Chapter 178: A Proposal from the Marquis

Tauro decided to return to his current lodging, the Marquis of Vandyne’s mansion, for the first time in several days.

For the past few days, he had taken lodging by the curry shop store and had been going to the store until it opened.

As usual, he greeted the guards in front of the mansion and was let in.

“I haven’t seen you for a few days, what’s up?”

The guard and I were familiar with each other, so we were getting to know each other.

They too felt free to talk to Tauro when Aeris was not around.

“I was kind of bunking on the side where I work.”

“At your age, it must be tough to be away from work for a few days. Ah, no, Miss Aeris was looking for you, so maybe you should go right away.”

“Thanks, I’ll see her as soon as I can.”

I thanked the guards and headed for the mansion.

The distance from the gate to the entrance of the mansion is far, so I had to walk there, but when I arrived at the entrance, Aeris was standing in front of it, as if she had spotted me coming back through the window.

“Welcome home, Tauro.”

“I’m home, Aerith.”

She was not angry that he had been away for a few days.

Even the “presence detection” can’t detect a  disquieting atmosphere.

“My father wants to talk to you again.”

“?”

I couldn’t imagine what he was going to say, since we had already told him how we came to help him after coming back alive from the dungeon, and that I and Aerith were members of the same Adventurer party.

Maybe he’s going to tell me that it’s time for me to leave?

Tauro thought about the possibility, which did not seem very likely due to the personality of the Marquis de Vandyne, but he would find out anyway when he met him.

Aeris led him to the Marquis Vandyne’s office.

“Tauro, please have a seat.”

The Marquis de Vandyne, who was looking over some papers, stopped and offered Tauro a seat.

Tauro obeyed and took his seat.

“I asked you to come here today to talk about your future.”

What? Does that mean I have to leave after all?

“What do you mean?”

Tauro prompted the Marquis Vandyne to speak next.

“Do you intend to continue as an adventurer?”

“Yes, I intend to continue to be an adventurer. I have been able to make a living by becoming an adventurer, and I think I am suited for it. I also like the village of Dansas, where I am currently based.”

“……. This may go against your grain, but I have a suggestion.”

“Suggestion …..?”

“I heard that a certain count’s family has no heir children and is considering adopting a child to keep the family alive.”

Hmmm? Something about the conversation taking an outrageous direction …….

“Well, does that mean I’ll become a nobleman?”

“If you get adopted, that’s what you’ll become.”

…… far above expectations…….

Tauro was inwardly quite upset.

The option of becoming a nobleman himself was completely out of the question.

“…… I’m a commoner, and a farmer at that. I’ve heard that usually, an adopted son of a noble family is taken from a place where the bloodline is clear, such as the third or fourth son of another noble family. I think I would only tarnish the name of the count’s family.”

Tauro said the obvious.

“You’re right to feel that way. But they know you very well. I didn’t know it because I had already disappeared when you were active, but I heard that you were famous among the nobility. I heard that you beat the Prime Minister in a game of reversi.”

Ah, the people involved at that time……

Tauro laughed inwardly.

“It was just a game, I had the upper hand, so my victory at that time meant nothing to me.”

This was Tauro’s honest opinion.

If they played now, there is a good chance he would lose.

“You are humble. More and more, I would like to recommend you to the other side. I don’t expect you to give me an answer right away, but I want you to take your time and think about it.”

For Tauro, weighing the current life against the life of a nobleman was too far apart to compare.

As I was about to open my mouth to clearly refuse, the Marquis de Vandyne continued to speak.

“And also, Aeris says she wants to be an adventurer for a while longer. So I’m going to ask you to take care of her in the meantime. When Aeris is convinced and ready to return, then I want to hear your answer.”

That would give me a year or two to think about it.

Still, I was surprised that Aeris still wanted to continue as an adventurer.

Since her father had returned alive, he thought she could safely return to aristocratic society, and Tauro was considering saying goodbye and returning to the village of Dansas after a while.

Then it seems that the team “Black golden wings” will still be able to continue.

Thanks to this, Tauro was relieved that he did not have to explain the situation to Shin and Rumeya.

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