What Happened At My Manor

As we walked and talked, time passed in the blink of an eye, and before long, we arrived at my manor.

“So this is your home, Nova-san.”

I heard Shia murmur beside me.

When I looked over at her, she seemed to be taking in the sight of my manor.

“It’s pretty small compared to the House Fols main residence we were at before. Well, I guess that’s only natural since that place belongs to a great noble family.”

“That’s true. But I prefer this one. I like smaller places more than spacious ones. That’s part of why I was in that back alley back then.”

“I see.”

As I found myself reminiscing about the past, an elderly man happened to come out of the manor.

“Oh? Nova-sama, welcome home.”

“Yeah, I’m back, Gill-san. Though I’ll be heading out again soon.”

He had probably had nothing to do and was about to go for a walk.

As a result, the elderly man ended up coming out to greet us. His name was Gill Christophe.

Apparently, decades ago, he had served as the butler of a noble house that was later abolished.

Ever since Father granted me this territory, Gill-san had been assisting me with its administration.

That said, my territory was quite small, and there were very few types of documents requiring review, so the two of us often found ourselves with too much free time.

Gill-san gave a refined bow that spoke of his many years of experience.

“Understood. There is currently nothing requiring your approval, Nova-sama, so please do not concern yourself with matters of the territory.”

Watching Gill-san lower his head, I couldn’t help wishing I had met him sooner.

He was another person who had hardly ever been at the family estate and who did not look down on me as a failure.

Then a thought occurred to me: lately, I hadn’t heard any people badmouthing me at my own manor.

When I had first come here, I would occasionally hear such remarks, but for some time now, I hadn’t heard them at all.

Tanya had previously proposed changing some of the staff, so perhaps she had replaced the servants for my sake.

If that was what happened, I had nothing but gratitude for her.

Seeing Gill-san’s eyes shift after he straightened from his bow, I suddenly remembered that I still hadn’t introduced Shia.

“Ah, right. Let me introduce you. This is… L-Leticia Ark Gate-san. She’s the person who has proposed a marriage arrangement with me.”

“Honestly, Nova-san. What kind of introduction is that?”

Shia sighed at me.

But if I said her full name, it inevitably made it obvious just how important a person she was, so I felt it couldn’t be helped.

Gill-san bowed deeply to Shia.

“I am aware of who you are. Please take good care of Nova-sama.”

“Yes! Leave Nova-san to me!”

“…Huh?”

This was supposed to be their first meeting, yet things were proceeding surprisingly smoothly.

Gill-san should have been a complete stranger to her, but just like with Tanya, I couldn’t help admiring Shia’s natural sociability.

Still smiling brightly, Shia turned to the side, extended a hand, and cast Gate.

Golden light spread into the shape of an oval, forming a magical gateway that connected this place to somewhere far away.

No matter how many times I saw it, I thought it was a beautiful spell.

“Nova-sama, I will remain here, so please enjoy your time with House Ark Gate. Ah, please wait just a moment.”

With that, Tanya hurried into the manor.

After a short while, she returned carrying a familiar heavy coat.

“This is the coat you purchased when you went to Norzampshon the other day.”

“Ah, thanks.”

I had personally experienced just how chilly Norzampshon could be.

I accepted the coat Tanya had bought for me there last time.

“Le… Shia-san, around what time will you be returning?”

“I’m not sure of the exact time… I’ll contact you through the stationery when we’re coming back.”

“Understood.”

So, I was about to visit House Ark Gate, Shia’s family home.

I wondered what kind of place it would be. I was a little excited, though I was also nervous.

“Ah, that reminds me.”

Shia took a familiar-looking bag from inside her coat.

It was a bag from Milky Way, the confectionery whose sweets I had traded with Aurora-chan during my previous visit to Norzampshon.

“These are the sweets you requested. Here you are.”

“Hey… Tanya, what did you ask Shia for?”

Tanya had said before that she had someone she could rely on, but I hadn’t expected that person to be Shia.

At the very least, that wasn’t the sort of thing you should be demanding from your master’s prospective fiancée, I thought with an inward sigh.

“…………”

Tanya froze.

Her eyes darted around nervously.

Shia paid no attention to her reaction, took Tanya’s hand, and placed the bag of Milky Way sweets into it.

At that exact moment, I could have sworn Gill-san’s eyes flashed.

“Tanya-jou, why don’t you come over there and have a little talk with this old man?”

“Eh… ah… yes…”

Gill-san grabbed Tanya by the back of the collar and dragged her away.

She looked at me with pleading eyes, but this time Tanya was clearly in the wrong, so she would just have to endure the lecture.

And even while being dragged away, she was clutching those sweets tightly.

I watched Gill-san’s back grow smaller, along with poor Tanya, who was undoubtedly about to receive a scolding, then apologized to Shia.

“Uh… sorry about Tanya. And thanks for the sweets. There was usually a pretty long line, right? It must’ve been a hassle.”

“No, please don’t worry about it. I have connections with the shop, and my sister was partly responsible as well… If anything, I should apologize for my sister… Not only did you look after her, you even gave her your sweets…”

We ended up in the slightly strange situation of apologizing to each other.

After a while, we ran out of things to say and let our gazes wander awkwardly.

Shia stared at the Gate for a few moments before suddenly turning serious eyes toward me.

“Nova-san, there is actually a rule regarding Gate magic.”

“A rule?”

It was magic capable of connecting places regardless of distance.

It wouldn’t have been strange for it to have some limitations.

“…You can’t use it with two people?”

If that were the case, I’d have to travel by carriage from here, and Norzampshon was incredibly far away.

That was what I thought, but Shia shook her head.

“No, two people can use it. However, we have to hold hands.”

“Oh, so two people can use it. That’s a relief… Wait, what?”

We had to hold hands?

For a moment, I was confused, but Shia’s expression was completely serious.

Thinking about it, Shia was the one casting Gate, so perhaps being in physical contact with her was the condition for another person to pass through it with her.

“All right, then I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Shia smiled brightly and took my hand.

I had thought this before, but just as her height suggested, her hand was smaller than mine, and soft as well.

Even little details like that made me want to protect her.

“It might be frightening at first, but once we pass through, we’ll arrive at House Ark Gate immediately. Ah, if it’s too bright, you may want to close your eyes.”

“Okay, got it.”

As Shia gently pulled me toward the Gate, the light grew stronger, and it really was quite dazzling.

Narrowing my eyes slightly, I stepped into the golden radiance.