Chapter 11 – Mother's Footsteps

By the time we finished waiting in line and finally entered Termwills City, the sun had completely set.

Even at night, the flow of people was incomparably greater than in either the Barony of Silun or Gartner County.

Though it was a human city, I could occasionally spot members of other races like Elves, Dwarves, and Beastfolk. These types usually didn’t show themselves in public in rural or remote areas, since prejudice, discrimination, and persecution based on superstition became more severe where education levels were low.

As for me… this was actually quite an exciting sight. The fact that they were real, not NPCs or player Avatars, made a big difference.

It was probably characteristic of a boundary city, but I couldn’t afford to just stand around being impressed. There were still many things to do even after arriving in the city. I couldn’t just head straight for the labyrinth.

First, since we had arrived in Termwills, I considered Forestbird’s Request completed and handed over the remaining amount as the success Reward.

“Thank you very much. Huh? But this is a little… no, quite a bit more than expected, isn’t it?”

“I might need to ask for your help with something again, so consider it an advance.”

“Really? I’m so happy!”

Lucian smiled as he said this.

We had traveled this far with Forestbird without any particular stress.

Although Father was the one who suggested getting escorts, I was the one who actually chose them to accompany us. If Grace and I had traveled alone, it probably wouldn’t have gone this smoothly.

If it had just been the two of us, we would have been constantly busy procuring supplies, and we might have even lost the carriage when we encountered the ants. Regardless of the actual circumstances, I think others would have seen us as easy targets, which would have likely invited unnecessary trouble. Their presence had been a great help.

More than anything, having trustworthy companions was something that couldn’t be measured in money. I wanted to maintain a solid connection with them.

“There are still some things I haven’t decided about what I’ll do here, but I’ll leave word at the Adventurer Guild.”

“Then we’ll also tell them to leave the name of our inn for Theo-kun when he comes.”

“We could also meet up at the Guild. We’re thinking of trying out some work here ourselves… if it seems feasible, we might settle down.”

“I hope it works out for you. Forestbird has solid fundamentals, so as long as you don’t recklessly delve too deep into the labyrinth, you should be fine.”

When I nodded and responded to Lucian and Monica’s words, they smiled.

“What will you two do now?”

“We’re heading to a contact of Father’s.”

Apparently, it was someone named Rozetta Attenborough on Fallen Leaf Street in the Eastern District.

He said she was an old friend, but who knows how it will turn out. Just like having escorts for the journey, appearing at Rozetta Attenborough’s place was one of the conditions Father set for my trip to Termwills, so I had to fulfill that promise too.

“Then we’ll see you there.”

“Don’t you have various things to do, like looking for an inn…?”

“No, that’s no trouble at all. It’s been good stimulation for us too.”

Hmm. Well, alright then.

The Eastern District was rather an area where many wealthy people lived. The reason was probably related to sunlight hours. Considering she lived in that Eastern District and was Father’s acquaintance… I suspected she might be someone connected to the nobility.

When we headed to the address written on the paper, there stood an elegant, compact yet impressive mansion.

“Well, we’ll be going then.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“See you later, Theo-kun, Grace-san.”

“Yes, let’s meet again.”

We parted ways with Forestbird here and approached the entrance to Rozetta’s mansion.

When I sounded the door knocker adorned with a lion’s face, a woman with dark red hair appeared after a short while. She looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties.

She didn’t have the atmosphere of a servant. Was she Rozetta?

The red-haired woman’s gaze traveled from top to bottom, moving from Grace to me.

“I apologize for the late hour. Is this the residence of Lady Rozetta Attenborough?”

“I am Rozetta, but… hmm… you’re Theodore, right? Henry’s child. And you must be Grace?”

“…Yes. Have we met before?”

I don’t remember. The fact that she knows I’m Henry’s child probably means she knows about Mother too?

“Once when you were a baby. Once at Henry’s mansion. We’ve met twice in total. Well… it’s no wonder you don’t remember. As for Grace… I only heard about you through letters from Lisa, but I recognized you immediately. You’re truly a beautiful child.”

“From Lady Lisa?”

