Chapter 58: Suspiciously… (3)
wS6S0jTo prepare for Count Casseus’s party, Marie and I headed to one of the shopping districts in the city.ut8tjZU
kpPE5There, I noticed an interesting street name.KHVRXM
hLP“Marie Street?”MeI9
a6h“Uht…! I, it’s nothing important!”ZZBaU
jprTOCThe name of the shopping district was Marie Street. What in the world was this?wiTiJak
ozE9“Can you explain what this means?”FKPHg
T3Yd“Ugh… Like, when I was born, dad built this place to celebrate my birth.”Q3dsFMq
Vf0“…”47NX5b
54754lBIt seemed that the Duke really cherished Marie.UCBoNZx
KFZZ“All the stores here look very expensive though.”Y5y26
2PKMarie Street was like a fashion street that was filled with all sorts of branded clothing stores and jewelry shops.8REBn
ssIha“Montijo? Ghesquiere? Oh damn…”wd2q2Bl
5wAdqEven though it was a fantasy world, there were branded stores that were on the same level as famous places on Earth. After living in this world for 3 years, I reached a point where I could somewhat recognize a few of those names.M8gS
Sasi“Senior. Are we going to shop here?”4EUb
Hib7“Nn. Why, is there a problem?”K8YX
Z5VIaR“Uhh…”dnHRmEY
ESfH3Unlike Marie who was born as the daughter of the super potato farm, I was a salaryman who just became a Grade 1 Knight. I had yet to even receive my first support fund so there was no way I could afford these expensive items.e60aZ
38PL“Sorry but… I don’t have enough money…”KrMmlt
h8CX“Ahht…!”YQm66Qb
IZZ1Marie blocked her mouth as if she wasn’t expecting to hear such a thing. What she then said was very unexpected as well.Om4GPC
UAb7r“Why would you consider using your money Korin?”mFRab
KR5TQ“Sorry?”wtOp
lqlSMYv“Of course I’m going to be buying it for you!”aYiv
wFa5ud“Like, that’s a bit…”gsr7XTQ
0lMI had my pride as a man and couldn’t afford to receive something so expensive.N5qeDa
afNsg– Grip!HlB4PK
l4kiThat was when Marie tightly grabbed onto my hand and said with a bright smile.iIgR
fQWM“I really wanted to buy you clothes! Can you please let me buy you presents just for today?”ilh
5n7uWU“…”fZg6
VWskRHer eyes were very clear.ru3ps
WFPX“Okay sure. Well, then can I please ask you to buy me some clothes?”wBV2JL
N3r“Really?”l3LQBw5
eT7S2She seemed extremely glad to hear my words. Everything was fine as long as she was happy with it herself.dFG
KVAye4“Then I will give you everything we buy today as a present!”0zkIx39
h1RO5W2Wait, did I hear something wrong? Did she say everything instead of one?hCvLE97
XJ6“Let’s go there first! I really wanted to be the one to get you your first tuxedo!”P6INILp
3QYZ9Pulling my hand, Marie hurried me forward. Her following words that today was too short to go looking around all the places was a bit puzzling though.7NgfXq
1A9Well… it’s not like we would be buying that many clothes right?QYw
yfVijWhat I should have known, was that ‘looking around’ was definitely not the only thing we were doing.abGb
JvZzx****hxf
EzKrM“One for daytime and one for nighttime please.”5hkmw
saV3d“What kind of style would you like?”NbDKjs
6KoZgoI“Three buttons – obsidian would be good. Ones that are carved in the southern style.”CQKAs4
KVgWxxIsabelle Eastwood Dress Shop.fsnDd
55yMI almost lost myself after seeing how dozens of gold coins for a single suit was the bare minimum.LpTlGqw
VscA“Please make sure you show his neck line! Because Korin has a beautiful neck and collarbones!”Ls1
LzHzIq“Oh my, as expected of Lady Marie. You have amazing eyes for this.”OCN
z5IVl“Right! Also, Korin has muscles and wide shoulders so a roped shoulder fit would be nice.”x6TN5dQ
xUUT“We will also make sure his trousers are so perfect that he can even squat with them on.”y6vSa
WNkM“Won’t the design be a bit plain though? I think adding a birdseye jacquard or a herringbone pattern would add flavor to the suit.”XKEU
