A/N: This is the story of Rumon, who received the money for the brothel in episode 89.
It's a story about going to a brothel, but there are no erotic scenes.
After taking a break from work, I came to the break room of the mayor's residence.
There was no one else in the room, so I sat down in the sunniest seat and had a cup of tea.
This room, which was prepared at the mayor's request, had been my room before the war, so I felt at ease.
"Hey, are you Rumon?"
I turned around, feeling slightly nervous at the unfamiliar voice, and saw one of the soldiers standing there.
I could tell he was a military officer by his huge muscular physique that was visible even through his thick winter clothes, the good-looking sword on his hip, and the gaudily dyed cloak and ornaments.
"Yes, I'm Rumon."
When you're dealing with a military officer of the Quardenze army, you can't afford to be inept.
I took a bracing posture of courtesy and tried to figure out who he was.
He was about the same age as me, or maybe a little younger.
He had a pleasant, mild-mannered face, but his dark eyes were very serious, as if he was looking right at me.
"What kind of woman do you like?"
"What?"
The question was so unexpected that it came out of my throat like a flood.
"What? The young master asked me to come to ....... You're the one going to the brothel, right?"
"...... it's me."
A few moments ago, I received a few silver coins from the mayor.
I would have liked to buy something for Kohari, but he had given them to me as money for the brothel.
Since it was a gift from the mayor, I was afraid to use it for any other purpose. If I did so, I might be accused of stepping on the mayor's kindness.
I have never been to a brothel in my life. ...... In the first place, I have no experience with women.
That's why I was so confused when I received the silver coin.
The mayor said he would call someone who was familiar with brothels later, but he didn't expect such a well-placed military officer to come.
"That's good. Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Leahlight, and as you can see, I'm a soldier in the military of Quardenze."
He smiled with a toothy grin and said his name was Leahlight.
I took the time to return the greeting in a polite and relaxed manner, while my mind did its best to recall the name.
He was a military officer in the military of the Quardenze, and his name was Leahlight.
The name sounded familiar.
"......, are you the Leahlight of House Gatoren?"
"Oh, you do have some knowledge, don't you? Indeed, I am Gatoren Leahlight."
The knightly family of Gatoren has a long history in the Quardenze territory.
He rules the city of Gatoren, which is not as large as New Nelly City, but is certainly the second largest in the territory.
However, now that Nambonan City has become part of the Quardenze territory, there is no guarantee that it will be able to keep its position in the future.
"Well, even so, one of my brothers will take over the house. You don't have to be so awed."
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Leahlight."
I'm not going to give a bad impression to the Gatoren family, who are the top knights serving the Quardenze family.
"Oh come on, we're going to a whorehouse and you can't be so shrill. Don't call me Mr. Leahlight."
Mr. Leahlight put his hand on his chin and continued with a troubled expression.
"Let's go to the brothel for now. The young master gave me some money for the brothel because I was assigned to guide the Rumon. It's a good deal."
"Ha, ha. I'm glad to hear that."
"Now we can go to the best place today!"
With a slap on the back, Mr. Leahlight and I were about to leave the break room.
As we were pushed out of the room from behind, we almost bumped into someone walking towards us.
"Brother?"
The person I almost bumped into was Kohari, who was probably in the middle of doing some chores and was holding a stack of papers in his hand.
"Kohari. What's wrong?"
I felt a cold sweat break out on my back.
I didn't want Kohari to see me going to the brothel.
"I'm going back to my room to study. I heard that Ms. Odie is going to have a recruitment test for junior servants, so I'll take it. That way you will get more money, brother."
"Ah. Do your best."
"Yes, you'll see how I do soon!"
Kohari smiled at me, a pretty smile that made me smile like a flower, and walked quietly down the corridor.
I had heard that Master Tesh and Master Odie were making preparations to hire a junior servant.
But I had never thought that Kohari would be interested in applying.
