31 – new friend
After the conversation, Edgar moved somewhere following Creed’s guidance.
Helen and Ariel promised the following and headed to their place, but the detailed location was to be announced later.
“Anyway, the body is pretty well made. Have you been taught by someone?”
“I just devoted myself to training alone every day.”
“Every day. You seem to have guts.”
It’s easy to say, but it’s not that easy to always work hard in training, whether it’s raining or snowing.
Especially at a young age who is easily swayed by the surrounding environment.
In that respect, Creed’s first impression of a boy named Edgar was quite satisfactory.
The hard way of speaking that wasn’t appropriate for his age was a little annoying, but that’s probably a problem that will be solved by itself when he gets comfortable with it.
“It goes around in circles quite a bit.”
“It’s a bit far from the main building. Well, thanks to that, it’s nice not to be seen by others.”
After following Creed and exiting the main building through the back door, several small buildings appeared.
Creed, who continued to explain that some were outbuildings and some were buildings used by servants, pointed to the smallest building on the far right.
“This is your home. I heard that you are the heir to the baron family, but are you disappointed that the house is shabby?”
“no. On the contrary, it was better than expected, so I was relieved.”
I heard that it is nominally a place to bring in and take care of children who have nowhere else to go.
That’s why I expected a place like a collapsed hut, but the appearance was just an ordinary private house that could be found anywhere.
No, it looked a little stronger and bigger.
“hahahaha, it’s nice to be honest. Just hearing that makes me think so.”
Creed burst into laughter and patted Edgar’s hair roughly.
Since his hands were so large, it seemed that he was shaking his head with a cloth covering it instead of his hand.
‘I’m out of my mind.’
If I had suffered a little more, I would have vomited.
It was so powerful that it still rang in my head.
If I get hurt twice more, won’t I see an unfamiliar ceiling when I open my eyes?
“Arrived. Come on, let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
Creed opens the door without needing a separate key and strides into the building.
Edgar also calmly followed him.
‘The air is quite warm.’
Although the climate here was rather warm due to the influence of the symbol of domination, the inside of the building felt even warmer.
It seemed that there was hardly any draft.
It must mean that the building was not built in a fist-fighting fashion.
It was a two-story structure, so as soon as I entered, I could see the stairs going upstairs, and there were corridors on both sides.
I heard that there are two more people living there, so maybe they went out for a while.
Inside, it was so quiet that it felt like it was still.
“Looks like there are no others.”
“Okay, I guess I went out to play for a while.”
It seems to be a more free atmosphere than I thought.
Since it is located in the holy ground of the grand duke’s family, not anywhere else, I expected that it would be difficult to do outside activities except to eat and sleep.
Well, it wasn’t anyone else, but it was the place where Helene’s hand reached out, so they probably wouldn’t have left it that way.
The person in charge of this place is also the former knight commander, so he should be able to use some strength.
“And don’t call me Sir Creed here. Change your tone a bit.”
“Is there any reason?”
“The kids here don’t know where I come from. I only know him as a neighborhood guy who handles swords.”
There must have been such an inside story.
Edgar gave a small nod of his head as if he understood, and immediately started thinking about the title.
“Can I call you Mr. Creed?”
“Call me anything. It’s okay as long as I don’t reveal my origins. You can call me uncle.”
“Um… … .”
Even so, it was difficult to call a knight that was ranked among the top five in the Empire so comfortably.
In the end, Edgar, who agreed to be ‘Mr. Creed’, followed his guidance and headed to the room where he would be staying.
The interior scenery was very ordinary.
There was a bed, a desk, and a closet to put clothes in.
It was a little disappointing that there were no bookshelves, but it would be difficult to find books here, so this was enough.
“If you need anything, just tell me. For example, is there a book you want to read?”
“Do you listen to that too?”
As if he had read his thoughts as he was looking for a room, Creed started talking.
When Edgar blinked his eyes and looked up at the one head taller than himself, Creed smiled as if it were an absurd question.
“Anyway, the people who live here are like my children. Wouldn’t it be difficult to get some of those books for your children?”
“Still, there is a place to get it… … .”
“It would be impossible if it was a very rare book, but thanks to the personal connections I built up in my childhood, I’ll be able to find quite a few books quickly. Just say it without looking at it.”
Creed, who was stroking Edgar’s hair roughly again, tilted his head as he sensed a sense of deja vu.
“By the way, didn’t you say that you are the heir of the Billhark family? My hair is black for that matter.”
“Yes? ah… … .”
“Did you inherit a lot of your mother’s blood? Even so, it is unusual.”
Edgar laughed at Creed’s questioning self-talk and removed the pendant from his neck.
If it’s an ornament, what is he doing who takes off the crane?
The reason soon became apparent.
“Well? Head… … ?”
When he took off the pendant, his hair began to turn red from the ends, as if it had been dyed in paint.
Seeing a sight as if he had seen a mirage, Creed belatedly realized that this was a form-changing magic.
It is probably a type of magic that is directly involved in the perception of the opponent.
Unlike transforming one’s own appearance, things like voices do not change, so there are few uses, but in this case, it was a more useful magic.
