Category: Isekai Nonbiri Sanpo Tabi

The next morning.

Today, Casey-san, Telma-san and the others are departing for the Royal Capital with the army.

“Shun-san, Sue, thank you so much for everything. The fact that my daughter is safe and sound is all thanks to the two of you.”

“Once you arrive in the Royal Capital, please be sure to visit our home.”

Casey-san and Telma-san’s mothers had changed into traveling clothes as well. They would be returning to the Royal Capital alongside their daughters in the carriages waiting outside the Margrave’s mansion.

“I suppose I’ll need to focus on my bridal training for a while.”

“But I still want to continue accepting requests for the sake of the townspeople.”

“This whole experience made us realize just how many people are supporting us. We still have a lot to learn, so we’ll keep studying and improving.”

Casey-san and Telma-san blushed slightly when Emilia-sama said that, but they had quite a bit of studying ahead of them if they were going to marry into the Margrave’s household.

And with that, Casey-san and Telma-san climbed into their carriage and set off for the royal capital.

“They’re gone…”

“Don’t worry, you’ll see your big sisters again soon.”

“Yeah…”

Kent-chan had grown quite attached to Casey-san and Telma-san, so once the carriage disappeared from sight, he looked rather dejected. Still, just as Emilia-sama had said, in a few years, Casey-san and Telma-san would be living here in the Margrave’s household permanently.

“All right, we’re heading to the church work site.”

“Shun, you don’t need to go to the church today. We can’t keep relying on you forever. Instead, would you mind teaching the orphanage children?”

Emilia-sama had decided that there was no point in us continuing to linger at the church work site, so we were given a different job instead.

And so, we headed over to the children who were staying in the annex.

“Fran, Horn, since we’re here, why don’t you study together with the other children?”

“Ehh…?”

“Okay!”

Fran loved playing more than anything, so the moment she heard the word ‘study’, she immediately looked unhappy. Horn, on the other hand, is a smart girl so she cheerfully agreed.

“Shiro, help Fran with her studies. If you all work hard, I’ll make you some dessert as a reward.”

“““Yaaay!”””

The moment they heard the word ‘dessert’, Shiro and the others became incredibly excited.

Of course, I couldn’t exactly give dessert only to them, so I decided to make enough for all the children at the orphanage, the sisters, and Kent-chan as well.

“““Yummy!”””

As expected, when snack time came around, Kent-chan joined the orphanage children and happily dug into the desserts. Apparently, Kent-chan had been reading picture books and studying numbers as well. Since he’d worked hard, there was no reason he shouldn’t get a treat.

“Hey! Why don’t I have any dessert?!”

“These were made for the children. If you eat dessert here, Emilia-sama is going to be angry with you.”

The Margrave had apparently caught the scent of the desserts from his office and made his way all the way to the annex. 

But even for the Margrave, I couldn’t exactly give away desserts that had been prepared for the children. More importantly, he really should have noticed Emilia-sama standing right behind him, wearing that perfectly composed smile.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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With Casey-san and Telma-san leaving for the Royal Capital the following day, they were busy making all sorts of preparations.

So today, it was just us at the church again.

“We’ll take this too.”

“Here we go!”

“Thanks. I’m counting on you.”

Shiro and Fran loaded dirt and gravel into a wheelbarrow and hauled it over for the ground improvement work. The actual construction was being handled by the professionals, so our role was really just to lend a hand. The ground where the old orphanage had stood had sunk in places, so we are filling it back in with dirt and gravel to level it out.

“Hmm… There really isn’t much for us to do.”

“For a while, it’ll be mostly slow, steady work. Besides, we’ve got plenty of hands available right now.”

The foreman gave an awkward chuckle when he heard me mutter that, but honestly, there really wasn’t much for me to do today. The nearby housewives and people who had graduated from the orphanage had come to help with the soup kitchen, and there wasn’t any particularly dangerous construction going on.

I was in charge of treating any injuries, with Horn helping me, while Sue and Ao were helping Casey-san and Telma-san prepare for their departure. As for Toria-san, she’s spending the day looking after the orphanage children.

Honestly, maybe we would have been better off going shopping ourselves.

