The lord’s mansion in Darion.
My second visit, but the air was different this time.
Last time, I’d played the clown. This time we’d come straight from the Guild, so my clothes were rough.
I probably should’ve changed, but Zelphy had told me to hurry.
Through the gate with Zelphy and into the mansion, Bentler was already waiting in a room.
(So that’s why she rushed.)
Keeping your employer waiting — Zelphy had her own thoughts about that.
Bentler greeted us smiling, tea in hand. I started in on the formalities.
“Thank you for your support in the recent—”
“Let’s skip the formalities. I think of you as Adventurer Lyle now.”
In other words — he’d decided I wasn’t trying to reclaim my position as heir.
(Probably heard it from Zelphy.)
The moment Zelphy worked out I was a Walt, she’d reported in.
(When I used magic, probably — got curious, looked into it.)
Today’s duty ancestor was the Seventh. He evaluated him:
“As I thought, not what he looks like. Very capable.”
We took the sofa. Bentler asked what he’d wanted to ask.
The real goal.
“Zelphy told me. The two of you aren’t aiming to be nobles — you intend to live as adventurers. But this affair didn’t quite line up with that intent. If you wanted to make a name, you’d have moved with a small elite from the start. Now you’re being called ‘the disowned idiot heir.’”
I knew the surrounding view.
I’d brought numbers many times over, scattered money to subjugate a single bandit gang. There were far more efficient methods.
Done normally, a heavy loss. Calling it idiotic — both as adventurer and as noble son — was fair.
But for me, the goal was achieved, and instead of a loss I had sixty gold in hand.
Net plus, plenty.
“That part is, well, for my own personal gain.”
“Personal gain in this bandit subjugation?”
The Seventh, low.
“To unlock the Skill cap. You can’t say it — they wouldn’t believe you anyway.”
Exactly.
Agreed.
Then, for some reason, Zelphy brought up Rockward.
“Moved by Lady Aria’s request? Or — let’s say it — interest in her?”
“Eh? No, that’s not—”
I caught a piercing glare from her for half a second. Play along, apparently.
The Seventh, “Hmm,” then:
“Lyle, ride the current. The First going off about Aria is a different headache.”
I went along without quite understanding.
“W-well… that, you know. …Right?”
A vague affirmation. I glanced at Novem.
She wasn’t angry. She sipped her tea.
(Good — Novem’s tracking the line. From the outside, it does look like I moved for Rockward’s sake.)
So thinking, I kept matching Zelphy’s setup and giving Bentler vague affirmations.
If “for the Skill” wouldn’t be believed, I needed a plausible alternative or he’d grow suspicious.
“I see. Lord Lyle is a man, after all. Splendid — youth. Honest with one’s desires.”
Bentler, laughing — and somehow it didn’t feel like praise.
Without quite catching the flow, this bandit subjugation became something I did for Rockward, having taken a one-look liking to her.
(I don’t love where this is going. What’s Novem thinking?)
I kept glancing at Novem. No anger in her face.
I was internally bracing for “she must think I’m trash” — but no sign of it.
“Hmm. In that case, would you accept my reward — Lady Aria?”
”…Reward?”
Bentler nodded.
“Thanks to Lord Lyle, I profited from this matter. If Lord Lyle wants Lady Aria, then I’ll defer the disposition to you. After all — the head of House Rockward was in league with the bandits.”
From the gang’s prior behavior, Bentler had suspected a Darion collaborator and investigated.
The collaborator was House Rockward.
When Rockward had learned this, she’d been shattered.
“A Gem carrying multiple Skills is rare in our era. Selling it to bandits would have to have a foreseeable result. And colluding with them on top of that… punishment is required.”
He wanted to publicly demonstrate what happened to bandit collaborators.
But more than that—
“Sold? SOLD?! Lyle! Let’s go beat the current Rockward head into PUDDING! Selling off Lady Alice’s Gem — that’s wrong as a human being!”
As usual, the Second restrained him.
“You’re more wrong than him as a parent. Listen, will you? The conversation is about what happens to the important Aria-chan.”
“Right!”
The ancestors went quiet. I turned to Bentler.
“Naturally, family — Lady Aria included — would have shared the responsibility. Father and daughter, only the two of them now. Despite Zelphy’s lobbying to me, and despite the fact that they had only been able to remain in Darion through her good offices.”
“Forgive me — what exactly did House Rockward do?”
Novem asked. Zelphy covered her face with her left hand and explained.
“Used the post of a military officer to look the other way for bandit crimes. House Rockward’s reputation tanked. Honestly, the current head’s spending had been wild since he took the seat. My father was driven out, the family moved out of the capital and came to Darion.”
Bentler picked it up.
