What a pain in the ass.
When Stewart firmly started to believe that, he appealed to Duke Huguenot to become a knight instead. As a result, his request was accepted readily and he was placed in the elite guard tasked with protecting Flora. It was awkward being with Flora due to their history at the Royal Academy’s outdoor drill, but he wasn’t about to object to any orders from his father.
Thus began Stewart’s life as a knight, but there were rarely any dangerous missions to go around when following royalty like Flora. At most, he would go and exterminate monsters in the name of practical training, and complete escort mission trainings.
However, even then, Stewart’s life was fulfilling. He didn’t need to think about anything when he was swinging his sword at monsters, and it was a good form of stress relief. On top of that, he had a partner in crime in the form of his upperclassman from their academy days, his now-colleague Alphonse Rodan.
Alphonse was the second son of Marquess Rodan, and another stereotypical example of a prodigal son. He was similar to Stewart in the way that he liked to use his status to the maximum degree, doing as he liked. Ever since being appointed into the same elite guard for Flora, Stewart and Alphonse hung out more than ever before. They would eliminate monsters together, eat meals from the same pot, and drink together while grumbling. Recently, they even started polishing their skills in womanizing together, as noble prodigal sons would.
As time progressed, Sakata Hiroaki had become their charge after he’d been summoned, but that had made no significant impacts on Stewart’s life. If he had to pick a bone with something, then it was probably the fact he secretly considered Hiroaki to be intolerable — and detested him, thanks to Hiroaki’s clearly condescending attitude.
Today’s events changed nothing.
The boy named Haruto had suddenly appeared at the scene, slaughtering the powerful minotaurs in front of Liselotte’s attendants, who lavished him with attention, which was understandable. While they weren’t happy having the best part taken away from them, most of the knights present — including Stewart — had shuddered in awe at the sight of how he’d fought. It was the reason why Stewart and Alphonse decided to use that as a topic to approach the beautiful ladies that served Liselotte. And so, after arriving at Amande, the two knights started chatting up the attendant girls in the garden of Liselotte’s estate good-naturedly. Hiroaki must have been listening, as he suddenly interrupted.
“Ah, well. Intruding on another party’s battle and stealing all the limelight isn’t really something to praise.”
Right beside him were Flora and Roanna. The friendly air that Stewart and Alphonse had built up dispersed in an instant.
“Forgive me for asking, great hero, but what do you mean by that?” Despite his irritation, Stewart questioned Hiroaki courteously.
“We were finally fighting with coordination. If a third party slips into the fight without permission, what do you think would happen? Of course the fight wouldn’t go as planned, ruining everything. Well, the one stealing the kills probably thought he was being helpful. If you ask me, it’s bad manners.” Hiroaki sighed in exasperation.
“Hah...” Stewart let out a dumbfounded reply. The first half of that speech aside, he had completely lost track of what Hiroaki was saying partway. There were no manners in a life or death battle with monsters.
“Well, I can understand his feelings of irritation, watching the small fry desperately struggle to fight. Guys who steal kills like that tend to crave attention like, ‘oh my god, look at me, I’m strong right? I’ll lend you a hand!’ It’s an act that steals the opportunity for those already fighting to learn and develop. It spoils the mood, since lots of people hate having their prey snatched from under their nose.” It was a statement that completely insulted the knights that had been on the battlefield. However, Hiroaki didn’t seem to realize that, as he continued to blabber away without pause.
In the end, Roanna had to prompt Hiroaki to move on before he wandered away, ruining the mood for any further discussion as the attendant girls soon took their leave to return to work.
Stewart, in the meantime, headed to the guest facilities allocated to them for the day in displeasure. It was a splendid building directly beside Liselotte’s estate. However, even though there was good food and drink, there were no women. Liselotte’s servants were present, but they weren’t about to make the servants pour their drinks for them.
And so, on this visit to Amande too, Stewart headed out to the city with Alphonse to clear their gloomy moods. While part of the reason was due to his irritation at Hiroaki’s earlier ignorant remark, he had also just gone through a battle of life and death with more monsters than he had ever faced before, leaving his mind and body helplessly worked up.
They headed to a bar targeted towards the wealthy and had a drink and snacks before happily moving on to another bar that specialized in entertainment from women. Having previously visited this store and paid good money, they were remembered as important customers and welcomed warmly, and chose two of the prettier girls among the staff to serve them.
“Well, he’s all talk and attitude. There’s nothing much else to him, really.” They spoke their complaints about someone in particular whilst drinking heartily. Eventually, the name of a famous restaurant in Amande was brought up.
“Yeah, we’ve been to that store before. I can take you there now, if you’d like,” Stewart said, showing off. The girls were completely on board with it, so Stewart and Alphonse left the bar with the girls in high spirits.
However, the situation took a turn once they arrived at the aforementioned restaurant. They’d decided on using the best private room for the occasion, but when he requested the room...
“Our deepest apologies. That room is already in use by another customer. I can prepare another private room for you right away...”
The room Stewart was after was already in use. It was like someone had dumped cold water on him after he’d finally recovered his mood.
