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Volume 6, Chapter 35

Douglas Hamilton was in a gloomy mood indeed, slouching feebly and looking down as he walked ahead slowly, looking depressed. It was almost like a criminal walking towards the gallows.

There wasn’t a trace left of the arrogance he had displayed the other day.

Only the awfully loud sound of his footsteps resounded through the stone corridor.

（It should be the same as always… but there’s certainly something different…）

Lamps were shining to his left and right, and armed guards standed at regular intervals same as always. Being a part of Earl Hamilton’s house, it was a scenery he had seen every day, serving as a clerk in the House of Lords for the space of ten or more years

However, there was a point that was definitely different.

（Up until now, I guess this scene was always me transferring a criminal…）

There was something gloomy and dreary pressing down on Douglas’ spirit, for he had always walked down this hall as the person transporting the criminal, but was now being transported himself instead. This change in prespective while mantaining the same scenery around him left Douglas completely astonished as to the difference it made.

As a relative to the house of Earl Hamilton, who commanded the squad of clerks at the House of Lords, Douglas should had enjoyed a life of being respected and acknowledged as superior to most.

At least it had been like that, until one hour ago.

Naturally, this complete change had a reason.

（Why… Why did this happen? … I only obeyed the Family Head’s orders … The others surely understand this… So why then?）

A clerk, now an ex-colleague, walked before him, and Douglas advanced, following him. He understood nothing would change at this point no matter what he said.

To begin with, he shouldn’t had fallen into this situation. In any case, because Douglas was a relative of Earl Hamilton, the person who’s rank came right after Marquis Halcyon, the director of the House of Lords.

Certainly, he wasn’t a direct descendant, but he was considered a relative nonetheless. As such he had the right of inheritance, but it could be said that the chance of him inheriting the family’s court rank was zero. But, just for holding a blood relationship, Douglas Hamilton received several considerations from the people serving at the House of Lords.

Naturally, there were limits to those considerations, not like he could do as he pleased.

There were just some subtle differences between him and his colleagues. His assignments were comparatively easy, with docile suspects or criminals that made unexpected situations almost non existant, as well as certainly more bodyguards and knights escorting him.

Also, people arround him also tolerated when he coaxed a bribe from the defendant. Although Douglas was clearly greedy, the job itself presented that opportunity, and he only targeted people who were in a frail situation. Although it was frowned upon, nobody raised the subject as a big problem.

He was certainly in his prime. Just being a relative of an influential person can make someone a winner in this vast world.

But for Douglas, things had completely changed before he even noticed, and he had gone in an instant from Summer to Autumn and beyond.

In the end, the group reached a room in the House of Lords that had been arranged suitably.

「Excuse me. By orders from the Director of the House of Lords, I’ve brought you the requested man」

The clerk knocked lightly and with a courteous tone asked for permission to enter. To those words came an immediate answer, probably because the person inside was eagerly on the watch.

「I appreciate it. Please come in」

A young girl, dressed as a maid, with long silver hair that extended to her hips, replied with her beautiful melodic voice and invited them in.

The moment he set eyes on that girl, Douglas realized that his conjectures had taken shape in the worst possible way.

（As expected, it’s just like I thought… but… why? Why did something like this happen?）

No, as he was in the middle of being taken to this room, he was already faintly aware that things would progress like this. In any case, because there wasn’t any other cause he could think of, setting aside the fact that they were going to Earl Salzberg’s premises to meet Baron Mikoshiba.

「Well then, if you excuse me…」

The clerk delivered Douglas to the silver haired maid, bowed once and left the room.

It was obvious from his attitude that he didn’t want to overstay in this room for even a second. In reality because, from his point of view, it was almost like throwing Douglas, a coworker, into the lion’s cage. The feelings of guilt would probably crush him if he thought about the scene that was to unfold behind him.

No matter how disgusting Douglas could be, he was still a companion somehow.

Although, of course, it wasn’t totally impossible that, deep inside, he was actually jumping for joy. Because that depended entirely on Douglas’ past conduct and human nature.

The maid who greeted Douglas led him in front of a man who was seated on a sofa. In front of the master of this room, Baron Mikoshiba.

「Mikoshiba-sama… Here’s the man…」

Douglas saw a blond maid standing beside the man, whispering into his ear.

At those words, Ryouma gave a slight nod and suddenly rose from the sofa. Facing Douglas, he flashed a cheerful smile.

「We meet again, right? Court clerk Hamilton… Oops, I guess a clerk no more, isn’t it? If I called you by your family name, it would end up getting mixed with Earl Hamilton… If it’s alright with you, shall I call you Mr. Douglas?」

Ryouma said and prompted Douglas to sit in the couch.

