Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 74: Two Royal Candidates
“Lady Gufell, it’s been a while.”
“Oh… Lucius, isn’t it? How long have you been there?”
Gufell looked genuinely surprised.
He had been there from the beginning, but perhaps Gufell was so engrossed in the evil dragon that she hadn’t noticed him.
When Lucius tried to approach for a long-overdue greeting, the floor trembled, and shelves and equipment creaked.
—An earthquake?
He quickly grabbed onto the nearby wall.
The tremor wasn’t too severe, and the earthquake soon subsided.
Crane frowned and stood beside Lucius.
“Don’t worry, the mansion won’t collapse. We’ve been having these tremors for about half a year now… We know the cause of this, but—”
“You know the cause? What do you mean?”
When it comes to the cause of earthquakes, it should be the movement of the earth’s crust. But his words sounded like the cause was somewhere completely different.
“No, forget it… Nobody would believe it anyway.”
Crane smiled, but there was a hint of bitter emotion mixed in.
“I see.”
“Now, shall we go?”
“Understood.”
Lucius exerted force in his left hand, returning the evil dragon to particles.
The evil dragon seemed to glare at Lucius as if saying, “Finally done, huh?”
But it was the elderly Gufell who voiced dissent.
“Just a little longer! Just a little longer, show it to me! It’s for the sake of future generations!!”
She screamed while clinging to the evil dragon’s leg.
An ordinary person might feel something seeing the pitiful sight of the old lady.
But Lucius chose not to hear Gufell’s voice.
—I’m not going to fall for that anymore.
If he gave in here, he’d be subjected to endless, incomprehensible examinations.
He had already walked this path. There was no turning back now.
As he returned the evil dragon to the rider magic core, he heard Gufell click her tongue.
“Grandmother, please refrain from such indecent behavior.”
“Crane, whose side are you on? If we don’t measure this dragon now, who knows when the next opportunity will come, hundreds of years from now?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Crane, easily swayed by Gufell, gave Lucius a defiant look.
“Gufell-sama, Crane-san. I believe there’s a greeting to the current head of the family, correct?”
“I don’t care. That idiot son of mine has forgotten his research and turned into just another noble.”
“Exactly!”
Lucius reprimanded the two eccentrics with a sigh.
“The Orleans family is a distinguished noble family.”
It seemed that the former head Gufell and Crane had forgotten what they shouldn’t as nobles.
“The current position is the result of generations of accumulated wisdom. Politics is not suitable for the Orleans.”
Gufell spat out with disdain.
Just as the Dragon family had pride in managing the forest, the Orleans family seemed to have its own pride as Orleans.
It was better not to interfere too much in other families’ affairs.
“That may be true.”
“Anyway, Lucius. Don’t be swayed by that idiot son of mine.”
Ad
“I understand.”
Lucius bowed and left the room with Crane.
They walked again through the corridor littered with documents and books.
After a while, Crane stopped in front of a door.
He stood there and knocked on the door.
“It’s Crane. I’ve brought Lucius-sama.”
Immediately, a reply came from behind the door.
“Ah! Come in!”
Opening the door and entering the room, it was a reception room.
Perhaps because there were no windows, many beautiful landscape paintings were displayed, and conversely, the desk and bookshelf were kept to a minimum.
—The atmosphere in this room is different.
Unlike the cluttered rooms he had seen before, this one was neatly organized.
Whether it was at the head’s behest or because it was a reception room, Lucius didn’t know.
Moving his gaze deeper into the room, he saw three people sitting on the guest sofa set.
One was a middle-aged man, and the other two were young men and women.
Ad
The gazes of the three turned simultaneously to Lucius.
The first to speak was the middle-aged man, unnaturally smiling.
“Lucius-sama! Welcome. I am Latos-sama, the head of the Orleans family. I’ve heard a lot about you from my mother.”
Like Crane, he had wavy hair, but his stern expression resembled Gufell’s.
He was undoubtedly Crane’s father.
“I am Lucius Norris Dragon. I have no words of gratitude for finding the magic sword.”
Lucius bowed deeply.
“I-is that so?”
Lord Latos, still wearing his forced smile, replied.
There was something off about his overly polished smile, and Lucius felt uneasy.
“What is it?”
“N-nothing. If it’s a royal command, we won’t hesitate to cooperate! Now, let me introduce you to the two of them.”
