I had hoped that the number of people gathered in this place would decrease after an hour and a half had passed, but unfortunately, the entrance to the temple was still crowded with a large number of nobles and priests, making it a bit difficult to find Lilia-san and the others.
Even so, the majority of the people here were nobles and priests, so it wasn’t as noisy or chaotic as a festival. It wasn’t so crowded that I couldn’t move through the crowd. However, there were many nobles dressed in expensive clothes scattered around, which made it a bit tiring to navigate, trying to avoid bumping into them.
[Excuse me. Sorry to keep you waiting.]
[Good work over there, Kaito-san.]
When I finally joined them, Lilia-san greeted me with a gentle smile.
As we expected, the number of people gathering seemed to be increasing, so we decided to move toward the carriage before we got stuck here. As we made our way through the crowd, we chatted a bit along the way.
[Arehh? What’s that you’ve got there, Miyama-senpai?]
[Eh? Ah, these are tea leaves that Shiro-sa—the Goddess gave me.]
Yuzuki-san, noticing the jar still in my hand and not tucked away in my magic box since I was prioritizing meeting up with everyone, asked me, and I simply replied as we continued walking.
Then, for some reason, Lilia-san and Lunamaria-san, who were walking in front of me, suddenly stopped in their tracks.
[…Kaito-san, um, what did you just say?]
[Eh? This jar was given to me by the Goddess…]
[…Miyama-sama, w-what kind of means did you use to make the Goddess like you that much just after meeting her?]
[E-Errr…I just had a cup of tea and chatted with her…]
[[You had tea with the Goddess!?]]
The words I casually told them were apparently unbelievable to Lilia-san and Lunamaria-san. Both of them stopped moving and looked back at me with wide eyes.
Arehh? What’s going on here? Did I accidentally say something wrong…?
[…Luna… How many times have we visited this place? Out of all those times, I’ve never had a proper conversation with the Goddess, let alone had tea with her…]
[My Lady… Please get a hold of yourself… I don’t think this is your fault. It’s likely just that Miyama-sama’s social skills are too high.]
[Y-Yeah… I might be overexaggerating… They’ve just talked for a bit…]
[Miyama-sama, interacting with the Goddess means you’ve gained a certain amount of trust from the God Realm. Especially in noble society, which places high value on horizontal connections, it could even be considered a kind of influence.]
[………..]
Ehhhhhh!? H-How in the world did it suddenly turn into that big of a deal!?
N-No, no, seriously, you’re misunderstanding! The reason I got along with Shiro-san is mostly because of that little demon girl, and even this whole thing about me having some kind of earth-shattering power…
As for Lilia-san, it seems like she’s looking at me with respect, and if I don’t fix this misunderstanding quickly…
[No, Lilia-san, it’s just a misundersta—[Dear me, look who’s here, isn’t this Duchess Albert-dono?] —okay?]
Something appeared at the perfect timing!?
[This is quite an unexpected meeting, isn’t it? Count Doukas.]
[I haven’t seen you since last night’s party. Duchess Albert-dono, are you also here to receive your Blessing?]
[Yes, I just finished receiving mine.]
It seems that the one who appeared at such an inconvenient moment was a count named Doukas.
Judging from his shiny, gaudy outfit, he seems to be a noble. Somehow, he’s quite large—width-wise, I mean.
He’s probably some sort of hybrid, maybe a mix between an orc and a human.
[Miyama-sama, I think I know what you’re thinking, but… he’s a pure-blooded human.]
Probably sensing my thoughts, Lunamaria-san whispered that to me.
Apparently, he’s not a hybrid or anything like that—he’s just fat. If that’s the case… I think his size might not be the best for his health.
With the number of people in this room, he’s probably feeling a lot of pressure. I can’t say this since we’ve only just met, but I’d suggest cutting back on the oily foods.
[Are the flowers beside you the princesses from another world?]
[[! ?]]
[Not to mention the beautiful Duchess Albert, but the princesses from another world must have looked amazing in their vestments. I would have loved to see that.]
When Count Doukas turns his attention to our direction, he looks past me at Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san, as if to show that he doesn’t care about me, then his fleshy face contorts into what seems to be a smile.
Uwahhh… He looks kind of terrifying when he smiles. It’s almost like he’s a toad or something, and Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san clearly feel frightened. The fact that they’re able to look at him so faithfully despite the lust in his eyes makes him, in a sense, an impressive person.
As expected, I wasn’t comfortable with leaving them exposed to that kind of gaze, which almost seemed like it was licking them, so I took a step forward and positioned myself between them and Count Doukas.
[Muhh?]
I had expected this reaction, but Count Doukas clearly made a face that looked like he was grumpy when I stepped in front of his field of vision. How should I put it? He’s really faithful to his desires and easy to read.
Even though I said all that, he’s still a Count. Despite glaring at me, I knew if I returned his glare, it would cause trouble for Lilia-san, so I gave him a fake smile and bowed politely.
[Nice to meet you, Count-sama. I’m Miyama Kaito, the otherworlder. I apologize for intruding in the middle of your conversation, but I feel like I haven’t had the chance to greet you yet.]
