Chapter 100 (1/2)
Volume 1
Atelier Tanaka Volume 1 &2 Chapter 19 Part 1
Dorm Life 1
[Sophichan’s point of view]
It happened while I was walking in the hallway of the dormitory after lunch.
As I was going to retrieve Tanaksan’s laundry, that I had left out to dry, I could hear the voice of a young woman whispering from around a nearby corner. It’s clear that the person is trying to talk in secret.
I need to stay quiet. If this person is a noble, and they notice me nearby, I could be in serious trouble. I reflexively stopped walking. During the morning and middle of the day, the dorms are usually completely empty. It is quite strange for there to be someone else here at this time.
“Is it true? About the assassination.”
“It’s true. I overheard my father talking about it.”
“S-seriously? The target is that lady from the FitzClarence family.”
“That must mean the instructions must have come from someone really high up.”
“It must be.”
“From what I’ve heard, there were many people interested in that territory that was awarded to her and her family. I’m not even sure if the King realizes how many people want that land.”
“I heard from my father that there isn’t much value to the land itself. He said that land is of a great interest to the surrounding countries because there are people and valuable items are all being secretly moved through that land. The territory itself is rather barren. Few crops grow there and there’s nothing of real value there. To anyone that doesn’t know the truth, that land is nothing more than a hassle to maintain.”
“Ufufu, even I don’t know all the details.”
“.”
There are two nobles talking to each other.
Both are female students.
“The only reason I’m even telling you this is because we’re so close. I don’t know what it’s like to be a dragon slayer, but I do know if she keeps acting all high and mighty, she’ll go down in flames.”
“.”
“Even though that girl is just a student, she’s treated like she’s above the rest of us.”
“U-Umm, Lyrishsama.”
“By the way, since we’re such good friends, I know you’d never talk back to me.”
“.”
This if the first time I’ve ever seen this. A fight between a popular noble and one of her followers. This is the kind of life I’ve always yearned for.
However, what they’re talking about is terrible. The young lady from the FitzClarence family, I also met her the other day in the dragon extermination party.
“.”
Is this really happening?
I can’t imagine someone planning to assassinate that person.
Why would someone want to assassinate one of the people that helped kill a dragon?
“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Ah, w-wait a minute, Lyrishsama!”
“You’ll get your answer tomorrow.”
“.”
I could hear one set of footsteps moving further away from me.
The other one stood there for a while before turning and heading in my direction. I hid around the corner and waited for the sound of their footsteps to fade.
It seems they passed me without noticing.
I continued waiting there for several minutes, but it seems that I’m safe. Thank goodness.
“.”
I don’t know who those people were.
It’s probably best if I pretend like I never heard anything at all.
A commoner like me could never understand the world of these nobles. If I were to try to get involved, I would be the first one killed. That’s also something I learned from my favourite book. The life of a maid in the royal palace is worth less than a single silver spoon.
This place isn’t a royal palace but it is similar.
“.”
That’s why it is certainly best if I act like I never heard anything.
Besides, I have so much stuff that I still need to take care of.
Yes, that’s right.
I still need to get Tanaksan’s laundry.
“That’s right. I need to hurry.”
I quickly headed in the direction of Tanaksan’s clothes.
The area used for drying clothing is outside of the dormitory. For each of the dormitory buildings, there was a dedicated space set up for doing laundry.
It certainly is quite convenient.
It seems that it was designed to not only be convenient for the nobles but also for the servants as well.
I’ve actually got quite good at cleaning Tanaksan’s smelly clothing.
“Well, I should take them down quickly.”
I walked over to one of the posts I had hung Tanaksan’s clothes from.
Today was really sunny, so I expected them to be completely dried.
However, what I saw was Tanaksan’s clothing laying on the ground with footprints all over them. They were dirtier than before I washed them.
There’s no mistake. This was intentionally done by someone.
“.”
The one person that came to mind was the maid I bumped into this morning.
There’s nobody else that would want to harass me.
“At least the clothing I washed in secret is safe.”
The detergent they use here is of such a high quality.
That much is to be expected of a place full of so many nobles. The clothing is spotless.
“.”
I can see the sun already starting to set.
Even If I were to wash these dirty clothes again, they wouldn’t dry in time.
If I were to leave them to dry in the room, I’m afraid it would make the place smell bad.
“I’ll just have to wash them again tomorrow.”
I collected all of Tanaksan’s clothing and started walking back to the room.
After I finished speaking with Allen, I went out to the town to purchase some clothes, underwear, and normal household goods. I had left most of my items behind at Edita Sensei’s house, so now I was basically starting from scratch.
Since I’m living in the student dormitory, it would make sense for me to ask the maid that has been assigned to my room to go out and buy all of this stuff for me. However, I would like to have a good relationship with Sophichan, so I decided it would be best for me to buy all of this myself.
Besides, shopping in a fantasy world is more fun than I thought it would be. Everything is new and interesting to me. I even filled an entire bag with stuff that I thought Sophichan may like.
Because of the money I still have from defeating the dragon, I could spend as much as I liked. On top of that, I can use my recovery magic to heal my feet when I get tired. By the time I arrived back at the dorm it was already nightfall. I probably should be going to sleep soon.
“I’m home.”
I passed through the entrance and walked down the usual corridor into my living room.
And that’s where I met someone I wasn’t expecting.
“Oh, you were out late.”
“Why are you here?”
For some reason, Ester-chan is in my home.
For a moment, I thought I had entered the wrong room, but Sophichan was here preparing tea for the blonde lolita.
“Of course, I’m just trying to deepen my relationship with a fellow classmate.”
“Still, visiting the room of a man late at night isn’t a good idea.”
“Eh? Ah, eh, umm, were you planning on doing something?”
“.”
The blonde lolita’s face turned red in an instant.
She would occasionally look down below my waist.
This is bad. I’m likely to get an erection if this keeps up.
She’s clearly looking at me in a sexual way.
“Because Sophisan is also here, something like that could never happen.”
“Umm, I-If you want me to, I can go to my room.”
“Sophisan, there’s no reason for you to do that.”
Why is she saying that?
Will my holy sausage finally be swallowed by the loli bitch’s dark abalone? If I receive any more temptation, I don’t think my virgin status will last much longer.
No, if I can’t hold out, I’ll never be able to complete Sophichan’s route. My everyday life watching her in maid clothing will end.
“I’m fine.”
A calm mind is able to make the right decision.
Still, if Ester’s hole even hooks me once, I’ll be on a one-way ticket to hell.