Grace widened her eyes slightly in surprise, and Rozetta smiled at her. So this meant she was someone Mother trusted enough to talk about Grace…

The second time she met me would have been after Mother passed away. I think people who knew about Mother’s death and came to mourn visited the mansion… but I don’t really remember.

“…This is Father’s letter.”

Rozetta glanced briefly at the seal on the letter I offered and nodded.

“It’s indeed from the Count’s family. Please, come in.”

“…What does the letter say?”

“It asks me to arrange various conveniences for you to live here.”

We were shown to the parlor and settled down to talk.

After reading the letter several times, Rozetta turned to face me sitting across the table.

“I understand the situation. If you’re going to study magic in Termwills… I suppose it would be enrollment at Peresford Academy? The letter says to accommodate your wishes as much as possible.”

Peresford Academy was an educational institution located in the Eastern District.

It was similar in form to a university, where those enrolled could attend lectures and training as they pleased to acquire the culture, knowledge, and skills they desired. It was both an educational and research institution.

Therefore, those who attended varied widely in age, race, and purpose, and the approach towards students was relatively laissez-faire, or liberal.

However, when it came to children of nobility, the story changed. They had separate school buildings from regular students, and there were dormitories too. This was because they had the objective of educating noble children appropriately for their status.

But well, that didn’t really concern me much. I didn’t come here to become what’s called a “proper noble,” so I had no intention of entering the dormitory. Since I only planned to learn Life Magic casually, I’d probably finish the coursework quickly, and if asked if there was anything else to learn, nothing came to mind. Wasting time would be more likely.

I did plan to enroll and go to learn Life Magic, but I basically intended to not show my face much and live as I pleased. After all, if I couldn’t freely delve into the labyrinth, it would defeat the whole purpose.

“That’s one option, but I’d like to find a house in the city.”

“A house?”

“If I end up causing trouble for you through Father’s introduction, it wouldn’t be any different from being under my family’s protection. I’ll handle my own affairs as much as possible.”

When I stated this clearly, Rozetta peered at my face with a doubtful expression.

We stared at each other like that for a while, but eventually she was the one to break eye contact and let out a deep, deep sigh.

“…Very well. Let’s do as you wish.”

“I thought you would oppose it.”

“You look surprised. You had the face of someone expecting opposition.”

Rozetta showed a wry smile.

“Of course, emotionally I’m opposed? But you… if that happened, you’d leave without hesitation, wouldn’t you? You don’t look worried at all, and you have the drive to leave home on your own if things don’t suit you. And your magic… they say you can use it Chantless. Even if our discussion ended poorly, you have plans for that situation, don’t you?”

“Well, that’s…”

Either find an inn, go to the Adventurer Guild, delve into the labyrinth while establishing a living base.

Or establish a living base first and then delve into the labyrinth. It was only a difference in which came first.

“So you see. I judged it would be better for me to cooperate with you here to some extent rather than creating a situation where you feel no obligation towards me. That’s my reasoning. Are you satisfied?”

“…Yes.”

…I see. Indeed, if I had been ordered around arbitrarily, I would have planned to leave at that point. Coming here to communicate only had the meaning of fulfilling my promise to Father, nothing more.

But for Rozetta, that seemed not to be the case. With a distant look in her eyes, she said:

“If anything happened to you… I wouldn’t be able to face Lisa.”

“…You were Mother’s acquaintance?”

“Perhaps an acquaintance of both your parents. We were classmates at the Academy. I even delved into the labyrinth with Lisa.”

Ah. So Father and Mother met in Termwills. Mother had told me when I was young that she had known Father from long ago.

On the other hand, that wasn’t particularly strange either. In a boundary city where people gathered from various places, knowledge and techniques accumulated and were refined. That’s why nobles and talented individuals had their names listed at Termwills’ Academy.

“Well, for today, stay at my house and rest from your journey. Tomorrow, we’ll thoroughly tour the city.”

“Understood.”

…Still, she delved into the labyrinth with Mother, huh? What kind of person was Rozetta exactly? When I looked at her, she simply returned my gaze with a smile.