On February 10th, the book version of Volume 8 went on sale.
I meant to mention this during my last update, but I had the release date wrong, so the announcement came late.
"We finally made it back."
"It's a good thing we got back before the snow really started coming down."
Having returned to the Royal Capital for the first time in months, we had gone straight to the Guild to report our request's completion before heading back to the mansion. The members of "Orasion" and Reni came back to the mansion with us, while Chris and Albert parted ways with us at the Guild. Each of them had various check-ins and tasks from their time away, so even though we had just returned, there was apparently plenty to do.
"Hm? Looks like someone's here."
"Well, anyone who'd come by carriage while we were away must be one of Alex and the others."
As we chatted about this and pulled Raiden up to the front entrance, the door happened to open at just the right moment. I thought it might be Aina, but the one who opened the door was Kurif.
"Welcome home, Tenma-sama, Merlin-sama. I have some business today, so please excuse the intrusion."
Since Kurif said he had business, I wondered if even the King had come, but I was told that wasn't the case. Wondering what exactly his business was, I stepped into the mansion when—
"Welcome home."
""Welcome home.""
Aina—
—who had been waiting near the entrance and the others
greeted us. Something was different about the usual arrangement, which caught me off guard, but Aina's eyes seemed to be silently pleading "Don't say anything," so I walked on by without commenting.
"I'm home—eek!"
"Hey, Aura—ah!"
"I'm ho—oof!"
"My name is Reni Tantan. It'll only be for a short while, but I look forward to working with you."
The women showed reactions that could only be described as each having their own way of responding, but the first three were glared at by Aina and hurriedly followed behind me. Only Reni stayed where she was, politely greeting Aina and Kurif. As for the old man behind me, he simply said "Hmm" and showed no particular reaction, briskly walking past me and heading for the dining hall. The moment he entered, he burst into hearty laughter.
"I had to hold it in... Well, I can't say I don't understand how you feel."
"Indeed. Even without understanding... Pfft!"
Compared to Amur spewing up just outside the dining hall, the old man had at least shown some restraint. As for Jeanne and Aura, who had been quiet until now, they still seemed shaken by the terror of almost screaming earlier, their faces pale as they moved slowly.
"For now, I should sort out the souvenirs so the uncles can come whenever they want... but first I need to go check on Juubei and the others."
Just as I thought that and stepped into the hallway—
"Mae—eeeeeeeeeee!"
The instant I opened the door—
A black mass
Came hurtling in with momentum.
"Heave-ho!"
"Huh? Whaaa—!"
I could hear Mary's footsteps, so I easily dodged her tackle that she'd timed to the moment the door opened. But Aura, completely unaware, took the full impact of Mary's charge to her back and rolled a few meters away with Mary.
"Mae~"
"Moo~"
"Welcome home, Ally. Welcome home, Tama-chan."
Shortly after Mary burst in, Ally arrived. Tama-chan had also come to the nearest window from the dining hall and was crying out.
"This time, there are souvenirs for you guys too, Ally."
Hearing that, Ally tilted her head, seemingly not quite grasping the meaning. So I took some of the dried grass I'd bought in Shell Hyde out of my Magic Bag and held it in front of her, and she began eating happily.
"Is it good? Then, let's go eat at Juubei's place. Mary, if you don't come, you'll miss out."
"Hey! M-m-m-me!"
"Amour, why don't you let Merry go now?"
"Mm."
Merry, after body-slamming Aura, had tried to do the same to Amour but ended up getting caught and struggling instead. Once freed, Merry rushed over and even body-slammed me, though the force was much weaker than usual—maybe she figured she wouldn't get the dried grass if she hit too hard.
"Here, I'm leaving it here. It's a high-quality product from Shell Hyde."
Calling it high-quality was a lie, but since horses were a specialty around Shell Hyde, the feed was apparently quite good too. I'd gotten the Earl to introduce me to a supplier and bought a large quantity.
"Now then... It's about time I went to ask Kurif the reason."
As I headed toward the dining hall to hear the explanation, Aina was waiting on the way and guided me to the drawing room. After waiting there for a little while,
"Here are the refreshments."
"T-tea, tea, ahh!"
"Whoa, hot!"
