For two days straight, Dia and I had been secluding ourselves in my workshop.

We were getting excited about our project.

Working in my room would have presented some inevitable equipment restrictions, so I used magic to set up my workshop in the basement.

Since the layout of the workshop itself was the same as the other one I built in the commercial city of Milteu, it didn’t take much effort to prepare it here.

[Lugh, this should do the trick, right?] (Dia)

[I think so. I didn’t think we would get this far in only a couple of days.] (Lugh)

We re-examined the magic spell the two of us completed.

For the past two days, we had been creating an incantation for collecting mana in the ideal proportions.

Had I done this alone, I think it would’ve taken me half a month instead.

However, thanks to Dia, I quickly got a clear idea of the rules to use for gathering mana, allowing us to meet the inefficient but minimal requirements to complete the spell.

[The rest will be up to me.] (Lugh)

If I could gather mana and impeccably divide it between the five colors, I would then only need to add the wavelength-adjusted mana to the mix and homogenize it with chi to create the demon-slaying field. The control of mana and chi depended on my own skill.

[I’m not worried about that. I know you can do it, Lugh. The only problem is that we can’t ascertain its effects. It’s not that I doubt your theory, but we can’t prove that it works unless we kill a demon.] (Dia)

[Exactly.] (Lugh)

This was no more than the realization of the hypothesis I formulated based on my own memory.

There was no other choice but to try it on the field, and if it was a failure, then it would be an extremely dangerous substitute that got me checkmated.

In the event that I had to fight demons and this spell turned out to be useless against them, I would make a run for it with all my might.

Back at the academy, I couldn’t afford to run away, but it was normally one of the most important options to consider.

Continuing to fight a battle you couldn’t win was utterly foolish.

[Now we can go on our date as promised. I look forward to you escorting me.] (Dia)

Dia merrily entwined her arms around mine.

The scent and softness of her body made me feel dizzy.

…This was what I had been worried about since that incident with Tarte the other day.

A date, huh… We would probably have time to go on one even in the capital.

[Yeah, you won’t be disappointed. I’m scouting the royal capital for that purpose.] (Lugh)

Although the academy was situated in the outskirts of the royal capital, it was still part of said capital.

I was thoroughly scrutinizing the city we lived in. For it was essential for assassins to have a locational advantage.

Dia rubbed her eyes.

[Are you feeling tired?] (Lugh)

[A little.] (Dia)

We hadn’t slept much after all.

Once her switch was flipped, Dia would dedicate herself to the task to the point of forgetting her own fatigue. In my case, I had【Rapid Recovery】to help so it was never a problem, but Dia didn’t have that.

[I’ll carry you to your room.] (Lugh)

[Okay, please do.] (Dia)

When I carried her princess style, Dia wrapped her arms around my neck.

Then we went straight to her room.

As usual, her room was full of magical tools and books, leaving little space for her girlish belongings.

I put her down on her bed.

[Dia, we’ve arrived. You can let go.] (Lugh)

Even though I brought her to her bed, Dia refused to let go and kept her arms around my neck.

[Aww… As usual, you won’t accept a woman’s invitation, I see.] (Dia)

Dia gave me a mischievous look.

I gulped down my saliva.

[I will eventually. But right now, it’s too early for that.] (Lugh)

[I’ll be waiting for you. I’m ready when you are… I find this embarrassing to say, but I was afraid someone else would beat me to the punch if I didn’t say it.] (Dia)

Dia was really adorable.

‘I’m ready when you are’, huh…

I was afraid my sense of reason would fly out of the window from hearing that.

***

The following day, my father and I brought out the horses and carriage first thing in the morning, then we attached to them expensive fabric and flashy harnesses that we normally wouldn’t use.

There were various preparations to make.

Even for our carriage. Since merely entering the royal capital in a shabby carriage would be enough for us Tuatha Dé to be ridiculed as country bumpkins, this sort of chore was necessary.

[That should do it.] (Cian)

My father finished decorating it without a hitch.

Assassins were a jack-of-all-trades. Both my father and I could do practically anything.

Even the carriage was handmade.

[Yes, although if we had more time, I could fetch more decorations from Milteu.] (Lugh)

[It’s alright. We’ve cleared the easiest hurdle. We don’t need any more than that.] (Cian)

As my father said, this was the bare minimum not to be disdained by others.

In fact, if we appeared even flashier than this, they would scorn us for getting cocky despite being nothing more than a baron’s family.

