Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: En Route to the Sword Saint
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If we succeeded not only in developing the mine but also in fully selling off the Queen's Twilight that we were now planning to offload, at least Melissa and I wouldn't have to worry about money for the rest of our lives.
Although House Cascadia was burning through a considerable military budget, we could now fully receive the subsidies coming down from the royal family to match it.
The territory would regain its former vitality, and the number of people affiliated with the family monitoring the Demon Realm would gradually increase.
That would greatly ease the burden of funding the investigation into Father, Mother, and little sister Arsha's accident.
The scope was vast, the danger level in that area was high, and it was a long-term endeavor, so it must have been quite a strain on Melissa.
Our group consisted of just the three of us: me, Luna, and the coachman driving the carriage.
We had originally planned to disguise ourselves as a small band of merchants to avoid drawing any eyes.
But as Melissa and I were aligning our stories, Luna closed her eyes and declared solemnly,
"Enclosed carriage. We must ride in an enclosed carriage."
An enclosed carriage—unlike a baggage wagon, it was a fairly luxurious carriage meant for nobles.
House Cascadia actually had several such carriages, but this time we'd planned to use a plain baggage wagon to avoid unnecessary attention.
"What are you talking about? It's already decided. We'll disguise ourselves as merchants and slip past prying—"
"Enclosed carriage!"
But she was more shameless than I'd expected. She probably figured she'd need one to enjoy snacks, ice cream, and chilled preserved foods from artifacts along the way.
Her thinking was obvious.
The fact that she was still clutching the coffee cookies I'd made was proof enough.
Neither Melissa nor I had accepted her as a long-term guest in the household just to blink at her throwing a tantrum like this.
"Cut the nonsense and eat your cookies. We're not changing a done deal. Not when there's still no word on those necromancers who attacked the capital."
As Melissa narrowed her eyes and grumbled, Luna pulled something from her bosom, held it high, and drew everyone's gaze.
Dazzling light! Crystal clear!
Oh... Lord have mercy.
"Enclosed carriage!!!"
What she'd produced was a massive gem radiating brilliant light.
"Leon, what are you waiting for? Have the finest carriage prepared."
Melissa's change of attitude was lightning-quick.
In the end, the plan was swiftly revised, and now we were riding in the carriage Father had secretly acquired behind Mother's back—only to get an earful for it—toward the Mielephon territory.
It was quite a high-end model, with good ride comfort and magical artifacts inside for storing tea and desserts.
Thinking back on it now made me chuckle wryly.
Speaking of Father, a thought occurred to me.
"Luna."
"Speak."
"Have you ever been to the afterlife?"
Someone who's faced a Death Lord-level necromancer would clearly recognize the existence of the afterlife.
It wasn't so much a world as a vast system. Like the rivers flowing through the mortal realm, the afterlife permeated everything.
It was where the souls of the dead went, and the cycle of reincarnation passed through.
I from my previous life must have died that way, reincarnated here as Leon Cascadia.
She savored the vanilla ice cream Mk-8 in her hand at my question, then shook her head.
"The afterlife isn't a place you can go."
"It isn't?"
"It exists, yet it doesn't. The afterlife is everywhere in this world, yet nowhere you can touch."
In other words, the afterlife wasn't located somewhere specific.
Like how you could turn a coin over forever from the heads side and never see tails.
"Even angels perceive it no differently. You already know this well enough, Leon."
"I asked because what I perceive might differ from the truth."
She spoke calmly, set down her empty ice cream bowl, and extended her hand to me.
"Hand over more."
"Seeing you enjoy it so much makes it worthwhile, at least."
I'd prepared plenty, expecting this.
To me, she was the ultimate sleeping pillow. And the Cascadia family's biggest benefactor.
Her beauty was undeniable, but take her at face value, and her eccentric antics would shock you.
In the end, ice cream like this didn't demand much technical prowess. Considering the value of that palm-sized gem she'd traded for this simple pleasure, I could serve her for life and never lose out.
A sudden thought struck me.
If this world I lived in had the technology and mindset of actual Earth's Middle Ages...
I'd probably consider my life utter hell.
Especially with memories of my previous life on modern Earth.
Street filth, abysmal human rights, petty wars everywhere.
Fantasy's romance and Earth's Middle Ages were light-years apart.
