
This technique of circulating mana within oneself to store it is very important to magic users. This place, where the Seven are gathered, is filled with hardworking people who are extremely talented in that technique. It’s only natural for Jural to feel overwhelmed.
「Why? I called the people who I’m close to today. You’re my friend, right? There’s no reason to feel out of place.」
I don’t choose to go out with people based on their mana. I’d never experienced going out with anyone in the first place before I came to this country…
「Oh, y-yeah… Ahaha, thanks, Rain.」 Her cheeks slightly flushed, and she smiled bashfully.
「You’re his friend, are you, Jural~? Then I wonder, what am I~?」
Standing just behind Jural, a newly arrived guest gently placed her hands on Jural’s shoulders.
「Hya! M-Miss Louto…! D-don’t scare me like that.」
「Fufufu, oh Jural~ What’re you so surprised about? Is it something you don’t want your teacher to find out?」
It’s a female Majin with long, brown hair that’s closer to the color of an orange. Her eyes were as narrow as a line and she had on a green ribbon on the left side of her hair. The rims of the glasses she always wore are green as well. This is a teacher at the Magic Academy. One of the Seven, she specializes in Barrier magic and is called ‘Louto of the Holy Barrier’.
Louto has a gentle and kind personality, but Jural turned pale the moment she appeared.
「It’s nothing! Nothing, really.」 Jural was shrinking. Louto smiled cheerfully.
And thus one after another, the invitees gathered.
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