I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 105: In Other Words, It’s an Overtime Situation

Episode 105: In Other Words, It’s an Overtime Situation

Prompted by Brother Leonard, we all took our seats at the table. Soon, tea and sweets were brought over. Since dinner time was approaching, I had to be careful not to eat too much.

I took a small sip of the tea, which had cooled to a perfect temperature. It was delicious. By the way, I had sent Maester back for now. I’ll introduce him to everyone later. That beard is a fine beard.

“That sword you made, Rufus, looks really nice. I want one too.”

“But Brother Leonard, you already have a lot of swords. Do you really need so many spare ones?”

“That’s not true. You can never have too many swords.”

He says that, but I feel like a sword just for display is a waste of tax money. Of course, in case of an emergency, I imagine it would be lent out. But I’d rather no such day ever come.

Well, never mind. For now, I’ll keep Brother Leonard in a good mood. Perhaps it will make the “report on my activities” for the King a bit thinner.

“Alright then. If the opportunity arises, I’ll ask Maester to make one for you.”

“Really?! Oh, that’s great! Actually, I’ve decided to stay in Liberia for a while longer.”

“Eh?”

I hadn’t heard this before. Or rather, I just heard it. Why is he staying in Liberia? There shouldn’t have been much damage from the Goblin attack. And I don’t think there’s anything that needs doing.

As I was tilting my head, the Duke turned toward me. He had a serious expression on his face. My posture naturally straightened.

“Actually, I have a request for Prince Rufus.”

“A request?”

“Yes. When we inspected the mine, Tetsujin-sama discovered a vein of ore, right?”

“Ah, yes. Tetsujin found a vein of ore.”

I think I get it now. He probably wants me to check if there are any other hidden veins of ore. But, will it really be that easy to find more? I’m not entirely sure how powerful Tetsujin’s sensor is.

“Would it be possible to borrow that ability of yours? We believe there may be an unknown ore vein in that mine.”

Duke Flute bowed his head. He was so close to putting his head on the table. Despite being royalty, for him to bow this deeply to a child like me must mean that his territory is in some sort of economic danger.

Before I knew it, Flare-chan, sitting next to me, was also bowing her head.

I can’t refuse now.

“Both of you, please raise your heads. It’s hard to speak like this. I understand. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll cooperate.”

I said, smiling. And once again, Duke Flute and Flare-chan bowed their heads.

Strengthening my ties with one of the Four Great Dukes, Duke Flute, will definitely be beneficial for the royal family. I’m sure both the King and Brother Gilliam will smile at this.

And, as long as I stay involved, there’s a chance that an out might become a safe play.

“I knew you’d say that, Rufus. Alright then, starting tomorrow, I’ll leave the search for the ore veins to you. Meanwhile, we’ll investigate the surrounding mountains and check if there’s any threat from monsters.”

“Are you sure about that?”

I don’t doubt Brother Leonard’s skills, but there was that strange reaction from something resembling a Demon the other day. Lagios crushed it, so there’s no evidence left, but…

Lagios didn’t say he encountered any other similar reactions. So I think it’s okay. But still, I can’t help feeling a little uneasy.

Should I bring Lagios along? But without my orders, I’m sure Lagios would be in a difficult position too.

If I said, “Do whatever you want,” the mountains in Duke Flute’s territory might just disappear. Scary. It’s terrifying just to imagine it.

“I think it’ll be fine. So far, it doesn’t feel dangerous.”

“Brother Leonard, did you have a bad feeling about the situation the other day?”

“A little, yes. After that, I heard about the Goblin attack on the city of Liberia and thought it might be related. But in the end, it wasn’t.”

“Uh, sorry about that.”

It seems that Brother Leonard’s Sword Saint Skill has some sort of future-predicting intuition. Apparently, thanks to me, or rather, thanks to Lagios being there last time, the threat wasn’t deemed significant.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s true that I was relying too much on that aspect myself.”

Brother Leonard looked at me with a serious expression. He’s so handsome. With that kind of expression, I’m sure he’ll act without letting his guard down. But I can’t afford to trust him too much. I must eliminate any potential risks as much as possible.

“Brother Leonard, just in case, please take this with you.”

Saying that, I summoned Tora-chan and took out the holy sword Excalibur from inside. I then handed it to Brother Leonard.

“This is…! Thank you, Rufus. This makes me feel so much more secure.”

“Make sure to return it when you’re done. I don’t want to get scolded by His Majesty the King.”

Brother Leonard looked down, clearly deflated. Why can’t he just stay handsome until the very end? Maybe this gap is what the girls find appealing. If that’s the case, maybe I should try to go for a gap moe too.