Ch.3636. Please Adopt Me

Fortunately, I wasn’t murdered by Shiro.

It wasn’t my fault to begin with, and she wasn’t the type to act without asking for details.

After asking about what happened in detail, she ended the conversation with just one sentence.

“Can I come to the coming-of-age ceremony party with you?”

I felt that if we showed our relationship directly, the situation could be resolved cleanly without escalating.

But there was a problem with this plan.

What would happen if I sent a separate letter to the noble lady who likes me, asking, “This person is my girlfriend, can I bring her to the party?”

“…It might be a bit difficult.”

“Right?”

The conversation about Lady Ainer concluded with me promising to do my best to emphasize the relationship between Shiro and myself.

“I’ll be going now. See you next time.”

“Okay, Adel.”

After spending what felt like a dream, I returned to the inn.

“H-hello, sir…”

“Hello, Ms. Arya. Good morning.”

As I entered the lobby, Arya greeted me awkwardly.

She seemed to be strangely avoiding my gaze.

She wasn’t even calling me by my name, just “sir.”

Physically speaking, I’m actually younger than her.

“Excuse me, Ms. Arya. Is something wrong? You seem a bit uncomfortable.”

“W-what? Something wrong? No, nothing’s wrong.”

Arya shook her head vigorously, denying my words.

That’s totally a “something is wrong” reaction.

“…Is it because you saw me leaving with that elf yesterday?”

Arya had seen us when I was escorting Shiro out.

But what’s the problem with that?

“No, it’s just… I was a bit concerned about how things were with that woman. You two seemed awkward with each other. Did you… make up?”

So that’s why she was speaking awkwardly.

Despite her wild appearance, she’s quite thoughtful.

I guess you really shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.

“It wasn’t anything serious enough for you to worry about, and fortunately, we made up quickly. Anyway, thank you for your concern.”

“Ah… you made up…”

After I answered, her eyes started to look strange.

It wasn’t like she was turning evil or anything, she just seemed confused, as if her brain was overloaded.

As I was about to ask what part confused her:

“Um, so… adult reconciliation means that… right? Like, on the bed, doing things with each other’s bodies… I heard about it recently.”

What the hell?

“…Who exactly told you that?”

Technically, it wasn’t wrong.

But it was also true that only someone with a twisted brain would say something like that.

Her saying she heard it recently suggested there was someone with a twisted brain nearby.

“A friend told me. From the same academy. That friend is already working as an explorer.”

I’ve only heard rumors about the academy, but it didn’t seem like a particularly normal educational institution.

Well, even in Korean web novels, academies were practically terrorist training grounds.

In a way, this was an expected outcome.

‘But that means Arya thinks that Shiro and I did that…’

Thinking about it, this was quite a big misunderstanding.

I needed to clear up this misunderstanding quickly before it became troublesome.

“Um, Ms. Arya.”

“Y-yes.”

“I don’t know exactly who your friend is, but adult reconciliation methods don’t always apply. To begin with, neither of us has even had our coming-of-age ceremony.”

“…?”

Arya gave me a look of disbelief.

“I’m 18, and she’s 19. I’m actually younger than you, Ms. Arya.”

“No, uh. What? How? What?”

Hearing this, Arya behaved strangely, like a keyboard that had coffee spilled on it.

“So you mean, Adel… is younger than me? And I’m older than Adel?”

“Yes.”

Being 18 here meant I was 21 by Earth standards.

But if she’s this surprised, maybe I really do look much older than I am?

“Is it that hard to believe?”

“It’s just surprising that Adel is 18… it’s kind of amazing.”

Arya said this while blushing.

“You seem so mature and cool. It’s hard to believe you’re younger than me…”

I wasn’t sure if she was trying to smooth over the “old-looking” comment or genuinely complimenting me.

I do have some elf genes mixed in, so my appearance isn’t bad, but it’s not enough to make me particularly confident.

“Thank you for the compliment. I’ll be going now.”

“Ah, Adel. Wait a moment-“

She grabbed me and pulled something out of her pocket.

It was a white handkerchief with pink flower embroidery.

“…A handkerchief?”

“Yes. I thought the previous gift might have been too burdensome… so this time I made it myself with embroidery.”

I smiled at Arya and bowed my head.

“Thank you. The embroidery is beautiful.”

“It’s nothing. I want to do more for someone who will be my teacher. Is there anything else you’d like?”

“It’s fine. The handkerchief is satisfying enough.”

After some light conversation, I returned to my room.

Although her friend seemed a bit strange, Arya herself seemed like a good person.

***

Time passed, and the date of the lady’s coming-of-age ceremony approached.

-Knock knock.

“Mr. Adel. There are knights outside waiting for you.”

“Yes, I’m coming out.”

Thankfully, Arya wasn’t treating me like a criminal today.

I dressed in the same clothes as before and went outside.

“By the way, Mr. Adel, this time they sent a carriage directly from the Manis family. Could it be that you’re actually a high-ranking nobleman hiding your identity for some purpose?”

“I just happened to make their acquaintance.”

I brushed off Arya’s excitement and went outside the inn.

“We will escort you.”

There was a carriage with the Manis family crest, and knights were respectfully waiting to escort me.

Hmm. Yes.

Being treated with respect didn’t feel bad at all.

With that pleasant feeling, I was about to board the carriage when:

“Adel, it’s nice to see you.”

