Lindbergh (6)

"Large-caliber Marmaros rounds? Is there really a situation where you'd need those?"

Alice's expression looked quite serious.

"I am merely having them made in case such a day ever comes."

Truthfully, I didn't know if a day would ever come when I would actually need to use them either. I was just having them made for now. In case I ever found myself on a battlefield again, there was no telling when such specialty ammunition might become necessary.

But Alice seemed most concerned about the fact that 'I' had ordered such rounds.

Of course, she had every reason to think so. I had been acting as though I could read the future all this time. It wasn't unreasonable for her to assume that my ordering such ammunition meant I was operating under the assumption that 'they would be used someday.'

"I do not move while anticipating every single future, you know. I merely prepare various things to be useful in any situation because I do not know what might happen in the future."

At the very least, they would be useful when fighting the giant mythical beasts that appeared in the later parts of the story. They might even be able to take down a creature like a Gryphon.

"......."

Alice seemed to have nothing left to say to my words, but she did not appear to have completely abandoned her suspicions either.

By the time we returned to the hotel, lunchtime was almost over.

The shopkeeper, perhaps unwilling to lose a customer like me, had contacted the company manufacturing the rounds to confirm whether custom ammunition could be made. He even gave me a firm answer that if the order could not be completed while I was here, he would arrange delivery. So I ended up filling out various paperwork and signing a check.

In particular, top-grade Marmaros was practically treated as an item equal to or even above tremendously expensive jewels, so I even had to take out one-time insurance for it.

I wasn't particularly worried about the money since the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠imperial family would be paying for it.

"Still, a rhinoceros is something you can manage to take down with a sword."

"......."

Hearing Leo mutter that, I felt like I understood why Sophia had ended up so tattered.

Even within the same swordsmanship, the principles for fighting people were different from fighting beasts. Even if Leo had once defeated Sophia at the point of Part 2, that didn't mean it was comparable to 'rhinoceros hunting.'

Besides, Leo and the rest of the protagonist's party weren't in their right minds at that time due to the circumstances.

"You use a gun, not a sword, Sister."

Claire said, patting Leo on the back.

Well, that was true.

No matter how much I swung a sword, I could never catch up to those two.

I just hoped my skills wouldn't end up holding these kids back later.

"Hm."

Charlotte, who had been walking along ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and quietly listening to our conversation, suddenly made that sound.

"What is it?"

"Ah, it's nothing much. It's just that Jake and Lottie are over there."

Charlotte's expression as she said that wasn't particularly bright.

It was the same for Charlotte, Alice, Leo, and Claire. It was because everyone still remembered what had happened yesterday.

"Did something happen yesterday?"

Lena asked, having noticed the atmosphere.

"Ah, well......."

Alice opened her mouth to answer Lena, then promptly closed it again. She had every reason to.

Talk of commoners and illegitimate children was heard everywhere, but speaking of a friend in such a way was a breach of etiquette.

Moreover, Lottie's mother was not just any commoner. She was a colonial native, so in a way, simply stating that fact could come across as an 'insult.'

"......."

Seeing Alice's expression, Lena did not inquire further about the details.

"We can't just ignore them and walk past, though."

It was Claire who spoke first.

"...... Right. We attend the same academy, and he's Jake's friend."

The moment Leo said that, everyone's gaze was drawn to him. Even my gaze and Lena's.

"What, what? Did I say something strange......?"

"Good grief."

Claire sighed openly, as if she meant for Leo to hear.

Apparently, Leo seemed to be the only one here who didn't know that Jake liked Lottie in a romantic sense.

Well, in the original story, he never noticed the attention directed at him either.

While I was debating whether patting Leo on the shoulder would go against my character concept,

"Hey!"

Those two noticed us first from over there.

We couldn't ignore Jake, who was smiling brightly and waving his hand toward us, so we all flocked over to where Jake and Lottie were.

"Where did you all go together like that?"

"We stopped by a weapons shop for a moment. I wanted to see what kind of weapons are used around here."

"Ah......."

Jake's expression became a little subtle.

"There's hardly anything useful, right? Most of it's for hunting. With your skills, you could hunt without needing those things anyway."

Hoh.

Seeing Jake's expression as he asked if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunting was possible, he seemed to feel some aversion to hunting elephants or rhinoceroses.

Was he like that in the original story too?

Come to think of it, Jake barely joined the party in this episode of the original story.

It didn't seem like he was an environmentalist or a vegetarian, though...... I decided to tuck that thought into a corner of my mind for now.

"The bullet diameter is large, so several methods of utilization came to mind. I am on my way back from ordering a few custom rounds."

"Is that so......?"

Jake shrugged his shoulders.

"If you judged them to be so, then they must be that useful. Ah, right. Why don't you sit instead of standing around like that? Though we'll probably need a few tables for everyone to sit down."

