The Golden-Haired Summoner - Ch. 22

After leaving Dmitri, we arrived in the outskirts of Heilan, where we stayed at an inn for the first time. We were assigned rooms and, for once, had a more substantial meal.

The kids were excited to finally sleep in proper beds, and I felt the same. We paired up for rooms—except for me.

“Do they think I’m some kind of monster?”

The girl who was supposed to share a room with me threw a fit, insisting she absolutely refused to stay with Geenie Crowell. As a result, I got a room to myself.

Damn it. Well, at least having a two-person room all to myself meant more space.

[Cheer up, Master! You have me!]

“Who asked you to console me?!”

[But… you’re getting left out…]

“Shut up! Shut it! I hate kids!”

[But Master is a kid too—]

I will kill you.

I glared at Rai, grinding my teeth, and he wisely fell silent.

Rai was the one I trained my murderous aura on the most—since he always managed to piss me off like this.

“Don’t offer me comfort I didn’t ask for! Got it?”

[Yes…]

“This is so annoying.”

I couldn’t believe I was this worked up over being ostracized by a bunch of kids.

Back at the academy, not having friends had never been an issue. But now that we were outside of school, it became painfully obvious.

Mia’s absence hit harder than I expected.

Not that I had any intention of sweet-talking those brats just to make friends.

I’d rather be alone than do something that humiliating.

Sitting alone in my overly spacious two-person room, I tried to convince myself how much I loved being by myself.

But it didn’t really help.

Choosing solitude and being rejected into it were two entirely different things.

Why did this room have to be so unnecessarily large? They could’ve just given me a single! What kind of cheap inn doesn’t have a single room available?

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore and got up.

“Let’s go out, Rai.”

Sitting here stewing in frustration was only going to ruin my already delicate temperament.

I had already gotten plenty of sleep, it was still midday, and, come to think of it, this was my first time outside Dmitri.

Might as well take a look around town.

—

My room was on the third floor, while the teachers’ rooms were on the second.

The first floor had the reception desk and a dining hall.

As I passed by the second floor, someone grabbed me by the collar.

“Where do you think you’re going, Geenie Crowell?”

Ugh, that was a voice I hated hearing.

The one who stopped me was the martial arts instructor, one of the two teachers supervising our delegation.

He had always been openly hostile toward me—probably because of Leo. How immature.

“I just wanted to take a look around the marketplace.”

“And who gave you permission to do that?”

“…Is that not allowed?”

“Of course not. Do you have any idea how dangerous the world is? A child wandering alone in an unfamiliar town—absolutely out of the question. I am responsible for your safety. Return to your room immediately and stay put—”

“Mr. Dinel.”

The martial arts instructor—whose name I had never bothered to learn—was about to deliver a full-blown lecture when another teacher interrupted him.

It was Ms. Iritho, the economics instructor.

So the martial arts teacher’s name was Dinel. First time I’d heard it.

Unlike Dinel, I was already familiar with Ms. Iritho, since we had seen each other often at the academy.

“Am I mistaken, or are students allowed to go out if accompanied by a knight?”

“Ah… hmm. That… might be correct.”

“Yes. The martial arts students were so excited that they went out as soon as we arrived. They sure have great stamina, being athletes and all.”

Ms. Iritho was a rare sight—one of the few people who wore glasses here. She exuded an air of intelligence, speaking and acting with refined elegance.

Personally, he was one of my favorite teachers.

“I see! Must’ve slipped my mind! So, you wish to go out, Miss Geenie?”

Dinel, now forcing a friendly grin, was suddenly all chummy. I still didn’t like him, though.

The way his face turned red and his eyes darted to the side—it was obvious he had a thing for Iritho.

“Miss Geenie? I heard you’re staying in a room alone.”

“That’s how it ended up.”

“If you’d like, you’re welcome to stay in my room. I’m alone too.”

Dinel’s feelings for Iritho were almost too obvious now. The way he looked utterly crushed when I got invited to her room—it was hilarious.

“Oh, no, thank you. I’m fine on my own.”

“I see. Well, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Will do. So, all I need is a knight escort to go out, right?”

“Yes. It’s for safety. The outskirts of town aren’t exactly well-policed. If you head to the first-floor dining hall, you should find the knight captain. Speak to him, and he’ll arrange an escort for you.”

Ah, beautiful and kind. Truly the best kind of person.

I stared up at Ms. Iritho, then deliberately slid closer to her while glancing at Dinel.

