Chapter 39
Chapter 39
'Collecting information on black mages?'
This hadn't been in the original novel.
'They caught a black mage because of me!'
Originally, the black mages hadn't been detected when they used the western port.
But when Leopold arrested them at the scene, the future had changed.
'If things I don't know about keep happening like this, won't I eventually become normal? Like ordinary people who don't know the future, I mean.'
A sense of anticipation slowly welled up inside me.
"I've never seen a black mage in the central region."
Alpheus said nonchalantly.
"Of course, there could be some, but none have caught my eye. Ah, on the way to the central region, I did run into a few in the east."
"I see. If you happen to have any other information, please let me know at any time."
In any case, Baron Forman was extremely pleased when we served him dinner.
"Ohh, veal steak. It seems you can eat beef now that exchanges with Joachim County have begun."
It was actually beef from cattle we had started raising ourselves, but I didn't bother to point that out.
Baron Forman hesitated a great deal before emptying his plate.
"The etiquette of leaving a little food behind should be done away with now, I suppose."
I agreed.
"Baron, I've thought that for a long time. Leaving food behind is the most dreadful rule in western etiquette."
In a time of food shortages, it was truly an anachronistic custom.
Baron Forman smiled gently and looked out at the garden as he asked. Until just a little while ago, it had been the land where Alpheus was diligently farming.
"What are you planting, my lady?"
"Corn."
We were planting corn in the garden and the rear garden.
Because it was midsummer, there was a limit to the grains we could choose. Corn seed had been hard to obtain, but fortunately, as soon as the Warp started working, we had just managed to get some from another region.
The money had to be raised by selling the remaining potatoes.
'We really were that broke back then... And we still are now.'
Alpheus said that since the Warp was working now, he would try asking the Second Imperial Prince for compensation again.
But this was the reply that came from the imperial palace.
[The Second Imperial Prince received an imperial command to investigate the 'Sleep Curse' and was dispatched to the south yesterday.]
"Well, since it's just an investigation, he'll be back soon. Once the Second Imperial Prince returns to the imperial palace and contacts us, we can go right away. We'll just have to wait, I suppose."
And so Alpheus had been farming while waiting for the Second Imperial Prince's contact.
Contacting the south would have been useless anyway. According to procedure, the Second Imperial Prince had to personally ask the Emperor for the compensation.
"No, why corn all of a sudden..."
"It seems the western grain yield won't be at a normal year's level."
As if I'd hit the mark, Baron Forman flinched.
"How did you know?"
"That's something you can learn just by going to the seed market."
I had actually gone to the seed market myself because it was the most important matter.
That was when it happened.
"Well then, shall we depart?"
Alpheus appeared, neatly changed into fresh clothes.
"So, um, you're saying we've been invited? Alright, we'll get ready right away! Let's go as soon as you finish your meal!"
"Excuse me?"
Baron Forman was eating his dessert, milk pudding, when he paused with his spoon in hand, bewildered.
He laughed awkwardly and said,
"Ah....... Marquess, you intend to go as well? And you intend to depart right now?"
Alpheus tilted his head and asked,
"Brisa is still young, so, um, shouldn't a guardian accompany her? Ah, is there a set date for the invitation, by any chance?"
"Ah, well, th-that's true, but. As for the timing, well, there's no urgency, so just let us know whenever it's convenient and come visit."
"Aha! Then let's go now! Right now is convenient for us!"
Alpheus said brightly.
"Actually, I have to collect money from...... no, beg...... no, ask the Second Imperial Prince for something, so, um, I don't know when I'll have time if not now."
It was his determination to get through the schedule as quickly as possible, since he would have to rush to the imperial palace the moment the Second Imperial Prince contacted him.
Baron Forman glanced at me as if at a loss.
"Er, what does Lady Brisa think of that..."
"I think it's not good."
I said with a sigh.
"I've told him several times not to make that 'um' sound in the middle."
I was the one who had been invited, but there was no particular reason not to bring Alpheus along.
