Next Life - Volume 1 - Chapter 11

“Fuuh…”

Marius got out from the bath while letting out a sigh.
If you overlook the fact that there is no shower and sauna, it’s almost the same as the public baths of hotel.

(This was only for visitors, how frightening.)

He didn’t think it was a waste of tax.
Saying they had trouble in finance to other country people would only lead them to being exploited.
By telling him `Take your time please`, they would be busy with doing their thing in their rooms and preparing the meal while guessing that he was really taking his time.
It was strange enough that he didn’t get dizzy soaking too long in the bath.
In the dressing room, a change of underwear was placed in its folding state.
In his Original World, it would be refer as a running shirt and black trunks.
There is something in common in a strange place, but there was no complaints because it was comfortable.
Wearing the robe, he put aside the Staff of the Dragon-God into the tool-bag.
Since the cane of a magician is like the sword of a swordsman, he considered it was better not to absurdly have it within the Royal Palace.
However, as preparation for emergencies, the Ring of the God Inheritor and Necklace of the Archangels Leader stayed equipped.
It isn’t a good thing to be carrying around a tool-bag, but they wouldn’t mind if it was hidden inside the robe.

Standing in front of dressing table and confirming there isn’t any place that look weird, he rung the bell installed there.
Ring~ a beautiful sound is heard and in a short moment, a positioned Chamberlain showed himself.
He is a different man from the one that guided him to bathroom.
Perhaps, he had been standby outside.

“Thank you for waiting, I shall guide you.”

That must be what he said, Marius thought.
Once again here, the sadness of words not being able to get through was shown.
If it can get through, he could start a variety of topics. It was okay to talk to the guide about the surroundings inside Royal Palace that can be seen now to spend some time.
Going out with the chamberlain, Loviesa changed to a calm blue evening dress and Emma had already been waiting.

“How was the bath?”

“It was the best. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting for me.”

Giving a light bow to the smiling Loviesa that started the conversation, Loviesa answered it with a deepened smile.
And then she giving a wink to the chamberlain.
The Chamberlain gave a bow to Marius and Loviesa and went away.

“The one that should apologize is me. Thank you for your concern. Thanks to you I could afford to adjust my appearance.”

It meant that Marius intentionally taking his bath slowly had been seen through.
Or perhaps having a long bath was some kind of social politeness.
In any case, it was better to appear that he was unskilled to probe others’ minds was what Marius decided.
It seems that she wasn’t born as a princess for appearance sake only.

“The blue dress also suits you, you are very beautiful.”

Since he thought that it was better to mention a woman’s dress, he put  out a praise from his mouth. While tilting her head, Loviesa kept smiling.

“I thought Marius-sama was one that sought the essence of Magic single-minded, you are surprisingly good at this.”

Looks like it was far from impressing, the words that came to him was more like an imprint.
From the standpoint of a beauty and a princess like Loviesa, it wasn’t strange to hear a praise instead a greeting.
That was why he wasn’t disappointed from the impression that he got, he was already content with knowing his impression from Loviesa’s mind.

(Judged as a single-minded person who to sought the essence of Magic, eh.)

Seems like it was mistaken in a good way was what Marius thought.
Sought the essence of Magic to polishing him/her self as Magician, that expression had been around since the game era.
Marius was far from the common sense of this continent and he had been judged as such person who sought the essence of Magic.
For Marius, this was the best result he had assumed.
However, with word of Marius, he was also not a simple human to be accepted with that kind fact as it is, it should be his conduct that solidifies this kind of evaluation.

“I’m sorry for expressing my shallow thought. A human heart is a thing that is very deep.”

Regarding the `Shallow thought`, it wasn’t a lie.
Hearing Loviesa’s words, Marius only returned it with a smile and didn’t say anything else.
To change it, Emma was whispering something to Loviesa.
Hearing it, Loviesa gave a nod and start to translate the words to Marius.

“Preparation are done, this way please.”

Being led by two beauty, he walked on the red carpet that was likely to be luxurious.
There is lamps every few step and they gave a lighting.
The utility cost of all of it together must be quite something, that floating thought that couldn’t giving him a result disappeared.
 
 
 
 
 
The guided dining hall was huge. The table that was hugged by a tablecloth with size so big that it could excellently afford for twenty people to sit and there was a large flower vase with roses right in the middle.
Above it was a line up of a few dozens of bean-sized lighting and a flashy chandelier hanging.
The King and Queen, also the Prince were already placed in their chairs and behind them, chamberlains and maids had lined up. It was a situation that could only be described as spectacular.
Unconsciously Marius had swallow his saliva.
Having a dinner with the King of a Kingdom and his family was indeed making him nervous.
However, on the other hand there is a feeling that he could just do whatever he wanted to do now.
From Marius’s viewpoint, sitting on the right-side of the King was the Queen and sitting right next to him is the Prince.
By the recommendation of Loviesa, Marius was to sit next to the Prince. He began walking to adjacent seat of the King.
When Marius approached the designated seat, Emma that was walking earlier,silently pulled out the chair.
Raising in front of his chair, the King had stood up and following him, the Queen and Prince also stood up.

