Ch.42The Slightly Strange Saint (1)

Amelia knocked on the Chancellor’s office door with a grave expression.

“I’m coming in.”

She pushed the door open with such force it nearly burst open. The Chancellor looked at Amelia with a face that seemed to have aged ten years.

“The second child of House Windsor.”

“I heard you made excessive demands of my younger brother.”

After hearing the full story from Hersy, Amelia was furious to the point her anger reached the top of her head.

She stood straight before the Chancellor and slammed down a document with a thud.

“You’ve been doing this all along.”

The documents contained the agreements that Ruide and Clifford had made over time.

They were clearly unreasonable arrangements, one-sidedly disadvantageous to Ruide.

“You even left room to take back Rak’s Orb. How can you call yourself the Academy Chancellor after doing this?”

“…Value differs according to individual circumstances. It was equal value. Money doesn’t mean much to House Windsor, does it?”

“One gold from Windsor and one gold from a commoner are both the same one gold. The fact that you made agreements that amount to fraud remains unchanged.”

Clifford pressed his tired eyes firmly.

“Child, how can they be the same? For a commoner, one gold is a matter of life and death. And that lazy boy didn’t leave the Academy for that reason, did he?”

“So you know well.”

Amelia clenched her fist.

“Don’t you think you made excessive demands of my brother who was just sleeping quietly by the lake?”

“It’s a matter of efficiency. That lazy boy would easily discover the truth about black magic.”

He looked up at Amelia with an exhausted sigh.

“And listen, kid. As Chancellor, what’s wrong with asking a student to form an investigation team? The Academy has already given that lazy boy numerous accommodations. Even breaking the First Emperor’s will, which is an absolute value to follow. This much… was a reasonable request.”

Amelia’s eyes grew cold.

“You’re a person without answers.”

“…You have no restraint in speaking to the Chancellor.”

“The fact that you thought of Ruide as just like any other student shows you’re not qualified for that position.”

The Academy had promised to provide all accommodations if he would just come.

But Clifford broke his initial promise and made excessive demands of Ruide, as well as making several one-sided disadvantageous deals with him.

Amelia couldn’t forgive this.

“Windsor will not forget this.”

Amelia glared at Clifford with calm eyes.

**

The appearance of the district was, how should I put it, impressive and vibrant.

There’s a saying that to see a country’s standard of living, look at people’s expressions. Most people here had bright faces.

This was Ruide’s first time coming here. He had always just gone in and out of his mansion located in the upscale residential area.

Ruide stood in the square for a long time, staring blankly.

“I should have come out earlier.”

He thought as he began walking. Wondering where to go first, he felt a bit excited.

The sounds of merchants talking and people shouting filled the streets, stimulating Ruide’s ears.

What particularly caught his eye were people ringing bells. Judging by their religious attire, they seemed to be church people.

Thinking that must be it, he turned his gaze elsewhere. What caught Ruide’s attention was a tavern. A tavern that also served meals.

-Ugh, this tastes awful. Do nobles always eat food like this?

He recalled what commoners often said. Unlike nobles who always cast detoxification magic first, commoners enjoy the natural taste of food.

He had wanted to try it for a long time. He was planning to go after quitting the Academy. Ruide looked for a quiet, secluded restaurant among them.

For eating alone, a calm atmosphere is best.

{Wind-Stay Inn}

‘What a common name.’

It was such a common name that there might be 50,000 of them in the Empire, but he liked that ordinariness. Ruide opened the door and went in.

“Meals are 5 pesos, lodging is 25 pesos. If you think it’s expensive, get out.”

As soon as he entered, a very large black man spoke in a deep voice. He was so enormous it seemed almost impossible. He was bald and nearly touched the ceiling.

Ruide placed his small hand on the high counter.

“I’ll have a meal.”

“Huh? A little customer… I see.”

He looked at Ruide with slight surprise, then returned to his indifferent expression.

“5 pesos.”

Ruide searched his pocket. He secretly connected to his spatial storage and took out a gold coin. He knew pesos were a small unit, but gold coins were all he had.

“…Hey.”

“Yes?”

Ruide looked up at the man with wide eyes.

He sighed and waved his hand. Then he lowered his voice.

“The denomination is too large. I can’t give you change.”

“Consider it payment for a month in advance.”

Ruide answered as if he had expected this.

“What? What if it doesn’t taste good?”

“Then you lose an expensive customer.”

The man chuckled. The large tattoo on his face writhed.

“I don’t want to lose such a customer, so I’ll have to work hard.”

“Good.”

“Go wait, expensive customer. I’ll teach you a lesson.”

He took the gold coin from Ruide’s hand and disappeared through the back door.

Ruide scanned the room for a place to sit. There were four simple tables in total. Two customers were seated.

One was in the corner wearing a robe similar to his own, and the other had been watching this place since earlier.

She was a woman with a sturdy-looking physique. Bandages on her arms and legs, leather armor covering only the minimum necessary parts. And judging by the sword at her waist, she seemed to be a mercenary.

