157

It would have been bad if what slipped out hadn’t been in the Imperial language.

I cleared my throat to cover it up, avoided the gaze of the man staring at me suspiciously, and returned to reading while pretending disinterest.

The man’s silent, unwavering stare hurt.

“So, what will you do?”

Unable to endure the silence and the gaze, I pressed my throat and asked in broken Elven without taking my eyes off the book.

But the man said nothing and continued to look at me with suspicion.

For a while, the sound of turning pages melted into the stillness of the night.

If the only light source had been the small flame lit on my fingertip, I might have avoided seeing his expression, but the light sphere floating beside the man clearly illuminated his doubtful face.

Wasn’t it impossible to bluff this?

Just as I was about to give up, the man before me let out a large sigh and said,

“Well, fine. I do not know your purpose. But if you intend harm toward us, be prepared.”

After saying only that, the man left, and I glanced once at his back before returning my gaze to the book.

It seemed I had barely won the battle of patience.

Still, being subjected to unnecessary suspicion was not good.

Even if they learned I could speak normally, it would not be a major issue, but they would certainly question why I had hidden it.

I could simply say I had been practicing, but whether they would believe that was another matter.

And if I gave that answer, my value in Number Six-san’s eyes would undoubtedly rise.

Weighing the merits and demerits with my small brain, it was obvious I needed a certain distance from her.

The risk of getting dragged into elven disputes went without saying, considering the Republic possessed multiple weapons capable of killing me, called spirit weapons.

‘Above all, she held a high position within the Forshna, one of the Three Great Clans, but she was neither the clan head nor someone who unified them.’

Considering how far her will could reach, prioritizing the convenience of Rusheru Forshna alone was a bad gamble.

“However…”

A small murmur escaped.

The Kingdom of Canaan had tried to borrow elven power to subjugate me.

To prevent that, the best approach was to win over someone influential within the Republic.

Did she qualify?

If not, would she mediate with the appropriate person?

‘Probably… but the issue is whether Number Six-san has that much influence.’

Given we mutually recognized we were using each other, she would tolerate some recklessness, but if she lost power because of it, it would be pointless.

Yet the thought intruded that if the slightly dangerous, scheming beauty with a perfect figure were downgraded into just a busty elf, that would also be…

Still, my highest priority was survival, and for that it was certainly more convenient if she held a certain degree of authority.

This matter felt like a branching point depending on whether I relied on her.

‘It’s too early to decide. I’ll watch how the elves move first.’

The night deepened.

The small flame on my fingertip was blown out by the wind.

It seemed my magic power was reaching its limit.

I thought I had become fairly skilled at using magic, but the small total amount of magic power was unavoidable.

I briefly wondered if there was such a thing as external magic power, then after some thought realized such an item might actually exist and decided to ask tomorrow.

And so the next morning—after repeating the sequence of magic recovery, reading, and magic exhaustion twice, dawn arrived, and since I ran out of things to read, I switched to magic training.

I believed the basics were nearly complete, so I wanted to consider other spells soon.

A light spell probably seemed low difficulty and a good target.

Then the presence hiding and watching me disappeared, and at the same time I caught the sound of people moving inside the mansion.

Quite early risers.

Leaning against a tree in the garden, practicing magic in the shade as usual, my nose caught a drifting smell.

‘Oh, this is…’

Memories from my human days resurfaced.

“Miso soup, without a doubt.”

I never imagined the seasoning thought to be the Empire’s exclusive specialty was made in the elf village too.

Then perhaps soy sauce existed as well?

If soy sauce existed, the range of flavors would expand greatly.

While seriously considering how to get some, Number Six-san arrived, wearing one more layer than usual.

“It has gotten chilly,” I thought, looking up at the somewhat cloudy sky, feeling the temperature change even in this body.

“Good morning. Have you been here since last night?”

I wrote, “It was quite an informative book,” on paper, showed it, and stood.

She asked what to do about breakfast, so I nodded that I would gladly accept if it was no problem.

I offered to hunt a beast or two if necessary, but last night’s gift was enough.

I felt like I was steadily climbing the stairs toward becoming a gluttonous monster, but for the sake of nostalgic flavors I would accept that stigma.

So I looked at the breakfast laid before me.

‘Yep, small.’

Perhaps elves really ate little—there were seven dishes, many for breakfast, but each portion was small.

Even when I was human, I could have easily finished this.

Still, the desired miso soup was properly present, though proportionally it was about the size of a shot glass, yet the aroma closely resembled what I knew.

I gently brought the bowl to my mouth and took a sip; the slight difference—was it a household taste, or a different stock?

Regardless, I closed my eyes and immersed myself in the nostalgic flavor.

“Yes, this was the taste,” I nodded unintentionally.

“You seem to like it very much.”

She smiled slightly, and I covered by saying the smell had caught my interest beforehand.

Without doubting the words, Number Six-san seemed convinced that with my sense of smell such a thing could happen.

Since I had the chance, I negotiated, “Could I have some of this?” but apparently it was not produced here and the quantity was small, so it was impossible.

It seemed a northern clan made the miso, and occasionally some flowed here.

I asked if I could negotiate locally, but even Number Six-san looked troubled and said that was beyond help.

So I gave up cleanly.

If I clung stubbornly, she would seize the chance to create a favor.

Given the large debt of abandoning the base had not yet been repaid, I did not want to spend it on low-priority matters.

But if she came all this way and I repaid only with gardening knowledge, she might forcibly add something else.

Therefore the new magic I had considered earlier would fit into that slot.

I saw off Number Six-san as she returned for breakfast, then slowly resumed my own meal.

She would surely come to see me again.

I would propose it then.