The aristocratic society was a real hassle to deal with.

[Cian, Lugh-chan, we’re ready to go as well.] (Esri)

[I’m surprised to find such a gaudy carriage in the Tuatha Dé domain where practicality is the main focus.] (Dia)

As their silver hair was fluttering in the wind, Dia and mother joined us.

They were both bringing enormous trunks with them.

They contained spare underwear and party dresses.

As long as they were attending as the relatives of the one who was to be elevated to the status of champion, they needed to wear the right dresses for the occasion.

[By the way, Dia, what about your dress?] (Lugh)

Dia moved here from the Viekone domain with nothing but the clothes she had on her back then.

She did have all the bare necessities ready, but I was doubtful that she bought a dress she could wear at a party held in the royal capital.

[Mine is a hand-me-down from onee-… I mean, from your mother.] (Dia)

[It’s an old one, but it fits her perfectly. I wanted to give one to Tarte-chan as well, but they were all too tight around her chest.] (Esri)

[Tarte can attend in her servant uniform.] (Lugh)

Each house was allowed to bring one or two servants with them to the party.

There were some exceptions, but most servants wore their uniforms instead of formal dresses.

And I just realized that Tarte wasn’t here.

[My apologies for being late!] (Tarte)

Tarte ran to us with a huge basket in her hands.

Each house was allowed to bring one or two servants with them to the party.

There were some exceptions, but most servants wore their uniforms instead of formal dresses.

And I just realized that Tarte wasn’t here.

[My apologies for being late!] (Tarte)

Tarte ran to us with a huge basket in her hands.

[No need to rush. There’s still time before our departure.] (Lugh)

[I’m glad to hear that.] (Tarte)

[And this is?] (Lugh)

[I made lunch for all of us. I was planning to prepare it a bit more ahead of time, but this morning, Hans-san brought us newly laid eggs as thanks for you treating his cow, Lugh-sama. I thought it would have been a waste not to savor them when they are still so fresh, so I added them to our menu for today.] (Tarte)

[I see, thanks. I’ll be considerate of his feelings.] (Lugh)

Hans must’ve come all the way early in the morning because he wanted me to taste his newly laid eggs.

If I only ate them after coming back from the royal capital, it would be a waste of his goodwill.

And Tarte was a girl who could pick up on such thoughtfulness.

[These eggs are of great quality too. Please look forward to lunch. After all, I included steamed falde, your favorite dish.] (Tarte) (TN: I translated ファルデ蒸し as steamed “falde”, dunno what it is though.)

[That’s good to know. All right, shall we get on the carriage now?] (Lugh)

[Yes!] (Tarte)

The whole family boarded the carriage and the horses started running.

[It’s been three years since our last family trip, hasn’t it? We haven’t had such an opportunity since Lugh went to Milteu.] (Esri)

[That’s true. I believe my last trip with you and dad was to attend Margrave Grunal’s party.] (Lugh)

…And it was really annoying.

The one who possessed the title of margrave was a high-ranked aristocrat who divided this entire land into several areas and was granted the same level of power as the Duke.

Compared to the barony of Tuatha Dé, this individual was leagues above in the hierarchy.

Since his heir was getting married, he gathered all the aristocrats living nearby.

And of course, even us Tuatha Dé, who normally did everything to avoid attending tea parties and receptions, couldn’t refuse that invitation.

[At that time, you were so cute after I dressed you up, don’t you agree, Lugh-chan?] (Esri)

[…It was traumatizing.] (Lugh)

As usual, I was dressed in clothes that my mother weaved for me.

That outfit included pants, but it was somewhat girlish, so the adults excitedly commented that I looked cute, but the other kids called me a “homofag”.

I didn’t care much about the way people looked at me, but I still had a sense of shame.

[But lately, you’ve been so mean, Lugh-chan. Even though I went out of my way to make those clothes for you.] (Esri)

[I’m sorry, Mom, but I have my own preferences.] (Lugh)

As the young head of the Balor Company, Illig Balor needed formal clothes to attend ceremonies, so I owned many.

And today, I was wearing one of them.

Of course, I picked one I had never worn before as Illig so I wouldn’t be suspected of being the same person.

…I knew my mom would want me to wear the clothes she made herself, so I had Maha send me this one in advance.

Just as we were having this peaceful conversation, I felt a faint presence.

I gave signs to my father.

It was something we used in Tuatha Dé, allowing us to communicate to a certain extent without speaking.

