Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 17: Tasan of the Ring ③
While I was staring, wondering what was going on, someone stepped down from the carriage.
A maid? Yeah, definitely a maid. Dressed in the classic black-and-white maid uniform, not a wrinkle out of place.
She had silver hair that flowed smoothly down to her waist. Cool green eyes. Dark, tanned skin, and pointed ears.
An elf? A dark elf, even!? Ah, no — in this world, an elf is just an elf.
She stood there, poised and serene. A cool-type, dark-skinned, beautiful elf maid. The aura around her was different.
She looked at me. For a moment, something about her felt familiar.
Ah, it’s Rel-san. Probably the silver hair and the elf thing.
She looked at me and smiled.
“Oh, yes. You must be Wof-sama?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m Wof. That’s right.”
She spoke to me, like she already knew who I was.
“Please, come aboard.”
“Wait, hold on — why?”
I couldn’t follow the flow of this at all.
The maid cleared her throat.
“Ahem, yes. I hadn’t explained, had I? Dova here is a messenger from the Marquis Tasan household. I’ve been sent under orders from the acting proxy of the lord to bring you, Wof-sama.”
“Tasan…!?”
A chill ran down my spine. N-no way. Did they find out about Juicy?
It was just yesterday — did they already figure it out!?
“Ah, yes. Is something the matter?”
“N-no… I understand. I’ll come along.”
I braced myself and got into the carriage.
The interior was more spacious than I’d expected. Two long black cushioned benches faced each other.
Four people could sit comfortably. Maybe six if you squeezed in. I sat down, a bit nervously.
The maid sat across from me. The door shut, and the carriage started moving.
“So, where are we headed?”
“To the noble district in the center of the city. Ah, yes. Specifically, to the secondary residence of Count Bolley. The Tasan Marquis doesn’t own a villa in Hydrangea, so the head of the Tasan faction, Count Bolley, has kindly lent us his.”
“I-I see.”
The central noble district — a special zone full of mansions.
Someone like me had no connection to such a place. I’d never had a reason to go.
I couldn’t believe I was actually headed there.
“…”
“…”
The carriage was fast. The scenery outside the window rushed by.
It almost felt like I was in a car.
“…”
“…”
This carriage… as expected of a luxury black vehicle.
The black cushioned seats even had springs inside.
I couldn’t help remembering the shared carriage I’d taken when coming to Hydrangea. That thing was a nightmare.
Just bare wooden planks for seats, no padding at all. Even stacking layers of cloth didn’t help. I seriously thought my butt was going to die.
Compared to that, these seats were heaven.
“………”
“………”
Ad
Still, what was with this awkward air? This tension?
And then, out of nowhere, the cool-type, dark-skinned, beautiful elf maid sitting across from me suddenly spoke.
“…Dova is 26 years old.”
“Huh?”
“Ah, yes. What do you think of a 26-year-old woman?”
“What do I…”
“Dova is past the ideal marriage age.”
“O-oh, really.”
“As a member of the opposite sex, what do you think of a 26-year-old Dova?”
“Isn’t that a bit heavy to ask a 13-year-old?”
I was flustered.
What the heck was this dark-skinned beauty saying, all of a sudden?
Her cool vibe was totally gone. I could practically hear a “so close, yet so far” label hanging off her.
“It’s not like I’m desperate or anything.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then isn’t it fine?”
Ad
“It’s just… I’m worried. If I stay like this, will I ever be able to get married?”
Worried, huh. That sounds a bit like desperation.
“Um, so… you do want to get married?”
“Ah, yes. If possible, I’d like to have a lover first.”
“You don’t have one?”
“Ah, yes. No, I don’t.”
“…But you’re beautiful.”
“Being beautiful doesn’t necessarily mean you’re popular.”
“Ah, yeah. Fair.”
I nodded, understanding.
Thinking about it, all the women around me were beauties or cute girls, yet none of them had a lover.
Why was that, though? Maybe adventurers just don’t get dates. Occupational hazard, I guess.
Speaking of which, even the witch wasn’t married — well, I suppose that’s only natural.
I doubt she even understands what love is. If she ever learned about it, I bet she’d cry.
At that moment, the disappointed dark-skinned beauty elf maid shot me a sharp look.
Ad
“Wof-sama. Why did you nod just now?”
“I was thinking about the women I know. They’re all beautiful, but now that I think about it, none of them have boyfriends, let alone husbands.”
“Ah, yes… I see.”
“…Yeah.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…You know, actually—”
“Y-yes?”
She’s still going with this? What is this conversation even about?
And when are we getting there? I don’t know anything about the noble district, never had a reason to visit.
“The truth is, Dova doesn’t have any opportunities to meet people.”
“But aren’t there male butlers or other male servants?”
