My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 98
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 98
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"Why are you guys entering together?"
‘Lancer said he was going to stay home today….’ Hubert, who has arrived at the restaurant before me, asks. He looks surprised that Lancer and I are getting off the same carriage.
"I summoned him to the Kaerun Duchy because I have something to teach Lancer about imperial etiquette." I lie, having just stepped out of the carriage. Lancer, standing beside me, says nothing.
"Really, Skyla? I know you've been taking care of him. I'm starting to feel a little bad for you because you've been working all this time that you're late."
"No, we left early so we wouldn't be late for our appointment, but we got stuck in traffic."
Of course, this was a lie. We were only late because we left late in the first place.
But fortunately, Hubert doesn't suspect much. "Well, the carriage traffic does get heavy in the evenings, so let's get inside."
Hubert is still in his Imperial Knights uniform, fresh from work, and as he enters the restaurant, he is immediately the centre of attention.
"Good evening, have you made a reservation?" Hubert is approached by a waiter.
"I've reserved a room in the name of Hubert Soli."
"I've confirmed it. I'll escort you right away."
We follow the waiter to the room set for us. Lancer's eyes darted around the restaurant, wondering about everything.
"I know it's on short notice, but thank you for coming." Arriving at the table, Brother Hubert thanks me as he removes his uniform robes and hangs them on an empty chair.
I shrug lightly. "It's fine, I don't have much to do these days anyway."
"For real? Aren't you the acting Duke of Kaerun?"
"My father has started working again."
"The Duke of Kaerun has started working? The sun must be rising in the east." As he says this, Hubert covers his mouth and yawns, as if tired.
‘Doesn't the sun always rise in the east?’
While he thinks about this, Lancer asks him, "Why didn't you thank me for coming?”
Hubert glances at him.
“You bastard…. You're the one who should be thanking me. I was originally going to have dinner with Skyla alone, but you whined about coming along.’
"Oh, I wasn't whining." Lancer blushes a little, his eyes narrowing. I smirk at him.
Hubert worked hard on his training today, his shirt was wrinkled everywhere. Rolling up the arms of his shirt, he points to the menu.
"Now, today, as I said, I'm paying. So pick whatever you want and order it."
"So I can pick the most expensive thing here?"
Hubert clears his throat at my question. "Of… of course."
‘But not too expensive, I don't have much money….’
Overhearing Hubert's poverty, I ordered a modestly priced ravioli.
But Lancer doesn't seem to understand his brother's financial situation. "I want the lobster— ouch!"
I step on his foot as he's about to order the more expensive item. While he's flustered, I take advantage of his agitation and order something else for him.
"He'll have the same thing as me."
I can almost hear Hubert's sigh of relief from across the table.
The waiter who's taking our order soon closes the door to the room and disappears.
Hubert swallows a long gulp of water before turning to me. "You must have been quite shaken up by the events at the theatre yesterday. Are you alright?"
"As you can see, I'm fine."
"I'm glad to hear that. I tried to find the person who threw the egg into the booth where you and the Crown Prince were sitting, but it was too dark in the theatre, so there were no witnesses." As he speaks, Hubert suddenly turns to Lancer. "Did you see anything, Lancer?"
"Huh?" Lancer glances up from his observation of the lemon slices floating on the water.
"You're supposed to be an archmage, after all. Did you see someone throw a fake egg at Skyla's seat yesterday?"
Lancer shakes his head. "I didn't see anyone."
"Really? I thought you could see in the dark, don't you have some sort of night vision spell or something?"
Even if Lancer was an archmage with a night vision spell cast, he's not an owl.
Hubert seems to think Lancer is overpowered.
"No more questions, Brother. Lancer was probably dozing off at the time."
Both Hubert's and Lancer's eyes widen at the same time.
"Wait, Lancer, you were falling asleep when Artberry was beside you?" Hubert's eyes widen even more as he stares at Lancer in disbelief.
"How did you know I was dozing off, Skyla?" Lancer seems surprised that I know that.
I sip the water in my clear glass. "You always fall asleep in the dark."
I know you very well. Don't disrespect a childhood friend with decades of experience.
With that, I turn to face Hubert. "But he didn't hurt me or Ryan, so I don't think we need to catch and punish him."
Hubert nods in agreement with my words. "That's right, His Highness the Crown Prince said the same thing. And we don't want to cause any more damage to the theatre, so we're letting this one slide."
"And what about Lord Carberry?"
"He? I don't know. He's absent again today." Hubert clicks his tongue.
"From the way you're talking, it seems like he's going to be kicked out of the Imperial Knights soon. If I were him, I'd just resign in embarrassment, but he doesn't have the brains for that."
That's a pretty harsh assessment. But Hubert, like me, has no good feelings for Carberry.
"Anyway, the mood in the Knights is all good."
"Why?"
"Oh, because that Carberry bastard has caused trouble before. So he's got a lot of enemies here." Hubert spills the beans about the Imperial Knights. "There's a lot of people who don't like him. There was even a group of knights that got together and started a petition to kick him out. Isn't that amazing?"
Me and Lancer answer in unison: "Yeah.”
Seriously, how badly can a person do a job to fall that low?
I click my tongue and continue listening to Hubert. Most of them were about Carberry's misdeeds, his stupid mistakes, or his neglect of duty.
"So one day, Carberry, that bastard...." Hubert continues even after the meal is served.
I listen to him as I stab my ravioli with my fork.
At first, I'm all ears because the stories he's telling are incredible. But the more I listen, the more I feel like I've swallowed five or six steamed potatoes.
"But what is this good news you mentioned in your letter?" I finally ask, desperate to change the subject, not wanting to hear more about Carberry.
"Oh, that." Hubert takes a bite of grilled asparagus. "Don't be surprised when you hear it," he says excitedly, wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
Why is he acting like this? Lancer and I focus on Hubert.
He clenches his fists, unable to hide his gleeful grin. "Rejoice, children, our imperial knighthood is finally getting its first female knight!"
"...?" Perplexity washes over our faces as we wait for the momentous announcement.
"...That's it?" Lancer asks in a low voice, after glancing between me and Hubert.
Hubert is furious. "That's not how you react! You stole Lady Artberry from me, and I've never had another girl in my life! This is my second chance!"
Lancer frowns slightly. "I didn't steal the Artberry from you, Brother. The act of stealing implies ownership."
"Where have you learnt such an expression? Anyway! With a new female knight joining, I might even be in a relationship….”
"What does a female knight coming in have to do with Brother being in a relationship?" I interrupt Hubert.
He doesn't seem to understand the meaning of my question. "Well, I was just wondering if I might get a chance—"
"That's not fair, brother." I interrupt Hubert once more, harshly. "She's joining the Order because she wants to be a knight, yet you don't see her as anything more than a love interest. That's offensive."
"Oh, no, that's not what I meant!"
Hubert, finally understanding, hastily corrects himself.
"Hmmm, now that I think about it, I did mean it. I'm sorry, I should have explained myself properly first. It's still unofficial, but… the new female knight who will be joining us is actually Lady Artberry."
"Lady Art…?"
I'm dumbfounded.
Why is Artberry suddenly joining the Order?
