Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Bratty Duke
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Entering the reception room, I frowned and stared intently at one spot.
Where on earth had the woman called Iron Blood, who was supposed to be waiting for us, gone, and why was there a pint-sized kid here instead...?
The girl with white hair shimmering with a blue aura and piercing blue eyes was dozing off with her chin propped on the desk. She looked exactly like a clueless brat plopped down in their parents' chair.
Puzzled by the sight, I glanced sideways.
Nameless had a somewhat bewildered expression as he stared at the kid, but Elia and Lucius showed no change in their faces, as if they'd expected this.
Hmm.
Nameless's expression was starting to grate on me a little.
Could my disciple really be into a brat like that?
My eyes narrowed as I looked at Nameless.
As I watched him for a moment, he seemed to notice my gaze and jumped in surprise, shaking his head frantically.
Now, what exactly was he denying, and why?
Every single action of his had reached the point where it all seemed suspicious.
I kept staring at him with a meaningful look.
Nameless just kept shaking his head with an aggrieved expression, but that only made him look more suspicious, narrowing my eyes even further.
Come to think of it...
Didn't Nameless say his ideal type was a woman about two handspans shorter than me—using my height as reference?
I'd thought he liked women my height...
For some reason, remembering how he'd introduced Iron Blood with a smile made my chest ache.
Frowning, I turned my head slightly to look at the kid with her chin propped up.
Hmm...
No matter how I looked at her, that brat was even shorter than me.
At that size, wasn't she two handspans shorter than Nameless's hand, not mine?
...I didn't think so. Not one bit.
I turned to Nameless with a look of contempt.
Nameless was pale as a ghost, shaking his head desperately, and somehow that just made him look even more guilty.
"Tch, Nameless, just don't do anything that'll get you dragged off."
"It's really not...!"
Nameless opened his mouth in a dejected voice, and I whipped my head away from him, staring straight ahead.
If he was going to bring home a girl like that, even if she was his type, this master would object.
I just wanted Nameless to walk the right path.
Besides, could that pint-sized kid even bear proper children?
She'd need at least a build like mine for that.
"...?"
...What the hell was I thinking?
Shaking my head at my thoughts veering into weird territory, I clamped my mouth shut.
Like that, about three minutes passed.
Iron Blood still wasn't showing up, and it was starting to get on my nerves, so I finally spoke.
And rightly so.
No matter what, when guests arrive, shouldn't the lord of the castle at least come out to greet them instead of making them wait like this?
Frowning, I turned my head toward Elia.
"Hmm, so where exactly is this Iron Blood person?"
Nameless seemed inwardly curious about that too, looking at Elia expectantly.
Meeting our gazes, Elia gave a wry smile and nodded toward the kid we'd just been staring at.
"She's right there..."
Hmm, the only thing there was the kid...
Tilting my head in confusion, Lucius let out a deep sigh and approached the kid.
"...Your Grace, the Duke."
"Hmmnya..."
The kid didn't seem to hear Lucius's voice at all, just kept nodding off...
That aside... Your Grace, the Duke?
That kid?
Mine and Nameless's faces filled with shock at almost the same time.
Wait, then did Nameless know earlier that this kid was Iron Blood and act that way on purpose?
I whipped my head toward Nameless, who was ashen-faced and frantically shaking his head.
Ignoring that, Lucius began lightly tapping the desk of the still-dozing kid.
"...Your Grace, Duchess Valencia."
"Unngh..."
The kid twitched slightly at that, removed the arm propping her chin, and promptly face-planted onto the desk.
Watching her, Lucius sighed deeply and knocked on the desk harder than before.
The knocking grew stronger bit by bit, until Lucius's hand was starting to turn red.
Then, the kid called Duchess Valencia by Lucius suddenly snapped her head up.
Blinking, she looked around.
"Huh? What."
And then.
The kid stood from her chair, clambered awkwardly onto the desk, and grinned with sharp, shark-like teeth bared.
"What, losers? You finally showed up? You're so late."
Why'd she climb on the desk...?
No, more importantly, wasn't she the one who hadn't even gotten up properly?
And what the hell was with that tone?
There were a million things to call her out on.
Astounded, I narrowed my eyes at the kid—at Iron Blood.
Now she was covering her mouth with one hand, snickering with muffled 'pfft, puhh' sounds.
"..."
Seeing that, anyone would get pissed...
But actually witnessing it...
Her actions felt so divorced from reality that I couldn't believe my eyes and just spaced out.
Had anyone in real life ever actually talked like that?
My head throbbed.
And according to what Elia had told me...
Shouldn't Iron Blood be some other woman, not this kid?
I'd definitely asked Elia about Iron Blood's age, and she said 31.
Plus, Elia described her personality as prickly and cold, so I'd expected some icy beauty...
But the kid in front of me right now...
To snap out of it, I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head.
...Right, this was a world inside a novel, wasn't it?
What couldn't happen here?
That kind of... yeah, the classic subculture mesugaki type?
Anyway, a few of those showing up wouldn't be weird at all.
Hmm, yeah.
I nodded to myself.
Reminding myself once more that this was a novel world finally started calming me down.
That's when the kid's voice grated in my ear.
"Loser~ Why're you so late? You made me wait after calling me here? Total trash~"
"Your Grace... We aren't late."
"Pfft, now you're lying too? So immature~"
A kid barely at eye level with me was smirking smugly and pointing at Lucius, who just bowed his head and took it silently.
Wondering how he endured it so well, I glanced closely at Lucius—veins bulging on his forehead showed he was holding back too.
Hmm, I get it.
I nodded.
As I silently comforted Lucius in my mind...
The brat with the arrogant tone now stared intently at me and Nameless.
"What? There're more losers?"
...How the hell did I end up a loser?
I had plenty to say, but as a perceptive adult, I barely held it in.
Lucius glanced at me with my eyes squeezed shut, looking a bit anxious, and spoke up.
"Your Grace, these are the people I wanted to introduce you to."
"Oh? Really?"
Hearing Lucius, the kid—no, Iron Blood—clambered down from the desk with grunts and toddled over to me and Nameless.
...31 years old, and acting like a total toddler.
Tch, what did Nameless see in a girl like that?
Everything rubbed me wrong, but I wasn't here to fight her, so I didn't show it.
Standing in front of Nameless, Iron Blood craned her neck way back to meet his eyes, then flashed that signature smug smile again.
"Heh... Your eyes are super pervy."
"...Pardon?"
Nameless tilted his head, clearly not getting it, but hearing that, I couldn't stay quiet.
She just called Nameless's eyes pervy, didn't she?
I stared at Nameless in shock.
Feeling my gaze, he hurriedly shook his head...
But Iron Blood kept talking regardless.
"Whoa~ Getting turned on by a little kid like that? Gross~"
"...What do you mean by that?"
...Surely it was my imagination that Iron Blood glanced at me.
Nameless frowned slightly at her words and met her eyes, and Iron Blood, meeting his gaze, smirked with one corner of her mouth and turned toward me.
"Whatever, got it~"
And then.
Just like with Nameless, she stared straight into my eyes.
Seizing the chance, I stared back into this annoying brat's eyes, gauging her power.
They said she had the empire's top martial prowess, right?
Earlier, when I'd glanced casually, I hadn't sensed much aura, so I hadn't realized she was Iron Blood.
But up close like this, I could properly confirm if she really was—and get a sense of that top-tier empire power indirectly...
I'd finally grasp this world's power balance, something I'd longed for.
Like that, Iron Blood and I stared into each other's eyes for a while.
Iron Blood spoke first.
"Whoa... Creepy... You're like a grandma?"
"...What?"
Veins bulged on my forehead.