Act 05: The Capital Six months have pa.s.sed since I"ve been summoned.
"Excuse me."
I knock on the director"s office door and wait for a reply before entering.
I placed the tea set, plated sandwiches and sweets on the serving cart.
The Director and Captain were sitting on the lounge suite sofas, waiting for me.
"It looks delicious."
The Director and Captain laugh happily when they look at the dishes arranged on the table.
Today is my day off but when I heard that the Captain had business with the Director and came to the Medicinal Herb Research Inst.i.tute, I decided to prepare some finger food.
The image is afternoon tea.
The research inst.i.tute didn"t have any tiered trays so it was served on an ordinary dish. However when there is a tea party at the royal palace, it seems that the sweets are plated on a .
The source of this information is Liz.
I pour tea into the tea cups and place it in front of the Director and Captain. Last, I hold onto the tea cup I prepared for myself and sat next to the Director.
I have a feeling that the Captain slightly lowered his eyebrows but I ignore it.
Sitting next to the Captain is too nerve wracking, yup.
"I"m sorry even though it"s your day off."
"No it is not a problem, I did it because I wanted to."
The Captain apologised but I wished he didn"t care so much about it.
Even though it"s my day off, I do the same things that I usually do.
Besides the Captain brought some sweets with him today so I"m happy that I can have a tea party like this.
Even so this sweet is very beautiful and colourful.
I think these sweets are made from fruits.
Because it"s covered in sugar, it"s really sweet. But since coming here, I"ve hardly had any sweets so I was kind of looking forward to it.
The Director and Captain have already finished their business so right now the three of us are talking about various things.
"But you work really well."
"Really?"
"Even on your days off you never go out. You"re always doing something at the research inst.i.tute, right?"
"Because I live here. I also want to do housework on my days off."
It"s no different from when I did housework on my days off in j.a.pan.
There are a lot of things I need to do on my days off like laundry and tidying up my room.
Even so I finish everything in the morning.
Laundry the most time-consuming thing is usually done by servants.
Most of the researchers living here are aristocrats and it seems that there are a lot of people who don"t know how to do their own laundry.
So servants are hired to do housework such as laundry and cleaning.
I don"t like it when other people enter my room while I"m not there so I clean it myself.
Most people seem to have other people do their cleaning for them.
Well, if they didn"t then it"ll be like Syvash1)She"s saying that it"ll be really trashy. Syvash is also known as the Rotten Sea., surely.
"Other than housework, you also research or go to the library, right? Isn"t that the same as working?"
"But I don"t work as much as I did in j.a.pan."
Both the Director and the Captain have a proper position within the royal palace so they know that I was summoned by the 【Saint Summoning Ceremony】.
They"re probably worried about me so they don"t ask about j.a.pan much but I do speak about it from time to time.
Therefore they know that the country that I"m from is called 【j.a.pan】.
"Before I worked every day from three bells in the morning until the midnight bell."
"Hah?"
The Director raised a rare voice in confusion and his eyes bulge open.
The Captain didn"t say anything but he stopped moving the teacup that he was holding to his mouth and stared at me wide-eyed.
It was inevitable.
Three bells in the morning is 9 am and the midnight bell is the bell that indicates that it is midnight.
If I add the time I take to get ready and commute, I wake up at 6 am every morning and sleep at 2 am.
Although I have two days off on the weekends, I went to work every Sat.u.r.day……
I wanted to do housework on Sunday but since I had physical health problems all I did was rest.
People in this world basically live when the sun sets and rises. I think it varies between occupations but the working hours of the research inst.i.tute are also based on that.
Since coming here I"ve been working from 7 am until 5 pm every day.
Moreover the people from the research inst.i.tute and 3rd Knight Order sometimes casually drink tea.
No one got angry when they drink tea.
Other people may be different but I feel that my lifestyle here is a lot looser than when I was in j.a.pan.
If you look at the basics of my loose lifestyle then no matter how you look at it I overworked before.
"That…… Did you attend evening parties at work……?"
"No. I was a commoner."
Yes, like the Director and Captain, there are also jobs where aristocrats attend evening parties.
Those parties may have been held in j.a.pan but I was in no position to attend such celebrity gatherings.
"That kind of commoner is as busy as our Prime Minister."
"Everyone around me was like that?"
"The civil officials are like that."
"Is that so?"
