Episode 53 - Tea and Wine
As soon as Lynn sits
down, the pocket on his chest starts to fuzz, and Rain pops out.
A pel rat appears from Illywia's side as well.
The two pel rats rubbed each other's noses on the
table in celebration of their reunion.
"Rain!
"Oh, Karat."
Illywia seemed to have named the pel rat Karat.
"Come to think of
it, it's been a long time since these two have seen each other."
Illywia laughed in a funny way.
"Can someone get
them some nuts?"
Illywia said, and a walnut was thrown from the
darkness. The two began to chew on the nuts together in the corner of the
table.
"I've missed this.
The two of us took a walk in the forest of magical beasts. We killed the
chimera together."
With these words from Illywia, the two of them began
to reminisce about their time in the Forest of Magical Beasts.
"So you too have
quit Magrillheim?"
"Yes. All the
people in Magrillheim were good and talented, but it just didn't suit me."
She said gloomily.
"How are you
spending your time these days, Lynn? Are you still working in the
factory?"
"What? Well, I recently changed jobs, and it's not much
work, but ......"
He can't tell her that he's smuggling Renril's goods
into Alfredo for business.
Just as Lynn was at a loss for an answer, a pot came out of the darkness and was placed on the table.
"Oh, I see the tea
is ready."
Lynn was relieved to be off the subject.
The pot tipped on its own and poured the red liquid
into the teacups in front of of them.
It was as if someone was using some kind of magic in
the dark.
The aromatic scent of tea spread across the room.
"It smells
wonderful."
"Have you ever had this tea before?"
"No, I have not."
"Then you must try
it. I've just ordered some good tea. It's a rare tea from a place called Sina.
Come and try it."
"Okay."
Lynn was attracted by the scent of the tea, it must be delicious.
"Ugh, it's
bitter."
Lynn took a sip and pulled his mouth away from the
cup.
"Oh? It's not to
your taste, is it? Would you like some of this wine?"
Instead of tea, Illywia offered him a goblet of
wine.
It smelled of fruit.
Lynn loved fruit.
She thought he could drink this.
"Geez."
The unexpected taste of fermentation made Lynn gag.
"Oh, dear. I guess
it's too early for you."
Illywia chuckled.
"I'm so
sorry."
"No, no, no. It's
okay. You're still as funny as ever."
"Huh?"
Lynn couldn't understand what was so funny and could
only reply vaguely.
"I'm sorry. I hope
you don't mind. I don't know if it's okay that we've talked for so long. Other
people are standing in line to talk to Illywia-san."
Lynn couldn't help but be curious about the people
waiting behind him in line.
They were passing the time by chatting and drinking,
but they were also glancing anxiously in our direction.
"That's fine. The
tea party has just started, there's still time."
"But I don't feel
comfortable having Illywia-san keep me company for this long. ......"
"Lynn. You don't
have to worry about that. They are waiting because they want to wait. Besides......"
Illywia narrowed her eyes. Lynn was taken aback by
the gesture.
"We've already
greeted the main ones. The rest of them are insignificant. Just let them
wait."
Illywia said this without a hint of regret. Lynn
felt the air around him freeze. The people in the line turned away awkwardly.
Everyone seemed to want to pretend that they hadn't heard what she had just
said.
"Come on. Let's
continue our conversation. I want to talk to you."
She talked to me in the
same friendly way as before.
Even though it was the first time she had met Yuwen,
she was very friendly to her.
However, the way she dressed and her elegant
gestures made Yuwen feel miserable without mercy.
Yuven was so embarrassed to move that she remained
motionless.
Compared to a real noblewoman like Illywia, Yuven
was just a country girl from a rich family.
There was a huge difference between the two of them,
even in their every move.
When Lynn looked at the two, he realized once again
that they were very different.
He regretted having brought them together.
Illywia didn't seem to see how uncomfortable Lynn was,
or how miserable Yuwen was, or the cold stares the guests were giving them.
She didn't understand the feelings of the lowly, or
the inferiority complex that Lynn and Yuwen felt!
No offense to Illywia. It was just that she was
innocent.
It was as if she had grown up without seeing any of
the hardships of the world. Lynn couldn't help but think that.
( A little more care for Yuwen would have been nice. )
Lynn felt a secret sense of antipathy towards
Illywia.
He wondered how much time had passed.
Just as Rain and Karat began to doze off together, there was a hint of movement in the darkness behind Illywia.
It was as if someone whispered something in her ear.
“Oh, is it that time
already? It can't be helped.”
Illywia gave a lazy look.
"Lynn. I'm afraid
the time has come.”
Illywia said gloomily.
“It's not only the
students of the academy and the senior nobles of Wyngarde who are coming to the
tea party today, but also many high-ranking mages from the upper levels. For
those of you who want to make connections, interacting with them should be a
rewarding experience. Please take your time and enjoy yourself.”
"Yes, yes. Thank
you very much.”
To be honest, Lynn was too busy enduring the cold
stares of the people to care.
However, he couldn't ignore her kindness.
Lynn regretted saying such a rude thing to her.
“I'm sure it's
inconvenient to walk around this venue in that gear. Duke”
Illywia glanced at Lynn and Yuwen's appearance and
then called out to the darkness.
Then a chiseled-faced man in a black robe stepped
out of the darkness.
“Allow me to introduce
you. This is Duke. He's my mentor and bodyguard.”
"Hi. I'm Lynn.”
Lynn bows, but Duke's reaction is muted, and in
fact, he gives Lynn a cold stare.
It seemed that he, like most of the people in the
room, did not welcome Lynn.
“Duke. Give these two
your rings.”
"Very well, my
lord.”
Duke pulled a ring out of his pocket and handed it
to them.
It was a ring inlaid with a small magic stone.
Illywia tilted her head.
"Don't you have
something better?”
“I'm afraid I don't
have anything else on me at the moment.”
Illywia furrowed her brow faintly.
But the Duke's attitude put the guests at ease.
The Duke was Illywia's chaperone.
The fact that he was being so curt with Lynn meant
that they didn't need to be coy with her either.
“That's all right. Lynn,
I still have some greeting to do, so we can talk about the pile-up later. In the
meantime, you two take your time. Duke. Please make sure they have a seat near
here.”
"Very well, my
Lord. You two. This way, please.”
The two of them were invited by Duke to move from
one table to another.
Illywia had said she wanted a seat nearby, but the
one Duke led her to was set up in a dimly lit area some distance away from her
seat.
Next time: Episode 54 "Illywia's Melancholy”
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