“…”

Someone was already inside.

“It’s nice to see you too, Lady Ainer.”

The lady greeted me with a bright smile.

She was even subtly pointing at the seat next to her, indicating I should sit there.

She’s being obvious.

I lightly sat in the seat diagonally across from her, maintaining as much distance as possible.

‘She might be a little upset, but it can’t be helped.’

I had to make her give up her feelings for me, even if it meant doing this.

Only a jerk would give hope to someone else when they already have a partner.

“Adel. What have you been doing since then?”

Yet she was still smiling and talking to me.

‘She must be serious.’

I already knew the lady’s feelings were genuine, but what I’m talking about now is her behavior.

The main character of the coming-of-age party coming all this way to pick up a mere explorer?

This couldn’t be explained by simple affection.

“Nothing special. I don’t think I met anyone and just stayed at the inn.”

“Really?”

In truth, I had been exercising quite intensely.

With a barbarian’s body and the Source combined, I needed to move all day just to use up my energy.

The reason I lied was to appear as a “pathetic barbarian 1” who doesn’t even take care of himself.

“Don’t you have any friends or anything like that?”

“…I have exactly one.”

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a lie. Damn it.

“But that friend isn’t just ordinary, she’s a woman-“

-Bump!

Just as I was about to continue, the carriage bumped and my words were cut off.

Actually, not just my words, I bit my tongue too, and it really hurt. I somehow managed not to scream.

“Hmm. I don’t have friends either, except for Reneva. So we both have a lot of free time when we’re not busy?”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

The conversation continued under the lady’s lead.

The way to make the lady who was clearly showing interest in me back off was actually simple.

-I have a girlfriend.

That’s all I needed to say to issue a restraining order.

However, there was a significant flaw in this method.

Realistically, could I say something with the nuance of “I have a girlfriend, so don’t come on to me” to a noble lady who likes me?

Unfortunately, since I don’t have regression or revival abilities, I couldn’t.

‘That’s what I was trying to do just now.’

The carriage bumped at a bad time and cut off my words.

I could suddenly brag about having a girlfriend, but that would be unnatural no matter how I thought about it.

The perceptive noble lady wouldn’t fall for my tricks, so it was better not to expect that.

I had to wait for the next opportunity.

So I continued the conversation for dozens of minutes, constantly looking for the right moment to declare “I have a girlfriend,” and:

“We have arrived.”

We finally reached the coming-of-age party venue without incident.

“…”

“Come on, Adel. Let’s get out. The party will start soon, but we should move ahead and talk a bit.”

The lady began to lead me actively.

“How do you like the interior?”

The party venue was incredibly spacious beyond imagination.

There were dozens of round tables, and several long tables were set up with food like a buffet.

“…It’s awe-inspiring.”

“Thank you.”

Eventually, because of the lady’s guidance, I ended up introducing myself to all sorts of nobles.

“Hello-“

A distant relative of some baron family,

“Nice to meet-“

A graceful lady from some viscount family,

“Lady Ainer, have you been well-“

The eldest son of some viscount family who seemed interested in the lady,

“Nice to-“

Or even the heads of various powerful noble families.

For someone who claimed to have no friends, the lady had an impressively wide network.

After wandering around for a while, the lady said she had to go and was about to leave my side.

‘…What about Reneva?’

I still hadn’t met my old acquaintance.

It would be impossible to survive in this fierce social gathering of nobles.

“Wait a moment, Lady Ainer. Is Reneva not coming today?”

I urgently asked about her, who was practically my lifeline.

“Ah. Reneva had something urgent come up, so she couldn’t make it. Just relax by yourself for now. You can also chat with other people if you’d like.”

She smiled and disappeared somewhere in the party venue.

“…”

Looking around, there was no place for me to join as the nobles were busy socializing among themselves.

I discreetly sat at a table in the corner to kill time.

‘As long as no one picks a fight with me.’

If I didn’t cause any trouble, eventually I’d have a chance to tell the lady about my relationship status.

With that thought, I closed my eyes and began to meditate.

“Hey.”

“…”

In the pitch-black darkness, even a voice from far away seemed like it was calling me from right in front of me.

Is this because my body has become stronger after absorbing the Source?

“Hey, are you ignoring me?”

“Huh?”

I guess not.

“Who are you…?”

A man calling me from the front. His face looked familiar somehow.

“…You don’t even remember my name? Hah. As expected of a barbarian, you’re a bit lacking in the brain department.”

Ah, right. Hearing that tone, I remembered.

He was the eldest son of some viscount family who seemed interested in Lady Ainer.

“I am Reibahn Aditor.”

“…Yes. Lord Reibahn, what brings you to me?”

I immediately bowed my head and showed a respectful attitude.

Although he approached me rudely first, there was no benefit in talking back to the eldest son of a viscount family.

“Well, it seems the lady is a bit uncomfortable with you.”

“…Yes.”

He gradually approached as if he was about to grab my collar.

We were in such a secluded spot that other people couldn’t see us well.

“I’ve been admiring Lady Ainer for a long time. With this sincere heart, I’ve continued to harbor these feelings even though she has a fiancé… but someone like you has no place to interfere.”

“…Lord Reibahn.”

I gave him sincere applause, filled with joy.

“Truly, truly, I support your love. Please win Lady Ainer’s heart.”

Please take her away because I already have someone I’m dating.