Chapter 439 (1/2)

Chapter 439: 439

Aegir POV–

After eating, we look around to see if there’s anything else that is worth noting .

「Ah, a water fountain!」

Miti points happily .

In a corner of the main street lined with many street stands is a newly built fountain spouting water up high .

There is a pretty large fountain on the perimeter where people are cheering .

It seems the fountain is public and can be enjoyed freely by the citizens .

Trisnia is adjacent to the North Teries river and is also connected to many other smaller streams so there are plenty of water sources available for the city .

That’s why they have the luxury of discharging water like this without worry .

Rafen’s water situation has dramatically improved since the completion of the aqueduct, but there’s no comparison to a city that’s beside a large river . Nonna would be overjoyed if such a fountain was added to the city, whereas Adolph would most likely faint and go bald .

「Still, don’t you think it’s strange? Why is it shooting the water up at the sky?」

「Err, it feels like someone explained it to me before……mmm . 」

Miti ponders the question .

「It’s too complicated for me to understand~」

Maria gave up .

Well, there’s no reason to rack my brains over it, I’m not a fountain craftsman after all .

Then, Miti and Maria start squirming restlessly .

「Why don’t you go play? It’s not like we’re pressed for time . 」

It’s summer time . After eating and walking around for a while, they would want to cool their sweaty bodies in the water .

They’re also wearing travel clothes, which are fine with getting wet .

「Urm……」

「It might be a little embarra.s.sing……」

Oh, I guess playing in the fountain is a childlike act .

「In that case――」

I pick up Maria and Miti, one in each of my arms, and head towards the fountain .

「Kyaa! I said it was embarra.s.sing!」

「Waa~ everyone is looking . 」

I hop into the fountain with the two of them regardless of their screams .

「Gyaa! A big person jumped in!!」

「Fuee…… I’m soaked now . 」

「Is he the same as Mr . Maroo? He’s a grown-up and plays tag with me every day until late~」

I made a large splash when I entered, causing the kids nearby to shriek . Their parents groan in disapproval .

「Hahaha, seems like I upset some people . 」

「Gos.h.!.+ It’s not normal for someone as big as master to get in!」

「I don’t care anymore~ Might as well enjoy ourselves if we’re going to be embarra.s.sed anyways~」

Becoming unbound, Miti and Maria start frolicking in the water without concern of being watched .

That led to the adults sitting in the vicinity to gradually slip in the water too .

Everyone actually wanted to go in . Because I was so gung ho about it, they figured it wasn’t such a bad idea .

「Ufu, I’ll join too . 」

Mel comes in and splashes the other two .

「Kyaa! That’s too much~」

「Aahn, don’t get water in my back~」

The three of them――forgetting Mel’s age, play noisily .

I get out of the water and sit on the edge of the fountain, letting the girls have fun .

I only jumped in to get Miti and Maria in the water, not because I wanted to play .

I’d rather sit here and admire the wet clothes sticking to the girls’ bodies .

A married woman throws an especially large wave of water at her own child .

Her clothes are so thin that I can see her nipples underneath .

Her nipples are dark and her areolas are fairly big, indicative of a mature lady .

The tugging of my sleeve interrupts my thoughts .

I don’t see anyone at first, it was only when I looked down that I found a little kid .

「Hey mister, you’re big . 」

「And you’re still small . 」

The child――who is taking a break from playing in the water, was half naked on top .

Nevertheless, I can’t tell whether the child is male or female .

「Techi is a girl . 」

「Is that so? Then I’ll have to be careful with you . 」

I remind myself as I lift the child and rest her on the side of the fountain .

「Carry me . 」

「Haanh?」

I let out a dumb sound when the child extends her arms .

「Carry me . You look like you can do it higher than mama . 」

Now I understand what she meant .

Currying favor with a child, albeit a female, won’t do much for me now, however refusing her and making her cry will leave me in an awkward position too .

「There, high enough?」

I support the girl with my hands in her armpits and raise her until she’s up to my eye level .

She doesn’t weigh anything and I can probably lift her with one finger .

「So high~ It’s way higher than mama!」

In the corner of my vision, a person who I believe to be the mother is staring at me nervously .

She’s attractive and has a nice pair of b.o.o.bs .

「Higher~」

「Sure . 」

I smile at the mother and then raise the child up to my head .

「Woah…… so high…… Techi is looking down at everyone…… fuoh . 」

What a strange sense of happiness .

Her mother, realizing that I won’t do any harm, pats her chest and slowly walks over to me .

