Dark Continent (3rd)

[Sophia-chan’s point of view]

I was left working in the office after Tanaka-san suddenly left.

Most of this work I had been putting off for as long as I could in the hopes that Tanaka-san would return. Filling out reports or deciding on how to proceed on current projects. Now Tanaka-san has left me with all of this work. He’s terrible.

“...”

Still, I am thankful to have a job.

And I’m happy.

My world had previously been limited to the inside of my family’s restaurant. The tasks I’m required to do here are all new and exciting. I do my best everyday while silently complaining to myself about Tanaka-san.

This is the feeling you get from a job that’s worth doing.

However, the amount of work that has piled up is making today worse than usual.

“So Baron Tanaka has left?”

“Y-Yesh!”

There was someone else in the office with me. Someone I had never met that was led in by Gonzalez-san and Neumann-san. The worst part is they introduced him and left immediately.

The words they left me with were, “S-Sorry about this, I don’t mean to be rude, but I still need to supervise some of the building projects we’ve got going on.” “Sophia-kun, I believe this task is best suited for the deputy mayor.” This was surprisingly unmanly of the two of them.

Thanks to them, we were now left alone.

We sat across from each other on sofas with a small table between us. My guest was a man in his late 20’s to early 30’s. He had a nice smile and kind eyes.

He was dressed in an outfit suitable for any average merchant: a shirt, pants, and vest. However, the quality of the material and stitching on his shirt and vest was evident. That much should be assumed considering he is a noble. A noble that outranks Tanaka-san’s title of baron.

A duke.

“I-I-I-I-I’ll bring you some tea right away.”

I jumped out of my seat in a hurry and ran to the kitchenette.

Just as I was about to leave the room, the duke spoke up with a pleasant smile on his face.

“I really don’t mind. I’m the one interfering with your work, so don’t worry about me. Of course, if you’d like some tea yourself, I could always make it for you as an apology for intruding on you.”

“O-O-O-Of course not! I’d never ask you to do something so beneath you!”

“You’re not asking me to do it if I do it out of my own volition.”

“...”

I should just brew the tea so I can get a moment away from him.

I stepped into the kitchenette to escape his intimidating presence. I used the high-quality tea leaves that I purchased for myself and almost made the mistake of preparing the tea in the usual manner I do for Tanaka-san. When the tea was finished, I added a few snacks to the tea tray and was ready to return to the Duke.

“I-I hope the tea is to your satisfaction...”

I poured tea into a cup on the table. My hands and legs were trembling so badly that I was scared I’d miss the cup.

I may be more nervous now than when I served the Princess. The reason for this is clear. Even a simple commoner like me knows this man. The head of the FitzClarence family, a powerful noble of the Penny Empire, and one of the most influential men in the country.

Yes, it’s that man.

Ester-sama’s father.

“Thank you for the hospitality, Sophia Bacon-san.”

“Ha!? U-Um, why do you know my name..?”

I guess Neumann-san said my name.

But he never mentioned my last name.

“My daughter has told me plenty about you. A maid that does her best for her master. She told me you helped Baron Tanaka out of a dangerous situation in school and that you’ve been working in his stead during his absence.”

“I-I-I-I’m sorry if someone like me shouldn’t be handling this work! I’m sorry!”

How does he know all of that? Does Ester-sama tell her father everything? It’s terrifying yet amazing that a powerful noble would bother remembering my name. A maid like me doesn’t deserve it.

I wish he’d forget it right now.

“You don’t need to apologize.”

“B-But!”

“Please, continue with your work. This tea will tide me over for the time being.”

“I-I-I could never behave so rudely in the presence of you, Duke!”

“Tanaka-san would get angry with me if I did any more to interfere with your work.”

“You’re not doing anything to interfere with my job!”

This isn’t what I expected based off the rumours I’ve heard about the Duke of FitzClarence in the capital. I was expecting a much more terrifying person. Someone that would never treat a commoner as a person.

I didn’t expect the man I heard all of those rumours about to keep such a low profile. Still, nobles are never merely what they appear to be on the surface. I have no idea what’s running through his mind.

“Take my advice as an experienced noble: focus on your work while you have the time to do so.”

“But...”

“Are you saying you know better than a Duke?”

