Chapter 318 : Deepen The Friendship
We had free time after dinner, so I decided to take a bath.
I was kinda excited to get a rare opportunity to experience a luxurious bath in this castle.
「Taking a bath~ I’m gonna taking a bath in a castle~ Hmm~ Hmm~」(Mark)
I was humming while walking through the hallway toward the bathroom for guests in this castle.
I took off my clothes as soon as I got into the changing room and entered the bath.
「Wow…」(Mark)
I was surprised because it was much bigger than I expected.
Since I was the only male guest here, I thought I could enjoy this huge bath for myself… but I was wrong…
As I stepped inside, I saw a silhouette of a man sitting on a bath stool.
「Yo, Mark.」(Tryon)
Geh…
I couldn’t see his face because of the thick steam but I recognized his voice.
It was Tryon.
I could see him more clearly as I approached him.
As a matter of course, he was completely naked.
「Tryon-sama…? What are you doing here? This is the bathroom for guests, right?」(Mark)
There are several large baths in this castle. The baths for the family, the servants, and the guests are different.
Tryon has his own private bath, so there’s no reason for him to take a bath here.
「Well, you know? I thought this was the perfect opportunity for us to deepen our friendship. I’m quite busy, so I don’t want to miss this chance.」(Tryon)
「I see…」(Mark)
Ugh… I want to enjoy the bath alone though…
But, I wonder what he wants to talk to me about.
He’s… not gonna do something weird, right…? I believe he’s not the kind of person who has a weird fetish or something…
「Let’s enjoy the bath together, shall we?」(Tryon)
He stood up and walked to the bathtub, showing off his model-like body.
I find it irritating somehow.
A dude’s stark naked body truly is poison to your eyes.
Ahh… I can’t believe I would think about it but I kinda miss the time when I took a bath with Celine…
I sighed and followed Tryon while trying not to look at his butt.
Before we entered the bathtub, we poured the hot bathwater over our bodies using expensive-looking clay pails to wash off sweat.
The water smelled nice. It seemed to contain some kind of fragrance.
Come to think of it, although I always put potions into bathwater before taking a bath, I don’t normally pay much attention to the scent.
I think I should try to add some nice scent next time.
Perhaps Gil oji-san knows where I can buy good fragrances. I will ask him when I get to Fatia.
After washing our bodies, we got into the bathtub.
I didn’t want to get too close to Tryon, so I sat about two meters away from him.
「Ahh~ This bath is quite spacious, right? It’s bigger than my private bath. I take a bath here sometimes just to enjoy this spaciousness.」(Tryon)
「I see… So… Do you need something from me…?」(Mark)
「Fufu. I told you I wanted to deepen our friendship, didn’t I?」(Tryon)
He turned to me and smiled suspiciously.
「Mark, ever since I met you in Iris Bar my interest in you has continued to grow.」(Tryon)
「Huh…?」(Mark)
「You notice there are so many young male servants in this castle, right? Do you know the reason why I keep them in my castle?」(Tryon)
He indeed has so many young male servants, but isn’t it because his deceased wife hired them?
Don’t tell me… He…
He’s that kind of a man!?
Right when I realized that I was in danger, Tryon suddenly jumped at me and wrapped his hand around my shoulders.
「I can’t stop thinking about you ever since we met that day. Say, Mark. You do realize what my intention is, right~? You know what I want… right~?」(Tryon)
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyy!!
Alright, let’s kill him.
No, I think knocking him out with Magic Drain is enough.
While he’s unconscious, I’ll take Celine, Nicola, and Ester and escape from this castle!
「…Pfffftt! ーBwahahaha!!」(Tryon)
Suddenly, Tryon burst out laughing while I was making an escape plan in my head.
「Look at your face! Hahaha! I’m sorry, I’m just kidding.」(Tryon)
「What!? …Geez…」(Mark)
I almost had a heart attack! Goddammit!
He thought that was a good April Fools joke or something!?
