Stranger’s Handbook

Chapter 37: Morning Sparring?

When it comes to wake-up calls, I want the maids doing them.

In the morning, I like to be woken up by the sweet smile of a girl; I was reluctant to move so the guy said to me:

“Come on, you sure like sleeping in late.”

And poked me repeatedly.

What pained me the most was to wake up to the sound of a man’s angry voice.

I am devastatingly bad when it comes to waking, you know? I have no idea who you are, but I’m going to hit you until you’re dead.

Annoyed, I got up in order to change my clothes when a maid jumped in my room.

“Ah! I…I’m sorry for not knocking. I tried to stop him, but that knight kept on saying he wanted to spar with Zest-sama and rushed inside……”

The maid lowered her head hastily.

“I see, don’t worry about it. I’ll go out once I’m dressed, so wait a bit.”

“Certainly.”

She opened the door and gave some orders in a low voice.

In the next instant, she approached me and helped me put on my clothes.

Obviously, this is not something I would need help for.

But letting the maids assist you is another nobles’ rule.

Honestly now, what idiot intruded on me so early in the morning, blabbering about having a match with me……

The maid said he was a knight, but he can’t possibly have the status of a normal knight.

If a simple knight assaulted me, a noble, without any prior appointment, requesting something like a match against me, no one would complain when he gets killed.

Then, a highly ranked noble? No, if that was the case, the maid would have recognized him.

All the maids working inside the palace are elites, there’s no way she wouldn’t have recognized the guy’s face.

Then was it a middle ranked noble?……It actually could be.

Since my position as the 1st Rank Imperial Mage is not yet made known to the public, maybe it was a baron or a viscount……

This will be troublesome.

I finished changing my clothes, let out a long sigh and opened the door.

“You suddenly turn up early in the morning, what the hell do you……Hm?”

I looked around the room, but there was no one inside.

He wasn’t sitting on the chair either.

I saw there was tea prepared for him on the table, so I’m sure the guy was around until moments ago, but it seems he had left.

I looked over my shoulder at the maid, but she seemed disturbed by this scene too.

Unexpectedly, I came into contact with something soft and warm, on my shoulder.

By the way, she smells really good.

(Good morning, Master.)

“Morning. You’re in a good mood, it seems.”

The spirit smiled, her face was beaming.

All that annoyance I felt minutes ago was completely gone; my heart got warmer.

(Yes! Since a noisy man showed up when Master was sleeping, I silenced him. Praise me!)

……..You silenced……him?

“Thanks, you did great. And where is that noisy guy now, if I may ask?”

I was pretty frightened so I made sure to ask in a gentle tone.

(Ehehe, I connected to the water fountain inside the city and threw him away. Master, stroke my head, please!)

“Yeah, good. Isn’t breakfast ready yet? Let’s go eat together.”

Trembling, I sat down and started brushing the spirit’s hair gently.

I’ll make sure not to provoke her in the future…….

My feelings are gradually taking over me, I really must be careful about it.

I decided, and continued to caress the smiling miniature young lady spirit.

I made up my mind not to think about the knight who got thrown away.

Since it was the spirit who did it, it can’t be helped.

I’ll be sure to push through with this.

After I finished eating, I looked over the letters some nobles sent me.

Who do I meet first? Where will we meet? I came to the conclusion that I’ll have to consult with my master before deciding on such matters.

There are some nobles affiliated with the Frontier Count’s Household, so I can’t choose the order as I please.

After all, I’ve spent all my afternoon choosing the right order.

I’d rather just do it randomly, but the noble society won’t forgive such a thing.

It’s truly annoying.

I let out a sigh of relief, and without losing any more time, a maid came to pick me up.

The second banquet: A meeting with all the nobles in the imperial capital.

By the way, the entire city was celebrating. Food and sake was distributed free of charge for anybody on the streets, so it was like a huge festival.

Must be hard for the soldiers maintaining the public order right now, but it’s all right. Tomorrow is their time to party after all.

The maid led me to the hall’s main guests’ entrance.

At his Majesty’s signal, the door would open and I would step in.

Master was already there; he came in from another entrance.

Since the main guests tonight were me and the spirit, there was nothing to be done.

The door opened slowly.

Well now, let’s get ready for a nice session of probing each other, my dear nobles!

I stroked the spirit’s head once more as I started to walk.