“The girls can go shopping if they want, but you should probably stay here, young man. After all, you’re the site supervisor.”

“No, no. The real site supervisor is the Margrave.”

“The Margrave’s household and the church are the ones commissioning the work, but as busy as the Margrave is, he can’t exactly be here all the time. Someone who can do just about anything is the best choice for the job.”

We’re leaving the Margrave’s territory in a one week as well. Come to think of it, we were originally supposed to be the ones repairing the church.

And so, the day came to an end without any particular problems, and we returned to the mansion.

“Casey-san, Telma-san, were you able to buy everything you need? But with Sue tagging along, I guess you probably bought a mountain of sweets.”

““Ahaha…. Y-Yes, everything went fine.””

I asked Casey-san and Telm-sana about their shopping during dinner. Sue immediately looked away.

Yep. She definitely bought a mountain of sweets.

Later, I’ll confiscate the enormous stash and put it in either my or Ao’s Item Box. Then again, I’m pretty sure there’s already a huge amount of sweets stored in the Item Box.

“You’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning, right?”

“Yes. We’ll make sure to reach the royal capital as quickly as possible.”

“I imagine we’ll be camping most of the way, but we’ll be able to sleep inside the carriages.”

Casey-san and Telma-san’s mothers had each brought their family’s carriage with them, so there was no need to set up tents.

Well, sleeping inside a carriage was probably safer than sleeping in a tent anyway.

“Shun-san, Sue, thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”

“We owe our safe return to the royal capital to both of you.”

Casey-san and Telma-san thanked us once again.

If we hadn’t happened to meet them at the Adventurers’ Guild, things probably would have turned out much worse for both of them. Thinking about it that way, maybe we really had just been lucky to meet them at exactly the right time.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Shiro and the others were always full of energy, but now that the demolition was finished and the professionals had taken over the construction, they decided to start working on something else—partly as a learning experience.

Tak, tak, tak.

“Sue-neechan, is this about right?”

“That’s right, Shiro-chan. You’re doing a great job.”

Since we had the opportunity, they had started learning how to cook.

Casey-san and Telma-san were absent today, since they were busy preparing for their departure to the Royal Capital. Thinking about the future, I figured it was important for Shiro and the others to get some cooking experience as well.

Shiro, for her part, handled the kitchen knife very carefully and was surprisingly skillful at chopping vegetables. Teaching someone else was good practice for Sue, too, so she stayed right beside Shiro and patiently guided her through each step.

“Can I have a round pancake, please?”

“Here you go.”

“Thank you!”

As for Horn, she is busy handing out the round pancakes she had made during the Harvest Festival to Kent-chan, who had come along with the orphanage children.

Horn was quite dexterous, so under Ao’s watchful eye, she was perfectly capable of cooking on her own. If things continued to go this smoothly, Horn might actually come to enjoy cooking.

Incidentally, the special griddle used to make the round pancakes was already being sold in shops around town.

The pancakes themselves were even being sold at food stalls. At this rate, they might just become a specialty of the Western Margrave’s territory.

Chop, chop, chop.

“That’s right. Curl your fingers like a cat’s paw and use them to hold the vegetables while you cut. Take it slowly at first.”

“O-Okay…”

As for me, I was teaching Fran how to use a kitchen knife. There is no point in rushing something like this, and Fran is still very young, so we’ll take it slowly and let her build up her experience one step at a time.

Sue and I handled the cooking while using the vegetables Shiro and Fran had cut. That should do nicely.

“Today, Shiro cut the vegetables!”

“Fran did too!”

“Really? You two worked hard.”

““Hehe.””

The vegetables had been cut into all sorts of uneven sizes, but the two of them had done their best. Being praised by the craftsmen made them absolutely delighted.

“That Horn girl is pretty good at cooking for someone so small.”

“She can make more than just round pancakes, too. Those okonomiyaki-style ones turned out beautifully.”

Horn was quite skilled at cooking things on the griddle, so under Ao’s guidance, she had even made some okonomiyaki-style pancakes. Ao was such a caring sort that I wouldn’t be surprised if she eventually started teaching Horn how to make sweets, too.

In any case, our cooking lesson for Shiro and the others had come to an end.

“Shun-oniichan’s cooking really is the best.”

