By the Grace of the Gods

Today, six episodes were updated simultaneously.

This story is the second episode.

As soon as I arrived at the inn, I went to visit the rooms of everyone from the Duke's household.

Alone immediately welcomed me and guided me to the table where the four of them were sitting.

“Welcome back, Mr. Ryoma.”

“Welcome back.”

“Welcome back. It seems like today was quite tough.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

It seems they already know about what happened today.

“Thank you, everyone. …Right away, there’s something I want to ask you today.”

The moment I said that after expressing my gratitude, the four of their faces tightened.

“What is it? Tell us.”

“What’s this all of a sudden, Mr. Ryoma?”

Mr. Reinhardt urged me on with a serious expression, and the young lady said with a worried look.

“I’ve decided what to do from now on. I’m very grateful to all of you, but… I want to leave you and become independent.”

At that moment, the young lady suddenly stood up from her seat and confronted me. The other three quietly stayed in their seats.

“What’s the sudden matter!?”

“I thought that if I stayed like this, I’d keep relying on you all and become useless. Over the past one or two weeks, I realized I had been taking everyone’s kindness for granted. I want to become independent and retrain myself.”

“If you want to retrain yourself, why not come with us? There are plenty of instructors…”

“If I stay with you all, I think I’ll just keep depending on you. That’s why I want to leave for a while.”

At that point, madam asked.

“So, ‘for a while’ doesn’t mean you’re never coming back, right?”

“Yes. I’m not leaving because I dislike you or anything like that. So, if I can retrain myself and feel satisfied, I’d like to meet you again then.”

“Of course! Honestly, you can still rely on us if you want to. You’re only eleven years old, Mr. Ryoma. It wouldn’t be strange for you to live with your parents at this age. If you want, we’ll always welcome you!”

“Mother!? Aren’t you going to stop him?”

“Elise, it’s not like you’ll never see Mr. Ryoma again. Just like you’re going to school, Mr. Ryoma wants to study on his own. To be honest, I don’t think I’m necessary. What Mr. Ryoma really needs is to be spoiled.”

“Hey, hey, Elise, we already talked and decided, didn’t we?”

“I know. That’s why I’m not opposing it. I’m just stating my opinion.”

Talked and decided? About what?

“Um… you said you talked and decided?”

Lord Reinbach and Mr. Sebas answered the question.

“Actually, I had expected Mr. Ryoma would say something like this since we arrived in this town. After all, I’ve lived quite a long time. I’ve seen many children like you — colleagues, subordinates, enemies, various positions.

We won’t stop you. But don’t overdo it. Even if you can work hard, you must also learn to rest moderately; otherwise, your efforts may be wasted before bearing fruit.”

“Lord Ryoma may feel like he has been relying on others, but we don’t think so. Indeed, the Duke’s household provided the inns and meals during the journey, but that was all. Lord Ryoma registered with the Guild in an unfamiliar town, took on jobs himself, and worked seriously, as if it were natural. …Therefore, I expected you would bring up a conversation like this at some point. Though, it was much earlier than I predicted.”

Mr. Reinhardt continued further.

“Watching you sometimes reminds me of my best friend. Our personalities are completely opposite. You’re serious, but he’s not. He always leaves troublesome things to his subordinates or others and tries to escape work… That’s problematic, but Mr. Ryoma, you need that kind of aspect too. Rest moderately, delegate, rely on others, just like Mr. Sebas and your father said. Sometimes that makes things better. In fact, my best friend is doing well with that approach.”

The words they each told me were truly appreciated. I hadn’t realized they had been thinking about me this much.