Chapter 94

Now, however, there was one more major problem.

Naturally, Aliénor would be staying at my place…

I took her to the employee dormitory along with Cerulia and Mary, who had joined us at the company on our way out.

“So, you’re skilled with wild game, are you?”

“Oh, indeed! Many deer lived in the lands where Aliénor resided!”

Aliénor and Mary were hitting it off quite well. That was a very good thing.

Before they could even finish their conversation, we arrived back at the dorm.

“Oh, so this is it…”

Aliénor stood in front of the house, staring at it intently.

“It looks more spacious than I imagined. I had heard that Dark Mages in the Royal Capital were forced to live inhumane lives in cramped basements.”

“That’s just the prejudice of people from the countryside…”

My life isn’t nearly that harsh.

“Well, I’ll show you inside.”

We introduced her to the newly built room located at the back of Mary’s room.

“It’s clean and quite sophisticated. It gives the impression of a capable woman. No… should a Dark Mage even seek cleanliness…? But if I soil a rented room, I might be sued for damages…”

She seemed to be experiencing quite a conflict between her lifestyle as a Dark Mage and her own desires.

“You can only enter through Mary’s room, and as a man, I won’t ever open the door without permission, so you can relax and make yourself at home.”

“I-I see… But Franz, you really are living with two women. Even if one is a familiar…” Aliénor said, looking a bit awkward.

“Er, yeah. I summoned Mary too, so I’m doing this partly to take responsibility.”

“What a depraved life you lead… As expected, men of the Royal Capital live such harem-like existences… How scandalous… In the countryside, rumors would spread instantly and you wouldn’t be able to live there. Truly, city dwellers are mutually non-interfering and indifferent. You wouldn’t even notice if your neighbor died alone.”

She’s describing me like I’m some kind of urban pathology!

“Wait. If you are exhausting every possible vice day after day, isn’t that actually the most righteous conduct for a Dark Mage…? In that case, is Franz actually the more impressive one…? Mmm… is someone who seems to prey upon women like this actually admirable…?”

I feel like she’s saying something very rude, but given my profession and the fact that I have developed good relationships with several people at the company, it’s hard to deny.

“Listen, Aliénor, I don’t do the same things with Franz that Cerulia does, okay? Even if that happens… it’s only at special times… I don’t want you to misunderstand… Most of the time, I just settle for clinging to Franz while we sleep.”

Mary added a footnote, but no matter how you looked at it, it only led to further misunderstanding from Aliénor.

“Forcing a summoned female demon to share a bed… Franz, what a vulgar man you are! You are truly a model Dark Mage!”

“Are you scolding me or praising me? It’s seriously hard to tell!”

I’m the same way, but even as a Dark Mage, my values are those of an average person, so this is troublesome. Honestly, I don’t really want to be friends with someone who only does things that a “model Dark Mage” would do.

Then, for some reason, Cerulia asked Aliénor, “Shall I show you where Master’s room is as well?” Is that really necessary?

But Aliénor replied, “I-I see… I should know the location of my rival’s room…” and headed off toward my room.

Left behind, Mary grabbed my arm.

“Franz, I’ll tolerate you flirting with Cerulia since it’s an act of God, but choosing only her is a no-go.”

“I understand what you mean, but at the very least, I seriously have no intention of getting married right now. Currently, I’m too much of a novice as a member of society. I can’t possibly say I’ll make someone happy for the rest of their life.”

For now, I hope that serves as an answer for Mary.

Mary said, “Fine, I’ll accept that as an official statement.” However, she then looked up into my face and said:

“But if you ever pass through my room to go for a ‘night visit’ to her room, I will be angry in two different ways, you hear me? I will never forgive you. Remember that, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s absolutely not happening! Definitely not!”

In any case, the explanation of the rooms to Aliénor ended safely.

That evening, Cerulia prepared various dishes to welcome Aliénor. There was eel on the table, which particularly surprised Aliénor.

“You eat this often in your hometown, don’t you, Aliénor-san? I caught them in the river the other day and kept them in a barrel behind the house.”

To go that far for the sake of hospitality…

“I also made some small meat pies. These are also a staple in your hometown, right?”

“Ah, Gyozarl. They are famous in certain parts of Shizuogu County. Mmm, the seasoning is a bit different, but these are delicious in their own way.”

It seems Aliénor will be able to fit in here without any trouble. It’s only for a short period, but I hope we can have a good time.

“Then, in return, tomorrow I, Aliénor, shall cook a delicious Shizuogu County dish!”

The next day, Aliénor prepared a dish where minced meat was shaped into balls and grilled, but—

“This is incredibly delicious!” “Grilling the slightly rare meat on an iron plate makes it just the right level of done! This is perfect professional work!” “What is this dish called?”

“In my hometown, this is a dish called ‘Refreshing’. In other lands, I believe they call it a Hambagu.”

Far from being “refreshing,” it had a very strong, meaty character, but it was undeniably delicious.

“Maybe you should quit being a Dark Mage and become a chef instead?”

“Franz! That is a rude thing to say to your rival!”

My true feelings slipped out, and Aliénor got quite angry with me. But seriously, it was that good…