359 - Revision of Activity Range and the Three Crows Tavern's Intimidating Owner
After spending a few days quietly at the residence, I finally received permission from Leonardo. It seemed I was now fully recovered, but my life did not change much. I had always lived a life where I did not go outside much to begin with. Even without being watched over by Kalisa and the others who were worried about my health, going outside was rare in itself.
"Enomena bulbs are planted in autumn, aren't they..."
"Yes. So at this time of year, it might be a little early."
Still, he said it wasn't too early, so when Bart asked if we should prepare the bulbs, I asked him to do so. The pot Leonardo gave me was a 'pot', so it would be better to use it as a pot.
...When it comes to flowers, it's just giving them water once a day.
I firmly told Bart, who said he would deliver the bulbs to my room once they were ready, and handed over the pot. Since I wanted to do the work from planting the bulbs myself, I told him not to make it into a state where the soil and bulbs were planted and 'all that's left is to water them'.
...I learned from that. Because if I don't say it clearly, they'll be considerate and only the easy jobs will come back to me.
I still remember the incident from the other time when 'I consulted a tailor about making a shirt, and out of consideration, they delivered the fabric already cut and ready to sew'. Since I am treated as a young lady, the other party goes out of their way to be considerate to improve my impression of them. Bart knows me when I was childish, so I think if I tell him in advance what I want to do, he'll let me do it as I said. If anything, I even feel like he would secretly water the plants on days I forget.
"Alfred-sama, are you going out?"
Having entrusted the pot to Bart, I circled around the residence and entered from the front entrance. Since the back door is for servants to use, coming back from the backyard is still a roundabout way.
In the entrance hall after taking the long way around, Alfred was there, dressed to go out.
"Alf is working at the fortress, so he's busy. Even staying at the residence would be boring, so I thought I'd go see a bit of what the city is like."
Alfred said he came all the way to Grenore, so he'd do some sightseeing, but if my memory wasn't mistaken, he had already been in Grenore for over a year. I felt there wasn't really anything left to sightsee at this point, but since I also had business in the city, I decided to tag along on a whim.
"In that case, shall I give you a tour of the city? Though, Leonardo Big Brother has decided that the only roads I'm allowed to go on are the main street and the central street."
"What's that all about? Isn't that too narrow?"
"...Come to think of it, this was decided when I was nine years old. I wonder if I wouldn't be scolded for expanding my activity range a little now?"
As I was thinking 'Hmm?', Leonardo came hurrying back from the fortress. It seemed Alfred's servant had sent word to the fortress about Alfred's actions. I supposed they wanted some deterrent force, since they couldn't let Alfred, a prince even if not a very active one, go out into the city alone.
"Leonardo Big Brother, what do you think?"
As Leonardo opened his mouth toward Alfred, I launched a preemptive strike. Startled, Leonardo blinked for a moment.
"...What are you talking about? I heard Alfred-sama was trying to slip out of the residence without any attendants, so I came running."
"Alfred-sama said he was going to the city, so I thought I would guide him."
However, I told him that I had just realized that my range of activity was only the main street and the central street, as decided when I was nine. I thought it was reasonable for a nine-year-old's range of activity, but now I was thirteen and had escorts, so I felt it might be okay to expand my range a little.
"Tina's range of activity on foot remains the main street and central street as before. If you have a carriage and an escort, you may move north from the central street."
"I don't feel like my range has expanded much."
"You'll be able to go to Elke and Petrona's houses."
Mirshe was at the residence, so there was no need to go visit her. I was taught to call merchants to the residence for shopping. Certainly, the places I might go were sufficiently covered.
"...So, Alfred-sama, where were you planning to go?"
"I heard that there is a restaurant in Grenore that my grandfather frequents. I was thinking of having lunch there, but..."
"An excellent idea, Alfred-sama!"
If he was going to the Three Crows Tavern, I would support Alfred with all my might. Softening up Leonardo was an easy task, and I grabbed onto Leonardo's arm.
"Leonardo Big Brother, let's go to the Three Crows Tavern. If you say you're in the middle of work, then you can come along as Alfred-sama's escort."
Please, Big Brother, I said, looking up at Leonardo, and his cheek twitched. He was making a difficult face, but I think he was just trying to hold back a grin from his little sister's pleading. With that, the matter was decided, and I had Kalisa call Mirshe.
"Why Mirshe? Mirshe is working, isn't she?"