Without getting up from his seat, Lord Latos gestured to the young man and woman sitting in front of him.
“His Highness Dion of the Weshite-Windsor family, and Her Highness Lucial of the Soushi-Windsor family.”
Both of them were probably in their twenties.
Ad
Lucius had heard of their names even as a rural noble like himself.
Both of them were candidates from the Four Great Noble Families, or in other words, rivals of Olivia. He had no idea why they were here, but both the Orleans and the Four Great Noble Families were like distant clouds, high-ranking nobles.
He believed it was best not to pry.
“Nice to meet you for the first time, Your Highnesses.”
Lucius respectfully bowed to the two.
The man, instead of responding, just glared at Lucius.
“Oh my, wait a minute. You’re Lucius-kun? I thought you’d be a stricter, more stern child. You’re so cute!”
The southern royal candidate, Lucial, ran over and pinched Lucius’s cheek.
—Too close!
Suddenly feeling a glitched sense of distance, I desperately resisted the urge to step back.
The leader of the Knights of the Callan Division, who had been in the East, is also from the Soushi-Windsor family.
The woman in front of me must be his sister. There’s something about her nose that resembles him.
“We’re running out of time. If we’re all here, let’s go.”
West’s royal candidate Dion, who stood up quietly, declared.
I remember hearing that Dion is the nephew of the current king. His stern gaze certainly resembles that of the current king.
—Go?
Not understanding the meaning, I looked at them with a puzzled expression.
As Dion passed by, he spoke.
“You came for the magic sword, right? Then the destination is decided. Orleans, time is short. Guide us there immediately.”
With that, Dion approached the door alone.
“Your Highness! A-are you leaving already!?”
Lord Latos exclaimed in surprise.
“Do we need to wait?”
Without turning around, Dion stopped in his tracks.
Immediately, Lord Latos raised his voice with a hint of fear in it.
“N-no! There’s no need!”
Flustered, Lord Latos turned to Crane, who was standing next to Lucius.
“Crane! Hurry and guide the Highnesses and Lucius-sama!”
Crane remained expressionless, bowed without a word, and followed.
Lucius was surprised.
It’s unimaginable, but one thing can be inferred from the conversation.
—Are the successors of the Four Great Noble Families going to help with obtaining the magic sword?
Even though he is under the protection of the current king, he is just a baron, and a rural one at that.
Would the royal candidates of the Four Great Noble Families bother to help during the busy time of the Selection Tournament?
Seeing Lucius’s evident doubts, perhaps the woman felt sorry for him as she approached.
It was Lucial, the southern royal candidate.
“Just lending a hand. It’s the king’s order, you know. We’re not far from the capital here, near the border of the west and north.”
“Is that so?”
Lucius nodded, but it’s hard to believe that’s the only reason.
—What’s the aim?
“Oh, you understand more than I thought. You’re not just a musclehead, huh? To be honest, we want an obvious achievement, like bringing back the magic sword.”
“An achievement?”
Lucial grinned.
“The princess of the north has been active in the east. Didn’t you have something to do with that, Lucius-kun?”
“Well, yes.”
Ad
“And so? It’s not a time to just tinker with estate management. Our parents are getting impatient for some clear achievements.”
“Is that so?”
The magic sword is also a symbol of authority.
The sword Lucius currently possesses was once the beloved sword of the current king, and many nobles still remember seeing the king with it.
Moreover, the location where the magic sword was found this time is the dangerous necropolis, Burgia, the ghost city.
Although the role of nobles is diverse, they are still in positions of power. They bear the duty of bearing the emblem, repelling any external enemies, and protecting their subjects.
While it may not be as much as the east, where martial prowess is preferred, most nobles have the spirit to be brave.
The next generation of royal candidates bringing back the symbol of authority, regardless of the danger, was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate valor to the nobles of the country.
Furthermore, since most of the enemies would likely be dealt with by Lucius, there would be hardly any danger to the royal candidates of the Four Great Noble Families unless the Imperial Army were to advance.
It’s probably a judgment that there couldn’t be a more convenient situation.
Realizing the intention, Lucius was convinced.
“Lucial, how long are you planning to talk? Let’s hurry.”
Dion’s reprimanding voice echoed in the room.
It wasn’t a loud voice, but it somehow reached the depths of one’s stomach.
“Alright, alright.”
Upon arrival, they immediately left the Orleans family and headed to the location where the magic sword was found.