Eustia's Banquet (17)
Zeke searched inside Eustia's mansion for Soi.
But she was nowhere to be found.
‘Tsk, what the……. Did she go home already? The Cinderella story is so cliche.’
It seemed certain that she wasn't inside the mansion.
If he could use mana to search, he would be able to draw a conclusion much faster and more accurately, but Soi Spoons don't have mana.
So he had no choice but to search on foot.
Yes, he thought she went home, and now it was time for him to go home too.
He had danced the sword dance at Selena's request, and he seemed to have succeeded in impressing Eustia, so he had done everything he had to do.
But…….
This feeling of having forgotten something.
Like a tiny piece of eggshell mixed into a fried egg, a very minor annoyance.
A very faint sense of uneasiness welled up from the bottom of his mind and clung to his ankles.
He did not dismiss this subtle anxiety.
Zeke stepped out onto the training ground in front of the mansion.
He could feel the eyes of several nobles glancing at him.
The Second Prince must have followed him out, as he trailed behind him, fidgeting.
‘Hmm? There’s the Soi Spoon.’
Under a slightly secluded tree trunk, a group of men surrounded Soi.
“So……. What's your family name?”
“Th-that…….”
“Why can't you tell us? What, is it such an amazing family~? So much so that lowly nobles like us wouldn’t recognize it?”
“Th……”
“We're just asking what your family name is and who your father is! Why is that so difficult? I was taught that’s how you introduce yourself among nobles! Didn’t your father teach you that at home?”
Their faces were flushed red with alcohol. Every time they opened their mouths, the smell of alcohol wafted from them.
They were the sons of low-ranking nobles who had stepped outside for a break from drinking and were drawn to Soi's appearance as she looked up at the sky.
Soi stepped back awkwardly.
“Hmm, this is suspicious……. Hey, do you remember? That, you know, the face and name of the Lady we shouldn’t touch.”
A blond man asked the man in glasses next to him.
He then squinted at Soi and shook his head.
“Oh, yeah. I checked all the newcomers today, and there's no way I'd forget the names of the Ladies. But I've never heard the name Elise before.”
At his words, the blond man turned his head and craned his neck.
“He’s right……. Then who is Lady Elise?”
“…….”
“We’re trying to have a friendly conversation here!?”
Their voices grew louder with the influence of alcohol.
The men approached her, step by step.
Thud.
Soi Spoon backed away until she was blocked by the tree.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Soi trembled like a fragile puppy in fear.
Her appearance was enough to provoke the low-ranking nobles who had just seen Zeke and Selena and were caught up in a sense of inferiority.
“Why are you crying!? It's not like we’re going to eat you alive or something! We just want to know what family you're from!”
The blond man snapped.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
A chilling voice suddenly cut in.
“What the, who is it! Right now!!”
The man's eyes, as he turned his head, trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
“Se-Second Prince……!?”
“Yes, it’s not my face, fortunately. I am Rosnante Leonine.”
“……Wh-what are you doing here…….”
“Is there any reason why I should tell the likes of you?”
Rosnante put aside his usual foolish demeanor and looked down at the nobles before him with a haughty gaze.
He glanced once at Soi, who was leaning against the tree and weeping, and once at the nobles surrounding her, and clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, the nobles of the Capital……. Ganging up on……. Intimidating a girl……. Vulgar and despicable……. You’re no better than thugs from the back alleys.”
The low-ranking nobles couldn't even protest at his words, their faces turning red as they hung their heads.
“Have you no shame?”
Thump
Thump
Rosnante approached, and the men flinched.
“You. What are your names?”
“……!”
“State your names and families, you vermin.”
They kept their mouths shut.
The alcohol that had clouded their minds at the appearance of the Second Prince had worn off, and they couldn’t even imagine what kind of trouble they would get into if they revealed their family names in this situation.
But Rosnante had no intention of letting this go.
“Why can’t you answer? I’m merely doing to you what you did to that young lady. I was taught that it's proper to do so among nobles. I've given my name, so now tell me your families and names.”
“We-we apologize!”
The blond man immediately bowed his head and prostrated himself before the Second Prince. The others followed suit.
“……Your names aren’t ‘We apologize,’ are they? Or are you looking down on me as well? You think I’m just a foolish prince who got scolded by the academy instructor and lost all his support.”
“N-not at all!”
“We would never even dream of such a thing!”
“I’ll ask one last time. State your names and families. If you dare test me any further, hmm, well, it would be better to hold Eustia accountable than to get my hands dirty.”
