I Want to Live a Normal Life

Episode 6: To the Capital City of Hartelion

“Master, it feels good. Let’s slowly convert the mana from here.”

“Yes…”

“Miss, your mana is unstable. Don’t lose focus.”

“Yes, Nii-sama!”

“Grr…”

It’s been about a year since I took on the role of guiding Alt and Liela in their magical training. We’ve been practicing magic two or three times a week since then. And for some reason, Liela calls me “Nii-sama.” She grew attached to me while making dolls and small items with magic during breaks in training. Alt doesn’t seem too thrilled about it, though. He’s kind of like a siscon, after all.

Despite their quirks, both of them are improving rapidly with their straightforwardness and great sense.

First, Alt. As expected, he struggled with magic, but after building a foundation in magical training, he can smoothly channel mana into his body and sword. Now he can easily cut through the [Earth Wall] from that time. Currently, he’s practicing [Attribute Enhancement], converting mana flowed into his sword into attributes. Alt’s magic affinity is wind, so he wants to increase the sharpness or shoot slashes. He can now fight evenly with soldiers, truly growing like a boss character from the original.

On a different note, Liela is impressive in a different way. Firstly, she has a sense of magic akin to Mine’s. She improves every time she’s taught.

What’s even more amazing is her magic affinity. While Mine’s dual attribute is already rare, she possesses three: water, ice, and light. In the original story, there were only two people with three attributes. Considering her appearance as well, isn’t she definitely a heroine? She’s currently in the stage of basic training, but if she continues to develop smoothly, won’t some magic otaku “sages” become interested? Is that okay?

After finishing today’s guidance for the two of them and having dinner as usual, we were invited to the reception room by the border count.

“—To the capital?”

“Yeah, Alt’s entrance exam for the Royal Academy is coming up in two months. Since we’re going anyway, I thought it would be nice for the whole family to go to Hartelion. I want my parents and Aina’s parents to see Thor’s face in the capital.”

“I see.”

“I’d like Mine to come along as well. All of my children have grown fond of you.”

“I’d be honored.”

Apparently, there’s also a Royal Academy in Hartelia. Well, that makes sense. Every country is recruiting and nurturing talented individuals. It seems that commoners can’t enroll in this academy, though.

By the way, “Aina” refers to the count’s wife, and “Thor” is Alt’s younger brother who was born about six months ago. This time, one of the purposes of going to the capital is to introduce him to his grandparents.

“We’ll depart in a week. If Mine agrees, I’ll submit a request to the guild. What do you think?”

“I accept. Thank you.”

“Thanks. That helps a lot.”

Since the guidance for Alt and Liela is also through a request to the guild, this is the usual procedure. By the way, about six months ago, I received a guard request from the border count and was promoted to Rank C. Though it was called guard duty, I mostly just chatted with Alt inside the carriage. Well, you could say Alt was enthusiastically talking about Liela. Quite the siscon.

Anyway, I think this trip to the capital might be a turning point. Since I started visiting the border count’s house, this is the first time the whole family is going out together. With the lady of the house being pregnant, someone always had to stay behind until now.

For someone aiming at the border count, this upcoming trip to the capital is a golden opportunity. I wanted to deal with it before they cause any trouble.

But if I can protect the border count’s family this time, it could significantly alter the course of the original story. Above all, I owe a lot to these people. I and Mine won’t abandon them. Well, I’ve prepared for this. I won’t be complacent like before.

…It’ll be extremely embarrassing if nothing happens after all this. Well, it’s better than anything happening, though.

“They’re at the magistrate’s mansion again. The lord of this domain is definitely shady.”

It’s been ten days since we departed from Ortya. With five carriages and thirty-four guards, we’ve passed through several noble territories so far, and now we’re in the southernmost town of Earl Lemnis’ domain, Ramnan. Once we leave this town, we’ll be right on the doorstep of the royal demesne.

The journey itself has been smooth, but there are some people who have been following us since Ortya. They’re adventurers, three parties in total, fourteen people. They arrived in Ortya about two months ago, around the same time. I’ve talked to them a few times, so I remember them. They’re probably here to gather information about the border count’s family. It’s a bad move for socially awkward people like them to try that approach. Strangers only feel distrust and disgust toward them. And since they were so persistent, they’ve been marked as enemies since our first meeting.

Anyway, they’ve been using the noble gate to come and go from the town since entering this domain, and they’ve been visiting the lord’s mansion and the magistrate’s mansion. They must be reporting back to their masters.

So, they might make a move soon. Whether it’ll be while we’re in this domain or after we enter the royal demesne, I don’t know. Frankly, even the royal family might be in on it. Shouldn’t this country just perish once and for all? We’re going to lose to Alteria anyway.

“…Road closure?”

“Yes, there’s been a landslide ahead.”

“With those guys tailing us, they might strike here.”

“Indeed. It seems His Excellency is greatly disliked by His Majesty.”

“I never thought they’d resort to such direct measures. Can we handle it?”

“If it’s just Lemnis and the adventurers, we should manage somehow, but they’ll have prepared thoroughly.”

“Do they have an ace up their sleeve?”

“Most likely.”

“I’d like to let the children and Mine escape, but…”

“It’ll be difficult. It might actually increase their chances of survival if they stay together. The young master has improved significantly, and Mine won’t go down easily either.”

So, both the border count and Mr. Fenfield have realized it, huh? Or rather, was it the king’s doing after all? Killing him off seems like the quickest solution now. Well, there’s someone I need to take care of before that.

“――So, I have a proposal?”

“”Huh?!””