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nRyouma ended up accompanying Elialia as her guard until Sebasu called them over to the inn. Presently, they were already at the inn confirming their reservation, but…

n“Oww…” Elialia

n“Are you alright, Ojousama?” Ryouma

n“Yes, my feet are just a little tired. Are you not affected by the carriage, Ryouma-san?” Elialia

n“I don’t have any problems with them.” Ryouma

nA little butt ache wasn’t really going to affect someone like Ryouma who possessed both a stupid amount of stamina and level 8 pain resistance.

nBut Elialia was a little down after hearing Ryouma’s response. He was a kid her age, and yet he was perfectly fine.

nSeeing that, one of the maids called out to her.

n“The first time hurts for everyone, Ojousama.” Arone

n“Arone?” Elialia

n“Once you’ve gotten used to riding, the pain will also cease. Ryouma-sama, you seem to be fine despite the long trip, could you possibly have some experience with horses?” Arone

n“No, this is… my first time too.” Ryouma

n“Really? I thought for sure you had experience with how well you took it.” Arone

n“I’ve never ridden one before, but… I have ran alongside, one while pulling a carriage.” Ryouma

nIn Ryouma’s school days, part of his running routine was to run alongside a horse while pulling a rickshaw. He’s actually quite fast too, being able to outrun a horse several times. Because of that he was scouted by a rickshaw man, and he started working part time as one.

nRyouma reminisced about those times as he said that last sentence, but unfortunately, from the perspective of Elialia and Arone, they could only take Ryouma’s story as him being abused and made into a horse’s replacement.

nBecause of that misunderstanding, the conversation abruptly stopped and the air quickly became grim.

n(…What’s wrong with everyone? Did I say something strange?…)

nThe odds of getting found out increased in proportion with how much he talked about his past, so he intentionally muddied his statement, but because of that thoughtless remark of his just now, Arone and Elialia have suddenly found themselves with a grim expression.

nRyouma himself didn’t know that he was the cause for the sudden change in the atmosphere, but he tried changing the topic anyway.

n“Umm… Ojousama, have you never gone out… until now? It seems, you’re not used, to carriages.” Ryouma

n“Ah, yes. I’ve gone out before, but only to the nearby towns when there was something that needed to be done. I also rode with either my mother or my grandfather’s familiars, so… And while I have ridden a carriage before, but in the end, that was only for short periods of time, so it doesn’t really count.” Elialia

n“I see.” Ryouma

nRyouma, who was an over forty-old failure at social interactions, did not have any techniques in the art of talking. After forcefully changing the topic, he had nothing to add, and silence filled the air once more.

nThat silence was only broken when Reinhart came back after finishing his discussion with the others regarding the guards and the plans for tomorrow.

n“You’ve worked hard today, Elia. This time we’re staying at an inn, so make sure to get a lot of rest.” Reinhart

n“Yes, father.” Elialia

n“Ryouma-kun, I’m sorry about this, but we couldn’t get you the same room as ours, so you’ll just have to stay with the servants.” Reinhart

n“That’s more than enough.” Ryouma

n“It’s a big room, but Sebasu’s the one working on the papers, so you should be able to stay in the same room as Zeff and the others. I’m sure it’ll be easier if you can stay with someone you know.” Reinhart

n“Thank you.” Ryouma

nAfter a while, Sebasu came back, and everyone went to their respective rooms.

n~Duke’s Room~

nAs the four members of the Jamil household made themselves comfortable at a corner of their room, Reinhart suddenly asked Elialia a question.

n“Elia, what were you talking with Ryouma-kun in the lobby? The atmosphere was pretty odd.” Reinhart

nWhen Elialia heard the topic of his question, she quivered with a jolt.

n“A-Actually, I accidentally touched Ryouma’s past.” Elialia

n“Really?” Reinhart

n“Yes, Ryouma-san seemed ok despite having ridden the carriage for so long, so I thought he was used to it, but as it turns out, it was a first for him too. As it turns out, he’s never ridden one before, but he has ridden alongside one while pulling a carriage…” Elialia

n“I see… But it didn’t seem like he minded. He seemed normal when I spoke to him, so Elia, you shouldn’t mind it either.” Reinhart

n“Just have fun. Didn’t you pull him wherever you want until you reached the inn? Just keep doing that.” Elize

nWhen Elialia heard her mother say that, her face reddened.