"Ah ~, that"s right."
Even here, the civil officials working at the royal palace seem to be very busy.
However most of the civil officials are aristocrats, not commoners.
"Huh, what is it?"
"No, you"ve became more beautiful compared to the time you arrived here."
"Hah? What are you saying so suddenly?"
"When you first came here I thought that you looked like the guys from Interior when they"re busy."
The Director placed his hands on my cheeks while saying, "Your eye bags have completely disappeared", and stroke his thumb under my eyes.
No one other than my family has ever touched me like this and my heart was thumping in my chest.
Perhaps, my face is also red.
And the Director amused himself with my reactions.
The Director"s facial expression doesn"t change while he"s looking at me but his eyes are mixed with joy, so I"m sure of it.
He seems to have noticed that I"m not accustomed to such skin ship so he"s been messing with me like this recently.
Ah ~, enough.
I want to escape from the Director"s hands but it is hard to move from the sofa I"m sitting on, so I couldn"t distance myself.
While I was cursing in my mind I heard someone clearing their throat in front of me.
When I glance up, the Captain is glaring at the Director in displeasure.
The Director also noticed him clearing his throating and glaring at him so he released his hands from my face.
"What?! Do you also want to touch it too, Al?"
"No!"
It seems that the Director"s target has changed to the Captain.
Anyway I drink my tea and sighed in relief.
It"s hot.
It is the peak of summer.
This place is the mainland so it"s not as humid as j.a.pan.
But, hot weather is hot.
Moreover there"s no wind today.
If I was allowed, I would like to be in shorts and a camisole.
Of course with bare feet.
If I were to dress like that here, the guys at the research inst.i.tute will have nosebleeds and pa.s.s out.
Even though it"s summer, I"m wearing a long-sleeved shirt and an ankle-length skirt.
Camisoles and short pants have less cloth than general underwear here.
Still at this rate I would probably collapse due to heat stroke. Although my sleeves are rolled up, it"s still hot.
I"m writing a doc.u.ment to submit to the Director but my brush has stopped moving for a while now because of the hot weather.
Let"s give up enduring this heat.
"Hey, Jude."
"What?"
I move to where Jude was sitting and he also seemed to be annoyed by the heat. There"s openings on the sleeves of his shirt.
What the, that"s unfair.
I also want to open up my sleeves.
If it"s like this then let"s make him work.
"I have a little favour to ask you. Can you come with me?"
"Okay."
I said and bring Jude to the kitchen.
The chef isn"t there when we enter the kitchen since it was already past noon.
While looking around I found a bucket used for cleaning on the shelf near the wall.
I take the bucket, put it on the floor and turn to face Jude, who was standing behind me.
Jude can use water attribute magic.
I have a feeling that he told me he could fill a tub full of water with his magic.
"Can you fill this bucket with cold water?"
"I can. But what on earth are you trying to start?"
"I thought that it"d be refreshing if I fill the bucket with water and put my feet in."
"Wait, that"s……"
"You"re trying to say it"s improper, right? It"s okay, n.o.body"s here."
It seems that it isn"t good for woman to show their bare feet to the opposite s.e.x in this world.
When I went to the library recently it was hot so I was fanning myself with my skirt and Liz got angry when she saw it.
Despite Liz being the same s.e.x as me.
When I said that she replied with, "What if someone saw you?" She had a nice smile on while she was angry.
That was scary.
Because there is such values here, Jude hesitates and his face is unusually red.
"If Jude also had a bucket you can soak your feet. It feels good, you know?"
I propose the same thing to the reluctant Jude.
It is the whisper of the devil.
"You don"t have to worry so much. No one comes to the kitchen at this time and it"s not like I"ll be soaking my feet for that long. Please!"
"……。Fine…… If you insist. Be careful not to get found out."
"Thanks!"
Although Jude is reluctant he fills the bucket with water and left the kitchen.
He cheekily took a different bucket with him when he left so it seems that he"s going to do the same thing in a different place.
Even if he said that, everyone"s the same in hot weather.
The kitchen floor is dirt so even if the water spills it"s okay.
I put the bucket in front of the chair and sit down on the chair.
I raise my skirt up to my knees so that it doesn"t get wet.
I took off my shoes and socks and put my feet into the bucket. The cool, cold water covered my feet.
Ah ~, as I thought it feels good.