「Hey no, Techi! Don’t bother someone you don’t know!」

Being scolded wasn’t enough to rid the young girl’s curiosity .

「More! Go higher!」

Sadly, my arms won’t stretch any further .

「Higher! Techi wants to go even higher!」

「Fine . Stay still then . 」

I’ll do the same thing that makes Pipi happy .

The mother bows and apologizes for imposing on me .

It’s fine, pleasing a child isn’t a big deal .

I smile in return, lower my hips, and then――――toss the girl in the air .

She must have flown 10…… no, 20 m up .

「Gyaaaaaaaaaa!!」

The mother suddenly screams .

Hey, doing that right next to me is dangerous . What if I fail to catch her?

After hovering briefly at the apex of the toss, she falls back down rapidly .

I adjust my position by s.h.i.+fting a few steps to the left and right, then absorb as much of the impact as I catch her .

「Woaaaah…… a bird…… Techi became a bird……」

A mysterious ecstacy washes over the child’s face .

I immediately turn around from the blood l.u.s.t directed at me .

「She should be f――」

The mother’s right fist meets my jaw .

「Of course not――」

Her left fist plunges into my solar plexus . A splendid combo .

「――gah!!」

Her final blow was a sharp knee to my groin .

I don’t know why she’s. .h.i.tting me, but she’s quite the impressive woman .

While I was reeling, the mother took her child and left .

The little girl wanted me to toss her once more, but her mother gave me a death stare .

By this time, Maria and the others had their fill playing in the water and are now on the side wringing their clothes and brus.h.i.+ng their hair .

Sometimes it’s nice to be a kid again and do kid activities .

Just coming to Trisnia to play makes me feel at peace .

「Oh my, look here Littoria-san . The common folk are making a fuss . 」

「Yes mother, I was wondering why it was so noisy . There is quite a strong vulgar smell around here . 」

Appearing before us are two women, one wearing frilly clothes and the other holding a frilly parasol .

The first is in her 40’s and the second is likely in her mid-teens; I can’t tell her actual age because of how thick her makeup is .

Unfortunately, neither of them were blessed with a decent face or figure .

The younger one walks over as we’re tidying our outfits, and after staring for some time, waves her paper fan over her mouth, deliberately showing her superiority .

「Mother, they think that just because their clothes are slightly presentable, they can play in the water . 」

The mature lady reacts in an exaggerated manner .

「Oh my! That’s why lowly peasants are hopeless . They don’t know how to dress and―― no, look carefully, Littoria-san . At first glance, their clothes appear nice, but they aren’t sewn with gold or silver thread and they don’t even have jeweled b.u.t.tons…… in other words, they’re cheap and perfectly suitable to their cla.s.s . 」

Of course we don’t have gold threads woven into our travel clothes . Jewels are out of the question too . It would be too heavy .

「How pitiful, mother . 」

「Yes, we should at least let them see what high cla.s.s jewels look like . 」

The duo display their necklaces and bracelets decorated with gems .

They’re certainly big, but the shapes are somewhat uneven to me .

Previously, Claire told me the true value of a jewel is based on the clarity of its s.h.i.+ne and how it’s processed .

If the gem is badly cut and cloudy, its size doesn’t matter…… or so she said .

「What do these people want?」

「How meddlesome……」

「……」

Miti, who was in a good mood, became glum, Maria frowned and Mel simply went quiet with a smile plastered on her face .

Meanwhile, the arrogant mother and child do as they please in front of the fountain .

They brushed the toddlers aside with a folding fan as if they were insects to prevent being b.u.mped .

「Shoo, shoo! What if you dirty my clothes . 」

Even after chasing the kids back to their parents, the mother rained abusive comments from afar .

「Since we’re at it, how about getting the brats to do our laundry here . No, nevermind, the water is so filthy that it’ll ruin the scenery . It would waste the beauty of Trisnia . 」

This is too much .

Yet the mothers around the pair don’t fight back, instead they bow in apology and run off with their children .

「They might be prominent n.o.bles of this area…… Goldonia was once like that too . 」

Miti suggests in disgust .

If people like that lived in the neighborhood and acted so self-importantly everyday, she probably wouldn’t be able to tolerate it .

「In Roleil, you see some pretty delinquent knights…… here and there too . 」

Maria has also experienced this behavior?

The mother and child come over to us again, seemingly finished with the other citizens .

「Anyways, mother . These individuals…… don’t you think it’s odd? There is one man and three women……」

「Yes, most likely the man is a feudal lord of some rural area who picked up a few girls from a deserted poor village to play with . Aah, how obscene!」

Mel awkwardly averts her eyes, but it doesn’t bother me that she’s from a poor village .