There was no hostility towards Douglas, nor any sense of superiority now that their roles had been reversed from the other day. Just a very ordinary greeting.

But it was precisely because it was ordinary that Douglas felt like was being seated on a bed of nails. Rather than screams and threats, this kind of difficult situation also tied a knot in his stomach.

Douglas sat down on the sofa, showing a frightened expression.

「The best for a guest would be an alcoholic drink, but unfortunately there aren’t any provisions in this room… 」

At the same time Ryouma offered a beverage to the frightened man, a cup was placed in front of Douglas. Inside it was a transparent liquid.

If one were to believe Ryouma’s words, it would probably be just water. This much would be inevitable, for this was neither Baron Mikoshiba’s residence nor Earl Salzberg’s villa.

This was the House of Lords, the fortress in charge of the general management of the nobles in Rozeria Kingdom.

It would be considered unfair for Mikoshiba Ryouma to insist on provisions for entertaining a guest in a place like this. But that wasn’t exactly the problem.

（Ice? And in such a large quantity…?）

In this world where freezers and electronic appliances were non existant, ice was a precious thing. Not that it was impossible to acquire, of course, but it wasn’t something that could be readily available.

To procure some, the typical methods were either keeping an ice room for storage during winter, or going deep into the mountains that are covered in perpetual snow.

Also, it would be possible to request a person able to use magic, and pay them so they created some with their abilities.

But the preservation of an ice room, or the harvest and transportation of snow, were both labor and time demanding. Besides, one had to expect attacks from monsters when travelling through a remote mountain.

So it is obvious that a military force strong enough to repell groups of monsters is needed deep in the mountains where ice can be harvested, a place that usually has bad roads and many obstacles that make impossible the use of horse-drawn carriages.

So the typical way would be leaving the wagons at the foot of the mountain, and move the cargo through the mountain road by human effort.

Because of that, the labour cost was absurdely high. Naturally this made the price skyrocket as well.

Among adventurers, there were even those that were hired as specialists for transporting ice.

Even so, there were lots of rich people seeking a refreshing coolness during the summer. Only that they were of the social class that was rich, but had no influence. The really rich people relied on magic practicioners.

Actually, for those people, rather than going through the guild, it was more like asking a magic user currently employed as their guard or teacher for a favour, a rather efortless method.

Above anything else, ice created by magic methods had no impurities.

The amount, from small to large, could also be accommodated to a certain degree according to the practicioner’s ability.

In addition, the practicioner would generally be made to activate his invocation in front of his master. This was in order to decrease the significant probability of assasination by poison that happened in that priviledged class.

Well, when it comes to assasination, there is no such thing as a perfect countermeasure, but even then the majority of the people want to stack the odds in their favour.

But the issue right now, was the fact that water was served to Douglas with that ice.

（What is this…? What’s the catch?）

Being honest, Douglas didn’t think that he was liked by Mikoshiba Ryouma. Rather, far from that, he believed that he was detested by him.

In any case, because as long as he got his bribe, he had no concern at all in abandoning him in that small room with no windows for a whole day.

Of course, it wasn’t him who had taken the initiative on that one. Douglas always received his orders from the Hamilton family head, and he simply followed them. But even Douglas knew that that fact didn’t really amount to an excuse.

（First of all, wasn’t this man the one who kidnapped my family?）

This thought continued to cast a dark shadow over his heart. Of course, there was no proof that indicated the participation of Mikoshiba Ryouma. However, analyzing the situation, it was highly likely that it had been done for revenge by someone holding a grudge againt Douglas.

At the very least, it was impossible to consider it unrelated.

Certainly, the letter that was left behind said that as long as he followed their indications, they wouldn’t touch a single finger of his family. But Douglas wasn’t as optimistic as to believe the verbal promise of a criminal.

To begin with, no indication had arrived til now, so it was probably meaningless.

But, judging only by the current situation, Douglas felt like those conjectures were mistaken.

「Well, by all means, for the time being please take a break」

Encouraged for a second time, Douglas nervously took the cup in front of him and, preparing himself for the worst, tried a small sip.

But Douglas’ expectations had betrayed him.

Of course, it tasted good.

「This… is… fruit water?」

The aroma of fresh fruit, the faint acidity of a citric and the sweetness of apples softened the tension in Douglas’ heart. Above all else, the gentle herbal aroma that came to his nose was really pleasant.

It was a flavor that could make you sigh with relief without even thinking.

Looking at Douglas enjoying his drink, Ryouma slowly started talking.