With a stiff smile, the person who placed the sweets in front of me was
Lyle,
who then got doused with tea by
Luna
and let out a scream.
"Luna-sama! You mustn't fill the teacup to the brim!"
"F-before that, you should be worrying about me..."
Aina scolded Luna while swiftly wiping up the spilled tea. A replacement cup was quickly provided by Kurif, but Lyle was left completely ignored.
"So, could you finally tell me why you two are in the house dressed like that?"
"Understood... Before that, however, please wait just a moment. Lyle, where are you off to? You need to explain things to Master now. Please stand quietly behind me and wait."
Lyle seemed to be heading out of the sitting room to change clothes, but Kurif called him back.
"The truth is, these two had been undergoing butler and maid training on Master Maria's orders. Well, they both have their jobs and studies, so it wasn't every day... and the day Tenma and the others returned happened to be the test day, when a decision would be made on whether to extend the training."
He didn't know what exactly they'd done, but they must have misbehaved enough to exhaust Master Maria's patience. Or else their daily conduct had simply piled up — one or the other.
"So, how did they do?"
"Quite poorly, I'm afraid."
Kurif delivered his assessment without a moment's hesitation in response to Tenma's question. The two of them, who had apparently been cut down by Kurif before, seemed to have had a fair amount of confidence, and they were visibly deflated by receiving the exact opposite verdict.
"Well, regardless of their poor performance, I must acknowledge their effort. Their effort, at least."
However, when the two heard the continuation of Kurif's words, they broke into matching smiles — only to be met with,
"Of course, the final judgment will be made by Master Maria. All I can do is report things as they are."
Lifted up only to be knocked back down again, the two wore expressions of utter despair.
"That does sound like quite the ordeal. Well, I understand the situation with these two. Anyway, since I'm back, I'd like to go deliver the souvenirs I brought..."
"Before that, Tenma, isn't there something important you need to report to Master Maria?"
"Ah, you're right. There is something very important."
There was a matter he'd experienced during the margrave's commission that he needed to bring to the royal family's attention.
"That would be best if you told Master Maria directly. If you're not too tired, it might be worth going to report now. I'm sure Master Maria is waiting to hear from you."
"In that case, let me go get ready."
With that, Tenma explained the situation to his grandfather and Jeanne and had them change, while he himself swapped out his dirty clothes and packed the souvenirs into his Magic Bag.
When he finished his preparations and called out to Kurif, Kurif showed a hint of surprise at seeing Jeanne there, but once Tenma explained that she was also one of the people involved, he nodded in understanding.
"Tenma, I'm coming too!"
"Please leave Amour for next time. Maria and the others will probably hear about Amour too, but I think we should talk about Jeanne first."
"Hmm... Fine."
With Amour stepping back, we headed toward the carriage with Kurif leading the way.
Aina wasn't returning to the royal castle with us—she said she'd stay a bit longer for more instruction from Luna and Lyle, so I told her to let Aura rest today and have her start working from tomorrow. Aina nodded at my instructions, but she apparently wanted to have Aura working right away, since she kept glancing sideways at the delighted Aura several times.
Nearby, Luna seemed like she wanted to say something, but perhaps because of her position as a maid-in-training, she only looked like she wanted to speak without actually coming closer.
"Luna, I won't mention your earlier mistake to Maria, so you don't have to worry about that."
I called out to her, but it seemed that wasn't what was on her mind, as she shook her head.
"That's not it... Oh! The souvenirs! I've secured wyvern meat, so the royal castle cooks should be able to prepare it by tomorrow!"
"Really! Yay— I mean, no!"
Luna started to celebrate, but it seemed souvenirs weren't what she wanted to hear about either. As I was thinking what a low-hint quiz this was, I suddenly remembered I was keeping Kurif waiting, so I gave Luna a quick apology and climbed into the carriage.
As we traveled along in the carriage driven by Kurif—
"Merlin-sama, Tenma-sama, Chris is up ahead."
I opened the window to look, and sure enough, Chris was there. And with a man... well, it looked like they were arguing.
"Should we ignore them?"
It smelled like nothing but trouble, so I was inclined to do as Kurif suggested, but unfortunately, Chris turned in our direction. And our eyes met—mine, peering out the window, and hers.
