Published: September 4, 2025
Satou here. When I was in Japan, the only place I visited was a brewery where you could sample freshly brewed beer. Beer tasted so good right at the factory—why is that, I wonder?
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From the painting, a little girl was beckoning me with a wave of her hand.
Drawn by that gesture, I stepped closer to the painting.
The painting depicted a mysterious door standing alone in a field. The girl opened that door and entered, then beckoned from inside.
I placed my hand on the frame of the painting—
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"Good morning~!" "Yes, it is!"
With a cheerful greeting, a slight impact landed on my stomach.
I opened my eyes slightly and saw Pochi and Tama had dived near my stomach. The impact was caused by their arms landing there.
It had been a strange dream.
Last night, I obtained materials on how to decipher magical artifacts and spent the early morning classifying magical tools. Perhaps that was why I had that weird dream.
"Good morning."
I greeted them and rubbed their heads roughly. Maybe it was a bit too rough because both escaped by clutching my palm with their hands and feet. They lightly bit me, so I pretended it hurt.
"Hmph."
Just waking up, Mia ruffled my hair. I wasn’t sure if she wanted attention or if it was retaliation for being woken.
Despite all the noise right beside, Arisa was still asleep with a pained expression. I wondered what kind of dream she was having.
Nana came to call us for breakfast, so I woke Arisa and took her to the dining hall. Still sleepy, Arisa acted spoiled, saying "carry me," so I slung her over my shoulder and carried her. Pochi and Tama looked on enviously, so it seemed likely I’d be carrying them later too.
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"Viscount, regarding the schedule for the workshop tour—"
Yesterday, on the way to the duke’s castle, I asked Shellna-san, and apparently, the workshop tour isn’t something you can do immediately; it requires a prior reservation. So, I asked Shellna-san to make the reservation for me.
Excluding the scroll workshop tour at Viscount Seemen’s place in Tolma’s hometown, which is ten days from now, the other tours were scheduled between two and five days from now. The scroll workshop visit was so delayed because Viscount Seemen was currently in the Royal Capital and they had to wait for his return.
"Then for tonight’s dinner, will it be just you and Miss Karina?"
"Of course, that is fine."
Before I could answer, Karina-sama replied.
The dinner she referred to was an invitation from the former Count Wolgock and his wife. Also, three days later, there was a party hosted by the duke. I couldn’t shake the feeling that some trouble was brewing—maybe I was just being paranoid.
I could have gone to the dinner with Nana, but she wasn’t as knowledgeable about etiquette as Karina-sama was. Plus, Karina’s maid squad pushed for it, so the invitation went to her. Honestly, it would have been easier to bring Lulu, but she didn’t seem suited for such formal occasions, so I gave up on that.
"About the martial arts tournament, are you really not participating? Saying you attended the secondary qualifiers would be quite a status in noble society..."
"I have no such intention."
"Understood. The secondary qualifiers will be held in the city arena, where a private VIP room is reserved for you at your convenience. However, unfortunately, we couldn’t secure a private room for the finals, so you’ll have to use the shared VIP seating."
Apparently, it’s okay to make noise in the private VIP room, but in the shared one, noise caused by demi-humans or slaves is not allowed. Pochi and Tama would never watch quietly, so I planned to sneak in alone for the finals. The secondary qualifiers would run for five days starting the day after tomorrow.
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We took two four-person carriages and all headed downtown. Of course, Karina-sama stayed behind.
We got off at the parking area in front of the Great Wall and walked from there.
"So crowded."
"Yes, it’s a melting pot of races as expected from a big tournament."
"Melting pot?"
"Is it tasty?"