Chapter 4: Shopping and Order-Sol (Part two)

Late afternoon.

After returning to the mansion, Licia and Weiss went to Lessard’s office.

Ren left immediately after entering the mansion and went to the guest room alone.

“Welcome home, Ren-dono.”

A young female servant called out to him as she passed by.

“Did you find something you liked?”

“Actually, Licia-sama decided on everything for me— How did you know about my clothes?”

“Last night, the young lady happily told me about her plans for the day.”

 (I see. No wonder.)

By the way, it takes about a month for the purchased clothes to arrive.

“What kind of clothing did you buy?”

“Two pieces of everyday wear and one piece of formal wear. I’m told they will arrive next week. I feel sorry for getting a formal outfit I’d never have a chance to wear.”

“As for formal attire, the young lady’s birthday is in the summer, so why not wear it on that day?”

It’s as if they are assuming that Ren will be here until summer.

Ren, who had no set schedule, couldn’t nod his head, but instead laughed and let the tea muddy his mind.

The waiter, who knew the reason for the response, smiled ruefully and never asked any further questions.

“Oh, by the way, I heard we have a guest for the evening.”

Ren replied,

“Would it be all right if I stay? If I’m just going to get in the way, I think I’ll go into town for a little while to kill some time.”

“There’s no problem! Please enjoy your stay as usual, Ren-dono.”

Nodding back at the servant, who hastily denied it, Ren smiled then.

But what kind of guest would it be?

Ren returned to the guest room.

(It’s none of my business.)

I’m just a houseguest for some reason.

I’ll spend this afternoon reading a book I borrow from the Clausel family’s library.

With this in mind, Ren borrowed some books from the library.

—-The time passed in the blink of an eye, and the sun was beginning to set slightly.

The house was crowded outside, and I could see through the window that Lessard and his household were on their way to greet the guests.

The guests were a group of well-dressed knights.

One of the knights, who seemed to be in command, was exchanging some words with Lessard.

Licia was standing by his side.

(Order-Sol?)

The “Order-Sol” is the general name for the knightly orders belonging to the empire.

The term “Order-sol” has a number of affiliations, but in short, it’s a national military force. It’s a different group of knights from those who serve a single noble family like Weiss.

So, how did the Order-Sol come to Clausel?

Ren tilts his head in wonder, but quickly turns his gaze away from the window.

It’s not good to keep looking at them rudely and make them feel uncomfortable.

He also thought that it wasn’t like Viscount Givens before, because he didn’t feel any swagger in the group’s appearance.

(This book is interesting.)

It was a novel I picked up casually, but I was curious about the rest of the story.

Since I’ve come all this way, let’s go look for it.

Ren got up from his seat and left the room.

However, he immediately decided to go back.

He was thinking about the guests, coming into the house, and thought it would be bad if he disturbed them.

“Hmm?”

Then, he ran into Weiss, who had returned to the mansion.

“What’s the matter, boy?”

“I was going to look for the rest of the books I borrowed from the library, but I was on my way back to my room so as not to disturb the guests.”

“You’re still are as clever as ever for your age. But hmmm…”

Weiss began to think about something.

Wondering what’s going on, he utters a few words that startled Ren.

“Well, now that you’re here, why don’t you come along, too?”

“Eh?”

“The guests will be looking at the young lady’s swordsmanship. So I thought it would be a good idea to have your swordsmanship looked at as well, if you don’t mind.”

Ren just made a pathetic sound.

As soon as he heard the unexpected suggestion, he was speechless with surprise.

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