49. Citrine

Sorry about the one week delay, I got caught in a business trip that I thought fell on a different week so it overlapped with when I normally post.

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TN: Toasty
ED: Toasty

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「That should be fine for today.」

「Eh, but…」

When Frank comes to the kitchen to drop off some dishes, he’s confused when Ingrid, the tavern keeper, tells him that his work is over.
It’s evening, so the tavern will be crowded from now on. It’s better to have more people.
When Frank didn’t nod, Ingrid held up her index finger and approached him.

「Listen. I told you before, you work too much.」

Ingrid was worried about Frank’s desire to work during the day, during the evening and even into the night. Even during preparation time from noon to the evening, he cleans the store and helps with shopping.
He’s still only nine years old and doesn’t even try to play around. Ingrid could easily imagine he was in a family environment where he had to let go of his childhood.

「I’m getting a good night’s rest.」

「Even on your days off, you’re talking to the regular customers.」

Frank insists that it’s okay, but he’s reminded that he’s also serving customers on his days off. Even though he was outside the store, a customer must have told Ingrid when they came into the tavern. It’s not information that would be a problem if it were found out, but it was uncomfortable for it to be presented at this time.

「I just met them by chance and talked a little.」

「You made sure to tell them to come back here at the end. Was it a coincidence?」

Frank is at a loss for words. Due to his sales habits, if a customer thanks him for his consultation, he will advertise that they should come to the tavern. Although it’s natural for his personality, it’s also for certain that he is intentionally promoting the store.
Ingrid saw through his intentions, and Frank had no words to respond.

「I’ll ask you to go if I don’t have enough manpower. Just eat this with that guy and go to bed early.」

「Okay.」

There was food for two on a wooden tray, and Ingrid pointed to it. Following her words, Frank moves to the room he is renting with the tray in hand.
The back of Ingrid’s Tavern is a living space, and the third-floor room near the attic can also be accessed from the outside stairs. Frank and Timo, who followed him, are now using the room, which was originally used as a storage room.
The rent is deducted from his salary, and the two of them are able to share the expenses with each other, so they’re able to live a good life for two men. In fact, most of the cooking he did on the way to the royal capital of Abendroth was simple, consisting mostly of baked goods.
Frank takes the food to his room so as not to disturb Ingrid and her husband. The room, which had no partitions, was large enough to fit two beds without feeling cramped. There are easy-to-assemble cots at both ends of the room, and a table and chairs for each person in the center of the room.
As he was setting the food on the table, he heard footsteps approaching from the outside stairs.

「I’m hungry, and it smells really good.」

「Go and wash off first.」

「Ehhh, that’d kill me.」

「You don’t need food, then?」

「I’m heading off!」

Frank silenced Timo’s dissatisfied voice with just a glance.
Timo works as a steeplejack, so he comes home as dirty as the work he does. At this time of day, Ingrid and the others are out at the store, so the bathroom is empty, so it’s fine for Timo to use it.
Timo came back from his quick bath. When Frank warned him that his hair was still wet, he shook his head like a dog to try to get rid of the water, and Frank scolded him by throwing a washcloth in his face.
Frank, tired of the series of exchanges, lets out a sigh of frustration. He took his seat first and said the prayer before the meal. Timo hurriedly followed suit.
After praying, Frank properly ate and Timo began to shovel the food into his mouth. During that meal, Timo suddenly remembered something and took out an envelope from his pocket.

「I got a letter from Big Bro Roman.」

「In that case, read it already.」

Frankly immediately slapped Timo on the head and took the letter from his hand.

「They say freshness is the life of information.」

「You just remembered that.」

When Frank pointed out it was something he copied before while opening the envelope, Timo lowered his eyebrows and excused himself. He resumed eating, looking away from Frank who began to read the contents.

「Aniki, what are you doing?」

Timo, having finished eating first, asks what was wrong from Frank, who after finishing reading, crushed the note in his hand.