『Dad, we’re being followed. There’s two of them.』(Lugh)

『I can tell as well. Judging by the distance they’re keeping with us, their purpose is to monitor us.』(Cian)

『Shall I capture them? They may seem fairly competent, but I can handle them.』(Lugh)

『Let them be. At present, I don’t think they’re hostile to us. They’re probably here to ascertain our identities.』(Cian)

Surveilling us even though we were still far from the royal capital was worthy of praise.

This shows how much Tuatha Dé was drawing attention.

Even without taking into account the assassination business we performed behind the scenes, to begin with, we were renowned in the medical field. And since the heir of this household would act as a stand-in for the hero, we were going to stand out anyway.

***

After traveling by horse-drawn carriage, we arrived at the royal capital.

Along the way, we passed by the academy located in the suburbs, but the reconstruction work was progressing at a quick pace.

It was safe to assume that school may resume earlier than planned.

When we went by the castle gate, we introduced ourselves as Tuatha Dé, then the knights arrived to guide us.

It appeared that such arrangements were necessary for us to proceed inside the royal castle.

This was unexpected. I was planning to stay at an inn in the capital until the end of the awarding ceremony, but apparently, we were allowed to spend that time inside the castle.

[Uwaah, Lugh-chan! I can’t believe we get to stay in the rooms of the royal castle!] (Esri)

[It’s really amazing! I mean sure, there are many rooms inside that castle that are meant for visitors, but normally, barons don’t even get to use those.] (Dia)

[As expected of Lugh-sama! …But this makes me feel nervous. To think we’ll be in the royal castle…] (Tarte)

Mom and Dia were in high spirits.

On the other hand, Dad had a complicated expression.

[I guess this is to show how much they expect from you, Lugh.] (Cian)

[I don’t know their true feelings on that matter, but I suppose that if they didn’t put on that sort of act in front of the public eye, they wouldn’t be able to convince the provincial nobles.] (Lugh)

Dad and I weren’t very happy about it since everything they expected from me was excessive.

We went through the highway and entered the great white castle.

Fittingly enough, being the heart of this country, it was solidly constructed.

With high ramparts deeply planted and organized so countless ballistas and molten iron could be fired and dumped, and dozens of soldiers posted on the watching towers.

Nevertheless, while it demonstrated such a level of practicality, it still maintained its magnificence. This castle combined beauty and ferocity.

Not too shabby. I liked it.

After passing through the castle gate, we ran through a garden that stretched for hundreds of meters.

The seasonal flowers were in full bloom, and the trees were trimmed artistically.

The fountains were effectively arranged so that rainbows could be formed.

[Whoa…! It’s so beautiful. Even back in Viekone, we couldn’t build such a garden.] (Dia)

[Gotta wonder how much money they invested in this.] (Lugh)

The money used to manage this garden for a month could surely save hundreds of people dying of starvation.

However, this garden wasn’t made for mere entertainment, but as a testimony of the prestige of the kingdom, so calling it pointless would be a mistake.

Along the way, we entrusted our carriage to the staff, the servants guided us into the castle, and we passed by the rooms we would occupy.

They told us to make ourselves at home until we’re summoned.

We were provided a kitchen, a living room and restrooms. We had six private rooms. There were exotic fruits lined up inside a simple refrigerator filled with ice.

Furthermore, whenever we rung the bell, a servant would come running to us at all times, twenty-four hours a day, to satisfy every possible requests.

That’s castle life for you.

Tarte was dumbfounded.

[There are so many beautiful paintings and vases everywhere.] (Tarte)

[Just a single one of these vases is worth a person’s life.] (Lugh)

A maid getting careless and having to pay for her mistake with her body was a possible scenario, but if she broke one of those vases, she would be sold to a brothel, and it was unlikely that she would be able to pay it back even if she worked to death.

[Eeek…!] (Tarte)

Tarte moved away from the vases and made herself small.

Not that I couldn’t understand how she felt.

Then, we decided on room allocation.

Tarte asked while trembling like a leaf if as a servant, it was all right for her to stay here, so I told her there was no problem.

…Depending on the situation, I might have Tarte put some work, so it was more convenient to have her around.

Later on, when I changed into my loungewear, one of the castle’s servants called for me.

A visitor came to see me.

And said visitor was Epona the hero.

I informed my family of that and left my room.

I suppose that she was here to grant me her skill named【My loyal knights】. Just how much power could I get from it, I wonder.