Chapter 98 – Ep.98 Smith, a Black Company in Another World
“I think that suits you a little better.”
“I think that looks pretty good too?”
“How about this?”
Three women, each with a unique hair color, each held a piece of clothing in one hand and held it to my body, shaking their heads among themselves before leaving again to look for new clothes.
Only then did I sit down on the sofa prepared for me, treat myself to snacks and tea brought by the owner of this building, and sigh.
-Hey!! Haha!! How about this?
-It looks better next to you than that.
-Hmm, I guess so?
-Shouldn’t you just take both?
-Aha.
-Okay.
Siron and Giena nodded with expressions of enlightenment at Ardella’s words.
They seemed to get along really well.
Even before leaving the castle, Gienna and Ardella were glaring at each other as if they were going to kill each other. How did those two become so close?
I do not know.
Clearly, their relationship was not good until right after they left the castle.
However, for some reason, the two people did not seem to be very offended by Shiron, who had actually provoked them.
This is because I occasionally saw Siron asking questions like where he was going while walking down the street or just having a normal conversation with him.
Siron confidently held my clasped hand and walked down the street, roughly answering both of our questions.
Siron stayed in this city for quite a long time last year at our request and was familiar with all the important places, so we just followed Siron’s steps and walked down the street.
The place we arrived at was quite far from the castle.
There were buildings with luxurious exteriors all around the streets, and many people walking along the streets were seen wearing expensive things that were hard to find on the streets.
Siron entered the five-story building without the slightest hesitation.
The entire building was a place that specialized in selling clothing.
As soon as I first walked in, women’s underwear and clothing caught my eye, so I assumed that Siron had come to buy clothes for himself.
It took less than 5 minutes for my thoughts to break.
It was the moment I stepped onto the dazzlingly gorgeous stairs and entered the fourth floor.
The abundance of women’s clothing disappeared, and men’s clothing with strange designs began to appear.
Siron didn’t stop there and dragged us up to the top floor, the 5th floor.
Indeed, the top floor was different.
From the black and white marble floor to the chandelier decorating the ceiling.
Nothing looked cheap.
What was even more surprising was that we were the only people who appeared to be guests on the top floor.
When we arrived at the 5th floor, a woman in a crisp, wrinkle-free suit approached us and greeted us politely.
He was the owner and general manager of this building.
The polite manager explained this floor.
They were said to be very expensive because they were handmade by a famous craftsman and were limited to only one set.
To summarize, I think it should be understood as ‘Do you have any money?’
As the manager was looking at her with a smile, Siron took something out of her arms and tried to show her. Lord Ardella came out in front of Siron and showed the manager the ring he was wearing on his left hand.
The manager’s eyes, who were smiling brightly, grew big enough to make me worry, ‘Is it okay for her to grow that big?’ This time, she bent her waist at a right angle and greeted us.
Perhaps the ring that Lady Ardella was wearing was proof of her identity or family, and the manager seemed to recognize it right away.
Nothing much after that.
All I did was sit on the sofa and table prepared just for me, eat the snacks the manager brought, and try on the clothes the three of us brought.
So when did the three of you become close?
Again, I don’t know.
A few times, he brought clothes and put them on me, and at some point, we started talking briefly to each other, and after a little more time passed, we were calling each other and talking to each other very warmly, just like now.
I quenched my thirst with black tea and stood up again when I saw three people slowly approaching me.
“Oh, this one is a bit small.”
“I guess Smith isn’t very manly.”
“That’s the charm.”
“That’s right.”
The three came up to me again, looked around at the clothes they each brought, and then disappeared.
I only noticed it now, but since when did Siron start talking to Lady Ardella?
Rather, how long do I have to be a mannequin?
“Would you like some more tea?”
“… Please.”
“I’ll bring it to you right away.”
The manager appeared without a sound and disappeared with the empty glass.
As I slowly turned my head, I noticed a bunch of not-so-fancy paper bags lying on the floor.
It’s a long 3 hours.
