In restaurants, snack bars, sweet shops, the commerce guild, and so on.
We didnāt go near the mercenary guild. A mercenary guild in a town with a bad economy is dangerous because there are many hot-headed people.
And the Commerce and Crafters Guilds, which because of the townās small size, combined into one guild, we were able to collect information by exchanging small jewels called my āgrandmotherās mementos.
Of course, itās artificial jewels from Earth, very small, unprocessed loose stones.
Although it was reasonably priced, it was a one-of-a-kind āmementoā, so there was no commotion.
The reason why I chose loose stones is that in the case of artificial gemstones, the base, side stones, and chain are more expensive than the stone itselfā¦ Yeah, on Earth.
And the result we got wasā¦
āāThe magistrate is an idiot and a piece of trashā¦āā
Yep, itās as the first information said.
We didnāt get duped or tricked.
āā¦Yep, I knewā¦ā (Mitsuha)
āAnd I donāt really understand the lord!ā (Sabine)
āLikewise, Isaka Juzo!ā (Mitsuha)
Yeah, well, normal lords donāt really make friends with their subjects, wander around the territory alone without guards, buy and eat at food stalls, or casually stop by taverns. No chance. Ordinary people donāt know the personalities of their lords either.
āā¦Speaking of, thereās another lord whoās doing all of that, right here!ā (Sabine)
āShut itā¦ā (Mitsuha)
Itās fine to have a lord like that sometimes!
But this particular lord here was neither good nor bad, apparently.
Having said that, it doesnāt mean that thereās direct interaction with ordinary people, so it seems that everyoneās opinion of the territory is based on the tax rate, the overall attitude of the government officials towards the people, and the quality of public order.
ā¦ā¦Well, itās quite normal, apparently.
And now, the lord seems to be returning to his territory.
Thatās because, no matter how busy they are with the activities in the capital like the applications for aid and laying the groundwork, thereās no way they would leave the territory in a difficult situation unattended for too longā¦ā¦
Well, when you assign a magistrate to take care of the territory, itās not like youāre just leaving it to them indefinitely.
ā¦And if theyāre working properly, though.
Now then, the next action would beā¦
******
āExcuse me, weāre here for a courtesy visit!ā (Mitsuha)
āā¦ā¦Eh?ā (Gatekeeper)
Gatekeeper-san looks troubled.
Well, if two children (at least appear like one) suddenly come to a noble familyās estate mansion and say such a thingā¦ā¦
Too old to understand things like childrenās antics.
Weāre dressed properly, so we clearly donāt look like commoners.
Sabine-chan radiates an aura of nobility.
ā¦ā¦Yeah, I donāt think there are any gatekeepers who have the courage to shoo her away.
If you do it badly, your head will fly off.
Physically, not figuratively.
Well, in order to shift the responsibility, theyāll take it to the top.
That way, whatever happens after that, at least wonāt be their responsibility.
āAh, um, who might you beā¦? I didnāt hear weāre having any guests scheduled to visit us todayā¦ā (Gatekeeper)
Well, yeah, you wonāt normally hear about thisā¦
āIām Viscountess Yamano. Please inform your lord that Viscountess Mitsuha von Yamano has come to pay a courtesy visit.ā (Mitsuha)
āā¦Yes! Immediately!!ā (Gatekeeper)
One of the two gatekeepers dashed into the mansion.
The other remains, of course, to guard the gate and us.
Of course, the gatekeepers of the territories far away from the capital would not know my face.
They wouldnāt go to places beyond the royal capital, especially to the Yamano territory, which is much farther. And thereās no way an accurate portrait of me would spread around this far.
No, itās not that the artists are bad, itās just that there was no portrait of me that I modeled for hours while being watched closely by a painter.
Oh, there are portraits that were created for the game board tournament, but the person who got it will never let go of it, so it wonāt be on the market here.
But, well, there are not many residents of this country who donāt know my name, so the gatekeepers here at least know my name, right?
ā¦ā¦Itās so slowā¦ā¦
A little too long to be waiting at the gate.
Are they intentionally making us wait to show the difference in our position?
No, no, no, I mustnāt take this the wrong way.
Itās my fault for suddenly visiting without an appointment.
Maybe other guests are coming, or maybe they are in the middle of an important meeting with their vassals.
We should sit tight and wait hereā¦ Unless we are turned away.
And after waiting for quite a while, a person who seemed to be a butler finally came out and let us into the mansion.
ā¦ā¦Weāre probably going to have to wait even longer in the reception room or somethingā¦ā¦
******
After waiting for a while longer without being served tea or sweets, as expected, the lord of the estate, Count Esnor, appeared with his butler, and with a pouting appearance.
As expected, since heās dealing with two little girls, thereās no need for escortsā¦ā¦
And the moment he saw us, the Count froze.
He turned pale and trembledā¦
āYouāre being reckless, Viscount Yamano!!ā (Esnor)
Suddenly, I was yelled at.
And called the maid out loudā¦
āChange the tea leaves and tea cakes to the finest! NOW!ā (Esnor)
Are? I thought cheap tea leaves and sweets were enough for me, but he suddenly changed his mind?
How come?
āY, you! Pretending to be the highest-ranking person and calling in for a ācourtesy visitāā¦
What a vicious trapā¦ to conceal the fact that Her Royal Highness is visiting and to humiliate the Count Esnor family by giving her a poor reception.
Your Highness, I have been deceived! I never meant to keep Your Highness waiting outside the gates for too long!ā (Esnor)
Ah~ā¦
Aah~ā¦
Aaaaah~!!!
Thatās right! My bad!
For me, Sabine-chan is āSabine-chanā, so Iām having less and less awareness of her title āHer Highness the Third Princessā.
ā¦But for the others, thatās not the case.
Sabine-chan herself, perhaps inadvertently, made an āAh!ā look on her faceā¦ā¦
Well, I have no choice but to do that.
āIām sorry~yyy~~!!ā (Mitsuha)
ā¦ā¦Yes, my special move, āJumping Dogezaā.
It must have been bad publicity to have the āHime Miko of Thunder,ā the princessās companion, the head of the Viscountās family, and the great salvation hero of the Kingdom, down on her knees.
He doesnāt have any choice but to accept my apology here, does he?