83y“In that case, we will add a faint pattern arrangement that makes it seem seamless at a distance, but with a hint of herringbone pattern when nearby. If you add this handkerchief and this tie on top of that…”DMy
ofa5WHoly moly. What in the world were they talking about? Was this the same Marie as the one who was boiling potatoes every morning to give to her peers?HZXKr2K
N7F“As expected of Isabelle Eastwood! I can trust you with this.”XpxqbFR
cITgo“It is an honor, Lady Marie. We will send them to the mansion in time before the party.”jmn
yBDmseoUnder the devoted care of the workers, I left the store while carefully holding onto the container of handkerchief that they gave as a souvenir. Even though it was just a souvenir, I was shocked upon hearing that this cost 3 gold coins and that was why I was being exceptionally careful with this.dibt
9G0“Aren’t we… using too much money?”S2q
GoI“Nn? Did we use that much?”LXmbB
fc7“Wait. Looking back, I don’t think we even paid for them though…”Whd4b
1b3Cw“They’ll send the bill home so don’t worry!”W5B
Fz37X“Is that okay?”SVmttU
aCbol“Korin.”S9J2zG1
c4rWMarie suddenly called my name with a serious look on her face.GeAWUo
Bnqh“Yes, Senior?”vPnILV0
hVJ“My name is all the credit they need.”uPR
dTP1Vz“Haa…!”bwdpAJt
fT4She was dazzling. I would love to become someone like her who can say things like that!ef7ZF
bpOg“Hah~.” I said after a sigh though. “Aren’t you teasing me too much?”I232QA
3of6“Ah, you figured it out!”ASz
Ba42H9E“Of course I would when you are smirking all the time while waiting for my reaction.”Dff
pVxoN“Hehe. Because Korin was always the one teasing me! When would I get to tease you if not now?”B7pH1R
uzCXDxu“Well. If this is how you tease… then I’d welcome it any time.”j9WEsoU
aJaZWe used a white gold coin for a single suit. I was somewhat expecting that to happen after seeing her spend dozens of gold coins for a necklace and boots but… it was still shocking nonetheless.Y3o
hHe7MBy the way, we also bought a ridiculous number of casual branded clothes before going for the tailored suit. Those only cost 3~4 gold coins each so they didn’t make me as uncomfortable as this suit, which was a plus.TBn
yECx……The fact that I unknowingly thought to myself that they ‘only’ cost 3~4 gold coins after buying a bunch of shirts that were worth thousands of dollars was the frightening result of today’s shopping.pUbOYX
dkIt“Anyway, this is everything right?”XkzSqw
ifxa“What do you mean, Korin?”Vq4
JBsc“…Is there more?”mconcRQ
tVDX7j“You have to buy a watch as well! Men need to be wearing good watches before doing anything big!”pKmDY6
CdhLdDL“It will break in the middle of a fight…”zCrUC4u
noLu“It’s okay! We can get a few spares!”5cZa
6cf8After going to a watch store, Marie said the following.DixoXi
Svj3O7“Please give us one each from here to over there!”sWqsT
pIq3Wow~. I thought I earned a fair bit of money myself in the last iteration after working hard for 3 years, but I finally noticed something after seeing Marie use a blank cheque.VkGeaqg
mNdWhether it be a hero of a war or whatever, it was impossible for an individual to reach the financial level of a truly wealthy family.EiVz
gfXbd………EDDym
2Laimf……hD39yu
RPev…n85Lq
qgY6hVFThe last place we went to was a workshop.lw8rf
uSa“What is this place, Senior?”KjZ
8YeeF4u“Nn you see! There is something I prepared for you, Korin!”kXiuGr
PAMFDD“Oh my~. If it isn’t Lady Marie! You are finally here.”EIv
rfe56LE“Hello, Miss Sariere.”aySb2
YemoA master craftswoman who had brown skin, which was unique to those from the southern archipelagoes, welcomed Marie as if she had been waiting for her.IkG
voLUt“Are you here to collect your requested item?”iYIJY08
