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Chapter 176

“Oh dear, you guys are here, you thick-skulls.”

“Don’t call us thick-skulls...! Ehem... Uhm...” yelled Harriet reflexively, even though nobody had directed that at her, and her face turned bright red. She seemed to mistake every mention of “thick-skull” as being about her... I guess I had trained her too well.

Heinrich, Ellen, Riana, and Adelia were staring blankly at the two of us and our sudden appearance.

“You really are something. Who goes shopping and leaves their money behind? Do you want a nickname similar to ‘Thick-Skull’ like her?”

“I’m not a thick-skull!”

Jingle.

Riana’s mouth fell open as she stared at her own coin purse, now lying on the table.

***

Apparently, before starting their shopping, Riana had suggested they grab a quick bite at a place she knew in Rajak that served good food. Knowing Ellen always ate a lot, Riana had ordered a massive amount of food, but just as they were about to leave, she realized that no one had brought any money.

Just as I predicted, Riana had tried to convince them to bill it to Duke Granz’s estate, but got rejected.

So there they were sitting, all in a daze, wondering how to resolve the situation, when Harriet and I suddenly appeared.

Harriet answered Riana’s question on how we had found them so quickly, and Adelia seemed slightly surprised that Harriet had learned such a spell.

“You tracked our student IDs? When did you learn that?”

“Just, you know, in passing.”

While Adelia learned spells that could make money, Harriet learned the ones she wanted to. It seemed that Adelia took this as another defeat for her. Conversations with Harriet always left Adelia feeling pitiful.

Ellen and I locked eyes. Ellen seemed curious as to why Harriet’s mood had improved, and I shrugged slightly in return. It wasn’t the right moment to go into details.

Riana sighed in relief after catching her breath. “Thank goodness... Thank you both.”

Heinrich, on the other hand, didn’t look too pleased. Perhaps it bothered him that Harriet had played a significant role, while I hadn’t contributed much.

Regardless, Riana looked at me and said, “Hey, since you’ve worked hard as well, I’ll buy you a swimsuit too.”

“... You’re making it sound like I came all the way here just to get a swimsuit. I came here purely out of kindness, one hundred percent.”

Riana snorted, an exaggerated look of surprise on her face, as if she hadn’t expected this at all. “Do you even have such a thing as pure kindness within you? I thought you always needed something in return.”

“Hey, I may be rude, but I’m not heartless, okay?”

“Oh, so you do realize that you’re rude. I’m surprised you actually have a conscience.”

“... It’s not worth talking to you.”

What was the difference between Harriet and Riana? When I spoke to Riana, it always felt like I was the one getting riled up. In terms of verbal sparring, she was on a higher level than me.

Seeing me shut my mouth in annoyance, Harriet stared at Riana as if she were some kind of deity.

“Riana, what’s your secret?”

“... Secret to what?”

“Whenever you talk to him, he can’t move a muscle. How do you do it?”

“I can hear you, you know. At least have this conversation where I can’t hear you guys, okay?”

“So? Shut it,” Harriet said.

Harriet seemed genuinely curious about Riana’s secret to making me speechless. Riana just looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.

“Even though he pretends to be reckless, he’s actually a coward who can’t really go all out. Try acting boldly next time.”

“I’m telling you, I can hear everything.”

“B-Boldly?”

Harriet seemed to ponder this for a moment, probably recalling yesterday’s situation. The “go ahead, touch me if you can” moment from yesterday seemed to flash across her mind.

She then looked at me with a meaningful expression.

“... Kid, what you’re thinking about is called human compatibility,” I told Harriet.

“What? Hu-Human compatibility?”

“Yeah. I might not be able to do it to her, but I might actually follow through with you.”

‘It’s not about what you say, but who says it. No matter what you learn, you’re still Harriet de Saint-Ouen, not Riana de Granz, so the outcome will be completely different.

‘Some people leave the room feeling awkward while telling dad jokes, while others can make everyone laugh and call them witty with the same jokes. Reactions change depending on who delivers the joke. Do you know how unfair that feels? Of course, I’m not speaking from experience or anything...’

“I don’t know what bold move you’re thinking of, but you better behave yourself. You might end up regretting it.”

I smiled ominously, and Harriet’s face started to turn pale.

‘I couldn’t do anything to Riana, but what about you? What do you think will happen to you?’

Harriet seemed to dive into a whirlwind of imagination.

“W-What... You P-Pervert! Seriously... You’re a crazy pervert!” Her face turned bright red, and she squealed, covering her chest.

What on earth was she thinking?

‘I didn’t even say anything to begin with. Why are you freaking out on your own like that?’

“What kind of bold move were you planning on making to get such a reaction?” I asked.

“N-No! I didn’t say anything yet! I didn’t say a word!”

“Then why are you calling me a pervert?”

“I-I don’t know!”

