I enjoyed the feeling of Fanny's silky hair between my fingers. She was faintly smiling as I brushed her hair.
After I had sex with Minith, I took a bath and ate my dinner, and then Fanny visited my room just as planned. Like last time, Fanny was truly pleased on seeing the room filled with deodorizing flower, and she was in a good mood. Apparently, Tesh had arranged her favorite flower.
We were now sitting together facing the table, and I was amusingly telling her about the incidents that happened in Nambonan.
It seemed that Fanny had really been feeling lonely. She was sticking very close to me, which made me quite excited. I was glad that I held Minith this afternoon. Enduring this body contact was not a problem since I had no pent-up load.
Even if I were to get totally aroused, there was no way I could lay my hands on her since her personal maids were in the room as usual.
Completely ignorant of my thoughts, Fanny's personal maids looked relieved when they saw her in a good mood.
「Big Brother, what kind of people are the adventurers who came to Nyuneri? Are they different from the travelers that Big brother hired back then?」
We finally entered the part I entered inside Nyuneri City. I was telling her about the careless adventurers who were arrested by my guards for walking in a group.
「Right, adventurers are…」
In this world, there existed places shrouded in white fog all year round regardless of the weather. Apparently, it was more like an unknown smoke than a fog, but was treated as fog since it looked like one when viewed from afar. That land covered in a white fog was called「Field」. They existed in many sizes, with some as small as a village and some as large as a territory.
The white fog that shrouded the field could warp the terrain and give birth to magical beasts. The beasts born inside would roam within the field like a goldfish in a fish tank, and continue growing.
Magical beasts living in the same field would kill each other upon meeting. The survivor would absorb a portion of the other's strength, and grow stronger. That menacing process would unfold within the field, and after a period of time a magical beast with terrifying power would be completed.
The magical beast which had accumulated tremendous power would then come outside the field to look for its next prey. The kind of magical beasts that would Intentionally come outside the field were all very savage and powerful. They could easily destroy villages and collapse the city walls.
The extent of their power depended on the size of the field where they lived. If they came outside of a large field, an army without a magic user would find it impossible to oppose it. Even if they had a few of them, they still wouldn't be a match. In the worse case, the magical beast would be so strong that it would impossible to defeat it without hitting it with a magic on par with a noble's.
However, magical beasts would gradually weaken if they leave the field, so there was no problem in winning by attrition. If it was just winning, then there was no problem. It would result in winning the war but losing the battle.
Magical beasts were viewed as bringers of calamity. After they raged around the land, all that would remain were unknown plagues and ruined lands that would take decades to recover. Since they spread calamity to the land when fought for a long period of time, it would result in very severe damage. Although dangerous, it would take about several decades to produce a powerful magical beast.
As for the magical beasts that hadn't yet matured inside the field, even ordinary people with a weapon could deal with most of them. In addition, a mysterious stone called magic stone could be obtained inside their body. It was apparently closer to clay than stone, though.
If magic stones were gathered and processed, they'd become a mysterious magic-repelling dark stone, and they could sell for a high price. Magical beasts were the source of the dark stone which was used in the walls of Nyuneri Castle and Nambonan City's walls.
Adventurer was the general term for people who earned money by entering the field to gather magic stones by defeating weaker magical beasts and gathering rare materials from the land which had turned into a warped area due to the effect of the fog. The emergence of a powerful magical beast could be prevented by hunting them to a certain extent, so the adventurers were really helpful. There wouldn't be any need to dispatch the army every time too.
I explained about that matter to Fanny.
「Field? Big Brother, have you been inside one? 」
「No, I haven't. 」
Inside the field, not only would the fog hinder the vision, it often had a peculiar power that made it difficult for detection magic to work. The danger level was high.
I heard about the field back then, and I wanted to enter inside it, but Father and even Mother and Grandfather didn't allow me. For the nobles, fields were places to avoid.
「There's a field close to Nyuneri, so perhaps the arrested adventurers were trying to go there? 」
There was also a field near Nyuneri City. During a clear day, a part of the fog could be seen in the distance when viewed from the castle's highest point.
「Eh… There's a field near the castle as well? Won't the magical beasts come and attack us…?」
I placed my hand on Fanny's head as she looked at me uneasily.
