Kays Translations

Chapter 6: The Capital City

The village of Silverheart, governed by Baron Robel, was bustling with activity. Dozens of villagers had gathered in the square in the middle of the village since early morning.

Baron Robel raised his voice, "Everyone, let's go!"

Despite it being the season for planting seeds, the villagers were dressed in festive attire rather than their usual clothes. Their clothing, made of cloth and leather, was plain but rich in design.

The villagers were gathered around a small cart and horses. When Baron Robel called out from atop his horse, the villagers responded strongly, "Yes! Leave things to us while you're gone!" "Baron Robel, we entrusted our children to you!" "May Lucius-sama be blessed!"

Some shouted, some waved, and some offered prayers as they saw off the cart. Lucius, who had also boarded the cart, was dressed in formal attire with a tied necktie. "It's weird to be called 'sama' by someone older," he thought to himself.

The coachman shook the reins and the cart began to move forward. "Uu, Mommy..." A little boy who had sat down next to Lucius began to cry. In addition to Lucius, his mother and maid, there were two boys riding in the cart. They were twins from the village with the same face, looking around nervously.

Lucius learned for the first time upon departure that there were some people in the village who had undergone the 【bestowal of magic ceremony】. Although it should be voluntary for those who are not nobles, there must be some parents who choose to have it done.

"It's okay. See, your father is driving the cart," Emily said, pointing to the coachman. However, the little boy didn't stop crying.

"Then how about some sweet candy?" Emily offered a candy to the crying little boy.

"I don't want it! I want to go back to Mommy's place!" The little boy shouted, asking for his mother. He was still struggling with his words.

"This is what being three years old is like," Lucius thought to himself.

Emily began to soothe the crying boy, trying various methods, but he continued to throw a tantrum.

The twin brother sitting next to the crying boy reproached him. "You're troubling everyone, and lord-sama. It's no good."

"But..."

Emily was not a feudal lord, but to the village children, she must have seemed like an important adult like one.

"Can I help?" Lucius suddenly held the crying boy's hand.

Perhaps surprised to have his hand held by someone his own age, the boy's crying stopped.

"I'm Lucius. What's your name?"

"Paul..."

"Nice to meet you, Paul. Can you tell me your story? Like, what is your favorite food?"

"Huh? Um, well, um..."

Paul is at a loss for words.

He looks frequently at the faces of the twin brothers sitting next to him, but they don't seem to understand the situation either.

-If it were a toddler, it couldn't be helped.

When Lucius let out a light sigh, he felt the gaze of his maid Matilda.

It was a look that seemed like she was always looking at something disgusting.

-Oh, I see.

Lucius had thought that Matilda hated him, but it seemed that he was wrong.

It was just that she had a strong sense of discomfort with the words and actions that were not like a three-year-old.

However, there was nothing he could do about it.

It was impossible to forget the memories of his past life and go back to just being three years old.

When he averted his gaze, the sound of someone knocking on the window on Lucius' side echoed.

"How's the ride?!"

His father Robel, riding a horse and running parallel to the carriage, asked loudly.

When they left the village, Lucius thought they would ride in the carriage, but Robel rode a horse and packed the children into the carriage.

It's impossible to ask a three-year-old to ride a horse, but perhaps the child himself prefers horses to carriages.

"I've never ridden before, but it's pretty bumpy!"

Lucius also raised his voice.

The inside of the carriage was noisier than he had imagined.

It runs on an unpaved road without much suspension. It was much more chaotic than a car.

"Be careful, if you ride for too long, your balls will hurt."

Against Robel, who laughed happily with vulgar topics, Emily raised her voice with a tremendous shout.

"Robel!"

"Eek!"

Robel, like a dog running away, hurriedly returned behind the carriage, curling his tail.

Lucius couldn't help but laugh at the exchange.

-Why is that? It's kind of fun.

They were going to a gathering with the nobles.

Originally, he should have been in a gloomy and depressed mood, but he couldn't help feeling cheerful.