“Yeah, yeah. Fran wants to eat Shun’s dishes, too.”

It seemed they had at least learned how much work went into cooking, but apparently the two of them still preferred being the ones who did the eating.

Once we reached the royal capital, I’ll set aside some time to teach them again. Although, during the journey there, it would probably be better for Sue, Ao, and me to handle the cooking.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Around lunchtime, the Mother Superior came by to check on the children from the orphanage, who had been temporarily staying at the mansion.

“Whoa! There’s nothing here!”

“It’s completely empty!”

“Our home is gone!”

Seeing the orphanage completely demolished, the children were astonished, but they soon started running around excitedly. There really were a lot of energetic kids here.

“Mother Superior, the demolition of the orphanage has been completed without incident. We’ll take new measurements of the site now, and as soon as that’s finished, we’ll begin laying the foundation.”

“It’s truly wonderful to see so many people coming together to help with the construction. Thank you all so much. Please continue to take care and avoid any injuries.”

The foreman gave the now-recovered Mother Superior an update on the construction, but even she was surprised by the sheer number of people working at the site. In fact, some local housewives had even come over to help prepare lunch. They were working alongside Casey-san, Telma-san, and the others to cook for everyone.

Since they could quickly prepare additional portions if necessary, the orphanage children were invited to join us for lunch as well.

“Hey, hey! What kind of house are you going to build?”

“A big house?”

“A cool house?”

“Hahaha! A big, cool house! Just wait until it’s finished.”

“““Ooh!”””

The orphanage children had gathered around the foreman, and they were clearly looking forward to their new home. They were practically bursting with excitement, expressing their joy with every part of their little bodies. Their faces were all smiles.

“The work inside the church has come along quite a bit as well, hasn’t it?”

“We should have the new flooring finished within another month. However, there are still other parts that need repairs, so it probably won’t be ready for full use until the new year.”

The sister and the young carpenter were discussing the church, but with things like repairing the pews still left to do, it looked like it would be some time before the church could be fully used again.

“Oh, right. There’s something else. When we inspected the buildings around town, we found another orphanage that needed some repairs. It wasn’t bad enough to require rebuilding, so once the church renovations are finished, we’re planning to send some of the workers over there.”

“Better to deal with it while we still can.”

“Exactly. We’ll have fewer workers available during winter, so if we want to take on any large-scale work, now’s our only real chance. Honestly, I’m just glad we got through the Harvest Festival first.”

The foreman explained the schedule for the work ahead. Apparently, there were other buildings in town that needed repairs as well. 

Still, I suppose we should be grateful that repairs were all they needed.

“All right. Let’s call it a day.”

“““Okay!”””

The work continued until evening. The children, meanwhile, spent the entire day running around and playing happily. Since there wasn’t much foot traffic around the church, they mostly played in front of the building.

The foundation demolition had been completed in a single day, so starting tomorrow, they would move on to improving the ground itself.

“Getting it perfectly level is the tricky part. After that, we’ll use a road roller and compact the ground properly.”

“““Ooh!”””

They were taking extra care with the foundation work to make sure the new orphanage would last for many years. Part of the reason the old building had to be demolished in the first place was because of problems with its foundation, so the foreman was particularly determined to get this part right.

From here on out, this was where the carpenters could really show what they were capable of.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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There was still plenty of time before we had to leave for the Royal Capital. So, as usual, we headed over to the church and orphanage demolition site.

“This is the last one.”

“““Ready… go!”””

CRRRRAAASH!

At long last, the demolition of the orphanage was complete. Once the old building was torn down, nothing remained except the foundation for the new one. Surprisingly, it left behind quite a spacious area.

“We’re going to tear out the remaining foundation too, right?”

“Yep. The excess moisture caused the wood to rot, so we’re going to raise the floor a little and improve the ventilation.”

“““We’ll help break it up!”””

The moment Shiro and the others heard the foreman, they pulled hammers out of their magic bags.

When did they even buy hammers?

Apparently, my confusion went completely unnoticed. Shiro and the others joined the adventurers and immediately started smashing away at the foundation. Even Ao is swinging a huge hammer. At this rate, they might actually finish demolishing the entire foundation in a single day.

