Chapter 18

It has been seven days since we left the Lamplog territory.

I was in the carriage, feeling listless as I gazed out the window, while Eifa was rubbing my back.

"Seika, are you still feeling unwell?"

"…Yeah, I am."

I had completely forgotten.

I can’t handle carriages.

I rode one in my previous life in the West, but it was just as bad then…

Compared to oxen, they’re too fast. My butt hurts, and I’m bound to get motion sickness.

"…Eifa, you seem to be doing well, huh?"

"Eh, yeah. But I’m a bit tired, I guess."

Despite her words, she looks a hundred times more energetic than me.

I feel kind of pathetic.

"Ah, look. We’re almost there."

I silently look at where the carriage is heading.

In the distance, I can see the city surrounded by a long, massive wall.

The academic city of Rodnea.

A fortified city formed by scholars.

That’s where we’re headed.

****

After saying goodbye to the driver, I arrived at the inn where we planned to stay and immediately collapsed onto the bed as soon as I entered the room.

Ah, I still feel so sick…

"Eika, are you okay?"

Eifa, who had put down her luggage, sat at the edge of the bed and asked.

"Yeah…"

"Seika, you have a weakness, huh? Surprising."

Eifa chuckled.

What does she think of me?

"I’m human… Oh, Eifa’s room is next to mine…"

"R-really? Hmm…"

"Is something wrong…?"

"It’s just that… I have my own room, too…"

"Of course you do… In the smaller towns along the way, we had to share a room or a large room… But we’ll be staying here for a few days…"

"U-uh, yeah."

Eifa fidgeted as she spoke.

"Um… Seika, my current master is… you, right…?"

"Eh, yeah… It seems so… I got a certificate from Father…"

It seems there are various legal issues with taking a lord’s slave out of the territory. I can’t think straight; it’s too nauseating.

"S-so, Seika…"

Eifa spoke with determination.

"S-should I come to your room tonight…?"

I answered listlessly, still with my head bowed.

"Eh, why…?"

"…"

"Eh, are you talking about dinner? I’m not really hungry… Eifa, just eat something on your own."

Eifa was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"I’ll buy some fruit so you can eat when you’re hungry."

"Thanks…"

Eifa left the room to put down her luggage.

The sound of the door closing.

"Hmph! Ugh, really!"

Yuki, who was above my head, was being noisy.

"What’s wrong…?"

"That girl has no sense of her place!"

"What…?"

"To receive Seika-sama’s favor! She’s just a servant!"

"Eh…? Oh, you mean that…?"

Thinking about it, Eifa is fourteen this year.

In this world, it’s a bit early, but in my previous life, it wouldn’t be strange for someone her age to be married.

I rolled over onto my back on the bed.

"Eifa seems to be quite aware of her status. I don’t want her to worry."

"That’s not it, Seika-sama!"

"Eh?"

"That girl is in love with Seika-sama. She’s head over heels! She’s planning to use her status as a slave to get close to you!"

"Eh… No way."

But Yuki is saying whatever she wants.

"It’s true! Yuki can tell."

"Hmm? What does a wind spirit know about human hearts?"

"I think I understand more than Seika-sama. Like women’s hearts."

Shut up, you. You probably just read it in some court novel or something.

I tried to retort but realized I couldn’t say anything.

Come to think of it, in my previous life, I wasn’t particularly blessed with such relationships.

After completing the immortality technique, no one even came near me.

"…I don’t understand women’s hearts anyway."

"Don’t pout, Seika-sama. If you don’t study, you’ll suffer."

Give me a break.