"As expected, he got scolded."
"It was so predictable it was actually boring."
Just as Albert and Cain said, Lion was reprimanded by Edililia for her handling of Doni and Rani. It wasn't a shouting match or a string of sarcastic remarks; she was calmly pointed out her mistakes, made to consider what she should have done instead, and then questioned on each point one by one. During all of this, the Marquis was completely ignored. According to Lion, the real problem was that she'd had to meet the unfamiliar Doni and Rani in the first place, which had been extremely distressing.
"I'm home~!"
Chris returned to the Marquis's residence alone before dinner. Since Amour would be staying in Shellhide with Rani educating her nonstop, Chris planned to return to the residence at night and meet back up with Rani in the morning.
"Well, Rani's stories were actually quite interesting. Apparently, Rani says she's the most popular woman in Nanao."
She had heard from Amour that Rani claimed to be Nanao's most popular woman. Rani was sharing these experiences to help Amour, but Chris also found them entertaining and picked up a few useful tips.
"If you put that into practice, big sis, you'll be a heartbreaker too!"
Lion teased Chris as usual, but as usual, Chris didn't summon her fist with a menacing hum. We were surprised by this unexpected turn of events, but Albert and Cain were particularly stunned.
"Really, Lion, you never get out of that student mindset, no matter how much time passes."
Having listened to Rani's stories alongside Amour, Chris must have had her own thoughts on the matter. This incident with Amour might already be having an effect on Chris. Well, it had only just begun, so it was understandable that her fists were still clenched tight... but if things continued like this, it probably wouldn't be long before Chris got a boyfriend.
Jeanne and Aura seemed curious about the content of Rani's stories, as they peppered Chris with various questions.
Watching them, one guy was genuinely worried.
"Hey, Tenma. Do you think big sis ate something bad?"
It was Lion, looking truly concerned. Chris would do well to mature even half as much as him. In my peripheral vision, Albert and Cain wore expressions of exasperation at Lion's words.
That night, I thought we might have another late-night poker tournament like yesterday, but the three women unanimously opted out. Their reason was that it was 'bad for the skin.'
"So, the young ladies are finally starting to care about such things... that's what it feels like. I'll go with an eight-cut flush!"
"Merlin-sama is as sharp as ever... then, I'll win with a 'Revolution'!"
"Ngh!"
"Kain's been targeting Lion ever since earlier... here you go, I'm out."
"So I go out as Scum... Lion, that's ten losses in a row for you."
Since the girls weren't around, they were playing without any rotation today, but as usual, Gramps had monopolized the President seat while Lion had monopolized the Scum seat. Well, Gramps was holding onto his position through sheer luck and sharp reads, but Lion—on top of his own terrible luck and misreads—couldn't climb out of the Scum spot thanks to Kain's constant interference.
"Ugh, damn it! If only Kain hadn't gotten in my way there..."
"Sure, I interfered, but you lose even when I don't. And you actually lose more often when I'm not interfering."
"Ugh... I'm just off my game today or something."
"You say that every time."
Every single one of Lion's excuses got shot down by Kain and Albert.
"Let's take a break or something... Hey, Tenma, what are your plans going forward?"
Lion, ignoring the two of them completely, tried to buy time by changing the subject. Not that it mattered—even if he stalled, they'd just restart with him in the Scum seat again.
"My plans, huh... Now that I've come all the way to the Haust Margraviate, I'm thinking of taking this chance to visit Kukuri Village."
"Ooh... Are you sure about that?"
The first to react to my words was Gramps. Up until now, even when he'd been with Uncle Mark and the others, Kukuri Village had barely come up in conversation, so it was only natural he'd be surprised that I was the one bringing it up.
"I've been telling myself I need to go back to Kukuri Village, but I kept making excuses—saying it was too far, or I was scared, or whatever. If I let this chance slip, I'll probably just find some new excuse and never go."
"If you've made up your mind, Tenma, I won't say a word... but if you feel like it's too much along the way, there's no shame in turning back."
Gramps's words earned nods from Albert and Kain, but once again, the man who couldn't read the room had to make his presence known.
"Kukuri Village is way out on the edge of the Margraviate, so it's quite a trek from Shellhide. I mean, it's still closer than the Royal Capital, though. Even if you turn back halfway, you can always go from the Capital when things settle down!"
