A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

The final, seventh day of the founding festival was drawing to a close.

People were spending it as they pleased—some getting even more excited as they tried to wring every last drop of fun from the day, others slipping away from the festivities in quiet reluctance. Of course, there were plenty of events that only took place on the final day, so the liveliness of the city never really faded.

Lizel and the others had already stepped away from that bustle a little ahead of time and were now riding in a carriage, swaying along as the sun was about to set.

Because many of the streets had carriage restrictions in place, it took them a bit longer than usual to reach the central district. There, they changed carriages and headed toward Rei’s mansion.

“Hey, I’m really glad you came! Inviting you was worth it!”

“Thank you very much for inviting us. Are you sure having us, mere rank c folks, is really okay?”

“If it weren’t you, it would be meaningless.”

Lizel smiled in a way that didn’t let anyone sense he had been perfectly fine with either going or not going. Watching him, Gill let out an exasperated sigh, thinking, There he goes again.

Once it was decided that they would go, there was no point in complaining. Gill was the sort who, once he’d agreed to something, wouldn’t go back on it and didn’t fuss over what was already done. In its own way, that was very manly of him.

“Whoa, shiny…”

Eleven suddenly muttered. Gill followed his gaze to Rei, who was talking with Lizel, and nodded in agreement.

As one would expect from a noble, or perhaps it was better to say that Rei’s very existence was flashy—on a normal day he could already look like he was sparkling in his usual clothes, yet today he was shining far beyond that.

Perhaps because he was the head of the military police, his outfit looked easier to move in than the stereotypical noble’s attire, somewhat reminiscent of a military uniform. But the glossy material reflected the light so beautifully that it was like scattered gold dust. It wasn’t a harsh, eye-searing brightness, but had a certain elegance to it—though, considering his age, it did feel a bit showy.

If one thought of it as attire that drew out his personal charm to the fullest, however, there was nothing wrong with it. Unless someone was extremely particular about formality, it shouldn’t bother them.

“By the way, is it fine for us to be like this? We thought turning up in our everyday clothes would be too much, so we’re in our normal gear.”

“How should I know.”

“We’re going as adventurers, so I think it’s fine…”

Naturally, none of them had ever attended this so‑called “adventurer-accompanied party” that apparently took place every year.

For the moment, they’d just come in their usual equipment, but was that really acceptable? Lizel had assumed that if anything special were needed, the noble who invited them would normally prepare it, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

Besides, the decision had only been made yesterday. If they’d needed to prepare something themselves, the chief military police officer would surely have sent some urgent message in a frantic rush.

When Lizel looked at Rei with a questioning gaze, Rei was watching their outfits as if appraising them.

“Hm, some nobles apparently like to dress up the adventurers they bring along. But I don’t think I could provide anything finer than your current equipment.”

“You… can tell?”

“I have at least a minimum of an appraiser’s eye. Of course I can.”

As expected of someone who proudly called himself a dungeon item collector.

Eleven, who thanks to Lizel’s recent “Etiquette Lecture Part 1—‘Don’t do anything that will disgrace the viscount. Speaking casually is out of the question’” was just barely managing to use polite speech, puffed himself up and nodded in satisfaction at Rei’s words.

Gill, on the other hand, properly understood when he absolutely had to use polite language, and in those situations he simply relied on the brute tactic of keeping his mouth shut. In this case, it wouldn’t be necessary anyway. After all, no one at this party was likely to reproach “One Blade,” the adventurer who stood at the very pinnacle, if he didn’t use polite speech.