At Leonardo's words that I must not interfere with Mirshe's work, I furrowed my brow and stared at Leonardo, wondering what he was saying. I only got to talk with Mirshe for a little while at the end of the day, but I had heard it properly from her.
"I heard from Mirshe, Leonardo Big Brother. She said you've never been to the Three Crows Tavern even once since you bought Mirshe."
I had heard from Mirshe that she was forcibly taken away by her mother while working at the Three Crows Tavern, and then sold to a brothel. That meant the owners of the Three Crows Tavern, who didn't know that Leonardo had eventually bought Mirshe, must be worried about her. It would be good to show them that she was safe.
...I wonder if Alfred-sama took a liking to Napaji cuisine?
When we arrived at the Three Crows Tavern, the owner greeted Alfred with a greeting he would give a regular customer. He had said something about wanting to go to a restaurant Ethelbert frequented, but it was probably that he had come to like it himself while spending time in Grenore as Alf.
"...Wait, is that Mirshe over there? You... where have you been all this time...!"
The owner of the Three Crows Tavern was a man with an intimidating face, but he was known in the neighborhood for being tearful and deeply compassionate. As expected, he seemed to have been worried about Mirshe. Although she was in her servant's uniform, seeing Mirshe enter the tavern after me made his tear ducts burst. As the middle-aged man started crying loudly, the words I could barely make out were not much different from what I had heard from Mirshe. He had been worried because her mother suddenly showed up, took her away, and sold her to a brothel. He wanted to buy her back, but the tavern didn't have that kind of savings. While he was trying to somehow scrape together the money, Mirshe vanished from the brothel. He was worried about what had happened but had no way to search, and had been about to give up when Mirshe suddenly showed up today.
"Hey, Mirshe. You've grown a bit. Are you eating properly? Have you been treated badly, or done anything indecent?"
"Leonardo-sama bought me from the brothel. Now I'm placed at the lord's residence as a servant apprentice."
"Is that so. You're working at the lord's residence... Well then, I don't have to worry anymore. Don't mess up and get kicked out, work hard."
"Yes."
Seeing Mirshe's shy smile, the owner's tears finally subsided. With a relieved expression, the owner's eyes then met mine.
"...Huh? Are you Mirshe's friend? But what you're wearing is a bit..."
"I am Mirshe-chan's friend, but it's been a while, and forgetting a regular's face is pretty harsh, you know."
"Regular...? Ah, ahh! That kid! The one who got lost during the Divine King Festival!!"
"That's a questionable way to remember me."
If this were Leonardo, I would be kicking his leg right about now, but unfortunately, the other party was the owner of the Three Crows Tavern. Even with love, I couldn't kick him.
"Long time no see... You used to show your face here with your big brother every now and then."
"I was working in the capital for about two years. I've finally wrapped things up for now, so I was able to return to Grenore."
Saying 'Must've been tough', he led us to a private room on the second floor. I had been to the Three Crows Tavern many times, but this was the first time I had been guided upstairs.
"Huh? Why are we in a private room?"
"If you bring along several impressive bodyguards, the other customers get nervous and can't taste the food."
"...That might be true."
The Black Shikoku was waiting outside the tavern, of course, but I had two guards of my own, and with Leonardo included, Alfred had three escorts. It might be fine if the guards also ordered food as customers, but having someone with escorts mixed in with other customers probably wasn't a good idea.
According to Mirshe, who had worked at the Three Crows Tavern for a while, the private rooms on the second floor were apparently where regular customers were mainly seated. As befitting a private room, tatami mats were laid out.
We ordered Mirshe's recommended dishes and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Since the guards couldn't eat with us because they were on duty, we had them pack teriyaki chicken (Nikitz) sandwiches as gifts. This should be easy for even Giselle and Aaron, who weren't familiar with Napaji cuisine, to eat.
...Come to think of it, I haven't seen Pearl-san since returning to Grenore, have I?
I remembered because of the teriyaki chicken sandwich. Since I remembered, I asked Leonardo, and it seemed that Pearl, who was the gatekeeper at the lord's residence two years ago, was now on duty at the fortress. Or rather, apparently gatekeeper duty was the first job assigned to new recruits among the Black Knights. The new recruit when I was taken in by Leonardo was Pearl, and it seemed she had handed over the gatekeeper role to a new recruit who joined during the two years we were in the capital. After that, where one was assigned apparently changed based on the skill shown in the summer martial arts tournament.
...Kalisa has come back, but Pearl is no longer a gatekeeper, so they have no connection anymore. Too bad, Pearl-san.
Short, but this is a good place to stop.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.