11

Talidge looked at the kraken floating on the sea’s surface and was overwhelmed, saying, “So that was the cause. Still, it’s huge.”

Sophia praised Ains to the skies.

One knight came to where the three of them were.

“Lord Ains, I shall guide you to Lady Arabetta’s mansion.”

The knight led Ains and the others while his armor clattered.

The voices of the magical beasts could no longer be heard, but corpses were lying around the area, and each of them gave off a foul smell. The damaged houses and warehouses, as well as not only the blood of magical beasts but also blood likely shed by the residents of Elias, were stuck thickly to the ground.

Most of the ships had been sunk by the kraken, but there were a few ships that had escaped with only minor damage.

The sea breeze carried the fishy smell of the sea where the kraken’s corpse drifted onto the land. There was no trace of the Elias that had been filled with the scent of the tide before the commotion occurred.

“We have prepared a carriage over there, so although it will be cramped, we will go to the mansion in it.”

“That helps.”

A ship departed from the harbor and headed toward the kraken’s corpse.

They probably meant to recover it, since they could not leave the corpse as it was forever.

Glancing sideways at the ship, Ains and the other two entered the carriage.

Once the knight who had been guiding them sat beside the coachman, the carriage slowly began to move. The carriage advanced over the rough ground while shaking its body.

Ains talked with Talidge and Sophia while observing the state of the city through the small window.

Sophia and Talidge had probably run around the city subjugating the fish-men and seen it for themselves, but Ains did not know what it looked like.

The lively and bright atmosphere that had been there when he first came to Elias had completely vanished. That sight did not particularly move Ains’s heart, but even so, he felt that it would take some time for the city to recover.

The carriage’s shaking gradually grew smaller, and after continuing to run for a while, it quietly stopped.

The small window on the coachman’s side was opened, and the knight called out to Ains and the others.

“You three, we have arrived.”

Sophia opened the door, and the three of them got off the carriage.

Perhaps because his body had tensed strangely in order to endure the shaking of the carriage, Ains loosened his stiffened body by stretching greatly.

“I never get used to the shaking of carriages, no matter how much time passes.”

The grounds of Arabetta’s mansion, where Ains stepped down, were larger than the Brandy Marquess Family’s detached residence in Kirk, but the Brandy family’s building was more elaborate in its construction. As expected, the buildings in the royal capital, where many powerful nobles built mansions and competed with one another, were more luxurious.

Even so, from Ains’s perspective, the Elias residence also looked quite large and luxurious.

The knight knocked on the mansion door.

A maid and a butler appeared from inside, confirmed the knight and Ains’s group, and bowed their heads.

The knight introduced Ains and the others to the elderly butler while also conveying the instructions he had received from Arabetta.

“Lady Arabetta has instructed that you first soak in the bath and recover from your fatigue.”

After finishing his message, the knight bowed deeply to Ains and the others, saying, “I sincerely thank you for saving the city,” and left the mansion.

Left behind, Ains and the others were urged on by the elderly butler and entered the mansion.

Surprisingly, there were few furnishings decorating the inside of the mansion. Ains, who had lived in the Brandy residence in Kirk, had grown used to the sight of expensive furnishings lining the halls whenever he walked through them, so he even found the neat hall of the Elias residence refreshing.

The floor was not covered with carpet, which was difficult to maintain, but was laid with polished tiles that gave off a shine.

They proceeded deeper inside while making pleasant clicking footsteps.

Ains and Sophia had lived in the Brandy residence, and Talidge had also gone in and out of the Sobi House’s mansion quite frequently. Therefore, although it was their first time walking through the Elias residence, none of them felt unnecessarily nervous at all.

“It’s big, but somehow it doesn’t feel like a noble’s mansion.”

Ains had meant to say it to Sophia, but the elderly butler walking ahead reacted to it.

“Where are you from, Lord Ains?”

“Um, from Kirk. I arrived in Elias today.”

“That was quite a misfortune. However, from our perspective, the fact that Lord Ains came to Elias today was truly a blessing from heaven. Oh, I have failed to introduce myself. I am Valeo, and I serve Lady Arabetta.”

“Yes, I do seem to get caught up in trouble quite easily.”

Beside Ains, who gave a wry smile, Talidge made a sarcastic remark.

“Yeah, this time you really did get caught up in it for once. Usually, you’re the one causing the trouble.”

Talidge was jabbed in the side by Sophia’s elbow.

Seeing the three of them like that, Valeo could not help letting a smile slip out.

“Where did you stay and take your meals in Kirk? You seem rather accustomed to the mansions of people of noble standing.”

“At Mr. Kansas’s place.”

“At the mansion of Marquis Kansas Brandy.”

Sophia added an explanation and told Valeo, thinking Ains’s words might not be enough to convey it.

“Oh! So it was at Lord Kansas’s place. My mistress, Lady Arabetta, is on close terms with Lord Kansas, so during dinner, I would very much like Lord Ains to tell my mistress about that. Lady Arabetta will surely be delighted as well.”

Ains found it surprising that Kansas, whose personality was that of the very image of a noble among nobles, never letting others read his thoughts, had nobles he was on close terms with. That said, if he said that out loud, it would be rude not only to Kansas but also to Arabetta. He quietly swallowed his words.

“If you were at Lord Kansas’s mansion, then this mansion must look all the more plain to you, does it not?”

“I don’t think it’s plain.”

“Unlike the royal capital Kirk, there are no other titled nobles here, so there is no need to put on appearances.”

“I see.”

When the other party was a fellow noble, easily understood splendor and luxury spoke louder than words.

However, there were no nobles in Elias other than Arabetta. In that case, there was no need for excessive extravagance. Decorations only needed to be enough to deal with influential people in Elias, such as merchants.

“I once accompanied Lady Arabetta to the Brandy Marquess’s mansion in Kirk. At that time, Lady Arabetta said to Lord Kansas, ‘It looks like something a nouveau riche would like. You have poor taste.’”

Valeo laughed as he said Kansas had looked embarrassed.