That’s also true, because transformation magic takes time to use, and it’s difficult to use it because it’s so difficult to enchant these accessories.
“Oh, actually, I changed my look a bit with this necklace because I was afraid I would stand out because of my hair.”
It was something worn right before entering the castle.
Few people know his true identity just because he scratched it, but there was nothing wrong with keeping it in mind just in case.
Creed understood only then and nodded his head in satisfaction.
I don’t know who came up with the idea, but it seems that they paid attention to the details.
If it was this boy’s plan, it would be nothing but admirable.
“Oh, that’s a good idea. So while you’re here, are you going to stay like that?”
“For now, I think so.”
“It will be inconvenient. At least it’s not even a ring, it’s a pendant.”
A ring would be fine to wear at any time, provided it wasn’t made of a metal that corrodes easily in water, but a pendant was apt to be cumbersome to run around.
Creed, who put his hand on his chin for a moment and let out a drool, then snapped his fingers and opened his mouth.
“This time, I will ask an acquaintance of mine to make a similar object in the form of a ring. If that’s the case, it won’t get in the way even if you wear it all the time.”
“Until you need to… … .”
“It’s because I’m embarrassed. It’s better than having a guy next to you who might get caught at any moment.”
Even if he said that, it was conveyed that Creed paid attention to even the smallest details.
Edgar thought that it was not polite to decline any further, so he bowed his head in gratitude.
Creed smiled contentedly at him, gave him a strong pat on the back, and left the room to pack his things.
‘If I get hit twice, my bones will be broken.’
It may have been said that it was an easy hit, but from Edgar’s point of view, it was quite an excruciating pain.
After shedding a single tear, he began to organize his luggage in earnest, and took out his clothes first.
After that, when I took out my favorite books and frequently used items, the room quickly filled up.
“Huh, that’s hard.”
After the rough tidying up, Edgar immediately lay down on the bed.
Did he know in advance that he was coming and did some cleaning?
Even though it must have been an unused room, there was not a speck of dust.
I felt like I wanted to sleep like this, but since it was my first day, I wanted to look around at least.
Should I go with Creed?
Even if I went alone, I felt like I would be noticed.
‘yes?’
While I was staring at the ceiling and lost in thought, the floor suddenly vibrated and a thumping sound rang out from outside.
‘Is it an earthquake?’
As the vibrations got closer and louder, Edgar jumped up in amazement.
That moment,
rattle.
“hi! Are you Edgar!?”
“Ah, bye bye… … .”
“… … ?”
Suddenly, a pair of boys and girls trespassed and exchanged lively greetings.
No, to correct it, it was a boy who greeted him energetically, and a girl hid behind him and stuck her head out.
‘Are these children living here?’
Other than that, nothing else came to mind.
Dull, trudging footsteps followed, and Creed, a gigantic figure, appeared beyond the door with a wry smile.
“These guys missed you so much. Say hello.”
“Ah, call me Edgar. I will be living here for a while.”
The boy standing in front of Edgar’s simple self-introduction hit his chest and responded by blowing his brown hair.
“I am Leonel! I’m 14 years old, feel free to call me Leo.”
‘He’s a friendly guy.’
At least, it was the first race Edgar had ever seen.
I guess it’s the feeling of lighting up the surroundings just by talking.
He was a boy who seemed to be well-liked by those around him when he grew up.
“Hey, Enya. You should also introduce yourself quickly.”
“Yes… … .”
After self-introduction, Leonel pushed the girl on the back as if to bring the girl hidden behind her to the front.
The orange-colored short-haired girl hesitated and didn’t know where to put her hands. She lowered her head and called out her name.
“I-I’m Enya… I am thirteen.”
Is this younger?
Anyway, it was comfortable to be friends with a one-year age difference, so Edgar accepted the greeting with a nod.
“Please take care of me, Enya. But what are you and Leo doing?”
“What, what are you talking about… … ?”
Enya, with her face noticeably reddened, even raised her head and asked back.
Edgar had a feeling of déjà vu a little while ago, but it seems to be the correct answer.
sigh. Raising one corner of his mouth, he played a prank on the girl on the invitation screen.
“I asked because he seemed very close to Leo. Maybe it’s your boyfriend.”
“Le, Leo and me… ? uhh, that’s… … .”
Enya was busy waving her hands in the air, unable to say no or yes.
Unable to see this, Leonel stepped forward and cut off Edgar’s words with a single knife.
“We are just friends! Right, Enya?”
“Ah, uh… right. We are just friends.”
When Leonel revealed that they were ordinary friends with a very firm tone, a shadow was cast on Enya’s face.
Edgar, who was watching this, shook his head inwardly.
‘What a sinful fellow. Even a third person can see it clearly.’
It’s always interesting to hear about other people’s love stories, but I couldn’t get involved without notice.
In the first place, doing that to a person on a first-come-first-served basis does not sound like a word.
Anyway, I felt relieved because they seemed like good friends.
It didn’t seem like they would be territorial just because they came in first.
More than anything, watching the relationship between these two from the side wouldn’t be fun.
Their first meeting in the new house was more pleasant than expected.