How to Tame That Gentle Hero - Chapter 8.9

“The young master Renard Arnasus, who earned the same merit alongside him, also received a viscount title, didn’t he? Now we should call him Viscount Renard Arnasus. Hoho. Will both of them be attending this ball, Countess?”

Countess Seramel, feeling her pride swell, fluttered her fan.

“Of course. How could I invite Lady Arnasus without inviting Viscount Arnasus and Viscount Rawley? Unfortunately, I couldn’t invite Lady Lorona and Lord Ian, who made great contributions in reclaiming the palace from black mages… But they’re at the imperial palace creating some device related to black mages, so it couldn’t be helped!”

“Ah! I’m really excited. I can’t wait to meet those three!”

As the young ladies blushed and their eyes sparkled, Countess Seramel laughed with a high “ohohoho” and snapped her fan shut.

“They’ll be here soon. The time now is… They said they would arrive around 4 o’clock, so probably right about now.”

“Lady Resena Arnasus and Viscount Renard Arnasus have arrived!”

My goodness. They arrive just as I mentioned them, what excellent guests indeed.

Resena and Renard walked toward Countess Seramel with smiles. After a simple bow, Resena smiled at the Countess Seramel who was surrounded by people.

“Hello. It’s been a while, Countess Seramel. I believe this is the first time we’ve met since the Spring Ball.”

“Good day, Countess Seramel. It’s been a long time.”

Following Resena’s words, Renard spoke, and Countess Seramel smiled broadly with an air of pride.

“Indeed, it has. It’s been a while. I had some business during the Summer Ball and couldn’t attend, so I only saw you at the Spring Ball. And even then, we were busy dancing and couldn’t have a proper conversation, so I’m pleased to see you like this. Welcome, both of you. But…”

Countess Seramel looked behind them.

“Perhaps the other one… Viscount Alken Rawley didn’t come with you? I wanted to see the national hero who helped eliminate the high-ranking black mages…”

“Ah. Lord Alken said he would be a bit late. He’ll probably arrive after 5 o’clock.”

At Renard’s words, Countess Seramel nodded with a smiling expression.

Resena also gazed at Countess Seramel with a gentle face.

“Oh my, where are my manners. I should introduce someone to you.”

“Who might that be? If it’s an introduction from Countess Seramel, it must be someone extraordinary.”

At those words, she covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“Not to that extent. But it’s someone who might be helpful to know. This is Derium Karuta, the deputy guild master of our merchant guild, who graduated from the Royal Academy in the Kingdom of Serma.”

“Derium Karuta…?”

“Yes, Derium. Please come over here.”

He was a handsome man with deep blue eyes and gray hair, with rather fine features. Only his eye corners were slightly sharp, which matched his sensitive-looking demeanor perfectly.

‘…His hair and eye color resemble Eldis’s. But he’s not as breathtakingly handsome as Eldis.’

“Derium. Please greet them.”

“Hello, Lady Arnasus and Viscount Arnasus. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hoho. The pleasure is ours. The deputy guild master of the Seramel merchant guild? That’s impressive. And at such a young age.”

Derium smiled slightly at Resena’s words. His appearance reminded Resena of Eldis, which surprised her a little. But she didn’t show it outwardly, and he spoke kindly with the corners of his eyes curving.

“My lady, you are the impressive one, managing a merchant guild so well at such a young age. I’ve always wanted to meet you at least once.”

“Ah… It’s not that impressive.”

“No, it is. Your skill in expanding the Arnasus merchant guild to twice its previous size recently is not something to be taken lightly. Therefore, it has been my dream to meet you in person and witness firsthand how you manage the guild.”

He’s a straightforward person. A gentle curve formed at the corners of Resena’s lips.

She liked his honest and direct approach. Perhaps because of his resemblance to Eldis, he seemed all the more sincere.

“Then would you like to visit the ducal residence sometime? I can show you how I process documents if you stop by my office.”

“Ah. Can I dare to do that?”

Resena nodded with a bright smile. Since they were going to meet anyway, she thought it might be good to show him sooner rather than later.

“Yes, it’s fine. I handle paperwork every day, and if someone can benefit from it, I can show them within reasonable limits.”

“Thank you. Thank you! It will certainly help with my work in the future…!”

As Derium repeatedly expressed his gratitude, Countess Seramel, who was standing beside him, placed her hand on her chest and bowed slightly, looking pleased.

“Thank you, Lady Arnasus. If Derium can learn by directly observing how you handle your work, it will be of great help. I don’t know how to express my gratitude.”

“Hoho. It’s nothing.”

“No, this is something I feel I should repay… Ah, we have a new fruit called Ria Matali that our guild is importing. It’s a fruit that only our guild imports from the Kingdom of Serma. How about distributing it through your channels as well?”

“Oh… May I try the fruit first?”

“Yes. As it happens, we’ve prepared sliced fruit in the banquet hall. Plus, it’s easy to peel and has a sweet and tangy flavor that I think you’ll like.”

At Countess Seramel’s words, Resena smiled and pulled Renard’s hand.

“Then let’s go taste it. Well then, everyone have a good time.”

“Yes. Have a good time as well, my lady.”

As Resena walked away, the people around gazed at her with captivated eyes. Her confidence in saying what she needed to say and leaving without flaunting her merits was impressive—the young ladies kept fanning themselves with envious eyes.

“I’d like to speak with the lady as well. I should approach her while she’s tasting the fruit.”

“Me too…”

As people quickly gathered around, Resena felt the gazes directed at her while she was eating the fruit. Young ladies gathered around Renard, fluttering their fans, while gentlemen lingered around Resena.

This is a bit troublesome.

Renard seemed unbothered, but Resena felt pressure rising up to her throat. Her face grew hot when the young lords and gentlemen beside her began commenting on how she ate fruit with such elegance.

“Excuse me, my lady.”

Furthermore, when several young ladies approached her with envious eyes, it became difficult to properly taste the fruit. Although even in the midst of all this, she did feel that this fruit was worth importing and selling.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Ah, this is our first meeting, isn’t it? I’m Elaine Rima, the second daughter of Count Rima’s family.”

“Aha… Nice to meet you, Lady Rima.”

“Oh, may I introduce myself, too? I’m Lularia Selene. I’m the heir and eldest daughter of Count Selene’s family.”

“Yes… So you’re the heir to Count Selene’s family. Nice to meet you, Lady Selene.”

“You can call me Lularia if you’d like.”

“Me too, of course!”

As the young ladies surrounded Resena and tried to make an impression by introducing themselves and speaking, Resena felt dizzy. She put down her fork with the fruit on it and excused herself to move elsewhere, but the young ladies followed her.

“I’ve been managing a merchant guild recently, and it would be such an honor if you could come and see it sometime.”

“Oh, me too. Actually, I just recently heard that you’re managing a merchant guild, so I’ve been considering starting one myself. What was your mindset when you first took charge of the guild?”

“Ah, I’m really curious about that, too. I’d like to know how you felt when you first took over the guild. Plus, the guild has doubled in size recently, hasn’t it? And Amarast agreed to give 30% more of their stockpiled goods to the Arnasus merchant guild, right? I’m very curious about what kind of contract was made for those terms…”

Resena found it overwhelming to answer all the young ladies’ numerous questions. Moreover, when she answered one question, another would come flying at her, making it difficult to keep up, and giving polite answers became tiring as the conversations dragged on. Later, not only young ladies but also young lords and gentlemen joined in.