“Let me introduce them to you. My Queen Margarita and my son Ernest.”

Margarita had blood colored haired and green eyes, a gentle plump woman. What Ernest was clearly evident of was the remnant beautiful youth of his mother past look.
They gave a both to each other and the Royal family sat back onto their seats which Marius followed.
The chair was soft, comfortable to sit.
Then Emma began moving to Loviesa’s back.

“Marius-sama, what kind of drink do you wish to? Wine, Rose-water, Cacao-tea,and  Lemon-tea is also available.”

He could somehow imagine what are the wine and lemon-tea, but it was impossible for the Rose-water and Cacao-tea.
Instead, he was surprised that Cacao existed and his delight by its existence also made him wish to drink it.

“Cacao-tea and Rose-water…could I ask for both of them at the same-time?”

“Of course.”

He wondered if asking for more than one kind of drink was out of common sense.
Or perhaps he should have refrained because he was a guest.
The answer to Marius question immediately came out.
Because the others also started to ask for more than one kind drink to the maids.
Even though he didn’t understand the words, it was only to the extent he that he was able guess since it was a fact that multiple glasses came out to all of them.
He was glad that the size and also shape was of a Wine-glass, but he couldn’t see the content in the silverware. It was clearly different from glassware.
Silver reacting to poison, to that theory Marius tried to asking about it.

“Is this container silver?”

“No. It was made from Rebura Steel. Because there also poisons that do not react to silver.”

It seems that if it was made out of Rebura Steel, it will react to everything.
Although Marius doesn’t know what is Rebura Steel, he knows that it is a thing much better than silver.
Followed by maids holding other Rebura Steel containers, a pale-yellow liquid had entered inside of it.

“This was aperitifs sake, alcohol made from the fin of Sword-Sharks. If you are weak to alcohol, it is alright not to drink it.”

Thinking that the five people holding their glass are making a toast, Marius also held his.
(NEETnote : I don’t know why five people, did Marius also included in here?)

“Cheers”

After the King, the other three joined in, raising high the hand that was holding their glass.
After Marius joined them, he took a sip.
When he drinking such strong liquor, his whole body felt like it had been attacked by a burn feeling and he found that inside his stomach, movement became active.
To Marius who was surprised by its effect, Loviesa came to explain it to him.

“The alcohol content is weak, but its effect at stimulating appetite is outstanding.”

`I see.` and while nodding, he once again took another sip.
He couldn’t believe that the alcohol content was weak.
The next one being served was grilled bread and riding on top of it was tomatoes and bell peppers look-a-like vegetables.

“This is the appetizer, Bruschetta.”

Trying to bite the bread that had been cut into a size where you can casually hold in one hand.
The bread, tomatoes, and bell peppers had the same taste in his Original World. The delicacy of it was that the saltiness was sufficient.
Also because of his hunger, he quickly ate it.
Then one of the maids came bringing him a wet towel.
Instead of a towel, it was more appropriate to call it a hand towel.
The next thing Marius did was trying a sip of his Cacao-tea.
Colored like chocolate with the scent of tea is perhaps the most closest description.
While it only gave a slight nostalgic flavor, he felt homesick.
Perhaps chocolate also existed in this World, while thinking that the next dish came out.

“This is Onion and Corn Soup.”

Scooped with spoon, he poured it to his mouth and bit the onion and corn.
It was the same as his Original World, but the taste was much better.
It was a thing put on a King’s family table. In a sense, it was a matter of course.
After drinking the soup, the next thing he did was trying the Rose-water.
On the water of his glass, a beautiful rose petal was floating.
As it name suggested, it was water with the scent of roses.
The water was nicely cooled down and the scent of roses made it taste sweet, it was very delicious.
After Loviesa told him its name, commentary didn’t come as it was self-explanatory.
If he wanted to know how to learn Tarian Language better, asking it by himself was the best thing to do.

“This is Steamed Star Red-snapper.”
(NEETnote : Any name suggestion for this fish? It was 星鯛 in Japanese.)

Fish fillet that had been steamed, served with white sauce, red bell peppers, and peas look-a-like vegetable.
He wondered if this the same as poêlé of his Original World.
Cutting it with the knife and fork, he savored it on his tongue.
Its deliciousness was already reaching outside the words that can be expressed by Marius’s vocabulary.

“To remove the aftertaste, this is Ice Pickled Strawberries.”

For a moment, Marius thought it was Ice Cream or Sherbet but apparently it was only simple frozen fruits.
Grasping it with his bare hands and throwing it inside his mouth, the unique phenomenon when eating cold food happened and he began having a headache.
Seeing other people, they were nonchalantly pinching their heads.

