Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga

Chapter 383

There was nothing to waste time on, so as soon as the conversation in the guild was over, I moved to the aristocratic house.

Fortunately, no troublesome incidents occurred in the process. As soon as I arrived at the aristocratic house, I was guided as if I had been waiting for it, and it was awkward that it was so natural to go to the office of Duke Lesrom, whom I had grown accustomed to.

Thanks to that, even in that short time, I couldn’t throw away the feeling of embarrassment, but the incident didn’t happen until I opened his door. It was kind of funny how I was worried about such things even in the capital for a moment… but that should have happened once or twice.

Anyway, facing my face, Duke Lesrom stopped writing something and said with an inappropriately soft smile.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

“…yes.”

“Very good. I just picked up some tea leaves that are suitable for a cold day yesterday.”

I couldn’t understand the idea of drinking tea while checking the temperature, even though I had worked hard at the Ogatorp Mansion, but I decided to do it because he said so. I drank and went to the bathroom until I got sick of it in the guild, but since I always get thirsty while talking, there was no reason to refuse.

It’s not like he’s a nobleman who’s going to put something weird in it now.

As he sat down with such thoughts in mind, Duke Lesrom got up very leisurely and, still skillfully preparing tea, threw a stone fastball like flowing water.

“You’re quick-witted, so there’s no need to explain this or that. Do you have any questions?”

Questions such as why they had taken measures to prepare for my return and how they were not surprised to see me were all pointless questions. It’s even more strange that the duke, who moves with the royal family, doesn’t know. So, I also decided to throw a stone fastball.

“What am I getting?”

“Don’t worry. It’s a medal.”

It’s a good thing to be able to communicate well, but it’s a little scary when you communicate well like this. Because it was so clear what that ‘don’t worry’ meant.

“It is called the Silver Shield Medal, one of the medals you get when you make a contribution to the defense of the capital. There is a perception that you are so honorable, so you can’t touch it. Are there a lot of people who imitate you these days?”

Is it because it is an exhibition that it has all kinds of information, or is it the position of the workmanship that has to be like that? I nodded my head appropriately, thinking that it was a position I would want to decline no matter what.

“If you go around impersonating, you’ll be in big trouble.”

“It’s hanging. After a few people die, they’ll disappear in an instant. I hope you’ll be patient. Oh, just in case, I’ll tell you in advance, but we don’t know what the Empire will give you.”

I shrugged my shoulders and replied in the same way to Duke Lesrom, who was talking half-jokingly and half-seriously while bringing a tea set.

“That’s it, can you give me a title?”

Esmuier, who already knew what I was about to do, couldn’t give me something like that, so it was close to what I said, but Duke Lesrom, who kept a smile on his answer, looked at me with an eye that seemed like he was going to see anything strange.

“Yeah, I saved the first princess, not anyone else, but if you wish, I’ll just give you a title.”

And what followed was an extremely ordinary theory. The moment I realized that I had made a mistake in the accident, I almost had a brain freeze belatedly.

“…I can see that’s what I heard.”

“…You really show your senses are distorted from time to time. It’s to the point that I’m nervous that you’re going ahead with medals rather than titles. If at all you want to get a title later, just say it. I’m sorry. I have no intention of treating you badly.”

I unintentionally planted a strange distrust and became embarrassed, but fortunately Duke Lesrom didn’t dig further. Since he usually did things that could be called eccentrics, he might have been convinced that his way of thinking was different from others.

“Anyway, it’s a medal that shows the gratitude of the royal family, so even if there are people who bother you by saying they’ll recruit you, you won’t be able to move. The same goes for the side. Thanks to that, no one has yet come out with a strong opinion that we should take advantage of your heroic achievements.”

As if he had already predicted what I would be curious about, Duke Lesrom, who only pointed out the points and explained it, was indeed a nerd. Maybe that’s why, no matter how friendly he is, the longer he sits down and talks, the more uncomfortable he becomes.

“Rather, if you clearly express your intentions, as soon as you become an adult, you will receive the honor of a wandering knight, and there are even opinions about sending them to the battlefield as soon as possible. What do you think?”