I was excited to see how much the doll-like Kohari had grown, but at the same time, I felt that she was still out of touch with the common sense of the world, which made me smile.
It's impossible to hire a girl who wants to be a junior servant when she calls Master Odie, a senior servant, "Ms. Odie" without hesitation.
Kohari has become the mayor's favorite and is being given special treatment by Lady Odie, but she doesn't seem to understand this.
Besides, Kohari, who was almost certain to become the concubine of the mayor, or in other words, a nobleman, would never become a low-ranking servant.
Although Kohari didn't seem to notice, Lady Odie didn't look too happy about her preoccupation with scullery work.
She seems to think that she should be more aware of her role as the mayor's concubine, have more feminine hobbies, and try to conceive a child.
Lady Odie is like a woman from a knightly family, strict and relentless.
When I saw Kohari looking so carefree in front of Master Odie, it made me nervous.
The reason why Lady Odie is so lenient with Kohari is because the mayor allows it. Kohari is currently in a very privileged environment.
I still can't forgive the mayor for forcibly raping Kohari, but the fact that he is now at peace makes me think that it is a good thing.
The number of smiles on Kohari's face is much greater than it was when we were merchants.
"Is that Rumon's sister? She's so beautiful."
"Yes. Thanks to you, the mayor will be pleased to hear that."
Mr. Leahlight's eyes were tinged with a fondness for me, so I decided to nail him early.
If you mention the mayor's name, the son of the Gatoren, who are famous for their loyalty, will never touch you, and if anything happens to Kohari, he will actively protect you.
"Hey, did you think I'd mess with that little sister of yours? It's a known fact in the military. It's a known fact in the army that you can't mess with the young master's girl.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah," Mr. Leahlight nodded.
I've heard that male nobles tend to cherish the women they like. Considering the mayor's way of speaking and the fact that the military had been made aware of it, it was safe to assume that Kohari's safety had been guaranteed.
I felt a renewed sense of relief, and my shoulders relaxed.
"Oh? You're relaxing? It's just the beginning, isn't it? Let's hurry up and go see those cute girls."
I followed Mr. Leahlight out the door.
The mayor had recommended him as a whorehouse enthusiast, and he was well versed in the affairs of the lower half of the body in Nambonan.
Born and raised in Nambonan, he definitely knew more than I did. I wonder how much he likes brothels.
"So, Rumon, what kind of women do you like?"
"Well, you know, ......."
I hadn't really talked about this kind of thing before, so I couldn't help but hesitate. He was the son of a knightly family, after all.
"Don't be shy. Would you rather be older or younger? Do you prefer a woman with skills? Or do you prefer a new girl? Which do you prefer, a woman with a big butt or a big chest?"
"...... What kind of woman do you like, Mr. Leahlight?"
Mr. Leahlight is apparently two years younger than I am.
He prefers older women with breasts, a strong personality and reddish hair. I feel that she is somewhat similar to Lady Odie.
And as I said before, please don't call me Mr. Leahlight. I don't like that kind of thing. I don't like that kind of thing, it's the reason why I ran away from home a long time ago.
"When you say "home," do you mean the Gatoren family?"
"That family has been nagging me about everything, telling me I don't have enough self-awareness as a child of a knightly family and whatnot. My brother is going to take over the family, and I don't need to be told that."
If you hear the name of the Gatoren family, the word "loyalty" is the first thing that comes to mind, a knightly family.
"I see, so that's why you belong to the Quardenze army."
If you're the son of a knight family and you want to pursue a career in the military, you'll often join either your family's army, the knight army, or the army of the lord nobleman.
It would be easier for them to escape the interference of their parents if they joined the Quardenze army.
"I'm a Quardenze soldier now. A while ago I was a mercenary outside the territory."
"Well, what can I say about that? ...... Is such a thing allowed in a knightly family child? Isn't that a very unconventional way to live ......?"
"I've heard that a lot," Leahlight said, laughing out loud. His voice echoed well in the city's main streets.
