Chapter 152
Upon arriving at the ducal residence, I immediately had Roger deliver a message to Richard-sama saying that I wanted to speak with him.
"Leon-sama, he says he'll have everyone else leave after dinner and hear what you have to say then."
"Thank you. But why is he having everyone else leave?"
"Well... I believe it's because your reports, Leon-sama, are always things that can't be shared with others..."
"...I don't think that's true."
When I said that with an unconvinced look on my face, Roger briefly looked at me as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard, then quickly returned to his usual serious expression.
"Indeed, there has been an ordinary report at least once."
"Roger, you don't have to be so considerate. I saw you make a face just now that clearly said, 'What on earth is he talking about?'"
"I apologize. I simply thought you might not remember what your previous reports were about."
"I remember them perfectly!"
Recently, Roger had been speaking bluntly like this more and more. I was glad he no longer held back, but wasn't he taking it a little too far!?
"...It's true that my reports have usually been about things we couldn't make public, but maybe I should give an ordinary report once in a while too? For that matter, what exactly is an ordinary report?"
"You are neither a nobleman's son nor an ordinary commoner, Leon-sama, so I don't think you need to worry about it."
He said it again. Everyone kept telling me I wasn't ordinary. Well, they weren't wrong.
...It hurt that I couldn't argue with them.
The best thing was probably to stop worrying about it. Being special was better than being ordinary, right? That's right. I was special.
Somehow, that felt empty...
"I've decided not to worry about it anymore."
And so, I passed the time enjoying my conversation with Roger, which ultimately left me taking heavy damage, until it was time for dinner.
Dinner passed peacefully as usual, and it was soon time to talk after the meal. Now it was time for my report.
"Richard-sama, I have a report to make."
"Ah. What is it about this time?"
Richard-sama asked kindly without the slightest sign of annoyance. Even though I'd only ever brought him troublesome reports... Richard-sama was too kind.
"This time, it's about the stall. Ronnie, who runs it, told me today that some thugs who seemed to have been hired by someone have been interfering with its business."
As soon as I said that, the kind expression on Richard-sama's face turned stern.
"What exactly have they been doing?"
"Yes. They haven't physically done anything to us. They've been loitering in front of the stall without buying crepes, or lining up to buy them without actually making a purchase—things that are troublesome, but only warrant a warning."
"I see... In that case, even if soldiers were present, they could probably do no more than warn them."
"Yes. But it seems to have reduced our sales, so we need to do something about it. Ronnie came up with a plan for dealing with them, and I'd like to ask for your help with it, Richard-sama. Could you hear the plan first?"
"Of course. Tell me about it."
I then told Richard-sama about the plan Ronnie had described to me today. I also told him that we wanted to borrow some soldiers.
"Ronnie was the one who came up with this plan, correct? He's the commoner who is your friend, isn't he?"
"Yes. We're in the same class at the Royal School, and he's my friend. And yes, he's a commoner."
"Is Ronnie the child of someone from a merchant guild?"
"No, Ronnie grew up in an orphanage."
"An orphanage!?"
Richard-sama exclaimed in considerable surprise, then fell silent as if deep in thought.
Was he considering whether Ronnie, as a talented commoner, could also be brought into the ducal family's fold? I suppose hearing that a commoner from an orphanage had come up with this plan would naturally lead to that thought...
Would that actually be good for Ronnie? Hmm, having the ducal family as his backers would probably be a good thing, but Ronnie had said he wanted to run a shop rather than become a civil servant...
As I was thinking about that, Richard-sama raised his head.
"Leon-kun, I'm honestly surprised that someone this capable could be both a commoner and an orphanage graduate. Can Ronnie use magic or a sword?"
"No. He has very little magic power, so he doesn't take magic classes. It seems he only tried swordsmanship for the first time in class."
"Then his only strength is his intelligence?"
"Yes. Um... What are you planning to do with Ronnie?"
"I was wondering whether he might be able to support the ducal family's interests. Does Ronnie have anything he wants to do in the future?"
"Actually, Ronnie is planning to run a shop together with me."
When I said that, Richard-sama's expression brightened considerably.
"I see. That's good. If he becomes a central figure at a shop backed by the ducal family, it will establish his connection with us and make it known. I'd like Ronnie to come to the ducal residence regularly as well. That would further reinforce the connection."
Ronnie would be able to work at the shop as planned and also build a connection with the ducal family. That would be good for him, right? He would probably be very nervous at first, but he'd get used to it eventually. I should bring Ronnie to the ducal residence sometime.
When would be a good time...? Oh, right. Maybe I could bring him along with Yoan the next time we went to look at potential locations for the shop.
"Understood. When we go to look at the potential shop locations, may I bring Ronnie and Yoan, the cook, along?"
"That was two weeks from now, on a Recovery Day, correct?"
"Yes."
"I'll be at the residence that day, so that's fine."
