“I’ve reported everything I saw.”
After encountering the Imperial Investigation Team deep in the mountain range, I returned to the estate and reported to Lowell.
“I see. It seems they have their own plans, so that’s good.”
“Yes, I just hope they take it away as it is.”
I had no idea how much that Gigant statue was worth, but if the Empire was willing to send a second investigation team, they must have placed a high value on it.
I just wanted that unsettling statue to be taken far away.
“The Kingdom’s side also seems reluctant about it, so if they succeed in retrieving it, the Empire will likely take it.”
“That would be a relief.”
“Still, it looks like a long and tedious process. We’ll have to monitor the situation.”
Well… that was expected.
Even if they could lighten the statue’s weight, pulling it up wouldn’t be easy.
No matter how light they made it, it wasn’t going to be as weightless as a feather.
They would have to dig through several meters of rock at the top of the cave, then lift a statue that was dozens of meters tall.
Just thinking about that was overwhelming. And if I considered the task of transporting it from the heart of the Kaine Mountain Range all the way to the Empire, who knew how many months it would take?
“For now, you should rest. You’ve worked hard.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and there’s something else I need to tell you in advance.”
“Yes? What is it?”
I had just finished a mission, and now there was something else?
Still, since this last task wasn’t too difficult, I waited for Lowell to continue.
“I’d like you to pick up the young lady next weekend.”
“…Why aren’t you going yourself?”
Wasn’t this an unexpected request?
Lowell had always been the one to pick up the young lady, so I asked out of curiosity.
Wasn’t the whole reason he did it because it might be dangerous?
Those lunatic devil worshippers had even attacked the estate in the capital before.
“It has been confirmed that there are no more worshippers in the capital. Besides, the family has urgent business, and I’ll be leaving on an extended trip.”
“What about the estate?”
I was curious about what kind of business was so urgent that Lowell himself had to leave, but more than that, I was worried about the estate’s security.
If Lowell wasn’t here, who would protect the estate?
“Well—”
At my question, Lowell simply stared at me.
“…Me?”
“Additionally, there’s Sir Harwin and the other guards, aren’t there?”
For reference, Sir Harwin was the knight in charge of security at the estate.
A rather stern and difficult-to-approach man.
“When the young lady arrives—”
“With Darren and Kaiden, that will make four knights in total at the estate.”
…That was true.
Having four knights guarding an estate was an excessive force.
But since Lowell had always been present until now, it somehow felt less reassuring.
“Understood.”
Well, the young lady had grown up, and Lowell couldn’t always be here.
Nodding, I left the office.
A few days later, after assigning estate duties to the staff, Lowell departed on his long trip.
**
A warm weekend.
As Lowell had requested, I arrived at the front gate of the Royal Magic Academy to pick up the young lady.
“It’s huge.”
Seeing the academy for the first time, it was even bigger than I had imagined.
It was comparable in size to a university from my past life.
So, the young lady was studying in a place like this.
No wonder she always took long walks as soon as she arrived at the estate.
After walking along those vast academy paths, the estate’s garden must have felt stifling.
But—
Why were there so many people and carriages at the front gate?
Was I the only one who came alone?
Lowell had told me the young lady enjoyed walking, so I hadn’t brought a carriage, but maybe I should have.
“Excuse me…”
“…Are you a knight of the Boyd family?”
More than that, standing in my uniform at the entrance made me an object of attention.
It felt like being at the Imperial Investigation Team’s camp all over again.
Well, judging by the way no one dared approach me, they seemed to find me just as intimidating.
As I stood there under the weight of numerous stares, students began leaving the academy one by one for their weekend outings.
And then—
“Puppy?”
The young lady appeared at the gate, leading a group of students behind her.
…So it was true that she had gained more followers since her last visit to the estate.
“Oh my, Miss Boyd, who is this…?”
“Mm, he’s a knight of my household.”
More than that, was she acting more composed because of her followers?
She seemed much calmer compared to when she was at the estate.
Well, if she acted like she did at the estate, she might make friends, but she wouldn’t gain followers.
The young lady wasn’t exactly the most outgoing type, after all.
“I’ve come to pick you up, young lady.”
As I responded and stepped forward toward the young lady, the female students—who seemed to be her followers—focused their gazes on me.
“O-Oh my….”
“What a handsome knight….”
But then—
“Good job.”
The young lady reached out her hand.
Did she want me to escort her?
Or could it be…?
“Puppy?”
Of course. It was exactly what I thought.
As always, I knelt on one knee to meet her gaze, and she patted my head.
“That’s right, well done.”
Seriously, she had introduced me as a knight of the Boyd family, and now she was doing this?
Well, the young lady never seemed particularly happy about me becoming a knight.
Though she never opposed it either, since I had earned my place through merit.
“Lady Aria, what is this…?”
The people who had been watching us looked bewildered as they saw a knight being petted.
“Umm… isn’t he a knight…?”
“Hmm? Puppy is puppy.”
The only ones acting as if nothing was unusual were the young lady and me.
She had always been like this, and I…
Well, at this point, I wasn’t the type to feel embarrassed by such things.
The only thing that worried me was the young lady’s reputation, but—
“Wow….”
“Lady Aria, you’re truly amazing….”
…Judging by the admiration in her followers’ eyes, it didn’t seem to be a problem.
“Let’s head back to the estate now.”