"I wonder if I might be interrupting your time together."

I couldn't read any sign of annoyance on Lottie's face, but Lottie had always been skilled at hiding her expressions.

"You guys are welcome."

Maybe the reason he didn't add 'especially after what happened yesterday' was because Lena was with us.

We all looked at each other, then carefully took our seats...... and the people who sat at the same table as Jake and Lottie were me and Lena.

...... What was this. It wasn't as if anyone had arranged the seating.

I knew that Lena had been following me around a bit since the second semester started, but I hadn't expected her to boldly claim a seat at the same table like this.

Though, I supposed it was more natural since the rest of our group had gone to the next table on their own.

"Do you usually spend time like this often?"

"Of course."

Jake said with a smile.

"We've been together like this ever since we were kids."

"......."

Lottie said nothing.

"Are you childhood friends?"

"Oh?"

Jake reacted to Lena's question as if surprised.

I didn't remember ever seeing Jake and Lena talk directly before. I wasn't sure if she had become more proactive because I was beside her, or if it was just a part of her following my example.

At the very least, Lena didn't seem to be someone who 'couldn't' speak up because she was 'too timid' like Mia Crowfield. Seeing her ask so boldly without even stammering.

...... Had she simply never felt the need to talk to him before?

"Do we look that way?"

"Otherwise, how could a man and a woman always be together like that?"

At those words, Lottie's shoulders flinched. Jake let out another "Oh." sound.

Lena tilted her head as if she found their reactions strange.

"Lena Meyer. Right?"

"That is correct. I would prefer if you called me Meyer."

...... She drew a firm line.

"Alright, Meyer."

Jake asked with a grin.

"What do you think about love between a commoner and a noble?"

"Is there even a need to think anything of it?"

"Right?"

I inwardly admired Lena's boldness.

No, rather than boldness, maybe her mind was simply a blank slate. Somehow, I had a feeling that if you asked Lena how babies were made, she would seriously ponder it and then say you just pick one up somewhere.

"Then, what about two such people getting married?"

"Is there any legal problem with that?"

"Hm, I wonder."

Jake thought for a moment before speaking.

"The marriage itself isn't a problem, but issues could arise regarding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the position of the legal wife."

"......."

Lottie kept her mouth shut the entire time she listened to this conversation.

"If you marry only one person from the start, is there any reason to be concerned about things like a legal wife?"

Lena tilted her head as if she truly didn't understand and looked at me.

"How is it in the Autonomous State?"

"If you did that in the Autonomous State, you could be murdered by your wife."

"......."

"Pfft."

I was left speechless by Lena's words, and Jake burst into laughter. Lena looked at Jake, who was laughing heartily, as if he were strange.

"I see, hmm, definitely, I don't want to die, so I should be careful."

Apparently, the women of the north were much stronger than I thought.

Uh, now that I thought about it, it did seem true. Even just looking at the information desk attendant or Jennifer.

"Then let me ask one more thing."

Jake, who had barely managed to stop laughing, now had a slightly more serious expression as he asked,

"What do you think about not being able to marry because of skin color?"

Jake asked.

Lottie’s shoulders flinched again.

"There are many people with dark skin in the north as well. Especially those at the bases in the snowy mountains, who get tanned like fishermen because of the sunlight reflected off the white snowfields."

"But someone's skin color might be different from birth."

"Is not everyone's skin color different from birth in the first place?"

Lena spoke as if she was having difficulty grasping the point of this ongoing conversation.

"Just as Princess Alice and Princess Sylvia have slightly different skin tones, and Claire and Charlotte have slightly different skin tones, does not every person have a different complexion?"

"That's an interesting assertion."

At Jake's words, Lena furrowed her brow slightly.

"And I, Lord Lindbergh—"

"You can just call me Jake."

"—Lord Jake, I have never seen a 'white' version of you."

Lottie's mouth fell open slightly.

Lena remained silent for a moment with a blank expression, as if seriously pondering something, then said,

"Skin color could be included in one's personal preferences, I suppose...... but if someone has come to like a certain person, and their skin color does not fall within their criteria, is there a reason to deliberately prevent the marriage?"

The more I listened to her talk, the more intensely curious I became about what kind of country the Autonomous State was. Was her home education extraordinary, had the circumstances of the Autonomous State shaped Lena's way of thinking this way, or if not, was it simply Lena's own personality?

"Since skin color is something that changes easily depending on the situation, I believe that judging a person solely by their skin color can lead to erroneous results in future evaluations."

"Hey, I really like you."

"......."

Upon hearing Jake's words, Lena subtly moved her chair a little closer to me.

...... That, well, that last evaluation seemed to have clearly included Jake's own skin color.

Of course, I wasn't so tactless as to bring that up for no good reason and ruin the mood.