Atelier Tanaka

Book 4: Chapter 3 (5)

Territory Pioneering 3

As one would expect, Christinas punch put an end to the trouble Nannuzzi-san had been causing. I had no real feelings for her, but I do regret not getting her to apologize to Sophia-chan.

I did attempt to revive her using my recovery magic, but her body had essentially been vaporized and no matter how many times I activated my magic on her remains, her body would not reform.

Im not sure if I was just too late or the damage was just too excessive, but even after pouring out as much mana as I could, there was nothing I could do.

Eventually, the few remaining chunks of meat and miscellaneous liquids were transported out of the bathhouse by members of the Twilight Company.

The noble guests went to bathe in another area before quickly leaving for the capital. The atmosphere had changed for obvious reasons ever since the event involving Christina.

Thankfully, there wasnt much fuss about what had happened to Nannuzzi-san.

Most of the nobles had already sided with the noble mage and believed Nannuzzi-san should be put to death, and those that didnt feel that way were far too scared of the noble mage to say anything.

I hope all of this wont leave the nobles with a bad opinion of my town.

Those that chose to stay behind besides Gonzalez and myself wererent surprising. The noble mage, Sophia-chan, Edita Sensei, and Esther-chan. I thought this earlier, but they all seem to be spending more time together.

Its a nice feeling seeing everyone get along.

The place where they were staying was one of the large lounges on the floor above the bathing area. There were proper bedrooms for future guests to stay in, but they werent completed just yet, so I had sofas and tables brought here for the time being.

Theres still something that needs to be done.

The noble mage had been resting on the sofa but quickly stood up.

It wasnt me that he was addressing but Sophia-chan. Im still not sure of exactly everything that happened while I was away, but its possible Sophia-chan did something to offend Fahren as a member of the nobility, and I know the noble mage doesnt care for people that are unable to use magic. If she did something to offend him, it would be best if I apologized to him on her behalf.

Fahren-san, if something happened while.

As I stood to address him, he did something that surprised everyone.

He bowed.

He was bent forward at a ninety degree angle with his eyes locked onto the floor in front of

Sophia-chan.

Eh? U-Umm, w-what. Eh?

My maid was utterly baffled, but even the less than flattering face she was making was still cute. She jumped up off of the sofa and nearly fell backward over it. She was beyond flustered and still desperately trying to process what was happening.

Umm!? Whwhwhat!?

The longer the noble mage held this position, the more flustered Sophia-chan became.

He either didnt notice or didnt care.

You were the first to speak up about this issue and if I had listened to you all of this trouble couldve so easily been avoided. My own foolishness punished your bravery. You deserve an apology.

And this was how the noble mage viewed the situation.

Some may disagree but I think its manly to apologize so straightforwardly without trying to make any excuses.

Id also like to offer you appropriate compensation.

No, thats n-not. Just, please, raise your head.

Sophia-chan was growing even more nervous if thats even possible. She was frantically looking around the room and sweating profusely. I like to imagine she was saying Tanaka-san, please do something, in her mind.

Considering how rare it is to see the noble mage act like this, I thought it would be better if I refrained from saying anything and just allow myself to enjoy Sophia-chans delightful appearance as much as possible.

Maid-san, your armpits are slowly getting wetter.

I want to refine the salt from her sweat and brush my teeth with it. Its the number one way to get healthy gums.

This isnt a good enough of an apology. Whatever you want, even if it seems impossible, I will do it to make things right.

No, umm, it really wasnt a big deal. Ester-sama and Edita-san were looking after me the entire time. Besides, Im not in any position to ask for compensation.

Your social status doesnt matter. I have to properly apologize to you.

B-But.

The demonic noble kept his head down.

Just hang in there a little longer, Sophia-chan.

This is such a rarely seen side of the noble mage.

There was a brief moment of silence before the noble mage finally raised his head.

Thank you for your magnanimity.

I-I think youre making too big of a deal out of this.

I hope this will have a positive impact on Sophia-chans opinion of the nobility, but Im not entirely sure if they will be how things will turn out. Even now I can see her knees trembling just below the hem of her skirt.

Ill give you some time to think about how I can properly apologize to you and ask you about it at another time.

S-Sure.

I think the noble mage finally realized just how uncomfortable he was making Sophia-chan. He was nervously scratching his cheek and awkwardly smiling.

Recently, hes been talking to me about love and asking for help pursuing Christina. Hes really turning into a rather cute ossan.

Well, whatever. Things turned out fine for Sophia-chan and thats all that matters.

You two seemed to have things settled for the time being.

Y-Yes.

This seemed like an appropriate time for me to speak up now that things had been settled. There are still some things I need to take care of.

After exiting the bathhouse, I brought this subject up with the noble mage.

Theres something Id like to ask you.

What is it?

Im going out to try to find Christina-san, would you like to come with?

I know it would be faster to go out on my own, but I know shes important to him and I doubt Id be able to head out to find her without the noble mage growing suspicious. Weve already spent nearly a week together alone and now that the noble mage is here Im leaving him alone again to go be with her; theres no chance he wouldnt start to distrust me.

Im just guessing, but I think shes most likely still in town.

I see.

That girl despite the fact that shes a massive and powerful dragon is incredibly fragile and if we handle this situation poorly, she could easily turn rotten and her first target of destruction would almost certainly be my town. And, most importantly, shes become essential to the future prosperity of my town. I need to maintain a good relationship with her.

And, I am somewhat at fault here.

The only reason she was here and became involved with Nannuzzi-san was due to me asking her to help build up my town. She was just starting to show signs of her ability to get along with other humans when all of this caused a huge setback.

This is also the perfect opportunity to help improve Christinas opinion of the noble mage. If we find her together, I can tell her the noble mage was trying his best to find her.

That sounds good. Ill come with.

Are you sure?

Absolutely.

The noble mage nodded with a cute smile.

This ossan really is in love with the loligon.

Would you like our help as well?

Gonzalez spoke up and offered his men to help with the search.

Its a kind offer, but Gon-chan and his men still have a lot of work ahead of them and the loligon is emotionally unstable right now. I dont things would end well if a group of  humans approached her right now.

No, we should be able to manage on our own. You can get to the tasks I mentioned yesterday. Go through the town once more to see if theres anything Ive overlooked as well.

Are you sure? Well, Ill let you know if I see anything worth mentioning.

Thanks, that will be a big help.

Im off to chase after a girl that stormed out.

Its like a dream come true.

But I guess it would be better if it was the noble mage that found her.

Wait, I can help as well. She already helped me by letting her fly on her back.

M-M-Me too! I can help search for her.

Ester-chan and Edita Sensei took positions on either side of the noble mage.

Look how many people care for you, loligon. I dont think either of these two would offer to help if they didnt like her. They may not actually like her, I guess, but its more like how a co-worker cares for another co-worker.

Both of them are familiar to Christina so theyll make a good addition to our search party.

Then, Im sorry to burden you both, but thank you for your help.

Ill signal you if I find her!

M-Me too!

Two cute blonde lolis.

Edita Senseis serious face was lovely.

She seemed to have been swept up in the moment and offered her help even though she seemed a little reluctant.

Sophia-chan also spoke up while trembling.

Umm, I-I-I can a-a-also.

Thats definitely not happening.

Sophia-san, you can stay behind. If anyone comes by to find me, can you let them know where Ive gone? This is also an important role.

O-Of course!

Having decided on everyones role, the dragon hunt began.

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