Ruide sat next to her. It was by the window. Though it was closer to a hole than a window.

When Ruide sat down, she grinned.

“My lord, you know something? Ralph’s food is the best.”

So the man’s name was Ralph. Ruide thought it was a fitting name.

“My name is Judith. A third-rate mercenary living day by day. May I join you? I was eating alone and getting bored.”

Judith was already seated when she said this.

But as they say, you can’t spit on a smiling face, and he couldn’t refuse her cheerful smile.

“Yes.”

“What’s your name, my lord?”

“Ruide. But I’m not a lord.”

“Ruide. That’s such a noble-like name.”

“Does it show?”

“It shows. Very much so.”

Judith chuckled. Ruide examined his attire.

‘It’s perfect.’

This shabby robe was a hunting robe.

It was a robe that real commoners used in the North.

“Wondering how I figured it out? Want me to tell you? Why I’m certain you’re a noble?”

“Tell me.”

“First, your speech. No commoner uses such refined language. And you don’t even use formal speech with strangers.”

Ruide flinched.

He hadn’t thought about his speech pattern at all.

Judith crossed her legs and smiled broadly.

“Your clothes too. They may look shabby, but anyone with a bit of an eye can tell. That’s very expensive fabric. I know because I once tried to buy something similar when it was too cold.”

“…This?”

Ruide examined his thick robe with surprise.

“Above all, your gem-like blue eyes that shine even in darkness. No commoner has such eyes. And you’re too pale. If you want to pass as a commoner, you should tan your skin a bit.”

“……”

Ruide took off his robe in disappointment.

He realized it was all meaningless. Judith was quite surprised when she saw Ruide’s face.

“I take back what I just said. No matter how much you tan, with such brilliant blonde hair, it would be useless. Give up.”

Ruide said with dissatisfaction:

“Still, you’re quite informal with me.”

“Of course. The fact that you’re hiding your identity means you want to be left alone, right? This is the treatment you wanted. Ralph is the same, that’s why he didn’t say much.”

Ralph, who had just brought the stew, glared at Judith and said:

“What are you doing to my customer? You’re not even paying.”

“Hehe, sorry, sorry.”

“Fine. I’m happy if customers get along. Just don’t interfere.”

Ralph put the meat stew in front of Ruide and returned to his place.

Ruide pulled the steaming stew toward him.

He picked up a wooden spoon and stirred it. It smelled delicious.

‘But what is this?’

As if reading his question, Judith answered cheerfully:

“It’s stew made with orc meat. The flavor is exquisite.”

“…Orc meat?”

He felt his appetite suddenly drop.

‘They really do eat monsters.’

He had heard that monster meat was easier to obtain than livestock like pigs or cows, so commoners mainly ate it, but seeing it in front of him was a bit unsettling.

“Try it. You’ll probably be surprised.”

But at Judith’s confident words, Ruide scooped up a piece of meat with his spoon.

He closed his eyes tightly and ate it.

Judith watched Ruide intently with her chin resting on her hand and a pleased expression.

Ruide’s eyes widened.

“This is…”

“Delicious, right? My lord. You’ve probably never tasted food like this before. Nobles only eat tasteless food, don’t they?”

Ruide silently took another spoonful.

“…!”

And then he began to eat the stew frantically.

It was incomparably more delicious than mushrooms…!

**

Ruide walked with a satisfied feeling.

Now that he had filled his stomach, he was thinking of finding a suitable place to sleep.

‘From now on, I’ll eat at commoners’ restaurants.’

He had thought all food in this world was bland. If he had known it was this delicious, he would have tried it earlier.

The food he ate at the “Wind-Stay Inn” was incredibly flavorful.

The properly salted meat was stimulating to the point of tasting salty, and the stew had a deep flavor that became more addictive the more he ate.

‘I should go there again later.’

Thinking this, Ruide looked around.

He was behind the cathedral, and geographically, he felt that if he slept here, he would definitely sleep well.

The sun was shining well, and being near the cathedral, it wasn’t noisy. His target was the cathedral’s roof.

Ruide used invisibility magic and levitated his body.

He landed lightly on the roof.

But there was already a guest there.

‘She looks familiar.’

A girl who gave him that impression was curled up sleeping soundly.

Ruide didn’t think it was strange. Good spots naturally attract people. He had to accept this much.

After taking out a pillow, he settled down at a suitable distance from the girl.

It was a place where the warm sunlight was very pleasing. If anything was bothersome, it was that he wasn’t very far from the girl, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘This is clearly a two-seater.’

The rest of the space was too shady.

After lying down on his side, he closed his eyes.

Chirp chirp-

As he was about to surrender to the approaching sleep while listening to the small chirping of sparrows.

Rustle-

Feeling something soft pressing down on his body, Ruide opened his eyes.

The girl he had seen earlier was straddling him.

Whether it was natural or because of the sunlight, her faintly glowing silver hair gave a very mysterious impression.

The girl tilted her head with round eyes, then abruptly said:

“Want to kiss?”