I worked as a mannequin for 3 hours and at first glance, I had already purchased over 30 clothes.
Honestly, I feel like I’m going to die.
I wanted to say, let’s get out of here right away.
“Ha…”
I sighed and turned my head again.
I could see the three of them having a friendly conversation from afar.
If only those three could stay as close as they are now without fighting.
“Just wait a little longer.”
Only after two more hours had passed was I able to free myself from the mannequin.
“We will send the rest to the castle as quickly as possible. “It was a great honor for you to use us.”
The manager personally came down to the first floor and saw us off as we left the building.
After 5 hours, I was able to leave the building.
Surprisingly, the sky, which had been blue even before entering the building, was suddenly spreading like an orange sunset like paint.
“Lord Ardella.”
As soon as we came out, a soldier came towards us.
“I came to ask you when you plan to return to the castle.”
At the soldier’s words, Lady Ardella turned to me who was next to me and said.
“Smith. “If you’re tired, it’s okay to go back now.”
“For a moment!!”
Before I could answer, Siron came in.
Siron gently nudged Ardella’s side with her elbow and whispered softly as if she was telling a secret.
“Now that we’re out, let’s tidy up that random hair growth and then go in.”
“…”
At Siron’s words, Ardella looked at my face once again.
He looked closely, not at my face exactly, but at my roughly brushed hair.
“Does your head still feel okay?”
“No no. Look.”
Siron jumped up and jumped on my back.
She lifted my head back and forth with her cute little hands and said things like ‘It’s long in here’ and ‘It looks so messy in here.’
However, even though I was mentally very tired, I felt the need to tidy up my head.
Since I had roughly trimmed it with scissors so far, I felt the need to trim it overall, and as the weather was getting warmer, I thought it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to just cut it short.
Siron got off my back and Ardella roughly nodded to Siron’s words and spoke to the soldier.
“Tell them I will resolve it by evening and return.”
“Yes. All right. If there is anything you would like me to do, please raise your hand lightly. Soldiers waiting nearby will come running.”
“I will do it.”
The soldier bowed his head and quickly disappeared.
“Good. “There’s a good restaurant nearby, so we could have a drink there afterward.”
“Alcohol… Okay. “Alcohol wouldn’t be bad either.”
Lady Ardella agreed with Siron’s words, and Ms. Gienna just nodded quietly.
Everyone seems to be fine except me.
“What. “Why do you look like that?”
“No, just.”
I cleared my throat briefly.
I felt like the atmosphere would be completely offended if I said that dinner wasn’t that good, so I just kept quiet.
My stomach was bloated and I had no appetite after eating so much snacks and tea, but I was prepared to cram as much food into my stomach as long as these three could maintain their current distance.
**
The road to the castle.
“Wow…”
“Ugh, I recognized it from the moment I drank what was given to me.”
“Smith… Are you okay?”
I had to concentrate on swallowing the tightrope walking between my throat and esophagus.
Whose fault is this?
The hair was trimmed very neatly by a professional.
After that, we went to a restaurant recommended by Siron. No, we headed to a fancy restaurant.
The best seat there.
We settled into a private room where no one could see us and ordered a simple meal and a variety of wines.
The food came out first and the wine arrived later.
However, it seems that I decided to just have a light drink, but strangely, every time I emptied my glass, Ardella and Siron took turns filling my glass with wine.
I felt something strange, but as I was drinking alcohol and only tasting beer, a high-quality wine with a subtle sweetness and flavor entered my mouth, and I couldn’t stop drinking it. As Siron said, I drank as much as I could.
And now we are paying the price.
I think I drank about 3 bottles by myself.
Every time I breathed, the flavors of various wines and the smell of alcohol came up and it was very painful.
I’m not particularly drunk. In any case, I just feel sick because I drank too much while feeling bloated.
Siron and Ardella took turns gently stroking my back when I was feeling unwell.
Maybe it was just my mood, but I felt much more at ease.
We arrived at the castle gate without any trouble, and the soldiers guarding the entrance saluted and cleared the way.
