Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Five: Meeting the Family
“Thor, the Ehlertt family is nobles, but they’re all good people, so you don’t need to be too nervous. But still, they are nobles, so I’d be happy if you could treat them a bit more politely than usual.”
“I know. Leave it to me, Sis. As a B-rank adventurer, I deal with nobles pretty often, you know?”
“I see.”
Thinking back on the Thor she’d seen from their reunion until today, his words were dubious, but surely the people of the Ehlertt Earldom would forgive a little rudeness.
Karen let out a breath and adjusted Thor’s cravat one more time.
As she did, the sound of a carriage approached.
“Looks like our ride is here.”
“…Right.”
Karen nodded with a tense expression.
Tonight, Karen and Thor had been invited to a dinner party at the Ehlertt family.
If it had been just Karen, she wouldn’t have been this nervous. But tonight, even Thor was invited. The implication behind that made Karen feel tremendous pressure.
“It’ll be fine. Since it’s a favor from you, Sis, I’ll handle it well.”
Thor, clad in formal attire, flashed the same cheerful grin he always had. The wild orange hair he usually let run free had been carefully slicked back today, leaving his forehead exposed.
His outfit was noble formal wear, tailored from scratch for tonight. He looked quite good in it, though that might be Karen’s favoritism as his older sister.
Karen’s dress was also tailored the same way as Thor’s. Though there were still some dresses Alise had given her that she hadn’t worn yet, it felt wrong to wear those tonight, so Karen had prepared her own dress.
When Karen gripped the invitation tightly, the bell rang.
“Let’s go, Sis.”
Thor held out his arm. At least he seemed to know the conduct of escorting. Feeling just a little relieved, Karen was supported by Thor’s arm and, seeing off by Harald, left the house.
“Karen, Thor, I’ve come to pick you up.”
Julius, who had descended from the carriage, was also dressed up in noble formal wear.
“How’s this dress? I chose it myself—is it strange?”
At Karen’s desperate question, Julius’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re very beautiful today too, Karen.”
“Hmm. You’d think that no matter what I wore, wouldn’t you, Mr. Julius?”
“Ah, perhaps so. After all, you yourself are the most beautiful.”
“You’re no help either, Mr. Julius!”
“Alright, alright, quit flirting with me stuck in the middle.”
Thor pushed Julius aside and helped Karen into the carriage.
Thor climbed in after her and took the seat beside Karen, while Julius sat opposite her.
The carriage proceeded straight toward the Ehlertt family’s residence.
“Earl Ehlertt, Countess, thank you very much for inviting me today. My name is Thor, a B-rank adventurer and the younger brother of Karen, a B-rank alchemist. I am honored to make your acquaintance.”
Karen looked up at Thor with a face like a pigeon hit by a peashooter.
Seeing Karen like that, Helfried, who had come out to greet them, smiled wryly.
“I am Helfried. I’ve heard about you. You can behave as you normally do, Thor.”
“This is simply my way of showing respect to the members of the Ehlertt family who have treated my sister so kindly. Please do not concern yourselves—I am not forcing myself.”
“Your sister seems to be the one forcing herself, Mr. Thor. Hehe.”
At Karen’s blank expression that wouldn’t return to normal, Alise burst out laughing as if she couldn’t hold it in.
Thor looked down at Karen and returned his speech to normal, saying, "Come on, Sis.”
“I can do at least this much, you know? You totally didn’t believe me, did you?”
“W-Well…”
“You’re the one who kept reminding me over and over not to be rude to nobles. So I’m being courteous, but what are you getting surprised for, Sis?”
“Sister Karen looks troubled, so you can just act normally. Father and Mother said that’s perfectly fine.”
“Sister?”
When Thor looked down at him with a puzzled expression, Sieg—who had come out with Helfried and Alise—looked back up at him with a deep frown.
Looking down at Sieg, Thor put on an amiable smile.
“However, it appears that the future head of the house finds my manner displeasing. I would gladly adjust my behavior so as not to trouble you.”
“Not really. I don’t care about your attitude at all.”
Sieg turned his face away with a huff.
Alise frowned at his behavior.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Thor. I am Alise. My son has been rude to you. I’ll have him correct it. Sieg, didn’t I tell you to treat Mr. Thor as someone older than you?”
“Please don’t worry, Countess. Though I am a B-rank adventurer, I am a commoner.”
Karen felt a chill as she noticed the sarcasm that had seeped into Thor’s words. Even nobles were expected to show respect to a B-rank adventurer. Yet there were surely nobles who would still look down on someone simply for being born a commoner—and that, too, was unavoidable.
However, Alise smiled gently without any sign of noticing the poison Thor had mixed into his words.
“Neither being a commoner nor being a B-rank adventurer matters. You are the younger brother of Ms. Karen, who is precious to us. So please allow us to show you our heartfelt respect.”
At Alise’s words, Thor’s eyes widened slightly.
“Sieg, isn’t Ms. Karen important to you too?”
“Sister Karen is important, but…”
Sieg, unusually sulking like a child his age, suddenly glared at Thor.
“As Sister Karen’s younger brother, I won’t lose even if we’re not related by blood!”
After declaring this loudly, Sieg turned around and walked away briskly.
Thor watched his retreating figure with a blank expression.
“Thor, I apologize for my son. He seems to be burning with rivalry toward you. I’ll scold him well later, so please forgive him for now.”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t need to scold him. If he was looking down on me for being a commoner, that would be one thing, but he doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.”
“Looking down on someone for their status is absolutely unthinkable. Our great benefactor, Karen, is also a commoner.”
“…I see.”
At Helfried’s firm declaration, Thor blinked.
“Sieg really adores Karen, Thor.”
“…Seems like it.”
Responding to Julius’s words in a murmur, Thor looked at Karen, who had been watching the direction Sieg had disappeared with an affectionate expression.
“You really are amazing, Sis.”
“Hm? Did you say something?”
“Nothing.”
Thor turned back to Helfried and Alise and bowed.
“Then I’ll take you up on your kindness and behave as I normally would.”
At Thor’s words, Helfried narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, and Alise smiled warmly.
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