Chapter 45

The morning after the raid on Gricia Village by the bandits.

It was 5:00 AM, and while the sky over Isteria was beginning to turn a pale white, it would still be another 30 minutes before the sun rose.

At the Nelson residence in Isteria, due to the early hour when the sun had yet to rise, there were no people to be seen except for the guards patrolling the grounds.

However, in one of the rooms in the Nelson residence, the owner of the room was already stirring, trying to crawl out of the luxurious canopy bed.

The owner of the room, Rize, carefully avoided stepping on her lustrous dark brown hair, which was slightly disheveled from sleep, and managed to crawl out of the bed. She then sat on the edge of the bed with sleepy eyes.

She sat there for about a minute, yawned widely, and stretched.

Then, she picked up the water jug placed on the small table next to the bed and poured water into the copper cup that was also there, bringing it to her lips.

She swished the water around in her mouth and spat it into the silver basin also placed on the small table.

She repeated this several times, then moved to the dressing table with a large bronze mirror, used a wooden hairband to tie up her hair, and washed her face with the water in the basin.

After washing her face, she dried it with a soft cloth towel and removed the hairband.

She took off the knee-length pure white tunic she had worn as a nightgown and put on the short pants and shirt that were prepared.

Then, using a dark brown cloth string that matched her hair, she skillfully tied her hair into a ponytail.

She tilted her head to check the tightness of her ponytail and then moved to the center of the room, spreading her legs almost 180 degrees and sitting down to begin her stretching exercises.

"One, two, three, four"

She grabbed the tip of her right foot with both hands, called out, and pressed her forehead to her right shin.

After finishing, she did the same with her left shin, repeating this several times.

After stretching both legs, she remained in a split position and pressed her upper body to the floor in front of her, staying there for about 10 seconds before slowly standing up.

She then continued various stretches, focusing on her entire body, for about 20 minutes, repeating them several times.

After finishing her stretches, she put on a thin tunic that reached her calves, which was prepared next to the dressing table, and tightened it around her waist with a leather belt.

She then picked up a small cloth bag from the dressing table, opened it slightly to check its contents, tied it shut with a leather string, and put it in her pocket.

"Spear, spear"

She put on leather boots, picked up the short spear leaning against the bed, and opened the door to leave the room.

"Miss Rize, good morning."

"Good morning, Sallet. I'm going to the courtyard today."

"Understood. Have a good day."

She exchanged greetings with the young female guard waiting in front of her room and headed to the courtyard.

Along the way, she called out to each guard she met by name and exchanged a few words with some of them.

The guards who patrolled the mansion from night to morning were mostly a fixed team.

It was a regular occurrence for Rize to go to the courtyard alone in the early morning, and no guard asked her where she was going.

By the time Rize arrived at the courtyard, it was mostly light, and the grass and plants, wet with morning dew, sparkled in the sunlight.

Rize moved to an open area in the courtyard, wetting her boots with the dew dripping from the grass, and took a small breath before positioning her short spear and began to swing it in fluid movements.

While Rize was swinging her short spear in the courtyard, in Nelson's study, Ichiro was sleeping with his left cheek pressed against the desk.

Last night, after having dinner with the Ister family, including Rize, Ichiro returned to the study before Nelson and the others, ate a few cans of food he brought from Japan, and continued to compile construction documents with Nelson, Haber, Isaac, and Zirconia, barely taking any breaks.

During this time, the others repeatedly left and returned to the room to complete other tasks, but when everyone happened to leave the room, Ichiro's concentration snapped, and he fell asleep face-down on the desk, leading to his current state.

A blanket, apparently brought by someone, was draped over Ichiro's shoulders, and a small amount of drool was dripping from his mouth onto the desk.

Fortunately, the documents were neatly stacked in the corner of the desk, so the drool only affected Ichiro's face and the desk.

"Ha!?"

Ichiro, who had been sleeping in bliss, suddenly jolted awake and looked around.

"Oh, I fell asleep... Ow, ow"

His body ached from the awkward position he had been in.

He had been exhausted from inspecting the river with Haber during the day and working on document organization all night.

"Ah, I've done a bad thing to everyone... If I had known, I should have taken a proper room to rest... Ah!"

Ichiro, realizing this, suddenly looked at the clock on the desk and grabbed it.

The hands of the analog clock pointed to 6:30 AM.

"Uh, it's a bit of a tricky time... Is anyone still here...?"

Ichiro put the clock down, stood up, and hurriedly left the room.

"Hmm... It's the day after yesterday, so she probably won't come..."

After nearly an hour of training with the short spear, Rize leaned the spear's butt on the ground and muttered.

She then took the small cloth bag from her pocket, untied the leather string, and peered inside.

"Beautiful..."

Inside the bag was a heart-shaped pendant, with a transparent milky white gemstone—artificial opal—embedded in a silver heart frame.

The artificial opal sparkled with iridescent colors in the morning sunlight, reflecting light and delighting Rize's eyes as she changed the angle.

"Miss Rize, good morning."

As Rize gazed at the pendant for a while, Eira, holding a cloth towel, approached.

"Um, is Mr. Kazura...?"

"Yeah, he might not come today."

Rize answered Eira, put the bag back in her pocket, and took the towel to wipe the sweat from her forehead and neck.

"Hey, is that person really the one who dropped this pendant?"

"There's no mistake. It seems Mr. Kazura also remembered me."

The night before last, after Rize had dinner with Kazura for the first time, a flustered Eira came to Rize's room.

She informed Rize that the man she had accidentally bumped into in the streets of Isteria and the man Nelson introduced as a friend, Kazura, were the same person.

