Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru - Chapter 94.2

Translator: SFBaka

Editor: Thor’s Stone

Once the carriage got out of the castle gates, I spotted Selena and Sharon waiting nearby. The carriage stopped in front of the two of them. It looks like they didn’t have to wait that long.

From now onward, I’m planning on taking a day off and wandering around the royal capital with the two of them. They asked to be my escorts for today’s outing.

I’ve, of course, informed everyone about the matter in advance. I declared that once the royal order to capture bandits was accomplished, I planned to sightsee around the royal capital without any escorts.

Although we were finally in the royal capital, I rarely went out of the inn except for when we’re conducting operations, and whenever I did get to go out, at least ten guards would follow after me.

It wasn’t all that bad to go around town with companions, but I felt kinda suffocated by having to always play the part of a noble.

Initially, I planned to head out alone, but everyone else objected and said it was too dangerous. They finally agreed to it on the condition that Selena and Sharon accompanied me as well.

If I take off this noble tunic, I’d look like your average well-off commoner. So today, I’ll be the well-off commoner Alan.

“Good work today, Alan. I’ve made a reservation at the restaurant with the highest reputation in the royal capital. Would you like to have your lunch there?”

It looks like Sharon already prepared for today in advance huh. The best food in the royal capital huh. Interesting.

“That sounds good. Alright then. Let’s eat there. My treat.”

The two cheered when they heard that I was treating them to lunch. I have to properly act like a respectable superior officer every now and then after all.

But suddenly, a commotion was raised on the streets. A scream echoed out from the distance as well.

“Watch out! It’s a runaway horse!”

Further cries resounded from the other side of the street. It’s true that a horse without a rider was running loose, but it didn’t seem to be on a rampage. It’s more like it was just intent on running at full speed as much as it can. Perhaps it’s possible to stop it in its tracks.

“Defensive formation!”

Dalshim shouted his order, and it prompted the rest of the Clan members with us to surround me from all sides. It was a fast reaction worthy of them being former royal guards. They surrounded me in a double-layer formation that didn’t expose any gaps.

No matter how you look at it, they were overreacting. The horse was just approaching our position, and it’s not like it was on a direct collision course with us. Furthermore, it looks like it was gradually slowing down.

They formed such a tight defensive formation as if we were getting attacked by a large pack of Gray Hounds.

As we watched on, the horse swiftly passed by our carriage.

“Dalshim, isn’t this too much? The horse looked like it could be stopped.”

“No, we absolutely cannot tolerate any possibility of harm coming upon you, Alan-sama. ……The royal capital is dangerous, as expected. Wouldn’t it be better if we came with you as well after all?”

There’s a limit to being overprotective y’know. Mm, we should probably get going now before they insist more.

“Don’t worry so much. We’ll be fine. Yosh, Sharon, Selena, let’s go.”

“Adjutant Dalshim, we will take responsibility and protect Alan well, so do not worry.”

After hearing Selena’s words, Dalshim reluctantly backed down.

“We’ll be back before dinner guys.”

With Dalshim and the rest seeing us off, we immediately headed to the restaurant Sharon made a reservation with. Maybe I should buy some souvenirs for everyone later as well.

The restaurant was just a short walk away, and it looked like quite a luxurious establishment. Since it’s praised as the number one restaurant in the royal capital, it should be a royal purveyor that’s well catered to nobles.

“Welcome. We have been waiting for your arrival, dear guests.”

A man dressed as a butler welcomed us. He immediately guided us to a private room where some maids pulled our chairs for us and made us take our seats. Um, what about the menu?

“If you have no particular requests, I would like to recommend our restaurant’s specialty dishes. How about it, dear customers?”

The dishes the restaurant was most confident in were probably their most delicious dishes. It looks like Sharon and Selena didn’t have any objections as well.

“Alright. We’ll order those then.”

It looks like we were gonna be served a full-course meal. As expected of a place hailed as the best restaurant in the royal capital. The customer service was also quite impeccable and didn’t miss a beat. It seems we can look forward to the dishes as well.

And as expected, the food was nothing short of excellent. Starting with an aperitif, we were then served appetizers, soups, fish dishes, meat dishes, and desserts at a steady tempo. All of the dishes were quite refined and exquisite. There was nothing to complain about the waiter serving us, and Selena and Sharon were very satisfied as well. It seems they rate the food and service to be comparable to the high-class restaurants in the empire.

I wonder how much the bill will be though.

Around the time we finished drinking our after-meal tea, the butler-like man reappeared.

“Were you all satisfied with our food, dear customers?”

“Yes, very. Every dish was exquisite and very delicious. I can see why your establishment is hailed as the best restaurant in the royal capital.”

“Thank you very much for the praise.”

“Now then, how much is our bill?”

“That would be 700 Guineas per person, sir.”

700 Guineas! As expected, the price was also high-class huh. And it also indicated their absolute confidence in their dishes. Well, I was pretty convinced with the dishes anyway.

“Oh, right. Do you know of some interesting shops around this part of the city?”

I asked while handing over our payment. After all, locals were more familiar with stuff like that.

“Let’s see…… There is a jewelry store seven shops away from the right-hand side of our restaurant that seems to be very popular with the ladies of the capital.”

Jewelry? Accessories huh. Selena and Sharon’s eyes shone in excitement after hearing the restaurant staff’s words. It looks like they were pretty interested.

“Alright, let’s go and check it out then.”

We immediately headed for the jewelry shop after exiting the restaurant. It was another luxurious-looking establishment. Once inside, we were greeted by a man who seemed to be the owner. No, he actually looked a bit too young to be the owner.

“Welcome.”

“We plan on looking around the shop for a bit. Would that be fine?”

“But of course. Go ahead and have a look, sir.”

The store was packed with various accessories such as bracelets, pendants, and rings.

“Waa, this looks really cute!”

“It does!”

My two companions were gushing around excitedly like normal teenage girls.

“Hmm, it looks like they aren’t that expensive.”

Many of the accessories lined up were priced in the hundreds. The most expensive ones only went up to a thousand Guineas or so. The prices were pretty cheap, considering this was a luxury store.

“The articles being displayed on this floor are catered to young people. We have more upscale articles on the second floor.”

I see. So this stuff was aimed at commoner teens huh. They were all reasonably priced and were perfect for attracting customers.

“Yosh, it’s my treat again, you two. Go ahead and choose accessories you like.”

“”Really?””

“Really. ……Oh, but you have to keep the cost to a thousand Guineas or below per person, alright?”

“”Understood!””

The two of them started to choose accessories with serious looks on their faces. Fortunately, they didn’t take all that long and finished selecting items in about five minutes or so.

The two of them chose silver rings with jewels on them. The jewel in Selena’s ring was blue in color while Sharon’s was red. They looked pretty good to me and were apparently made in the same basic design. Each item costs 950 Guineas. Just a bit short of the max budget I gave them huh.

After making our payment, the two immediately put the rings on their fingers and began admiring them. They’ve been a big help to me after all. It’s only right to give them such rewards every once in a while.

Oh, come to think of it, wasn’t it a violation of corps rules for officers to hand their personal money or gifts to subordinates of the opposite sex? Oh well.

We then left the store and continued wandering around, but my two companions still seemed to be preoccupied with their rings. It looks like they really like them huh. It was well worth treating them, seeing as they’re both so happy.