In that sense, this world resembled the Middle Ages, but magic filled many of those gaps instead of science.
The blessings of real gods also made human rights awareness starkly different from the past.
What I appreciated most was probably the difference in cleanliness.
"Keep scarfing it down like that, and you'll turn into a pig."
"......"
Undeterred by my mutter, she pressed on.
"I'll be fine."
I briefly imagined a chubby angel.
Sweating profusely as she rolled around like a ball.
Or too heavy to fly when she tried to take wing... Yeah, better not.
I turned my eyes to the documents Melissa had prepared, filled with essential info on the Empire.
Basic geography, culture, etiquette, details on House Mielephon where we were headed, and even intel on Black Friday—practically our final destination.
"Leon."
Luna, sucking on her ice cream, opened her eyes toward me.
"What."
"While we're away, what's the chance the territory gets attacked?"
After the chaos in the capital, the suspected necromancer cult had gone eerily quiet.
Given their nature, they'd strike again soon, so this silence was unnerving.
I didn't care about myself, but leaving Melissa alone in the territory gnawed at me.
"Of course I'm worried. We've taken precautions, but it's still unsettling."
I could protect myself, but Melissa? Even with the Death Knight spectralized in her shadow, anxiety surged.
So I'd secretly inscribed protective spells around her without her knowledge.
"How many, for reference?"
"About forty-three."
"You're insane."
I couldn't help worrying she'd get beaten up out there.
Part of me hoped their aggression turned my way, but another prayed they wouldn't discover we had the Queen's Twilight. Those conflicting wishes muddled my mind.
At minimum, we needed to keep everything hidden until we handed it off at Black Friday.
We arrived at Baekdel, the neighboring territory to Cascadia, and used its teleport array to head to the Mielephon lands, investing time there.
The journey itself was uneventful.
The roads weren't bandit-prone, nor did monsters leap out.
The Empire had advanced far beyond a minor kingdom like Bata.
Even its satellite cities outshone Bata's capital.
Quality of life, atmosphere, public safety—everything stood out.
The Mielephon territory was one such satellite city.
Of course, "satellite city" belied its status as a massive domain housing countless nobles.
One of the Empire's greatest houses.
One of the continent's Thirteen Great Families.
It wasn't surprising they held a satellite city instead of the capital proper; it proved their might.
A single house dominating an entire satellite city outright.
Merchants and noble carriages streamed in numbers far beyond my expectations.
At this point, bringing the enclosed carriage hardly mattered.
"Welcome, Young Master Leon."
Inspections were tight, but they didn't apply to me.
Thanks to Melissa's prior communication, we met the Mielephon servants waiting to greet us.
"Head maid of the annex, Misha."
Misha? Nowadays, maids packing that kind of skill were a thing?
"Are you a knight?"
"I'm a maid."
Hmm... Ah.
"Ah, a former knight?"
"No, a maid from the start."
Hmm, right. Ah!
"Ah, aspiring knight?"
"No. Maid through and through."
Got it, that was her shtick. Fine by me.
"The Young Master has been awaiting you. Please follow."
With an emotionless face, she spoke flatly and turned, leading us on.
Passing quiet boulevards fit for nobility, an astonishingly vast mansion came into view to greet us.
"Bigger than I imagined."
At least in Bata Kingdom, I'd never seen a single noble house's estate this grand.
That said, we entered not through the main gate but a side one on the outskirts.
Letting word spread that an important guest like me used the side entrance would bruise House Mielephon's pride.
But they'd accommodated our request to keep our visit quiet.
"The Sword Saint awaits."
Perhaps because he was the Mielephon I'd tangled with longest, he came to greet me personally.
I parked the carriage, brought Luna along, and followed the head maid Misha.
Most other servants were ordinary folk, it seemed.
I'd thought becoming a Mielephon servant required immense skill, but apparently not.
Soon we reached a grand reception room, where Misha quietly knocked.
"My lord, Young Master Leon has arrived."
"Oh ho, come in, come in!"
A warm voice echoed from within. Misha flung open the doors and bowed to me.
"Please, enter."
Inside the reception room stood the man I'd met before—Sword Saint Osberg Mielephon—and his attendant from last time, Bagmut Mielephon.
"Heh heh. Never dreamed my prospective grandson-in-law would visit."
At his jest, I narrowed my eyes.