Kays Translations

Chapter 205: A Visit by Appointment

While we were drinking tea at Axel's house, the servant who had gone ahead to make an appointment with Ijidol returned.

“Lord Julius, I received a message from Lord Ijidol saying, ‘I'll be waiting for you.’”

“Thank you. In that case, Axel, I think I'll be leaving now.”

“You're going already? Oh, right. I'll come with you. It'll be better if you've got someone to guide you, won't it?”

With that, Axel began getting ready. Was he worried about me? That was kind of him. Apparently it didn't take long for him to prepare, because he soon returned with a sword at his waist. It seemed Axel had a sword of his own too.

“Thank you for having me. Please give my regards to your husband as well.”

“Of course. I will.”

“Come again, Big Brother!”

Axel's younger brother and sister said it in perfect unison. Their timing really was exact. Could they be twins? Now that I looked at them, they did seem quite alike.

The three of them saw us off, and then Axel and I climbed into the carriage. Our destination was Ijidol's home.

“Have you ever been to Ijidol's house before, Axel?”

“A few times. It's not a detached house like mine. Several families live in the same building.”

So Ijidol lived in something like an apartment building. Sure enough, when I looked out the window, there were hardly any detached houses in sight. Square buildings covered in rows of windows stood lined up like books on a shelf.

The carriage travelled steadily towards the centre of the royal capital. If you wanted to live around here, a detached house was probably impossible. Axel's family had been able to build one because they lived a little way out in the suburbs.

The centre of the royal capital was convenient, but you couldn't build a detached house there. The suburbs were a little less convenient, but you could have a house with a garden. I couldn't say which was better.

Incidentally, the Heine Margraviate still had plenty of land to spare, so it was possible to build a detached house with a garden even near the centre of the territorial capital. I suppose the Heine Margraviate still had a long way to go.

“Oh, there it is. Ijidol's family lives on the third floor of that grey stone building.”

“Oh, it looks about five storeys tall. That's an impressive building. It looks old too.”

“Apparently it was built when the royal capital itself was constructed. Ijidol said it was made sturdy enough to remain standing for a thousand years.”

“A thousand years! That's incredible. Now I want to know what materials they used and how it was built.”

“Julius, don't break it.”

Axel warned me. I wouldn't do anything like that. Probably. Even without breaking it, I should be able to learn something by using my Appraisal skill. If I could analyse it properly, I might be able to apply the same ideas to the icehouse and to buildings we constructed in the territory from now on.

There seemed to be only one entrance into the building. A huge arch welcomed us.

“What do we do with the carriage?” Axel asked.

“I wonder?”

“Lord Julius, there's a carriage stand over there, so I'll stop there. When you've finished your business, please send word. I'll come and collect you immediately.”

The slightly elderly servant on the driver's seat explained it to us. Apparently people living around here didn't own their own carriages. In that case, perhaps there weren't many nobles living in this district.

“Understood. I'll leave it to you.”

When I said that, he smiled broadly. I don't know what it was, but the servants at the townhouse always seemed to be smiling whenever I stayed there, as though they were delighted to have me. It was starting to make me feel bad for hardly ever visiting the royal-capital townhouse before now.

I had a servant carry the shower magic tool for Ijidol's family, and we headed up to their home on the third floor. With Axel guiding us, we reached it without getting lost. The stone stairs were dark, and the steps were steep. It must be hard on the people who lived on the fifth floor.

When I knocked on the door, it opened almost immediately. It was as if Ijidol had been waiting right in front of it the whole time.

“Lord Julius, I've been waiting for you.”

“Ijidol? You don't normally talk like that, do you?”

“Yeah, but…”

As he said that, he kept glancing behind him. His parents were there. Wow. They were both extremely good-looking. It seemed Ijidol took after his mother.

“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Julius Heine. Ijidol is always helping me.”

“No, no. Our son is the one who is always in your care. Thank you for taking such good care of him.”

There was no reason to stand in the entrance exchanging greetings, so they quickly invited us inside. We sat down at a table that had already been prepared and introduced ourselves again properly.

“So Axel's house already has the same thing installed?”

“That's right. It was really convenient. My younger brother and sister loved it too.”

“You've already used it…?”

Ijidol's eyes widened. He's amazed at you, Axel. Anyway, after receiving permission, I installed one at Ijidol's home as well. As expected, their bathroom was quite small. A shower magic tool would make things much more convenient here. They would be able to wash their hair and bodies easily while standing up.

Ijidol watched me finish the installation in no time and stared in surprise.

“You're already finished. Wait, Axel's house has the same thing, right?”

“That's right.”

Axel, who had been watching me work, answered immediately.

“When did Julius make this magic tool?”

“Apparently he made it last night.”

“…Shouldn't you just start calling yourself a magic-tool maker?”

“Apparently he's going to call himself the Great Magic-Tool Maker.”

“I'm not calling myself anything like that?!”

Apparently Axel was determined to turn me into the Great Magic-Tool Maker. And don't nod like that makes perfect sense, Ijidol. Ijidol's parents watched the three of us with fond smiles.

“You really are close, aren't you? I'm so happy that Ijidol has made such good friends.”

His mother said that in a gentle, unhurried voice. It looked as though Ijidol had inherited his personality from his mother as well. His father, meanwhile, had a moustache under his nose and looked like a splendid British gentleman.

I wondered what Ijidol would have been like if he had taken after his father instead. He might have been so absurdly handsome that Pietro would have become even more competitive with him. I'm glad that didn't happen.

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