We had been sitting in the carriage for about an hour now. It was when the clock in the log window displayed 17 o’clock that we arrived at a city.
The cityscape was illuminated by the setting sun and it was more beautiful than I would’ve imagined.
The main street was cobblestone and there was no waste in sight. This city is more hygienic than I had expected. Maybe they actually have some infrastructure in place. Like a water system and maybe even plumbing.
This definitely doesn’t look anything like a medieval city…. Medea-nee did say due to the magic in this world, the civilization was more advanced. I guess this is what she meant.
Anyway, we continued travelling along several large roads before eventually arriving at the Brad family’s estate.
After passing through the gate we continued travelling for nearly a minute before the site of the main house came into view.
“Yuzuki onii-san, come on!”
I guess she’s going to be my guide. As I climbed down from the carriage, Rose linked her arm with mine.
She’s kind of acting like my girlfriend. While we were riding in the carriage, we were able to talk for a while and I was able to get a better idea of what kind of personality she has.
I was worried that she’d be Yandere but I guess I had no reason to worry.
“Yuzuki onii-san, Yuzuki onii-san!
“Yes?”
Rose pulled me inside the mansion and handed me over to a maid. I guess she first wants me to take a bath to, ‘…wash off the dirt of the road.’
As someone who was born in Japan, it feels a bit strange to suddenly be asked to take a bath when first arriving at someone’s house….but I guess to the nobility it’s a pretty common gesture.
By the way, I’ve now all but confirmed this city has a functional plumbing system. When I turned the faucet in the bath, hot water started coming out. The room appeared to be lit by some light source that wasn’t a torch or a lamp.
I’m not sure if every house is like this or just the nobility, but…..at the very least this world might not be as hard to live in as I thought.
Anyway, after I finished my bath, I changed into the clothes that had been set out for me. Shortly after, I was guided to the drawing room by a maid.
These look like antiques. Well, in this world this stuff is probably the latest furniture.
Rose and a strange woman were currently standing side by side in the room. Rose was also taking a bath separately from me. Her blonde hair is still a little wet.
“You are Yuzuki-san? I am Mary Brad, the Countess, and head of the Brad family. I heard that you saved my daughter. You have my sincere gratitude.”
The woman named Mary lowered her head and Rose quickly followed suit.
“Thank you for your gracious hospitality.”
I politely responded back to her and turned my eyes toward Mary.
To be honest, Rose’s mother seems very young. At the oldest, she’s maybe in her late twenties though it’s possible she could even be in her late teens. Maybe she isn’t Rose’s birth mother.
…. Now that I think about it, this time period would probably have a pretty high mortality rate. Children would mature faster and marry a lot younger. If I think about it like that, the people of this world probably get married in their early teens.
“I was told you’re a commoner but I can see you have some manners.”
“Thank you very much. I’m trying to educate myself properly. I may say some strange things, so please forgive me if that does happen.”
This actually is true in more ways than one.
I’m not talking about the Japanese language, but the language of this world. As of now, my comprehension of this world’s language is about the same as my understanding of Japanese.
The reason for this is thanks to something Medea-nee did when I was reincarnated……For better or worse, my understanding of this world’s language is somewhat decent.
In other words, more ambiguous words in Japanese are still ambiguous in this world.
After all, I was just a high school student. I don’t know how to behave around royalty. That’s why, I thought it would be best to apologize before I make any mistakes.
“Indeed, acting courteous is important, but I won’t force my daughter’s saviour to do so. Please, speak normally if that’s easier for you.”
“But ……”
“Yuzuki onii-san, I’d be happy if you would.”
“……..Alright, if Rose says so. Then, I’ll speak informally.”
I shrugged my shoulders and listened to Rose’s request. We had the same conversation in the carriage and I lost there so I felt no need to argue now.
“Fufu~ you two are awfully close.”
“M-Mother!?”
Rose quickly turned red. I guess with what her mother said…….that’s an understandable reaction.
