“Have you calmed down a little now?”
I asked her while patting Lily’s back gently. She nodded slightly in response to my question after sniffing a little.
“Yes… I’m feeling a bit better now.”
She must have been worried because she thought I was badly injured during the extermination battle. After all, Abel warned me several times that this mission would be extremely dangerous.
It’s only natural that she would be concerned after hearing that. In truth, this battle was quite perilous.
There was the appearance of the catastrophic-level monster, the Leviathan of Oblivion, for instance.
Then there was the monstrous Kartra that we encountered inside when we went in to rescue Yurph.
It was a series of coincidences that allowed us to barely survive. Otherwise, I might have had to regress and die more than ten times.
“I see you were quite worried about me.”
I retrieved a handkerchief from within my coat and gently wiped her damp eyes. Normally, she would have scolded me for using such a precious handkerchief on her.
But seeing her quietly sniffle, it was clear how truly worried she had been. Lily cleared her throat.
“Yes… The newspaper mentioned that a catastrophic level monster appeared during the extermination.”
She was talking about the Leviathan of Oblivion. It was indeed a monstrously strong creature, even by its brute strength alone.
The extermination team, consisting of only the most elite fighters, had no choice but to succumb helplessly. Luckily, the extermination succeeded thanks to Abel.
If it weren’t for him, there might have been dozens of casualties before the Leviathan leisurely escaped.
“So, the news has already reached here?”
“It was featured in the newspaper yesterday, and I was so worried…”
When I noticed her voice starting to tremble again, I gently patted her back.
Judging by the timeline, it seems the news reached here about three days after I lost consciousness. Considering I returned to the dukedom four days ago…
“Lily has every reason to be worried.”
During the extermination battle I participated in, the Leviathan of Oblivion suddenly appeared, and then I didn’t wake up for several days. It would certainly be strange if she weren’t worried about me.
Especially given the characteristic of the Leviathan of Oblivion — memory loss…
“So that’s why you were acting so awkwardly earlier.”
You must’ve been worried that I had forgotten you. Any reckless behavior on your part might have caused unforeseen consequences, so naturally, you proceeded carefully.
Finally, a piece of the mystery was starting to clear up. Turning my head, I saw Lily’s still trembling, anxious eyes.
I smiled quietly and met her gaze.
“I haven’t forgotten you, Lily.”
“R-really?”
Lily questioned me with a voice tinged with doubt. Her expression reminded me of a kitten abandoned on a rainy day, which made her seem a little pitiful.
“That’s right. I hardly drank any of the fog.”
Well, when I first woke up, I did lose my memory for a short while, but they returned quickly. There wasn’t anything major to worry about.
“…I, I was really worried!”
Saying that, Lily hugged me tightly, the coldness of her body seeping through to my skin. Her action made me smile as I returned the hug.
“I wouldn’t forget someone like you. Lily.”
You were the first to become my anchor in this world. If it weren’t for your trust in me, I might have gone mad long ago within the relentless cycle of regression.
Thus, it was simply impossible to forget her.
“R-really?”
She sniffled, questioning me again.
“Of course. How about we make a promise then?”
I held out my pinky, and Lily tilted her head in confusion. Now that I thought about it, this world doesn’t have the culture of pinky promises, does it?
Then I’ll just have to teach her this concept.
“Pinky promises are how we make commitments like this. To ensure neither of us breaks the promise.”
“Like… this?”
Lily awkwardly extended her right pinky. I did the same, intertwining our pinkies.
“Exactly. This is a promise. I will never forget you, no matter what.”
We crossed our pinkies and touched our thumbs together. Her earlier anxious expression had significantly improved.
“…Thank you.”
With a soft voice, Lily muttered her appreciation. Her cute appearance made me unconsciously muss her hair.
Was this how Abel felt when he messed up my hair like this?
“Adel.”
“Yes?”
Her voice and expression were much more relaxed than before. It seems her usual lively demeanor has returned.
Lily looked at me with a bright smile.
“Hey, there’s somewhere I want to visit.”
“Where would that be?”
