BXBX NOVEL Chapter 131: Concubine
The impression that I was a nice nobleman was going well, so if I was going to invite them to my bedroom, I wanted to do it smartly.
When I returned to the mayor\'s mansion, I instructed Rumon, who was working, to bring me a thick-haired rabbit.
I wanted to make sure it was the same furball I\'d seen in New Nellie City before I forgot about it.
Rumon seemed to be accustomed to handling the rabbit, since Kohari had kept it for him, and he seemed to have a good way of holding it.
"Is this the thick-haired Rabbit? It doesn\'t have as much hair as I\'ve heard. ......"
"Kohli regularly trims the rabbit\'s hair because too much hair makes it hard to see what\'s in front of it. Rabbits in the countryside grow their fur long enough to make fine yarn, so they look different."
I observed the thick-haired rabbit as it sat motionless on the desk.
I could barely make out the rabbit\'s silhouette, though its fur was thick and voluminous, making it look very round.
The ball of fur I saw in New Nellie City before looked like a rolling cloud of dust, and I couldn\'t even make out the "U" in rabbit. I think the ears were completely buried, too.
"Is the hair on this going to grow into a furball ......?"
When I opened my palm and touched the fur of the thick-haired rabbit, it felt soft and fine. It\'s really comfortable.
The densely packed hair was not straight, but curly, similar to wool or cotton.
"A hairball? ...... Oh, that\'s what some rural people call their rabbits. This rabbit was purchased in a farming village, so if you let the hair grow out, it will look like that."
"I see."
Well, it certainly has the shape of a rabbit.
I wriggled my fingers and dug them into the fur, eventually reaching the skin.
As I groped around the neck and the base of the foot, it seemed to be the shape of a rabbit.
"Does the mayor prefer the fast-moving rabbits that live in the woods and fields?"
"I don\'t really like them, but ...... they are more like rabbits, aren\'t they?"
But Rumon, with an indescribably half-hearted expression on his face, gave a vague, caring reply without denying us.
It seems that my view of rabbits is not the same as the people of the continent of Luo.
"I wonder how such a slow-moving rabbit can survive in the harsh natural world. Wouldn\'t they be devoured by wild dogs?"
The thick-haired rabbit in front of me twitched its long ears every once in a while, barely moving, and I wondered if it would turn into a furball, a mere object.
"The rabbit is a domestic animal and cannot live in the wild. As the mayor said, they can be attacked by dogs and wolves, and they are not very cautious. Even in captivity, they can mess with a snake that enters their hut and die from the venomous fangs of a counterattack."
Compared to the fangs of wild dogs, snakes\' fangs are long, thin, and sharp, so they can slip through the hair defense of thick-haired rabbits.
Incidentally, even though there are differences in the types of snakes, poisonous snakes live almost everywhere in the continent of Eruo.
It is one of the most common causes of death for people without magical powers.
The coat of arms of the Quardenze family includes a picture of a snake, which is said to be a poisonous snake that lives widely in the central part of the continent.
It is a snake that looks like a slightly thicker version of a green snake, with metallic green scales that resemble those of a cockatoo. It is smooth and beautiful to look at.
However, it is extremely poisonous, and a single bite from a mere human can paralyze the nerves, rendering the person unable to move, and the person will die from breathing difficulties.
Especially in the summer, it is difficult to see them because they blend in with the green grass, and many people accidentally step on them and get hit back. Every year, many New Nelly citizens are bitten by these snakes and die.
I wonder what the ancestors of the Quardenze family were thinking when they incorporated such a vicious creature into their coat of arms.
"Well ...... be careful with the snake. Kohari will be sad."
"Yes. The hut is in the courtyard, but I will make sure that there is no space for snakes.
This was the end of the conversation, and Rumon gave off that vibe.
But I wanted to know more about the thick-haired rabbit, and I had other things to do.
"Wait a minute. I\'ll get to the point."
"My apologies."
Rumon apologized for trying to pull up the rabbit without permission, and placed the thick-haired rabbit on the floor, which I had picked up to take home.
I took out a small box from my desk drawer.
This was something that had just arrived from New Nellie City the other day.
After my inspection of the Mana Mine, I had written a letter to Lupetta in response to the letter from New Nellie City.