◆ ◆ ◆

After making two stops at villages, they arrived at a massive walled city just as the surroundings were beginning to be bathed in the orange glow of sunset.

"We finally made it," said Emily, his mother, in a low voice.

The twin brothers rested their heads on Emily's shoulders and dozed off.

"That's the capital city, Barondia..." 

As they drew closer, they could better appreciate its massive size. It was enclosed by walls that were higher than anything they had ever seen before, and stone-made castles and buildings stood tall within.

The carriage approached the largest gate.

"Halt!" shouted a guard.

Robel, who had been following on horseback, urged his mount forward and bounded ahead of the carriage.

"I am Robel Norris Dragon of Silverheart Territory, here to participate in the 'Appraisal Ceremony,'" Robel announced.

He presented the guard with a letter from his pocket without dismounting. The guard received it with both hands, checked the contents, and returned it politely to Robel.

"Ha! Welcome, Lord Dragon!" The guard performed a skilled salute and quickly opened the gate.

The city beyond the gate was filled with buildings and shops as far as the eye could see, and the streets were bustling with people.

The party passed through the gate and went straight to their lodging.

They had been riding in the carriage and on horseback all day, and both the horses and the people were tired.

First, they dropped off the father, who had been traveling with the twins, at an inn in the nearby city center.

"You did well," said Emily.

Emily was stroking the heads of the dizzy twins, who had been swaying in the carriage for a long time in front of the inn.

"Yep."

The twins' father, who had tied the horses to the stable, came from the side of the inn.

"I'm sorry, Emily-sama. My sons were just being stubborn along the way."

"It's okay. They did their best on their first long trip."

"If you say so, I'm grateful."

The twins' father looked at Lucius' face.

"Lucius-sama. My sons are not as capable as you, but please use them for the sake of the village in the future. They may be useful if they can use magic."

--No, I have no intention of inheriting the barony.

"Eh, yeah..."

Unable to fully accept the fervent feelings, I gave an ambiguous answer.

"I was saved by Lord Robel in the past. I've been wanting to repay him ever since. At that time, we were blessed with twins. We thought it was God's will and decided to have them undergo the Ceremony of Bestowal."

"Hmm? Why did you have the Ceremony of Bestowal for twins?"

Robel answered with an embarrassed expression from behind.

"The Ceremony of Bestowal has a risk of the child dying. In the case of twins, there is a jinx that they are God's plan for bestowing magic because one usually survives."

- Risking the lives of children through superstitions is unacceptable as a human being.

"Well, both of them survived in the end," the father of the twins said with a wry smile.

"What are you talking about? Weren't you crying when both of them survived?" 

"Please don't say that. Anyway, let's do our best in the Appraisal Ceremony, Lucius sama," the twin's father said as they entered their inn.

Lucius and the others, who saw the family off, went to a slightly better inn in the nearby citizen district on foot, but it was not considered a luxurious one. As a poor aristocrat, the father, Robel, thought that a regular inn would suffice, but because the mother, Emily, and the maid, Matilda, were there, they took an inn with a lock on the room.

In the first place, inviting such aristocrats to the inn is also to squander their money, but since they are poor aristocrats and have no money to spend, they probably want to minimize their expenses. 

By the way, leaving the carriage and horses at the inn where the twin's family stayed was also part of their cost-cutting measures.

When they paid the inn fee in advance to the innkeeper, they were led to their room. As soon as they entered, the parents and the maid started unpacking and chatting.

"It's been a while since we were in the capital."

"Matilda, have you ever been to the capital?"

"Just a little. I will show you some recommended shops later."

"I'm looking forward to it. Robel, Lucius, let's go together."

"Oh, nice! Lucius must be hungry too, right?"

Lucius felt a longing for something he had once yearned for in this ordinary scene. 

"Come to think of it, I've never been on a family trip before."

It was his first experience. He had only experienced school trips as travel. 

Excited about staying overnight in an unfamiliar city with his family, Lucius had trouble sleeping that night.

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