Whatever Riana tried to teach her proved to be useless.

When it came to Harriet and I, there was a perfect hierarchical relationship between us.

***

Anyway, now that we’d brought the money, they could finally get back to the original mission of shopping for swimsuits.

But let me tell you this: Even if we think a medieval fantasy has nothing to do with real medieval times, isn’t this level of disregard for historical accuracy a bit too much?

There was a specialized swimwear store, and the fabrics they used looked no different from modern swimwear materials. I knew that synthetic fibers and modern-style clothing existed in this world, but this seemed like...

‘Hmm.’

In this world, there were far more elements resembling the modern era than the medieval one. What should I call such a bizarre world setting? What kind of twisted world had I created? The conclusion was always the same: thinking about it meant admitting defeat.

The task was simple. We were going to a swimwear store to buy ourselves swimsuits. As simple as that!

While our main objective was to buy a swimsuit for Ellen, Riana also seemed interested in buying one for herself. As she was helping Ellen pick out her swimsuit, she tried some on for herself as well.

“How does it look?” Riana asked for opinions from everyone, including me, whenever she tried on a swimsuit.

“Well, uh... I think... I think it looks really good on you,” Heinrich stammered, unable to even glance over at Riana.

“You haven’t even looked at me. How can you say it looks good without seeing it?”

When she asked him to give a proper opinion, he only broke out in more nervous sweat.

After hearing Heinrich’s hesitant answer, Riana turned to me.

“Hey, take a look.”

“Yes, it looks good on you,” I answered half-heartedly while looking elsewhere.

“... Aren’t you at least going to make an effort to look?”

“Well, anyway, what outfit wouldn’t look good on the beautiful and noble Lady Granz?”

“You’re just trying to annoy me now.”

Riana moved on, asking others for their opinions. Ellen, seemingly indifferent to everything, wore whatever Riana picked out for her.

“...”

Even looking in the mirror elicited no reaction from Ellen. Though Lady Granz might have a more commanding height and style, Ellen couldn’t be dismissed either.

Adelia and Harriet both stared in awe at Ellen in her bikini.

“Wow...”

“M-Maybe I should... start working out too...”

Both of them looked at Ellen with admiration in their eyes. She was wearing a basic black bikini.

“It suits you well.”

I couldn’t look for too long because a strange feeling came over me. An unwelcome, unsettling feeling... So I just said it looked good because it indeed did.

Ellen stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long time.

***

Apparently, Riana and Ellen never got tired of trying on swimsuits, switching between different ones repeatedly, while Adelia and Harriet also checked out various swimsuits they liked.

Of course, they asked me to pick something too, so I chose a pair of trunks that seemed like they’d fit and bought them without even trying them on.

‘I’m the kind of person who hates spending hours shopping! Walking around for two hours from the first store only to decide you like the first one best and go back is really infuriating.

‘This damn quasi-medieval-fantasy world; we could do without this kind of thing, so why is it even here?’

“Seriously, you’re gonna try on dozens of swimsuits just to buy one?” I said to Riana.

Riana tilted her head, puzzled by my comment.

“One? What are you talking about?”

She pointed at the pile of swimsuits she had tried on.

“I’m buying them all.”

‘Ah.’

I had underestimated the magnanimity of Lady Granz, who owned mansions all over the continent.

***

In the end, both Ellen and Riana bought a mountain of swimsuits.

“What if, after buying so many, the sizes don’t fit later...?”

“Then we buy new ones.”

“Of course.”

If they don’t fit? Just throw them all away and buy new ones.

Rich people on a different level had entirely different mindsets.

With our shopping done, we could either head back to the mansion to swim again or rest and play as we pleased.

It made sense that Riana hadn’t brought an attendant to the city with her since she’d come with friends. She seemed aware that Adelia might feel out of place, so it was a considerate move on her part.

That meant Ellen and Riana both had an armful of heavy bags to carry.

While Ellen handled it effortlessly like the monster she was, it was clear that Riana was struggling.

“It’s nice to have all the money in the world to buy stuff, but did you even think about how you were going to carry it all back?”

“... Apparently not.”

‘What an airhead.’

She always seemed to have some screw loose somewhere.

“Give it here.”

I took about half of Riana’s load. After Ellen, I was probably the strongest in our group.

Once I’d relieved her of half of her burden, Riana looked at me pointedly and held out the rest of her bags.

“Hey, since you’re at it, why don’t you take all of them?”

“Screw you.”

“I-I’ll carry those!”

“Uh... sure. Thanks.”

Heinrich von Schwartz eventually ended up taking the rest. However, his feebleness showed as he huffed and puffed, struggling to keep up. Seeing this, Harriet, Adelia, and even Riana chipped in to distribute the load more evenly.

They had bought an awful lot, to say the least.

As we were leaving Rajak, a commotion among the populace caught our attention.

