“Daegugyeongmarmarosutan? Why would I even need something like that?”
Alice’s expression seemed quite serious.
“I’m just making it in case there’s a day I might need it.”
Honestly, I don’t know if there’s a day I’ll actually use it or not. For now, I’m just making it. You never know when some special ammo might come in handy again on the battlefield.
But Alice seemed most worried about the fact that I ordered such ammo.
After all, I’ve been acting like I could read the future until now. It’s not unreasonable for her to think that my ordering such ammo implies that it will be ‘used someday.’
“I’m not predicting every future. I’m just preparing various things so that they might be useful in any situation since I don’t know what will happen.”
At least, it would be good when fighting against the huge summoned beasts that appear in the latter half of the story. Who knows, I might even be able to catch a gryphon.
“……”
It seemed Alice had nothing more to say, but she hadn’t completely let go of her suspicions.
By the time we returned to the hotel, lunch hour was nearly over.
The shop owner didn’t want to lose a customer, so they contacted the company making the ammo to see if they could create custom rounds and even promised to deliver it if it wasn’t finished while I was here, hence the paperwork and checks filled out.
Especially since the top-grade Marmaros is priced like a ridiculously expensive gem and is practically treated like top-tier luxury goods, we even had to take out a one-time insurance policy.
I wasn’t worried about money since the royal family would be covering it.
“By the way, can’t you catch a rhino with a sword or something?”
“……”
Hearing Leo mutter that, I finally understood why Sophia looked so ragged.
Even if they are both swordsmanship, there’s a difference between fighting humans and beasts. Even if Leo lost to Sophia in the second part of the story, I don’t think it would be the same as ‘rhino hunting’.
Moreover, the protagonists, including Leo, weren’t exactly mentally stable due to the circumstances at that time.
“You’re not using a sword but a gun.”
Claire said, tapping Leo’s back.
Well, that’s the case.
No matter how much I swing a sword, I can’t keep up with those two.
I just hope my skills won’t trip up the kids later.
“Um.”
Charlotte, who had been walking silently while listening to our conversation, suddenly made a sound.
“What’s up?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. I see Jake and Roti over there.”
Charlotte spoke with a less-than-bright expression.
All four of them—Charlotte, Alice, Leo, and Claire—had the same look. They all remembered what happened yesterday.
“What happened yesterday?”
Rena seemed to catch the atmosphere and inquired.
“Ah, well…”
Alice opened her mouth to answer Rena, but then immediately closed it again. It was understandable.
Talking about the commoners and illegitimates was a frequent topic of discussion, but mentioning a friend that way would be quite rude.
Besides, Roti’s mother wasn’t just any commoner. Being a colonized resident, simply stating that fact could, in some way, come off as ‘insulting’.
“…….”
After seeing Alice’s expression, Rena didn’t press for any additional details.
“Still, we can’t just ignore it and move on.”
The first to speak up was Claire.
“……That’s true. Since we’re in the same school and Jake’s friend.”
As Leo said that, all eyes shifted to him, even Rena’s gaze.
“Why, why? Did I say something weird…?”
“Ugh.”
Claire let out a dramatic sigh so Leo could hear.
It seemed that among us here, Leo was the only one who didn’t know that Jake had a rational interest in Roti.
He never noticed the attention directed at him in the original story, after all.
While I was pondering whether reassuring Leo contradicted my character’s integrity or not,
“Hey!”
They had noticed us first from over there.
We couldn’t ignore Jake, who was beaming and waving at us, so we all gathered where Jake and Roti were.
“Where have you all gone together?”
“We just stopped by a weapons shop for a bit. I was curious about the weapons you use around here.”
“A….”
Jake’s expression turned a bit complex.
“Isn’t there anything useful? They’re mostly for hunting. With your skills, you could hunt without any of that, right?”
Oh.
From Jake’s question, it seemed he felt some resistance about capturing elephants or rhinos.
Did that happen in the original story too?
Come to think of it, Jake was rarely part of the party in this episode of the original work.
Not that he seemed like an environmentalist or a vegetarian or anything… But I decided to put that thought in the back of my mind for now.
“I could think of various ways to utilize something that large. I was just about to order some custom rounds.”
“Oh…?”
Jake shrugged his shoulders.
“If you think so, it must be useful then. Oh, right. Don’t just stand there, come sit down, will you? Although we’d probably have to use a few tables to seat everyone.”
