Chapter 63
Today is the day we return to the Royal Capital. I visited a port town, practiced magic with Lucien, and spent a very fulfilling time.
It seems they'll be conducting various studies on fertilizer made from scallop shells, so I hope that port town will attract attention and seafood will become widely available. I've also made an ice maker, so transportation shouldn't be a problem.
We got up early, finished preparing, and gathered in front of the carriage. Lucien seemed to be saying his farewells.
"Father, Mother, I am leaving now."
"Yes, work hard. I look forward to seeing how much you've grown when you come to the Royal Capital."
"Yes!"
"Lucien, don't cause trouble for everyone, all right? Take care of yourself and do your best."
"I understand, Mother."
Ugh... To think someone would have to live apart from their parents at this age...
It must be terribly lonely and sad. I'm crying just thinking about it...
As I thought that and my eyes filled with tears, everyone looked at me strangely.
Huh? What?
"Leon, why are your eyes filled with tears? Did something get in them? If so, you should go wash them out."
That's what Lucien said. No, that's not it! I was crying over the sight of a family that had to live apart! Huh? Isn't anyone else crying?
Isn't this supposed to be a tearful farewell scene?
"Um... Aren't you lonely, Lucien-sama?"
"What do you mean?"
What do you mean? What else could I mean besides having to live apart from one's parents!
"Aren't you lonely about living apart from Christophe-sama and Sophia-sama?"
"Hmm? I'm not lonely at all. It's only natural, isn't it? What are you talking about, Leon? Besides, Father and Mother are coming to the Royal Capital soon for the Spring Month celebration party, you know?"
Huh? Really!? I thought we wouldn't see each other for a while! More importantly, what is the Spring Month?
"More importantly, I'm really looking forward to it! I might make lots of friends at the Royal Academy, and it'll be so exciting. I didn't get to talk to many children my age at the party."
Oh... I see...
Give me back my tears!! And tell me what the Spring Month is!
"...Indeed, I'm looking forward to it. By the way, what is the Spring Month?"
When I said that, Lucien looked utterly dumbfounded.
"You don't know?"
"No. This is the first I've heard of it."
I figured it was probably something like a calendar, but I didn't know this world's calendar. No one had ever mentioned it, and since I'd never heard of it, I'd simply never asked. I'd even wondered whether this world might not have a calendar at all.
"Spring Month, Summer Month, Autumn Month, and Winter Month make up a year, and then it repeats over and over, right?"
"I see. Then how many days are in Spring Month?"
"Eighteen weeks, or ninety days, obviously! Do you really not know?"
"No. It's not widely known among commoners."
"...Is that so? It's not something they'd put on the Royal Academy entrance exam, and I suppose you wouldn't know it unless you tried to learn it..."
Lucien said that with a stunned expression. Sorry for talking about this while we're saying goodbye. Well, if we'll see each other again soon, I suppose it's fine.
As I thought that and gazed at Lucien, Richard-sama called out to me.
"What are you two talking about? Are you about done? We're leaving, so get into the carriage."
"...Yes, Grandfather."
Lucien still looked shocked as he got into the carriage. I followed him inside.
The carriage left the ducal domain capital and set off toward the Royal Capital.
"Grandfather, Leon doesn't know about the calendar..."
"...Is that so? Hmm, I suppose it's only natural not to know if you don't try to learn it..."
"It never came up in conversation, so I only found out about it just now."
"Then let me teach you about it now."
Richard-sama explained that a year consisted of four months, from Spring Month through Winter Month; each month had eighteen weeks, or ninety days; and a year had 360 days. The year changed with the first week of Spring Month.
However, this country didn't seem to place much importance on the change of years, and apparently commoners didn't celebrate the New Year. The calendar didn't seem to be widely used either.
So that's why I'd never learned about it. Everyone else had only ever said things like "the end of winter" or "the beginning of spring."
I hadn't realized it until now, but "the end of winter" apparently meant the eighteenth week of Winter Month, while "the beginning of spring" meant the first week of Spring Month. How could I have known that?
As I learned this new information, the carriage continued onward. Since the return trip simply followed the same road we'd taken to get there, nothing particularly new happened.
The only difference from the trip there was that Morgan-san was gone and a guest room had been prepared for me.
It hadn't been long since I'd spoken to Richard-sama, so I was a little surprised they'd already dealt with it.
