Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

37.1. Running Errand

The new armor that Nord had gotten was generally well-received by those around him. The members of the Ferris family were overjoyed to see Nord in the knightly armor, praising him loudly. Especially his father Albert, his mother Maria, and the house steward Alec, whose joy was overwhelming, almost as if Nord had returned victorious from a great battle. His younger brother Ellen, who was turning seven this year, gazed at Nord’s armor with admiration. Watching Ellen, Nord remembered how, when he was little, he had admired his father and brothers in their armor.

The day after he got the new armor, during training, members of the Iron Dragon Knights and the instructors alike complimented him on the fine craftsmanship of his armor. However, the instructor alone added a terrifying line with a smile that made Nord shudder: “Well then, we’ll need to make sure your skills match that armor, won’t we?”

Afterward, Nord went through some grueling training, including learning the skills for reconnaissance, aiming to join the advanced reconnaissance class as a scout ranger. By the end of just one day, Nord, already showing the gravitas of a battle-hardened knight in his armor, headed to the royal capital’s Dragon Research Institute to meet with his teacher.

“Excuse me, I’m coming in.” “Please, come in.”

Having visited several times and become familiar with the staff, Nord knocked on the door of his teacher’s room. Once granted permission, he entered and immediately asked what the matter was.

“So, teacher, is there something you need?” “Ah, yes, about that…”

It wasn’t the day for the usual report from the deep-green-scaled dragon—Neute, his teacher’s steadfast companion, who always avoided using names—but Nord still asked what the matter was.

This thirty-something researcher, wearing a white coat and glasses, was closely related to a high-ranking noble family. The fact that his teacher could easily issue official orders to Nord and even lend him a military carriage owned by the knight’s order was all thanks to his noble connections. Normally, Nord would have to show respect, but the teacher himself would brush it off, saying, “I’m just a branch of the family, it’s no big deal.”

At first, Nord had been confused, but after long exposure to the martial-minded Iron Dragon Knights, who valued the order of knighthood over noble birth, Nord had started to feel comfortable interacting with him.

“Well, sorry to ask, but could you run an errand for me?” “An errand…? I don’t mind.”

The teacher, usually a reserved person who rarely showed emotion unless excited about his research, seemed different today.

“So where should I go?” Nord asked, and the teacher made an uncomfortable face before replying.

“Ah, well, I have some business at the Magic Institute.” “I see.”

The teacher’s pained expression pointed to a place completely unrelated to Nord’s past.

The Royal Magic Institute—an academic research institution located in the capital, Hamill Kingdom, it was the counterpart to the research institute Nord worked at. While the research institute focused on “non-magical techniques,” like the dragon husbandry research Nord assisted with, the Magic Institute specialized in “magical techniques,” including the production of magic stones from artificial labyrinth dungeons, which Nord knew about.

“What should I do?” “Thanks, Nord. Just deliver this letter to the recipient for me, okay?” “Understood.”

Nord had no idea why the teacher had a dislike for the Magic Institute, but he wasn’t curious enough to ask. After all, as an apprentice knight, running errands was part of the job. It was common for lower-ranking members to handle such tasks. After receiving the letter, Nord left the room, and Neute, who noticed the conversation had ended, let out a small yawn before following him.

Before heading to the Magic Institute, Nord checked the recipient’s name on the letter given to him by the coachman. It read, “To Master Rayson,” written in his teacher’s neat handwriting.

Neute, sniffing the letter curiously, was shooed away by Nord, who then directed the coach to head toward the Magic Institute.

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“So this is the Magic Institute…”

The research institute was located to the northeast of the royal castle, near the base of a mountain, while the Magic Institute was situated on the southwest side of the royal castle, directly across from the research institute. Nord showed his permission slip to the watchful guards and entered the Magic Institute grounds without trouble.

Once inside the gates, he stopped the carriage near the building and told Neute to stay behind while he disembarked. The building was made of stone, much larger than the research institute, with massive stone columns supporting a roof over the entrance. As he passed through the columns and entered, an imposing atmosphere surrounded him.

Rayson’s office was, if he remembered correctly, on the third floor. Nord walked through the building, recalling the directions his teacher had given him. The light streaming through the small windows wasn’t enough to brighten the place, and the entire interior felt dim. Magic stone lamps were set up to provide light throughout.