What’s wrong with picking up a girl, loving her, and having kids with her? It’s great .

「Now that you mention it, these three don’t have any aura at all . Their faces are forgettable . 」

「Yes, this one is depressing . 」

「D-depressing……?」

Miti’s shoulders slump .

「That one is……mediocre, no distinguis.h.i.+ng features at all . She looks the same as all the girls standing at the front of the inns of any town . 」

「Medi……ocre . 」

Maria’s voice disappears into the shadows .

「And the far woman…… her face is decent…… but she’s old . It won’t be long until her looks fade . 」

「……」

Mel’s eyes widen and she silently reaches around my waist .

Woah, don’t pull out the Dual Crater . Murdering someone in broad daylight is a bad idea .

However, the next words of the arrogant mother and child saved their lives .

「To that point, mother is turning 35 this year and is still beautiful…… as I thought, it’s the difference in upbringing . 」

「Ufufufu, exactly right Littoria-san . That woman should be in her late twenties, but her lack of dignity makes her look like she’s in her thirties . 」

Mel releases my Dual Crater and grins .

Her earlier blood l.u.s.t vanished like it never existed .

Mel turns to me and gives me a thumbs up .

I’m just happy she isn’t seeing red .

Actually, I’m reaching the limits of my patience .

I could endure it if I was the one being bad-mouthed, not when Mel and the others are being insulted .

They might be putting on airs, since real important people can’t simply stroll outside without a care in the world .

Although we’re in the city, I can’t imagine them being higher ranked than me if they’re walking around like this .

「Let me put them in their place . 」

Nonna would tell me to make the most of the opportunity and greet the Trisnian n.o.bles while I’m at it anyways .

My emblem is quite distinct so I’m sure they’ll know it when they see it .

With a smirk, I reach into my s.h.i.+rt pocket .

「……I left it in the restaurant . 」

「What are you going!? Celia-san warned you repeatedly to be careful not to lose it! She said unreasonable things like how she’ll blame me if you lost it!」

Miti runs back in the direction of the restaurant in a panic .

What am I going to do if I don’t have the seal?

My gaze moves up to the sky as I consider my options .

「Ngyaaaah! Thieeef!!」

So ugly…… wondering who could let out such an ugly scream, I see the arrogant mother fall to the ground on her a.s.s .

It appears her heavy bag was s.n.a.t.c.hed away .

The culprit has already run far away .

「Mother! S-someone, chase after him! Capture him!」

The daughter pleads to the citizens near her, but n.o.body does anything .

People briskly walk past, pretending not to hear her, or they bend down to grab their foot, faking an injury, and then the mothers whose children were treated like bugs actually smile at the arrogant duo’s misfortune .

「Obviously, there won’t be anyone who would help . 」

「They did this to themselves . 」

「They got their just desserts . 」

「Haa, haa…… found the seal…… thank goodness . 」

I honestly don’t feel like helping either .

Losing something trivial like a bag should serve as a good lesson .

What I didn’t expect was their reactions .

「A-all of our monthly allowance is in that bag! After him!」

「Understood, mother!」

The two of them started to run at a surprising speed .

At the rate they’re going, I think it’s possible to even catch up .

「……I’ll be back . 」

Feeling obligated, I also follow them .

It’s possible the thief will threaten the use of violence once he realizes he’s being chased .

I thought it would be good to teach them a lesson, but it’ll leave a bad taste in my mouth if I found out they died to the robber afterward .

Sure enough, I encountered the exact scenario which I pictured in my mind .

「Haa, haa…… w-we caught up! Now, return the bag!」

「Fuu, fuu…… I’m going to hand you over to the guards and get you sentenced to death!」

After running around for some time, they finally caught the robber at the edge of the harbor near the levee of the North Teries river .

The previous levee was destroyed by a flood and dirt is being used as a temporary blockage while under construction, but there don’t seem to be any workers here at this time .

A construction site without any workers…… in other words, this place is out of sight .

Rather than being chased here, it’s more accurate to say that he was luring them here .

The robber whistles, signalling four men to emerge from the shadows, who quickly surround the mother and daughter .

By the time they notice the predicament they’re in, it’s already too late .

「Should we kill ‘em? Or maybe we should kidnap and sell them?」

「Killing them would be bad . Selling…… they aren’t pretty enough . Strip them and silence them by f.u.c.king either one of them . 」

All five men take out knives from their pockets and close in .

「S-stop this! Do you know who we are!?」