“Well, why don’t you show us the other options first?” Alphonse said high-handedly. With that, the male employee lead Stewart’s party inside the shop.
“...I think I want the room I requested after all. Can’t you prepare that instead?” Alphonse insisted unreasonably.
“I’m sorry, that private room is already in use by another customer.”
“Just get them to change rooms. I’ll pay you three times as much.”
“I’m sorry, I cannot do that.” Alphonse picked a fight, but the employee shook his head quietly.
“...Is the room really in use?” Alphonse said, doubting the employee’s words.
“Of course it is,” the man replied, nodding his head curtly. It was at this point that the girls accompanying them started looking concerned. They could tell that the scene was gradually worsening.
“Then I want to see with my own eyes whether it’s actually in use or not.” Perhaps the alcohol in Alphonse’s system gave him a confidence boost, or perhaps he was starting to get irritated at the employee’s resolute attitude, as he started walking with a sullen look.
“H-Hold on a minute, sir!” Naturally, the employee tried to stop him, but Alphonse didn’t waver. He continued his brisk walk forwards to the private room they had used before.
Alphonse’s bad habit is showing again, Stewart thought calmly when Alphonse started bickering with the employee, sobering up a little. It would be humiliating to back down in front of the girls they wanted to impress, so he decided that if worse came to worst, he could just let money handle the situation. Thus, they arrived before their target room, but the girls appeared to be frightened, which wasn’t ideal, obviously.
“We’re visiting as very important guests. The upper class of this city will hear of this,” Stewart said to reassure the girls.
“...If you’re referring to Lady Liselotte, then please, feel free to appeal to her directly. We are simply following our instructions.” The employee’s attitude became even m
ore resolute in response to Stewart’s words.
What? I even prepared a point of compromise for him to accept. Stewart sulked for a moment.
“...What a stubborn fool. Enough — it’s no use speaking with you. You’d better watch your back later,” he found himself saying before he knew it.
“As you wish,” the inn’s employee replied bluntly.
Alphonse must have run out of patience, as he spoke up in irritation. “That’s enough, Stewart. We’ll settle this with the other customers ourselves.”
“You may not,” the employee protested.
“Move it. You’re in the way,” Alphonse declared loudly, forcibly pushing the employee out of the way.
“S-Sir! You cannot do this!” the employee yelled, but Alphonse was already standing before the door to the room, and opened it without knocking.
◇ ◇ ◇
“...What a commotion.” Rio glanced at the intruders and stood up with a sigh. For a brief moment, Celia took one look at Stewart and Alphonse’s faces and startled, but he didn’t notice.
...Huh? These two? Rio thought oddly. Like with Flora and Roanna, they seemed familiar. For now, he decided to treat them as though they were meeting for the first time.
Stewart and Alphonse were wearing their own clothing instead of their knight uniforms, but it was easy to tell at a glance that their clothes were of nobility. Behind them stood two girls looking idle, both wearing clothes that were stylish but slightly flashy.
The employee that had been shoved aside by Alphonse belatedly rushed into the room. At the same time, he turned to Rio’s party and bowed his head in a panic. “M-My deepest apologies, sir!”
“Could you explain what’s going on here?” Rio responded in a flat tone.
“Hm? You’re...” Stewart seemed to realize something, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
“...!” Celia flinched with her whole body, immediately ducking her head down. Stewart and Alphonse were two of her former students — she was worried that they might have recognized her true identity.
“Aren’t you that Haruto guy?” Stewart stared at Rio and asked.
“...I’m sorry, and who might you be?” Rio returned curiously.
“Ah, forgive me. My knowledge of you was one-sided. I am Stewart Huguenot, and this is Alphonse Rodan. If I told you that we are knights from the group you saved today, would that ring a bell?” Stewart introduced himself smoothly as he studied Rio’s face.
“...Is that so? My apologies for the rudeness.” Rio tipped his head lightly in a show of politeness. Hearing their names had completely triggered his memories of the two. There was no way he could’ve forgotten, since this man was the root of all evil behind the false accusation placed on his head. Alphonse was his former classmate, too.
“No, that’s fine,” Stewart gloated with a smug huff. While things had taken a slightly troublesome turn, if the boy wasn’t a stranger to his family background, then everything would work out, Stewart thought confidently.
“...” In reality, the attendant seemed to be at a loss for what to do, seeing Rio and Stewart being acquainted already. The girls who had come along with them were also looking at Stewart in awe.
This is rather strange, Rio thought. “So, what brings you to this room?” he asked, just in case.
“We wanted to use this room.” Alphonse cut to the chase.
“This exact room?”
Alphonse’s declaration was so bold, Rio couldn’t help but react in shock. Upon closer inspection, Alphonse’s face was red: it was clear he was drunk.
This is why drunks are such a pain... No, not drunks. High and mighty nobles. Rio held back the urge to sigh and chose to leave quietly instead. It would be too much of a bother to deal with these two any longer.
“We had just finished eating ourselves. Please, feel free to come in,” Rio said, sending a message to Celia and Aishia seated at the table behind him with a casual look. Aishia and Celia nodded silently and stood up.
“Wh...” It was at this point that Stewart and the others finally noticed Celia and Aishia. When they spotted the beauty of the girls, they couldn’t help but gulp.