The instant Lion finished speaking, Albert and Cain sprang into action—
"That's not the point! Read the room, you idiot!"
—and punched him. For the record, Albert nailed his side while Cain drove a fist into his solar plexus almost simultaneously, leaving Lion utterly incapacitated.
"Even I was a little irritated by that one, I'll admit…"
Saying that, the old man got up and moved into action too.
"Merlin, please! Do it!"
"Right anywhere you like!"
The moment the old man stood up, the two of them grabbed Lion's arms from either side, locking him in place.
"H-Hey, wait, I'm sor—unggh!"
"A fist would be too cruel, so let's call it even with this… Relax, it's just a flick."
The old man's method of attack was a flick to the forehead. Nobody knew how that counted as a backhand strike, but the force behind it was no joke—Lion's head snapped back violently, and he nearly lost consciousness, possibly from a mild concussion.
"What was that noise?!"
The commotion apparently carried all the way to Chris and the others' room, because all three came rushing over in a panic.
"Chris, don't run in the hallway. You need to go back to being the Chris you were before yesterday."
"Ahahahaha… But more importantly, what was that sound just now? It sounded like someone being struck with a whip or something?"
"It was nothing major. Lion just said something stupid again, and Merlin gave him the usual punishment."
"Well, 'Merlin giving him the usual' isn't really the usual, but that couldn't be helped. If anything, Lion should be grateful it only went that far."
Hearing Cain and Albert's explanation, Chris was about half-convinced, but apparently she still couldn't figure out the other half—what exactly the old man's punishment was all about.
"No, Lion asked about our future plans, and we were discussing whether to visit Kukuri Village for a grave visit… and that's when Lion failed to read the room. That's all."
Whether this explanation made everything click or not, Chris didn't ask any further questions. However, she felt she needed to at least explain why they were heading to Kukuri Village, so she decided to let them hear her out.
"So that's what happened… I'm fine with heading to Kukuri Village in general. But if you only decided to go out of some sense of obligation that you absolutely have to, even if it's forced, then I don't think it needs to be right now."
"It's fine. I decided after giving it a lot of thought."
"In that case, I have nothing to say."
The conversation with Chris ended there, but Jeanne and Aura still seemed a bit unclear on the situation. Well, even if they had objected, there was no way he could leave them behind at the border count's estate, so he had to take them along no matter what.
"I can't oppose a decision you've made, Tenma, and it would be troublesome if you left us behind here, so going to that Kukuri Village is fine... but what's the village like now?"
"After that incident, it seems the village became uninhabitable, and it's apparently abandoned now."
"Then, are we making a day trip to Kukuri Village?"
"No, if possible, I'd like to stay a few nights. I don't know what state it's in now that it's abandoned, but after visiting the graves, I want to do some cleaning and basic repairs."
He had heard there were simple graves for his father and mother. He wanted to tidy up the area so they would be immediately recognizable as graves.
"So that's the plan, but you three don't really need to come all the way with me. I'll probably make a few stops on the way back from Kukuri Village too."
Going all the way to Kukuri Village was already a major detour. If they added further stops from there, it could easily stretch his return to the Royal Capital into months. That's why he thought about parting ways with the three of them here, but they didn't nod in agreement.
"Speaking of stops on the return trip from Kukuri Village to the Royal Capital, Gunjou City would be one of them, right? In that case, I'd like to visit Primera, combining it with an inspection. Even if we weren't planning to stop, I'd want to accompany you at least that far."
"Me too. The Samons Marquisate's territory is simply too far off the usual routes, so that's impossible, but since we've come this far, I'd like to visit the Sanga Duchy's territory for the first time in a while. Opportunities to visit other territories are scarce as it is, and they'll likely become even rarer in the future."
"As for me, my purpose has already been achieved. I should be free to do as I please from here. Besides, if I split up with you here, Tenma, some other nobles might say I 'used Tenma only for the border count's benefit.'"
And so, the three of them decided to come along as well. Chris had thought further was impossible due to her duties with the Imperial Guard, but—
"Of course I'm coming! This time, I'm 'coming along with Tenma-kun for work.' If Tenma-kun extends his trip, my mission automatically extends with it!"
