A Gentle Noble's Vacation Recommendation

Gill was wandering around outside that day for no particular reason.

Normally, when he had nothing to do alone, he would either dive into a labyrinth or pick up a request, but that didn’t mean he was swinging his sword outside the country full of energy every single day. Sometimes he loitered somewhere while smoking, sometimes he went around shops to buy what he needed, sometimes he made the rounds of weapon shops looking for a good sword, and sometimes he toured liquor stores in search of good alcohol and snacks.

Lately, whenever he went to Lizel’s room, there were always several books stacked up there for one reason or another, so if he didn’t feel like going out, he sometimes spent the day in his own room. Every time he checked the contents, they were all the sort of books Gill wouldn’t find boring, so even though he’d never asked for them, he figured they carried the unspoken message of “take them if you like,” and took them without hesitation.

For the last few days, Lizel had been practically living in the royal palace. It was easy enough to imagine that it wasn’t because he was particularly passionate about teaching, but simply because he was being honest with his own desire to read.

The royals he was dealing with seemed to realize that as well, but as long as he taught them, that was good enough for them. And since Lizel—who had already read almost every book in his original world—looked ridiculously happy to be faced with a multitude of unknown, fascinating books, Gill also thought it was fine.

They hadn’t discussed anything in particular, but one of the two of them was always with Lizel, so right about now Eleven was probably spending time bored in the library. Generally, no matter what happened, he could handle it himself, and Gill didn’t think he was a man who needed babysitting, but even so, following him to the royal palace was really just Gill and Eleven’s self-satisfaction.

He had just finished lunch and was walking down a busy street, thinking he might as well go check the requests at the guild in Lizel’s place, since Lizel inevitably hadn’t shown his face there for a while.

“Hm? Ah, hey, wait a sec.”

The voice, which sounded like it was saying “I only called you because I happened to see you,” was vaguely familiar, but Gill had no intention of stopping; he didn’t believe anyone who had no particular connection to him would be calling out to him. And even if they were, he wasn’t going to stop.

“Hey, I said wait, damn it, you little punk. The scary-looking guy over there!”

Gill kept walking, not even bothering to pay attention. It wasn’t a clear rejection of “don’t talk to me”; it was just a mood that made it obvious he wasn’t interested. Ordinarily, anyone calling out to him would lose their nerve right there.

To begin with, most people wouldn’t think they could just casually talk to him anyway.

“I know you don’t give a damn about me! But this has to do with that refined guy, so stop!”

Only then did Gill finally halt.

When he turned, he saw the captain of the theater troupe “phantasm” running up to him, recognizable by their messy hair and ill-fitting glasses. Thanks to the warm climate they had a light sheen of sweat on their forehead, and while they looked seriously dissatisfied that Gill hadn’t stopped sooner, their thumb motioned somewhat solemnly toward the edge of the street.

Obviously, they hadn’t called out to him just because they’d seen a familiar face, Gill thought as he faintly furrowed his brows and followed the other behind a row of street stalls. Behind the stalls it felt a bit cooler somehow, and despite being only a few steps from the crowds, it was slightly quieter.

“Your legs are too damn long, you walk too fast, you punk. Hot as hell out here.”

The captain ran a hand through their heat-trapped hair in annoyance, muttering under their breath as if talking to themself. If Lizel had been there, he would have probably noticed that they lacked their usual vigor and asked what was wrong, but there was no way Gill would bother.