Chapter 2-44 : To The Duke’s Mansion

After Mylia and Chloe left the audience room, Wolff talked to Mylia.

「Lady Mylia, congratulations.」(Wolff)

He congratulated Mylia with a gentle smile as if he was looking at his own daughter.

（Now that I looked at his face closely, he really looks like Aria-san… They’re father and daughter after all…）

「Thank you. Honestly, I was surprised because I never thought that the queen would give me so many rewards.」(Mylia)

「Haha. You really did make a great contribution to this kingdom after all.」(Wolff)

While saying that, Wolff recalled when Mylia showed everyone her Magical Ray in the audience room. Just like the queen, he really thought that Mylia would become a legendary magician in the future.

「Lady Chloe, too. Congratulations. I think this is the first time a daughter of a knighthood family who isn’t a magician has become a noble.」(Wolff)

Chloe might be the luckiest person in the audience room. She became a noble because Mylia asked the queen to put her noble title on hold until Chloe was ennobled. If Mylia didn’t make that request to the queen, perhaps Chloe would never have become a noble.

Normally, commoners could only become nobles after making a great contribution to the kingdom. Chloe herself understood it well, so she wanted to be humble.

「Thank you very much.」(Chloe)

Chloe, who was standing next to Mylia, bowed to Wolff with an elegant, lady-like gesture, and thanks to her commerce department uniform, she looked like a human that was born to become a noble.

Seeing Chloe bow so gracefully, Wolff was impressed.

「Lady Chloe, you’re as beautiful as a Rose Maria blooming on a moonlit night. I promise I will support Lady Mylia for you as best I can.」(Wolff)

「Duke Griffith, you are too kind. Thank you. I can rest assured if someone like you is supporting my little sister.」(Chloe)

「Haha. I’m sorry to say this but I think you will grow up to be a lady who can make many men cry in the future. I bet you have already made some men cry, haven’t you? Haha.」(Wolff)

「Duke Griffith, you’re surprisingly good at joking. Certainly, sometimes some aristocratic men from outside the school propose to me, but I always politely refuse them, so I don’t think they will cry.」(Chloe)

Chloe was a beautiful black-haired girl who was the best student in the commerce department. For unmarried aristocratic men, she was an excellent woman who shone like a jewel. Many of them sent letters to Chloe, asking for marriage, but Chloe wasn’t interested at all.

She always politely declined such marriage proposals but she had no idea that it caused hundreds of men to wet their pillows with tears.

「Ahh… Somehow I can imagine how hurt those men are…」(Wolff)

「Me too… Onee-chan is very blunt at declining after all…」(Mylia)

When Wolff and Mylia said that while looking at each other, Chloe tilted her head and murmured, “Hm?”

「Ahem. By the way, Lady Mylia, Aria is eager to see you, so do you want to go see her? She is currently in my mansion in this city.」(Wolff)

「Eh!? Can I!? Really!!?」(Mylia)

「Of course. Lady Chloe, you can go with us if you want.」(Wolff)

「Let’s go, Onee-chan!!」(Mylia)

「But we haven’t prepared any gift.」(Chloe)

「You don’t need to worry about that. Lady Mylia’s presence is the best gift ever. Well, at least for Aria. I’m sure James, I mean, the school director, won’t mind if I take both of you to my mansion for a while. I’ll talk to him later.」(Wolff)

「Umm… Alright then, let’s go.」(Chloe)

「Yaayy!」(Mylia)

After that, they boarded Wollf’s carriage and left the royal palace.

While enjoying sitting on the comfortable seat of the carriage, Mylia looked out the window and thought.

（So I’m an aristocrat now, huh… A baron… Baron potato… Speaking of potatoes, maybe I should prepare potato salad as the side dish at my yakiniku party…）

At first, she was anxious about her future as a baron, but as always, she then thought about food. Typical Mylia.

「Duke Griffith, may I ask you something?」(Chloe)

「What is it, Lady Chloe?」(Wolff)

「Should I also hold a party to celebrate my ennoblement?」(Chloe)

「Yes, but I think you can do it together with Lady Mylia. That way, it will save you more money, and since both of you are still students, you don’t have to make it too extravagant.」(Wolff)

After saying that, Wolff turned his gaze toward Mylia.