We entered the castle without anyone stopping us.
“Lord Ardella.”
The female deacon I remembered was waiting for us.
Looking closely, I saw that she was a female deacon who guided Ardella.
“There’s a bit of a problem organizing the separate room, so it might take a little more time.”
“Right.”
Lady Ardella nodded, and the female deacon quietly left without saying anything.
“Smith. “Like I said during the day, I think I’ll have to take care of your room a little.”
“Oh, yes. It’s okay.”
Come to think of it, she had already promised to do so at lunch.
But when she thought about it again, she realized that Cernax had decided to come visit her in the evening.
Then, I thought that it would be more convenient for both of us in many ways if I left the room for a while and went to Kernax’s room.
“Then I will go to Kernax’s room for a moment…”
“Ah. “Wait a minute.”
“… ?”
Siron interrupted me and came in.
“Hmm. “I-I have something to say to that guy separately.”
“… Okay?”
“That’s right. I’ll come up later and let you know when I’m done with my errands. Or, I know that because I will send that guy up. Do you understand?”
“… Okay.”
I nodded.
Siron also nodded.
“Then let’s quickly go up and rest.”
I nodded again at Siron’s words.
Mental fatigue combined with alcohol made me feel very lethargic.
We walked up the stairs and Siron and Giena left first, saying hello on the 4th floor.
Wow.
When the two of us were alone, Ardella carefully stretched out his hand and hugged me.
I came to my senses.
My tired body gained strength.
Suddenly, something that happened during the day came to mind.
“Let’s go in quickly.”
“Oh, yeah…”
Ardella held my hand and walked up the stairs.
There was no special conversation.
No one spoke first until I entered the separate room assigned to me.
Sweet. The door to the separate room closed with a sound.
“… “Let’s sit down for now.”
“Yep.”
Ardella and I sat together on the sofa on one side of the room with our butts pressed together.
We were silent again for a while.
It felt like cold sweat was coming out of my clasped hands.
“Smith.”
“Yes?”
I reflexively turned my head and looked at Lady Ardella.
Lady Ardella wasn’t looking at me.
He was just looking down at the table in front of the sofa.
“I talked to Siron.”
“… “What do you mean?”
“That I care about you.”
At those words, what little alcohol I had left disappeared in an instant.
I asked after swallowing once.
“When… “You say something like that?”
“While I was choosing clothes, I suddenly thought I should say something. So I said it. Fortunately, Siron thought seriously about it.”
“Her…”
I was surprised in many ways.
When I was with Kernax, I was so angry that I harpooned a street.
Even Ardella and Siron didn’t have a good relationship from the first meeting.
Honestly, when I think about what happened at the temple, the top of my head still feels dizzy.
Above all, I never thought we would have such a conversation while choosing clothes.
This is truly an unimaginable situation.
“They took it seriously, so I also spoke honestly. Siron and Kernax have left you behind. “The reason I acted so excessively towards them was because of envy and jealousy.”
Lady Ardella looked at me.
Blue eyes, clear as jewels, seemed even brighter today.
“Shiron said so. It’s Smith who decides. It’s you. I, and Kernax, will just follow your decision…”
Slurp.
My clasped hands lost their strength.
Mistress Ardella carefully removed his hand.
“It’s been like that since I was young. I was the type of kid who, once I made a decision, had to put it into action right away to relieve my anger. It’s still the same now… Smith. I know too. How pathetic it is for me to say something like this to someone who calls herself my sister. But… Nevertheless, I have no choice but to ask you.”
Lady Ardella looked straight at me and held out the hand that was holding my hand just a moment ago.
“If… Smith you… “If you think of me as a woman at all, I want you to hold my hand.”
Straight eyes looking at me.
Those jewel-like eyes wavered vaguely.
“It’s okay to refuse. If so, will they live as sisters and brothers like now? .”
Master Ardella did not finish his sentence.
The eyes that had been looking straight at me carefully turned downward.
There were two hands touching each other.