Squeak. Squeak.

Meanwhile, over at the church, the workers were putting together the wooden framework needed for the new floorboards. A young carpenter was giving instructions to the other craftsmen, and the construction was progressing quite nicely.

Once the framework was finished, they would finally be ready to start laying the floorboards.

“Mother, is this about right?”

“Yes. The flavor will become stronger as it simmers, so let’s leave it at about this level.”

The women were preparing lunch, joined by Casey-san’s and Telma-san’s mother. Both women had experience helping with the church’s soup kitchen, so they were giving their daughters all sorts of advice.

Casey-san’s mother was absolutely right, too. When it came to soup, starting with too much seasoning was a surefire way to ruin it once everything had simmered down.

“So… I’m supposed to be the site supervisor, right?”

“Of course you are. Someone needs to keep an eye on the whole operation. Otherwise, if something happens, there’ll be no one around to give orders.”

As for me, I was making the rounds of the site with the foreman.

I somehow ended up as the person in charge of the Harvest Festival construction as well, and we’d already made enough little goddess statues that there was no longer any need for me to keep carving them.

Whenever someone got injured, I could patch them up in an instant. And if Ao or Horn happened to be nearby, they’d usually treat the injured person before I even got there. 

Honestly, all I really did was stand around at the site looking important. I barely had anything to do.

“Like I told you before, you folks will be leaving the Margrave’s territory in less than half a month. That means we’ll have to carry on with the construction without relying on you.”

“That said, the demolition is finished, and once we get into the actual construction, that’s where us professionals get to do our part.”

We had the foreman, of course, and, more importantly, the people who had graduated from the orphanage were pitching in whenever they could find the time.

We already collected all the donations needed for the construction, and any money left over would go toward the orphanage’s operating expenses.

Everything had a clear path forward now. That was a huge relief for me.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“Oh, right. There’s one more thing I wanted to discuss.”

After about five minutes of listening to them speculate about what I might receive, the Margrave suddenly seemed to remember something else, almost as an afterthought.

Incidentally, the most popular prediction had been that I’ll receive four medals, be granted a viscountcy, and then marry a woman of royal blood. There was absolutely no way that was going to happen though.

“Well, Shun, you’ve probably noticed this yourself, but Toria considers you to be the person she serves.”

“I’d more or less figured that out.”

“Of course, with Maria’s pregnancy, it’ll be a little while before she can go over to your side. And, speaking of which, we found out this morning that Emilia is pregnant as well.”

Wait.

Did he just casually drop a bombshell?

Emilia-sama being pregnant was enormous news for the entire Margrave’s household.

“Actually, is Emilia-sama really okay moving around like this? I mean, after what happened yesterday with the carriage and everything…”

“That hardly counts as moving around. When she was in her final month of pregnancy, she once sent the Margrave flying with a giant swing.”

Well, apparently there was absolutely nothing to worry about. As expected of Emilia-sama, she is an extraordinary woman.

“We’ll announce it to the people once she’s safely into the stable period, but you and the others will be heading to the royal capital before then. So I wanted to let you know ahead of time.”

“Uhm… congratulations, Emilia-sama. I’ll tell Sue and the others after we leave the Margrave’s territory.”

“Well, with that in mind, it’ll be a little while longer before Toria can go to Shun’s side.”

“Shun-dono, I’ll make sure I learn everything there is to know about raising children before I come to you.”

Please, don’t worry about me. Take care of the Margrave’s family first.

Kent-chan is still so young after all. Raising a child is far more important.

“For now, I think that covers everything. I’ve already told Casey and Telma when they’ll be leaving. Make sure you tell Sue and the others about the plans from here on out.”

And with that, our discussion came to an end.

When I returned from the mansion to the church, I found Casey-san and Telma-san there as well.

“So you’ll be coming to the Royal Capital soon as well, then?”

“When you get to the capital, please be sure to visit our mansion. We’d be delighted to have you.”

After I explained the schedule to everyone, Casey-san and Telma-san immediately invited us to come visit them. There was no doubt Sue and I would be paying their mansion a visit once we reached the capital.

“Hmm… So that means you won’t be here until the orphanage is finished?”

