44: Two Talking on a Carriage

Nobles, you know? Seriously.

They’re such a pain in the ass.

Take Count Missgancia, for example.

This guy once beheaded a commoner for Lèse-majesté.

When you hear “Lèse-majesté!” back on Earth, you think of a bad king from a Jump pirate manga, the kind of enemy who gets pummeled by a rubber man like Straw Hat! But Count Missgancia is considered moderate to the point of being unconventional in this world. Does that give you an idea?

Seriously, nobles are just “different.”

Most nobles won’t even talk to commoners in the first place.

Like… in those old mafia movies, right? The big-shot mafia boss doesn’t talk directly to the underlings, does he? A lieutenant, or an attendant, first hears from the underling, and then the attendant whispers to the boss. There’s this weird buffer.

Nobles in this world are mostly like that.

That’s especially true for those of direct lineage. If they’re illegitimate children, there are quite a few who are willing to talk, and since they have to interact with the outside world for the sake of the family, they’ll talk to commoners too…

But with nobles from strict families, they’ll kill you for disrespect just for talking to them!

Basically, you can’t talk to them, and you can’t even touch them, let alone touch the chair they were sitting on in front of them. Some mysterious manners.

You can’t even make eye contact, and commoners have to kneel and bow their heads before nobles. Like a daimyo’s procession.

You can’t talk to them, but if they talk to you, you have to respond, and if your response isn’t proper, that’s no good either…

It’s seriously a pain.

But Count Missgancia treats me as an equal because I’m capable, making eye contact and drinking tea with me at the same table. How about that? Pretty enlightened, right? It’s like Nobunaga in Japan.

That enlightened Count Missgancia is gathering adventurers and other lowly people, developing new lands…

This is such a deviant act that it’s no wonder he’s being antagonized by other nobles… especially the high and mighty members of the “Aristocrat Faction.”

“Who cares what others do?” you ask?

No way.

They’re full of pride, thinking, “It’s unacceptable for a noble like us to be friendly with commoners!” and “It lowers the dignity of the entire nobility of our country!”

…I hope I don’t get caught up in that battle, but if he wins big here, Count Missgancia will make a ridiculous amount of money.

If that happens, almost no one will be able to stop Count Missgancia, the Missgancia region will become wealthy, and in turn, I’ll make money too.

It’s a good time to bet, isn’t it?

…As I was thinking about this.

“Hey, Dru? Pay attention to me?”

Rosalinde poked me from the side.

Well, it’s boring on the way, so I guess I’ll take care of her…

“Rosa, aren’t you cold?”

“Hmm, I’m okay, I think? It’s cool, it feels good?”

“Really? Your senses aren’t reliable. Are you shivering? Are your hands turning white?”

“Hehe, they’re pure white.”

“Then put on a coat.”

“Lend me yours, Dru?”

“Why?”

“There’s a romance novel where you wear the coat of the person you like, it’s popular, you know? Hehe, Dru doesn’t understand a girl’s heart…?”

“I see… (uninterested)”

I silently took out a lap blanket and put it on Rosa.

By the way, this is also seriously Lèse-majesté in noble terms.

Touching a woman, especially an unmarried one, and especially a minor? A noble? …You wouldn’t be able to complain even if you were killed for that. Even if the royal family blamed them for “Why did you kill him!” they would be 100% forgiven if that was the reason. That’s the level of Lèse-majesté it is.

But I’ll do it.

Because I have that much power.

Because I have the power to talk to the northern hero, Count Missgancia, as an equal.

…I don’t want to stand out. But if a Japanese person who lived in the Reiwa era wants to live a “human life” in this medieval world, they have no choice but to become a relative of a powerful person and have great skills and power.

I have to keep showing my power, that I can talk to nobles as an equal.

Fortunately, just by interacting with nobles naturally, the people around me automatically respect me, so that’s easy.

I’m naturally getting carried away, but I’m also obligated to get carried away. I have to continue to be a fool who knows no fear, no matter who I’m dealing with, noble or otherwise… and a wise man who brings profit.

So, while touching Rosa’s skin, I put a lap blanket on her and hand her a Hand Warmer.

“Hehe, it’s warm.”

“Be quiet, okay?”

“I’m always, ladylike… you know?”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

“Amazing, you have no self-awareness…”

“Hmm… but, you know? I don’t think I’m being too selfish, do I?”

“That’s…”

…Indeed.

For a noble girl who’s been spoiled to this level, she’s not being very selfish.

Seriously, if it were a really bad noble woman, she’d say unreasonable things like, “Build me a detached palace!” or “Burn all the livestock in the territory and throw a party!”

She just says, “I want to see Dru when I’m feeling well,” so she’s incredibly modest.

Of course, it’s selfish by modern Japanese standards…

“Dru, you know? I love you. I love you. I want to be by your side forever.”

“That’s a problem, you know?”

“Hehe, Dru doesn’t like retainers either, does he?”

“If a Long-Lived Race serves a mortal, it’ll cause trouble…”

“Dru, is it… harder than I thought?”

“Yeah, it’s hard. But it can’t be helped, it’s for a living.”

“Hmph… I’m a noble, so I don’t understand, but it’s hard to have to work, isn’t it?”

“Nobles work too. I don’t think there’s anyone in this world who can really live without working…”

There’s no room in this world for a pleasure-seeking son who eats up his assets!

Even nobles and big merchants will be abandoned if they’re useless, even if they’re their own children. That’s the kind of era it is.

“What about me?”

“You’re… being supported, aren’t you?”

“So, if my father hates me, I’ll die…”

“That’s what’ll happen.”

“Hehe, then, will Dru pick me up?”

“Ehh…? I don’t want to…”

“Really?”

“…Well, I don’t mind having you at my house. I’ve told the girls from the Blue Comet that they can come to my house if they have no other choice. But in that case, I won’t make you my wife. I’ll just hire you as a maid.”

“So, if I can’t work, I’m screwed?”

“Yeah.”

“Hehehe… will you teach me how to study?”

“Ask your attendant. I’m sure they know more about it.”

And so, I continue to give her the cold shoulder…