Although Lupetta was an adventurer with no fixed address, she had mentioned that she would be staying in New Nelly City for a while, so a castle servant could deliver the letter immediately.
In fact, I\'ve sent servants out on errands a few times when sex was called for, so I know the inn where I\'m staying is cracked.
"Do you know what this is?"
Inside the small box was one of the mana crystals that had been lent to Lupetta.
It was a good luck charm that I had lent to Lupetta just in case she joined the expedition to New Nelly Field to protect her safety.
It would be useless for her to keep it after she returned from the field expedition, so I contacted her to return it.
"This is ...... the mana crystal I received from my mother."
There were a total of three mana crystals that I had previously confiscated from Rumon.
Two of the items were so-called "mementos" given by the deceased Rumon\'s mother to her own children, Rumon and Kohari.
The remaining one seemed to have been displayed in the mansion, and there was no one to whom it belonged. I\'m not sure if it\'s a good idea, but it\'s a good idea.
"...... I see."
It seems that the mana crystal that was lent to Lupetta was given to her by Rumon from her mother.
I couldn\'t tell which of the three mana crystals belonged to whom at all, so I just showed him the actual crystals and didn\'t say much.
I seemed to have succeeded in extracting the answer from Rumon.
"Tesh will present you with another gift. But I thought I\'d give this to you first."
It has been officially decided that Kohari will be my concubine.
In a sense, this is like a marriage ceremony, so the rest of the family will receive money and goods.
It\'s not important to know, but in Eruo, both receiving a regular wife and receiving a concubine are often expressed in the same way.
If I were to translate it into Japanese, it would be closer to the native sense to say that Kohari would marry into the Quardenze family.
However, there is not as much hassle as when welcoming a regular wife.
I don\'t have to do anything, because Tesh and the others around me will take care of everything.
"Mayor?"
"Once you get married, you won\'t be able to live with her like you used to. ......"
A room for a concubine was prepared at the pervert\'s mansion, so Kohari\'s life would be based there.
It was decided that she could continue her menial work at the mayor\'s mansion until she became pregnant, so it didn\'t mean that she wouldn\'t be able to see Rumon. But the chances of that happening will be greatly reduced.
"I\'m going to give the crystal to Kohari as a memento. Even if you have to be away from each other more often, having something that shows the bond between siblings will help you feel a little less lonely. ...... Besides, you\'re now in a position to have subordinates. Take a look at this, brace yourself, and continue to work in a way that would make your late mother proud."
"Mayor ......!"
The next moment, Rumon, who had been posturing, fell to his knees as if he was going to collapse.
"The mayor\'s kindness ...... makes me truly happy ......! I will continue to help the mayor ...... and devote myself to the development of Nambonan City and Quardenze!"
Rumon\'s fingers, shoulders, and voice were shaking with emotion.
The mana crystals were in a small box, but there was no proof that they belonged to Rumon.
Two of the three mana crystals were still in existence, but one had been filed away in an experiment.
Since I was certain that the crystal I was carrying around was Kohari\'s, there was a 50/50 chance that the missing crystal was Rumon\'s.
It was fortunate that Rumon\'s crystal was still there. It was a little awkward to wake up to the fact that he had destroyed a memento.
"That\'s good."
If Rumon\'s crystals had disappeared, he assumed that he would have to make some quibble that sounded reasonable and give the remaining crystals to her.
The plan was to say, "You have protected your sister well until now. I\'ll take responsibility for that thought, along with the crystal as a memento. Rumon, from now on, make a new determination, swear by this crystal, and live to make your late mother proud!"
I was planning to return the memento to Kohari and increase her favorability.
But I was afraid that if I screwed up, she would say something like, "I want you to give my brother back his memento, too. ......"
If Rumon\'s crystals had disappeared, he would have trouble dealing with them. That\'s why I decided to make the first move and return the crystals to Rumon.
In addition, it would be profitable if he could elicit the loyalty of Rumon by ostentatiously returning the confiscated items.
"I\'m a bit of a fool, but ...... she\'s my precious little sister and I wouldn\'t trade her for anything. Please take care of her."
"...... Ah!"
The trembling of Rumon\'s body stopped immediately, and his serious eyes turned only to me.
I wonder if he feels like a father sending off his daughter.
Of course, I\'m going to be very kind to Kohari.