“Come here, you two.” Rio guided Celia over, then stood as a wall between them and Stewart’s group. They briskly tried to make their way out of the room.
“Hey, hold on a minute,” Alphonse called out.
“Yes?” Rio replied, directly in the firing line.
“Let’s compromise. Why don’t you join us for a meal and drinks?” Alphonse extended a hand in invitation while looking at Aishia and Celia.
“While we are very grateful for the offer, we have unfortunately already finished eating and drinking,” Rio said, shaking his head bluntly.
“Oh? You’re rejecting our invitation?” Alphonse asked in a bold tone.
“I apologize. It has been a long journey here.” Rio’s answer did not change. While his words were courteous, his approach to rejection was firm.
“I see. I can’t say I’m impressed at how you’re rejecting a noble’s invitation. You may be skilled at the sword, but you’re still a commoner, no? Isn’t that right, Stewart?” Alphonse said with condemnation, turning to Stewart for backup.
After a short pause, Stewart nodded and looked towards Aishia and Celia. “...Yes, I suppose I do agree.” He figured Rio was staying at this inn as Liselotte’s savior and guest, so he didn’t think it would be smart to act too strongly before him. However, he also thought it’d be a shame if Aishia and Celia were to depart like this.
“I ask for your leniency.” Rio showed no sign of faltering at their roundabout threats and shook his head respectfully, moving to take his leave.
“Hey, hold on. You can’t gain social position through your sword hand alone. It’d be a shame, what with skills as wonderful as yours. Don’t you have some interest in climbing up in the world? Depending on your attitude, we could put in a good word for you to become a knight.” Alphonse was also a stubborn man, and flaunted gains to attempt at some level of negotiation.
“I’m fine as is. And I am tired, so if you’d excuse me.” Rio continued to shake his head bluntly. Sensing that the atmosphere had turned sour once again, the two girls that had accompanied Stewart and Alphonse shrunk back into the corner.
“Sir, if you bother our other customers any more than this, I’m afraid we will have to respond appropriately on our part too...” The male employee’s face had also grown pale, but even he felt the need to intervene here and gave a warning to keep them in check.
“Alphonse, I think this is eno...” Stewart tried to warn. While it would result in utterly destroying their reputation, he turned to self-preservation as things started to get out of hand.
“...No, hold on. I’ll try one last time. At the very least, how about those two stay with us instead? How about it, girls?” Alphonse seemed to be past the point of no return, desperately holding back his irritation as he addressed Aishia and Celia in a gentleman-like manner.
“...” However, both Aishia and Celia held their silence and ignored him like Rio had told them to. “Kuh...” Alphonse must have considered this a great humiliation, as his face twisted greatly.
“Now, if that was all you needed. We shall take our leave...” Rio sighed flatly, giving Celia and Aishia a gentle nudge in the back to move them out of the room. On their way past the male employee, he leaned in to whisper, “I’m sorry for the commotion. Oh, and there is no need to report this to Lady Liselotte either, if you so wish.”
It was the least he could offer in gratitude for the employee’s attempts at protecting them. He didn’t want him to feel responsible over such a ridiculous matter.
“M-My deepest apologies!” The employee bowed his head in a fluster. He had been given strict orders from Aria to treat Liselotte’s savior with the utmost hospitality, yet this had happened. Meanwhile, Stewart’s face darkened uncomfortably as he realized their mistake, while in contrast, Alphonse allowed his rage to completely consume him.
/>
“...Hey, wait,” he muttered furiously, but Rio did not stop walking.
“I told you to wait!” Alphonse finally yelled. He stood before the door, blocking their path.
“Yes?”
At Rio’s nonplussed question, Alphonse glared at him with hostility. “You dare insult me?”
“A-Alphonse!” Stewart hurriedly tried to stop Alphonse, but he ignored Stewart’s attempt at restraint and flared up at Rio.
“It seems you don’t know how to behave before a noble.”
Instead of considering his options logically, his humiliated emotions were completely leading the way. Being born and raised as the son of a high-ranked noble meant he had never needed to learn how to control his temper as a child, making him easier to anger.
“Unfortunately, I was born as a commoner, so I do not. Have I unknowingly done something to offend you?” Rio cocked his head curiously. While his choice of words were polite, his phrasing was provocative. It was the ultimate move of superficial manners.
Celia saw through that side of Rio and made a worried face out of nervousness. Aishia grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
“Ha... Hahaha... I never expected a mere commoner to make this much of a fool out of me. I see you think so highly of yourself, with your common sword and common women. But I can use my right to strike at any moment, you do realize?” Alphonse said with a twitching smile. The right to strike was a special privilege for nobility that allowed them to kill when their honor was compromised.
“Oh my. I’ve heard that the requisites for the right to strike can be extremely severe depending on national or territorial laws. Which requisite have I fulfilled in dishonoring you?” I’d like to see you try, was what Rio was strongly implying. The requisites for right to strike were to be investigated after the action was performed, but if Alphonse tried to declare he was dishonored by being ignored when flirting with girls while drunk, he’d be completely ridiculed.
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