She was completely calling it a trip, but since the commission from the border count's estate was finished, it wasn't wrong to call it that from here on. Well, it was unclear if Chris's logic would hold, but if she returned alone to the Royal Capital now, that could become a problem too. Even if she got reprimanded, she could insist that 'the judgment at that point was correct.'
"So, that's the deal. For now, the details are undecided, but roughly speaking, we're thinking of going to Kukuri Village, passing through Russell City, stopping by Gunjou City... something like that. Well, it's mostly the same route I took to the Royal Capital."
To be precise, he hadn't passed through Russell City to get to Gunjou City before, but it was a city midway between Kukuri Village and Gunjou City, making it a perfect spot for a proper rest.
"Hmm, when it comes to the geography around there, I might know more than the border count's estate does."
"Then how about I guide you until we're near Kukuri Village, and then you take over, Master Merlin?"
Lion's guidance would probably use the maps owned by the border count's estate. Perhaps trying to redeem his earlier blunder, he was eagerly making his suggestion.
"That might be for the best."
"I know the way too. I've been to Kukuri Village via Russell City before, but at that time Kurif was driving and I was on guard duty... We got ambushed by orcs, though."
"Led by an Orc King, no less. And for orcs, they seemed remarkably intelligent."
When I lightly backed up Chris's self-deprecating remark, she launched right back in.
"That's exactly right! For orcs, those guys were insanely clever! And since the person in charge at the time was Jeanne, the vice-captain of the Royal Guard, I was just a lowly foot soldier and couldn't exactly speak up!"
She went on to heap praise on the Orc King's capabilities before smoothly pinning the whole thing on Jeanne's responsibility. She seemed to want to say that if she had been in charge, things would have gone differently, but Chris hadn't realized what her own words implied. Well, the only person here likely to tattle to Jeanne was
me,
so I could just stay quiet about it.
Incidentally, the reason it was only me: Albert and the other two weren't close enough with Jeanne to casually bring something like that up, Jeanne and Aura couldn't tattle due to their positions (and even if they did, Aina wouldn't stay silent about it). Grandpa might have been a possibility, but judging by his expression, he seemed to think something along the lines of 'can't blame them for cutting loose a little while the scary ones aren't around.' And the one most likely to actually do it, Amour, wasn't here. So the one most likely to tattle was yours truly.
Chris, completely oblivious to what I was thinking, was telling Albert and the others about the whole incident with a fair bit of exaggeration.
"Tenma..."
While everyone was distracted by Chris's story, Cain called my name in a small voice and said,
"I'll be your witness, okay?"
giving me a thumbs-up. I returned the gesture with a silent thumbs-up of my own. Grandpa watched the whole exchange with a look of exasperation on his face, but he didn't say anything.
"Well, it doesn't even feel like we're playing cards anymore, and it's late, so how about we call it a night?"
"Yeah, let's do that!"
Lion agreed immediately, practically swallowing Grandpa's words whole. He probably figured that if they kept playing, he'd never escape Last Place.
"You're right. Let's call it a draw for tonight then. Next time, we'll pick up with Master Merlin's Rich Man round. And the Poor Man, naturally, is Lion."
"No way, no way, no way! Next time we obviously start over from the beginning! Right?"
"I'm fine with either, personally."
"Then let's have Cain decide, since he was in second place."
"The results from this round carry over to next time."
"Damn it all!"
Thanks to Cain's immediate decision, it was settled that Lion would start the next game of Daipougin from last place. His scream echoed throughout the entire mansion, and he caught an earful not only from Chris, but from Edilia and the mansion's maids as well.
The next day.
"I get nervous just thinking about meeting the Border Count!"
"No way — Dad's definitely more nervous than you are."
Donny and Lani had been summoned by the Border Count regarding their business proposal.
Normally, this kind of approval required submitting paperwork to the municipal office, and only when the office couldn't decide whether to grant permission would the matter be escalated to the Border Count. But this time, because Lion had explicitly declared "I'll bring it to Dad himself," several steps were skipped and they were able to meet with him directly.
Lion had visited the two of them early that morning, explained the situation, and escorted them to the mansion. His going along was punishment for having acted so recklessly. For the record, Reni hadn't come. And Chris wasn't at the mansion either. The reason was that both of them had the duty of educating Amour.
"So why am I here too?"
"Tenma-sama, we'd like to ask you to serve as the young lady's stand-in. Even if it's just for form's sake, it would help to have someone who can vouch for our status. The young lady is very busy with all sorts of things right now, so... I know it's an imposition, but please, we're counting on you."
