Chapter 16

The morning came as I sat in the dormitory.

I had finished my audience with the Queen last night.

Safely…safely, I think? But there was no one there who could reassure me.

At least, I had fulfilled my duty as a Shadow.

While I was Her Majesty’s Right Hand, the Royal Capital was not my territory.

I didn’t want to act too boldly or do anything to attract the attention of the Shadows who lived here.

And so I meant to live quietly once I had taken stock of the place.

However, there was one matter that I felt uneasy about.

“Last time I came here, I ended up in a fight in the commercial district. I’ll have to be more careful.”

It was three years ago when I had come here with my father.

I was walking through town at midnight, and well, things happened with other shadows and we fought.

But what I assume was a misunderstanding, was resolved before anyone was killed. And we went our separate ways as if nothing had happened. However, my father found out about it and was furious.

I don’t know why, since I gave them all a good beating. And yet he gave me a big bump on my head for the effort.

And then I was grounded and made to stay in the inn all day. It was a very bitter memory for me.

Well, I was also injured, so it couldn’t be helped.

I would be more careful this time.

If I ended up in a fight with the Shadows every time I went out into town, I would not survive very long.

It would be easier to avoid them if I didn’t go out at night, but on the other hand, my magic was significantly more useful when it was dark.

“Perhaps I’ll go and visit father’s old master today.”

I say master, but not the one who taught him to kill. This was the one who taught him to bake.

Father learned about baking bread in the capital.

“Let me see, it was in the commercial district. A place called ‘Fluffy Bouloire.’”

According to my parents, this place had the most delicious Gikoku-style bread.

I wouldn’t comment on the naming sensibilities.

But I will say that I wished father hadn’t inherited it.

As I was forced to stay in the inn last time, I hadn’t visited this place before.

I suppose I would take a slow walk on the ground and take a look.

And so I bought some breakfast at the school store and set out.

The Dragon Academy was located in a quiet area that was surrounded by trees.

There were hardly any stores or houses nearby.

It was mostly just undeveloped land.

“I suppose people don’t want to live near here, as it’s pretty inconvenient, considering this is the capital.”

There was another thing I had been wondering about.

While it was early morning, there were hardly any people on the streets.

It was only slightly busier than the streets of Sol.

“…Hmm? What?”

As I walked, the street abruptly ended.

Well, it was blocked, and you could not continue on.

What did it mean? There was a sign, but it was still annoying.

“The Dragon Master Grounds, huh… You have to go around then.”

So, this road connected the Dragon Academy to the Dragon Master Grounds.

And civilians were not allowed to enter.

That’s why there were hardly any people around.

In order to go to the center of the Royal Capital, I would have to go around the Dragon Master Grounds then.

“No wonder there are hardly any houses or stores here.”

And the Dragon Master Grounds was huge.

It was terribly inconvenient.

I would go around this time, but it would be better to just travel through the underground waterways.

It was something to consider.

And so with no other choice, I walked along the path that took me around it.

It took me a long time to finally reach the commercial district.

“Uhh, the Bouloire house was on 40th avenue, I believe. That’s a little up ahead.”

As the city was so big, it was made so you could tell where you were based on your distance from the castle and which district you were in.

40th avenue was still relatively close to the castle.

The further away you went, the numbers would get higher. Like 120th avenue and 151st avenue.

After walking for a while longer, I found the store I was looking for.

The walls were an orange plaster, and there was a sign in the front.

“Here it is… Still, this name. It’s so terrible…”

‘Fluffy Bouloire’ was painted in large letters on the sign.

If they were the Bouloires, then why not just call it ‘Bouloire’s Bakery’?

“Of course, that has nothing to do with how their bread tastes… But I’m surprised someone in the family didn’t intervene.”

“Hey! Do you have a problem with the name of our store?”

Someone shouted at me from the side.

A young girl with a pushcart was glaring at me.

No, we appeared to be around the same age.

“Are you Mister Bouloire’s daughter?”

“I am. And who are you? What business do you have here?”

She had very sharp eyes.

And she was looking at me with suspicion.

Well, I couldn’t blame her. I was insulting the store’s name right in front of her.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be malicious.”

“And who are you?”

“I’m Leon. My father and mother used to work here. So I came to say hello.”

“…Huh.”

She looked at me doubtfully. She was still very guarded.

“I just arrived in the city yesterday. And so I came here immediately.”

“I see… Wait here.”

As she still had her suspicions, she left me and went into the store. ‘Mother! There’s a visitor!’ I could hear her shouting.

Then she came out again and said, ‘over here.’ and pushed her cart towards the back of the store.

I followed her to the back, where she put away the cart into the shed with practiced speed. Then she pointed to what looked like the workplace and said, ‘father’s over there.’

“Can I go and meet him?”

“Go ahead. It shouldn’t be locked.”

And so I went over and knocked on the door.