My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 119
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 119
There are quite a few people gathered in the area in front of the Clock Tower. Among them are elderly people out for a leisurely stroll, listening to the bell ringing from the Clock Tower, and couples spending time together.
Amidst them, there's one person who stands out the most.
"Skyla! Lancer! Over here!" Hubert waves vigorously at us.
As if to punctuate he's on vacation, he’s dressed differently from his usual attire. I've normally seen him in his Imperial Knights uniform. But today, that outfit is nowhere to be seen. He's wearing a fine shirt with unnecessarily ornate cuffs and a thick winter suit coat.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you in casual clothes," I mutter, scanning his attire.
"I'm human, too, Skyla. I can't just wear a uniform that suffocates me every time, can I?"
‘How does this older brother of yours look?’
With a cough, Hubert puffs out his chest and straightens his back, showing off his outfit.
But he just looks like a fish with iridescent scales in my eyes…. I’m sorry to say this, but he doesn't look good with those ornate decorations. His simple uniform suited him better.
"Are the entire Imperial Knights on vacation today?"
"Huh? No, I requested the day off for myself." He shakes his head.
That's new. He's not usually one to take vacations….
From a young age, Hubert vowed to become the greatest knight in the Empire, and he had worked very hard to make his ambition true. He would wake up earlier than anyone else to train and stay up late to practice to polish his skills.
As a result, I rarely see him the last few years. Sometimes I would only find him once in a while around new years. The rest of the time, he was always at the palace, working hard on his training. There must be a special reason for him to take a vacation.
For example, like that one time we gathered to celebrate Carberry’s unemployment.
A little curious, I pay more attention to his inner thoughts.
"Brother, when does the Clock Tower bell ring?"
"It rings right on the dot at five o'clock, so there's still about half an hour to go… But! We're not going to hear the bell down here." Glancing at his pocket watch, Hubert turns to us.
"Because I got you this ticket!" He plunges his hand into the inside pocket of his coat and, in the speed of light, he pulls something out.
"...What ticket?"
"It's a ticket to climb the Clock Tower, only five tickets are available per day!" Excited, he thrusts the ticket in front of our face. In his hand were five silver-rimmed tickets. Even though he kept them for a while, they still looked as good as new.
"I don't know if you two get out much, but tourists are allowed to climb this Clock Tower. And I've said this already, but there's a limit of five people at the top per day."
"I see."
This is new. Even though I've lived in the capital all my life, this was the first time I'd heard that the public was allowed to climb the Clock Tower.
I've been way too much of a homebody…. I should pay more attention to the outside world.
"But why are there five tickets when there are three of us?"
"I just happened to have all five…." Hubert averts his gaze.
‘Actually, I wanted to come with Lady Artberry, so I bought all five tickets… just so that the two of us could have a private moment up in the tower!’
What, he was gonna come with Artberry?
Hearing his inner thoughts, I shoot him a disbelieving glance. But Artberry isn't here, though.
Did he fail to ask her out?
‘But Lady Artberry has been practicing her swordsmanship ever since she joined the Imperial Knights in that Carberry bastard’s stead!'
...Hmm?
‘For the glory of her family, she's at the training grounds every day, so she has no time to play with me! I don't know why, but she won't even interact with me outside of training!’
Oh. I can see why Artberry turned down Hubert's invitation.
It seems like she's trying to focus on making herself an imperial knight.
She's been convinced that her brother would be part of the Imperial Knights. So it must have come as a great shock to her when he got kicked out for such a ridiculous reason like dereliction of duty.
To make matters worse, the Imperial Knights (though technically, the Crown Prince is the one who did this) forced her to join.
She doesn't have the same experience as the other knights. It must be hard for her to fit in amongst the other knights who had calluses on their fingers from holding a sword since childhood. Perhaps that's why she's trying so hard to stay in the Knights.
She's much more of a hard worker than I thought. I can't help but re-evaluate my view about her.
I thought she would have cried and run away from home, when she thought she was unable to fit in with the Imperial Knights.
I suppose I gotta acknowledge her and take back my prejudices.
She doesn't seem so bad, working hard to be recognised as part of the Imperial Knights.
I thought Ryan was trying to do something by getting Artberry into it…. The Crown Prince is a bit of a mysterious entity. To begin with, I couldn't even read his mind properly, so I had no way of knowing what he was thinking.
"Do you have a ticket?"
"Here."
The soldiers guarding the entrance to the Clock Tower check the ticket that Hubert holds out. Strangers around cast envious glances in our direction. Seems like the tickets are hard-to-find.
"Welcome in."
Lancer and I are the first to enter.
"I actually haven't eaten lunch yet. I'm gonna go get some bread nearby," Hubert says, scratching the back of his head.
"You do that, Big Brother."
"We'll wait for you upstairs."
"Sorry! I'll get some snacks for you guys. How about some lollipops?"
Lancer gives him an incredulous look. "Don't treat me like a kid, Big Brother."
"Ugh." Hubert slumps as he goes ahead.
The stairs to the top of the Clock Tower are well-worn from the many footsteps that had come and gone over the years.
This is the first time I've been up to the top of the tower.
Thanks to Hubert, I got a chance to see it.
"I've never been up a tower before."
"Me too, Lancer." I glance at him. I can't help but smile at his excitement
He lurches forward first and holds out his hand to me. "Aren't you tired?"
"My stamina isn't that bad." Even as I say that, I gladly take his hand. He smiles and squeezes my hand.
With that, I follow him up the stairs. When we reach the top of the tower, we're greeted with a panoramic view. The bell hanging in the center of the tower was obviously old. The top of the tower was an open space covered by a pitched roof.
I grab onto the railing around the perimeter and look down.
"Wow."
The imperial capital city came into view. The people on the streets looked like tiny beans. The carriages looked like a child's toys. The hustle and bustle of the city felt like a board game.
"Look at everyone. They're like ants," Lancer muses, standing next to me.
"You can't compare people to ants."
"But they do look like ants." From this height, they must look like ants eagerly carrying food for the winter.
“It's just the height of the view that changes your perspective.”
This is why I can't understand the psychology behind the thoughts when people are in high places.
I remain silent, gazing at the strange yet familiar landscape that lay beneath me.
The main thoroughfare stretched out in five strands, centered on the Imperial Palace. Streets and boulevards divided into neighborhoods. And streets clearly separated into commercial and residential areas.
This is really….
Such a well-planned development for an urban city!
My eyes light up.
My heart begins to pound as the map I studied so many times unfolds in front of me.
If I were to inherit the estate, I'd have to develop the territory in sections like this!
There are no fiefs under the Kaerun's name right now, but if the day ever come when I rule over them, I will build a territory as magnificent as the capital—
"Skyla."
"Huh?" I turn my head toward Lancer, and meet his affectionate gaze.
"Is it good to look at the imperial capital? You're staring so intently at it."
"It's beautiful." Look at this artfully organized urban design, Lancer!
Lancer smiles at my reaction.
"Say, Skyla, do you want the capital?"
