episode_0004

“Puff! It’s really cute.”

In Christiana’s gaze looking down at me, there was a genuine feeling of being so cute that I couldn’t help it.

“Why does this exist in this era?”

And why was it already prepared in a size that fits me so well?

I had so many questions, but surprisingly, this pajama was faithfully fulfilling its role.

This animal-shaped raccoon pajama surprisingly had an amazing insulation performance.

At least, its performance was incomparable to the ragged leather I had been wearing until now.

Christiana’s mansion was inherently colder than other mansions in the north.

Partly because those who learned Christiana’s mana circulation techniques emitted a certain amount of cold air, but mainly due to the excellent mana circulation techniques, there was hardly any need for heating.

So, despite no significant difference from the outside, wearing the raccoon pajama dispelled the cold.

“Is there magic involved?”

No matter how excellent its insulation ability, this was unbelievable.

The essence of insulation is simply to block external cold and prevent internal warmth from escaping, yet as soon as I put it on, I felt warm, as if the pajamas were emitting heat.

“It really suits you.”

Did it really suit me that well?

Christiana sat down and vigorously ruffled my hair.

“That’s quite a grateful thing to say.”

Now, it was clear that the woman in front of me wasn’t Christiana.

Therefore, I could speak in a disrespectful tone.

“You’re quite presumptuous for someone addressing their employer.”

“I’m not an owner, but an employer, right?”

I’m not a slave.

“It seems like the raccoon originally had no fear?”

Were there raccoons in this world to begin with?

“Anyway… what should I do now?”

“For now… explore the mansion. I’d like to guide you myself, but I’ve been busy since morning in front of the orphanage, so I probably won’t finish until late at night. Still, you can’t wander around alone, so I’ll assign a knight to accompany you.”

“Yep.”

The article attached by Kristia was a rather cold-looking female knight.

Originally, under Kristia’s command, there were male soldiers but no male knights. This was because the mana manipulation techniques created by Kristia were specialized for women to learn and use, so Kristia knew this well and organized all her forces as women.

“He’s called Cain, one of the knights guarding Lady Kristia.”

She spoke down to me, but even in doing so, there was a certain formality, respect, and consideration.

Kristia’s knights seemed to casually disregard the setting that they had a very rude and cruel disposition unless it was their superior, including Kristia herself.

If this were truly the world created by my girlfriend and me, I would have dared to confront the knight! And then probably been kicked in the stomach.

But if I avoided eye contact, I would have been asked why I was avoiding eye contact and then hit on the back of the head.

“Pleased to meet you. Cain, I am Sacher.”

“Let me guide you through the mansion.”

From Kristia’s statement, it seemed like there were no other individuals present besides me, yet she moved with me as if nothing unusual, suddenly bringing a guy to tour the mansion, an oddly unexpected order.

“… Who is Lady Kristia?”

Although I received the order to tour the mansion, I wasn’t really curious about it. No matter how much Kristia had changed, unless the mansion had been destroyed and rebuilt, the roles of each room might have changed a bit, but the overall structure of the mansion wouldn’t have changed much.

Just last week, I was drawing up plans for the mansion’s structure, so it probably hadn’t changed much.

So when I asked Cain, it was about Kristia herself.

At least, she seemed to be very different from the Kristia I knew.

“Well, you may not know much just from rumors. Lady Kristia is more than just rumors.”

But I don’t know what those rumors are?

“I’d like to hear more details since I’ll be serving him in the future.”

“He is a great ruler. Not only has he brought out unprecedented and remarkable policies, leading everyone to success, but he is also a nearly perfect ruler, possessing both the power that reaches the end of 10 stars and a hidden gentle nature behind his cold demeanor. It’s truly moving to serve under Lord Kristia.”

Is that so?

“He seems truly remarkable.”

“That’s right.”

Suddenly, she had such thoughts.

“What does Lord Kristia like?”

“Well… He doesn’t easily reveal his preferences, but I do know he enjoys very bitter coffee. He always drinks espresso.”

It seemed that Kristia’s knights didn’t really know much about Kristia’s tastes.

“He likes bitter coffee?”

What nonsense.

****

“Sigh… It just doesn’t seem to decrease no matter what.”

“It’s all because you’ve been at the orphanage all morning.”

“It’s the only orphanage I manage, and since no one comes, I got anxious.”

Is it because she was with someone she was close to? Kristia’s tone had become remarkably gentle.

“It’s probably because Lord Kristia is such an extraordinary person. An orphanage directly managed by the Northern Sovereign… It’s intimidating for most people. There are other orphanages nearby, after all.”

“… Still, we’ve achieved something good.”

A boy much smaller and more delicate than herself.

Having been stuck at the orphanage all morning and now working overtime, she couldn’t help but smile naturally when she thought about what she had gained today.

‘Why did you show up now?’

No, should I be thankful that you showed up now?

He wasn’t the sturdy figure she knew, but rather a very small and fragile one, and she found it strangely endearing.

At least in terms of cuteness, Sacher’s appearance was several hundred times better.

After living in Kristia’s body for over 15 years, her aesthetic preferences had changed a lot.

“… Is there any relationship between you and that boy?”

A boy whose name was known to a queen of a country.

As Astia had been by Kristia’s side since she was six, it wasn’t easy for her to think that she had built a relationship with the boy without her knowing.

Hmm, I can’t quite catch the exact explanation. Anyway, don’t let a single scratch appear on him, as he’s someone I treasure dearly.

“I understand… Shall I assign guards?”

There’s no need to go that far. He’ll either move with me or stay at the mansion.

When by Cristia’s side, he received the protection of the world’s top knights, so there was no chance of harm unless her own knights were to injure him while he was at the mansion.

“…Is he a potential successor?”

“A successor? No.”

Astia smiled subtly at Cristia’s ambiguous remark.

‘I thought she had no interest in men…’

Even within a group of only female knights, there seemed to be some kind of atmosphere, so Astia assumed her lord was not uninterested in relationships.

She even hypothesized that a god who meticulously designed everything might have completely suppressed any interest in reproduction, to the extent that it might not be allowed to leave an heir.

Although the target boy seemed too small and cute compared to Cristia, if that’s what she desired, nothing was impossible.

“Anyway, let’s push harder. I want to finish work quickly.”

Cristia barely held the pen and spoke.

Even carrying the weight of tens of tons on one’s shoulders and sprinting at full speed wouldn’t be as exhausting as this… The question of why just scribbling with a pen felt so strenuous remained unanswered.

-Knock knock

Judging from the knock, it wasn’t Cristia’s closest aide. Probably a messenger.

“Who is it?”

Daring to knock on Cristia’s study.

Of course, Cristia didn’t get angry enough to knock on her study door, but the atmosphere she exuded made it nearly impossible for most messengers to even attempt such a thing.

Only when there was truly urgent business would they knock while apologizing profusely.

“At least open the door for now.”

Cristia didn’t even look up and said.

If she wanted to see the messenger’s face as soon as possible, she needed to save time by working as quickly as possible.

She had been striving to leave work a little early, but soon her efforts themselves became meaningless.

“I brought some snacks.”

The imposing figure who knocked on her home office door was the very person she had longed to see.

“…Choco latte and… choco cake?”

Astia’s expression stiffened as she looked at the menu Soccer had brought.

“I haven’t been here for long, so I don’t know much, but for Christia…”

“I can’t just throw away what you brought. I guess I have no choice but to eat it myself.”

Christia’s skill was remarkable.

So, with the senses of a knight on Astia’s level, he could deceive them and secretly swallow the saliva that had filled his mouth.