Chapter 104: Browning-sensei’s Open-Air Classroom Is Closed Again Today

BAM!!

A shock hit my face and I woke up. My cheek stung. The room was dimly brightening. I could see a slightly dirty ceiling. Looking around, there was a small cat plushie on the dressing table. A maid uniform hung on a wall hanger. Other than that, there wasn’t much that screamed "girl’s room."

"Uuuu..."

Stevie rolled over in her sleep and elbowed me right in the cheek. The pain fully woke me up. Stevie’s bed was narrow—even for one person it was barely enough—so having both of us in it was extremely cramped. Stevie tried to roll over again but I was in the way, so she couldn’t turn properly. Her sky-blue hair spilled across my face. I still wasn’t used to this hair color. It really didn’t feel like something from this world.

Even while asleep, Stevie seemed to find it cramped and kept shifting and squirming. Eventually she turned completely to face me. Sky-blue eyebrows and eyelashes created a strange, dreamlike sight.

Her pajama top had ridden up, exposing half her chest. Since she was so slim, she wasn’t wearing anything underneath, and her cute little nipples said hello. Naturally, my morning physiological reaction was standing tall, but I wasn’t going to do anything today. Stevie was still asleep, and Lily might show up any moment. If Lily greeted us with "Good morning" while I was on top of Stevie, that would be a bit much, right? Although... knowing Lily, she might sense the mood and wait outside until we finished.

For now, I simply watched Stevie’s sleeping face. Whether she had makeup on or not, her face barely changed. Her ear fuzz isn’t sky-blue—it’s transparent. Interesting... I was thinking when—

"Uuuun..."

Stevie stirred and suddenly opened her eyes. She saw me, froze for a moment, and her eyes flew wide open.

I quickly covered her mouth with my hand so she wouldn’t make noise. A muffled "awa, awa" leaked out, but she eventually realized it was me and calmed down.

Once Stevie settled, I removed my hand.

"W-why is Lord Robby here? Awa wa wa..."

She was still very shaken.

"Huh? Because I came last night, remember?"

"Eh? Did you...? Ah... right, that’s right."

Stevie was showing off her airheaded side bright and early in the morning.

"Yeah. Lily went back, but I stayed."

"Eh?! You did...? Then..."

She swallowed the rest of her words and quickly checked her own body. She seemed to briefly suspect I had done something while her pajama top was up, but she said nothing. She slipped her hand into her pajama bottoms to check and asked,

"Nothing happened... right?"

"Yeah, we just slept together side by side."

"Really?"

She still didn’t quite believe me.

"I’m telling the truth. You just checked yourself, didn’t you?"

"Well... yes, but... Lord Robby, thank you."

She finally seemed convinced and hugged me tightly. Stevie’s scent filled my nose. Ahh~ It smells so nice. My morning wood was still being annoying, though.

It would be great if this happy time could last forever— As soon as I had that thought, I knew from experience that raising such a flag was dangerous.

Knock, knock, knock.

The window glass was tapped, and Lily peeked in.

"Good morning."

I tilted my head awkwardly.

"Good morning. You’re early."

"Not at all. Once it gets brighter, people will notice, so I came to pick you up early."

She’s right, of course.

I got out of bed.

"Alright, Stevie. No more talk about quitting, okay? Start working normally again from today."

Stevie looked down for a moment, then raised her head and said in a clear voice,

"I understand. I’m sorry for worrying you. Thank you, Lily-san."

Yeah, this should be fine now, right?

"Yeah. You’re not alone anymore, Stevie. Let’s share both the happy things and the sad things together."

As expected of Lily, the older "mother figure"—she really knew what to say. I was impressed when—

"Lord Robby, let’s go. Please watch your step. Are your legs and hips okay?"

"Yeah, I’m fine. The bed was so narrow that my joints hurt a bit, but it’s no big deal."

"Oh my, so nothing happened last night? You were very well-behaved. Let’s go!"

Praised by Lily, I jumped from the window up onto the roof.

—-

Starting today, Stevie began accompanying me as my guard whenever I went outside the palace. As usual, when we arrived at the fruit parlor, the girls who saw us let out excited squeals. The hostile booing and away-game atmosphere that had appeared when I brought the old guys along had completely disappeared. This "Kyaa kyaa" reaction felt really good.

However, even after that, Browning-sensei’s open-air classroom remained closed. No matter how many times I went, it was never in session. Having no other choice, I practiced with Stevie in an empty lot, but no one came to bother us—only the children watched from a distance.