Since the man she bumped into was the same person, it was certain that he was the one who dropped the gem Rize now possessed.

Rize thought that while confirming if the gem's owner was really Kazura, she could also use it as an opportunity to establish a personal connection.

So, last night, after dinner, Rize sent Eira to Ichiro, who had left the table, to tell him she wanted to talk and asked him to come to the courtyard early the next morning.

She thought that since Kazura seemed to really like her, he would come wagging his tail as soon as she called... but...

"Miss Rize, if this pendant is indeed Mr. Kazura's personal possession, what do you plan to do?"

While Rize was looking at the entrance to the courtyard, connected to the mansion, hoping he might still come, Eira timidly asked.

From her expression, it seemed she had already guessed the answer.

"Hmm, if he's rich enough to own something like this, I could try to make him fall in love with me like the others and get him to give me various gifts. But, I'm also a bit concerned about what Mother said the other day."

"Zirconia?"

"Yeah. Apparently, Kazura is from a noble family in a certain country, and that noble family is incredibly wealthy. He himself has many rare and unusual items and so much money that he can't spend it all."

"…I've never heard of such a person in these times. Which country's noble is he?"

"Well, he didn't tell me which country... But, I've seen the royal family and their entourage in the capital living in such luxury right after the ceasefire that it's not hard to believe he's a very wealthy noble... Ah, he's here."

As Rize and Eira were talking, the door leading from the courtyard to the mansion opened, and a flustered Ichiro ran out.

When Ichiro saw Rize in the courtyard, he approached with a relieved look.

"Mr. Kazura!"

Rize called out to Ichiro, who was approaching, and ran to him with the short spear.

Eira did not follow but remained standing, bowing to Ichiro.

"Good morning. I'm sorry for being late."

"Good morning. I'm sorry for calling you so early... Did it cause you any trouble?"

Rize, who was a head shorter than Ichiro, looked up at him with uncertain eyes.

Ichiro smiled at her warmly.

"No, no, not at all. I was actually looking forward to talking to you, so I'm glad you called me."

"Oh, thank you!"

Rize showed genuine happiness at Ichiro's response, which seemed like a polite formality.

Ichiro's face turned slightly red at the smile directed at him.

"Y-You were practicing with the spear?"

"Yes, it's a daily routine. As a member of the Ister family, I need to be proficient with weapons."

Rize said this and looked at the short spear in her left hand.

The spear, about 140 cm long, looked quite large in the hands of the petite Rize.

(Well, she looks great in a dress with her hair down, but this casual look with a ponytail is also fantastic. She's going to be a real beauty in the future... No, she's already a beauty.)

As Ichiro watched Rize with the short spear, he thought this, and Rize, noticing his gaze, tilted her head curiously.

"Ah, um, Eira said you wanted to talk..."

"Yes, actually, there's something I want you to see..."

Rize, as if to divert attention from her gaze, took the cloth bag from her pocket and took out the heart-shaped pendant, placing it in her palm and offering it to Ichiro.

"Is this yours, Mr. Kazura?"

"Huh?"

Ichiro looked at the pendant and showed a puzzled expression.

He then examined the pendant in Rize's palm closely.

(…Huh?)

Rize, expecting a more surprised reaction, was taken aback by Ichiro's calm demeanor.

She began to wonder if this was just a mistake in Eira's memory and the person she had bumped into was not the Ichiro in front of her.

"This is... Ah, I see. So that's what you wanted to talk about."

After a few seconds, Ichiro nodded as if understanding.

"Since you have it, you must have found it when Eira and I bumped into each other. I... I didn't realize I had lost it... No! I was looking for it, thinking I had lost it!"

"Ah, yes, it seems it accidentally ended up in Eira's apron pocket at that time..."

(He was about to say he didn't realize it! How could someone not notice losing such a valuable item?)

Rize was inwardly shocked by Ichiro's words.

He had said he didn't realize he had lost a gemstone she had never seen before.

Normally, losing such an item would cause a big fuss.

"So, you are the person Eira bumped into that day. Were you incognito or something?"

"Um... Yes, something like that. I was grateful for your help that day. Thank you."

Rize decided not to press further, seeing Ichiro's hesitant affirmation.

For some reason, he had to act as a regular citizen in the city.

Probing too much might give a bad impression.

"No! I'm really sorry. My guard acted on his own and treated you terribly. ...Here, I'll return this to you."

Rize, looking genuinely apologetic, put the pendant back in the cloth bag and offered it to Ichiro.

Ichiro took the bag from Rize, thought for a few seconds, and then offered it back to her.

"Thank you, but I want you to keep it. As a token of gratitude for the other day and as a sign of our growing friendship."

"Wh-What!?"

Rize, surprised, opened her eyes wide and looked back and forth between the bag Ichiro was offering and his face.

"But, I can't accept such a valuable item..."

Ichiro, seeing Rize's flustered expression, smiled.

"It's fine."

"Even if it was by chance, if Rize and Eira hadn't kept it, I would never have found it again. I had almost given up on it, so please accept it."

Rize, inwardly thinking, "You didn't even realize you lost it!" but kept it to herself, took the bag and clutched it to her chest.

"Thank you. I'll treasure it!"

She directed a smile of pure joy at Ichiro.

Seeing such a perfect smile, Ichiro inwardly thought, "Oh, you're so cute, damn it!" while Rize was convinced, "This guy is incredibly rich! And he's so generous!"

Zirconia, watching Rize and Ichiro talking in the courtyard from the shadow of a second-floor window, smiled and quietly left the scene when she saw Rize receive something from Ichiro and look delighted.