It was good news to have an aristocrat with the appropriate reaction I was hoping for, but this time I had no choice but to put it mildly.

“I think I’ll have to wait and see the progress for a while because I have work to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are things I need to find out personally, and there are things I need to help an acquaintance with.”

I had no reason to say anything specific, and I didn’t want to, so when I put it mildly, Duke Lesrom immediately nodded and didn’t ask any more.

Surprisingly, the important story related to me ended with that.

After that, after listening to the story of the tea that Duke Lesrom had prepared, he had repeated about 30 or so ‘normal chats’ in which he responded appropriately, but left the aristocratic house as if nothing really happened.

‘Come often. It’s nice to have a break and talk to you thanks to that.’ It was a truly peaceful ending, except that I felt like I had been hurt by the smile of Duke Lesrom, who saw me off with the usual greeting.

“…Ah really, why do you keep feeling like something happened?”

The problem is, that’s why I’m getting more excited. I keep looking back even when I try to move my steps thinking that nothing will happen.

In the end, unable to let go of my feelings of embarrassment, I hurriedly headed to Mr. Balkun’s workshop to get away from him quickly, reminding myself that I was not dealing with politicians.

As if I was being chased, I hurriedly bought a drink to pass as a courtesy gift and arrived at Mr. Valcun’s workshop. I was greeted with great hospitality and immediately met Mr. Valcun, like seafood delivered directly from the farm. It was obvious, but the hospitality was not because of alcohol.

The reason was that more customers flocked to the store as my name spread within a month. Thanks to this, I was able to repair almost all the armor for free this time.

“I guess this time it was a little rough.”

“Well… I’ve been around a lot.”

There were some injuries in the battle with Ear Hunters, but in fact, the small damage caused when dealing with Orcs in the steppe was large. Except for the time to sleep, I fought with a group of orcs throughout the move, so no matter how trivial they were, I couldn’t finish it cleanly.

Mr. Valkun, who knew my situation to some extent through rumors, did not ask how I rolled, but instead handed it over to another blacksmith to give him an estimate.

“There’s nothing new about the yard that brought the warriors. Do you need anything else besides armor?”

“I don’t have any specific weapons I want to buy, but is there any way to meet the shadow feet?”

“He? Why?”

“I used the potion I received last time, and the effect was very impressive.

As a result, it was a bit wasteful, but the blue potion given by the shadow feet was definitely expensive. Although the wounds were small compared to the puncture in the stomach, I did not feel fatigue after recovery, and there were not even scars left. Considering the merit of prolonging one’s life, it would not be a waste to spend all the funds obtained in the West.

However, after researching it, I wanted to get advice from Shadow Feet as much as possible, as I could face a situation where there is a risk of counterfeiting or that there is a difference in efficacy outside of the designated place of purchase.

“Okay… Originally, he didn’t come often because he was moving with his party, but looking back, he’s been strangely frequent lately, so I wonder if there’s a possibility?”

Unexpectedly, Mr. Balkun explained that the shadow feet do not move alone but in a party. Seeing that the party matched his scouting skills, it was clear that they were adventurers who belonged to the upper ranks among self-sufficient people.

“Anyway, it will take a day to fix your armor, so let’s send someone to check it out.

It was a little surprising that it only took about a day to repair the armor apart from Mr. Valkun’s extremely reasonable compromise.

This time, the word was repair, but it was also reinforcement work. It is also work to add iron plates to parts that are often worn out during battles and to attach chains to parts where knives can unknowingly penetrate like gaps, but at the smithy, there are also piles of items that adventurers who are on a break have entrusted to repair.

When I expressed my embarrassment at the sudden preferential treatment, which was no different from giving priority to all the people who were entrusted to me before me, Mr. Balkun burst into laughter and said,

“There are things that have benefited from your reputation, so I can do that much. And all the other guys are just taking a break, but you have a strong feeling that you are always busy running somewhere. I won’t say anything if I deal with it first.”

Do my actions make it seem that way? The answer came out just by thinking about it for a moment. If you’re stuck in a corner, you’ve been running around like you’ve got a disease that kills you.

Now, if I just study for a while and don’t rest, my body might get weak.