Anyhow, no one"s here so I unb.u.t.ton two b.u.t.tons from my shirt, opened it and fan myself.
There"s no wind but it"s cool when I fan myself.
I spent awhile doing this and at the time when the water in the bucket became lukewarm.
The doork.n.o.b turned with a clink and the door behind me opened.
"Sei, here……"
I heard a voice and turn back. The Captain was there.
He looked my way, stopped in the middle of his sentence and froze.
Ah ~, yup.
My appearance is overstimulating, isn"t it?
It"s very awkward.
For the time being I fasten my b.u.t.tons, pulled my feet out of the bucket, put my shoes on and stand up.
"h.e.l.lo Hawk-sama. What can I do for you?"
And as if nothing had happened, I called out to the Captain.
The Captain, who is frozen, covered his mouth with his palm and averted his eyes.
As usual he blushed.
"Sorry." He said in a small voice.
Please don"t be shy.
Please pretend it didn"t happen.
I think as I clear my throat. The Captain started speaking awkwardly.
"I heard that you have a day off tomorrow."
"Come to think of it, yes I do."
When he said that I remember that tomorrow"s my day off.
But what"s wrong with that?
I think and tilt my head. The Captain turns back to face me.
"Tomorrow"s also my day off so I was wondering if you"d like to go to town together."
"To town!?"
Oh! I can finally go to town!!!
I haven"t been to town yet.
When I replied joyfully the Captain recovered and smiled.
"Johan was worried that you were secluding yourself in the research inst.i.tute and working on your days off. It is also important to take a breather once in a while, right?"
"Is that so?"
Johan is the Director.
It seems that the Director was worried about me.
I certainly didn"t have anywhere else to go and because I live in the research inst.i.tute, I"m also here on my days off so I end up working.
But I do spend my mornings leisurely.
"Thank you. Please let me join you."
"Well then, I"ll pick you up here tomorrow morning."
"Is that alright?"
"Yeah, no problem."
Yay ~!
What kind of place is it?
Of course it"ll be like a European townscape, right?
I wanted to go to Europe at least once but I didn"t end up going because I was summoned to this place.
Like that, there was a time when I was pleased……
I was looking forward to going into town that I completely forgot.
The person who is going with me is the Ice Knight-sama, who isn"t cold at all.
There was a short distance between the royal palace and the town centre so we rode a carriage from the front gate.
It wasn"t a luxurious carriage from the Margrave but a normal carriage, it seems that the Captain made arrangements so that it wouldn"t be noticeable.
The clothes that the Captain wore also matched with mine. They were clothes that commoners wore around town.
I think that the Margrave carriage is better than this one.
Because, you know, the normal carriage isn"t s.p.a.cious.
I"m in this cramped carriage with the Captain, who has a good physique. Just the two of us.
It"s close! Too close!
Right beside me is a sparkling hunk!
Moreover, we"re sitting relatively close……
A trip in a narrow s.p.a.ce while sitting relative close to a hunk……
My level"s too low. I can"t do it!
Stop it! My life is already zero!
"Look! If you look over there you can see Johan"s main residence."
"Eh ~."
I was screaming inside when the Captain smiled and pointed towards the other side of me.
Don"t get any closer! Close. Too close!!!
I couldn"t look at the Captain so I look towards where he was pointing and there was a magnificent residence.
Since it was the capital the price of the land must be expensive, right? And yet the Director"s house was very big.
Is his family rich?
"It"s very big."
"Yeah. Johan"s family is really influential."
I thought that was the case and turned my head back. I really thought my heart was going to stop because the Captain"s face is so close.
I was thankful that he moved when he noticed that blood was rushing to my face. But the inside of the carriage was really narrow.
Despite it being really taxing on my heart, the carriage carried on and gradually reached the town.
"Wow ~~~!"
It"s amazing! What"s this, it"s so cute!
The landscape looks exactly like Europe!
The rooftops are red. It looked like something that popped out of fairy-tale.
While I was impressed by the townscape the carriage stopped and the door was open.
The Captain got off first and lend me a hand.
I take his hand and got off. Looking around this seems to be close to the centre of town. There are quite a few people.
While I was looking around impressed the Captain said, "The market place is that way, shall we go and see?" and took my hand.
Eh? Is he not going to let go of my hand?!
Wait!
No ~~~~~~~~!