Chapter 151: The Possibility of Returning
When Roomba and I returned to the ryokan after parting with Haru and Shuichi, we could hear the sounds of cork bounding on the table and happy voices resonating in the place.
The Firm’s and Silver Wind’s members had already returned, they are probably playing table tennis until it’s dinner time.
「They also played it today, huh」
「Ooh, shall we play it too then!」
「I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to take short rest in my room」
Still, I walked to the shrine from the morning, then played around until the evening that now my small body ache. I want to play table tennis with everyone, but the urge to take a break is strong within me rather than doing that.
「Okay. Then, see you later!」
It appears that Roomba still has plenty of stamina to go on that he starts running ahead after saying that and went inside the ryokan.
While feeling a bit envious of that stamina of his, I slowly walked to the ryokan.
「Alfried-sama! Can I have a moment?」
When I was thinking of taking a rest in my room while being greeted by the proprietress, Tori called out to me.
「What is it Tori? I just came back and I want to lie down for a while though………」
「I have something to discuss with you, it’s only for a moment, okay? Can we talk inside Alfried-sama’s room, just for a bit? Aah, of course, it doesn’t matter if you want to lie down while we discussed it, y’know!」
Even though I want him to say it later since I’m tired, Tori still said that to me without withdrawing.
Though we still have time until dinner and bath time, I wonder what’s so important that he goes as far as going to meet me and discuss it immediately.
I don’t know what’s Tori business is with me, but he said that it’s fine for me to discuss it with him while lying down in my room. Are we going to discuss something trivial?
「Okay. Then, let’s go to my room」
「Appreciate that」
When I agreed to his proposal, Tori follows me while looking glad.
Climbing from the first floor to the second floor, we enter the room that was assigned to me at the back.
Then I took off my slipper, take the spare futon at the corner of the room and spread it out on top of the tatami, and then lie down on the futon as though I flop onto it.
The cushion-ed futon made a *bosuri* sound, spreading a scent that smell like tatami mats.
「………sighー, my legs are tired」
This is the feeling of resting your legs after overworking them for the whole day. It’s as if the blood flow that seems to have stopped and making a tingling sensation had now gushed out smoothly. I feel a sense of comfort and liberation.
「Now then Tori, what do you want to talk about? Ah, you can also use the spare futon and lie down if you’d like?」
「N, no, I’m fine like this. Really, I didn’t think to discuss it while lying down, y’see」
「But, Tori was the one who said that it’s fine to talk while lying down, right?」
「That sort of thing is usually said for the sake of politeness so that we can talk more comfortably, y’know! There’s no way I’m really going to lie down and discuss it, but Alfried-sama thoughts went to a completely different direction as usual」
You said that it’s fine we discuss it while lying down after all, even though I made some time to talk with you by decreasing my break time.
「Tori and I have a comfortable relationship already, so you don’t have to apply such values of merchants and nobles with me」
「Umm, but Alfried-sama is also a noble, right?」
「I said we have a comfortable relationship already, it’s fine!」
After I said that, I use Psychic magic to pull a cushion from the corner of the room, then I place it so that it will be comfortable for Tori to sit on. Then Tori sat cross-legged on the cushion while saying 「Thankss. You’re as skillful as ever」.
「Now then, what is it?」
When I ask him, Tori cleared his throat *gohon* and start to talk.
「To summarize it briefly, there are two things I want to discuss with you, see. The first one is table tennis!」
「Table tennis? Did the proprietress tell you to remove the table for the table tennis?」
I knew it, it’s probably a bad idea I made table tennis in such an elegant garden, right? After adding more of them, now there are around six tables in the garden, I think it’s becoming a nuisance.
「No, there’s no such request from the proprietress for now. Rather, the proprietress, Sannosuke-san, the employees, and the Firm’s members are also playing and socializing with each other happily. Even now, I think they are all playing together y’know?」
Tori pointed to the window facing the garden while saying that.
Indeed, when it comes to the proprietress, I got curious when she is playing table tennis boldly.
Usually, once I lie down on the futon, I couldn’t stand up immediately as I was seized by the comfort of the futon, but this time my curiosity won over and I stood up easily.
Then, I opened the window and tried to look down to the garden following Tori’s words.
「Eii!」
「Uooooooooh! The proprietress’s smash is fastt!」
After that, Irvine was just about to be smash-ed by the proprietress ball and being hit by it at that point.
It’s a splendid smash that hit Irvine’s ball that was flying halfway as if she was covering it with her paddle.
「I’m next! Irvine has lost, please step aside!」
「No, not yet! I can't step back after losing like this twice in a row! 」
Irvine - who doesn’t want to step aside no matter what- was about to get kicked out by Aleutia.