I've never heard of a child of a knight family becoming a mercenary, so it seems to be a special case.
I wondered if it was his experience as a mercenary that gave him an air of friendliness despite being a military officer.
"The house will be fine even if I'm not there because my brother is around a lot."
"I see. ......"
I've always admired General Galfis and wanted to spend my life fighting. I was treated well wherever I went because of my magical powers. I traveled all over the continent.
General Galfis, who is in charge of the defense of Nambonan City, spent his childhood in battle and made a name for himself with his bravery.
According to Mr. Leahlight, the boys of the knightly family admire the anecdotes of General Galfis when he was young.
"A trip around the continent? To what regions?"
I had only been to the imperial capital and the royal capital at most, so the trip sounded very interesting to me.
"The southern part of the continent. There are a number of city-states, right? There are a lot of skirmishes, so there was no shortage of mercenary work."
As he said this, Mr. Leahlight named some of the cities where he had worked as a mercenary.
Some of the cities were well known, while others were so small that you had to review a map to find their location.
"I also participated in the Gulf Cities Unification War, do you know it?"
"The Ricarda Confederacy?"
There were several city-states in the Gulf region in the southernmost part of the continent, but the war started about ten years ago and they finally became one.
Even if you check their territories on a map, they are small states with territories not much different from the great nobles of the Kingdom of Levios or the Zinkhaen Empire.
The new nation is called the Confederacy of Ricarda.
"That's it. I used to be a mercenary there. At the end of the war, I led a unit of about 8,000 people, and after the war, I was so active that they asked me to become a knight there. Isn't that amazing?"
It seemed more like an employed knight than a mercenary;
A man raised in a knight's family and a mere mercenary may still have a difference in self-power.
"It's great, but ...... why are you in the Quardenze army now? You had the opportunity to officially become a knight, didn't you?"
Earlier, Mr. Leahlight had mentioned something about not being able to inherit the family name because he had many older brothers.
It would be a great opportunity for him to become a knight, as he could not inherit the Gatoren family.
"I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. ...... No, it won't just be my dad, my brothers will all come aboard. I'm going to kill the disgrace of the Gatoren family! ...... or something like that."
"What? Why?
From my point of view, if a son who is low in the line of succession to the heir becomes a knight somewhere, it would be to the benefit of that family.
If my son becomes a knight in the Ricarda Confederacy in the southern part of the continent, he can make a fortune through trade and quickly grasp the situation in the south.
Why, of course? The Gatoren's lord is the Quardenze family. If you are only hired temporarily as a mercenary, it is ...... shameful to change your family name and have another monarch.
"Is that how it is ......?"
"Because of the Quardenze family, the Gatoren family exists, and because of the Gatoren family, I was born as a person with magical powers, and as a result, I was able to take credit for the war. It seems that Mr. Leahlight has that kind of thought process."
"I see. If that's the way he thinks, he can't do anything like switching from the Quardenze family."
I knew that knightly families had this way of thinking, but I think I understood it for the first time through actual conversation.
"And I don't really want to be a knight. I don't want to be like my father, doing detailed desk work, thinking up policies, I hate it just thinking about it."
"I see."
Mr. Leahlight may be an excellent warrior, but I get the feeling that he is not suited for detailed territory management.
"The city of Nambonan is interesting in that respect. The commoners ran the city with their own representatives, right?"
"Yes. Elections will be held soon and a new representative will be chosen."
Mr. Leahlight, who didn't know how elections worked, asked for an explanation, and I was happy to oblige.
There is no city in the Quadrant that has a governance system similar to that of Nambonan City.
Currently, the system is maintained because the mayor understands it, but there is no guarantee that it will remain so in the future.
In order to preserve the autonomy of Nambonan, we need to make the rulers understand that this autonomy is the source of Nambonan's vitality.
Forgetting that I was in the middle of going to a brothel, I gave an impassioned speech to Mr. Leahlight.
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