“A dismissed retainer knight has eyes on him — not comfortable to stay in the capital. Zelphy’s family had a hard time, by all accounts. A knight becoming an adventurer to support them.”
Zelphy’s face shaded.
“Lady Aria watched the collapse with her own eyes. And now, the bandits on top of that…”
“That’s—”
Novem ran out of words.
A man could found a house in his lifetime, and another could destroy one. Both happened.
(Not that I have any right to talk.)
The Seventh.
“The reason the family and the principal aren’t being executed must be earlier service? In my time, the lot would have been executed. Wait — were the Rockwards royalist? His Majesty’s clemency, then.”
Apparently there were circumstances.
I’d been disowned myself; without Zel and Novem I might have been dead in a ditch by now.
I couldn’t treat this as someone else’s problem.
Because Zel had picked me up, the Jewel had reached me.
”…What happens to House Rockward?”
Bentler’s face went serious.
He’d been generous with the territory’s nuisances up to now. But the Rockwards had sold a multi-Skill Gem to bandits for pocket change. And helped slip the gang into Darion.
He wasn’t going to forgive.
“They lived in Darion at Zelphy’s request, but that’s at its limit. A trouble-magnet who’s lost both rank and post is, on net, a demerit.”
The Rockwards had drifted to Darion after the capital pushed them out.
Easy to live in. Close to the capital.
But a military officer in bed with bandits — Darion wouldn’t have wanted them either.
He’d accepted them on Zelphy’s plea.
Quite the loyal one, Zelphy.
“Connections with the gang, brought the gang into the town. Dig further and who knows how much would come up…”
The Gem assumed stolen had been sold to the gang.
If the bandits had connections to House Rockward, the head’s crime was heavy.
“The head will be sent to the mines. By rights, Lady Aria, given her looks and youth, might have ended up in some other land as a prostitute.”
Harsh mines, slave labor.
For Rockward — the brothel road waited.
“But I had no wish to dispose of a hard-working young woman that way. If Lord Lyle is interested, I can entrust her to you.”
I tilted my head at Bentler’s smile.
”…Eh?”
Zelphy slapped my shoulder.
“Lucky you, Lyle! Lady Aria’s a looker. Truly, well done. AHAHAHA!”
“Eh, wait a moment — eh?”
Zelphy, force-closing the conversation, wasn’t going to hear me out.
I looked to Novem for help.
Novem said—
“You did it, Lord Lyle. You’re one step closer to the dream.”
“Eh — dream? Eh? Eh?! What—?”
While I was confused, the conversation kept moving.
“H-Hey… what is going on?”
The First, lost.
The Second, the same.
“E-eh, no, this is the saving-Aria flow, right? Play along, Lyle saves the Aria kid from being a prostitute, that flow!”
The Third disagreed.
“You sure? Sounds like everyone has different angles…”
The Fourth, troubled by Novem.
“Novem-chan, wake up! This flow is bad!”
The Fifth was registering complaints at Bentler.
“This lord — payback for getting played. Sending Aria onto Lyle. The smug fox is probably laughing inside watching Lyle squirm.”
The Sixth was watching Zelphy.
“Zelphy’s pushing hard too. But Novem’s reaction is unexpected.”
The Seventh — unbothered.
“Novem is a Fuchs daughter; she likely won’t bat an eye at a concubine or two. Honestly, I’m worried more about Lyle.”
I had no allies in the room.
In fact — the guard standing beside the lord caught my eye and smirked.
(…S-snookered? But — why?)
I’d briefly thought it’d be easier if Zelphy just took Rockward in. That couldn’t have been wrong of me.
Now somehow I was taking her in.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Back home for the first time in a while, I sat down to talk with Novem.
Cooking was a hassle, so we’d eaten out.
Bath taken. Teeth brushed.
(I-I’ve got to commit!)
Steadied my breathing, made up my mind to convey my feelings.
Not because the ancestors said to.
Because I wanted to respond to Novem, who’d carried me this far.
And — I loved Novem.
Tense. Sweating. Words wouldn’t come.
“Novem… I love you. I want you to marry me — even if it’s me.”
“Lord Lyle… I’m so happy.”
She covered her mouth with both hands. Face red. Tears.
“R-right! And, you know… I — I love you. About Rockward, there’s no romantic feeling at all. The whole flow tonight just somehow drifted into a save.”
I sounded like a man making excuses, but conveying my feelings to Novem came first.
The ancestors were loud, though.
Read the room. Be quiet.
The First and Second:
“What a terrible confession… go in firmer.”
“You couldn’t even talk to your first love — your opinion has zero weight.”
I’d been about to tell Novem she alone was enough.
