Chapter 435 Reuniting with a Friend

　The party that was supposed to be Tauro’s debut turned into a surprise announcement of the adoption of Haku, the orphaned child of the previous Count and much younger brother of the current head of the family, Count Graunewald, and the guests were stunned by the announcement that he would be treated as the eldest son.

　This also prevented the plans of those who opposed the current head of the family and wanted to replace him with Haku from coming to fruition.

　After all, Haku was adopted and treated as the eldest son.

　There was no longer any reason to ignore this and remove the current head of the family from his current position.

　Among the guests at the party, there were some who secretly supported the previous generation’s children, but this surprise left them with no reason to do so either.

　Those who tried to cause trouble were also stopped before they could be taken down by Tauro and his team, and their plans were thwarted.

　This prevented a conflict that would have split the territory in two.

　On the surface, Tauro and Haku appeared as if nothing had happened and rejoined the party, going around to greet the village chiefs, town chiefs, local influential people, and neighboring nobles.

　Among them, Haku was, of course, the center of attention, as was Tauro.

　Many of the village and town chiefs knew Tauro as an adventurer and a territorial inspector, and that alone was a big surprise, so there was no end to the conversation.

“Hahaha! I never imagined that the adventurer I hired that time was the lord’s son! This must be fate. I hope you will continue to support Zhenyu Village.”

　The village chief of Zhengyu village had earned the respect of neighboring villages by marrying his daughter to the son of the town chief of Wasan, so he seemed even more proud of his connection with Tauro.

“Master, why didn’t you tell me then!”

　The spoiled son of the town chief of Wasan was moved to tears and took Tauro’s hand.

　I guess I never thought we’d be reunited like this.

　I mean, master?

　It seems the spoiled brat is grateful that he was thoroughly wrung out and reformed.

“Thanks to Lord Tauro, my son was able to to turn over a new leaf.”

　 Mage Baron Wasan, who had been chatting with Count Graunewald, also joined the group.

　He pats his spoiled son on the head, then bows his head and continues.

“And even though I didn’t know it at the time, I was rude to you, I apologize.”

“No, your son has reformed and  is an asset to the Countess Graunewald family. From now on, please support my father and my brother Haku.”

　Tauro bowed his head as he said this.

“Please raise your head, Lord Tauro. Of course, my loyalty to the Graunewald family will never change. Thank you very much.”

　Impressed by Tauro’s attitude, Mage Baron Wasan bowed deeply together with his spoiled son.

　The Other village chiefs from the villages that Tauro toured as an adventurer and territorial inspector,

“The truth is, even at that time I knew you were no ordinary simpleton. Hahahaha!”

“You are once again a master at punishing scoundrels!”

“I knew you were no ordinary adventurer!”

　And so they praised and complimented him, trying to please him.

“I am not the eldest son, so please tell that to the heir, Haku.”

　Tauro gave a wry smile and urged thrn to go towards Haku, who was also surrounded by people.

　Then, one of the neighboring nobles whose territory bordered their own approached.

　As expected, the village chiefs noticed and cleared the way.

“Mister Tauro, it’s been a long time.”

　It was Marquis Van Dyne who spoke to me.

　Aeris is also by his side.

“My daughter was so excited about the unveiling party, and then you surprised us with all these surprises you had in store.

　It seems that even Marquis Van Dyne had not imagined this turn of events.

“It’s been a long time, Marquis Vandyne. You too Aeris. How have you been?”

　Tauro responded with a smile, and then called out to the now beautiful Aeris who was standing quietly beside him.

“…… Tauro. I have a lot I want to talk about, but I’ll get to that later. For now, I’d like to congratulate you once again on your unveiling as a member of the Graunewald family.”

　Aeris looked a little, well, dissatisfied, but in the end she congratulated Tauro with a smile.

“Thank you!”

　Tauro thanked Aeris, admiring her polished appearance as a lady.

“Yes, you should meet with Ragune and Ankh later. I’ll introduce you to our new friend Zion there. Pella is disguised as a belt right now though.”

　When Tauro rubbed his belt, the mimicked Pella trembled.

　Then it released Its disguise and jumped onto Aeris’s shoulders.

“Pella seems happy to see you, too.”

　Pela rubbed itself against Aeris’s cheek, then returned to Tauro’s belt and went back to its camouflage.

“Pella, you’re really smart.”

　Aeris praised it with a smile.

“Yeah, Pella has helped me a lot since you left.”

　Tauro also smiles, drawn in by Aeris’s.

　It really brings back memories. It feels like a long time ago when we went on adventures together.

　As Tauro reminisced about this, he and Aeris began to talk fondly about their past adventures.

　At that moment, Ragune, Ankh, and Zion, who had been working in behind the scenes, came to join the party in formal attire.

　Ragune complimented Aeris on her dress, and Ankh complimented her on how beautiful she looked.

　Then, when he introduced the shy Zion to Aeris, she said without hesitation,

“You’re a half-breed, aren’t you?　That’s rare. And you’re very pretty.”

　She praised Zion’s unusual appearance without any discrimination.

　Zion seemed pleased by those words as she smiled and complimented Aeris on how beautiful she was.

　The four of them were excited about their common topic, Tauro, and while Tauro wanted to join in the conversation, he was busy dealing with the other guests who were there.

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