n4oe“Yes!”nDEIY9q
MpvSERIn response, the person called Sariere headed somewhere before carrying back a large box and opening it.0ofYmBv
3aIInside was a piece of iron that looked like normal steel. But I knew how this ore changed when going into the Domain.q6r
U4Rn“…Unbreakable Stone?”CeubGvo
a3nCUA“Nn! This is the same ore as the one that went into Junior Alicia’s Demon-Slaying Sword!”EVe
Qlb4bJ“How did you…”nPa66
JswdCIt was something that even the Academy did not have. I received Refined Silver instead but it wasn’t something that could be used perfectly like the Unbreakable Stone and was something that would one day crumble after entering the Domain too much.pOhWI
FYFwHowever, the Unbreakable Stone was different. This one never broke. It was a Unique-Grade magic stone that instead became more powerful after entering the Domain.53us4Lo
7Ej3“How did you even get this? They’re hard to find on the market, aren’t they?”bI8gn
j1LT“Nn? I don’t think it was that hard to find it though.”Gt6v2
Qt9X“Ah… I see.”0eYR4
Gm73U9“If we cover your spear with this, it will be possible to use your spear inside the place that you called ‘Domain’, without a problem, right?”L3dcs
vKBX“Yes, but…”f6Dd
2vv0This single stone was incomparably more valuable than everything I received today. The Unbreakable Stone wasn’t classified as Unique-Grade for nothing – it was the one that was used for the sword of Garrand Arden the Sword Emperor before he gave it to Alicia. It was hard to obtain because it was pretty much impossible to see them on sale.miA
tKc9tC2“Korin. This is my last gift for you!”2Wz6ZG1
nrvljAAnd yet Marie handed it over to me with a bright smile on her face.6ixKfYx
wIdvIMB****cMI
9SAxbgThat night, I was invited to a family meal of the Dunareff family.vhsc0
gN3GF“This way please, Sir Korin.”8rRkFJo
1bu“K, kuhum…”PlMozX
CmfFollowing the directions of the butler that was assigned for me, I arrived at the dining room. The explanations he gave about the history of the Dunareff Mansion and the artworks decorating the corridor were mind-blowing.9klR
5GTQ2V1The butlers were excessively kind to me, whereas the maids were rather antagonistic for some reason. As for the butlers, it was probably because the Head Butler, Mr. Paul, had a good impression of me but I had no idea why the maids hated me so much.Hu63
yvX8rWhen I arrived at the dining room, I found 3 people sitting on the seats including Marie. Needless to say, they were her parents.rp0CY0b
iwp“Ah, hello. Nice to meet you.”uWFO
W8E“Oh my~. What a handsome-looking gentleman.”csBQulC
rwqSkA middle-aged woman who looked exactly like Marie was the first to open their mouth. The charming middle-aged lady who looked like a future version of Marie welcomed me with a deep smile on her face.7Ts8Mg
gat“Hmph! You call that handsome?”8acIH
nELLmuCOn the other hand, sitting on the highest seat of the table was a middle-aged man with water-colored hair. It seemed Marie had received her hair color from her father.541JQ
5NEMwFrom what I heard, he was a very skilled mage. I could see him sitting in the unique posture of a mage in a tidy robe.47Hh
YRY“It is an honor to see you, Duke Dunareff.”1zB
GdVrdAlthough I may look like this, I had to meet quite a lot of nobles and people from the royal court in the last iteration. Duke Dunareff had a slightly surprised look on his face after seeing my decent etiquette.uWnIw
AQeFGQ“Take a seat.”zkBkc
qB2ou“Thank you.”kTtBHM
FVNvQ“Korin! Come here! Here!”i6zUI
v1NGQMarie invited me over to the seat next to her by tapping on the chair. I sat down on the seat which was in between Marie and the duke.6tI
kUx6N78Veins immediately popped up on Duke’s face.J6b0x
ZyEUZ8X“Kuhum, kuhum…!”7whje2
6Rrl“Dear? Anything wrong?”XvR5H