Lily rarely says she wants to visit places. Unlike other servants in the viscount’s household, she almost never makes requests like that.
If she’s telling me this, it must be a place she really wants to visit. Lily’s eyes sparkled as she answered my question.
“Night Market!”
“Night Market?”
Hearing the familiar word from her lips gave me a slightly foreign feeling. Are there even markets like this in this era?
“Yes. I heard there is something called a night market in the Duke Hardenberg’s territory.”
Night Market.
An annual celebration held for a week after the harvest season, it’s called Night Market in Duke Hardenberg’s territory, but the name varies by region. During this period, all kinds of chefs and merchants flock to the Hardenberg family’s domain.
The local specialties they bring and the food they cook create a giant market of its own.
“Why do they all gather here?”
In response to my question, Lily excitedly continued her explanation.
“Because this place gives chefs and merchants the best treatment.”
In the past, merchants and chefs other than those in the royal court were considered lowly professions.
It was the Hardenberg Duchy that uniquely treated these individuals with respect every festival.
“This gathering was bound to happen after Abel became the duke and implemented his new policies early on,” continued Lily.
With excellent treatment and, in some cases, full support, the influence of chefs and merchants grew gradually. The positive cycle of growing reputation and drawing new participants repeated.
Because of this, the general perception of the professions of merchant and chef changed considerably from the past.
It’s because of this that merchants and chefs flock here as soon as the harvest season arrives.
“The name ‘Night Market’ came from this, right?”
“Hmm, I’ve heard it was named by a bard from the East. I don’t know the Eastern language though.”
Lily chuckled and scratched her cheek. Smiling at her, I continued my thoughts.
Named by a bard from the East?
During the time, I had simply brushed it off as a lack of background knowledge from the author. But does an author who writes Western-style fantasies really use the term “Night Market”?
Especially since a festival name in an English style would fit much better and sound more reasonable.
No matter how much we say background knowledge was lacking or the naming sense was poor, it didn’t seem like an author would come up with such a term.
“…Is there another vessel present, perhaps?”
This was just a simple hypothesis but, given the precedent of me existing, it wasn’t entirely unbelievable that another vessel might be present.
Although, it was a fact that the evidence was still too thin. After all, it was only one festival name. It could just be the author having a strange naming preference.
“…I should have read more thoroughly if I had known I’d come this far.”
Regret always creeps in when I hit these dead ends. Still, there’s no way to undo things now.
“When does the festival start?”
“Tomorrow!”
Hearing Lily enthusiastically say that made me smile.
“Alright, let’s go together then.”
“Really?”
“That’s right, it’s a promise.”
I held out my pinky, and Lily also extended hers. We intertwined our pinkies.
Since I have no particular schedule tomorrow, there shouldn’t be any issues going.
§
“Didn’t I tell you to properly rest?”
“Yes, I rested properly.”
In response to Abel’s question, I replied accordingly, but he sighed as if he didn’t believe me.
He carefully placed the pile of documents he was holding down on the desk.
I was sure Alan had already processed all the necessary paperwork before. Yet, the mountain of documents on the desk didn’t seem much different from before.
It seems just a single trip was enough to pile them up like this. It appears this title of duke isn’t an easy position to hold.
“Why are there so many documents?”
“That’s what I want to know.”
With my question, Abel sighed deeply again. Scratching his temple, he answered me.
“There’s a sharp increase in work regarding the Castle State.”
“The Castle State?”
After all, wasn’t the alliance something we just formed and then it was over?
Seeming to notice my thoughts, Abel shook his head.
“You personally went into the Leviathan of Oblivion to rescue the candidate for the Holy Maiden, and I significantly contributed to the Leviathan’s extermination.”
“Ah…”
Even by simply hearing it, it sounded extraordinary. I understood why the Castle State would initiate contact.
Come to think of it, hadn’t the newspaper featured a big report on the Leviathan of Oblivion?
In other words…
“Right, an invitation from the Castle State.”
Moreover, an invitation personally written by the Pope.
Mentioning this, Abel’s face revealed a trace of fatigue.
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