At Rosnante's words, the faces of the low-ranking nobles turned pale.
Their parents had only barely managed to get a connection to Eustia's faction.
If their actions were to sever that connection, things would turn very sour.
“We-we’ll tell you. So please, just us……”
“Shut up and speak.”
“Ye-yes……”
The low-ranking nobles stammered their family names and names.
“Good, now get lost.”
With their heads bowed, they scurried away.
“Elise.”
“……Th-thank you.”
“Didn’t we agree not to speak?”
“……Yeah……. But, this isn't the academy……”
“Are you looking down on me as well? My words apply whether inside or outside the academy.”
“……Ah, that's not it……. Anyway, thank you……”
Soi expressed her gratitude with a bewildered look on her face.
Rosnante, as if he didn't care about such things, turned his head.
“By the way, Zeke Clayman, where did the instructor go off to again…….”
“In-instructor……? Why the instructor?”
“Ah, the instructor told me to save you. He said you were being harassed by some vermin……”
“!”
Soi's eyes widened like saucers.
“The instructor did!?”
“Yeah, and I don't know where he went after that. I was going to talk to him about the support thing……”
Tsk. Rosnante clicked his tongue again.
“I-I’ll look for him too!”
Soi told Rosnante that she would join the search for Zeke.
“Hmm……”
Rosnante frowned and looked Soi up and down, then took out a nameplate from his pocket.
“Tsk, that woman Iriel, inviting you and not even taking such measures. Here, keep this with you. If vermin like those from before show up, show them this. It'll be troublesome if they find out you're a commoner.”
Rosnante said so and walked away with quick steps, disappearing from her sight.
“Sigh……”
Soi let out a sigh and looked up at the sky.
Just a while ago, she had once again thought that the world of nobles was not for her.
Especially after seeing Selena and Zeke's dance.
She still felt the same way.
However.
There were people who cared about her.
The difference in status between them and her was like heaven and earth. No, deeper than the earth, underground.
Even those she couldn't handle just now, bowed their heads and trembled before them.
But friends…….
Soi's heart warmed.
Iriel, who enjoyed the bread she made and offered to help her with anything.
A blunt but actually warm child.
Selena, who could be scary at times, but was basically kind and looked after her meticulously.
The girl who had first talked to her when she couldn’t adjust to the swordsmanship class.
The Second Prince, Rosnante Leonine, who said strange things but didn't seem like a bad person.
She had thought that being royalty meant being from a completely different world, but he was unexpectedly comfortable to be around.
And there was also Yuri Gilbert, whose thoughts she still couldn’t quite grasp.
And…….
The person who always saved her but acted as if he never expected anything in return.
The person who stood behind her with an impassive face.
Zeke Clayman.
Instructor.
Soi wanted to express her gratitude to him.
* * *
‘Hmm, it’s not the Soi Spoon……. Then what is it? What is it?’
Zeke had found Soi, but the uneasy feeling in his heart didn't disappear.
On the contrary, he could have intervened and dealt with it himself, but he had a feeling he would regret it if he did.
In his previous life, Zeke had faced countless such choices.
There were times when one option seemed like the most plausible answer.
There were times when the two choices before him were both disguised as the answer.
And there were times when the only right answer seemed like a dangerous path to death.
Every time, Zeke ignored the words of those around him and chose his path based solely on his intuition.
Some might call it stubbornness or foolish self-importance, but
it was thanks to this intuition that Zeke had saved the continent of Dave and, in the end, survived to plunge his sword into the neck of that madman.
‘Yes, I’m forgetting something. Something……. Is it that woman, Hela……. No, is it something related to Eustia……?’
Zeke headed towards the flower garden behind Eustia's mansion.
As Zeke paced around the flower garden, a girl with brown hair caught his eye.
‘Soi Spoon?’
Zeke made eye contact with her, a look of bewilderment on his face.
‘Why is she suddenly appearing again?’
Soi walked slowly towards him.
The closer she got, the stronger his sense of unease grew.
“Instructor.”
Soi opened her mouth and called out to Zeke.
Strangely, he felt like he shouldn’t talk to her right now.
His mind shouldn’t be focused on her.
Zeke concentrated.
‘It’s not Soi.’
There was something more.
Important, right now.
This instant.
Zeke abruptly turned his head.
The terrace connected to the banquet hall,
like falling crimson flowers.
Red rain fell.
‘DEATH 40% !!! Iriel Eustia!!!!!’
Zeke gathered magic power in his toes.
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