Jp92“Kuhuhum…! Mari? How about you sit next to daddy like you’ve been doing all the time?”YRNpLx
dgG“No, it’s alright! Because today, I want to introduce Korin to you daddy!”RJaaQl
sqe“I, introduce…!?”MqAvWFU
Lium“Oh my oh my~”jexl4Tn
SnWukXIHer words were very open for misunderstandings, which thus resulted in two contradicting reactions. Duke glared daggers at me like a thief who stole his seat from him.Qpr
y9la9‘Is this my fault?’ I asked with my gaze, and he returned, ‘It is’.YTZ
qNXzxOEven though this was quite unfair, I could understand why he was vigilant as a father. If I had a daughter like Marie myself, then I would have done everything for her as well.SGcDw
ELhL“Again, it is an honor to meet you. My name is Korin Lork.”0V6J1b
S6tD“I am Marde Dunareff.”jVar
uGf0i“And I’m Elencia Dunareff. So you are my son-in… I mean, Student Korin, right? Nice to meet you.”y69
jOF7I thought I heard something strange just then. I was hearing things… right?4LDVG
cDM0OGM“So,” said the Duke. “I heard you are one year younger than Marie.”JeSrfL9
DKr7“Yes sir. That is the case.”oUkjK
lLKSsPs“And I heard you are a knight of excellent skills. To the point that you became a Grade 1 Knight in just one semester.”mJ167
bOLJkZn“It is still far from enough.”tKUUoo
M64yVQYSomething I’ve noticed from conversing with a lot of people was that it was better to hide your pride and ego. They generally considered it rude for you to proudly talk about yourself.geUA
aWClWhen I gave a humble reply, it was instead Marie, who was sitting next to me, that praised me with a fuss.IzXrO
8nJ“Korin is super amazing! He fought on equal grounds with Sword Master Lunia as well!”RZ7
Bxvt36“Against Lunia Arden?”rbItl
AeWbz“Nn! It was during the interim exam. He was amazing!”mAVzHc
aGucFLY“Hmm…”co3a
w8I0fmqEven Duke Marde seemed surprised after hearing that I had a close fight against Sword Master Lunia Arden. Her name was incredibly powerful even in a place this far from the center of the continent.l8bl3u2
gk2FpX“Just letting you know, I was promoted to Grade 1 Mage 20 years ago.”fVO6Ki
cLW2F“…Is that so, sir?”WLGfl
BKloqs1“I was 20 years faster than you.”hhK9D
V1M“I see… Congratulations.”igR4mcH
tWUX“Ehem.”OgTkrlf
7HsItCongratulations on doing that before I was even born.js2uNdN
BXmRu“So, what kind of work do your parents do?”ABp
SmSVBKiIt was strange that he was suddenly asking about my family, but I answered his question by going through the memories of Korin Lork.GPqS
Xmr“My parents run a restaurant.”wlhLD
LSs8zBl“Hmm~. Do you have siblings?”Caxa
tjw“I have a younger sister.”dMrykXu
ruWb“I see. A normal household.”ywB
2sp“Quite normal, yes.”KlNkX
LRDiPaIt was a normal family that you could see anywhere on both Earth and here.0KDji
XhqV“Now, listen carefully. Mr. Korin Lork. This question is the most important one of all.” Duke Marde gazed at me with a serene and serious look on his face when saying that.Et58
sNShpRHe was the ruler of the South – the emperor of the Potato Empire that was running the omega enormous agricultural business of the Dunareff. I got to see a portion of their wealth today.OTtWdE5
rwRDZ99What question was this man – who could move the entire southern region with one word – going to ask me!?IAi
vt062IIf this was still a game, this would be the turning point of an important scenario quest.ayrp76
nRDn“Are you a virgin?”VXeBe
gb1KGg“………Sorry?”zHm3LMl
A9elQWt“Come on dear! Why would you ask something like that?”ovSvV
zQLrDuchess Elencia slapped him by the shoulder and the Duke explained himself while throwing glances at her face.DYuKxQ
YVGm0u“Of course the son-in-law of the Dunareff family must be a pure virgin…!”ReUg7j
cZEM9Ox“Dad?!”fy11zRr
j0EffOh… So he is misunderstanding our relationship, huh?oVsz8j
