CH 48.1

As soon as the marquess left, Bennet went into the kitchen and started making dinner. During that time, Luca and I put away the things we’d used during our journey here.

After dinner, we all drank some tea while reading the article that the marquess had mentioned. The article was a recap of everything Duke Magnifique had seen after the battle with the dark dragons. About how that lady had tried to kill me just because I had the dark attribute, about the surrounding knights’ responses and about Luca’s fury.

Borrowing Luca’s words — “A murderer is a murderer no matter who they kill” — the duke also raised the question of the discrimination towards dark attribute users. He wrote that judging others exposed one’s own ugly heart; that anyone who kills a dark attribute user is still guilty of killing a fellow human; that if they hurt them, they are still guilty of hurting another person, and that those who understand this should realise that they themselves are culprits.

With such an article published on the front page of a national paper, it was no wonder it had caused such a stir. For one of the four duke families to come out with such an article… no, maybe it worked because it came from them.

“Hmm. There’s nothing bad written about Zagan. And it’s properly written that Zagan protected the knights from the Dark Organization. Even the part when he collapsed and Luca desperately tried to heal him is mentioned. Says he’s praying that fiancé-dono will be ok.”

“On the other hand, the woman who attacked Noel totally became the villain. The duke wrote that not only was her conduct unbefitting of a noble, but of a human being as well. It’s true that what she did was the worst, but there’s not even one word in her favor, huh?”

“It’s because Magnifique is from one of the four duke families. As long as Luca doesn’t do something that’s clearly in the wrong as a prince, the duke will protect Luca and the partner that he treasures.”

“Ummm… What do you mean by that?”

The four dukes ruled the four corners of the country as the heads of the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th cities. They were families that had been established with the founding of the kingdom.

The kingdom was founded under the god Soleil approximately five thousand years ago. The first-generation king was, of course, chosen from among Soleil’s descendants.

The king had four friends whom he trusted deeply. They gave the king their blessings and swore an oath to Soleil to work towards the continued prosperity of the kingdom. They swore to protect and never betray the king, his consort and their offsprings and to continue to support the royal family for generations to come.

As time went by, the population grew and the four friends had to leave the king’s side in order to manage the far corners of the kingdom. This was also for the sake of lessening the king’s burden, even if just by a little bit. Additionally, as the population continued to grow and the aristocratic class was established, the four friends’ descendants were given the rank of duke that was second only to the royal family.

This was how the four dukes, from each corner of the kingdom, continued to support the royal family to this day.

“In other words, the four duke families protect the royal family and are their constant allies.”

“Heeeh. It’s amazing that they’re still loyal to the royal family after thousands of years. Saying that, I’ve got a feeling that they betrayed them somewhere along the line.”

“Until a thousand years ago, the god Soleil was still here, and they had sworn an oath to him. If they went against the royal family, Soleil would kill them in the blink of an eye.”

Soleil had been gone for about a thousand years. In that time there may have been people who wished to snatch the throne. However, they held the fear that if Soleil returned and the royal family had been eradicated in his absence, he would annihilate the people of Soleil kingdom. A god was a fearsome being after all.

“Right right. The gods were here. Yup, the gods. Sometimes I forget they actually exist, you know?” 

Nina’s eyebrows creased as she glared at the newspaper. Cindy then sighed, a troubled expression on her face.

“It seems that, when Soleil was here, people had a deep faith in him. Of course, belief in him still remains today as it had been accumulated over a long period of time when he was present. Also because of the Lumiere and the Evil God. Still there are those who question if he still lives today.”

“B-but, you confirmed that he’s alive, right?” Bennet looked at me with worry and I nodded.

The goddess Terre said that Soleil’s barrier surrounded Soleil kingdom.

Terre also became convinced that the goddess Lune was alive when she saw me. The fact that there were descendants of a god was proof that they were alive. Thus, Luca was evidence that Soleil hadn’t died yet.

