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Volume 7 Chapter 1 Part 4

「I’ll take care of the garden then. 」

When Theo answered, he was already dressed like a servant. Even though he became an Earl, he hasn’t changed at all since the first time they met.

「Irvin, stay close to the mansion, please. 」

「Understood. 」

As soon as he arrived at the mansion, Irvin finished cleaning the house in no time, and before he knew it, he had bought everything that the residents of the house needed in terms of daily necessities. He appears to have fully recovered from the effects of the poison he received from his battle with the Assassin of the Rossini family. He also felt like his superhuman abilities have improved, perhaps because he received werewolf blood from the twins who saved him from dying with it.

「Now that I think about it, it’s your first time in Elam, right? I think you and Luna should come and see the city properly. 」

Siluca made such a suggestion to the twins.

「We can take Theo with us too!」

「Yes, we like that idea very much! 」

The werewolf twins looked at each other and let out a strange voice that sounded like a wolf’s howl. Without even trying to get Theo’s approval for that idea, Emma proposed and Luna nodded enthusiastically, and then the two of them proceeded to latch themselves tightly onto Theo’s arms from both his sides.

「I’ve been to Elam before, but I don’t know much about it. 」

Theo said while feeling confused.

「You can tell a lot about any place with just its smell alone! 」

「Just leave it all to us! 」

Emma and Luna said while they tried to take Theo away with them.

「Ah, uhm… 」

Seeing this, Priscilla hesitantly raised her hand.

「It’s my first time at Elam, too…

「Then let’s go together! 」

Emma stepped away from Theo and pulled Priscilla’s hand. The four of them then head outside in a tangled mess.

「Well then… 」

After seeing off Theo and the others, Siluca stood in front of the mirror and checked to see if her hair and clothes were out of order. Then she turned her attention to Aishela, who was leaning against a pillar near the entrance of the mansion.

「Are you going out as well? 」

Aishela gazed at Siluca and then called out to her.

「Yes. 」

Siluca nodded her head.

「I’ll say hello to my family, and then I’ll go visit Headmaster Sembros at the Magic University. I know that you probably won’t like it, but you can come with me if you want, Aishela. 」

「Don’t worry about it. Maybe I wasn’t able to go to the Magic University together with you, but because of that, I gained the freedom to live my life however I see fit. 」

Aishela smiled brightly.

Since she failed to become a Mage and was discarded by the Meletes family and had no choice but to become an Agent of the Mages Association, Siluca was doubtful whether Aishela really had as much freedom in her life as she claimed to have, but that didn’t change the fact that to Siluca, Aishela was still like an older sister, and it was always reassuring for Siluca to have her by her side.

「Be sure to have a good time. 」

Seen off by Irvin, Siluca left the mansion with Aishela. Before she knew it, the carriage was parked outside.

「Please come on board. 」

The driver greeted them respectfully and opened the door for them.

「Thank you. 」

Siluca got into the carriage and told the driver what her intended destination was.

「Understood. 」

The carriage started moving and fell into a rut in the street. The stone pavement was well maintained, so there was almost no vibrations, and the sound of the wheels turning was also quite faint. Siluca opened the window and looked out at the skyline of Elam. The scenery of the city seen from the window was quite a nostalgic view for her. However, not that she was able to see it again, she was feeling a strange sense of peace.

The cityscape was as beautiful as she remembered it, with the buildings in each subdivision having a uniform color, and the streets were clear of trash and horse droppings, because whenever they’d fall onto the ground, it wouldn’t take long for them to be taken away to a special processing plant, which had a deal with the city’s governors to buy it off from them for the purpose of their research and experiments. The people of the lowest social class were also patrolling the city in search of them, hoping to make some quick coin out of it.

Many people flock to Elam in search of a better, richer life, even so, there are still limits to how many people the city could house before it would start to become overpopulated. Anyone without a permit issued by the Mages Association will be expelled from the city, and yet despite that, people kept pouring into the city, and there was no shortage of illegal immigrants as well. Although crime did occur, the security agencies ensured that the law was always strictly enforced, thanks to which Elam was a much safer place than any other city on the continent.

(In the past, I thought that this way of life was the ideal that anyone should strive towards, and that it would be great if all places in the world could be just like that.)

But now that she knew how life outside of Elam was, she realized that such a way of thinking was definitely a mistake, because the prosperity of this city was built on the sacrifices of the entire continent.

「It’s been less than two years since I left here… 」

Siluca muttered to herself.

「 Does it look like the city has changed in any way? 」

Aishela called out to her with a question.

「Yeah… 」

Siluca noded.

「I wonder why do I think like that though? 」

「That’s because you found yourself a man. 」

Aishela answered immediately.

「A, a man? You really think that’s what this is about? 」

Siluca felt that her face was definitely blushing. She has confirmed her feelings with Theo, and they sometimes act like lovers, but their relationship hasn’t progressed that far just yet.

「I can’t believe he’s an Earl. That title doesn’t suit him at all. 」

Aishela said after taking a deep breath.

「Yes, you’re right. 」

Siluca nodded once again.
「But Lord Theo doesn’t need titles. He’s the same as when he was just a wandering Lord, and he stayed the same even now that he’s become an Earl. When he finds something to do, he won’t give up until he accomplishes it. If I show him the right way, then no matter how long and difficult that road might be, he will walk down that road without hesitation. 」

And Siluca was so happy to be able to walk side by side with Theo on that road.

「You know Siluca, I never thought that the day would actually come when you would talk about someone in such a way while looking like you’re looking now. 」

Aishela covered her face with both hands and shook her shoulders in a theatrical fashion.

「I wanted to be the only one for you, my dearest Siluca! 」

And she proceed3ed to cry like that.

「Our relationship won’t change, right? No matter what happens in the future, you’re always going to be like my one and only older sister, Aishela. 」

Siluca put her hand on Aishela’s shoulder and shook her gently as if to encourage her. Even though she theoretically could harbor feelings for her because they were not related by blood, she still saw her more like a family member rather than a partner for a romantic relationship.

Aishela opened her fingers and glimpsed at Siluca through the gap between them.

「When father introduced you to me as his new adopted daughter, I got really angry, but you were just so cute that I forgot about my anger in no time. You used to come to my room so that we could sleep together in the same bed all the time! 」

Then she closed the space between her fingers again, and she repeated: I wanted to be the only one for you.

When she said that, of course she was referring to her adoptive father, Aubest Meletes. It may seem like a joke, but what makes Aishera so scary is that she’s actually quite serious about these things.

At that moment, someone’s voice came from behind her carriage. When Siluca turned around and looked out the window behind her, she saw several children in shabby clothes running after them.