「Don't worry. They are being hunted periodically, and there's been a notice from the Kingdom, so the number of adventurers have increased lately. Besides, I'll protect you if a magical beast appears. Be at ease.」
「Okay, Big Brother, I believe in you. 」
Fanny's clear blue eyes firmly looked at me, and I could see from her eyes that she completely believed in me. When I caressed her head, Fanny narrowed her eyes like a cat basking in the sun.
「... I'm getting very sleepy.」
Showing a gentle smile, Fanny snuggled into me.
This was the sign that she wanted me to carry her to the bed.
I'd been going to bed alone lately, so I felt like it had been a while since she behaved like this. Fanny usually liked to be pampered, but it seemed that she was feeling at ease after finally receiving attention from her family.
「Your really a baby.」
I placed my hands on her back and under her knees, and then lifted her up like a princess. It was difficult to carry her since the difference in our body was only two years, but I had to display my strength as his brother here.
I lifted her up with just my own strength, without using any physical strength enhancement magic. If I were to use magic at such a close distance, she would notice it from the flow of magic. Fanny had a slender body, and she wasn't heavy, so I should be able to carry her somehow.
Little sister, look at your reliable big brother. He can carry you without relying on magic.
When I carried Fanny to the bed, a maid opened the blanket and straightened out the sheets. I placed her down on the space prepared on the bed, and then a blanket was put on her.
「...Big Brother.」
She was probably telling me to come and sleep with her. Without any sexual meaning, though.
I lightly shook my head to the side.
「I still have a letter to read.」
I brushed Fanny's hair and then headed to my desk.
A letter had arrived from Doran, the slave trade who sold Eve to me.
「Let's see.」
I skimmed through the typical opening greeting. The main point was all I wanted to read.
I had sent a letter to Doran telling him to prepare Eve's mother because I'd like to buy her. I left for the war with Nambonan early in the morning two days later, so I didn't have the chance to read his reply. While I was out, Tesh handled the letter and replied to Doran to wait for a while.
There were three letters on my hand right now. One was the first letter that he sent. The second was the reply to Tesh, and the third was a recently sent letter.
Summing it up: Eve's mother has been secured as merchandise, please contact me when you return. I will go and deliver the merchandise.
I was glad she hadn't been sold to another person. I would be able to enjoy both the mother and daughter.
The price for Eve's mother was also written in the letter, and she was much cheaper than Eve… No, it was wrong to compare them in the first place. Her price was still very high, considering the price of a single slave. As expected of an elf, even a woman who had already given birth to a child would sell for a hell of a price.
I thought of writing my reply to him, but I decided to write it after first seeing Eve's condition. Since the night I forced myself on her, I had no idea about what she'd been doing.
I considered asking Tesh about it, but there wasn't a good chance to ask. In the end, I hadn't been able to ask him about it.
She wasn't in the room given to her in the castle, so perhaps she was in my residence in the castle town.
I finished reading the letter and placed it inside the drawer. There was a chance that Fanny would see it if I left it on the desk.
「Big Brother...」
My body reacted with a start from hearing her voice. It was fine since the letter was inside the drawer.
Having noticed that I'd finished reading the letter, Fanny called out at me with a sleepy voice. She was really feeling sleepy.
「I'll be there now. 」
After I stretched myself, I went close to the bed where Fanny was waiting.
Seeing that, my servants and Fanny's servants came closer and sat on the chair arranged at our side.
Incidentally, these servants would be working as the night watch. They had the duty to keep watch so that Fanny and I wouldn't have sex. Although called a night watch, they weren't looking over us with serious attention. It was more like they were watching over us warmly. They were probably just watching to prevent anything from happening by any chance. Well, if they weren't here, the 1 out of 10,000 chance that something might happen would probably turn to 1 out of 100.
「Big Brother, goodnight.」
「Goodnight, Fanny.」
I brushed the back of her hair downwards, and then cut the illumination magic. Suddenly the room became dark, and I couldn't see for a moment since my eyes had gotten used to the light. Only the moonlight entering through the curtain's gap illuminated the room.
Fanny's temperature was much higher than mine, so I felt very warm. Her little body felt like a bottle of hot water.
Fanny had immediately fallen asleep.
I touched her cheek, and it felt squishy. Her completely trusting appearance was very adorable.
While I was feeling Fanny's cheek, my consciousness gradually grew darker.
