Similarly, Syrah, who was eating the soup, asked a question. At the same time, her eyes were on Stella, and the girl from the Eritz family. Her gaze was filled with questions, as if wondering whether something was wrong.
Stella, noticing Syrah’s probing eyes, smiled and glared at her.
“Then, didn’t you go to Marquis Acacia?”
“Um—right? Oh, isn’t the soup here delicious?”
“Drink!”
“Okay? But I can’t get a refill here. If you want more, do you want to eat mine?”
“Really!?”
Syrah lightly deflected Stella’s verbal attack with a playful shield, using Noah as her buffer.
Noah, unaware of their subtle exchange, became captivated by the dull yet profound taste of the soup. It was unlike anything she had ever tasted, so she eagerly took Syrah’s plate and scraped it clean. While she devoured the food, the tense exchange between Syrah and Stella continued at the table.
“The Duchess Selene returned to her estate in a hurry… What happened?”
“Well, my mother has always been out of control. How was it at your estate?”
“Huh—our territory? It was normal. We weren’t attacked by monsters, just dealing with the usual ones that show up around agricultural areas. And you?”
“We’re the same.”
“Isn’t the Duchy of Eritz on the front lines? But you say you were handling monsters in the agricultural zones during your spare time?”
“That’s right.”
“To make use of so many 3-star summon for that, the duke sure do live a lavish life.”
“Since he needed the help of cadets in the battlefield, the marquis seems to be short on staff.”
Their conversation was like a delicate political battle, each word probing for weaknesses. Political intelligence wars were fought through subtle exchanges, aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities.
However, I remained indifferent to their aristocratic games, enjoying the course meal with Noah.
‘The nobility… It’s exhausting,’ I thought.
The constant mental strain of politicking and posturing seemed unbearable. I couldn’t imagine living like that, always on edge, unable to enjoy simple pleasures. If I were ever thrown into that world, I’d collapse from the pressure within a month. Only those trained from childhood could survive in such an environment.
‘No wonder there are so few stories of commoners becoming nobles.’
It was foolish to assume that a commoner, no matter how talented, could easily overcome the experience and influence accumulated by nobles over generations. People like that were rare, and I certainly wasn’t one of them.
“Ian.”
“Hm?”
“What’s going on with you?”
Syrah, realizing she had gotten nowhere with Stella, shifted her attention to me. But she had made the wrong move—I knew nothing.
“There’s nothing going on.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s with those clothes?”
“Huh?”
“You used to struggle just to afford lunch every day. There’s no way you could have bought clothes like these, right?”
I had underestimated the nobles. A noble could squeeze value out of even the driest land—they were politicians of another world. I fiddled with my clothes, unsure of how to respond.
If I said Stella bought them, it would create a rumor about us. If I claimed the money came from my employer, that would only make things worse. People might assume I had been officially accepted by a powerful noble family.
While I hesitated, Stella spoke up first.
“I bought them.”
“Stella—are you serious?”
“What? Can’t I?”
“Why would you?”
Syrah’s words were sharp, like a snake’s tongue striking at its target.
“Just because.”
“Ugh…What?”
“Oh, just because.”
However, Stella was no ordinary opponent. As the daughter of a duke, she had faced more formidable enemies and mastered the intricacies of aristocratic power. She wasn’t someone Syrah could easily overwhelm.
“I bought him clothes because it was embarrassing to see him always wearing his academy uniform. Why?”
“Oh, are you two buying clothes for each other now?”
“Yes. It seems like you and Cadet Ian don’t have that kind of relationship.”
“Hahaha… It’d cause quite a scandal if the daughter of the Eritz family was seen getting involved with the son of a baron.”
“Me? Scandal?”
Stella leaned back confidently, crossing her arms as she shot Syrah a defiant look.
“Do you really think the Duke of Eritz will be fazed by a mere rumor?”
“…No, I suppose not.”
“There’s no need to respond to every little rumor.”
As I listened to their conversation, I felt my head spinning. Their exchanges were exhausting. I sighed quietly, trying to tune them out, when I suddenly felt a hand on me.
“…?”
“Ian—eat this!”
“Noah?”
Noah, her lips smeared with sauce, smiled brightly as she offered me a piece of meat.
I accepted it, chewing thoughtfully while watching her.
‘She really does have a healing presence.’
Being around Noah felt like a soothing balm for my nerves, as if I were relaxing in the countryside.
“Want another bite?”
“Yes.”
“Here, have more!”
“…No, I’m fine.”
Feeling guilty about taking more food from someone so innocent, I cut a piece of my meat and gave it to her. Noah’s eyes widened in surprise, but she happily accepted it without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Stella and Syrah, watching the interaction, muttered to themselves.
“This vixen…”
“She’s quite formidable…”
Neither comment seemed to apply to Noah, leaving me puzzled as to what they meant.
Sponsor Chapters at the Patreon Shop: Along with BuymeaCoffee where you can now make payments in your local currency.
The Shop section on Patreon can be used as a way to make a one-time-payment. I will be creating products in the Shop section with the title of the webnovels. It will only have an image as the product, but it will count as the payment for the Sponsored Chapters.
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