Chapter 255 Neil’s Important Matters
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A few days have passed since Lucena-san and the others left the frontier settlement, and people from Toys of Preference (Shikou no Gigu) came to help us.
The problems I was worried about didn’t really happen. Thanks to Lucena-san training the sl*ves well, we could manage the housework with just a few helpers, so we didn’t need to bring anyone back from the fields.
In fact, we had a bit of extra help, so when that happened, they helped out in the dining hall or bakery.
Even though everything was going smoothly, the lack of problems was starting to feel like a problem itself.
”Hey, Lewya.”
”What’s up?”
During our lunch break, I asked Lewya while we were drinking tea in the office.
”Have you heard any reports from Wen about suspicious people since then?”
”If there was anything, I would have told you right away.”
”Yeah, I figured.”
I thought the spirit’s watch would quickly solve the intruder issue, but surprisingly, no intruders had shown up since then, and we hadn’t gotten any information about them.
Just because there were no problems didn’t mean everything was fine; I still needed someone by my side all the time.
”Should I give Wen different instructions?”
”Even if you do, it wouldn’t help, Neil. No matter how specific the instructions are, the spirits can’t handle it.”
Right now, I told Wen to remember anyone who came into the house, whether they were strangers or people we knew, especially if they entered my private room or the office.
The reason I didn’t give specific instructions about intruders or suspicious people is that Wen and the others have started to understand human values, but they don’t fully get it yet.
Since humans and spirits have different values, they don’t know what to consider a suspicious person.
”Even if they understood our instructions, there are people everywhere in the frontier settlement trying to uncover its secrets. Do you want them to watch all of that?”
”Yeah, that does sound impossible.”
Back when there were no people in the frontier settlement, I could just tell them to report any strangers they saw, but now that doesn’t work anymore.
So, recently, I had Wen watching the settlement to be witnesses in case something happened.
If I asked for too much help, the spirits’d say I was interfering too much, so this was probably the best I could do for now.
”But what should we do? It’s unexpected that there hasn’t been any progress.”
”Thinking about things that you can’t figure out won’t help. How about taking a break? You haven’t been to the dining hall lately, right?”
The dining hall, huh? I thought about bringing someone with me, but I had been avoiding going out until the situation was resolved.
Since there was no sign of a solution, maybe it would be good to take Lewya’s advice and go to the dining hall for a change.
I had other issues to deal with as a ruler, and I couldn’t just focus on one problem. So, I decided to take Lewya with me to the dining hall for the first time in a while.
* * *
After finishing my bath and taking care of everything I needed to do for the day, I pulled out a wooden board with a magic circle for a hidden space that I had hidden next to my bed and opened the entrance to that space.
”Wow, so Neil was sneaking out of the house through here.”
”Yeah… but if Diana and Lewya already know, then I don’t really need to sneak out, do I?”
”Right now, there are people from ‘Toys of Preference’ in the house, so it would be a hassle if they saw you.”
”That’s true. By the way, are you going in that outfit?”
Lewya was wearing her usual servant clothes, which were a bit too noticeable for walking outside.
”I can’t help it. The only other clothes I have are our elf traditional outfits, and I can’t wear that. Besides, I hardly ever get to wear anything other than servant clothes.”
”You did take some time off with Diana, right? Are you wearing that even on your day off?”
”Surprisingly, once you get used to it, this outfit isn’t so bad. Now, I feel more comfortable in this than in the clothes I used to wear.”
”If you’re okay with it, then that’s fine.”
I took off my pajamas and changed into the clothes I had hidden in the hidden space, then walked down the hallway with Lewya.
”Where does this hallway lead to?”
”It connects to different places in the frontier settlement. Actually, there’s a direct path to the kitchen of the dining hall, but since there are other people besides Narsht-san, we can’t use that. So usually, I go out from the field and walk to the dining hall.”
”I see, the field area has fewer people, and right now it’s surrounded by walls, so there’s no worry about being seen.”
”Exactly.”
While we were talking, we arrived at our destination. I poured my Crimson onto a wooden board to create an exit and stepped out into another space.
From there, I walked towards the dining hall as planned, but on the way, just as I was passing by the bakery, someone called out to me.
”Neil-sama.”
”Huh?”
I reacted when my name was suddenly called, but then I realized the voice belonged to a woman I didn’t recognize.
I remembered that I was out incognito as Nick, so I shouldn’t have reacted to being called Neil.
As I regretted that, the woman spoke to me.
”Long time no see.”
”Oh, um…”
From the way she looked, it seemed she was sure about talking to me, and there was no way to play it off now.
So, I needed to figure out who this woman was. Since she said it’s been a while, we must have met before, but I couldn’t remember her at all.
”Did you forget about me?”
”No, um…”
”Right, there’s no way you’d remember a girl you only played with once.”
”Once?”
”Wait a minute!”
I didn’t remember doing anything that would make it sound bad.
If anything, the only thing that might fit that description was visiting a brōtḥel, but aside from Moona-san’s place… oh.
”Are you the lady from ‘Toys of Preference’?”
”You remember me?”