“Oh, with that kind of reaction, maybe I was right?”
Yes, please don’t look at me in any kind of meaningful way. Or say something like, “I won’t forgive you for trying to steal my daughter’s hand.” As if she was able to tell how anxious I was feeling, Mary started laughing.
“You don’t need to worry. I encourage my daughter to love whomever she wants.”
Then, Rose please don’t look at me in any kind of meaningful way. I still don’t feel that way about you…..and I turned my eyes to look at her.
She’s maybe one or two years younger than me. She has one gold and one blue eye and her blonde hair is styled in twin tails. More importantly, she seems to be more concerned about others safety than her own.
She’s definitely a girl I could fall in love with.
….. Well, to be honest, appearance doesn’t even matter much.
I don’t care what she looks like if she’s younger or older, or beautiful or ugly. Just as long as she isn’t Yandere. It is more than enough just for her to not be Yandere.
…..Seriously, all the girls I got along with in my previous life were Yanderes.
They would always get angry if I even just talked with another girl. I could never like a girl that can’t understand my own circumstances and just tries to impose her own values on me.
But Rose cares about others and she’s cute. A girl like this is a rare sight to me…….I need to calm down.
It’s rude of me to consider her a romantic interest just because she’s cute.
“U-Umm, Yuzuki onii-san? If you stare at me so much……I’ll start to get embarrassed.”
“—Ah, sorry.”
I panicked and looked away from her. Mary, who was watching us, laughed at how awkward we were. It’s embarrassing.
“I’m sure both of you would like to talk a lot, but let’s first eat. Yuzuki-san, please take a seat.”
Mary said this and sat down at the table. After I sat down, Rose seemed to be sulking for a moment. She then walked around the table, past her mother, and sat down in the chair next to me.
“Oh, Rose really does like Yuzuki-san.”
“Well, that’s……That’s because earlier he was so cool. He rushed into the fight to protect me and he even defeated the people that attacked me in a single blow.”
“Oh, is Yuzuki-san really that strong?”
“No, that’s not the case. And I didn’t defeat them in one hit.”
“You might as well have. You knocked down that one thief in one hit and the rest ran away after seeing it.”
“That really is……quite strong.”
“………Thank you.”
To be honest, I don’t think I’m that strong. I have yet to confirm it, but…..I think the reason I was able to defeat that thief so easily, was due to one of the titles I’ve acquired.
So, even if they tell me I’m strong, I feel a little embarrassed. It’s embarrassing, but…..these two seem to just think I’m being modest.
“Not trying to be a show off is also cool.”
“That’s true. It is certainly nice to see.”
Somehow their opinion of me is still rising.
I definitely don’t want to be questioned anymore about my strength — and, as if to grant my wish, a maid entered the room to serve dinner.
After that, I tried to make idle chatter without touching on the subject of romance. Incidentally, I also used this opportunity to ask various questions about this world, while also trying to avoid seeming suspicious.
“Well then, does the Brad family govern this island?”
“Yes, that’s right. Our ancestors were given this land by the King a long time ago. Since then, my family has governed this land.”
I learned that on this island there are many different towns and villages. The population of the island is in the tens of thousands and the Brad family governs over the main island.
I seemed to have helped the daughter of some amazing family.
“Still, it is quite unusual for one to be on this island and not know of the Brad family.”
“Well, that’s……..it’s really just a coincidence. I just happened to drift here.”
“Drift here? Does that mean you were shipwrecked?”
“Umm…..Well, something like that.”
I obviously can’t tell her I’ve been reincarnated. I’ll just need to be vague with my backstory. Now that I think about it, I may have just admitted to entering this island illegally.
“Umm……Is it okay that I entered this island without permission?”
“Of course. Usually, we wouldn’t allow ordinary people to enter or exit the island without the proper permissions, but if you were shipwrecked than you’d be an obvious exception. And of course, I’d make an exception for my daughter’s saviour.”