「If I was a man with a weird fetish, I wouldn’t have married my wife, you know?」(Tryon)
Saying that, he took his arm off my shoulders and laughed.
He then gave me a wry smile.
「Mark, you were going to use magic on me, weren’t you? I could see your mana swaying for a second.」(Tryon)
「Eh…? You can see my mana?」(Mark)
Certainly, I was going to use Mana Drain on him. Did he really see my mana? How did he do that?
「Some magicians, especially the talented ones, have the ability to see other people’s mana, but my method of seeing other people’s mana is different from theirs. First of all, I’m not a magician, but I have a Gift that allows me to see mana.」(Tryon)
「A Gift?」(Mark)
「Yup. It’s called Evil Eye of Aesthetics. Other than mana, it also allows me to see other people’s vitality, nature, personality, and other things. It doesn’t do much. It’s a boring Gift compared to other gifted people’s Gifts.」(Tryon)
「I think it’s a cool Gift though. But… why are you telling me that? Shouldn’t you keep your Gift a secret?」(Mark)
「If I can gain your trust, I don’t mind telling you. I wasn’t lying when I said I was interested in you the moment I saw you at Iris Bar. I was surprised back then because I had never seen someone with such a powerful yet beautiful mana before. Your sister has similar mana, but I like yours better. How should I put it… I feel like your powerful mana is the result of your hard training.」(Tryon)
「Well, I do practice magic every day.」(Mark)
「No wonders. Talking about magic, my daughter is interested in magic. She studies magic every day, and unlike me, she has an aptitude for it. Mark, do you remember when we met at Iris Bar, you made a perfect rounded stone ball using earth magic?」(Tryon)
Back then, Tryon asked me about any popular toys among the children in Fatia and I showed him the marbles I made for the children in Sunday School.
He was very curious about them and asked me to make one for him, so I showed him my earth magic skill. (chapter 94)
「Yes, I remember. What about it?」(Mark)
「After I returned from Fatia, I showed the stone ball to my daughter and told her that a child her age made it using earth magic. She looked surprised and frustrated at the same time. Since then, she has been practicing magic by making stone balls every day. She still can’t make a perfectly rounded one but she hasn’t given up yet. By the way, I used the distorted stone balls she made as gravel for my flower garden.」(Tryon)
Hee… That annoying girl is doing her best practicing magic, huh?
That’s kinda unexpected.
「Mark, here’s the thing. I want you to get along with my daughter and help me clear her hatred toward men.」(Tryon)
「Huuh!? Getting along with your daughter!? You know that she hates me, right?」(Mark)
「Well, yeah, but you’re a talented magician and I think there’s a chance that she will like you. All you have to do is to treat her as a friend of the same age. You can show off your magic skills sometimes as you communicate with her. That way, she will gradually become interested in you.」(Tryon)
「Uhh… Do you really think that would happen? I think she will hate me even more…」(Mark)
「Don’t worry. Believe in your own charm, Mark. You can do it. Would you do me this favor as a friend?」(Tryon)
Tryon conveyed his wish to me with a gentle gaze.
I didn’t see the image of an arrogant nobleman giving orders in his face. What I saw was the image of a father wishing the best for his daughter.
There’s no way I could say ‘no’ in front of this face…
Besides, I haven’t returned the favor for the Eagle Amulet he gave me.
「Uhh… Alright. Honestly, thinking about how much she hates me, I’m not sure if it’s gonna work, but I’ll try my best.」(Mark)
「Thank you, Mark! I know I can rely on you. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. I still have a lot of work to do, so I’ll return to my office now. You can take your time.」(Tryon)
「Alright. See you later.」(Mark)
Tryon stood up, grabbed his towel, and got out of the bath.
Now, I can finally relax and enjoy this entire bath for myself.
But… Getting along with Liane, huh…?
Ugh… I think it will be a mission impossible for me…
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Just wait until she get in trouble, and you step in saving her with magic
So what he wants is to make him his son-in-law.
Another one for the ever-growing harem…