「I will take on everyone who wants to challenge me」
The proprietress is smiling calmly with a smile on her face while watching over the two bickerings.
Perhaps her doubts were blown away after seeing me playing table tennis since then that apparently, the proprietress and the employees have now played the table tennis openly.
It’s the serious proprietress we’re talking about here, so it appears like she is having fun while at the same time having the excuse of entertaining the guests as she played.
「Then, I’m next, okay!」
「Yes, please」
I took my eyes off of them after Aleutia kicked Irvine out of the way and took up a position to face the proprietress.
「……the proprietress, she’s doing well, isn’t she」
「That’s right. Even without seeing her, you can tell from her voice that she’s doing great, right」
I lie down on the futon again while watching Tori make a wry smile.
「So if it’s not about the removal of the table tennis, then what do you want to talk about?」
「Actually, when I had a business discussion with the Daimyo…… ah, a Daimyo is――」
「To put it simply, it’s something like the nobles in the Kingdom, right?」
If it’s about that, then Kaede-san already gave me a simple explanation about it.
「Aah, so you already know about it, then. Now, when I tried to sell the table tennis to that great person, it seems like they apparently took a liking to it, y’know! That’s why, I want to ask you if it’s okay for me to make the table tennis and spread it in this country?」
「Sure」
「You’re giving a carefree reply as usual」
「I mean, I can earn regular income just by selling my idea, right」
「But Alfried-sama, if you spread it around yourself, don’t you think that it will make a considerable profit then?」
「If I do that, then I will become as busy as Tori, right?」
I want to spend my life without working if at all possible, just to relax, and live a slow life. And I don’t particularly have any ambition to be an influential person or an extremely rich person, as long as I have a calm and peaceful life that is already good enough.
If I were to work busily like Tori in order to live a relaxed slow life, then that will just be getting my priorities backward.
「Alfried-sama does not waver as usual, eh」
「But well, Nord-tousan is the one to decide it in the end though」
I’m currently seven years old and it must be remembered that I’m simply the second son of the feudal lord. So there’s no way for me to carry this kind of business discussion forward…… That’s because my official stance is that, I left all the troublesome decision-making to Nord-tousan.
「That’s right. But, I thought to try and ask for Alfried-sama’s permission first since you are the one who thought about it, y’see」
For some reason, Tori’s honesty leaves me with a favorable impression.
I’m relieved that he didn’t behave in an arrogant manner even when his Firm has grown in size.
「Then what about the other matter?」
「The other one is, the date of our return. Today is the fourth day we stayed in Kagura. My business will mostly be over tomorrow so, I’m thinking for us to return on the afternoon of the seventh day, would that be alright with you?」
「Is that so, we can’t always stay here, huh. We also have to calculate the time it takes for us to return after all」
I had completely forgotten about it until Tori told me of our return. I mean, life in Kagura was so fun and laid-back.
Still, there’s something sad about leaving the place where you stay during your trip.
Tori’s Firm is now a distinguished merchant company in the Kingdom. So if the chairman of the company - Tori - is always staying in a foreign country then there will be a lot of things left unattended.
Now that Tori says she wants to return, I can’t just throw a tantrum since I had asked and forced him to allow me to accompany him.
「Okay. Then, we will return at noon three days from now - which is the seventh day since we arrived in Kagura - just as Tori said 」
「I’m grateful for your understanding. Now then, I will tell everyone about it at dinner tonight, alright」
Tori lightly bow when I reply like that.
After that, Tori took his leave from my room, perhaps he’s going to start arranging for our return.
「So we’re going to return to Koryatt village soon, huh………」
I roll over on the futon and muttered while facing the ceiling.
I’m the only one who can use go to places with Teleport anytime, it would probably be difficult to use it with a large number of people like this time. And it also depends on whether everyone’s schedule matched or not, but it would probably become a serious problem if I wanted to go to a place where it takes more than two weeks time in a one-way trip to arrive in an instant with Teleport.
Since I can’t come here anytime publicly, I have to spend one day after taking my objective of coming here to purchase foods like rice, soy sauce, miso, and also souvenirs for a lot of people into consideration.
We’re going to prepare for the return on the morning of the seventh day, so I have the fifth and sixth days as the remaining days. I’m going to spend the sixth day for shopping, so tomorrow is the last day I can spend my time leisurely.
I have to say goodbye to Haru and Shuichi tomorrow.
But, if it’s just me alone, I can come here in secret, so it’s only temporary.
And I would also like to meet with Kojirou - who said that he quit his job to open an eel restaurant - if possible, but I wonder where that guy is.
I rolled around on my futon while thinking absentmindedly about those kinds of things.
1. Since it has grown bigger, I’m going to change Firm to Company from now on
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