“I see……Thank you.”
I was a bit careless there, but I seem to have unexpectedly been granted permission to be on this island.
Still……Mary and Rose are more normal than I expected. Of course, Mary is a countess, so she’s more elegant than an average person, but…..I definitely don’t see either of them being Yanderes.
I suddenly woke up in this game-like world and met Rose — I was unreasonably suspicious of her.
It really seems like I was wrong about her.
After that, we continued talking for a little while. Then, I could hear the faint sound of a bell coming from somewhere in the house.
The bell rang for a while and it kind of sounded like it was meant to inform you of something — but when I checked the time in my log window, it was only 19 o’clock.
Is this bell really just meant to tell the residents it’s 19 o’clock…….?
In medieval Europe, there would be no accurate way of telling the time, but according to my log window, the time is exactly 19 o’clock. It’s possible that in this world there is some way of accurately telling the time.
If that is the case, then there must be someone that checked the time and is now ringing that bell manually — but as I thought about it more, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
— What? What is this? What could possibly cause me to instantly break out in a cold sweat!?
I hurriedly look around to see if anyone else entered the room, but it was just the three of us. Mary and Rose just sat there, staring at me.
“……Yuzuki onii-san, is something wrong?”
“Eh? No, it’s nothing really, but…..I just suddenly got the chills.”
“Is that so? Maybe you were still wet from the bath? I’m sorry we hurried you out of there.”
“Ah, no I don’t think it’s that. You don’t need to apologize.”
Rose is afraid I might catch a cold after getting out of the bath. I don’t want to make her sad by causing her to be worried about me.
But…..why? Even now, that cold feeling won’t go away.
“Hey……Yuzuki onii-san, do you have to leave?”
“Eh? Ah~, well……I wonder?”
“Would you like to work at the house?”
“Eh, you mean work here?”
“Yes. Someone so skilled could definitely be my escort. Or if there’s something else you’d like to do, you can do that.”
“That is…..well”
I don’t have anywhere else to go.
If I stay in this mansion, I could fall in love with a normal girl — I may even be able to make clothing if I stay here.
However, if I don’t earn more SP, I won’t be able to raise the rank of ‘Immortality.’ Even if I were to start a normal romance, eventually, I would be the only one left.
So —
“I’m sorry. I would like to be able to go around and visit various places. So, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to come back and visit often, but working at this house is a bit much….”
I tried to turn down her offer gently. Right after that, Rose looked very lonely and said, “I see…”
“Umm……I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. It can’t be helped if Yuzuki onii-san wants to visit many places. Still, I’m not giving up. I’d be happy if one day you want to work here.”
She responded in a very mature way and I smiled as hard as I could.
….Yup, there’s no way such a gentle girl could be Yandere. Now I want to prioritize raising my ‘Immortality’ skill……..Once I’m ready to settle down, working here doesn’t seem so bad.
“Hey, hey, Yuzuki onii-san, could you at least stay here a couple days?”
“Umm…….I wouldn’t be too troublesome?”
“There’s no way you’d be a burden to me. Hey, Mother, he can stay for a couple days, right?”
Rose pleaded with Mary. In response, Mary nodded as if to say, “Of course.” She then turned her kind eyes to me.
“You are my daughter’s saviour. Please, stay as long as you’d like.”
“Then…..I’ll accept your offer.”
Even though I’d like to travel around more, I should probably learn more about this world. Besides, I’d like to get to know Rose a little more.
“If so, I’ll have more food brought in.”
Mary gives orders to a Maid, who quickly ran out of the room and brought in more dishes.
The time period of this world is only medieval Europe so the food culture isn’t that advanced, but the feeling of eating dinner with a family is nice. It’s something I haven’t felt since I lost my parents.
I was enjoying the calm atmosphere when my eyes seemed to be slowly closing —
Before I even realized it, I was in a dimly-lit room with both my hands and feet restrained.