「That muscle-brained idiot……」

「He’s just young?」

「It’s both!」

Frank replied in a voice laced with anger when Timo said there could be more than one possibility, as there were only a few people he could call a meathead.

「Auntie Ingrid’s food is getting cold.」

「I’ll eat.」

When Timo pointed out the leftovers, Frank resumed eating with a grim expression on his face. He’s well behaved and eats quietly during his meal. Timo was afraid of being scolded by his silent stare, so he stayed quiet until Frank finished eating.
Frank finished his meal, cleaned his dishes, and took a bath before returning to his room. When he finished with all that and opened the door, his expression was still grim.
Timo talks to Frank as he always does.

「So, what happened?」

「……my brothers said something stupid to my father.」

Sitting quietly on his bed, Frank answered Timo’s question.
The letter is from a subordinate of Frank’s father, a caring man who had been paying close attention to his fifth son, Frank, since he was a child. Therefore, even if he has gone to a neighboring country, he would contact him about the situation at his parents’ home as needed.
This time, the topic was about the actions of the eldest son and second son, who disagreed with Frank.

「What are you going to do?」

「I’d like to leave them alone, but judging from how stupid they are, I’m sure they’ll say something eventually even if they stay here.」

The eldest son in particular strongly inherited his father’s reckless nature. He is the type of person who doesn’t think anything of involving other family members or subordinates for his own sake. In fact, there are times when he thinks things are a given. That’s why Frank has avoided interacting with his eldest son as much as possible.
However, judging from the contents of the letter, if the father listens to what the eldest son says, sparks will fly even to Frank. It’s easy to imagine. Someone has to stop him, but there are extremely few people who can and have the will to stop the eldest son.

「It’s a pain, really.」

Frank lets out a heavy sigh and covers his face with his hands. So, waiting for Timo’s answer, he didn’t notice that Timo’s fox-like eyes were wide open and that he was smiling.

「……that’s right, but…」

Frank looks up slightly. There was determination in his eyes.

「It’s only fine for me to say it.」

「As expected, boy!」

Timo smiled proudly at Frank’s answer. Timo’s naivety in affirming the situation even though he hasn’t heard anything about it makes Frank stare at him. He probably wants to follow Frank as if it were natural.

「You can stay here.」

「Why would I do that? I have already decided to follow you.」

「Really?」

It was the same when he came to Abendrot country, but Timo was adamant about accompanying him. Frank just nodded, knowing he wouldn’t listen.

「Boy, you’ve changed a bit.」

「Ha?」

Frank tilted his head to Timo’s murmur, and was given a happy smile in return.

「Before, you wouldn’t have gone to see them. You were already strong, but now you’re even stronger.」

Frank rolls his orange eyes. Even now, he hates meeting with the eldest and second eldest son. He even thinks they are different races. But still, this may be the first time he’s thought to speak.
Frank was surprised by the fact that Timo had noticed it.

「I’m glad you came here.」

Timo, who doesn’t care about the cause, laughed and said that, so Frank let out a sigh and laughed in response.

「Yeah, you’re right.」

Frank found it funny that he didn’t mind the strangeness.

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A boy and a girl were talking in front of a shop filled with a fragrant aroma that stimulated the senses.

「Well, I think it’s the place of the really beautiful boy I saw earlier.」

「Is that so?」

「Yep, absolutely!」

When the girl makes a dissatisfied noise, the boy tries to convince her to talk.

「I was going to invite him, but when he came to me, he happily said he was going to a friend’s house to play. If he makes a face like that, I wouldn’t be able to stop him.」

「He doesn’t play much with Maria anymore, huh?」

「I think it’s fine, if he doesn’t mind me.」

「By the way, you said there was another stylish boy, but have you ever gone there?」

「No. Zack, he always gets weird looks when he says that he and Leo are good friends. Besides, Leo comes over and plays with us.」

