Chapter 44

Indeed, this was a restaurant that catered to the nobility. It skillfully deflected the unreasonable demands of the boar lord and served proper dishes.

However, the boar lord and his wife remained in a bad mood throughout the meal.

From what they said, it seemed they had not only failed to meet the high priest but had been treated as if they were not even welcome at the door.

It seemed they were considered quite a nuisance.

The bishop, who had been exchanging bribes with the boar lord, had suddenly turned his back on them, making it clear that they had been abandoned by the church.

In Sora's opinion, this situation was like a lover delaying a reply to a text message to make the other person anxious. And the boar lord had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

If Sora didn't take action, the Kleinzelt territory would surely head straight down the path to becoming a colony.

After thoroughly enjoying the meal, Sora left the restaurant. He got into a different carriage from the still disgruntled boar lord and his wife, as the boar lord was too large to fit in the same carriage.

Following the boar lord's carriage, they proceeded through the night streets when the carriage suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?"

Sora called out to the driver. The driver, looking puzzled, pointed to the boar lord's carriage ahead.

"It seems they've been stopped by the capital guard."

Straining his eyes in the dark, Sora could indeed see five guards arguing with the boar lord. They had been instructed to stop all carriages and inspect them due to the increased vigilance for the prince's birthday celebration, which would turn the city into a festival.

The irritable boar lord was complaining about the inconvenience and the rudeness to a noble family, but the guards were not backing down.

"Please don't cause a scene..."

The capital guard was part of the royal guard, officially a part of the national army. It would be insane to pick a fight with the royal family's army the day before the prince's birthday celebration.

Sora got out of the carriage and slipped through the guards to stand near the boar lord.

"Father, there's nothing to hide, so let them inspect the carriage and let's go home. Besides, I need to get some sleep for tomorrow."

Sora's words seemed to remind the boar lord of being the guest of honor at tomorrow's party. With an unpleasant expression, he reluctantly agreed to the inspection.

Sora guided two of the guards to his own carriage.

"Father did something wrong. He seems to be in a bad mood today."

"…Is that so?"

The guards responded gruffly, and Sora chuckled. Both guards had severe burn scars all over their bodies, and their equipment looked as if it had been through a fire, similar to the guards he had seen during his daytime stroll through the city.

The driver let out a small scream upon seeing the guards' faces.

"What is it?"

"N-nothing..."

The driver averted his gaze, intimidated by the guard's irritated voice.

The guard, as if remembering something, looked at Sora. Hesitating whether to ask or not, Sora tilted his head and spoke.

"What is it?"

"…No, I was just thinking that you don't flinch at the sight of our faces."

As he spoke, he stroked his keloid-scarred jaw and right shoulder. Sora tilted his head even more curiously, then, as if reaching his limit, tilted it the other way before asking seriously.

"What is there to flinch at?"

The guards looked at each other, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"What, all of a sudden? Did I do something to be laughed at?"

"No, I was just thinking you have a lot of nerve."

Smiling at Sora's sideways glance, the guards inspected the carriage. Lazzette, who was inside, confirmed the guards with half-open eyes and then fell asleep without any reaction.

"Both master and servant, you have a lot of nerve."

The guards, chuckling, completed their duty and said in unison, "Thank you for your cooperation."

Sora waved his hand, and the two guards who had spoken with him chuckled as they turned back. The surrounding guards looked at each other in surprise.

Upon returning to the mansion, Sora reported his actions to the butler in front of the boar lord and retired to his room.

"It's going to be a hassle if we get monitored from now on."

Sora grumbled, stifling a yawn.

"Indeed, it's hard to find time for a nap."

"…That's the only advantage, I guess."

Sighing in exasperation, Sora placed a magic book on the desk.

"It's fine for now, but there's a risk that our allies might be exposed to the surveillance. I need more men to protect Sania and Lylu. Jez alone isn't enough."

"Kor is casually excluded, huh?"

"Figure it out."

Flipping through the magic book, Sora considered creating a homunculus for protection. Even with magic, he couldn't create something so convenient.

"I think we should borrow from the Belzec marquis."

"That would cause more than just surveillance issues."

Imagining the chaos that would ensue if Lazzette's suggestion were followed, Sora furrowed his brow.

"In that case, recruiting from the Kleinzelt lord's army—though they would likely betray us."

Lazzette, who had half-spoken the suggestion, retracted it and, just as Sora was about to scrutinize the magic book, snatched it away.

"My toy!?"

Sora desperately reached for the magic book, but even with his seven-year-old body, he couldn't retrieve it from Lazzette.

"Get some sleep for tomorrow."

Feeling a bit sorry for the book called a toy, Lazzette quickly put it in a secret box and placed it on a high closet shelf, out of Sora's reach.

"No! It's my toy! Give it back! I'm serious, dammit!!"

"Your snowball fight with Sania and your low boiling point in strange situations are still the same."

Ignoring Sora, who had started to throw a tantrum, Lazzette calmly closed the window, drew the curtains, and helped Sora change into his pajamas.

"Fine! I'll go to bed early! Ah, I'll probably have nightmares. I'll be tormented by dreams of Lazzette taking everything away, and I'll be sleepy at tomorrow's party—"

"Good night."

August 25th revision