(It was a dish for the Royal Family, is it okay to grab it by hand?)

That question was floating in Marius’s mind,but he immediately rearranged his thought to not apply the common sense of his Original World.
After enjoyed the refreshing taste of strawberries, he enjoyed the sweet scent of Rose-water.
After waiting slightly, a new dish came out.

“This is Cockatrice grilled with herb.”

It was the same as roast chicken.

“Cockatrice…?”

A Bird-type Boss Monster that spat out a petrifying breath floated to his mind.

“Yes. You could eat it if you remove the Petrochemical bags and its taste is exquisite.”

Loviesa gave her commentary.
`It was like a Blowfish`, and while thinking that he tried biting a piece.
The texture was like a poultry with pepper and herb like taste intermingled in it.
It surely can be laid as a main-dish, it was superb.
(NEETnote : Blowfish was poisonous fish but if it was prepared well it will became a delicacy especially for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.Tetraodontidae/Blowfish/Globefish )

“Lastly, this is dessert, apple pie.”

Sweet and hot apple taste melting inside pie.
Likely making his tongue burn, he hastily washed it with Cacao-tea.
The overall amount was plenty, and was also enough to fill the stomach of the `not spare eater` Marius.
In that time, a maid came holding a container shaped like a coffee-cup.

“This is the after-meal Lemon-tea.”

The refreshing fragrance of lemon spreading to his nasal.
While holding the Lemon-tea in front his mouth, the chance to began to say that he want to learn this country language and culture came.
Except for Loviesa explaining things to Marius, no one opened their mouth.
There must be a table-manner of not talking while having a meal.
If it was Marius who knew nothing violated it, he didn’t feel it would make much of a problem, but he did wish to avoid embarrassing himself more than now.
How much time had passed.
At the time five-glass Lemon-tea had been emptied, slowly Bernhard III opened his mouth.

“Marius-dono, from now on what do you plan to do?”

Hearing the translation from Loviesa, Marius readily responding to board the ship.

“If possible I wish to stay in this country, I would love to learn Tarian’s language and culture.”

Hearing the translation from Loviesa, he thought for a while, and replied to him.

“If its like that, would you stay in Royal Palace as a State Guest Magician?”

He confused with the unfamiliar word.

“As a State Guest Magician? If its Court-Magicians, I had heard about them…”

Briefly saying, a Court-Magician is a Magician who served a Kingdom.
It didn’t exist in the Game World, but in fiction it was a relatively shown as a person’s title.

(Aren’t State Guests a foreign dignitaries who entertained at the expense of the Kingdom?)

The State Quest that Marius knows was concluded with that meaning.
The point of foreigners and the point of entertaining with the expense of Kingdom must be the same, but he still was feeling that something was different.

“State Guest Magicians have a further position above Court Magicians.”

According to the description of the King’s word after Loviesa interpretation, as it name said it was a title of a Magician with a position as State Guest.
The salary is high, given an ample research expenses and a separate research facility.
However, because it was a honorary title, it didn’t had authority over any persons having positions like Court-Magicians nor Military.
Given to a person like Marius, in a sense it perfectly fitted.
To keep him working for the Kingdom without using large amounts of money, that kind of method to Marius wasn’t a bad negotiation.
He mind lighten more as a person that can be useful than a useless free-loader.
Thinking so, Marius was ready to answer.
(NEETnote : My King, I also wish that kind of job, so I could keep my Hikikomori life-style and continuing to translate this WN everyday)

“If you are satisfied with me I’ll ask you to do so. I would be grateful if you do send me a person to teach me the language.”

As expected, he can’t afford to make Loviesa as his interpreter forever.
Moreover, they were just a young man and woman.

“In respect to that there is a qualified person, we will introduce her to you later. However, to be readily answering us. Isn’t it good if you thought about it overnight. When it come to Marius-dono, you could be an official in any country.”

The eyes glint of Bernhard III grew slightly sterner.
Like he wouldn’t overlook any single move Marius did.
Pretending to be unaware of such manner, Marius answered.

“In my hometown there is a saying to cherish a fated `One time, one meeting`. That is why being acquainted and being taken cared of too must be a fate. I want to cherish it.”

In fact, that wasn’t all.
The biggest reason is the Princess, it was Loviesa.
He did think that it was a rare occurrence to be acquainted with the owner of a beauty like her.
Her good mind and her self-awareness to her position as princess too were Marius preferences.
But, he can’t honestly confess such a thing to her Father, King of the Kingdom.

“That was a very splendid mental attitude. From now on I’m in your favor.”

Bernhard III walked over to get handshake from Marius.
Responding to that, Marius gave him a firm handshake.
Thus, State Guest Magician of Firat Kingdom, Marius Touban was born.
Afterwards, “This was the turning point of over history”  was the kind of closing-stage-curtain remark many people argued.
(End of Episode 11)