okRmSA“Anyway, Mr. Korin Lork! Marie took everything after me; she’s very clever and is very kind at heart.”w31INDF
Sz9n6“I see.”cT5H6
yimPI don’t think she took after your personality though?F43
GfcsKS“I am not trying to brag or anything, but Marie was able to use magic ever since she was 7. She’s a prodigy among prodigies.”XpML
aVxNAren’t you bragging at this point?5t2B
idOK2“She is the apple of my eye, and my precious daughter that I raised with everything I had…!”vWEIhx
KtILt“Ah… I see. Well…”gHeK
b9dbBMGDuke Marde glared at me with a bloody gaze. I could sense his wariness in his eyes.Ac41y
33CNx92“So I will never give you my daughter!”1tv9TZ
tXdSb7F“Dad?!”QrBx
9a43“Dear?!”plVrx
kwZAs expected, he suddenly started rambling on. He was as unstoppable as a bulldozer.b3aQbHG
jsKlYtk“Mari said, ‘I’ll marry daddy when I grow up!’ I will never give her to you…!”Hsx7852
9ok2bJ0“Daddddd!!!”Hrda
tgsMarie shouted while looking at Duke Marde with an appalled look on her face.coy
CyxxCm“What are you saying! To someone you’re seeing for the first time!!!”6IQB0a
7XGki47With a deeply flushed face, Marie pushed him and hit him by the shoulder. Even though he was double her size, Marie was the one overpowering him.gdjcG
YXtyO“Ahkk…! Ugh! Ahkkk…! W, wait! Mari, it hurts! W, why are you so…! You take all these bad things from your mom…!”j7Lu
n8pg2“Please just stop talking, dad!”3uSl
4ZChIt was pitiful seeing him be dragged out like that by Marie. Now that I thought about it, there was probably no-one in this family that could resist Marie’s power.didmCS
anTNow that Marie dragged Duke Marde out of the dining room, Duchess Elencia and I were the only ones left behind inside the room.1ExO
PucS“Sorry for the mess, Mr. Korin.”LMHJ
DEq89Ks“Haha, I am jealous of the open atmosphere here.”RasefBb
NjXpPJ“A bit too open, I might say.”zSG8F
AiKThe duchess wearing an amicable smile on her face looked at me with an elegant gaze before suddenly standing up from her seat.tvAK
eyw“Duchess?”6maOL
oz5JX5aThen, she deeply lowered her head.cq9n
sUdsb“Thank you very much for helping Marie.”IdH7
otp8Hw“…Please don’t lower your head like that. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”V3UO8iH
JWg“Does it?”I6zus
RaTjQ“And I was just doing it because I could.”NZnZ
sqgT“…”ioE2V
mSd0“Plus, more than anything… Senior Marie is someone who has the right to be more happy.”Fg1VURS
qKRUBXIt was better for good people to have better end to their story. In fact, that was the natural thing.pWx0VB
Qcd4“Huhu…”6Mj
xKILtIn response, the Duchess returned a refreshing smile that was similar to Marie’s before covering her mouth.DRGsh
fmmNoE“I was worried that she was way too blinded when I saw her letter but… Ah, and I do welcome you, Mr. Korin. Unlike my husband, I am not the type to bind my daughter too much.”hmNwh
UWRq8q“…I see?”weXh
5NNAbout what? And what’s with this letter from Marie?I2AU
Shp– Ahhhk! No you cannot, Mari! Your daddy will not allow this!OJS3
Tll2Il– Please stop!YgZKHt
fzpP– Y, you can hold hands! But you can’t do anything more than that!Muj3xZm
7kp– S, s, stop saying weird things like that! I hate you, dad! You idiot!f0YeUm
Oq1N– Ha, aahkkkkk…! Marieeee…!5hj50g
y82jWEhew. It was an illness at this point.anx
NV1WM3FWere all fathers like that after having a daughter?BAtisZc
x5ISoon, Duke Marde came back and gave both an apology and a word of gratitude, but he still couldn’t give up until the very end.sQNTzd
Wm8“You may hold your hands but that is it…! That virginity of yours! You better keep that until the end of your life…!!”POW5WNz
dZe– Slap!8Vrg
4ucIZThe best cure for the rampaging husband was a slap to the back from his wife.2Whih
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