A Chat with the Viscount

I'd exercised hard and taken a shower. Normally I'd feel refreshed in body and spirit, but I was just plain tired.

Having unwanted affection thrust upon you really was no fun at all.

I could accept simple cheering easily enough, though.

"What a weirdo."

"'Weirdo'… can we really just leave it at that? I can't believe there's merchandise of us being sold… I had no idea."

"Maybe it hasn't reached the Royal Capital yet? Ha ha. When you become a high-ranking adventurer, you get famous enough for regular people to become fans, so that kind of thing happens."

"What about you, Ramiza-san?"

"I usually wore a hood, so I didn't get much of that. Although, you know, my mysterious allure was just too much to hide, so I might've had a pestering stalker or two."

"Mysterious…"

From a stranger's perspective, I suppose she could come across that way.

She was undeniably beautiful with an excellent figure, so anyone who didn't know her personality would probably find her attractive.

"Azu-chan, what's that face? Something you want to say?"

"No, nothing at all. You're a very mysterious beauty, Ramiza-san."

"Oh, am I? Hehe."

Hmm. Adventurers weren't idols, so popularity didn't really seem like a good thing.

Gaining recognition and gaining popularity weren't the same.

"Oh, right. You all performed at that big concert alongside royalty and the princess of Alsarm, didn't you? That probably caused your popularity to explode. Come to think of it, merchandise popping up in the Royal Capital is probably just a matter of time."

"That concert was certainly eye-catching, but the most popular one was Yupe-sama. If there's going to be merchandise, wouldn't hers come first?"

"She's royalty, though. Nobody wants to risk actual execution for crossing that line. Unlike some random adventurers, you'd be looking at lese-majeste charges."

In Yupe-sama's case, she'd probably enthusiastically sell the stuff herself.

I could vividly picture her seeing a portrait of herself in circulation, complaining that it didn't make her pretty enough, and commissioning a new one.

I should probably mention this to Master.

If he were the one selling our merchandise, well… I suppose I'd accept it.

A slave belonged to her master, after all.

"I just want to go home and relax… I miss it."

"We'll be home soon enough. Hang in there."

"Yeah…"

I answered Alexia-san listlessly.

Before long, we were led to the lord, the viscount's, residence.

It was technically a luncheon, though we'd been told it didn't need to be too formal.

The viscount's home was in the far side of the city.

Not a castle… a manor, it seemed.

I'd always assumed lords lived in castles, but apparently that wasn't always the case.

True to the city's reputation for lumber, it was an impressive wooden structure.

We were led inside and taken to the dining room.

A long table was covered with a white tablecloth, lined with empty plates and utensils.

We stood waiting, and presently the viscount emerged from a door at the far end.

We bowed our heads accordingly.

"Ah, sorry to keep you."

After greeting us, he sat down.

"Please, sit."

"If you'll excuse us."

We didn't sit until invited.

Tedious, but according to Alexia-san, formality like this mattered to nobles.

I was truly grateful that Queen Tianis and the others didn't care about such things.

"I did ask Yohane the political officer to handle it, but I never expected it to be resolved this quickly. My soldiers confirmed it: that labyrinth has definitely gone dormant."

"He told us it was urgent."

I wasn't hiding the fact that I was a slave, but I wasn't advertising it either.

So I avoided calling him my master.

It could change how people treated us.

Nobles especially.

"Is that so, is that so. That labyrinth has been a thorn in this city's side. Now we can safely expand our logging operations."

The viscount seemed pleased with our work.

This would make things go smoothly.

"Once a labyrinth goes dormant, it stays that way for a decade or more… but by the same token, it will inevitably become active again."

"That's how labyrinths work, yes."

"Destroying one entirely would be ideal, but the means to do so have been lost for ages."

The viscount sighed.

The immediate problem was solved, but the certainty of its return was weighing on him.

Being a lord was hard work.

Come to think of it, Master had also thought far ahead when it came to business.

"By the way, I neglected to tell you that it was a poison labyrinth, yet you cleared it splendidly. I had been meaning to send word later…"

I'd suspected he'd hidden that on purpose, but apparently not.

If we succeeded, there was plenty to gain, but even if we failed, the viscount stood to gain nothing.

A pretty important detail to simply forget, though…

"I'm well aware that a party's tactics are their livelihood, but could you perhaps share the secret of how you managed it? This is a matter of life and death for my territory. No matter how much our forestry industry grows, a single activation of that labyrinth forces us to scale back."

"That must be difficult."

I replied with something noncommittal to avoid giving anything away, then glanced at Ramiza-san.

We'd actually discussed this beforehand.

How we'd cleared a poison-filled labyrinth. Or rather, what we'd done.

The question was sure to come up, and the viscount would want the answer.

We'd decided to keep the poison-nullifying rings a secret.

Ramiza-san nodded.

Just as planned.

"We took this before entering the labyrinth."

I produced a small bottle containing a green liquid.

A servant came over, and I handed it off.

It was delivered straight to the viscount.

"Hmm, and what is this?"

"Allow me to explain. Good day, Viscount. I'm Ramiza, an alchemist."

From here, I left it to the expert.

The viscount nodded and gestured for her to continue.