“Yes, we should.”
Well, anyway.
After that, I carried the young lady’s belongings while walking along the road with her escort knights, Darren and Kaiden, heading toward the estate.
“By the way, where is Lowell?”
“He’s away on a business trip, so I came in his place.”
“I-Is that so? If I had known Puppy was coming, I would have liked some notice.”
Wait.
Was the young lady actually embarrassed?
As we walked through the streets together, her face turned slightly red as she spoke.
“Were you very flustered?”
“Ugh, yes, I was.”
It seemed no one had informed her.
“I’ll make sure to send a letter in advance next time.”
“No, this kind of surprise was nice too.”
“Is that so?”
“After all, my Puppy is amazing. I wanted to show you off.”
If she thought of it that way, I suppose it was an honor.
“By the way, when will Lowell be back?”
“I’m not sure. I only heard that it would be a long trip.”
“Really? Then who will take care of things in his absence?”
“The estate staff will handle other matters, and I will be assisting you, young lady.”
Well, assisting mainly meant accompanying her when she left the estate.
After all, Darren and Kaiden were already handling her primary escort duties.
“…You’ve never called us amazing before.”
“You favor Rain too much, young lady.”
They looked a bit pitiful complaining like that.
But both of them were skilled Aura users.
They could likely hold their own against even the elites of the Royal Knights.
After all, they were already among the most promising talents in the Boyd family.
“We’ve arrived.”
Upon returning to the estate, I helped unpack the young lady’s belongings.
There was a considerable amount of luggage this time.
Apparently, she wouldn’t be returning to the Royal Magic Academy for a month.
Something about a spring vacation?
It seemed to be a break period, similar to school holidays in my past life.
“Mm, I missed the mansion so much!”
The young lady was especially excited.
She was more mature than most for her age, but she had just entered adolescence.
Of course, she would be happy about a long break.
While she enthusiastically unpacked and changed into more comfortable clothes.
I returned to my own room to change as well.
The formal uniform looked good but was uncomfortable.
After changing into more practical clothing, I strapped my sword back onto my waist.
Since I was standing in for Lowell, I would also have to accompany the young lady whenever she went outside.
There was no way I could go unarmed.
And then—
‘Should I take this too?’
Since I was already strapping on my sword, I secured a few throwing axes that I had received from Sienna at my waist.
Knowing that Lowell wouldn’t be around made me feel a little uneasy.
While helping Sienna with Aura techniques, I had also learned throwing techniques from her.
Now, I was confident enough to say I had gotten quite good at it.
After carefully concealing the throwing axes beneath my casual clothes, I adjusted my outfit.
Knock, Knock!
A light knocking came from my door.
“Come in.”
Thud!
As soon as I answered, the door swung open.
“Puppy!”
It was none other than the young lady, now changed into a different outfit.
Just like when I used to stay in the doghouse in the garden, she had no hesitation in coming into my room.
“What are you doing, Puppy?”
“I was just about to head out.”
“Hmm! Since you’re my assistant now, you should stay with me all the time.”
“Have you finished unpacking?”
I had expected it to take a while since she had quite a bit of luggage, but she had come out sooner than I thought.
She hadn’t just dumped everything on the maids, had she?
Or maybe she had simply shoved things into her wardrobe without properly unpacking?
“Uh, um… I can do it later!”
…So, it was the latter.
“You should unpack right away. Let’s go. I’ll help you.”
“A-Ah, that’s not necessary….”
If she left it undone for too long, the head maid would scold her.
So, I led the young lady back to her room.
The young lady’s room was, of course, a familiar place.
Just as she often visited my room, she frequently dragged me into hers as well.
“Oh, Sir Rain.”
Inside the room, a few maids were already there.
It seemed they had started tidying up since the young lady had left her unpacking unfinished.
“Young lady, your luggage should be handled personally….”
“Ah, I know! I’ll do it myself.”
Well, technically, it wasn’t a problem if the maids did it.
But this was Lowell’s rule.
He had always said that a Boyd family lady should be able to pack and unpack her own belongings.
“Alright, everyone, you can go! I’ll handle it.”
Since I agreed with that principle, I simply stared at her.
Feeling guilty under my gaze, the young lady dismissed the maids and began sorting out her things.
“I’ll help you.”
“Ugh…”
At the Royal Magic Academy, she had seemed so mature.
But in the end, she was still the same young lady I knew.
Well, I was more used to seeing this childish side of her anyway.
With a comfortable smile, I helped her unpack.
After finishing that task—
“Puppy.”
“Yes, young lady?”
Lying face-down on her bed, exhausted from unpacking, she suddenly spoke up.
“If Lowell isn’t here, does that mean you’ll be the one accompanying me to next week’s tea party?”
“…Tea party?”
The young lady had brought up something I knew nothing about.
“Yeah, Lowell was supposed to go with me, but since he left on a trip….”
“Ah… So there was something like that.”
So, she was originally supposed to go with Lowell?
Of course, he never mentioned this to me.
“Yeah! But the tea party is in a mansion in the capital, so it’s not too far.”
“Understood.”
Even if I hadn’t known about it beforehand, it wasn’t something I could refuse.
So, I nodded in agreement.
More importantly—
That old man…
Did he just dump all of his work on me before leaving?
No wonder he looked so light on his feet when he departed.
Unbelievable.