““Oooh….That’s too bad…””

Shiro and the others expressed some disappointment.

Come on, you guys.

It was never the plan for us to stay in the Margrave’s territory until the orphanage was completed. I heard that replacing the church floor alone would take a month, so there was no way we’d be here for the whole thing anyway.

“If we’re leaving in ten days, we’ll need to stock up on supplies to some extent.”

“And since we’ll be traveling with the army this time, we should probably prepare for the possibility that we won’t be staying in towns. At worst, we should be prepared to camp all the way to the royal capital.”

“Since we’ll be escorting some of the highest-level criminals, I doubt they’ll want to bring them into towns unnecessarily.”

Sue was right. The people traveling with us were among the most dangerous criminals in the Kingdom. Under the circumstances, stopping in towns was probably going to be difficult.

“““Yay! Camping!”””

Now, they are excited.

Guys, this definitely isn’t a camping trip.

There’s a chance we’ll even have to fight along the way. Still, maybe that carefree attitude was actually better for our mental health.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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The next day, Casey-san and Telma-san headed to the military facility with their mother. They are going to visit their brothers, who are still being detained.

For some reason, I had also been asked to join the Margrave and his family for a discussion.

“We’re off.”

“““Have a good one!”””

So Sue and the others headed to the work site without me.

After seeing the four of them and Shiro off, I made my way into the reception room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Not at all. Sorry to drag you into this when you’re already so busy, Shun.”

The reception room was packed with members of the Margrave’s family: the Margrave and Emilia-sama, the former Margrave, Kent-chan, and even Maria-san and Toria-san. The entire family was here.

The Margrave was the first to speak.

“First, let’s talk about what happens from here. The first group of the army will leave the Margrave’s territory in five days. Casey, Telma, and their mother will be traveling with them. Their elder brother will be going with the first group as well.

Five days after that, the second group will depart, taking the officers and that woman with them. I’d like you and your companions to leave the Margrave’s territory with the second group.”

“So we’ll be serving as escorts for the second group as well?”

“That is one of the reasons.”

With us along, we had enough strength to handle ourselves, and even if we were attacked, we should be able to drive them off.

But… if that wasn’t the only reason, then what else was there?

“There’s another reason. One of the most important people in this country wants to meet you, Shun. Under normal circumstances, I would simply have you travel to the Royal Capital independently of the army. But given the possibility of something happening along the way, I decided it would be safer this way.”

Uh…

When even the Margrave referred to someone as “one of the most important people in the country”, there were only so many possibilities.

“Of course, I’m talking about His Majesty. And all of the cabinet ministers want to meet you as well. You’ve resolved major incidents in several Margrave territories, after all. It’s only natural.”

I had more or less expected it, but apparently the people at the very heart of the Kingdom’s government want to meet me.

“You don’t need to be so nervous. All you have to do is safely escort Sue back to her family, and while you’re at it, meet my father.”

“No, no. That’s definitely not just a ‘while you’re at it’…”

Emilia-sama, meeting His Majesty—your father—is by far the most stomach-churning part of this whole thing.

Still, it didn’t look like I was going to be able to avoid it, so I supposed I had no choice but to accept my fate.

“Father holds you in very high regard too, Shun. He’s been receiving some remarkable reports from the various Margrave territories, and he’s been saying that he wants to meet you as soon as possible.”

Now that I thought about it, we really had been making quite a spectacle of ourselves everywhere we went. Personally, though, all I could remember was spending most of my time cooking.

“Well, that settles it. You’ll meet His Majesty, receive three or four medals, get made an honorary noble, and that’ll be the end of it.”

“Hmm… I am actually thinking you might be given a viscountcy.”

“Knowing His Majesty, he might even offer Shun one of the daughters of a collateral branch of the Royal Family.”

Please, everyone from the Margrave’s family, could you stop discussing such grandiose things right in front of me?

I don’t need any fancy rewards. Honestly, I’d be perfectly happy if they just gave me a simple pat on the back and said, “Good work.”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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It had all happened so suddenly that I could barely make sense of it. For now, the best thing to do was listen to Emilia-sama’s explanation.

