A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

The bundle of cloth was still there on the floor, right beside the chair and desk that had been brought into the archive only yesterday.

The man, the kingdom’s foremost scholar and a member of the royal family, looked down at the single book inside that bundle—what was supposedly a diary—and pondered. To his eyes it still looked only like sheet music, and the very fact that he had managed to decode that much and identify it as sheet music was already considered an achievement. There was no need to even imagine how difficult it would be to master it as a language.

He did think it was impressive, but he also couldn’t deny that he’d found the gentle man he’d met face‑to‑face somewhat disappointing.

If he hadn’t been told in advance that the man was an adventurer, he would never have guessed. His refinement was in no way inferior to, and in fact clearly surpassed, that of the prince’s own siblings, and his mild demeanor would likely never cause discomfort in others. The way he had skillfully asserted his own opinion while giving due consideration both to the guild and to the kingdom had been admirable, and he had neatly undercut the prince’s attempt to lure him out by making contact with almost suspicious ease.

He had also noticed that the man had intentionally made his movements easy to read for that purpose. Remembering Nahas’s report, he could understand that this was probably meant as consideration for Sars: by insisting on approaching the royal family as an adventurer, he was being tactful toward them.

“But that just makes it…boring.”

He likely didn’t like to compete.

Before being of the royal family, he was a citizen of Astarnia, and no one who lived in Astarnia would follow a person who merely had a quick mind. No matter how far ahead someone could read, if all of that foresight was used only to avoid trouble, there was nothing charming about it at all.

When he’d heard the man wanted to make contact with him, he had wondered what intention lay behind it. But from what he had seen of him the other day, while he did have an intention, it was certainly not any kind of ambition that might leave an unpleasant impression. The way he had seriously examined the book had made it obvious that the royal family was a secondary concern and that the book was his true objective.

“But I am looking forward to it.”

He was dissatisfied that the man had sidestepped any kind of contest, but his own interest in the ancient language had not faded in the least over the years.

He quietly mouthed the only word he had managed to obtain—“rain”—several times. The man in question would soon be visiting this dim archive. Smiling in anticipation of what he would be taught, he waited for the wooden door to open.

‘Arimdad. My brothers just call me Arim.’

Walking along, Lizel recalled how Arim had introduced himself when they met the other day.

Though, strictly speaking, he hadn’t actually seen the man’s face. Afterward, when Nahas had asked them for their first impression, the three of them had answered in unison, “A bundle of cloth,” giving him a headache. That was how strong an impact that appearance had left.

Still, the man likely understood Lizel’s intentions without being told, and he had the motivation as well. From the perspective of someone teaching, Arim might be an exceptionally easy student.

“It’s been a while since I’ve properly taught anyone anything.”

“You were teaching the brats.”

“That wasn’t really what you’d call ‘properly’ teaching them.”

It wasn’t that he’d been sloppy—he had simply answered their questions whenever he had the time. Setting aside time specifically for the purpose of making someone learn something, as an actual course of instruction, was an experience Lizel had only with his former pupil.

As Lizel smiled calmly, wondering if he would manage it properly, Nahas, who was leading the way, felt an honest anxiety. Why was there so little sense of tension in a man who was about to stand in the position of educating a member of the royal family? Of course, Nahas had no way of knowing that Lizel had once been a tutor to royalty.