“Thank you, ma’am! You’re so kind. My fellow delegates hate me, and it’s making me really sad.”

“Oh dear… They must be misunderstanding. You’re a good student, Geenie. Are you really fine staying alone?”

“If I get lonely, can I visit you? At night?”

“Of course.”

Such a kind soul.

I leaned into Ms. Iritho’s embrace, throwing a beaming smile at Dinel.

As I emphasized the word “night,” I nuzzled comfortably into the soft warmth of her belly and chest.

Dinel twitched, his jaw tightening in irritation, but the more annoyed he looked, the happier I felt.

Jealous? You must be jealous.

I flashed him a smug grin. His expression screamed Who does this brat think she is?!

—

When I arrived at the dining hall, I spotted fully armored knights inside, despite it being an indoor setting.

After seeing them daily, I had grown somewhat familiar with their faces. Finding the knight captain was easy—just look for the one acting the most self-important.

“There he is.”

[Master, that knight’s sword—]

[No.]

Was this snake possessed by a glutton? The moment he saw a decent sword, he immediately wanted to absorb it.

If anyone saw this, they’d think I’d been starving him.

The knight captain sat in the best seat in the dining hall, oddly engrossed in a book. But it was obvious—this was performative reading.

As proof, the moment I approached, he closed the book as if he had just been waiting for a distraction.

I took a glance at the title and nodded knowingly.

「1,253 Ways to Discipline an Arrogant Subordinate」

Where did he even get that number from?

“What do you want?”

Of course, being the knight captain meant he didn’t bother with formalities when speaking to me. The other knights still used honorifics, but not him.

“I want to go out. My teacher said to ask you for permission.”

“Hmm.”

I had never gotten a good look at him before, but from what I had seen, the knight captain seemed like a strict, overbearing person. He was always scolding someone.

Maybe it was because of the rigid hierarchy among knights.

“Which class are you in?”

“Why does that matter for going out?”

“Just answer the question.”

“…The Spirit Class.”

“Spirit? Ah, you’re that one.”

Did he just mock me outright?

So he was like Instructor Dinel, one of those people who didn’t think highly of me.

“In that case, I’ll assign you two knights.”

“What? One is enough.”

“The Spirit Class is weak. Just accept my generosity and be grateful! Hey, call them over.”

“How annoying.”

Why did sword-wielders always look down on spirit summoners?

It was frustrating. Spirits weren’t weak! They were… well… Aqua Ball was definitely useless, though.

“What did you just say?”

“What did I say?”

“I’m pretty sure you just called me annoying.”

“Annoying? Me? Why would I ever say such a thing? You’re definitely not annoying. Maybe you hear that so often you’re just imagining it?”

“…Enough. Don’t take me for a fool!”

Maybe I pushed too hard. Oops, looks like I made another enemy.

But still—he was annoying. Overbearing people were the worst. I couldn’t stand them.

“But you don’t really act your age.”

“You certainly have no filter. How insolent.”

“I am pretty smart, after all.”

He looked like he wanted to hit me.

If I had been under his command, he’d probably have made me do endless drills as punishment.

But I wasn’t. I was just a student. A noble student, at that. And a student personally acknowledged by the king.

So all he could do was glare at me, his eyes practically sparking with irritation.

A ten-year-old was holding a full-on staring contest with a grown man. Clearly, he wasn’t acting his age either.

Just as our tense standoff dragged on, three knights approached.

“Captain, we brought them.”

“Hmph. Good. Hansen, Philo, introduce yourselves. This lady is going out.”

Knights are supposed to be respectful toward ladies.

This captain clearly lacked basic manners. I was a lady, after all.

“Greetings, I am Hansen of the 5th Knight Order.”

“I am Philo of the 5th Knight Order.”

The reason for the captain’s smug grin became clear. The knights he assigned me were commoners.

I could tell just from their names.

For some, being escorted by commoner knights was utterly unacceptable—high-status ladies considered it an insult.

“Oh.”

“If you have an issue with commoner knights, I suggest skipping your outing. They’re the only ones suited for a spirit class student like you.”

I wasn’t surprised because they were commoners.

I was surprised because they looked familiar.

The red-haired and brown-haired knights, standing a little awkwardly, were the very ones I had given water to earlier.

That made me feel just a little glad.

They recognized me too, their eyes widening slightly.

Of all the knights here, I seemed to keep running into them.

Maybe it was fate.