I want to improve my swordsmanship and combat skills more, but it feels like I’ve hit a wall even with Marin-sensei’s teaching. I don’t think I can get any better than this under her. Who should I ask? Lord Richelieu mentioned that a new magic teacher would be sent, but there’s been no sign of one, and I have no idea when classes will resume.

"Cass, I’d like to speak with Keith Relf, who serves Lord Richelieu. Could you get in touch with him for me?"

I asked Cass when I finally saw him after a while. Lately he seemed very busy and rarely showed up.

"Is there something you need from Lord Relf, Lord Robby?"

"Yeah, I want to ask about something I requested before."

"I see. I’ll pass the message along."

Cass accepted the request easily and left. He didn’t even ask what it was about. He seemed somewhat distracted, like his mind was elsewhere. What’s wrong? Did something happen?

Two days later, in the morning, while I was waiting for Stevie so we could head out, Relf himself appeared.

"Good morning, Lord Robby. I heard you wanted to speak with me, so I came."

I hadn’t expected him to come personally.

"Oh, good morning. I’m sorry for making you come all this way. If you had called for me, I would have gone to you."

"No, no. Whenever you call for me, I’ll come right away. So today, I’ll accompany you for the morning."

He said this with a big smile. Which means he’s here for the extra-large parfait again.

Stevie was radiating maximum stranger-danger aura and kept her distance while walking. Our destination was, of course, the usual fruit parlor.

I told Relf that Browning-sensei’s open-air classroom wasn’t being held and that classes in history, magic, and martial arts still hadn’t resumed.

Relf frowned as he listened.

"Hmmm, that’s troublesome. I believe Browning is being borrowed every day for security patrols in the commoner district. Right now, the noble district is short on guards, so they’ve been pulling capable people from the commoner district patrols to reinforce the nobles’ area. That’s probably why."

"I see... So Browning-sensei won’t be able to teach for a while."

I let out a long sigh.

"Also, ever since the Crown Prince’s funeral, things have been quite chaotic inside the palace. Especially the Knight Order—they’re having trouble replenishing personnel. It’s really causing problems."

Relf sighed heavily.

"Were that many people killed? Or are there vacancies due to injuries and illness?" I asked without thinking.

Relf nodded.

"Yes. Besides His Highness the Crown Prince, one duke’s son, two counts’ sons, two marquesses’ sons, and many viscounts’ and barons’ sons were killed. All of them were young men who were supposed to support this country in the future. On top of that, there are countless others who were injured or suffered mental trauma."

"There must have been many knights and commoners who died as well, right?"

I asked casually, but it seemed to be an odd question. Relf gave me a puzzled look.

"We haven’t even counted the number of deaths among knights and below, so I can only say ’many.’ For illness and injuries, it’s impossible to know exactly. As for commoners, we don’t even know how many were taken in the first place. If we had taken more, perhaps they could have served as shields for His Highness the Crown Prince."

He said it so casually. From the way he spoke, it was clear that knights and their subordinates weren’t even properly counted. Commoners probably weren’t even seen as fully human. When I glanced at Stevie, she looked completely unfazed, so this must be the normal way of thinking in this world.

"Relf-san, in that case, could you ask Lord Richelieu if I could join the night patrols in the noble district? I think he saw my abilities before. I should be much more useful than an average soldier."

"Then I’ll go with Lord Robby too!"

Stevie suddenly jumped into the conversation. Since she sees herself as my guard, she probably thinks she has to follow me wherever I go.

Relf frowned.

"Hmmm... I’ll try asking, but I doubt it will be approved. Besides, wanting to join security patrols just because you can’t study is quite a leap."

He looked very reluctant to say it, but I ignored that.

"Please do. I think joining patrols would allow me to both learn and gain real experience. If you don’t ask for me, I won’t take you for parfaits anymore."

To which he replied:

"Ah, that’s fine. I went with Lake after that."

What a bombshell!

"Ehhhhh!! You two guys went by yourselves?!"

Relf puffed out his chest with a huge grin.

"Yes, we did! The girls’ stares were a bit painful, but we ignored them and enjoyed it. Man, it was delicious! We promised to go again together. Today I’ll brag to him that I went with you, Lord Robby. Ahaha. Our goal is to conquer the entire menu of that shop!"

"Haaaa..."

I couldn’t help but sigh.

Hey, Stevie, stop making that "I’m so done" face.