“Ah, yes. But the Tasan household is matriarchal, so most of the staff are women.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Yes. Besides, I usually serve as the assistant to the acting lord. Right now, I’m the acting proxy. Ah, yes. I do attend all the faction’s parties with the acting lord, who is also single. The Tasan Marquis is the head of the Tasan faction, after all.”
“So, you meet people at those parties?”
“Those parties are work. Not places for socializing. And given my position, no man would dare approach me. Even if someone did, if I felt they weren’t suitable, I’d politely turn them down.”
“…”
Assistant to the acting lord… now acting proxy?
Wait a second — wasn’t the one who summoned me the acting proxy?
This so-called disappointed, dark-skinned beauty elf maid… is she even a maid at all?
Could she be pretending to be one? But for what purpose?
I had a sneaking suspicion this was going to turn out to be some kind of dumb surprise.
Slowly, I was starting to piece together what kind of family the Tasan Marquis household really was.
Suddenly, I recalled something Rel-san had said about her hopeless sisters. Could it be…?
Well, nobles often have lots of wives and tons of kids, so it wouldn’t be surprising.
Though I don’t really know much about nobles in this world.
I always figured nobles tend to have a bunch of kids and end up fighting over inheritance.
And then, we finally arrived at the mansion. Whoa, a huge, pure-white, three-story mansion.
So this is Count Bolley’s secondary residence? This is just a villa? Nobles really are on another level.
I was shown to a room on the second floor after entering the mansion and told to wait there.
Come to think of it, Juicy-san is in this mansion too, isn’t she?
I wonder what she’s doing right now.
“……”
While I was waiting, I got bored, so I decided to check the knives I had bought.
There was a fancy-looking round table with a single pedestal leg, so I used it.
I had three knives in total.
The first one was a simple… huh? The first one? …Wait, it’s not here?
Why isn’t it here? Ah — ahh!? I remembered.
In that back alley… when I got electrocuted, I must’ve dropped it. I didn’t pick it back up.
I completely forgot about it after that fight. The blade wasn’t broken, just sparked, so it should still be usable!
“……………”
I’ll go look for it on the way back. Definitely.
The second knife: a single-edged blade, oddly curved upwards.
The handle was wrapped in leather and seemed sturdy.
Ad
The blade was thick, curved upward, and when I looked closely, it was shaped like a triangle.
The grip felt soft, and it was a little heavy. The sword guard was a weird square shape.
“What a strange knife.”
Not suited for everyday use. Definitely made for combat.
And lastly, the third one. It had no sword guard, and the handle was longer than the blade — perfectly straight.
In fact, the handle was longer than the blade itself. And it was black. I wondered what material it was made of — the surface was smooth.
When I pulled it out of the blue scabbard, the blade was jagged.
It looked like a series of tiny triangles connected together — a strange blade. My instincts whispered:
“Could this be an OOPArt (Out-of-Place Artifact)?”
Even if it was, I felt nothing. Apparently, I don’t have the kind of relic that can resonate with it.
I’d heard that if you have the right relic, you’d know the moment you saw or held an OOPArt.
But I felt nothing. So for me, this knife was just a knife.
Another one clearly for combat.
“Yeah. They all seem pretty good.”
50,000 wasn’t cheap, but the quality matched the price. I was satisfied.
Though still… yeah, I’m definitely going back to search for the one I lost.
I put the knives into the battle belt I’d bought for exactly this kind of situation.
It could hold up to ten knives, but… do I really need that many?
Just as I finished putting them away, there was a knock at the door. I answered, and the door opened.
“Um, excuse me. I’m here to— wait, Wof-sama!?”
“Juicy-san!?”
Standing at the door was a black-haired, wolf-girl beauty in a maid uniform, looking surprised.
I was just as surprised. Juicy-san!?
I mean, it’s not strange for her to be here since we were both summoned by the Marquis of Tasan.
But seeing her in a maid uniform was unexpected. And the atmosphere around her felt a bit different.
While still looking surprised, she spoke.
“Um, Wof-sama, why are you… here?”
“There was a carriage waiting for me when I got home. They said the acting lord deputy of Marquis Tasan wanted to meet, so I got in the carriage and came here.”
“Um, um, I didn’t say anything about yesterday! Mineha-chan helped me sneak back into my room, so no one should know. I’m sure I wasn’t found out!”
That surprised me too. Knowing her, I thought she might have accidentally let something slip to her family.
But… so the reason I was called here isn’t about that? Then what do they want with me?
That aside, I had one more question for Juicy-san.
“Why are you wearing a maid outfit?”
Juicy-san in a maid outfit.
It was almost identical to the one worn by that unfortunate dark-skinned beautiful elf maid from earlier.