I had wanted to give Alpheus some experience dealing with noble houses anyway. If the first was House Forman, that was excellent. At the very least, Baron Forman was not the sort of person who would openly disregard Alpheus.
"Then we'll get ready! Baron, let's go together!"
Alpheus declared heartily.
"A trip with our Bribr— no, with Brisa! I'm so excited!"
I sighed and gave him a warning.
"Don't get too excited. You have to put on a serious expression when we get there. You heard, didn't you? The west is having trouble with black mages."
"Ah, really? Sorry..."
"You shouldn't say sorry so easily either. It makes it seem like you owe them something."
"Ack, you're right. Then I should do this."
Alpheus silently bowed his head deeply toward Baron Forman.
I stomped hard on Alpheus's foot.
"Bowing your head is even worse. Especially to someone of lower rank, it's absolutely something you must never do. It makes both sides uncomfortable."
"I-is that so? Then, um, what do I do if I've already bowed my head like now?"
"Just lie down. And say you didn't bow your head, you collapsed from anemia, and call for a doctor."
Listening to our conversation, Baron Forman laughed awkwardly. He looked as though he hadn't expected us to say we would leave for the west immediately.
'Of course, no one departs the moment they're invited.'
Still, I had no particular intention of opposing Alpheus's opinion.
'According to the original novel, the Warp will remain unstable going forward.'
In the original novel, only the southern Warp was described as a complete mess, but that didn't mean I could be certain the western Warp was perfectly fine.
The west's problems might simply have gone unmentioned because the region lay outside the protagonist's usual sphere of activity.
'So let's move quickly while there's no particular problem.'
Of course, I couldn't say that, so I sided with Alpheus.
'If I go west, will I be able to meet Leopold? House Forman is Leopold's maternal family, after all.'
But now a new purpose had arisen.
'I need to hear the circumstances from Leopold.'
I wanted to live. To do that, I absolutely had to know the identities of those who had targeted me.
Even if the black mages of the Kingdom of Sebon simply wanted to kill me because I had Liente blood mixed in, shouldn't I at least know all the circumstances of the matter?
'I couldn't afford to be stuck here knowing nothing and then get attacked.'
And one more thing.
This was something I didn't know whether it would come true or not, but I wanted to see the western land once.
'According to the original novel, problems keep arising across that vast land.......'
No matter how much we tried to be self-sufficient in our own way, the greatest benefit would come from the productivity of the entire continent improving.
The vast lands of the west were an irreplaceable resource in themselves.
'I won't go sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong... but still, if they ask for help, I should at least take a look.'
Of course, the likelihood of that was low.
'I doubt there will be anything that actually requires a guest to step in personally, though.'
I was a child who knew her place, after all.
In any case, for many reasons, I wanted to go west quickly, even though the decision ran contrary to noble common sense.
'Well, it's not my decision, it's Alpheus's decision.'
Baron Forman, having thought it over and judged it to be no big deal, nodded readily.
"Then since you're coming, stay for a few days."
He suggested gently.
"Do visit the pride of our territory, the magic library, as well."
And so, one hour later.
We gathered our party and decided to move to the central Warp.
"Now, west... Nozen... magic library... front, Wesean Cave."
Baron Forman calmly input the coordinates into the Warp.
Warps were usually installed in remote places where people didn't pass through. The central Warp where we now stood was likewise situated atop a hill.
"All right, we're off."
Then, once all of us were standing on the massive Warp, just as the magic circle began to envelop us—
"Whoa, whoaah?"
"Wh-wh-wh-what, something's strange?"
Both Alpheus and I felt a strange energy, our feet trembling.
'This is absurd! The Warp is already a mess?'
Just as panic seized me and I was about to scream—
"Eek!"
"Aaaahhh!"
Just as I finally screamed and clung to Alpheus—
"Brisa! Brisa!"
As if by magic, my feet touched the ground.
But that place... was not inside the cave we had expected.