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The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 142×1

Intermission – Part 1

As she got rocked inside the rattling carriage, Ottilie gazed at the scenery outside with a slightly melancholy feeling. After arriving at the royal capital, she immediately submitted a report on Cotton Clouds’ activities, but was immediately summoned by Narkissia, the current king’s younger sister and founder of Cotton Clouds. The response was just too quick. As expected, it seemed that losing three of their members was unacceptable. All of the members of Cotton Cloud were members of noble families from around the royal capital. Were there any bereaved families who wanted to hear the details of what happened? On top of that, there were too many things to report regarding this mission, such as the state of the Chanortham territory, the beastfolk bandit band, the demonic dragon, the user of incredible sacred magic who was revered as a saint, and the young porter who was skilled in combat and had large storage capacity. It was probably going to be a long talk. After arriving at the mansion, she was led by the butler to the pavilion in the garden.

「Ottilie, good job on completing your mission. I know you must be tired having just arrived at the royal capital, but there’s something I’d like to ask you. I’ll have some tea made. Go ahead and take a seat.」

She had long black hair and serene blue eyes. She had her usual elegance as a member of the royal family and a noblewoman. It didn’t seem like Narkissia was in a bad mood. Well, she was not the kind of person who readily lost her temper, but most of the time, you could never tell what she was thinking, so she was the type of person Ottilie was not very good with.

As she sat down and drank the herbal tea made by the waiting maid, she pondered whether she should report and apologize for the loss of their comrades first, right then and there. That was because until this very moment, she had thought that she had been summoned for that purpose.

「Narkissia-sama, we ended up losing three of our precious comrades. I am very sorry and have no excuses.」

「Ah, it’s fine. If you work as an adventurer, there’s always the possibility that you’ll die, after all. One of them lost in a one-on-one duel against a beastfolk, while the two others died in the battle against a demonic dragon. You’re not to blame.」

Contrary to her expectations, Narkissia didn’t seem to be bothered by the deaths of their comrades. If that was the case, then why she had been summoned; she wondered. Did she want to ask about Lunamilia Tarte Art, the girl who became a priest at the tender age of 16 and was revered as a saint? If not for her, in the worst case, Cotton Clouds might have been wiped out. However, the matter Narkissia asked about was something else.

「So, you said it was Sei the porter, I believe? I want to ask something about him.」

Sei the porter. He hailed from the Holy Kingdom and was Lunamilia’s attendant. His skill with the sword was almost on par with Laura’s, and despite his young age, his storage capacity was 64 barrels. To put it into perspective, he had the same storage capacity as the best porter in the country, who was elderly and had limited mobility. Most porters could only get up to 16 barrels throughout their lives. If you worked as an adventurer, he was someone you would definitely love to get your hands on, so it was only natural that Narkissia was interested in him. Ottilie told her all the information she knew, but it wasn’t like she knew that much about him.

「I see, got it. Can you tell me about his physical characteristics?」

「Physical characteristics, is it?」

「Yes, I want you to tell me everything about him, his height, hair color, eye color, and any other characteristics.」

Although she was unable to grasp Narkissia’s intentions, Ottilie recalled and described Sei’s characteristics to her. He was about 180 cm tall. He had blonde hair and, if memory served her right, blue eyes. Ottilie wondered what was the point of learning such things. Perhaps she was planning to find him and take him as a member of the Cotton Clouds? But if that was the case, she didn’t understand the point of asking about his hair and eye color.

「So, you just parted ways with such a talented porter without doing anything?」

「No, Sei, umm, simply put, got into a lover relationship with Laura. As a condition for continuing this relationship, he must give priority to Cotton Clouds’ requests, so I think we will meet again in the royal capital someday.」

「Laura… Ah, the girl who was recently promoted to a regular member, right? I believe I heard she has been blessed with two children. Sei is still in his teens, no? For him to get into relationship with Laura, who is a married woman with children, rather than Sylphia, who is the same age….」

「Apparently, he and Sylphia had known each other since a long time ago, and were friends. Even when I tried to get information about Sei from Sylphia, I couldn’t get anything from her…」

「He’s acquainted with Sylphia even though he’s from the Holy Kingdom, huh.」

「…..」

Now that she mentioned it, it was indeed a strange story. Not only was Sylphia from the Estorias Kingdom, they had been looking after her in Cotton Clouds since she got the job of Hero at the age of 14. She should have neither connection nor relation with the Holy Kingdom. Was it just a convenient lie when he said he was from the Holy Kingdom? A reason for lying about his origins, in other words…

「That’s it for today. You must be tired, so go home and have a good rest, Ottilie. Sigh, I don’t approve of eavesdropping.」

The slight magical energy and gentle breeze she had been feeling since some time ago. Was it eavesdropping using wind magic? A magnificent magical energy manipulation that would be unperceivable unless you had magical energy perception of high proficiency level. They were a considerably skilled magic user. Someone who would not be reprimanded even if they were to eavesdrop on Narkissia’s conversation, and was skilled in wind magic and magical energy manipulation. Who in the world could it be? Unable to think of anyone who fit the bill, Ottilie stopped thinking about it and left the room. The wind magic had stopped.

「Fufufu, still, a lover relationship with Laura, huh. As he grew up without receiving any love from his mother, I wonder if he yearned for motherly love and came to love older women.」

She got the feeling that Narkissia was saying something behind her, but partly because she was tired, Ottilie hurried home.

「Ottilie, do you have a minute?」

Just as she was about to get on the carriage and head home, someone called out to her. When she looked in the direction of the voice, she saw two beautiful girls standing there, who were young now but would surely grow into women of unmatched beauty in the future.

The one who called out to her was Her Royal Highness Princess Latifani Magzard. Although she had not yet been granted a job, she was hailed as a genius in the way of magic, and rumor had it that she had been receiving never-ending marriage proposals. Latifani often visited Narkissia, a high-level mage, to practice magic. It seemed that she was the one who was eavesdropping earlier.

「How can I help you, Your Highness?」

「Can I have a moment of your time? There is something I would like to talk to you about. This is my best friend, Lilicia.」

Lilicia Ambarlius. She was said to be a genius in the way of the sword, and she heard that she often visited the royal capital to practice with knights using real swords. In the future, after she married and gave birth to an heir, there was a good chance that she would join Cotton Clouds and play an active role in it.

「A talk, is it?」

「Yes, it’s about the porter you said you met.」

In contrast to their smiles, the two’s gazes were sharp, hard to believe that they belonged to young girls, and as she got subjected to those gazes, Ottilie felt a chill run down her spine.