Chapter 36: The Guest Room

The deputy division commander, advancing at a leisurely pace, used the central staircase to ascend to the second floor. As I followed him and Erwin-sama, I began to feel the limits of my waist as my hands remained connected to his.

As I was thinking, ‘It’s hard to walk while in the middle,’ ──── the deputy division commander walking at the front of the line suddenly looks back at me.

“Ah, yes. I forgot to mention one thing ──── you can call me Keith. Please don’t call me “Deputy Division Commander” in such a formal way. I’m not used to that kind of thing.”

You don’t like to be too formal? Then the white-haired beauty adds, ‘it weirds me out.’

He rubs his arms, and I realize that he ‘really doesn’t like it.’

Like Erwin-sama,  titles and status don’t matter much here. In aristocratic society, power and status are everything, and people don’t like to even be called without regard to their titles…… The court mage corps is really special or rather unusual.

“Okay. Then I will call you Keith-sama.”

“Oh, please do.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Keith-sama returned his gaze to the front again and pushed straight ahead down the second-floor corridor.

I looked around curiously and tilted my head at the number of furnishings and the unusual choppy wallpaper.

But then I remembered Keith-sama’s statement, “you blow up your room at the rate of once a month,” and I was self-convinced.

If I blew up my room every month, I’ll get tired of putting up every single piece of furnishing. Even wallpaper takes time and money to reapply……. I think it’s a good thing to just give up, saying, ‘Well, it’s going to blow down again anyway.’

I could see the daily hardships from the condition of the building, and as I was secretly feeling sorry for him, Keith-sama, who was walking in the ──── lead, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“We’re here. This is the guest room.”

He bent his body slightly to show us the white-painted door and reached for the doorknob.

“This is a special room that only lets in distinguished guests, so please …… refrain from doing whatever you like,──── especially you, Elle.”

“Hai!”

Raising his hand with a ping, Erwin-sama cheerfully replies with a carefree smile and nods his head. But, Keith-sama lowered his eyebrows a little uneasily, as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying.

I cower my shoulders a little in dismay, “What kind of division commander is more strongly cautioned than a guest  …….?”

While I was painfully aware of Erwin-sama’s untrustworthiness,──── Keith-sama opened the door of the room with a clang.

Beyond the door, a space with blue as its base color spread out, and at first glance, it appeared to be just an ordinary guest room. However, there was one thing that was unusual. It was that much of the ──── furniture and furnishings were magical tools.

“Wow ……! I’ve never seen so many magic tools before!”

I put my hand over my mouth in surprise and looked around the room, feeling blinded.

In my vision I see floating chairs, moving paintings, and color-changing vases.

My eyes sparkle at the sight that made me feel as if I’m in another world.

Magical tools──── powered by mana or magic power are extremely valuable. Although grimoires for daily life, such as running water and lights, are somewhat widespread, they are still quite expensive. Not even the most aristocratic people would be able to own this many magical items.

They say it’s a room only for honored guests, so If you think about. …… It’s a room that houses national treasures! In a way, it’s like a treasury!

I even felt dizzy in this luxurious space that was far more expensive than the treasury of a small country.

While I was impressed, Erwin-sama took me by the hand and led me into the room.

“I’m so glad Charlotte is pleased! The magic items here are all one-of-a-kind, so take a good look at them!”

Smiling and laughing good-humoredly, Erwin-sama sat me down on a nearby chair.

The one-person chair that floats in mid-air was comfortable to sit in, and my balance was stable. To be honest, it is not much different from an ordinary chair.

I casually probed under the seat with my foot, thinking, “Maybe there is a transparent rod supporting the chair,” but I found nothing like that.

It’s amazing how stable it is, floating in the air. I honestly don’t think I can imitate it.

While I was honestly impressed by the technical skills of the court mages, Erwin-sama and Keith-sama also sat down on the empty seats.

Facing each other across the table, we straightened our posture and looked at each other.

“ Well then, tell us about the prayer technique …… Mugu!”

Erwin-sama was happy to start the conversation, but his mouth was suddenly covered by a hand reaching out from the side.

“Mmm!”  Next to him, who makes a muffled voice, was Keith-sama, the person who had covered his mouth.

“Wait, Elle. let’s talk about that later. First of all, you should ask Miss Charlotte what she wants. If she came all the way here, she must have something to do.”

Keith-sama, who warned him not to misplace his priorities, was more like Erwin-sama’s guardian than the deputy commander of the court mage division.

The hand that was covering half of his face was removed and Erwin was released safely, his mouth agape with dissatisfaction. However, he cowered his shoulders as if he had no choice but to follow Keith-sama’s opinion to some extent.

“C’mon… I thought I could finally ask about the prayer technique,…….  Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to wait. So ──── why did Charlotte come here?”

Erwin-sama, who was asking a direct question, rested his cheekbones on the table.

He stares at me with pure and innocent eyes and tilts his head.

Although the childish gesture made me feel protective of him, I managed to hold back.

“My business is to investigate the summoning technique. There was a little trouble in the summoning technique class at the Flugel Academy. …… see here for more details.”

I handed the two scrolls I had been holding in my hand to Erwin and Keith, and closed my mouth for a moment.

The two of them, each holding a letter of introduction and a scroll with a request for investigation, confirmed the contents to each other and their faces lit up.

“ WOW!!! Charlotte is really amazing! I’ve never heard of multiple hands coming out of a magic circle for summoning! That’s so interesting!”

“Well, this certainly sparks research interest! Whether it’s multiple summonses or a new species of summon, it’s sure to lead to the discovery of the century!!!!

Erwin-sama and Keith-sama, who were excited like children, snorted excitedly.

Both of them were absorbed in the new research material, as if they no longer cared about the prayer technique.

Their eyes sparkled with curiosity and inquisitiveness, and they were in complete rapport with each other. There was no room for me.

At any rate, I was glad that they seemed to be willing to undertake the research, but …… this reaction was unexpected. I didn’t think they’d be this interested.

“ So, let’s try the summoning technique one more time to prove Emilia’s hypothesis first! That’s probably why the Emperor introduced Charlotte to the Court Mages!”

“Duchess Emilia Candice Dursley, right? You should at least remember the Duchess’s name properly! And if her hypothesis is correct, we’d better go to a bigger place! There are a lot of valuables here, and I don’t think this is the best place to summon!”

Ahh …… that’s true. Worst case scenario, we might break a one-of-a-kind valuable magic tool, so I guess we’d better move to another room. It would be a disaster if I had to compensate it.

“That’s right. Then, we just came here, but let’s move to another room!”

Erwin-sama, who jumped down from his chair vigorously, looked back at us and said, “Sorry I couldn’t wait anymore,” and clasped his hands together.

It’s a shame that I can’t take a closer look at the one-of-a-kind, precious magic tools, but my original purpose was to investigate the summoning technique, I shake my head saying “no problem”.

I quietly got up from my seat and left the guest room with Erwin-sama and Keith-sama, thinking about the practice of the summoning technique that was about to begin.

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