「Lady Mylia, you were surprised when you received a lot of gold coins in the audience room, weren’t you? That was indeed a large amount of money, but I don’t think it will last long.」(Wolff)

（Eh? It won’t last long? A hundred and thirty thousand gold coins is about thirteen billion yen, right? I can live luxuriously for hundreds of years in Japan with that money, but he said it won’t last long?）

「W, What do you mean?」(Mylia)

「Being a noble is not easy and sometimes it requires money. Also, if you hold a party, I’m sure nobles from all over the kingdom will come because they want to see the rumored Dragon Slayer.」(Wolff)

「E, Eeehh!? From all over the kingdom…!?」(Mylia)

「Yes, and it costs money to entertain so many guests. Since you’re a baron, you also need to donate to orphanages, churches, and the Order of the Magic Knights.」(Wolff)

When Wolff said that with a serious look, Chloe, who was sitting next to Mylia, nodded several times.

「Lady Chloe, you can ask Count Grimoire for help if needed. Because Lady Mylia will be the host, you just need to think about your dress for the party.」(Wolff)

「Understood.」(Chloe)

Chloe nodded solemnly in response.

「Onee-chan, should I give you half of the gold coins? You will also need money, right?」(Mylia)

「Half of it? That’s too much!」(Chloe)

「Don’t worry, if I need more money, I can just go hunt some dragons again.」(Mylia)

（If one elder dragon is worth a hundred thousand gold coins, then a thousand elder dragons will be worth a hundred million gold coins! Ughh… I feel dizzy from just imagining it…）

She had no idea that the queen would go bankrupt for sure if she brought her a thousand elder dragon corpses.

「Oh, Mylia, please don’t do anything reckless again! Do you know how much I was worried about you?」(Chloe)

「I-I’m sorry…」(Mylia)

Chloe hugged Mylia and stroked her head.

「Hahh… Can you be a good girl and stop worrying me just for a while?」(Chloe)

「Okay, but in exchange, Onee-chan, can you help me manage my money? I have a lot but I don’t want to waste it, so…」(Mylia)

「Fufu. It can’t be helped. Alright, but not only will I manage it but I may also multiply it~」(Chloe)

Saying that, Chloe smiled at Mylia.

（Uhh… I feel like she will increase it by at least ten times the original amount…）

◯◯◯

After traveling for a while, they arrived at Wolff’s mansion.

Aside from the main house in the Griffith territory, the Griffith Family also had a mansion here in the royal capital.

Apparently, Wolff returned and stayed in the royal capital for a while after saving Aria’s grandmother.

（Whoaa… This mansion is so big… They even have maids…）

Mylia looked up at the baroque-style mansion with an amazed face.

There were maids at the main gate, waiting for their master’s arrival.

After passing through the gate, Mylia saw a crowd in the garden.

Apparently, they were preparing a tea party.

「Mylia-saaanー!」(Aria)

As soon as she noticed Mylia, Aria ran from the crowd toward Mylia.

She was wearing a white dress, and her silver twintails were swaying as she ran.

「Aria-san!」(Mylia)

Noticing Aria, Mylia also dashed toward Aria.

They hadn’t been able to talk much since they went to the underground labyrinth, so they were so happy to see each other again.

They wanted to hug each other but they were too embarrassed. They could only look at each other’s bright red faces.

「Mylia-san, I’m so happy to see you again.」(Aria)

Aria smiled shyly at Mylia with a blushed face.

「Me too! There’s a lot I want to talk about with you!」(Mylia)

Mylia replied to her with a smile too.

「Actually, I’m not the only one who wants to meet you. My grandma wants to meet you too, so… would you like to see her?」(Aria)

「Of course! So you brought her here? I’m glad that she’s getting better.」(Mylia)

「Thank you.」(Aria)

While smiling at Mylia, Aria turned her gaze toward Mylia’s hand.

She stretched her arm, trying to reach Mylia’s hand, but then she stopped.

「Aria-san?」(Mylia)

At first, she thought that it was rude to grab someone’s hand all of a sudden, but then she shook her head and grabbed Mylia’s hand.

「Let’s go, Mylia-san. I will introduce you to my grandma.」(Aria)

「Un!」(Mylia)

Mylia and Aria then walked toward the crowd while holding hands.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Wolff followed them from behind while watching over the two with smiles on their faces.