“Oh! Is that the spirit?”

“The new 1st Rank is surprisingly young.”

“It seems he doesn’t have any concubines yet.”

“Hee? Is he allowed to wear black clothes?”

“Hmm….Such a snob.”

The banquet hall was full of such whispers.

As I was chatting with his Majesty, mostly rascals gathered around me.

During a party, a man can’t approach a woman who he’s never met before.

First, her father or another male relative must come to talk with me, and only after that will I be introduced to the lady.

It’s always like this.

Again, annoyingly enough, there’s a rule for court ranks too.

Those with a lower rank are not allowed to start a conversation with those superior to them.

It’s not yet official, but his Majesty already told them that I’ll be the next 1st Rank Imperial Mage.

And so, they treat me like a marquis now.

The only ones I can freely talk with, at a first encounter, are the members of the imperial family, the dukes and the male marquises.

Without this rule, all parties would see some corpses.

By doing nothing but greeting the several hundred nobles here, my head was already hurting.

As per the imperial capital’s rules, the only ones I can meet and talk to freely are the members of the imperial family.

Normally, dukes and marquises are the top figures of the empire’s territories, so they are scattered to various placed.

That’s why, everyone was starring from the distance; all they could do was wait for me to start a conversation with them.

Again, that’s why, all I could hear was whispers.

“Oh, right. Zest, let me introduce you to my daughter. She’s Tsubaki.”

Tsubaki?…..Is that the Japanese Camellia?

I remember them saying that long ago, there was a stranger hero who came from another world.

“I am glad to meet you, Zest, the next 1st Rank. I am Tsubaki. I hear that it’s the name of the flower the legendary hero-sama loved.”

She lifted her dress a little and bend her knee lightly.

This very sweet young lady, who seemed to be around 10, was the spit image of the Empress.

She might have felt nervous thought, since her smile was pretty stiff.

“Thank you for your courteous greeting, your Highness, Princess Tsubaki. I am Zest. The spirit doesn’t have a name yet, but would you give us the honor of greeting her too?”

She offered the spirit a grandiose greeting, like she was an actress in a play, then she smiled broadly, quite childishly.

Hehe, kids sure are lovely.

“Yes, I don’t mind. Spirit-sama, nice to meet you. I’m Tsubaki…..My name is Tsubaki.”

She corrected herself; despite being so young she really acts splendidly. My face became loose without even realizing.

A little girl is giving her best to do the greeting properly….Isn’t this a charming spectacle?

The spirit seemed to like Princess Tsubaki too, so she jumped in the air and flew towards me, only to stop in front of my eyes.

Imitating the young girl, she bowed in courtesy and smiled sweetly.

When Princess Tsubaki saw this, her face covered in smiles; she seemed to get hooked on the spirit too.

(Did I do it right, Master?)

“Yea, you did great.”

I gently brushed her hair and she narrowed her eyes just like a cat; she seemed to enjoy it greatly.

Haha, she’s too cute.

In this comfortable atmosphere, my master joined us and we departed in order to make the courtesy calls.

However, Princess Tsubaki didn’t want to leave the spirit’s side, so we had to let her accompany us.

And so, we couldn’t go greet all the nobles we had planned to.

His Majesty is too indulgent when it comes to his little girl…..I quite understand him though.

Thanks to her presence, the nobles could not talk about intricate matters, so it all ended with a few courtesy greetings.

On the contrary, it was rather helpful for me.

After we finished with the greetings, we sat on the seats prepared for us near the wall. I couldn’t get tired of gazing at the spirit and the Princess playing together, and in this manner the party was reaching its closure time.

“I’m more than happy to see that everyone enjoyed this evening and warmly welcomed the birth of the new 1st Rank. We, as well, must strive for the well-being of our empire.”

With his Majesty’s words, the banquet came to an end.

It ended just like that and all I did was mostly play with Princess Tsubaki.

However, I was more than happy with this development.

Because I was able to avoid the nobles’ probing and scheming….

Escorting Princess Tsubaki, I passed through the main guests’ door, moment in which she revealed a voluptuous smile, not an inch of childishness in it, and whispered:

“Zest-sama, thank you for keeping me company the entire evening. The nobles are sending us their blessings.”

The Imperial Household’s women, even though small, they sure are scary……

Did she just frame me?…….My stomach hurts…….