Chapter 5
“–Ahhhh… it’s been a while since I’ve come near the imperial capital…”
Swaying in the carriage, Lucia stretches her back with a long groan.
Hearing Lucia’s words, Kurtz turned away from the window to face her.
“That’s right. Though now we’re based in Felmund, and the imperial capital has the duke’s house’s influence and many watchful eyes, making it difficult to move around freely. Unlike before when I had no position or power, now I have the status of Viscount Achimenes’ heir.”
“Hehe, and now I’ve become a proper young master’s exclusive maid!”
“You mean ‘personal,’ not ‘exclusive.'”
“But doesn’t ‘exclusive’ sound more erotic?”
“That’s a sensibility I can’t understand, so please don’t seek my agreement.”
“You know, like, ‘exclusive’ makes it sound more like I’m property, like you could do anything you want with me.”
“I didn’t ask for detailed explanations either.”
While listening to Lucia’s nonsense, Kurtz lets out an exaggerated sigh.
“Good grief… We’re about to confront Sanctus, so please get serious.”
“Something about officially being a pilgrimage, but actually investigating the source of counterfeit money, right?”
“That’s right. The [Saint] of the Divine Word Church has a custom of making annual pilgrimages through the territories of the Sanctus faction. If the existence of counterfeit money is discovered during that time, they can move personnel under the guise of pilgrimage. Sanctus wouldn’t want other ducal houses to notice any unusual movements either.”
The position of Duke Sanctus’s house is maintained by [trust].
That is the history and unique asset of the Sanctus house, built up through their religiously pure and upright attitude, and the actual results that Duke Sanctus’s house has produced.
However, the existence of counterfeit money is also a threat significant enough to crumble that accumulated [trust].
The faithful devotion of believers who absolutely obey their words, the current system based on that faith, the safety obtained through trust built up until now—there are countless immeasurable things to lose.
“Moreover, this is counterfeit money that slipped through identification and verification methods they had absolute confidence in. They can’t announce it publicly without first investigating not just the source, but also the manufacturing method and details.”
“Hmm, so the source of the counterfeit money is?”
“Obviously me.”
“That’s how it ends up, huh.”
“In the first place, you’re the one who circulated the counterfeit money using the trading routes we heard about from Edel. I explained this when I created the counterfeit money with alchemy magic too, so why are you asking about it now?”
“I still haven’t gotten my reward for that job, so I thought I’d appeal for it soon.”
Pat pat, Lucia slaps her thighs with a beaming smile.
“Why do you all want to sit me on your laps…”
“The fact that young master understood that meant ‘come sit on my lap’ shows you’re getting quite corrupted…”
“I’ve gotten so used to it that I’ve stopped hesitating.”
“Ehh, but the feeling of my soft thighs and chest touching you while you sway around cutely is nice though~”
“It’s too hot, so stop hugging me.”
As Lucia clings to him tightly, Kurtz lightly pats her shoulder in protest. Even though he’s gotten used to it, he’d prefer she stop with the close contact positions.
“Anyway, the situation is progressing as expected. Since the counterfeit money has passed through many people’s hands, it takes a lot of time to trace back, and even if they find it, it’s you who prepared fake human backgrounds in advance and changed your appearance with [Faceless]. But they don’t have time to spare, so they’ll likely take action once they’ve narrowed it down to around the central continent where Felmund is located.”
If they’ve narrowed it down that far, finding the source wouldn’t be difficult.
That’s precisely why—they’re moving not just to deal with the problem, but for other distractions as well.
“The [Saint] will probably stop by Felmund for investigation, but I’ve left dealing with that to Feiyu and Edel, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Mm-hm, by the way, young master.”
“What?”
“I’ve been wondering, what’s that candy?”
Seeing Kurtz take candy from a small bottle, Lucia tilts her head slightly and asks.
“You’ve been eating it every day since coming to Felmund, right?”
“Roughly speaking, it’s a nutritional supplement.”
“Hmm, are you saying Lucia-chan’s handmade nutritious meals aren’t satisfactory?”
“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with your cooking. Due to years of impoverished living, my stomach and intestines can’t fully absorb nutrients from food, so I take this as a supplement.”
“…Are you okay? Shouldn’t you see a doctor properly?”
“It’s just a weak constitution. You don’t need to take it so seriously.”
To Lucia, who furrows her brows with concern, Kurtz returns a smile while offering a candy.
“If you’re curious, would you like to try one?”
“Oh, is that okay?”
“Yeah, there’s no problem eating it as long as you don’t take large quantities at once, but—”
While Kurtz was explaining.
Lucia put the offered candy, along with his finger, into her mouth with a chomp.
Lucia’s tongue touches his finger, and after an indescribable sensation, she releases his finger from her mouth.
“Hehe, I ended up licking young master’s finger too.”
“…My finger is all sticky now.”
“You could lick it clean like this and have an indirect kiss with me, you know?”
“Obviously I won’t do that.”
“Aha, young master being embarrassed like that is the best—”
While laughing at Kurtz’s reaction, Lucia suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
“Blehhh… what is this, it tastes awfulll…”
“I was about to say there’s no problem eating it, but the taste is terrible.”
“It’s bitter and tastes like iron, then for just a moment sweetness pops up to say hello, which is annoying, but then immediately an astringent taste punches my taste buds…”
“Your impressions are quite unique. You don’t have to force yourself—you can spit it out.”
Seeing Lucia’s agonized reaction, Kurtz offers a handkerchief while laughing.
“Ptoo, young master, you’ve been eating this stuff every time…?”
“It’s the result of my poor taste buds being refined through impoverished living. As long as it’s non-toxic, I don’t mind any taste, and taking nutrition through candy also reduces meal time, so it’s efficient.”
“My love-filled homemade cooking lost to awful candy…”
“I do have enough sensitivity to think your cooking is delicious, so don’t worry. I just take nutrients that can’t be supplemented through meals in candy form.”
After answering that way, when Kurtz pops the candy from the handkerchief into his mouth, Lucia exclaims “Ah!”
“young master, you ate that candy from before?”
“I can’t just throw it away. It uses valuable materials too.”
“Ehehe… then, you had an indirect kiss with me, didn’t you?”
“Crunch“
“Just now there was the sound of mercilessly crushing sweet memories with me!?”
“Shut up. I processed it because we’re reaching our destination.”
Making deliberately loud crunching sounds, Kurtz turns away.
And as if responding to Kurtz’s words, the carriage slowly stops by the roadside.
“Now then, it’s work time. We didn’t come here to play around.”
“Yes sir… Really, young master shows no mercy even with jokes.”
While pouting, Lucia gets down from the carriage and takes Kurtz’s hand.
After stepping onto the ground, Kurtz looks up grandly.
A massive iron fence several times taller than a human.
However, the view isn’t obstructed, and through the fence he can see lush green grass and a small pond, with a building as large as the fence itself visible beyond.
A sign reading [Dragon Stable] hangs at the entrance.
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