[…Hohh, excuse my impoliteness. You look so plain, I thought you were their carriage driver or something.]
Whoa, he just casually dissed me. I kind of admire this refreshing directness, in some ways.
However, unfortunately for him, I’m already used to reactions like, “Who the hell is this guy?” and I’ve already received the glare of people more powerful than him like Acht, so I don’t feel intimidated by his glare at all. That’s why I just smiled and responded.
[I apologize for my shabby appearance. Unfortunately, I’m just a youngster who came from a world unrelated to nobility, so I would appreciate it if you’d be lenient about our manners.]
[…Hmph.]
I don’t know where the noble ideal of “Noblesse Oblige” went, and while I understand he might be angry, I at least hoped he’d return my greeting.
But, even though he would have put on a smile while greeting me on the surface, I can tell he’s probably upset with me for shielding Kusunoki-san and Yuzuki-san behind my back. Count Doukas sent me an abhorrent look before turning away.
In the end, without returning my greeting, he exchanged a few words with Lilia-san and then left. Honestly, he really is the textbook example of a no-good noble.
[Miyama-sama, that was quite splendid.]
[…How should I put this? He was quite easy to understand, wasn’t he?]
[As you might have guessed, he’s a Count known for his lustful nature. Even at the evening party last night, he tried to talk to Kusunoki-sama and Yuzuki-sama multiple times.]
[In a way, I kind of respect his consistency to his desires… Anyway, are you two alright?]
[Y-Yes. Thank you very much, Miyama-san.]
[Ugghh, I really don’t like people like that.]
It seems that Count Toady is a trauma-level opponent for the two of them, as they both clearly relaxed once they were out from behind my back. That smile of his was truly terrifying—even I, as a man, got goosebumps just looking at it. It must have been especially hard for young girls like them to face someone like that. I can honestly say that Lilia-san, who handled him so calmly, really embodied the poise of a true noble.
[Well, most of the men who approach My Lady are like that, after all.]
[Please don’t say anything… Luna.]
[Shouldn’t we rely on Miyama-sama’s power and have him pull a good candidate for you, My Lady?]
[Ughh, I envy you, Kaito-san.]
Come to think of it, I remembered hearing about it before. Although Lilia-san is royalty, she faced some difficulty in making connections with others because she rose from a Knight to a Duchess and became the female head of her family. For a noble, horizontal connections are a key source of power. Even though Lilia-san has strong ties to the royalty, as a member of the Knight Order, she’s been outside of social circles for a while. Aside from her connection with the royal family, she hasn’t built many connections with people of great influence.
[In other words, Miyama-senpai has become a manekineko, huh!]
[Hina-san, what is this manekineko?]
[It’s an ornament that brings good luck in our world. It’s said to attract good fortune—whether it’s luck with money or people.]
[I see! So if I were to pray to Kaito-san…]
[There’s no benefit in that, okay!?]
(T/N: Manekineko (beckoning cat) is that cat swinging one of its paws up and down. You would usually see them in shops.)
Thanks to Yuzuki-san’s unnecessary words, Lilia-san had her hands together, looking at me as if she were truly praying. Even if you do something like that, nothing would happen, you know!?
Well, of course, Lilia-san wasn’t actually doing it either, as she immediately laughed and started walking again. I thought of saying a few words to Yuzuki-san, who was the cause of all this ruckus—but that’s when I noticed it.
Yuzuki-san’s fingers, which were holding the sleeves of my clothes as if she were pinching them, were trembling slightly, in contrast to the bright smile she had earlier.
I see, I tend to forget, but she’s the youngest among us.
If that’s the case, then the insecurity she hides behind her smile is probably the biggest of all. Thinking back on it, I also remember hearing her cry on our first night in this world…
Feeling that, I decided to pretend not to notice her trembling fingers and quietly murmured.
[If something like that happens again, you can just hide behind me. I might not be that reliable, but… Well, I should be able to figure something out.]
[!?]
I simply said those words, all while pretending not to notice that her grip on my clothes had tightened slightly. I started walking, matching my stride to Yuzuki-san’s.
I can’t say something cool like “I’ll protect you,” but even if I’m useless, I feel like I need to show them what it means to be their male senpai.
And if that helps lighten her anxiety, even just a little bit… I’ll have to try my best, even if it’s something I don’t usually do.
[…Thank you very much… Also, that senpai just now… was really cool…]
Although we encountered some trouble along the way, we managed to safely leave the temple. Just when the crowd started to thin out, the surroundings suddenly became noisy.
[She arrived! The Goddess of Time is here!]
At the sound of those voices, the noise grew louder and louder.
Why—exactly at this timing? No, really…
[My Lady, it seems praying to Miyama-sama immediately brought his Blessing.]
[…No, as expected, I wasn’t really wishing for something this outrageous to happen…]
Dear Mom, Dad—after the Goddess came a toad, and now, a Goddess has arrived once again. It seems ever since I came to this world—I’ve been attracting trouble.