The Royal Capital Barga (5)
Calling it a bathroom didn't mean there was anything particularly special about it. It just had a bit of drainage, a tub, and a magic tool.
Or was that special at this point in time? When people pictured a fantasy bathroom, they tended to imagine gleaming marble and a lavish bathing hall — and this had none of that.
As long as the hot water came out fine, that was enough for me.
I soaked myself from head to toe in hot water, scrubbed my body and hair with the soap I'd set out beforehand, then rinsed everything off again. Shower done.
I hadn't brought a change of clothes, so I put the same ones back on, but I still felt refreshed.
For a commoner, changing clothes often was a luxury to begin with.
"Have you finished washing?"
"Yeah, I just rinsed off roughly. Young Master, don't you want to wash too?"
"Pardon?"
Why was he pretending not to understand?
"You worked up a sweat too, Young Master."
"I-I'm fine!"
"Fine? You smell. Go wash. There's soap, so scrub properly, got it?"
I breezed right past him. The Young Master just stood there frozen in place. I had no idea what his problem was, but he really was adorable.
Wondering what to do with myself, I wandered around the mansion. In the kitchen, Sister Mary — who'd risen early — was already preparing breakfast.
"You're already done?"
I'd gone to help, only to find breakfast completely finished.
"Yes. Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
"Something I'd like?"
"Yes. I expect I'll need to go to the market again this afternoon."
Uh… nothing in particular came to mind.
"Everything you cook is delicious, Mary, so anything's fine."
"Is that so?"
I wasn't picky about food to begin with. There had been plenty of times I couldn't eat at all — how could I afford to be choosy?
Once my older sister woke up, we all sat down to breakfast together.
"What do you plan to do today?"
When the Young Master asked, Sister Mary's eyes lit up. She was itching to drag me to the temple no matter what.
Sorry, Sister Mary, but the temple would have to wait a little — just a little longer.
"Hmm? There were some books in the study. I thought I might look through those."
I figured I'd spend the time reading at a leisurely pace.
"W-what about visiting the temple?"
Sister Mary refused to give up and asked me directly.
"I can go to the temple anytime."
Technically the study was the place I could visit anytime, but… when I made a face, Sister Mary hung her head. Seeing her like that, I did feel a little bad.
"What about you, Sis?"
"Gonna rest."
Apparently my sister wanted to laze around.
After clearing the dishes, I went to the study and looked over what books were there.
There was quite a variety. Fairy tales, novels, etiquette manuals, treatises on tactics? Books on fashion trends, books on economics — really all sorts of things. Master's used bookstore had books like these too. I'd simply been too busy learning magic and holy magic and puzzling over alchemy to give them any attention.
I pulled out an etiquette manual and started reading. Honestly, the book was incredibly dull. It took so long to turn each page that finishing the whole thing would take more than a day.
And as I read, I realized something…
I thought I understood why the Young Master had been acting the way he had.
It was written so blatantly in the book that I couldn't have remained ignorant even if I'd wanted to.
Methods for a man to escort a woman…
"Why do nobles even learn this stuff?"
"To win a lady's heart, of course."
"Pfft — what kind of nonsense is that?"
I burst out laughing at his words. Etiquette, and it was for seducing women?
"That's what the men say among themselves, at least."
Apparently they looked at all the excessively considerate rules toward women and joked that way.
"Is it interesting?"
"No? It's so boring I keep zoning out."
Apparently that was the opposite of what he'd expected, because the Young Master laughed.
"I was the same when I had to learn it."
He'd mastered it because he needed to, but said he'd rather have spent the time swinging a sword.
"Hmm… Young Master, why didn't you join the knight order?"
I'd heard he'd posted outstanding results in the Academy's knighthood track. Surely the knight order would have wanted him.
The Young Master suddenly looked at me with the strangest expression.
"What?"
"It's nothing. I was just surprised that Miss Julian was asking about me."
Come to think of it, I rarely asked about his personal affairs. I'd mostly just listened while he talked on his own and only asked when something piqued my curiosity…
I almost never questioned him directly like this.
"No reason? I just don't have anything else to do."
Looking pleased, the Young Master launched into his story.
"It's not a particularly special reason. It's because I'm the heir."
Ah, because he was the heir? I supposed a knight order was like a workplace.
Would they recruit someone who'd leave after a year or two?
Even with Academy training, the knowledge needed in the field would be different. Turning someone into a proper knight would require education.
But an heir set to inherit a title? He'd marry soon, return to his territory soon, and start his succession lessons.
"So that's why you weren't selected?"
"I wasn't passed over — I never applied. Our territory borders the frontier, and the barbarians keep stirring up trouble, so we needed fighting strength."
So instead of joining the knight order, he'd gone straight back to his territory and begun his life as a knight there.
"Heeh… if you lived as a knight in your own territory, weren't you basically living like a king?"
"Miss Julian, like a king? You mustn't say such things."
"Hm? Then like a lord?"
The Young Master pressed his temple and sank into thought. Had I phrased that weirdly?
"In any case, I lived as a knight in the territory."
"Hmm… I see."