n“Umm, that’s… That was really embarrassing now that I think about it… I was too excited.” Elialia

n“You were a little too excited indeed.” Elize

n“AUu…” Elialia

n“Ho ho, it’s good to be lively. Elia, you’re still a kid, so it’s fine to have fun. But remember, you can’t be careless. If you act like that, you’ll end up a target of ruffians, you know. Make sure to pay attention to your surroundings.” Reinbach

n“Yes…” Elialia

n“Anyway, you should go take a bath and retire for the day. We’ll be moving tomorrow and be camping again, so make sure to make the most of tonight.” Reinhart

n“I understand, goodnight, mother, father, grandfather.” Elialia

nAs Elialia said that, she left the room.

nAfter confirming that she was indeed gone, the remaining three members of the Jamil family and Sebasu changed the topic.

n“Hmm… What do you think of Ryouma-kun?” Reinbach

n“I told Elialia not to worry about him, but honestly, there’s a lot to be concerned about.” Reinhart

n“He’s not a bad kid though. Besides, if he were actually scheming something, he’d act more normal.” Elize

n“I agree, but it still begs that question… What kind of life do you have to live to end up like that? He said he used a poison slime to kill the bandits, but I don’t think that’s all. Ryouma-kun himself is undoubtedly strong. The fact he was able to easily protect Elia while being dragged by her proves that.” Reinbach

n“Even putting aside the fact those ruffians were amateurs who couldn’t even notice that we were prepared for them, there’s no denying Ryouma-sama’s feats. He really made our lives easier.” Sebasu

n“Indeed.” Reinbach

nAs Reinbach said that, he looked down on his right hand. The small head of a snake peeked out of his sleeves. The snake slithered onto his palm and peeked through the gap between his index finger and middle finger, while he petted it with his thumb.

nThat snake was a B Rank monster known as Assassin Snake. It was small but it moved quickly and was always wary of its surroundings. Reinbach had been using it to monitor the ruffians while Elia was walking around the city.

nEven if Ryouma didn’t do anything, Elialia would never have actually fallen into actual danger.

n“If he’s that skilled despite being so young, then… Could it be?” Reinhart

n“Let’s not concern ourselves about that now. Just let him be. All we need to do is to watch over him.” Reinbach

n“That’s true… Though it sure is sad seeing him react like that despite coming to a town.” Elize

n“Indeed. It doesn’t have to be as pronounced as Elia’s, but children should be more excited with things like these.” Reinhart

n“He was completely unfazed by the crowd of people. He looked at them like he was looking at some rock by the roadside.” Reinbach

nReinbach’s observation wasn’t wrong, but his interpretation of why Ryouma was making that face was. Ryouma was indeed looking at the crowd without any expression, but that was only because he came from Tokyo, which was always jam-packed with people.

nNaturally, someone who was used to seeing an even greater crowd going wouldn’t be shocked when greeted by a smaller crowd. It couldn’t be helped then that his eyes were completely expressionless. Unfortunately, these people ended up interpreting his expression as that of a soulless person’s.

n“What a glum thing it is to witness such a talented youth with eyes so dead…”

nOn this day, the needless misunderstandings regarding Ryouma increased.

n~Servant’s Room~

nRyouma was brought by Sebasu to the room he would be staying at.

n“Excuse me.” Sebasu

n“Sorry to disturb.” Ryouma

nAs Ryouma entered the room, he saw Jill, Zeff, Camil, and Hyuzu already in the room. The room was a simple one with beds and 6 tables lined up along each other.

n“You came!” Jill

n“Well done.” Zeff

n“It’ll only be one night, but let’s get along.” Camil

n“That bed over there’s free.” Hyuzu

n“Thank you for having me.” Ryouma

nAfter they greeted each other, the five of them started chatting. Ryouma was mostly answering their questions though.