“So — I want you by my side, always. Just the two of us, you know…”
“Eh, in this state, the confession won’t land. Lyle, set the atmosphere first. A gift, a setting…”
The Third, also issuing critiques.
I knew. But if I didn’t say it now, I sensed I’d lose the chance.
Novem wiped tears with a fingertip.
“Thank you, Lord Lyle… but—”
(B-but? Wait — is this a no? She was happy a second ago!)
“A man should not, having raised a dream, easily change it. To become an adventurer, surrounded by women, living a fun and lighthearted life… To realize that dream, you must build genuine ability as an adventurer. To realize Lord Lyle’s dream, you must become a first-rate adventurer.”
I couldn’t follow.
First-rate adventurer?
I’d become an adventurer because I needed a livelihood. I hadn’t decided that far ahead.
”…Pardon?”
“Lyle! YOU had an ambition like that?!”
The Fourth, roaring.
I didn’t remember saying such a thing. I wasn’t even particularly attached to being an adventurer.
Novem continued.
“I know House Walt’s precept. Aria-san is a fitting match to become a Walt woman. So please — feel no reservation about adding her to the harem.”
The First, stunned.
“Wh-what.”
“Stop. Novem, stop right there.”
I’d never said harem—
Then the Third.
“Ah! Lyle, you said it! Thinking about it, you said it!”
(I did NOT! And put Novem next to me, going after another woman — I’m not THAT dumb!)
“I didn’t. I didn’t say that.”
“Lord Lyle?”
Novem tilted her head. The Third continued.
“Look — the very first time. Before you knew about us. On the cart, what you said to Novem!”
The Fourth remembered.
“That time!”
The Second, baffled.
“B-but that was to send Novem-chan home, wasn’t it? Wait — Novem-chan not seeing through that is strange, isn’t it?”
Hearing them, I remembered.
When I’d tried to disillusion Novem and send her back home.
“I have no such intention. I’m going to become an adventurer, surround myself with women, and live free as I please. Being disowned is a relief, honestly.”
“I DID SAY IT!!”
I shouted. Novem worried, put a hand on my shoulder.
“Lord Lyle?! What’s wrong, Lord Lyle?!”
The First, low.
“You… you wimp, you had ambitions like that?”
The Second cut him off.
“Read the situation! Lyle said it as a lie and she believed it!”
The Third, thoughtful.
“But I can’t believe Novem-chan didn’t see through it…”
The Fourth, lecturing me.
“Lyle! What are you doing from here?! Novem-chan is right there and you’re going to take Aria too? The choice should be obvious!”
The First, roaring back.
“You’d insult Lady Alice’s image in the form of Aria?! Glasses bastard, step OUTSIDE!”
The Fifth, with the Third.
“Right. I can’t believe she didn’t notice. …Or does Novem have her own agenda? Maybe she approached Lyle for that reason.”
His view got swept aside.
The Sixth, on Novem.
“Novem — one wrong turn and she’s a woman who manufactures a first-class disaster of a husband.”
The Seventh — unconcerned.
“Lyle’s a former count heir and carries royal blood. With the Fuchs upbringing, a concubine or two wouldn’t faze her.”
The Sixth, dry:
”…You said that with one wife yourself.”
The Seventh:
“Watching Father (Sixth) and Grandfather (Fifth) — envying a harem would be inconceivable. Anyway, Novem will manage the inner household. No problem.”
(Forget that — give me a solution to this situation!)
To clear up Novem’s misunderstanding, I stood up and gripped her shoulders.
Ignored the unreliable peanut gallery. Steeled myself.
“Novem!”
“Y-yes!”
Steadied my breathing.
I looked into her purple eyes.
“I don’t need a harem. If I have you, that’s enough!”
“Lord Lyle… I’m sorry.”
I’d said it clearly to avoid further misunderstanding.
Vague wouldn’t do.
And yet—.
“Eh?”
As Novem said I’m sorry, the bell at the front door rang.
“I asked Aria-san over already. She seemed to have been forced out of her own house, and Zelphy said her place wouldn’t work because she lives with her fiancé.”
“What about my opinion?!”
I’d just learned for the first time that Zelphy had a fiancé, but more critical was Rockward.
“That’s why I said — I’m sorry. Ah, I’ll go greet her.”
Novem stepped away. She looked — slightly amused.
Mischievous. And pleased.
(What — is happening?)
I sat down where I was, holding my head in both hands.
A woman this devoted (Novem) right next to me, and I’d brought in a new woman (Aria) under the same roof.
From the outside, the picture was unmistakable. I was a deadbeat. No defense possible.
“This really is a deadbeat profile!!!”
The Fourth landed the finisher.
“Hah? From any angle, deadbeat.”