—How much have you had to drink in broad daylight? Huh?

—I... hic... I had my reasons!

—You’ve been to that damn Airi’s tavern again, haven’t you! You think I wouldn’t find out!

—I told you, I haven’t...! Ugh, I’m so drunk.

—You’re going to ruin our family, you fool! Wasting away all your time drinking!

How should I put it... I had no reason to run into Airi, yet her name kept popping up everywhere. It seemed she was doing well selling alcohol, even in broad daylight.

Crash!

—I’m going to strangle that vixen myself!

This did not sound good. I could hear families breaking apart all around us.

‘Is this really okay? She said she wanted to make a lot of money, and it seems she’s indeed making a lot. But isn’t she at risk of getting stabbed over all this or something? Then again, she did say she had confidence in her skills.’

Anyway, I had plenty of time. Perhaps I could come back to Rajak alone someday and check on her.

With those uneasy thoughts lingering in my mind, I left Rajak.

***

Back at the mansion, we went swimming just like the previous day. Ellen and Riana wore their new swimsuits, and this time, instead of diving down, we just played by the seaside as usual.

I lay back on a sunbed, watching them from a distance, as I didn’t feel like getting into the water.

Adelia, Ellen, Harriet, and Riana were playing. I observed the four of them having fun at the beach while sipping on my drink. Harriet seemed in a much better mood compared to the day before, which was a relief.

As I watched them, I started to think about exercising, just to occupy myself. But then again, coming here to relax just to end up exercising felt a bit contradictory.

Heinrich von Schwartz called out to me. “Hey.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Aren’t you going to join them?”

He was in his swimming trunks, much like the day before, with a training jacket thrown over. I hadn’t put on my swimsuit since I had no intention of swimming.

“Not today.”

“... I see.”

Maybe he felt awkward being there alone?

He stood beside me, mumbling softly.

“So, is it true that nothing really happened to you in the Dark Land?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Even though it’s the Dark Land, it wasn’t dangerous at all?”

He seemed curious, wondering if I was just avoiding talking about the Dark Land, or if really nothing had happened. He wanted to know if I was hiding something, or if the place wasn’t as dangerous as its reputation suggested.

“I didn’t go to any dangerous places in the first place.”

“... Then what was the point of going there?”

‘Hmm.’

Why was he asking these questions?

“Is there any need to gamble with your life? It’s better to just stay cautious, so that’s what I did.”

Whatever I said would be a lie anyway, so it wasn’t worth putting much thought into it. I didn’t care what this guy thought of me.

“So, you made a lot of noise about going to the Dark Land, but like a coward, you didn’t actually do much, huh?”

“...”

I stared at Heinrich, and he seemed a bit intimidated by my gaze.

“Well, what does it matter?” I said.

“If it were me, I’d at least have taken down a goblin.”

“Sure you would.”

“Look, my abilities aren’t at the same level anymore.”

Fwhsh!

He concentrated briefly, and a burst of flames shot up from the middle of the sand.

I didn’t want to pay too much attention to whatever he was saying, but the speed and intensity of his pyrokinetic abilities had clearly increased since I’d last seen him.

He must have been training hard.

“Yeah, it looks like you’ve worked hard.”

Heinrich seemed a bit thrown off by my indifferent acknowledgment; it seemed like he had hoped to impress me.

From the way he was acting, it seemed he wanted me to feel jealous, angry, or upset. Thanks to the Flame of Fire, though, I already had all the abilities Heinrich possessed. Besides, I didn’t see any reason to be affected, even without those flames.

At the end of the day, I had my own abilities, and he had his.

“So just know that messing with me won’t get you anywhere, just like before,” he said.

He walked toward the beach with a sly grin, and I didn’t feel like saying anything to his retreating back.

‘What’s his deal? Why is he so keen on forming a rivalry with me?’

In the past, I would have smacked him upside the head, but I no longer had the desire to do so. Getting worked up over such trivial provocations felt exhausting.

It felt like my mindset had shifted to a different level.

***

After swimming, everyone cleaned up then gathered for dinner. Since we hadn’t spent the entire day swimming, no one seemed particularly tired.

Still, everyone seemed to want to turn in early, knowing that there was another day ahead.

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked out of concern.

Ellen had had another nightmare the night before, and there was no guarantee she wouldn’t have one again.

She nodded vaguely in response. “Yeah.”

We still had plenty of time, so perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit Airi in Rajak. I could just tell the kids that I was going to go somewhere alone.

As I mulled over these thoughts, I started to drift into unconsciousness.

Knock, Knock.

Someone knocked on my door.

Thinking it might be Ellen, I opened it, but it was Riana standing there.

“Come out.”

“... All of a sudden?”

“Just come already.”

What business could she have at this hour?

Riana gave me a sly grin.

“We need a drink on a night like this, don’t we?”

‘Ah, noona... You’re truly the best!’