Chapter 255.
On the third floor, the most noticeable were the two Fairy Tribe knights guarding the large room.
"Loyalty! Welcome back."[1]
Marsen raised his hand to receive the knights’ salutes who greeted him in Fairy Tribe language.
"Um, isn’t it too much to drag me out here all of the sudden and not even give me a break?"
As I spoke in the empire’s language with fingers behind my head, Marsen’s aide-de-camp frowned and warned.
"If you behave so disrespectfully in front of Khan Palamut, you will be punished."
"Ahahaha, it’s okay. Palamut isn’t a very uptight guy either."
As soon as Marsen knocked on the door, he opened Khan’s office door before hearing an answer.
When the door of the office opened abruptly, the young Fairy man was about to get angry but instead welcomed with a big smile when he saw Marsen.
"You’ve returned, Godfather!"
That man was likely Khan Palamut, the one leading the delegation. I heard that he was over 50 years old, but seeing that he was still a young man, the Fairy’s body aging speed seemed to be very slow as I’d heard. Judging from the mana and aura that I could feel from him, it seemed that aging had not slowed due to training. Compared to the people of my hometown, his skill level was around the middle. Of course, he’d be able to handle the knights of the empire easily.
“Yes. Did you talk to the prime minister of the empire?" Marsen asked.
The prime minister of the empire would be referring to Arcanta.
Palamut smiled subtly. "Haha, as Godfather said, the interpreters they prepared were not good, so it ended quickly."
Marsen smiled resignedly. "Well, isn’t that the same with the interpreters we prepared? There have been too few interactions between us to foster good interpreters."
Palamut sighed and nodded. "Well, that’s true. And the man standing next to you is the friend Hildegarn that Godfather spoke of?"
"No, he’s...”
Marsen stopped talking and looked at me because I had asked him to keep my identity a secret.
I took a step forward, bowing politely, holding my hands together in a pogun, and greeted in the Fairy Tribe language.[2]
"Nice to meet you. This lowly one of the empire is called Den. It’s an honor to meet the honorable Khan who leads so many Fairies."
Palamut and Marsen, as well as the Fairy woman who was Marsen’s aide-de-camp, seemed surprised.
"Haha, you know the manner of our country well. It also seems you’re fluent in our language," said Palamut.
I smiled and said, "No. I am still lacking in education, so there will be times when I accidentally dampen the mood of the mighty Khan and Lord Guardian. I just ask you to have mercy on anything you may become upset about."
At my request, Palamut rose from his seat, came next to me, and said, "No, rather, that’s a request that my group and I should make." He grinned, in a good mood, and told Marsen, "Hahaha, Godfather has resolved the worries of finding someone talented. I can’t believe you brought a friend who is so familiar with our culture and fluent with our vocabulary.”
A dumbfounded Marsen came to his senses and nodded. "Oh, yeah. That’s right."
Palamut tilted his head in wonder at the reaction of Marsen and his aide-de-camp. "Why are your reactions like that?"
I answered, in place of Marsen, "Lord Guardian must have been nervous to bring me on a whim, who is less than my retired predecessor, and introduce me to the Khan."
"Ahahaha! Is that so? That’s not like you, Godfather. You don’t need to be nervous. Looking at the friend you brought, I feel like I’ve obtained a thousand troops and horses."
As Palamut smiled and spoke, Marsen nodded at me with a strange look.
"Yes, I’m glad."
Marsen’s gaze was full of discomfort as if he was scamming an innocent child.
"I am grateful for your high opinions of me."
The more I spoke, the more rapidly Marsen and Marsen’s aide-de-camp’s expressions changed. They glanced at me, reading each other’s countenance.
How unfair that their eyes are still full of complaints even though I was trying to be polite according to the Fairy Tribe’s cultural etiquette.
"No, oh! Godfather, the interpreter who suddenly came and you also need to rest. Who’s out there?!"
At Palamut’s cry, a knight guarding the door opened the door and entered.
"Did you call?"
"Yes, show Godfather, his aide-de-camp, and the interpreter to their rooms."
"Loyalty! I will follow your orders. I will guide you all."
At Palamut’s command, the two and I followed the Fairy knight.
"Oh, work is good, but you take a good rest, too. If you work like that, you’ll get sick."
"Yes, ok, Godfather. I’ll see you at dinner."
Palamut waved with a nice smile and Marsen’s aide-de-camp and I bowed.
After the door was completely closed, Marsen’s aide-de-camp gave me a look as if she had a lot of complaints.
I spoke in the empire’s language so that no other Fairies could understand.
"What’s wrong? I behaved politely, following etiquette as you wanted, but you seem to be full of complaints."
"...No." Marsen’s aide-de-camp answered bitterly in the empire’s language.
Marsen laughed cheerfully and slapped me on the back. "Ahahaha! How unlike your family, I didn’t expect you to know our etiquette!"
"It’s nothing. It’s just basic knowledge. I’m interested in the magic of the Fairy Tribe, so it’s just something extra I learned while studying. It’s not worth bragging about it."
What I said surprised him. "Magic? You, a Crow?"