“I’m just worried I’d be interrupting your time.”
Roti’s face didn’t show any signs of annoyance, but Roti was definitely someone who excelled at hiding her expressions.
“You are all welcome.”
I guess the phrase ‘after what happened yesterday’ didn’t come up because Rena was here.
After exchanging glances, we carefully took our seats… I ended up sitting at the same table as Jake and Rena.
…What’s this? No one arranged the seating, yet here I am.
I know Rena has been imitating me a bit since the start of the second semester, but I didn’t expect her to sit so boldly at the same table.
Well, it might feel more natural since the others went off to a different table on their own.
“Do you usually spend time like this?”
“Sure.”
Jake smiled as he said that.
“I’ve been doing this since childhood.”
“……”
Roti didn’t say anything at all.
“Are you childhood friends?”
“Oh?”
Jake reacted as if he was surprised by Rena’s question.
I have no memory of Jake and Rena talking directly. Not sure if it was because I was sitting beside her that she became more active or if she was just following my lead.
At the very least, Rena doesn’t seem shy like Mia Crowfield—her speech flows without any stuttering.
…So, did she just not feel the need to talk before?
“Does it look like that?”
“Otherwise, how could a guy and a girl be stuck together all the time?”
At those words, Roti flinched. Jake said “Oh” once more.
Rena looked at their strange reactions, tilting her head in confusion.
“You’re Rena Meyer, right?”
“Yes, I’d appreciate it if you just called me Meyer.”
…What a clear boundary.
“Then, Meyer.”
Jake smiled and asked.
“What do you think about love between commoners and nobles?”
“What reason is there to even think about it?”
“Is that so?”
I couldn’t help but admire Rena’s boldness.
No, maybe it’s not boldness; perhaps it’s just her mind being clear. It feels like if I asked her how to make a baby, she’d seriously contemplate it and then say something she picked up from somewhere.
“How about those two getting married?”
“Is there a legal issue that would cause a problem?”
“Um, well.”
Jake thought for a moment before responding.
“Marriage itself wouldn’t be a problem, but there could be complications regarding the status of a legitimate child.”
“……”
Throughout this conversation, Roti continued to be silent.
“If they marry from the outset, is there any reason to worry about legitimacy?”
Rena looked genuinely puzzled, glancing at me for confirmation.
“How about in the self-governing region?”
“If you said that in the self-governing region, you might get killed by the Baroness.”
“……”
“Pffft.”
I was left speechless by Rena’s remark, and Jake burst out laughing. Rena looked at Jake as if he were the odd one.
“Yeah, well, I definitely wouldn’t want to die; I’d better be careful.”
It seems the women of the Northern Region are even stronger than I thought.
Oh, wait, now that I think about it, that might actually be true. Just look at the receptionists at the information center and Jennifer.
“Then let me ask one last thing.”
Jake, having barely stopped laughing, asked with a slightly serious expression,
“What do you think about not being able to get married because of skin color?”
He posed the question.
Roti flinched again.
“There are many dark-skinned people in the North as well. Especially people near the snowy mountain base can get tanned from the sunlight reflecting off the white snow.”
“But someone’s skin color could be determined from birth.”
“Isn’t everyone’s skin color different from the moment they’re born?”
Rena seemed to have difficulty grasping the point of the ongoing conversation.
“Just like how the Crown Princess and Princess Silvia have slightly different skin tones, and Claire and Charlotte have slightly different skin tones—everyone’s skin color is different, right?”
“That’s an interesting point.”
Rena raised her eyebrows slightly at Jake’s comment.
“And I’ve never seen a ‘white’ version of you, Jake.”
Roti’s mouth dropped a bit.
After Rena fell silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought,
“While skin color can be part of preference… If someone truly loves another person, and skin color isn’t part of their conditions, is there really a reason to stop that marriage?”
The more I listened to her talk, the more curious I became about what kind of country the self-governing region was. Whether it was the family education that shaped it, or if it was due to the circumstances of the self-governing region that made Rena think this way, or if it was simply her personality.
“Skin color can change easily depending on the situation, so I think judging a person solely by their skin color could lead to wrong conclusions in future evaluations.”
“Hey, I really like you.”
“……”
Upon hearing Jake’s remark, Rena subtly shifted her chair a bit closer to me.
…That last assessment clearly seems to include Jake’s skin color.
Of course, I wasn’t dense enough to mention that and ruin the mood.
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