He climbed a spiral staircase on the first floor and passed a few robed magicians, likely staff members of the Institute. They all wore their hoods low, hiding their faces, but Nord could feel their eyes on him, judging his knight’s armor. Their stares weren’t friendly. What was a knight doing here? Once his business was done, he should leave immediately. He could sense their silent condemnation. The Magic Institute seemed to be a rather exclusive place. Despite the unwelcoming atmosphere, Nord continued up the staircase, reaching the third floor.

(Now, where is Master Rayson’s office?)

Nord was looking for the correct door when he noticed a wooden door with a plaque. The gold lettering was likely the name of the room’s occupant, a magician. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the room he was searching for. He was about to start checking other rooms when the silence was broken by a sudden noise echoing down the stone hallway.

“Come on, hurry up and leave!” “My apologies…”

Turning toward the sound, Nord saw someone leaving a room, probably a place with a Silence spell cast on it to keep noise contained. Nord now understood why the Institute was so quiet. As the person closed the door gently, the sound immediately disappeared, and the building returned to its silence.

“Ugh… what should I do?”

The person let out a deep sigh, visible even beneath the hood. They were small in stature, likely a magician, dressed in a flowing robe. Nord decided to ask this person for directions to Rayson’s office.

“Excuse me, could I ask you something?” “Huh? Oh, sure! What is it… wait, huh?”

Upon hearing his voice, the person turned around, surprised to see someone else there. As they saw Nord’s face, they exclaimed.

“Wait… are you Nord? Oh, you wouldn’t recognize me, would you? It’s me.”

The person removed their hood, revealing a familiar face—Erisio, the mage Nord had helped once when he was attacked by thugs at dusk. After exchanging greetings, Erisio smiled and thanked Nord.

“Don’t mention it, I was just doing what anyone would do.” “Still, thank you. But what brings you here?”

Nord explained that he was running an errand and was looking for Master Rayson’s office.

“I know where it is. I’ll show you.” “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Erisio, to Nord’s relief, knew the way to Rayson’s office, and with that, Nord gladly accepted his offer to lead the way.

“So, what’s the reason for your visit?” “Just a simple errand. I was asked to deliver this letter.” “A letter…?”

As they walked together, Nord explained the errand while Erisio listened, his pace slower than Nord’s since he was shorter. Nord naturally had to adjust his speed to match Erisio’s as they walked. Erisio, being smaller, had his head just a bit lower, and Nord couldn’t help but notice the red hair peeking out from under his hood.

“Now that I think about it, when we met before, I didn’t notice, but you have red hair.” “Oh, this? Yeah, my mom has red hair, and I inherited it.”

Erisio gently brushed his hair, which shimmered in the light of the magic stone lamps.

“By the way, Nord, your armor is different now.” “Yeah, I was actually just picking it up the last time we met.” “It looks really cool!”

“What’s it made of?” Erisio asked, glancing back at the armor. “It’s made from spider material,” Nord replied, and Erisio was surprised.

“Spider material?! I thought it was metal or something.” “Yeah, apparently if you process it with a special method, it ends up looking like this.” “Really…?”

Nord shared the little-known details he had learned from the armor shop owner, and Erisio nodded, impressed. As they continued walking, Nord admired the new armor, until suddenly…

“Ah, whoa!?”

Here is the translation with the same number of line breaks as the original:

The stone corridor, though expertly assembled by the stonemasons, is not entirely flat. Between the laid stones, there is a slight gap—sometimes a small catch forms.

Erisio, distracted, caught his foot there, and lost his balance.

“──What’s that?”

Erisio stiffened instinctively at the shock that was about to come, reaching out towards the stone floor, and then froze mid-air.

“──Hey, hey, watch where you’re going. Can you stand up?”

“A-ah… yes. Thank you… very much…”

The moment Erisio stumbled, Nord had already moved.

In an instant, he closed the distance to Erisio and supported him from behind, keeping him from falling.

Thanks to this, Erisio managed to avoid tripping.

Through his armor, Nord could feel the soft, unmuscular body of Erisio, which was a stark contrast to his own and the fellow Iron Dragon Knights, beneath his mage’s cloak.

Mages are fragile things. Even without armor, someone like this wouldn’t withstand a single blow. Nord thought to himself.

Erisio, embarrassed by having fallen like a child and being helped by Nord, blushed deeply, his face turning as red as his hair.

To Nord, it felt as though Erisio’s androgynous face had flushed red like a younger sibling’s in embarrassment.

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