"Most people who show outstanding ability at the Academy are in a similar situation."
Most of them were eldest or second sons of some territory, so rather than joining the knight order, they returned home and served as knights there.
"That must be inconvenient from the king's perspective."
"What can you do? Territories need knights too…"
Apparently, those who typically entered the knight order were commoners who'd shown enough talent to get into the Academy, or nobles who were third sons or lower.
"By the time you're a third son, you've already fallen behind in the succession at home, so you join the central knight order and try to make a place for yourself."
And if the times happened to favor them and they distinguished themselves, some even founded new houses, or so he said.
"I see…"
"Besides that, there are cases where sons are forcibly sent to the knight order to demonstrate loyalty."
Among high-ranking nobles, some sent their eldest or second sons to the knight order. Since the heir's seat wouldn't be handed over for another ten to fifteen years anyway, they spent that time active at the center, building connections and proving their loyalty…
"Being a noble sounds really hard."
I closed the book and simply enjoyed listening to the Young Master's stories.
When lunchtime came, we ate again.
"Will you read more books?"
"Hmm?"
There were a few others besides the etiquette manual that had caught my eye, but I didn't particularly feel like picking them up.
"Th-then how about visiting the temple?"
"The temple…"
It was a hassle, but I supposed I had to go eventually.
"Going to the temple sounds fine."
The Young Master agreed with Sister Mary.
"Why?"
"If you speak with the temple, you can send letters for free, can't you?"
Uh… that was true, wasn't it? If I asked them to send something, would they refuse? They'd deliver it with the utmost devotion.
"I was thinking of sending a letter to my territory myself. Why don't we send them together?"
Hmm… what with all the traveling here and there, it had taken nearly two months to reach the capital. Sending word to my adoptive parents and letting Master know what I'd discovered seemed like a good idea.
And using the temple to send letters for free wasn't a bad deal either.
"Shall we?"
The moment I responded positively, Sister Mary shot to her feet.
"Let's go right away!"
Faced with the eager light in Sister Mary's eyes, it was hard to say I wasn't going. And I did want to send those letters.
"Are you coming, Sis?"
"Yeah. Let's send letters."
It was a bother, but I got ready to go out. I'd been lounging around the mansion in comfortable clothes, so I changed and put on a coat as well…
"Is there anything I should bring…?"
"The temple is well stocked with most things, so you needn't worry."
That was probably true…
In the end, aside from grabbing my pendant, I stepped out empty-handed and light.
"At last, we're going to the temple."
Sister Mary wore a strange expression — half relief, half enlightenment. I would have gone eventually even without all this…
I wondered what she took me for.
"Ah! On the way back, let's look for some materials to make soap."
"Soap? Making it is fine, but why not simply buy some?"
"That'd be a waste of money. We've got plenty of ash — we just need to pick up some soapwort."
"And how exactly do you propose to find soapwort in here?"
The Young Master wasn't wrong.
"If I mention it at the temple, I'm sure they'll track some down for me."
When I said it in a lazy tone, Sister Mary nodded.
"Of course we would bring it and offer it to you."
"Ahh, for today I'll just send the letters and think about what to do with alchemy."
I still hadn't managed to make the potion I'd been hoping for, but the soap and Fram were useful enough. Beyond that, handing over the tanned leather recipe would bring the Order considerable profit, and releasing the Scrap Iron recipe would strengthen the Order's armaments.
Even setting aside gunpowder, Fram, and the poison pellets as too dangerous…
There were a few worthwhile recipes.
Soap and tanned leather in particular could become major pillars in building the Order's strength right away.
"Do you intend to make them public?"
Sister Mary asked carefully.
"That's the dilemma. Soap alone I could probably release… but releasing only soap feels like a bit of a waste."
"Please do as you see fit. Even if you choose not to release anything, no one will be disappointed."
I could only manage a bitter smile at Sister Mary's words. Sooner or later, I'd have to make them public. Still… it was a bit early for that, wasn't it?
The Order's temple stood between the Upper and Lower Districts. In terms of location it was on the opposite side from the Academy, but the temple occupied a vast stretch of ground between the two tiers. It wasn't a bad position for interacting with both sides.
The temple was obviously sprawling, and the buildings were huge.
In fact, you could see it from the mansion if you bothered to look.
"It's… pretty close, isn't it?"
We hadn't walked long at all before we arrived. A wall ran around the temple grounds, though it wasn't particularly high.
"Isn't it magnificent?"
Sister Mary looked at the temple, then clasped her hands in a prayerful pose.
"Yeah… sure."
Even compared to the temple at the headquarters in Wizheim, it didn't look inferior.
From what I'd roughly gathered, it had been built large, tall, and lavish to display the Order's prestige. Even so, they'd been mindful of the kingdom and made it just a touch less grand than the royal palace.
But it didn't particularly move me. If anything, the temple at headquarters was more my taste.
"Hah… I don't want to go…"
As I heaved a deep sigh and hesitated, Sister Mary hurried over and tightly took my hand.
"S-Saintess, please…"
Ugh. For Sister Mary's desperate sake alone, I supposed I had to go.