I warned, putting my index finger to my mouth, at his careless words. "Don’t speak in a way that it’s audible to others."
"Oh, sorry." He apologized gently.
I smiled and said. "No, you spoke in the empire’s language just now, and you can just be careful in the future. And I am a magician. Of course, I’ve learned swordsmanship, but it’s nothing compared to my magic."
"What? Really? Considering that, your martial arts aura gives off a very intense feeling,” he said, surprised.
I shrugged. "But it’s not like I can’t do swordsmanship and martial arts. I’m pretty much average in my hometown."
"Oh! Really? Do you want to go for a round before dinner?"
The way he spoke gave off the feeling of a high schooler, who had to stay at school for night studies, asking if you wanted to go to a PC room before having dinner.
"Hmm, I’m not particularly tempted."
I wasn’t tempted because to spar here meant revealing my skills to the Fairy Tribe.
"You! This is good. Opportunity."[3]
Marsen’s aide-de-camp, who started speaking in the empire’s language, spoke in the Fairy Tribe language as her temper flared.
"Hey! Do you even know how great an opportunity this is to say no? Receiving a lesson from Marsen-nim is an opportunity that even knights in our country dare not dream of!"
Marsen’s aide-de-camp looked at me as if looking at a fool kicking treasure.
Certainly, if I wasn’t a magician, I might have jumped into the fight with excitement.
By the way, she looked pretty cute when she spoke in the Empire’s language because she looked dumb, but the image was broken when she spoke in her native language.
Marsen laughed at his aide-de-camp’s response and waved his hand. "Hahaha, it’s not to that extent. But it’s also very helpful to compete against someone you don’t usually spar with. So let’s have a sparring match."
Rather, because Marsen seemed to cling to me, his aide-de-camp seemed unhappy.
At that time, the Fairy knight who was guiding us stopped walking and stood in front of a large door.
"We have arrived. This is the room where Khan Palamut is staying, so Lord Guardian can stay in the room on the right. Lady Ophelia, the aide-de-camp, has a room directly connected inside Marsen-nim’s room, so you can stay there. By the way~" The Fairy knight glanced at me.
"Oh, this guy’s gonna share a room with me. It was decided that I would take care of his safety when I borrowed him."
At Marsen’s words, the knight, who was guiding us, looked at me in surprise and saluted Marsen. "Then I will continue to guard Khan Palamut."
"Okay, work hard."
Gesturing at the knight going back the way he came, he entered the room.
I followed inside and asked in the Fairy Tribe language so it would be easy for the aide-de-camp to hear as well, "But why did that knight look at me in surprise?”
"It’s only natural since Marsen-nim, the Lord Guardian, only guards the Great Khan and the blood relatives of the Great Khan."
"But why do you keep talking down to me?" I complained.[4]
Marsen’s aide-de-camp snorted. "Obviously because I’m many times older than you."
"How old are you?"
"I’m ninety years old."
Wow, that was almost five times as old as I was. It was similar to my grandfather’s age.
"Please keep talking down to me, Grandma."
"!?"
The aide-de-camp clenched her fist at the title of grandma.
"Gran-grandma?! I’m still young!"
"Ayy, you’re not young. If the average life expectancy of a Fairy is 150 years, and the average life expectancy of a normal person is 60 years, you would be around 36 years old, so that’s not really young!"
I couldn’t finish my sentence because I was avoiding the sudden punch of the teary aide-de-camp. It may be different if medical treatment advances and the average life expectancy increases, but if the life expectancy is 60, then 36 was like the 50s in my previous life. No matter how I thought about it, I had to classify it as middle-aged.
I looked at the tears at the corners of her eyes and asked Marsen, "Did I do something wrong?”
He seemed at a loss and avoided meeting my gaze. "At least, touching a woman’s age is not something a gentleman should do."
Hmm, I don’t understand. Age is just a number anyway, so I don’t know why you would care so much.
In particular, I couldn’t understand since the Fairy Tribe did not show signs of old age until they were 100 years old.
As his aide-de-camp continued to throw punches, Marsen stopped her.
"I know you’re anxious that your youth is coming to an end, but still since you are on duty as a member of the delegation....”
"Whose fault is it that I can’t marry and am turning into a spinster!? How could you say that!?"
There was no answer to this.
I chose to flee in the gap while the arrow temporarily pointed to Marsen.
"Hey! Where are you going?!"
Marsen tried to grab me but I activated my martial arts to the maximum and left the room.
“I will wish you the best of luck.”
“Hey!”
I quickly closed the door and blocked his retreat. It would be troublesome to leave open a path of retreat and get swept up in the mess. I felt sorry for Marsen, but it would take time for the aide-de-camp to calm down, so I’d have to stay somewhere out of sight.
Uuuu, how scary.
I shook my head and went downstairs.
1. Loyalty is the word they say when saluting.
2. Pogun is a greeting where one puts one hand over their fist over their chest area and bows. Often seen in Asian martial arts for greetings.
3. Author wrote it broken up like this.
4. The aide-de-camp is speaking informally, with no honorifics.
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