Chapter 46
On the way back to my room after leaving the party hall.
“Do you like Noah Roheim?”
The sudden question made me stop walking and look at Calix Krauvel.
He also stopped and simply turned his head to look at me.
“You looked disappointed when I said I’d escort you. I thought perhaps it was because you liked him.”
“That’s not the case.”
I answered firmly. I hated being misunderstood for no reason.
“Why? Noah Roheim is handsome enough.”
He asked with a crooked smile, looking strangely amused.
“He is handsome. But he’s not my type.”
“Your standards are quite high for someone who doesn’t look it.”
That was an insult, wasn’t it?
“Well, after seeing someone as handsome as me, I suppose that’s understandable.”
“…What?”
What did I just hear?
“Are you serious?”
“Do I look like the kind of person who makes trivial jokes about something like that?”
The problem was that he really didn’t look like that kind of person.
“Don’t you feel embarrassed saying something like that?”
“Not at all.”
When I asked out of genuine curiosity, he answered without the slightest hesitation.
“I simply stated a fact. Why would I be embarrassed?”
As annoying as it was, it was also true.
Even viewed upside down, his face was so handsome that admiration came naturally.
Still, don’t people usually avoid saying things like that about themselves?
Being this shameless could be considered a talent in its own way.
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I was about to follow Calix Krauvel again when—
[Surprise Quest Occurred!]
A translucent system window appeared before my eyes.
[Q. Hear Calix Krauvel say you are pretty.]
[Reward: 50,000p]
…There’s another crazy one here.
Ah, right. The system was never sane to begin with.
I had already heard many people say I looked pretty today, and even in my own opinion I looked fairly decent.
So the quest itself didn’t seem difficult.
The problem was that the person I had to hear it from was Calix Krauvel.
Why him out of all the people in the world?
A silent scream erupted inside me.
If it were a Sub Quest, I would have given up despite the tempting reward.
But this was a Surprise Quest with penalties.
If I refused, not only would I lose the reward, my life would decrease as well.
This is driving me crazy.
How am I supposed to do this?
“Why are you standing there instead of following?”
While I was agonizing over it, Calix Krauvel—who had already walked ahead—turned and asked.
“My Lord…”
I awkwardly closed the distance and spoke carefully.
“Do you perhaps have something to say to me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… I mean about how I look. Don’t you have anything to say when you see me?”
As shameless as I could be, I still couldn’t bring myself to directly ask if I looked pretty today.
“I don’t.”
I thought he was perceptive enough to catch the hint, but apparently not.
“If you want something from me, say it properly. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”
I wanted to say it, but the words wouldn’t come out.
A deep sigh rose from the depths of my chest.
I was just gathering the courage to speak again when he spoke first.
“Are you perhaps hoping to hear that you look pretty?”
Instead of answering, I widened my eyes.
Taking that as confirmation, Calix Krauvel chuckled and slowly looked me up and down.
“You’re quite far from deserving to hear something like that. Though the dress is pretty. The Marchioness of House Smith certainly has good taste.”
[Surprise Quest Completed!]
[You will receive 50,000 Points as a reward.]
The completion window appeared the moment he finished speaking.
So praising the dress also counts.
Thinking about it, the quest only said I had to hear that something was pretty. It never specified what.
Realizing that I had worried unnecessarily made my cheeks flush slightly.
“Right? I couldn’t take my eyes off it the moment I first saw it. I must remember to thank the Marchioness for lending me such a beautiful dress.”
Relieved that the Surprise Quest had been cleared safely, I was about to start walking again when—
“You’re pretty too.”
The unexpected words made me stop mid-step.
Bathed in the moonlight pouring through the wide window, Calix Krauvel smiled faintly and added,
“You look very pretty today.”
The morning of the day we returned to Belheim.
My bag had become much heavier because the Marchioness and several others had given me various gifts as tokens of gratitude.
Carrying it, I stepped out of my room.
“Please give it to me. I’ll carry it.”
Noah Roheim, who had been waiting outside, tried to take the bag.
I shook my head.
“It’s fine. I can carry it myself.”
“It looks heavy. Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
Just then Calix Krauvel appeared together with Marquis Howell Smith.
The moment I saw him, the words he had said the previous night came back to mind.
“You look very pretty today.”
I had heard many people say similar things, but strangely his voice lingered in my head the most.
Perhaps because I had never expected to hear such words from him.
I had been staring at him absentmindedly, but when our eyes met, I hurriedly turned my head away.
“It’s truly regrettable that you’re leaving already.”
Marquis Howell Smith said as he patted my shoulder.
“Once the retention basin and sluice gate construction are finished, please visit Nubiar again. We must hold a celebration banquet.”
“Yes. I’ll look forward to it.”
I had no intention of attending such a party, but I did want to see the completed retention basin and sluice gate in person.
While greeting the other officials of Nubiar, I spotted a familiar face.
It was Conrad Marlow, who had previously come all the way to Belheim to escort me here.
The magic portal consumed mana every time something passed through it.
And the amount increased exponentially for living beings.
That was why Conrad Marlow had said he would travel by train instead of using the portal.
He must have arrived in Nubiar not long ago, because his face looked exhausted.
“It’s been a while, Sir Conrad Marlow.”
When I greeted him, he flinched and glanced cautiously at Calix Krauvel standing behind me.
“…Indeed. It’s been a while. I have some business, so I’ll take my leave.”
Then he moved to a more inconspicuous spot.
It looked like he had fled because he was afraid of Calix Krauvel.
Just how badly has he been tormented to react like that?
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“Now that I think about it, the Young Marquis Smith is nowhere to be seen.”
Calix Krauvel looked around and spoke in a tone that sounded like a mutter yet was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Both Marquis Howell Smith and I flinched.
“He seems to have overexerted himself enjoying the party last night and fell ill.”
Marquis Howell Smith gave an awkward smile as he explained.
“I deeply apologize, Your Highness the Archduke.”
“Indeed. It seems you need to improve how you educate your son, Marquis Smith.”
His words were filled with sharp thorns.
Marquis Howell Smith seemed to sense it as well and began sweating nervously, repeatedly apologizing and promising to discipline his son properly.
“Then we will activate the magic portal.”
At Marquis Howell Smith’s order, a man inserted a large Arcana Stone into the magic portal gate, activating it.
Seeing the gate ripple like water, a delayed wave of anxiety washed over me.
Will I pass through it successfully this time?
Last time I had failed several times before barely managing to cross.
Even then, I wasn’t sure whether it had been because of the strange voice I heard, the mysterious hand that seemed to pull me, or Calix Krauvel.
Come to think of it, what was that voice?
The curiosity came late, but it didn’t last long.
“Then I’ll go first.”
Just like before, Noah Roheim stepped into the portal first.
Seeing him pass through safely made my heart pound even harder.
Please let me cross safely too.
“Wait.”
Just as I was about to step into the portal, hoping desperately, Calix Krauvel stopped me.
“Hold my arm.”
“…What?”
“You grabbed me last time and managed to cross safely. So grab it.”
It wasn’t certain that was the reason, but it was possible, so I obediently held his arm.
“Let’s go.”
Together with Calix Krauvel, I stepped into the portal.
Warm light swallowed us, and it felt as though we had sunk into deep water.
Soon the blinding brightness faded, and I slowly opened my tightly shut eyes.
The familiar interior of the castle tower appeared before me.
It was the western castle tower of the Lord’s Castle in Belheim.
We made it.
I had been worried I might end up stranded in Nubiar alone.
Fortunately that didn’t happen.
“Just as I thought, it only works when I’m here.”
As I sighed in relief, Calix Krauvel spoke with a deeply satisfied expression.