Life with Alice.
I avoid Mary’s eyes, I’m not having the kind of meetings with Alice that Mary is imagining…But, every night we meet so Alice can teach me various things.
For me who doesn’t know anything about the Elf tribe, it is not surprising, but Alice is clearly much older than she appears. She looks seventeen and would appear to be only eight years older than me.
She seems to have traveled around the world for several years.
Still, she has a curious personality. The amount of knowledge she has is tremendous and I got all the information I could want about crops.
It wouldn’t only be a dream to be able to obtain my domestic “cheat” now.
The best thing is that Alice had knowledge of magic. Thanks to that, I was able to start training with magic.
However, I only learned the basics of magic, I have not yet learned how to use it properly.
Learning magic is difficult without the aid of a magician, because Alice has had her magic sealed she is unable to help me further.
Still, when Alice is freed from her slave contract, she has promised to help me train more. Because of this, I can’t wait for that day to come.
Time seemed to speed by as I learned from Alice ―― and soon it was my birthday again, I turned ten years old.
“Haa……Haa”
“Hey, what’s wrong, Alice, are you already breathing heavily?”
“Haa haa…… why do you have so much stamina Leon? I can’t keep up, even though I’m running with you everyday ~”
As the season changed, the weather became perfect for running. Alice is running around the house with me, but Alice seems to have been gasping for breath for a little while now.
I run at a steady pace for 15 kilometers a day. I do this for three days and then I take a day off. It is a struggle for me to finish, but that may be because I’m only ten years old, but I think that Alice, who just turned 18 should be able to get used to it.
Ah ~ Or is it my constitution? Even though I run every day my arms and legs still remain thin, maybe I’m not cut out for marathon running yet. Still, I don’t plan to stop running altogether.
Running with someone else is very enjoyable. I feel sorry for Alice, but I will have her keep me company from now on.
While thinking about this, we finished our final lap.
“Haa haa……finally it’s over ~”
“Hey, you have to cool down properly after you finish running, remember?”
“I know that……”
Alice sits down and stretches out while complaining.
Her endurance is not good, but her body is very flexible. She’s able to bend her body forward, with her legs open, and stretch all the way to the ground.
“Leon-sama, where are you looking at?”
“Where……”
Alice is pushing her upper body against the ground while watching me with a mischievous smile. Each time her rich breasts pressed against the ground and changed shape.
“… It’s a misunderstanding, I just thought that you are very supple.”
“I see. Do you think that my breasts are supple?”
“Like I said it’s a misunderstanding! Are you teasing me?”
“Ahahah, I’m sorry. But, Leon-sama is bad. You stare at me so closely. I was thinking Leon-sama had finally hit puberty.”
I laugh under my breath at what she said. She still uses the usual honorific, but I think she has become very soft. No, not her chest or body, but just in the way she interacts with me.
And then when I was doing my usual morning routine, Mary came to get me.
“Leon-sama, Robert-sama is calling for you. Please get ready, and go meet him in his office in the main house.”
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
“Please, ask Robert-sama for more details.”
Mary speaks bluntly and then turns her eyes to Alice.
“I see it was tough for you again today.”
“It’s tough to run, but it’s fun to exercise with Leon-sama, would you like to join Mary?”
“No, I have work that needs to be done. Now then.”
Mary gives a slight bow and leaves.
As usual she still only talks to me as little as possible, but Alice got along well with her. I feel like I’ve been defeated somehow.
…Well, it would be bad to keep my father waiting. I do not know what kind of business he has with me, but let’s go.
“I’m sorry Alice, but will you be fine by yourself? You can do what you want while I’m gone.”
“Yes, I’ll wait patiently for you. I won’t cause any problems, so please don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
Why are you raising a flag like that so suddenly?
– Father wanted to let me know that the meeting with Sophia had been decided.
It seems that he told the Sfir family that I wanted to deepen my friendship with Sophia before marriage.
So a few days later.
Guards – I do not know whether to protect me from thieves, or to prevent me from escaping, but – they escorted me to the Sfir family’s territory.
