A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

“It really makes us stand out in a bad way.”

“We always did.”

Riding the carriage that left the Capital City (Parteda) for the various labyrinths, Lizel murmured to himself.

It was early morning, the time when many adventurers traveled, but they’d managed to find seats. As always, the three of them had laid down cushions made from Phantom Wolf Fur—top‑class shock absorption—and were swaying comfortably on the carriage’s bench.

In front of them stood a crowd of adventurers who hadn’t been able to sit, armored or in leather gear, crammed in shoulder to shoulder. The scraping of metal and leather reached Lizel’s ears from time to time, giving him an odd, indescribable feeling.

Directly before the three of them was a strangely spacious, empty area, rare in such a cramped carriage, as if others found them hard to approach. As always, Lizel couldn’t help but give a wry smile, wondering why it had to be that extreme.

“That rumor about us going to a party at the royal castle spread pretty fast, don’t you think?”

“It’s ‘cause of you, Big Brother. Once they hear the guy with the sword showed up in front of the big shots, that news is gonna spread no matter where it started.”

Gill grimaced. It wasn’t like he enjoyed being well‑known.

It had been a few days since that party, and by now the rumor that Lizel and the others had accompanied Rei had spread completely.

It was a place only a chosen few adventurers could visit. Being invited there was a mark of honor and a status that proved you were first‑rate. In the middle of all that, the fact that Lizel, a rank d who’d only been an adventurer for a few months, had been called there had only thrown more fuel on the fire.

Adventurers were supposedly all about freedom, but there was no shortage of people who felt envy and resentment toward those close to the powerful.

“What should I do if people start saying I’m just ‘a coward who’s good at wagging his tail for the strong’?”

“Then just meet their expectations and sic some strong folks on ‘em, yeah?”

On the opposite side of the carriage, separated from Lizel’s group by a mass of bodies, a man’s eyes popped wide open.

He was the one who, at the last stop, had heard the rumor that the one who’d gone to the party was a rank d, and had repeated Lizel’s own words aloud, word for word. If he’d been based in the Capital City originally, that thought probably wouldn’t have crossed his mind; so he was likely someone who hadn’t been in Parteda long.

Anyone who’d watched Lizel since his adventurer debut knew without a doubt he wasn’t that kind of person. His true strength was unclear, but they were certain he wasn’t the sort to curry favor with others—in fact, most figured he was the one people would want to curry favor with.

The rumor that maybe he’d really been able to attend because he was actually a noble had far more credibility to them.

The adventurers standing between the problem man and Lizel’s group pretended indifference, but inwardly they were all going, ahhh…

Lizel definitely knew what he was doing. He’d clearly heard the insults at the stop. And now he was playing around together with Eleven. No mistake.

Because passengers boarded the carriage in order, no one inside failed to grasp the situation.

Many of them felt complicated about it—this clean‑faced, gentle‑looking guy casually playing with others like this. Maybe it was the influence of that beastman whose personality just screamed “bad,” they thought.

“But facts are facts.”

“Huh? Oh, you mean about you liking competent people? What are you talking about, when you’re not wagging your tail, you’re the one making others wag theirs.”

“You… You don’t feel anything saying that about yourself?”

“Nope?”

At Gill’s exasperated remark, Eleven grinned.

He was very aware that he was attached to Lizel. The sweet look in Lizel’s eyes and the gentle smile he got whenever he met expectations—no one could fail to feel a great sense of satisfaction and superiority from that. Of course he’d wag his tail.