「Well, when you work in a noble house, you get to know people there.」

Frank listens to Maria’s story with a smile. When he was running an errand to buy bread, he found out the baker’s daughter, Maria, isn’t feeling well, and became her confidant. Since they can’t talk in the store, they sat together on the edge of the flower bed next to the wall in front of the store.
Frank feels something strange as he listens to her story, or rather, her complaints.
He wonders why he gets more information from other people than from the man himself.
Although he met the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice at a noble residence and has a personal relationship with him, he hardly hears anything related to the actual noble himself. He also learned from Maria, who he was speaking to, that he had friendships with children from other noble and wealthy families.
Frank thinks it’s a little strange since he isn’t exactly quiet.
He knows from experience that most people like to talk and dislike listening. Even if they’re a shy person, they either don’t say anything or just can’t put it into words, but they speak their thoughts. So, most people will talk about themselves if they have someone to listen to and help them put their thoughts into words. That’s how Frank gathered information.
Which is why Frank thinks he’s strange because Isaac doesn’t talk about himself.
There are people who don’t talk about themselves, but those people either know the importance of information or have something to hide. And if someone doesn’t open up even if you try to induce them into conversation, there are many adults who are either smart or incompetent. He’s unusual as he doesn’t fit any of those categories.
It’s like he thinks he’s worthless……
Frank thought about that and thought it might be true. He’s the kind of person who takes pleasure in evaluating himself as worthless. Frank can’t understand Isaac’s thoughts, which aren’t self-deprecating but instead affirming his lack of worth.

He wonders if there’s some kind of strange imprint to it.

Considering he’s at an age when he should have a strong desire for self-affirmation and recognition, he feels very different. As far as Frank has seen and heard, there is no one around him who would subconsciously imprint such a negative set of values on him. In the first place, looking at his parents, it would be impossible.
In other words, the values that weren’t pressed on him by anyone are secure.

He’s a really weird guy.

「I have to meet with Zack next holiday.」

「Do your best.」

As Frank finished his evaluation, Maria came up with a solution herself. Most of the complaints women make are not for the purpose of solving problems, but for venting their dissatisfaction, so they tend to go into a loop. However, after Maria airs out her dissatisfaction, she moves her thoughts toward improving. That was her beauty and the reason why Frank expected she would be a good woman.
Frank cheered her on with a smile, also expressing his admiration.
Under the cloudy sky, where he thought it might start snowing, he took Mariya back inside her shop with her solution, to keep her from getting cold. Frank then heads back to Ingrid’s Tavern, carrying the bread he bought.
When he exhales, the air turns white. Looking at the situation, he realized that the snow season would soon be over.
Thinking about the journey, Frank had decided to leave when his breath no longer condensed in the air. His departure date is near. He’s almost finished preparing for his trip. Once the departure date is decided, all he has to do is buy the ingredients and report to Ingrid and her husband.
Being able to experience a snowy winter was something new for Frank, who is from a southern country. It never snows in Frank’s hometown. He only heard stories.
He also has fond memories of having a snowball fight with the children from the downtown area at the invitation of the boy who is a gardener’s apprentice, who told him that the snow was unusually thick this year. It was funny to see him having so much fun because he was older than him.
When Frank opened the swinging door of Ingrid’s Tavern, he saw the boy he had just remembered. Frank rolls his eyes at the sight of the man he didn’t expect to see.

「I’m back.」

「Welcome back, Frank. Your friend is here.」

「Yo!」

Seeing him raise one hand in greeting, Frank wonders to himself why he’s here. He smiles and responds in front of Ingrid. He handed her the bread, and while she took it and turned her back to her kitchen, Frank silently closed his mouth and motioned him to come out. [T/N: Literally ‘silently bit his jaw’]
When Ingrid returns, Frank asks for permission with his usual face.

「Auntie Ingrid, may I go out for a moment?」

「It’s fine, you know. Feel free to play with him.」

「Thank you. I’m off!」

「Thank you for the tea.」

Frank thanked her with a friendly smile and bowed his head as he went with Zack.
The two walked around the plaza and sat down on one of the benches scattered around. Under a cold sky, the plaza isn’t as popular.