By the way, because the Sfir territory and our house are near each other, it only took three hours on a horse carriage to reach our destination. For that reason, I arrived at the house of the Sfir family.
“My name is Leon, the second son of the Grances family. Thank you for accepting my request.”
“I see you’ve made it here safe. I am Carlos, the head of the Sfir home, and this is my wife Elyse, I welcome you to my home.”
“Thank you very much.”
I bow once and then lift my eyes to look at Carlos and Elyse.
Carlos has brown hair and blue eyes? It is a bit surprising that the head of the Sfir family has brown hair, since blond hair should be most common in ancient noble families.
But, looking at Elyse, she has vibrant blonde hair.
“Leon-kun, you saw the land of the Sfir family on the way, but I’d like to know what you thought of it.”
“Umm…..”
Frankly speaking, it made me think of a typical calm rural area. But, the abundance of nature may not be a compliment in this world, is it?
“Dear, Leon-kun is only ten years old, you can only annoy him asking such a question.”
“Oh, you’re right. No, I am sorry, I was just concerned about how the land would look in the eyes of the famous Earl of Grances.”
“I think that it is a splendid land.”
“Fuu, is that so? Thank you.”
The possibility that Carlos thought my late reply was merely trying to flatter him is high, but those were my honest thoughts. From what Alice has taught me, with this much rich land, many things could be grown here.
I’ll bring that up if I decide to marry into the Sfir family.
“Well, Sophia is the main reason for this meeting…. Sorry…My daughter is shy so she knew that Leon-kun was coming, and she hid in her room.”
In her room……hiding? Maybe for Sofia, is this an unwanted marriage? …… I have no idea. It would be hard to believe a girl who has never met me could have fallen in love with me, and it seems that her parents decided the marriage without her permission.
“Well then….it would be hard for us to meet like this.”
“I will have my butler guide you, so try talking to her in her room……Regis, please show Leon-kun to Sophia’s room.”
Carlos called out to an elderly man who was standing in the corner of the room.
Although he called them a butler, but he has a ridiculously good physique. Rather, he gives off the image of a retired veteran knight.
“Certainly, then Leon-sama, I will show you up to the young lady’s room – right this way.”
“Thank you very much.”
I left the living room following the butler along the hallway of the mansion.
“Regis-san, can I ask you a question?”
“I am just a butler, please just call me Regis. You don’t need to use any honorifics.”
Ah, that’s right. Because I am a child I used honorifics, but I am also the second son of the Earl of Grances. If I use honorifics when talking with a butler, would that cause problems for my family?
“Well then, Regis, can I ask you a question?”
“Please ask anything.”
“Sophia is against this marriage, right?”
“…If you are asking such a question, then I suppose you already have some expectations coming here?”
“Well, I’m scared of being married with someone I have never met, much less Sophia is only seven years old, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for her to be against it.”
“I remember that you are ten years old Leon-sama, but you are very perceptive.”
“Eh? Yeah…well, that’s for a variety of reasons.”
“Hmm, it looks like you’ve had a hard time these past years.”
Yes. After fighting an illness with an incurable disease, I died and was reincarnated into another world. Of course I want to tell someone this. But, no, I don’t say anything because I don’t want people thinking I’m insane.
“But, I don’t understand, why come to see Sophia if you expected her to be against the marriage?”
“If I had to get married anyway, I thought that it would be better if we both agreed to it together.”
“Do you think you can convince her if you meet?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t met yet, though the possibility of love at first sight isn’t zero, so it could happen, right?”
Because it is a political marriage negative thoughts are associated with the marriage right from the start. Though, when you think you’re meeting a person with a view to marriage, from a family with a social standing similar to your own, with a partner only three years older, it should not seem like such a bad deal for this girl.
Though, going to a marriage interview — I’m feeling pretty uneasy as well.
Let’s think positively.
“For the time being, I will try to become friendly with her.”
“Are you going to work hard?”
“I have some tricks I can try. Can I use the kitchen before going to her room? I’ll prepare my secret weapon beforehand.”
Then I will finally meet with my fiancée.