“Soleil… I wonder what he’s doing right now. He’s not actually just sleeping, right?” Noel murmured. However, no one could answer her.

Silence fell and for some reason I glanced at Luca. He flashed me a smile before turning his attention towards the others.

“For now we’ll go to the adventurer’s guild tomorrow and see what my esteemed brother wrote in his letter, ok? He might have figured something out. It’s also possible that he has no clue. So at that time, let’s reconvene and come up with a solution together.”

As he said, there was no point in mulling over it at the moment. First things first was going to the adventurer’s guild.

The next day, November 6th, we all left the mansion immediately after breakfast. Even though we were just going to the adventurer’s guild everyone came along because of my wish to walk side by side with them. I was truly grateful.

And, since we were all already out, there was talk of putting our equipment on and going sightseeing if we had the time.

By the way, since Luca tried to wrap his arm around my waist today as well, I reached for his outstretched hand and tried holding it. I intertwined my fingers with his so that we wouldn’t get separated and looked at Luca to see if this was ok with him.

He was covering his eyes for some reason.

“Too… cute!”

“Don’t be stupid and let’s go!” Miranda slapped Luca on the back and pushed him to start walking.

Cindy and Camilla were already ahead of us so we started walking after them.

I didn’t really understand Luca’s reaction, but he didn’t try to take his hand back so this was probably ok.

But, for him to be this happy and call me cute just because I held his hand… wasn’t he a bit too easy going? I got worried that some corrupt noble would deceive him. I must properly look after Luca so that that wouldn’t happen.

Pumping myself up in my head, I headed towards the adventurer’s guild banner that could already be seen from where we were.

Though winter was almost upon us, the streets were still dotted with fall colors. And since the art festival would be starting soon, there were decorations hung up here and there, making the streets quite lively.

“Uwa, how pretty.”

“It really is. It’s sparkling. And what exquisite craftsmanship.”

Noel agreed with Nina’s words. They were talking about a display window decorated with glasswork. Things like flower ornaments and tiaras, all of which shone beautifully.

“Bennet-chan likes this kind of fluffy clothes, right?” (Noel)

“Y-yes. It looks really cute. The style is called Lolita.”

Those clothes really were quite fluffy. Pale in color too. Next to it were a pair of pants in the same style, perhaps meant for men. I’d never wear such a thing though. Why do you look disappointed Luca?

“The dress Miranda’s looking at is also neat and cute looking.” (Nina)

“Eh, ah, uh, yeah. It’s cute, isn’t it? Looks like it would suit Noel or Cindy.” (Miranda)

“Ufufu. I think it would look good on Miranda-chan though.” (Cindy)

“I… I-I’m not interested in that kind of stuff.” (Miranda)

“Hmm. You sure?…..owowow.” (Nina)

Nina peeked at the flustered Miranda in a teasing manner and, well, she brought it on herself. 

Noel and Bennet giggled at them. Everyone was so lively in the morning.

“Hm, as expected from a craft town. There are art exhibitions in the art supply stores. I think there was also a music store with posters for all kinds of performances on its wall.” (Camilla)

“That’s right. That orchestra is famous enough that I heard about it in the capital. Zagan, what are you interested in?”

Luca glanced at my face and Camilla looked up at me as well.

“I… that automaton clock display over there.”

“Come on now. Isn’t that just a magic tool?” (Camilla)

“How very Zagan-like.” (Luca)

I only answered because they asked me what I was interested in, but Camilla sighed like she’d given up and Luca chuckled, kissing my head. It couldn’t be helped though, I didn’t know anything about art or music.

In any case, maybe because we were walking around having fun, but the people who saw me only looked surprised or confused. Luca and the others were counteracting the hatred and making fewer people shrink away from me. Really, I couldn’t thank them enough.

This might also be a result of Duke Magnifique’s article. I knew that he only did it for Luca’s sake, but I would still like to properly thank him if we ever meet again.