Episode 82

A few days passed as we prepared the shop.

Yesterday I sold swords at the market and let the adventurers I know know that the shop would be opening.

And finally, I’m planning to open the shop starting tomorrow.

Today I did a final check and confirmed there were no major problems.

Still, I couldn’t help worrying that something might go wrong when the shop opened tomorrow.

“So that’s why I’m going to stay here tonight.”

I told Capri, Refy, Alicia, and the others again about my plan.

I planned to stay here so I could prepare early in the morning.

Going back and forth between the manor and the smithy would take far too much time.

“Yes, understood. Leave the guards to us.”

From the Barnast family’s point of view I’m an important person too, so if I stayed the guards would have to remain.

Besides, since we still have merchandise in the shop, Capri and the others had been taking turns staying there.

“Ah, thanks. And about Alicia and the others—”

I was thinking it would be best for Alicia to return to the manor—if anything happened to her, it would be a problem.

But before I could finish, Alicia cut in.

“It’s fine. I’ll stay too.”

“…Huh?”

“Yes. I’ve already had a change of clothes brought in.”

Refy gave a determined thumbs-up.

“Eh!? N-no, but… it would be bad if something happened to Alicia…”

“Capri and the others are here, so it’s fine. Besides, Refy is much stronger than most people around here.”

“Yes, please leave it to us.”

Refy put her thumb up again.

Then Capri and the others did the same.

“We’re fine! You know what? We’re about A-rank if you go by adventurer ranks, you know?”

“Yes! Leave it to us! We’ll protect your precious alone time together!”

“I’ll protect you even at the cost of my life!”

The three of them were terribly enthusiastic.

…It seemed the plan that Alicia would stay had been settled.

“By the way, about five more soldiers are scheduled to come. We’ve made an extra room on the first floor into a bedroom for them to stay in. So there’s no real problem.”

Refy said that offhandedly.

Including Refy, that meant there would be nine guards in total.

Indeed, any smart person wouldn’t bother launching an assault on this place.

“…If that’s so, fine.”

“Ah, I forgot to mention one thing.”

“What is it?”

“I’ve also properly prepared the bedroom for Lord Faik and Lady Alicia, so please feel free to use it.”

At Refy’s words Alicia and I looked at each other. Alicia’s face turned bright red, and I shouted at Refy in the same tone.

“O-our bedroom for Alicia and me!?”

“Wh-what do you mean, Refy!?”

“No, I just thought you’d sleep more comfortably… And since you two are engaged, I judged there’d be no problem with sharing a room.”

Is that… not a problem? No, it is a problem.

If I remember correctly, nobles aren’t supposed to have that kind of relationship with the opposite sex before marriage…

Lord Goral doesn’t really care about that, but it seems other nobles do.

N-no, it’s not like we’re going to do anything like that. …So maybe there’s really no problem?

My thoughts wouldn’t settle.

When I glanced at Alicia, she turned her gaze to me.

“U-um, Faik… is that okay?”

“I-I’m fine with it… uh, is Alicia okay with it?”

“I-I’m… fine with it, I guess.”

…Because both of us gave such passive responses, our bedroom was decided.

After dinner, I took a shower on the first floor and headed to the bedroom.

Capri and the others in the living room noticed us and quickly bowed their heads.

“Lord Faik. If anything happens, call us anytime.”

“We’ll be on standby in this room.”

Capri and the others were going to use another vacant room on the second floor as their bedroom.

So they could rush over immediately if something happened.

They nodded once and headed to their room.

They said they’d take turns with the soldiers downstairs to guard through the night.

…I really felt sorry.

Then Refy came out of our bedroom.

“Is Alicia… already inside?”

“Yes. She’s ready for bed.”

“…I see.”

…N-no, it’s not like we’ll do anything, but I’m getting nervous.

Of course I’d thought there might come a day when I’d sleep beside Alicia, but I never imagined it would happen like this.

“Then, Lord Faik, Lady Alicia. If anything happens, call me at once. I’ll be resting in the room right below, so if you kick the floor hard I’ll come immediately.”

“…Ah, okay, but isn’t Refy’s room kind of like a small storage space? Isn’t it ridiculously cramped?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“There are other spare rooms… wouldn’t somewhere else be better?”

“No, that place is fine.”

“…She’s doing it all for us?”

As Refy said earlier, it’s so she can get to us as quickly as possible if anything happens.

I felt a surge of respect for her professionalism, but Refy shook her head.

“Please don’t worry about it.”

“I do worry. We’re disrupting a lot of your normal life because of me.”

“That’s not the case. Lord Faik and Lady Alicia—your smiling faces make me very happy.”

“…Is that so.”

…Being told that like this, I must be in a very fortunate position.

I must never do anything that would make Alicia sad, not even by accident.

“And choosing the room directly below isn’t really about the job. I thought if you two did something, I’d be able to tell right away.”

“……”

Refy bowed politely, left that explosive remark hanging, and went down the stairs.

Retraction of my earlier thoughts.

All the feelings of respect and gratitude I had for Refy’s professionalism were thrown out the window.

I mean, what kind of face am I supposed to make when I go into the bedroom?

Maybe it was a mistake to be considerate and let Alicia take a shower first.

The door to the room felt… very heavy.

Staring at it, the door creaked open slowly.

Maybe because she’d taken a shower, or maybe it was embarrassment.

Alicia’s face was flushed.