Kays Translations

Chapter 23: I was nervous.

The next day was, after all, crowded with visitors during the day.

To celebrate Saint Licia's birthday, for example, merchants based in Clausel, old friends of Lessard’s, and civil servants registered with public institutions in Clausel, among others, came to visit.

As Ren watched, he thought.

(Nobles' birthdays are so hard, aren't they?)

The reason he thought that was because he was reminded of his own birthday experience.

In the case of Ren's birthday, there weren't as many visitors as Licia’s.

The villagers, including the pharmacist, Grandma Riggs, would bring in vegetables, and there was nothing formal about it.

In the evening, it was just his parents and him at the dinner table, so it was nothing like Licia's birthday.

---- Soon, the sun was setting.

Ren hadn’t seen Licia once that day.

He knew where she was, but he hadn't been able to see her because of the number of visitors.

Ren was also helping the waiters with their work, so they must have passed each other.

Was she tired?

He wondered as he went to the old building to change his clothes.

“I never thought I'd see the day when they’d be useful.”

Licia had given him those clothes before the summer.

He put on the jacket tailored to his body and stood in front of the mirror left in the old building.

The black fabric, too casual to be called a tailcoat, has a pale checkered pattern overlaid on it.

With slacks made of the same fabric, he looked like a nobleman's son at first glance.

“Don't forget this either.”

He slipped a long, thin box containing a gift into the inside pocket of his jacket.

Unlike the outer box, this box was prepared by the owner of the store for the occasion.

When it is tucked in, the chest area floats slightly, but the float is not so much as to be sloppy; it’s only noticeable if you pay attention to it.

Then he muttered, "All right”.

“Let's go."

I said, and left the room I usually use.

As I opened the door of the old building and went outside, I could see the sky as the evening light was falling.

Combined with the light leaking from the windows of the main residence, it was a somewhat fantastic nightscape.

Ren enjoyed the night view for a little while, and then headed for the main residence, making footsteps in his leather shoes, which were made for formal wear that he wasn’t used to wearing.

The slacks rubbed against his knees and thighs and felt good against his skin despite the thick, firm fabric. His jacket, which he had only worn a few times, felt tight around both shoulders.

“Oh?"

Weiss said this when he saw Ren just after arriving at the main residence.

He was seen by other knights and scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.

“It looks good on you. You look like the Hero Loren with your gallantry.”

When Weiss said this.

“I thought you were the son of some nobleman.”

"It's a good match.”

"Perhaps you should show it to your parents sometime."

After hearing these words of praise, Ren deliberately cleared his throat and straightened his posture.

“You’re all looking different from usual today, aren't you?”

It’s a knight's uniform, I guess.

At first glance, he’s dressed in what appears to be a military uniform, and he carries a sword at his waist as usual.

Weiss said that it is customary for knights to wear such attire at parties they attend.

Ren and Weiss proceeded to the hall where the birthday party was to be held.

“I was actually waiting for you, boy.”

“Me?”

“I haven't heard what you decided to give her, but it looks like that bulge on your chest is a gift in itself.”

I don't mind if he knows, but I didn't expect him to realize it so easily.

“As you may have guessed, what does that have to do with you waiting for me?"

Then Weiss smirks and chuckles.

"In past years, I, as the representative of the knights and the servants, have been the one to present the gift for the young lady.”

“I see."

“No, you will go after us.”

“...... hmm?"

When the unexpected words are returned, Ren gives a curt response.

He even smiled nervously.

“There’s a gift from a boy like no other. I don’t know what to say in front of the servants.”

What’s he talking about?

It was rude, but Ren couldn't help thinking.

“The master of the house usually gives the gift at the end of the ceremony. I want you to be in charge before that.”

“I have many things to say against this. Mainly, I would like to argue with you about the fact that you have forgotten that I’m also a servant of the Clausel family.”

"Yeah? Well, that’s like you boy.”

The nearby knights who heard Weiss' abstracted words laughed.

Ren smiled nervously.

“Were you serious when you said that just now?"

“I'm serious. I'm sorry that I seem to have entrusted you with a big role out of the blue.... Anyway, it's the young lady’s birthday party tonight, right? So I want to make sure she likes it.”

Ren agrees with that.

If I can make her happy by serving as the grand caterer, then there is no mistake that I should do so on this day.

As Weiss says, we should respect the consciousness of the leading lady of the day.

(Funny. I’m as nervous as I was when I faced Thief Wolfen, I’m obviously exaggerating, but I'm incredibly nervous).

A pitiful voice leaked out.

I was so nervous that I almost got heartburn and reached for my left chest.

Weiss smiles gently as he sees Ren gently rubbing his own chest.

“To see the boy behaving in a boy-like manner.”

“..... Please don't get me wrong. I'm still a boy."

Ren was rubbing his chest as he had been before, while speaking somewhat provocatively.

Still, his face doesn’t show the usual dignity.

Today, he was just a smiling, nervous boy to the point it was heartwarming.

“No, the way you act day in and day out makes one forget that you’re a child at all.”

“Then, please take this opportunity to reconfirm it.”

Unlike usual, his tone was a little cocky, but Ren himself was unaware of this.

But hearing those words, Weiss and the other knights' cheeks relaxed even more.

Ren Ashton, the hero who survived the long journey of escape and defeated the assassins released by Viscount Givens---- who Licia boasted about.

　

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