”Of course! But I’m sorry, your hair color was so different that I didn’t recognize you.”
I remembered she had black hair with a few light green highlights back then, but now her hair was completely light green with no black at all.
”I had black hair because of a request from a previous customer, and it was starting to fade.”
”So that’s why it wasn’t that color.”
”Who would have such a weird hair color?”
”Is it weird? I actually liked that hair color a lot.”
”…Really?”
Wait, did she think it was strange?
But I had never seen hair colors like highlights in this world, so maybe people here thought it looked odd compared to what I knew.
”Ahaha, don’t mind that. By the way, how did you know I was Neil? I don’t think we talked back then… did you hear it from the receptionist?”
I had played at ‘Toys of Preference’ because my identity was at risk, and I wanted them to keep quiet about me.
If she talked about it, that would break our agreement.
”Receptionist? No, I noticed because of the smell.”
”Huh? The smell?”
”Yes, I used to go to places where nobles went, so I remember the scent of the fancy soap they used.”
”…Wait, when you said ‘there’s a smell that caught my attention,’ you meant the soap smell?”
”Yes, that’s right.”
Oh! So that’s what it was! I thought she was talking about body odor!
Honestly, that really got to me, and I even changed my soap to avoid any body odor issues, but it was all just my misunderstanding.
”Did you change your soap? Before, it had a faint smell that you could only notice if you got close, but now it’s more noticeable.”
”Oh… yeah.”
”Um, I don’t mean to be rude, but for someone your age, the previous soap would have been better…”
”Right!?”
Because the soap I’m using now is something older people start using when they get worried about body odor.
I remember when I switched to this soap, Diana had a strange look on her face.
While I felt relieved that my worries about body odor were unfounded, I also started to sweat thinking about how my identity could be exposed because of a smell.
”But”, I never thought my identity could be revealed by a smell. I’ve been walking around the dining hall with this scent, but could it be that the people in the dining hall have figured me out…?”
”Maybe I realized who Neil was because I knew that smell. Normally, you wouldn’t know the scent of soap that nobles use. Plus, there are a few customers who use scented soap, and if you work in a mansion, some staff might wear perfume to look nice.”
”Right? It’s pretty rare to get caught just by a smell, isn’t it?”
Just as I felt relieved, Lewya whispered to me.
”Neil, even though it’s late, this is a public place. We don’t know when someone might come by.”
”Yeah… um, excuse us, we’ll be going now.”
”Oh, I’m sorry to have stopped you.”
”No, no! Thanks to you, I realized a few things, so thank you!”
”I’m glad to hear that. Please come visit the shop sometime!”
”Ah… sure, I’ll try to.”
As we gave a vague reply, we left the place.
”Neil, are you going to visit her shop?”
”Not sure… It feels awkward to say no to her face, so I just answered like that. But if I don’t go, will it seem rude?”
”Well, I wouldn’t know about those kinds of manners, but… Diana told me to keep you away from brōtḥels, so please don’t go.”
”Do I really seem like someone who would go to those places?”
If that’s how they see me, it’s a bit shocking, and I felt down, but Lewya corrected me.
”That’s not it. Diana and I aren’t worried about that, it’s just considering the recent situation. I’ve said it many times, but there are a lot of strange people in the frontier settlement now. I’ve heard that brōtḥels are often chosen as hiding spots for those kinds of people.”
”Oh, I see… but wait, that still means you think I might go to a brōtḥel, right?”
”Well, you kind of set the standard by going to ‘Toys of Preference’.”
Ugh, it’s hard to deny that since I actually went there.
”By the way, why are brōtḥels often chosen as hiding spots? I’ve heard that before, but I’ve never heard the reason.”
”Ah, I’ve heard that customers often spill confidential information while chatting, so brōtḥels and houses of ill repute are good for gathering info. But the main reason is probably that it’s easy to come and go.”
”Easy to come and go?”
”Brothels have a lot of comings and goings. It’s normal for someone to suddenly show up and then disappear just as quickly. It’s common for a new worker to not show up on their first day and not be reachable.”
”Couldn’t that mean they got caught up in something bad?”
”That’s possible, but it’s often just that they didn’t want to work anymore or found a better place. Plus, they usually have free time during the day. Information gathers where people gather, so it’s better to be able to act during the day to collect info.”
”So, being able to act during the day and the fact that people disappearing suddenly is normal makes it less suspicious if they leave right after their job… I guess that does make it a good hiding spot.”
”Well, that’s why brōtḥels are often the first place people suspect, so I’ve heard to avoid them. But honestly, I don’t really know.”
To be honest, no matter how much I think about it, I’m just amateurs. It’s impossible for me to see through a professional infiltrator.
Right now, there were more important things to think about.
”Lewya.”
”…What’s up? You suddenly look serious.”
”It’s an important matter.”
When I replied seriously, Lewya leaned in closer, looking around cautiously. She brought her ear close to my mouth so no one else could hear, and I told her the important thing.
”Change the soap back to the old one.”
”……….”
Wow, she’s looking at me like Diana did in the beginning.
This is probably the first time Lewya has given me such a serious look.
But I’m not joking; this is really important to me.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply