Unaware
Translated by GXYRU
Edited by GXYRU
“Sofia’s blouse with butterfly embroidery is lovely.”
“Sasha, thank you. Your tunic has a nice color too.”
We walked to the market on foot. The royal and noble families usually use carriages, but Sofia said it’s common to walk and chat when going out with friends.
As an adventurer, I don’t use carriages. Sirius and Alicia, trained by a former A-rank adventurer who became their tutor, have faster legs than everyone else.
Today, the girls are dressed casually. Apart from the uniforms, this is the first time I’ve seen Milia in anything else. The only other times were during dungeon practice and swordsmanship classes when they wore equipment.
Strictly speaking, Sofia and Sasha have attended social gatherings in their childhood, but I don’t count that.
In my previous life, I was told to compliment girls on their clothes, but I never really put it into practice. But today, I can say it sincerely. Since neither of them seems to mind, it’s okay.
“What’s this, Arius? Aren’t you going to compliment Sasha?” Zeke said in a slightly annoyed tone.
“Zeke, that’s your job, isn’t it? I’m just being considerate,” I replied.
“I see…”
It seems Zeke is satisfied with that.
It’s unavoidable that they have bodyguards. Zeke is a prince, and Sofia and Sasha are from prominent noble families, so they always have guards when going outside of the academy.
Zeke has four guards, while Sofia and Sasha have two each. They all dress unobtrusively in similar outfits, but based on their movements, you can tell who they are guarding. Just to make it clear, all of them are here to protect everyone.
Well, with this group, even without guards, they wouldn’t fall behind ordinary people. They are all A-class in practical magic, except for Sasha, who is B-class. Even in swordsmanship, they are all proficient.
Although they don’t have much practical combat experience, they fought normally during dungeon practice, so they have some experience.
Sirius and Alicia are only nine years old, but they are already at level 8.
In this world, most ordinary people are level 0. Those who are somewhat experienced in fights or can use basic swordsmanship or magic are level 1. According to Gray, the level is an indicator of overall strength, but based on my observations, it seems that gaining levels comes from gaining experience in combat.
Ordinary people don’t gain levels because they don’t gain combat experience or learn combat-related skills.
During our conversation, we arrived at the market. By this time of the day, most food stalls are cleared out, and only shops selling grain, alcohol, materials, goods, and clothing remain.
Still, it’s not the kind of market the royal family or nobles would visit. For Zeke and Sofia, it’s more like market research, and they seem to be enjoying casually browsing.
“The quality of this secondhand store’s clothes… isn’t that great. The sewing is done poorly, and it’s coming apart,” Sofia commented.
“I don’t know much about clothes, but I noticed that the soybeans from the earlier shop were good. I learned that from Maia,” Sirius said.
My younger sister and brother are familiar with the market. Well, the Gilbert family doesn’t care much about the status of nobility; they taught us common sense.
Darius is a former knight from the lowest-ranked noble family, and Leia was a commoner. They were both former adventurers, so in many ways, they value practicality.
“Prince Zeke, this brooch is cute.”
“Right, Sasha would look good in it. Let’s buy it for her.”
“Prince Zeke, is that alright?”
“Yeah, sorry it’s such a cheap one.”
“That’s not true. I’m happy!”
Zeke and Sasha are like an affectionate couple. Zeke is close to Milia, but it feels more like regular friends. But even with their bodyguards present, they’re quite lovey-dovey. Well, they’re officially engaged, and the knights are used to it, so they just blend into the background.
“Um, if it’s okay…”
“Having a drink should be fine, right?”
My younger brother and sister are handing out the drinks we bought at the food stalls to the bodyguards. Before doing so, they got permission from Zeke and the others.
“Sirius, Alicia, thank you. Let me thank you on their behalf,” Sofia said happily as her bodyguard received the drink. The rest of us also expressed our gratitude to Sirius and Alicia. They really are well-mannered.
“Hey, Sirius, Alicia, if there’s anything you want, just let me know. I thought of rewarding you with something,” I said.
“We shouldn’t waste money, so we don’t need anything,” Alicia replied.
“Yeah, money is important, so we shouldn’t buy anything unnecessary,” Sirius added.
They are quite responsible. In that case, I’ll give them something they need later.
“Seems like Arius is more like their younger brother,” Milia teased with a mischievous smile.
“Yeah, they are more diligent and responsible than me. I’m really proud of them,” I said.
“Come on, at least deny it a little. There’s no fun in teasing you,” Milia pouted.
“I’m just being honest. I hardly go back home, so I never really felt like a big brother. But when I visited home the other day and saw them being taught by our tutor, I realized they are both hardworking and diligent. Sirius and Alicia are cute and clever. For someone like me, who only thinks about getting stronger, they really are amazing younger siblings,” I said.
“Arius-sama, that’s not true!”
“Yeah, you’re the amazing one, big brother!”
Embarrassed to be praised in public, Alicia and Sirius hurriedly denied it. They’re so adorable.
“Arius, you see…” Milia said, giving me a stern look.
“What’s wrong, Milia? If you have something to say, just say it,” I replied.
“Then, I’ll tell you. Arius, you’re good at observing others, but you’re completely unaware of yourself. Sirius and Alicia are happier than embarrassed when you praise them like that. If you were praised in the same way, wouldn’t you feel happy too?” Milia said.
“Is that so? I was just speaking my mind,” I said, looking at Sirius and Alicia. Their faces are bright red, but it seems they’re more flustered than embarrassed.
“What are you all talking about?” Sofia, who just arrived, asked curiously.
“Milia was just telling Arius how unaware he is,” Sasha said.
“Well… Milia is always straightforward,” Sofia said.
“But Arius should know that he should point out such things to me when he thinks I’m being unaware. Then I can compare my perspective with everyone else’s,” I said.
“It’s fine… no, it’s not fine!” Milia suddenly cut off the conversation. I don’t know what’s going on, and Sofia isn’t denying it, so she must think I’m unaware about something. I should probably change that.
“What I said earlier… I also think Arius is at fault,” Sofia said with a troubled expression.
Even if Sofia says that, I don’t understand what it’s about.
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