[V9C23] Any Guests With Paw Pads?

After completing the Hymn Dedication at the temple, Monica, Elliott, Benjamin, and Ryn boarded a carriage for their return to Elliott’s mansion. However, Ryn was sitting next to Monica while still in the appearance of a male priest.

Elliott glanced at Ryn and furrowed his brows.

“I just can’t get used to this… Hey, aren’t you going to transform back into a maid?”

“Elliott-bocchama, do you want your Nanny?”

“It has nothing to do with what I want. I’m just more accustomed to your maid appearance…”

Monica could empathize with Elliott’s statement. She was also used to Ryn being the beautiful maid, so her male form felt a bit unsettling, especially since the male version of her voice was subtly different.

“As much as I would love to fulfill your wish, I am a bit too exhausted to transform back into a female form. Please wait a little longer for my mana to recover.”

Even a greater spirit like Ryn must be tired after calling a wind powerful enough to blow away a storm.

Meanwhile, Benjamin looked at Ryn while muttering in admiration.

“Ever since I first heard your voice, I sensed a resemblance to the spirit’s singing from ten years ago… and now I understand why. You must have been singing in male form at the previous festival.”

Benjamin’s confession caused Monica and Elliott to widen their eyes in surprise. Remembering a song from ten years ago was already impressive, yet Benjamin had even connected it to Ryn.

Ryn nodded back at the musician.

“You have an excellent memory, Benjamin Mording-sama. As expected of the man who recognized me as a spirit.”

“…Eh!?”

“Hah!?”

Monica and Elliott both turned to Benjamin in disbelief, and the musician responded with a cheerful smile instead of an answer.

Elliott grimaced, shouting at Benjamin.

“You little…! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Oh, I was just quietly enjoying the heartwarming interaction between you and your Nanny.”

Benjamin casually shrugged his shoulders, much to Elliott’s dismay.

“So you were secretly laughing at me the entire time…”

“Musicians are nothing if not honest about their pleasures, Elliott.”

Elliott drooped his head as the unapologetic Benjamin patted his shoulder, gesturing outside the carriage window.

“Come on, Elliott. Lift your head and take a look outside… This is your town.”

They had entered the town proper, so the sound of lively magic reached through the walls of the carriage.

Outside the window, many people could be seen singing, dancing, hurriedly setting up their stalls, and picking up the flowers that Monica had scattered. Children were joyfully tapping their confections while singing the Populia Rukah song.

All the townspeople smiled and waved once they saw the lord’s crest displayed on the carriage. Benjamin waved back with a confident smile.

Putting on a wry smile, Elliott waved his hand while glancing at Monica.

“Come on, you’re one of today’s stars too. Wave to them.”

“R-Right!”

Monica approached the window and awkwardly waved her hand.

Showing her face in public was still embarrassing, but she felt a strange feeling in her chest upon seeing the smiles of the townspeople. It was like a mixture of joy and pride.

(I’m glad they enjoyed it… What a relief…)

“Thanks!”

“That was amazing!”

“Look over here, Mordin-sama!”

Many of the townspeople were cheering or expressing their gratitude for the festival. However, a couple shouts of a different nature could also be heard.

“Your Lordship! Keep up the good work!”

“Your Lordship! You were pretty cool!”

“Your Lordship! Don’t worry, I think you’re doing a great job!”

These were words of encouragement directed straight at Elliott. A couple of people were even giving Elliott warm looks, like a parent watching a child try their best.

This puzzled Elliott, but Monica realized the reason for this and let out a small gasp. Unfortunately for her, Elliott heard that, turning to her with a completely serious expression.

“Oi, Little Squirrel. Look at me.”

“…Ugh.”

“What are you hiding?”

“N-Nothing. It’s just, well, um, you see…”

Monica averted her eyes and fidgeted with her fingers before continuing in a mumbled tone.

“T-The sound relays all over town were set up to start alongside the summoning of the Spirit King, so…”

In other words, they had begun the moment Monica opened the summoning gate for the Spirit King.

Monica’s explanation caused the blood to drain from Elliott’s face.

“…The only thing that reached the town was the music, right?”

“W-Well, before that, you were talking to the Songstress… It was quite a loud conversation, so probably… a-all of that…”

The declaration about sharing in the embarrassment… That had reached the entire town.

Elliott let out a throaty sound, as if he were choking.

“So you’re telling me… it wasn’t just the priests who heard that super embarrassing line…? But the whole damn town…?”

Elliott fell completely silent, so Ryn nodded expressionlessly in his place.

“The townspeople are looking at Elliott-bocchama with very warm eyes.”

“Noooooooooo!”

