A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

Lizel was spending time with Jade at tea time.

In the middle of a somewhat wide road, there was a wooden bench placed so that it looked out over the waterway. Since it faced away from the cafe, one might think the shop owner had put it there, but apparently it had been made and left there on the spot by one of the regulars.

Most of the people who used it were cafe customers, including that regular. But there were also people like elderly men who wanted to rest during a walk, or the boatmen of peddler boats who had grown tired from rowing, all sitting wherever they pleased.

The two of them were sitting there too, soaking up the warm sunlight.

"So, that happened, and Gill got a little irritated."

"Hm..."

While Lizel drank tea from the cafe behind them and Jade ate cookies bought from a passing peddler boat, the two sat side by side and talked.

"Hey, Lizel."

"Yes?"

"What's the, what, main point? Priority, I guess."

"Oh, yes."

"Something feels off, doesn't it."

"Eh?"

Lizel looked offended, but Jade only gave him a dubious stare while munching on a cookie.

First of all, the reason Jade was meeting with Lizel today was to hear the details about the raid on a leading figure of Sars.

That was because Jade had visited Lizel's inn the night before that raid. During the day that day, he had met some suspicious person with an absurdly long fringe, heard that Lizel was gathering members to pick a fight with the upper ranks of Sars, and, not really understanding what was going on, had refused normally.

By then, he had already accepted a request for the following day.

Still, since the night was free, he had gone to the inn to hear the situation, only to arrive in the middle of a strategy meeting with the inn's elderly couple that was drifting a little off track. That was where he got the explanation and cheered Lizel on with "Well then, do your best," which had only been just the other day.

"So first, can I ask about the result of your raid on Sars' core?"

"We resolved it peacefully."

"Oh, nice, congratulations. But why did you raid them in the first place?"

"Because Mr. Ruler was trying to manipulate Gill, so I thought I'd report him to the person in charge."

"Why didn't you go after the man himself?"

"I tried to, but he got the jump on me."

"Lizel did? That's rare."

He said it as naturally as could be, but sounded genuinely surprised.

Jade had no direct acquaintance with the ruler. Still, he knew enough to understand just how ridiculously talented that person was with magic.

As an adventurer, he understood the threat of the great invasion firsthand, and just the fact that someone had been pulling the strings from behind the scenes was enough to make him marvel. That achievement, or crime, was so extraordinary that it still didn't feel real, and he was honestly half-skeptical whether it had really happened.

And yet, it had still struck him as unusual for Lizel. That couldn't be helped.

"Hm?"

Jade frowned while biting into another cookie.

"What don't you like about that, Ittou?"

"What, you mean?"

"Lizel didn't do anything wrong. If anything, it's the opposite, isn't it?"

"The opposite?"

Lizel really didn't seem to have any idea.

Seeing his puzzled face, Jade crushed the cookie wrapper in his hand while wondering if this was some kind of joke.

For one thing, the reason Jade had even been talking to Lizel about this was because he had wanted to hear the details about his charge against a leading figure of Sars.

Because Jade had visited Lizel's inn the night before that reckless attack. During the day before, he had met some suspicious person with a ridiculously long fringe, heard that Lizel was gathering people to pick a fight with the upper ranks of Sars, and, without really understanding it, had refused normally.

By then, he had already accepted the next day's request.

But the night was free, so he had gone to the inn to hear the details, and there he happened to be present during a strategy meeting with the inn's old married couple that was getting a little lost. He was given an explanation, and had encouraged them with "Well, good luck," which had only been very recently.