For me, though, everything worked out perfectly: I could sleep in a comfortable room, no one gave me malicious looks, and I had a wonderfully peaceful time. If anything, I was glad they'd dealt with it so quickly. The only thing I'd been dreading was staying in this town.
We arrived at the ducal residence in the Royal Capital without incident. It was already very late at night, so I stayed there for one night and planned to return home the next day.
The next morning, Lucien came to see me off. Everyone else apparently had a lot of work piled up and was busy.
"Leon, will we see each other next on the day of the exam?"
"Hmm, probably, but won't the exam venues be different?"
"But on the day of the exam, you'll go to the venue from the ducal residence, won't you?"
Indeed... It hadn't occurred to me at all, but my house might be too far away for me to arrive in time for the exam.
"That's true. Can I come to the ducal residence the day before the exam?"
"I knew it! I'll tell Grandfather."
"Thank you, Lucien. Then, see you later."
"Yes. I'm looking forward to the day of the exam."
And so, I rode home in a carriage with Roger. I was looking forward to seeing Lucien again. I'm glad we'd become friends.
As the carriage carried me home, I gazed idly at the town. I felt incredibly calm now that I was returning to familiar surroundings. Going somewhere unfamiliar had been fun, but it seemed to have tired me out. Besides, staying with the ducal family the entire time had been rather tense.
As I gazed vacantly outside, we arrived near my house.
"Then, Leon-sama, I will come to pick you up here by carriage on the afternoon of the day before the exam. Please finish your preparations and wait for me."
"I understand. Roger, thank you for everything during the trip. I look forward to working with you from now on, too."
"It's my job, so of course. When you next visit the ducal residence, I will serve you to the best of my ability."
"Yes. Then I'll see you next time I go to the ducal residence."
Then I got out of the carriage and went inside.
"I'm home!"
When I entered the house saying that, Marie and Ian were in the dining room.
"Marie, Ian-kun, I'm home."
"Big Brother! Welcome home!"
"Welcome home, Leon-kun."
Marie jumped up in delight. Had she really been that lonely? Ugh... I was happy that my little sister had missed me so much.
When I tried to hug Marie, she came toward me. Was she going to hug me first!? I happily spread my arms and waited, but Marie didn't come any closer. Hmm? What was wrong?
"Big Brother! What's inside that wooden box? Is it a souvenir!?"
Marie was looking at the wooden box in my hands, her eyes sparkling.
Ugh... Marie valued souvenirs over her big brother. She really knew how to raise my hopes and then crush them... Ugh, she's so cold! I'm sad!
As I was having this exchange with Marie, my mother and father came out from the kitchen.
"Welcome home, Leon. Were you hurt? Are you feeling all right?"
"Welcome home, Leon. Did you have fun?"
"I'm home! Mom, you're worrying too much. I didn't get hurt anywhere, and I'm perfectly fine. And I had a lot of fun!"
When I said that, they relaxed and smiled in relief. They had been worried about me. Having someone who worries about you unconditionally is a wonderful thing...
We won't be able to live together from now on, but let's work hard so that someday we can live together again!
"So what's inside those wooden boxes? There seem to be two."
"These are souvenirs for everyone! They're really delicious. I'll cook dinner and serve it to everyone. Oh, wait, are we doing evening service tonight?"
"Since Leon is home, we'll take the night off today."
"That's right."
"Thanks! In that case, I'll cook after lunch service ends."
Let's do my best and make a delicious meal! I brought fish, shellfish, and other seafood home packed in ice because I wanted everyone to experience how delicious it was.
I even bought oil and other things I needed in the downtown area, so everything was perfect.
"I'm looking forward to your cooking, Big Brother, because it's so delicious!"
"I want to eat it too! Can I eat before I go?"
Marie looked incredibly happy, and Ian-kun said this while looking extremely envious.
"Of course, you can eat too, Ian-kun. We have plenty of ingredients, so it's fine!"
"Really!? Thank you, Leon-kun!"
Ian-kun was overjoyed, pumping his fist.
"But you've never eaten seafood before, have you? Do you really want it that badly?"
"Of course! I definitely won't have another chance to eat seafood. You'd want to try something rare, wouldn't you?"
Well, I suppose that's true. That's just how it is.
"Let's put this conversation on hold for now. Lunch service is about to start."
"Oh, right! Then I'll go change too. It's been a while since I helped at the restaurant."
"Then Leon, go change, while Marie and Ian continue getting things ready."
"Yes!"
And so, I left the wooden boxes in the corner of the dining room and ran upstairs to change clothes.