“Actually, even before this whole mess with the Human Supremacy Cult began, I had already been considering the two of them as possible additions to the Margrave’s household. They both do their work properly, and more importantly, I was impressed by how they stood up to the Margrave himself when we were sorting through that mountain of paperwork.”

Come to think of it, everyone had seemed pretty angry with the Margrave by the time we were halfway through that mountain of paperwork he had been neglecting.

Still, it took quite a bit of courage to actually chew him out to his face.

Though, to be fair, there was someone even more terrifying than the Margrave in his household.

“And, putting it rather bluntly, there’s also the matter of the Human Supremacy Cult. Since it would effectively mean giving your daughters to the Margrave’s household, the other nobles won’t be in a position to interfere with how your families are punished.”

Since the Margrave’s household had decided not to seek demotion for either family, there was always a chance that other nobles might object. From that perspective, having the two girls marry into the Margrave’s household really did make sense.

“Casey, you’ve done nothing wrong, yet you’ve been put through so much trouble because of our family. I’m truly sorry.”

“If I could, I would have let you live your lives freely. But I suppose this, too, is the fate of being born into a noble family.”

Casey-san’s and Telma-san’s mother bowed her head to her daughters. There were probably things they wanted to say more, but they held them back, forcing themselves to keep a composed expression.

“Mother, thank you for thinking so much about what’s best for me.”

“Mm. I had started to think I might never be able to marry, so I think this is a good thing.”

“Casey…”

“Telma…”

On the other hand, Casey-san and Telma-san were taking the proposed marriage in a positive light. Seeing her daughters standing there with such quiet dignity, their mother couldn’t help but tear up.

“Ken-chan, you like Casey and Telma, don’t you?”

“Yes! I love both Casey-oneechan and Telma-oneechan!”

Kent-chan answered Emilia-sama’s question with great enthusiasm.

The fact that they were so well-liked by the future Margrave must have been a major factor in the decision as well.

“Now that everything’s settled, let’s eat. The little ones are getting restless.”

The former Margrave gave a wry smile as he looked over at Shiro and the others, along with Kent-chan, all wearing expressions that clearly said, “Are we done yet?”.

Looks like that wrapped up the discussion.

“Ah, one last thing. Casey and Telma will be returning with their mother and the army. Shun and Sue, I’d like you two to stay here in the Margrave’s territory a little longer.”

We nodded at Emilia-sama’s decision.

I’m sure Casey and Telma wanted to spend some time with their mother, too.

““““Delicious!””””

The moment Emilia-sama finished speaking, Shiro and the others, along with Kent-chan, immediately started digging into the meat.

At least the army would be staying here for a while, so it wasn’t as though we’d have to say goodbye tomorrow.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“You really caused Sue a great deal of trouble as well. And you must be Shun. Thank you for taking care of my daughter.”

“Even though it was only by chance, I’m very glad my daughter was able to join up with you all.”

Casey-san’s and Telma-san’s mother spoke to Sue and me, but honestly, it really had just been a matter of timing. If that commotion at the Adventurers’ Guild hadn’t happened, there was a good chance we would have simply passed each other by.

Bang.

Oh, the carriage stopped rocking, and Emilia-sama stepped out.

Amazing. After that much disciplinary action, her dress wasn’t even the slightest bit rumpled.

“Shun, we’ll be heading home first.”

“Ah… yes.”

Emilia-sama gave me a gentle smile and said only what was absolutely necessary, but there was no way I could interfere.

And so, the carriage carrying Emilia-sama, Casey-san’s mother, and Telma-san’s mother headed back to the mansion.

“It’s good that your mothers came for you, Casey, Telma.”

“Yes. I was honestly quite surprised.”

“But Mother has always been a woman of action. Looking back on it now, I suppose something like this was bound to happen eventually.”

Casey and Telma had calmed down considerably by then.

In any case, we had work to do right in front of us, so we continued working at the church until evening.

““Haaah…””

“What’s wrong with you two? Why the sighing?”

Then dinner time arrived, and we were finally going to hear what would become of the Viscount Houses of Nasca and Franz.

For some reason, however, Casey-san’s and Telma-san’s anxiety had returned. Sue asked them about it as well, but neither of them said a word.

Looks like I’ll just have to hear it directly from Emilia-sama.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Not at all. You’ve been working all day. It looks like you’ve had a nice bath and freshened up.”