「So? What do you want?」

Frank asked directly, not wanting to try and pick up anything unnecessary from him.

「I’m late, but it’s the consultation fee.」

When he received the package that had been taken out of his winter jacket, Frank checked the contents to be sure, and it was a cookie with nuts inside.

「What’s this for?」

「The consultation fee. It’s thanks to Frank that I was able to properly apologize to Ojou.」

「It’s too late now! Besides, why a cookie!?」

Frustrated by his inconsistent answers to his questions, Frank can’t help but raise his voice. However, Isaac remains stunned and answers as if it were obvious.

「I was told it would be expensive, so I added nuts to make it more luxurious.」

He had only made plain cookies before, so it took him a while to get good at it. He said it was difficult to crush the nuts to the right size and adjust the degree it was baked. It seems that one of the reasons why it took so long was because he practiced eating so much food as he could so as not to waste food.
Frank asked why it wasn’t money or something of value, but he gave a completely different answer. When he was consulted in the summer, he knew that his expectations were not high, but his compensation was so unexpected that he was discouraged.
Besides, even though he said that at the time, just receiving a word of thanks was enough. Frank was amazed that he was the kind of man who took casual jokes seriously and displayed a strange sense of discipline.

「Ahhh, geez, it’s fine. I’ll properly receive it.」

Just answering that made Isaac smile happily. He’s too frivolous, Frank thinks to himself as he looks at Isaac’s face.

「Anyways, I’ll be going back to my hometown in a little while.」

「Eh?」

He didn’t know when they’d meet again, so when he tells Isaac about it, Isaac’s expression turns blank as if he had been struck.

「I see.」

He muttered this to make sure he understood, and once he understood, he muttered the same thing again.

「Then, it will be hard to meet with you.」

「Oi.」

Unlike nobles, they cannot exchange letters. And even though he doesn’t even know where his hometown is, he muttered his thoughts as if it wasn’t a complete farewell. Frank somehow didn’t deny it and nodded.
A moment of silence falls. He doesn’t pursue the reasons why Frank is returning to his hometown. It’s not that he’s indifferent to other people, he’s just not the type to force them to ask things they don’t want to talk about. He knew him enough to understand that.
That’s why he felt awkward leaving without saying anything.
Frank rose from the bench and dug his hands into the ground beneath his feet. Then he scoops up the mound of soil with both hands and presses his hands to make it into a lump. Seeing this, he similarly got up from the bench, bent down next to him, and peered into Frank’s hands.

「Are you going to make glowing dirt balls as well?」

「What is that……?」

His copper red and brown eyes were filled with surprise, wondering if something was wrong. It seems that in his mind, when it comes to rolling up clay, the only option is to make a glowing mud ball. Frank wonders about the paradox of the mud balls glowing, but he doesn’t want to make one, so he stops mentioning it.
Frank wraps his hands around a lump of soil that has formed a certain amount of clumps, and applies magical power to it. Then, he was surrounded by a faint light, and the lump of earth in his hand changed into a slightly smaller stone.
It was a citrine crystal that contained an orange color.

「Earth attribute magic can do that, huh?」

That was all he could say, with a voice of admiration.
Even though he was clearly using magic that could only be done with a large amount of magical power, there was no sign of him having any doubts as to whether he was some kind of nobleman. He is only surprised by the fact that geological transformation is possible.
Frank found it funny that things were off in a really strange way.

「If you want to just get money, you can do it in one go with this. But……」

「You have to keep the blood flowing, right?」

Frank is shocked when he is robbed of the words he wanted to say. Frank’s mouth turned up in a grin, glad that Isaac remembered what he had said and that he understood.

「Nah. This isn’t about making money.」

If you create jewelry, you can get temporary profits. However, if this process is repeated indefinitely, the value of the gem itself will drop, and in some cases, it will plummet. Moreover, wealth that only existed for one generation is easily dissipated when you die. There’s no meaning to it.