A classy black and white maid uniform, complete with a headband.
A perfectly presentable and adorable wolf-girl maid.
“Um, um, this was the condition for me to accompany them to Hydrangea. I agreed to serve as a maid for the two of them — Dova-neesama and Shesh-chan.”
“Shesh-chan?”
A cute name, but kind of hard to say. I could already imagine myself slipping and saying ‘Sheshe’ or ‘Shushu.’
“Um, yes. She’s my sister — and she’s very, very cute!”
Huh, I see. Must be the fluffy, airheaded type. I haven’t met anyone like that yet.
“…Dova, by any chance, is that the unfortunate… 26-year-old dark-skinned beautiful elf?”
“Woof! Yes, that’s right! Um, Wof-sama, how do you know Dova-neesama? And even her exact age!?”
“Could it be… she’s the acting lord deputy?”
“Woof! Exactly!?”
Juicy-san’s chestnut-colored eyes sparkled as she wagged her tail energetically.
It was the kind of gaze that showed pure respect.
Ah… that look — it reminded me of the family dog from my previous life, the way it looked at my grandfather.
And then, there’s that acting lord deputy.
For some reason, she was wearing a maid outfit and, just a little while ago, we were somehow talking about marriage inside the carriage.
Though, the whole conversation felt more like her venting complaints than anything… Seriously, why was she wearing a maid outfit?
“You came to call for me, right?”
“Woof? Ah — that’s right! Sorry, I almost forgot. I’ll guide you right away!”
Juicy-san opened the door and led me to a room at the corner of the hallway.
This time, she didn’t wag her tail — her face was calm and composed, the very image of a capable, professional maid.
She knocked on the room’s door.
“Ah, yeah. Come in.”
“Huh?”
A voice I’d just heard not long ago, but this time it was a deeper, rougher female tone.
I felt a little uneasy.
“Excuse me, I’ve brought Wof-sama.”
Juicy-san opened the door.
Inside were two beautiful women.
One was the 26-year-old unfortunate dark-skinned beauty elf, who had changed from her maid uniform into a crisp white suit.
For some reason, she was wearing a monocle over her left eye.
She sat at an incredibly luxurious-looking desk.
So her name was Dova, huh? Speaking of which, she referred to herself in third person. Haven’t seen someone do that since Liv-san.
The other one… was a wild-looking beauty.
She had short, rough blonde hair with a striking red streak. Black horns — a Faun.
A Faun, huh. Her blue eyes were sharp, like a delinquent or a thug.
Her face was small and sharp-featured, and she wore three piercings in each ear.
Her deep red-black shirt strained to contain her extremely ample chest.
She wore jeans-style pants with her left leg exposed, and had chains wrapped around her waist.
She was sprawled out on the sofa in a completely unladylike posture, taking up the whole thing.
Beside her lay two swords. A longsword and a saber? Weird combination.
When her eyes flicked over to me, she sat up, making her chest bounce. Yep — big. Definitely big.
Maybe slightly smaller than the witch’s, but still big.
I glanced at Dova-san’s chest. Yep. Even compared to hers, this girl was definitely well-endowed.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
“Ah, yeah. Thanks, Juicy. Good job.”
Juicy-san bowed and left the room.
For some reason, I felt like I was looking at a completely different dog.
“Fwaaahh…”
“Shesh, don’t be so sloppy in front of a guest.”
“Huh!”
I couldn’t help but let out a sound of surprise. After that huge yawn, she glared at me.
“Huh? What’s your problem, kid?”
“…Shesh-san?”
“Hah? You got something to say, punk?”
“No, nothing at all…”
This is Shesh-chan? The “cute” one?
“Shesh, be quiet.”
“Tch…”
She clicked her tongue in annoyance and slammed her heel against the table with a loud thud.
Wow… she’s like one of those cocky street punks you see in the slums sometimes. Where’s the “cute” part?
“Ah, yeah, sorry. Let me properly introduce myself. I am Dova — Dova Tasan. I’ve come to Hydrangea as the acting lord deputy and this thug-looking girl here, the one who seems like she belongs in the slums, is my little sister and bodyguard, Shesh Tasan.”
Shesh Tasan. This is… a marquis’ daughter? A noble? Really? This… is what a noble looks like?
And the ‘cute’ part… where? Here?
Shesh-san clicked her tongue and grumbled.
“‘Tch… It’s Shesh.’”
“N-Nice to meet you. My name’s Wof. I live here in Hydrangea.”
“Yeah, sure, nice to meet ya.”
“Likewise. So… what did you need from me?”
“The ring. You gave it to Gauro-san, didn’t you?”
“…Ah, that thing.”
Right, I did hand it over. That bronze-colored ring.
I had figured they’d already sold it off by now.