When we entered the dining room, everyone was already there. As soon as we took our seats, the discussion began. As expected, it was the Margrave who spoke first.

“This was an incident on a scale the Kingdom has never seen before, but thanks to all of you, we managed to keep the damage to a minimum. Once again, I have my thanks to you all.”

“The Count House of Kasuak has quite a few other crimes to answer for, so the investigation will take some time. Still, however you look at it, the most likely outcome is that the house will be stripped of its title and dissolved.”

Well, after causing such a massive uproar and even picking a fight with the military in the Royal Capital, what else could they expect? By any reasonable standard, there was no way the Kasuak family could avoid being stripped of its title and dissolved.

“As for the Viscount Houses of Nasca and Franz, their current heads are already under house arrest and have petitioned the Kingdom to transfer their titles to their successors.

Their elder brother is already of age and has officially left both households, but some of their other retainers were involved in the incident. So while the Margrave House will not be requesting that either family be stripped of its rank, the Kingdom will most likely impose a fine.”

There wasn’t much that could be done about that. If anything, I wanted to believe that thanks to Casey-san and Telma-san, their families had managed to avoid being demoted or dissolved altogether.

Then Emilia-sama dropped a bombshell.

“And separately from this incident, we are currently making arrangements for Casey and Telma to marry into the Margrave’s household.”

““Huh?””

Sue and I both froze.

Casey-san and Telma-san are going to marry into the Margrave’s family?

What on earth did that mean?

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Ten minutes later, Emilia-sama and the two parent-and-child pairs stepped down from the carriage.

Huh?

The parents and children all looked a little confused.

“Emilia-sama…”

“As expected of you, Shun. You noticed right away. I’ll tell you all about it over dinner.”

I was just about to ask Emilia-sama why the families looked so bewildered, but she beat me to it. At this point, I knew better than to press her. If I asked now, she probably wouldn’t tell me anyway.

“More importantly, why are you here with Shun? I believe I told you not to eat or drink anything here, since lunch will be served later.”

“W-wh-what are you talking about?”

“Hmmm?”

Ah, figures. The Margrave really had been forbidden from sneaking bites after all. Emilia-sama had probably been trying to steer the conversation onto another topic, but the Margrave’s suspicious behavior had completely captured her attention.

“You have some sauce on the corner of your mouth, you know?”

“Oh, my apologies. Ah!”

My goodness, Lord Margrave. How could you possibly fall for such an obvious trap?

The instant everyone present realized what had just happened, we all had the exact same thought: Oh, he screwed up.

“Fran, Horn. Was the Margrave eating the staff meal?”

“Yeah! And he even ate Shun’s lunch!”

“Shun-oniichan took out a different meal from his Item Box.”

“Fufufu. Thank you, both of you.”

Having obtained testimony from Fran and Horn—the two people most likely to answer honestly—Emilia-sama turned her attention to the Margrave.

His face had gone deathly pale. She stared at him with an utterly expressionless face.

“You and I are going to have a little talk.”

“…Y-yes, ma’am.”

Emilia-sama pointed toward the carriage with a small nod of her chin, her expression utterly serious. With no other choice, the Margrave obediently followed her.

Not a single person said a word as we all watched the two of them climb into the carriage.

Don, don, don, thud!

“Everyone, I sincerely apologize for the trouble our family has caused you.”

“Please accept our apologies once again.”

Only after the carriage door closed did Casey-san’s and Telma-san’s mother turn to the foreman and the person in charge of the demolition work and apologize.

“Oh, Casey and Telma’s mother, huh? Those two have been working hard ever since the Harvest Festival. They’re real hard workers.”

“The ringleader already told us everything, so we know more or less what happened. And the townspeople don’t hold it against them at all.”

Neither the foreman nor the person in charge had a single bad thing to say about the Nasca and Franz viscount families—not even when Casey-san and Telma-san were brought up. That was proof enough that the people of the Margrave’s territory had accepted Casey-san and Telma-san as their own.

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

“Ahhhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhhhhh!”

Incidentally, the carriage shook violently and someone’s scream could be heard, but no one at the scene paid any attention.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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