「My brothers don’t understand this.」

His brothers share a love of money, inherited from their father. However, the value of money for Frank is different from the values of the eldest sons. The eldest sons wish they could earn profits and have luxuries. After that, they think it would be fine to procure additional supplies from somewhere. There is a misunderstanding that money will flow inexhaustibly.
That’s why he never showed this power to his brothers. His brothers must have looked down on him and thought he was incompetent. It’s easier for Frank to do things as long as he’s being underestimated, so that’s been fine up until now.

「Well, I’m going to go home and break my brothers’ noses.」

The eldest son, who is already an adult, doesn’t understand what Frank, who is only two years younger than him, understands. It would be a shame for the family to leave their hurting family alone any longer. Frank doesn’t know how long it will take to convince him, but he’s already made up his mind.

「It’s a fight between brothers, so do your best.」

It was dismissed as a quarrel between siblings, and instead of being angry, Frank cleared his throat, feeling amused. He may be cheering in his own way, but it sounds like he’s going to fight instead of arguing.
He’s thinking too much that it might be a good idea to actually hit him. If you were hit by someone you didn’t even talk to, you’d be really upset. Just imagining that expression makes him feel refreshed.

「I’ll make farewell rice crackers.」

Amused, Frank placed the citrine in the palm of Isaac’s hand.
He had planned to reluctantly meet him, but thanks to Isaac’s support, he was actually looking forward to it. He handed it over as a thank you.
Isaac stared at the citrine with blank eyes, then gripped it tightly.

「Thank you. I’ll take good care of it.」

With a carefree smile, he thanked Frank. Despite its size, there is no sign that he’s going to try to sell it. Even though it’s just a stone in his possession, Frank thinks that he is truly a man without greed. And it seemed he agreed.
Frank stands up and stretches once. Isaac also stood up and put the citrine in his jacket pocket.

「……Zack.」

「What is it?」

「You really don’t have greed, do you?」

「I love living my life so much, don’t you?」

「That isn’t it, you know. I don’t think that’s fine…… I guess you wouldn’t do something if someone else wanted what you thought you wanted.」

Frank hesitates, not knowing how to express the dissatisfaction he feels for him. He doesn’t hold back or give up, he just prioritizes the interests of others and does not seek his own interests. He feels that kind of thing about him.

「It doesn’t matter if it’s wanting to get ahead in life or being popular with women, if you have even the slightest idea of it, don’t give up.」

「Well, I don’t really want to be great.」

Frank becomes increasingly frustrated at the lackluster response.

「If you’re a man, you should be even tougher!」

「But I’m not even a mob, you know?」

Frank felt caught off-guard by his murmur. He doesn’t know what “mob” means, but it sounds like he’s not even on stage. It seemed to Frank that this was the cause of his lack of desire.
Perhaps it was anger, but something snapped inside Frank.

「Right, I’m going to prove it to my old man!」

「Eh?」

「I’m going to push my brothers aside and take over for my father. Now, if Zack can do what he wants to do, he shouldn’t give up!」

Frank had never thought of following in his father’s footsteps, thinking he was out of the picture from the start. However, he became frustrated with his lack of desire and realized that he too was in such a state, already giving up.
If he thinks about it, the shortest way to make his dreams come true is to take his father’s position. A vision of the future opened up in Frank’s mind to the extent that it was strange that he had never thought of it before.
He was taken aback by Frank’s declaration.
Then, upon receiving his challenging gaze, his bronze eyes softened.

「I understand.」

Even though the promise was made as if to get him involved, he smiled happily.
As if inspired by their determination, incidentally the sprouts of butterbur sprouted from the nearby flower bed.

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Overall a short chapter. I liked this one, and I think it’s setting up Frank for his eventual return during the time Ojou’s at the Academy, wahaha.

Next chapter is the finale for Vol 4! After that, it’s 21 chapters to the end. I’m hoping to wrap this up sometime in 2024 so if I catch some extra time, I might try to power through some more chapters. 

Either way, with how wild the world is getting, I hope everyone is doing well and hope that these chapters can give a little bit of entertainment in these trying times.

See you all next chapter!

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