It seemed I was being asked to fill in for the busy Amour.
Aside from Amour, the people Lani knew were me, my grandfather, Jeanne, and Aura — but since I was serving as the party's leader this time around, that was probably why they'd picked me.
"Well, I don't suppose there's much for me to do, so sure..."
After the audience,
"There really wasn't anything for me to do. I could've just stayed home, couldn't I?"
"That's not true at all! Tenma-sama, your being there meant the Border Count agreed to hear us out — that alone mattered. And more than anything, having you on our side must have put considerable pressure on the Border Count!"
"I'm sorry for making use of you like that, but it truly helped."
What Lani meant by "helped" was this: by introducing us with me vouching for their status, turning them away or treating them coldly would have meant humiliating me — and the Border Count, who already owed me a debt, wouldn't have been able to do that.
"I'm sure that played some part, but even without me, Dad would have listened to what they had to say, so there's no need to worry about it. If anything, Mom said something along the lines of — now that a connection with the South has been established, a region they'd had no prior dealings with, granting business permits should be no big deal at all."
If I hadn't mentioned that it was just repeating what Edilia said, Lion's reputation with Donnie and Lani might have gone up with them thinking, "As expected of a great noble's heir!"—but being so quick to spill the beans is typical Lion. Well, compared to him staying silent, I do have a better impression of him, though.
I recounted the part up to the last line to Albert and Cain, whereupon,
""There's no way Lion has that kind of thinking! Someone definitely put him up to it!""
they said in unison, declaring it with absolute certainty. Immediately after, they started saying things like ""We'll get the truth out of Lion!"" and went to capture him.
"So, you mentioned starting a food business. What will you be selling?"
"It will be 'pork soup'!"
"They say Lord Tenma was delighted with the wyvern miso soup he was served. So, I thought I'd compete with a similar 'pork soup'."
Since the 'wyvern soup' was well-received, something with a similar appearance like 'pork soup' should be fine too. Plus, miso is a rare ingredient in the Border Count's domain, so there's little chance of it being copied easily. For those reasons, she judged the odds of success to be high.
"Since just that wouldn't be enough for adventurers and laborers, I plan to sell it with rice balls on the side."
"Ah, in that case, it's delicious even dunked in pork soup, and it really fills you up."
Upon hearing my offhand remark, Lani's eyes widened for a moment, but then she smiled brightly and said,
"As expected of Lord Tenma, you understand perfectly."
It was phrased as if I were some corrupt official or something.
"Also, if we source cheap vegetables from nearby towns and change the ingredients daily like a special, we could... turn a good profit."
"Hmph, hmph, hmph... Of course. I've already sent companions ahead to nearby towns to purchase large quantities of cheap ingredients... at a higher price than competitors."
Even if ingredient costs go up a bit, pork soup has the advantage of being able to increase its volume with water. Bearing this in mind, she plans to cut off competitors' sourcing routes.
"Ideally, I'd also like to source wyvern meat..."
"That will definitely push you over budget. By a margin that could turn your profit into a loss."
"Right. It's unfortunate, but I'll give up on that. I wanted it as a finale for the last day, but if there's no profit, there's no point."
Even if wyvern meat were sold below market price, if you needed enough to make wyvern soup, there wouldn't be any profit. In my case, I used wyvern I hunted myself, and I also considered it part of the commission, so that's the only reason I could afford to be so generous. If it's for sale, I'd have to reduce the amount of meat to about a tenth of what I used then and charge well over 100G per bowl.
If it were sold at stalls in the Royal Capital, it might sell well enough to barely turn a profit, but considering the low cost of living in the border region, I think it would only sell as a payday luxury for adventurers and laborers. That wouldn't make for a viable business.
"Well, I'll focus on low-margin, high-volume sales and do my best with pork soup and rice balls. But I'm curious about the taste of wyvern, so could you sell some to me personally?"
They wanted to confirm the taste of wyvern meat now, while it was readily available, to be prepared for when they might handle such meat in the future. Of course, at a friend's price...
Well, I've bought things from Rani at a discounted price before, so offering a discount isn't a big deal... but bringing that very first discount negotiation to the table for wyvern meat was a classic merchant move, wasn't it?