“I-I-I-I-I’m so sorry!”

I ran to my desk and took a seat, tightly clenching a pen in my hand.

There was a half-finished report lying in front of me.

“...”

“...”

But there’s no chance I can get any work done in this situation. I can’t even do basic math. My mind has gone blank. And the Duke seems intent on waiting for Tanaka-san to return. He’s just calmly drinking his tea, completely relaxed.

“...”

“...”

Where did you go, Tanaka-san?”

Please, hurry up and come back.

My stomach is starting to hurt.

I’m afraid I might go insane if I have to stay in this place much longer.

My stomach hurts.

And my armpits are getting sweaty.

I just want to curl up in my bed with a blanket wrapped around me.

***

Goggoru-chan has remained calm this entire time, but that hasn’t cured me of this uneasy feeling.

I was quite fond of her quaint cave home the first time I visited it, but it received a fresh coat of red paint made from the blood of the Green Sylphs. Living in such a place would be uncomfortable to say the least, so I set out to solve that problem first. It’s impossible to even walk without stepping in their blood.

I managed to revive most of the dying Sylphs with my recovery magic. They gave me little time to explain the situation, however, as they flew from the cave the moment they regained consciousness. This is terrible.

My connection with the Green Sylphs is now completely gone.

Goggoru-chan never showed any emotion while I did this. On the surface, she appears to be the same cute chocololi I came to know. She has a calm expression and doesn’t speak much. I need to do something to get the wings out of her possession, but it will be difficult gathering them all simply due to the high number of them scattered across the floor.

“I think the first thing we need to do is cleanup your room.”

“..that doesn’t matter. Talking is more important.”

“We can talk while we clean. This might make it easier for us to talk too.”

“...”

Her facial expression didn’t change, but the fact that she didn’t say anything may be a sign of her dissatisfaction. I’m slowly starting to understand her. Looking into her eyes I noticed that she actually looks cuter when she’s in this delusional state.

“But it might be hard for the two of us without any equipment.”

Since we’re underground, it would be hard to drain out any water or other liquids. After looking around for a moment, I couldn’t find any drainage system. It’s going to be hard to clean all of this up.

But we’re going to need to use water to clean all of this up.

I wonder if water could wash away the magic circle.

“..we’ll have to find a way to pump out the water.”

“You’re going to rinse it all off?”

“...”

Shit, her mind reading.

She’s still keeping that expressionless look on her face. So cute.

I want to french kiss her.

“There’s nothing to worry about. The magic circle is carved into stone; water won’t wash it away.”

“..you better hope so.”

Is she serious?

Please, be joking, Goggoru-chan.

You’re scaring me.

“I think I’ll need to buy a pump. You can come help me find one.”

“Why? I can stay here. I won’t cause any trouble.”

“No, I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone right now.”

I also need to get something to eat today and a blanket for tonight. The next time I return, I’ll need to bring a lot with me.

“..I understand.”

“Thank you.”

One of the positives of her mind reading is allowing her to completely understand me without further explanation.

It’s actually nice being able to communicate with her without worrying about my actual feelings getting across.

“It is?”

“I’m sorry if I offended you, Rocoroco-san.”

I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s convenient for me. The one that matters here is Goggoru-chan. Bringing up how useful her ability is to me when she considers it a curse was inconsiderate.

“...”

“..are you okay?”

“It’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”

“Really?”

By the way, I think that was the first time I’ve called her by her name.

We’ve spent a lot of time together over the last few days, but I’ve never thought to do that before. I decided now was a good time to try it. Since I’m going to be spending time alone with a beautiful girl, I’d like us to try calling each other by name.

“...”

I noticed the chocololi’s shoulders tremble slightly.

I see.

“..Rocoroco-san?”

“...”

Maybe I should think about her power differently. Having your mind read can be inconvenient or even unpleasant, but it doesn’t always have to be something negative.

“There’s nothing positive about it.”

“Do you dislike being called by your name?”

“..not really.”

“Then I’ll call you by your name occasionally.”

I want Rocoroco-chan to reverse rape me.

“...”

“...”

Aah, as soon as I relax these thoughts rush into my mind.

But a great person once said you can’t lie to yourself.

And I never want to lie to Goggoru-chan.