LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 2040: At the New Stores ⑰
The conversation with Eris-san at the café was honestly an eye-opener for me. It turns out that I had simply been avoiding troublesome matters and mostly leaving things to Lilia-san and Anima….. When I think about it, it’s not surprising that people might think I dislike nobles, given that I seem to thoroughly avoid anything related to them.
Well, it’s true that I have no intention of acting like a noble, and I feel quite strongly that being invited to parties or tea gatherings is bothersome. At the very least, I don’t want to be busy responding with letters like Lilia-san does.
However, it’s not that I want to avoid getting to know nobles or don’t want to interact with them at all. In fact, having meals with someone easy to talk to like Eris-san is rather enjoyable.
But well, whether or not we get along is something I can’t determine just through letters, and ultimately, I must admit it’s hard to make significant changes to the current situation.
Whether it’s due to the influence of Sympathy Magic or the effects of Shiro-san’s blessing, when we meet and talk, I can usually tell right away.
Even if I categorize them all as good people, there are mainly three types of them: those who seem like good people and are easy to talk to, those who are good people but hard to converse with, and those who are good people but have quite the personality. Among them, Eris-san feels like someone who is both a good person and is easy to talk to.
As for the bad people, I’ve never encountered anyone who clearly looks bad, so it’s hard for me to gauge that…… Ah, but when I met those hooded people when Alice abducted me, they had a vibe of being "bad guys", so that was what the bad people would feel like.
[However, while talking with Eris-san, I realized that I might really have extremely few acquaintances among the nobility. Considering the range of my other interactions, it does feel quite unbalanced.]
[That's certainly true…… It's rare for one to know the rulers and the Six Kings, as well as Supreme Gods and God of Creation-sama, yet have few acquaintances among the nobility.]
[Speaking of which, the same goes for my acquaintances among the Demons. I have many acquaintances who are Count-ranks and greater, but I know very few who are Baron-ranks or Viscount-ranks, making my connections with them quite skewed.][Just hearing about having many acquaintances who are Count-rank and greater just sounds enviable. It would actually be quite rough for that to happen, but if it opens up the possibility of inviting them to tea parties and such, that kind of connection might even be considered a treasure for the nobility.]
[Do you also host tea parties or normal parties like that, Eris-san?]
In reality, someone with Eris-san’s position is quite rare; among my acquaintances who are nobles, almost all of them are Heads of their households, so getting acquainted with someone who is the child of a noble is refreshing.
While Amalie-san, Cattleya-san, and Orchid-san are also children of a noble, they're royalty, so that feels a bit different. Regardless of whether I approach them or not, I’m interested in the noble lifestyle.
[Yes, while not as frequently as Father or M, I do host occasionally. Since I’m the legitimate child, one of my purposes is to establish connections early on for when I eventually take over as Head of our household. For nobles, maintaining horizontal connections is very important; if these connections aren’t solid, it can lead to significant struggles later on.]
[I see……]
Now that I think about it, I remember Lilia-san saying she struggled with having few connections when she had just become the Head of her household. Social circles and connections with others must be extremely important for nobles.
[By the way, I apologize for my ignorance for noble-related stuff, but what kind of noble family is your Hamilton Marquisdom, Eris-san?]
[Father, that is, Marquis Hamilton, is the current Prime Minister. Our family is one of the Four Major Noble Households in Archlesia Empire, with considerable power and a long history, and while our people weren't necessarily always Prime Ministers, we often hold significant positions in castles throughout generations.]
[Oh, that’s impressive. Being a Prime Minister is quite an esteemed position, isn’t it?]
[Yes, you can think of it as the coordinator for political matters. Additionally, when Archlesia Empire is in charge, the Prime Minister also oversees the Hero Summoning.]
[Does that mean you guys also conduct the summoning?]
[Ah, no, our family isn't the one conducting the Hero Summoning. There isn't a particular law established for this matter, but we already have considerable power and influence, making us easy targets for jealousy, so when our nation is in charge of Hero Summoning, we usually assist with the Hero actor’s tours instead.]
Speaking of which, I remember Luna-san mentioning that it's not very common for high-ranking nobles to be chosen as the conductors of the Hero Summoning.
Apparently, there’s no special treatment for those chosen to carry out the Hero Summoning. Still, many people want the honor because it adds prestige, but the King often considers the balance within the nation and assigns the task to those with fewer connections.
While there are cases where high-ranking nobles use their power to forcefully take on the role, such instances are rare.
[Thank you for telling me so much. Until now, I had been keeping my distance from anything related to nobles, but hearing about it like this feels refreshing. I’m even a little curious about tea parties, so if the opportunity arises, I’d like to attend one hosted by you, Eris-san.]
[Hyuu……]
[……Eris-san?]
[……I- I apologize. It's just…… Y- You made such a heart-stopping suggestion all of a sudden…… U- Umm, is Kaito-sama saying this not just for politeness' sake?]
[Eh? Yes, I genuinely think I’d like to join if there’s an opportunity.]
[……I- I will carefully consider it.]
As she answered this, well, not sure if it was just my imagination or not———- but Eris-san's face seemed to have gone completely pale.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [Ah, so he classified Eris as "a good person who’s easy to talk to", which is why Kaito is being so unusually friendly toward her……]
? ? ? : [Yep, based on first impressions, she's on the same level as Kuro-san and Lilia-san in terms of Kaito-san’s top evaluations. Incidentally, Kaito-san's initial impression of Alice-chan…… she basically falls under the category of "a good person, but have quite the personality".]
Makina : [I'm in the same category, right?]
? ? ? : [I seriously can't agree with that, so I'm hoping there'd be further subdivisions in Kaito-san's first impressions.]