...I had thrown up. All of it, completely.... Well, there were still some mysteries remaining, but those were secondary aspects. The outline of the incident had been largely clarified.
That son of a Count named Keidith was... well, let me say it, a typical stupid aristocrat. He was a deluded man who believed he was superior and that it didn't matter how he treated those below him. Yes, he was the kind of guy who shouldn't be made the head of a noble household. …Well, he was the third son and didn't have any special abilities, so the chances of him inheriting the family and becoming head of the family were almost zero.
The problem was one of his followers, a man named Enrud. Apparently, that guy had been telling Keidith a lot of things. If that person hadn't told Keidith something unnecessary, this incident probably wouldn't have happened.
"I have no family, relatives or friends in this country, I'm a girl from another country. There's no one to side with."
"Spreading scandalous rumors about annoying outsiders will bring you in contact with amused women."
"And then, after that, if you say some kind words to the isolated and weak woman..."
As the fourth son of a viscount, he was the son of an ordinary aristocrat, with no chance of inheriting a title. Apparently neither of them knew why he did that, but Keidith took him up on the suggestion and got up to all sorts of trouble. The result, well, we all know it.
Did he deliberately tempt him to frame Keidith? Given that, it was odd that he didn't run away like these two before the flames of the conflict reached him. If he stayed like this, he would get caught up in it too...
Besides, there was no reason to frame a member of a high-ranking noble family. If he didn’t want to stay in the entourage, he could have kept his distance or completely left. No matter what his family's position was, it would have been better than being caught up in a situation like this. After all, Keidith was the third son, not the eldest son who would be the next head of the family.
"What do you think? Sabine-chan..." (Mitsuha)
"Hmm... there's not enough information..." (Sabine)
"No matter how powerful a computer is, if there isn't enough input data, it can't provide an answer..." (Mitsuha)
There was not a word of doubt from Sabine-chan in response to my muttering. ...That means, Sabine-chan understands the meaning of things like "computer" and "input data." Atta-Sabi!
No, this is "Sabine-chan, scary child!!" I guess she gained a lot of knowledge during her time studying in Japan, huh...? I didn't teach her how to use a computer, so she couldn't have looked up various things on the internet...
"I've asked you everything I wanted to ask. Now let's have a pleasant conversation. Oh, I don't have any particular feelings towards you two, so don't worry. I just wanted some information..." (Mitsuha)
When I said that and smiled at them, they both looked truly relieved. No, I'm not lying. I have no intention of doing anything with these two, seriously. ...Me, you see.
What Mileisha-chan and her friends, whose numbers had apparently skyrocketed over the past few days, and everyone at Society was thinking or doing was none of my business.
Well, for tonight, consider yourself safe and act as interlocutors for Viscount Mitsuha von Yamano, vice-president of Society and Lephilia Trade's main supplier of products, and the lord of the Yamano territory. Ahahahaha!
The two of them looked relieved, but the lord, who seemed to have realized the reason for my and Sabine-chan smiles, was smiling wryly. However, the lord was a fan of my— no, of the alcohol and delicacies of Yamano territory, so he didn't say anything and just focused on playing the role of host...
After that, we disbanded at a reasonable time. The two of them returned to the inn, and Sabine-chan and I were transferred to the Yamano family home in Japan.
Well, the bed at my parents' house is the biggest and has the nicest cushions and futon. My bed was big—because I fell off it many times, I ended up getting only my bed replaced with a bigger one—so Sabine-chan and Colette-chan could sleep in it too. This time, Colette-chan wouldn't be there, though.
The lord said, "You can stay the night," but when I stayed there, not only was the bed very hard, but the bathroom was terrible!! The maids were watching and going to Japan just to use the toilet carried a risk of being discovered. For us in that world, it had been too difficult to use the toilet in someone else's house...
Because of the time difference, it was not bedtime in Japan, but I closed the curtains and went to sleep. I now lived my life based on the Kingdom of Vanell time zone of the New Continent, so my lifestyle was adjusted to that. When I was centered around Kingdom of Zegreius on the old continent, I used that time zone as the basis. I thought I might experience jet lag when switching over, but it didn't bother me much. …Is this also thanks to the automatic healing ability?
After having breakfast at the Yamano family home (my parents' house), I moved to the New Continent local product store (my shop) together with Sabine-chan. There was nothing here except for the shop on the first floor. The second floor was just a transfer station.
...Ah, I did put in a larger table and chairs the other day.
I discussed my future plans with Sabine-chan at my parents' house last night. So, I headed out right away. Our destination was the Marquis Mitchell House. Micchan No. 2's house.
"Micchan, are you there?" (Mitsuha)
"...Really, you are..." (Micchan)
Micchan appeared with a frown on her face and wrinkled on her forehead. Of course, my call wasn't received directly, but rather by a maid who passed it on to me... This wasn't our Japanese residence, so if I called from the entrance, my voice wouldn't reach Micchan's room.
Then, instead of being shown to the reception room, I was shown to Micchan's own room. After the maid who brought us tea and sweets left, we got straight to the point...
"I'd like you to investigate in detail a man named Enrud, who is one of Keidith's associates. The main culprit in this case involving Mileisha-chan is the third son of a Count named Keidith, but it seems he's the mastermind who instigated it. From what I heard from Mileisha-chan, he doesn't know those guys and has no reason to resent them, but I think everything happens for a reason. It would be bad for me, a noble from another country, to directly snoop around about the noble families of this country, and I'm sure they would find it difficult to talk about their own country's nobles, so I would like to ask you to do so through you, Micchan..." (Mitsuha)
"……I understand. This matter concerns not only Mileisha-sama, an exchange student from another country, but also the honor of the children of our noble families. It certainly would not be a good idea to have you, Mitsuha-san, who is not from either country, take such overt action, right..." (Micchan)
Ah, Micchan, this time you didn't call me by my name only, but added "san" to my name. Is it because now you are speaking not as my friend, but as the daughter of a marquis in this country? …But, well, the fact that she doesn't call me "sama" probably means that she thinks of me as closer to him than the other young ladies…
Author's Note
A novel serialization has begun by Masmori Akira, a partner of Akata Itsuki, who is in charge of the illustrations for my work, "Noukin."
It is planned to be a short story of about 10 chapters. Please give it a read! (^^)/
"Even though she's a super beautiful influencer, Hiyo-senpai only goes soft when she hears my dull voice."
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4555ke/
It comes with character design illustrations by Akata-sensei. (^^)/
Translator's Comment
Finally, I have been wondering about the time zone all the time.
Extra Credit
Proofreader: TV.Station