"Kurif, get us out of here at full speed!"
"I'm afraid that's not possible. Chris has already noticed us, and more importantly, she's heading right this way."
If we could go in a straight line and max out our speed, we'd be able to shake Chris off, but we couldn't maneuver well in town, and she was approaching head-on. No matter what we did, she'd catch us before we could turn around.
"Then stop here. At least let her walk the rest of the way."
And so, after a thirty-second wait, Chris arrived at the carriage with a walk that resembled a speed-walking race.
"Royal Guard, Chris. I am resuming my duties effective immediately!"
"Understood. Then please take up your assignment escorting our guest."
Chris reported to Kurif and was about to climb into the carriage, but—
"Christina, we're not done talking here!"
A man who had been chasing after them called out to Chris. However—
"Did you not hear me say I was resuming my duties with the Royal Guard? The person riding in this carriage is a guest of the royal family. To interfere with a Royal Guard's assignment to escort said guest could constitute lèse-majesté against the crown. Are you prepared to accept those consequences? Furthermore, my name is Chris—not Christina. And while I see you hold the rank of baronet, Royal Guards are granted authority equivalent to a baron by His Majesty's decree. Do you understand what that means?"
Chris was staring at the man with eyes colder than she had ever shown before. No, it wasn't just cold—there was a genuine fear that if the man pressed any further, she would cut him down on the spot.
"Chris, Maria-sama is waiting, so I'd like to head to the castle as soon as possible."
"My apologies for the delay. Let's go at once."
The man either realized Chris was truly furious, or the mention of Maria-sama's name gave him pause—either way, he didn't try to stop Chris any further. He just glared at her, clearly unconvinced.
And then Chris boarded the carriage, ignoring the man's existence entirely as if he weren't even there.
"Wow, you really saved my life. That guy was annoying enough to make me want to kill him… If you hadn't come along, Tenma, I might have actually done it."
The moment the carriage started moving, Chris was back to her usual self.
"So, Chris, who was that man just now? And what's this about Christina?"
In response to my question, Chris made a face like the very thought disgusted her, but perhaps she figured she couldn't just stay silent after we'd helped her out—
"My..."
"Former..."
"Father. And Christina was the name I used to go by."
She said all of this while looking away. I'd heard before that Chris had cut ties with her family because they'd tried to take advantage of her, but apparently the real story was far worse.
"When I was twelve, that man brought me a marriage proposal. I mean, for a noble's daughter, having a fiancé at twelve isn't exactly unheard of—but this wasn't an engagement. It was an outright marriage! And the groom was a man in his forties!"
Chris had grown increasingly agitated as she spoke, clearly worked up.
"Even though I knew it was an unbelievable story for a child—not only was that man in on it, but his wife too! Something felt off, so I snuck into their room and did some investigating. Apparently, that man had borrowed a huge sum from a guy in his forties, and he was planning to hand me over as collateral for the debt. And the wife apparently figured that since I'd clearly outlive him, she could take over the old man's estate afterward. By the way, that old man was a viscount."
Having been twelve at the time, Chris had agonized over how to dodge the marriage before ultimately deciding to run away from home. She set off for the Royal Capital the very next day. The travel money, apparently, came from a stash her father and mother had hidden around the house.
Upon arriving at the Royal Capital, Chris rushed straight to the soldiers' guard post and explained why she'd run away. From there, the soldiers—uncertain what to do with her—reported the matter to the Royal Capital Knights' headquarters. And the knights, equally at a loss, reported it to the King.
Even the King was reportedly shocked by the unprecedented situation, but he quickly decided to place Chris under his protection, issued warnings to both her family and the viscount, and granted Chris's request to formally sever all ties. After that, Chris had nearly been sent to an orphanage, but the entrance exam she'd taken on a whim at the academy had yielded excellent results, so she challenged the following year's entrance exam and successfully earned a nomination spot. As for her living expenses up to that point, they came from compensation paid by her former family—after the forced marriage attempt was recognized as abuse—and for the shortfall, the knight who'd looked after Chris at the royal castle served as her guarantor, allowing her to take out a loan from a moneylender in the Royal Capital. That knight, by the way, turned out to be Jean.
"I'd practically forgotten he even existed, but once he heard I'd won the martial tournament and that I still wasn't married, he showed up trying to play the magnanimous benefactor with a marriage arrangement. That man never learns. Since His Majesty personally approved the severance, I'm currently a noble of higher rank than him—and he doesn't even understand that interfering with me directly defies His Majesty's decision."
Even after that, Chris kept grumbling inside the carriage the whole time. Meanwhile, Grandpa and Jeanne pretended to be asleep to ride it out.
"Chris, perhaps it's time you stopped talking. You've resumed your duties with the Royal Guard, haven't you?"
Chris, who had been chattering nonstop, finally fell quiet at Kurif's words.
"The royal castle gates, huh…"
Even if it was to escape that man, she'd declared in front of witnesses that she was resuming her duties with Kurif. Having made that declaration, she'd need to compose herself before passing through the gates.
The carriage passed through the gates and proceeded to the front entrance, but Chris got off shortly before arriving. Apparently, you couldn't enter the royal castle without wearing the knights' uniform unless it was an emergency, so she was going to change in her room at the barracks first.
"Maria-sama, I've brought Tenma."
Kurif escorted me to the room where Maria was, and inside I found Maria, the King, Caesar-sama and Isabella, Zain, and Ernest.
"Maria-sama, the request has been completed successfully. I'll bring the souvenirs to the kitchen later."
"Yes, thank you, Tenma. And welcome back."
After exchanging greetings with Maria and the others, I mentioned that I had a report to make, and they offered us seats, so all three of us sat down. Maria and the others seemed puzzled that Jeanne—who normally stood behind us—had been asked to sit, but when I explained it was something that concerned her too, they nodded.
"So then, what's this report about?"
Maria seemed oddly cheerful about it—she might have mistaken it for a travel update.
"It may not amount to much of a report, but dangerous Monsters have appeared in the Great Old Forest."
"Over there!"
"Yes, it's a Lich. Lion said she'd send detailed information, but I thought it would be better to report what I personally sensed directly. The reason I brought Jeanne is that among everyone who went to Kukuri Village, she was the only one who didn't fall into the Lich's trap. So I figured she could explain the situation in more detail than I could, which is why I brought her along... Wait, was there something wrong?"
Maria and the others had reacted a bit oddly, so I blurted it out without thinking, but they shook their heads and said, "It's nothing."
After that, I conveyed the results of our battle with the Lich and what Jeanne had observed about how Grandpa and I had been at the time.
During the discussion, the topic came up of how even the two of us—supposedly talented at magic and with higher resistance than most—had unknowingly fallen into the Lich's trap, yet Jeanne alone had remained lucid and able to move freely. We couldn't pin down a clear reason, and it was concluded that she'd just happened to be only shallowly affected by the trap.
As someone who can use Appraisal, I believed Jeanne's Title of "Saint" had something to do with it, but since I'm keeping my ability to use Appraisal a secret, and moreover since I don't know exactly how the "Saint" Title had influenced things, I agreed with the "coincidence" conclusion.
"Well then, I'll go carry the souvenirs to the kitchen."
"Tenma, have Kurif handle that—please give the souvenirs to Kurif."
After things had settled down, I stood up to carry the Wyvern meat to the kitchen, but Maria called out to me to wait.
Well, I was there as a guest, so she must have decided it would be strange to have me do the carrying—I transferred the meat to Kurif's Magic Bag and sat back down in my seat.
"Tenma, is there still something you need to report to us?"
When Maria said that, I thought for a moment.
"I built a fort using magic at the border of the Margrave's territory."
I figured she might be referring to the military cooperation, but that wasn't it either.
"The matter of the Margrave's spies?"
"That has already been reported to us by Margrave Haust. That matter has been left to the Margrave family."
The King answered on Maria's behalf. The fact that Maria didn't open her mouth meant this answer was wrong too.
"It's not about Canon... is it? Could it be about the threads from Gol and Jil that were used at the wedding?"
I wondered if there had been some inquiry about Serna's wedding dress, but I was met with a head shake.
Still, she had reacted to the mention of the wedding, so it must have been something related to that.
"So, it's about me having served as the matchmaker?"
"That's it!"
I had finally arrived at the correct answer, but it seemed like the real challenge was only just beginning.