Elliott writhed in embarrassment on the carriage seat, while Ryn commented, “Your Nanny is quite impressed too.” However, that did nothing to comfort him.

＊　＊　＊

Upon the party’s arrival at Elliott’s mansion, the servants welcomed them with enthusiasm.

Elliott looked thoroughly exhausted, as if he had exposed a lifetime of shame. He quickly handed his cape to the servants and turned to Monica and the others.

“We’ll have to go greet the guests in the hall now… I probably don’t have to ask, but did they hear it too…?”

“Y-Yes, um, it should reach over here…”

Monica nodded, leaving Elliott to cover his face and groan in pain. The servants, however, watched over him with warm eyes.

On the other hand, Benjamin seemed incredibly cheerful, talking to a nearby young maid.

“Hey there, excuse me. I’d like something warm to drink. Do you have any ‘Buttered’?”

“Yes, I will bring some right away,” the maid replied.

“Thank you. What about you, Lady Everett? Do you want something warm to drink before the greetings?”

“I-I’d be delighted,” Monica answered.

To tell the truth, the constant tension had caused her throat to grow parched, and she felt unusually hungry. The large-scale magecraft had probably taken a lot out of her.

They would have to make several rounds of greetings once they reached the hall, so it would be good to have something warm in her stomach.

Benjamin made the same offer to Elliott, who simply shook his head in exhaustion.

“…No, I don’t want anything to eat or drink. Dammit, do I really have to greet people after embarrassing myself like that…? Let’s just quickly get this over with.”

Immediately, Elliott stomped off toward the main hall.

Monica hesitated about whether or not she should follow, as Benjamin tapped her on the shoulder.

“There’s no need to worry about him. Most of the guests willing to attend in such awful weather are nobles favorable to him. It will be easy to pass off the exchange as a joke.”

Benjamin explained while offering one of the cups he received from the maid to Monica.

It appeared to be steaming hot milk with small chunks of butter sprinkled in. Perhaps that was why it was called Buttered.

Monica took a sip, steeling herself for the introductions she would have to perform once she finished her drink.

＊　＊　＊

Elliott walked briskly to the hall and pushed the door open with excessive force. Everyone in the room turned to him at the same time.

As expected, there were only a few guests, six in total. Some were his father’s subordinates, and a few were branch nobles of the Howard family. Among them, Elliott quickly spotted Cyril and approached his old classmate.

Cyril straightened his back and greeted Elliott with his usual politeness.

“Thank you for inviting me to this wonderful festival, Lord Howard. I have come on behalf of my father, Marquis Highown, representing the Arts and Culture Preservation Committee of the Ascard Library Society…”

“Oi, Cyril.”

Elliott got right into Cyril’s face and spoke rapidly.

“Did you hear the thing from earlier?”

With his greeting interrupted, Cyril frowned and asked, “What thing?”

Elliott put on a strained smile.

“My exchange with the Songstress before the Hymn Dedication…”

Cyril blinked a few times before nodding.

“Ah, yes. I was impressed by your willingness to endure shame for the sake of your people.”

Of course, Cyril Ashley was not the type of man to mock people for being earnest.

Thinking that it might have been easier to deal with someone who would laugh, Elliott picked up a bottle of wine from a nearby table.

“…Hey Cyril. Remember the Fluff-Fluff Incident?”

“Why are you bringing that up now?” Cyril asked with a grimace.

Elliott let out a nasty chuckle.

“You know, that time you got drunk from tasting the wine at the school festival, wandered around looking for something fluffy, and eventually fell asleep petting Neil’s head… That incident.”

“Shut it. Do you know how much effort it took to keep that from His Highness…!”

“Effort? As if! His Highness just happened to be away on a diplomatic meeting at the time.”

Elliott draped his arm around Cyril, making sure he couldn’t escape, and brought the bottle closer.

“Take a sip of this, recreate the Fluff-Fluff Incident, and overwrite my embarrassment with your own.”

As usual, Elliott Howard was the type of man to come up with these kinds of nasty ideas.

“Lord Howard, it seems you have already had too much to drink,” Cyril interjected in a suppressed tone.

“Dammit, maybe I should have pretended to be drunk. Whatever, just drink! Drink and embarrass yourself!”

“Never…!”

Elliott pressed the bottle against Cyril, who promptly pushed it back.

As the two engaged in a futile exchange, a small voice could be heard from behind.

“Cyril-sama.”

The sound of Monica’s voice caused Cyril to quickly raise his head, pushing Elliott away as he turned around.

“Moni…”

“Cyril-sama, this is terrible. There are no paw pads.”

Monica delivered the news with hazy eyes.

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