n“By the way, what do you normally do?” Hyuzu

n“?” Ryouma

n“In our case, we normally eat out and drink ourselves dead, but you live in the forest, yeah?” Hyuzu

n“Ahh… Normally, I research slimes… or practice my magic or train my body.” Ryouma

n“…That’s it?” Hyuzu

n“Yes.” Ryouma

n“Isn’t that boring?” Hyuzu

n“Magic and slime research is… fun.” Ryouma

n“That’s your idea of fun? Looks like you have the aptitude to be a scholar.” Camil

n“That sorta stuff is impossible for me though.” Hyuzu

n“Come to think of it, Ryouma-sama, you do sometimes blurt out advanced knowledge or well-mannered speech. Did you study somewhere?” Sebasu

n“I learned from my grandma. She thought me both academics and… how to behave myself.” Ryouma

n“Your grandmother sounds like a wonderful person.” Sebasu

n“She can do everything, except fight.” Ryouma

n“Ho, then what about your gramps?” Hyuzu

n“The exact opposite… A person who can’t do anything but make weapons and fight… But he’s really good. Even the weapons… he makes are first class. I can’t beat him… in either.” Ryouma

n“Huh? You can smith?” Zeff

n“I helped out, so… I at least know the basics. I didn’t learn, properly though… I also haven’t used, it in three years, so I can’t make anything decent right now.” Ryouma

n“Well, you certainly can’t find any decent material or tool inside that forest.” Camil

n“You’ve finally left the forest after all these years, so you should go ahead and buy the things you need. If there’s anything you want to do, you can walk around until supper.” Hyuzu

nWhen he was asked that, Ryouma said this.

n“Then can I ask where the church is?” Ryouma

n“The church? Unfortunately, it’s already closed around this time.” Camil

n“There’s a lot of bad people in this town, so they close their gates early. This town has the churches of the god of creation and the god of light. Which god do you follow?” Jill

n“The god of creation.” Ryouma

n“Then, I’m sorry to say this, but you won’t be able to get in today. If it were the god of light’s church, you’d be able to get in with a generous bribe.” Jill

n“really?” Ryouma

n“The church of the god of light is big, but there’s also a lot of unscrupulous people among them who would do anything for some donation.” Camil

n“There are even adherents who believe in their god but don’t trust the deacons or the priests. All the donation-grubbers are with the god of light, so it’s frequently said that only the pious ones are left in the god of creation’s church.” Hyuzu

n“The gods worshiped are the same, so there’s not much of a difference in their doctrines. Most people just pike their church based on the scale of the church and the personality of the adherents.” Camil

n“I didn’t know that… Thank You.” Ryouma

n“No problem. Sure is odd though that you’d ask where the church is as soon as you hear you can go out. You that pious?” Camil

n“Is it that odd?” Ryouma

n“…I’m also a follower of the god of creation’s church, but I only go once a month. I rarely attend worship.” Camil

n“Ryouma-kun, did you go to the church a lot before you started living in the forest?” Zeff

n“Only once since I was born… I just pray to the stone idol at my house… I have one at the house in the forest too. I made it… with earth magic.” Ryouma

n“Then why don’t you go ahead and buy some stone instead? This inn is fairly luxurious, so you should be able to ask for some stones to make idols.” Sebasu

nRyouma then bought three building stones from the inn just as Sebasu had suggested. The stones that could be bought from the inn were too high-class, however, and they cost him 1 small gold coin for all three pieces.

nAfter that, he came back to the room and created an idol by shaving away the rocks with earth magic.

nThe statues were so elaborate that Camil was taken aback. Ryouma was even able to earn Sebasu’s stamp of approval.

nIncidentally, the reason Ryouma’s work was so detailed was because he had already personally met the gods, so he had a good idea how they looked like. On top of that, he had the Mana Control skill, which allowed him control his earth magic with precision, and back in earth, making figurines was one of his hobbies, so he was already used to this sort of work.

nLike that Ryouma sculpted the three sculptures, and after Ryouma prayed to them, it was time for supper. When supper ended, Ryouma retired for the day to prepare for tomorrow’s trip.

n&nbps;

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