Chapter 57 Party Hosted By The Lord (Part One)
Two days later, it was decided that we would attend the party hosted by the lord. The participants include myself, Morimura, Tsubasa, Kondo Shuichi, Alice, Chiyome, and Shizuru.
Initially, it was planned for Suzuno to participate instead of Alice, but for some reason, the lord himself, Baronet Marqifasso, specifically designated the five of us. Upon hearing this, Aoki Runa and Mizuno Kaede were the first to protest.
"Why is Alice able to attend the party while we can't?"
Runa expressed her dissatisfaction, and Kaede seemed saddened.
"I also intended to protect everyone with defensive magic..."
It's understandable... I think. Because Alice, Runa, and Kaede didn't leave Gina's inn during the monster attack. Certainly, Alice provided medical treatment to the injured. However, this time, there weren't many severely wounded. In other words, Alice didn't have much opportunity to shine.
In addition, even though Mizuno Kaede had no opportunity to shine, she was protecting Gina's inn with defensive magic. They didn't come under attack by monsters to that extent, but it was indeed a great relief for people to have a safe place secured in case of emergency.
In that sense, it is indeed questionable that only Alice is invited to the party.... Is it because there are rumors circulating about her amazing healing magic?
However, there's nothing I can do about that. So, I persuaded the two of them.
"But the lord himself has personally requested her presence. We can't just ignore that. So, one of Chiyome-san's subordinates will have to step down as originally planned."
At that, Runa gave me a sharp look.
"Could it be... that you arranged for Alice to be invited, Akito?"
"Huh? Why would I do that?"
"Since coming to this world, Akito has always treated Alice specially. No, thinking back, even at school, it seems like Akito had feelings for Alice..."
"What, what are you talking about? That's not what you're talking about. It's true that Alice is the person we need in order to return to our original world. But that's not my personal feeling!"
However, Runa seems to have become quite distrustful.
"Hmph, what do you think? I mean, you don't understand why you need Alice to go home, do you?"
"That's true though."
"Then I don't know if it's really important or not. Well, maybe Akito is just saying that to get Alice closer to him, right?"
Runa said this ostentatiously so that everyone could hear.
(This is going to turn out to be a troublesome situation.)
This kind of small doubt can become a big problem later on. I'm sure it's not funny to other people to say someone is getting special treatment. This is especially true for women. Especially in Runa's case, she has absolute confidence in her own charm.
But I declined her invitation. Maybe she hurt her pride then. Given Runa, it might be natural to think that I have personal feelings for Alice. Furthermore, Kondo Shuichi is in love with Alice. If he has any strange doubts about me, things might escalate further from now on.
"Alright. Then from now on, I won't get involved with Alice on a personal level or talk to her. Is that okay?"
However, Alice immediately opposed that.
"But, we're all friends and we have to cooperate in various ways!"
Tsubasa also followed suit.
"That's right. It's weirder not to talk to Alice... Regular communication is necessary!"
But Runa just snorted and said, "Well, if that's how it's going to be, I might consider trusting you."
However, an unexpected ally entered the scene. Chiyome arrived and spoke.
"I don't like it when you block information from certain people in a small group of people."
Runa glared at Chiyome. But Chiyome didn't seem bothered by it.
"Disturbing the harmony of the team, as the archer girl said, communication is necessary. We don't know what information might be hidden."
And then Chiyome looked at me.
"But considering the situation, it's also concerning that only a girl named Alice has been invited. Rather, Akito, be careful not to leave her alone at the party."
"Do you have any suspicions?"
I asked. Chiyome is a kunoichi. She quickly gathers information and senses danger from subtle changes. However, Chiyome twisted her mouth into a smile.
"Just a hunch."
In this way, the seven of us headed to Baronet Marqifasso's mansion. A carriage was waiting to take us to the inn. We didn't have any clothes other than our school uniforms. In a hurry, we ran around to borrow clothes for the party.
As a result, Morimura, Kondo Shuichi, and I decided to borrow clothes from a tailor in town. Alice and Tsubasa borrowed dresses from Gina. Chiyome and Shizuru had anticipated such a situation and had brought formal attire.
Just one problem. We can't bring any weapons at all. We have to go to the party unarmed. By the time we get on the carriage, we'll already have undergone thorough body checks. Without a sword, I'm just a high school student, and Morimura can't use magic without his staff. Chiyome said, "Brace yourself," and got on the carriage. But she seems to be hiding something on her body.
Soon, the mansion comes into view. Alice said as if moved,
"What a magnificent mansion. It's not just a mansion, it's like a castle."
Tsubasa also asked me with an expression of undisguised surprise,
"Akito, do all the lords of this world live in such amazing castles?"
I shake my head,
"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. From what I saw from a distance, there were bigger castles, and there were smaller mansions too."
Then Chiyome added.
"The land area is normal for a feudal lord, but the luxury of the mansion is not at the level of a baronet. You should think that he has the financial strength of a viscount or a small earl."
In that case, what I am curious about is Baronet Marqifasso's source of income.
Eventually the carriage arrived in front of the mansion, where we alighted and were led inside. Many nobles and influential people have already gathered in the lobby. Some of the influential people are from cities other than Sakurakand.
At first, our guests looked at us suspiciously. Their eyes say, "What are these strange children?" I guess the only thing they've heard about us is that "an adventurer from a foreign country saved the city."
Meanwhile, a well-dressed man approached us.
"Akito, this way!"
(Who?)
I couldn't tell at first glance, but when I looked closely, it was Michael, the same adventurer.
"Michael? Were you invited too?"
"Yeah, I mentioned that I have dealings with the lord. It's related to that."
"But you seem totally different from usual. You really look like a nobleman's son."
"Cut it out. Well, adventurers also need this kind of attire to make their way in the world."
I looked around.
"Is Geese not here?"
"He has no direct connection to this mansion. More importantly, it's about to start. Let's go to the hall."
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