"Thank you. Then I'll bring them that day."
"I'm counting on you. Sorry, we got off topic."
That's right, we were talking about the stall.
"The plan you described is very well thought out. It's worth trying. I'll arrange for soldiers to be dispatched."
"Thank you very much!"
Good. Now all we had to do was pray that the plan succeeded. Just as I was beginning to relax, Lucien, who had been silent until then, spoke up.
"Leon, I'll stand watch with you tomorrow night."
I knew he would say that. I didn't mind him coming, but it would be a problem if anything happened to him.
"I appreciate that, but it could be dangerous, so I'll just take it as a kind thought."
"If soldiers are there, it'll be fine."
"But... Richard-sama, is that all right?"
I decided to leave the decision to Richard-sama and put the question to him.
"Lucien, you don't need to go, do you?"
"Grandfather, I've never seen soldiers capture criminals before, so I'd like to observe it for future reference."
"Hmm. It might indeed be useful to see it once."
It looked like Lucien would be coming along after all. Lucien was basically a smart, athletic, highly capable child, but he could be pretty childish too.
Well, I thought that was one of his good qualities.
"Then, may I participate as well?"
"I suppose so. Leon-kun, are you all right with that?"
"Yes. However, would it be all right if Lucien only joined us at night? I think we should run the stall normally during the day..."
Lucien stood out in every way, from his bearing to his clothes. If he came to the stall during the day, the plan would probably fail just because of that. I'd been to the stall several times, so my presence shouldn't cause any trouble.
"I won't get in the way."
"Then please join us for the night watch. Tomorrow, after running the stall normally during the day, would it be all right if we packed everything up and came to the ducal residence?"
"Yes. I'll make the necessary preparations for the soldiers."
"Thank you very much."
After that, we finished talking, and I returned to my room.
"Roger, I have a favor to ask."
"Yes. Please ask anything of me."
"Tomorrow, after running the stall with Ronnie during the day, we need to take the equipment to his house and put it away there before coming back to the ducal residence. Could you have a carriage pick us up at Ronnie's house?"
Ronnie's house was quite far from the ducal residence, and I thought it would be hard for him to walk after running the stall. I would be fine, but it would be tiring for Ronnie. Besides, we'd have to stand watch afterward, so it would be best to conserve our energy.
"Of course. What time should I come to pick you up?"
"Hmm, I think we'll finish early tomorrow, so around four in the afternoon."
"Understood. I'll come at that time."
"Thank you. I'm counting on you."
With that, our preparations were probably complete. All that remained was to carry out the plan with Ronnie during the day tomorrow and stand watch at night. If no one came tomorrow night, we'd have to keep watch for several days... That would be difficult, so I hoped they'd come tomorrow.
If nothing happened after several days, we'd have to rethink the plan. But if nothing happened, that would almost be more unsettling. I really was worried about Ronnie...
Oh, right. I was supposed to try making a barrier magic tool.
Once I was alone in my room, I took some magic stones and magic iron out of my Item Box. Richard-sama had made sure I could obtain magic stones and magic iron whenever I wanted, so I always kept a certain amount in my Item Box.
The Item Box really was convenient. I occasionally withdrew money and stored it in there too, and I made sure to keep plenty of useful things inside, such as food, clothes, and tableware.
All right, let's try making it. A barrier could be made in any shape, but I couldn't keep it activated constantly because people nearby would notice. Besides, it would make it difficult for the wearer to move.
So I wanted it to activate in an emergency, but what shape would be best...?
I thought it would be best to make it a necklace hidden beneath clothing, so no one would notice the magic tool. It shouldn't activate normally, but it needed to be easy to activate in an emergency. That was the goal.
In that case... I guess a ring and a necklace would be best. Quite a few men in this world wore rings, so a simple ring made entirely of magic iron wouldn't stand out. In an emergency, the wearer could activate the barrier simply by gripping the necklace with the hand wearing the ring. That would be easy.
Once I'd decided that, all I had to do was make them. To make the barrier last longer, I connected the magic stones into a necklace shape using magic-stone linking. With magic-stone linking, it didn't matter how far apart the magic stones were as long as they were connected by a single strand of magic-iron wire, so I could make it into a necklace. Then I made a simple ring out of magic iron alone... Done.
All that remained was deciding what kind of magic to use. I wanted the barrier to cover a square roughly one meter on each side around Ronnie. But if it suddenly appeared there, anyone inside the barrier could be in danger. So I designed the magic to make the barrier gradually expand outward from right beside Ronnie. If it expanded too quickly, it might send the enemy flying, so I made sure not to make it too fast.
Yes, this should probably work. Now all I had to do was give it to him tomorrow, and everything would be perfect!
Yaaawn... I'd made it at the time I would normally be sleeping, so I was tired. I should go to bed and get ready for tomorrow. With that thought, I got into bed and quickly fell asleep.