Agreement

Chapter VI

Agreement

For Enji, the following days fell into a routine: he did his chores, trained with Sol and Popa on the sword and spear during the day, and later in the evening, he was taught to read and write by Silma. Even Nilsei helped him train in sword and language when she wasn’t busy.

It was in the middle of the second week after being summoned—by Enji’s count, since that world had no measurement equivalent to weeks—when Eithea returned. The horse-drawn carriage stopped at the front of the house, and the driver, a slim man with white hair, dismounted and opened the door on the side facing the house. The carriage had big spoked wheels and was shaped like a rectangular box, with the driver’s seat situated in a compartment located at the front. Unlike the carriages Enji had seen in pictures, which featured the driver riding in an exposed seat high above the front wheels. It looks more like a van. The paint, initially green, now showed wear from the road and the elements.

Eithea jumped from the door opening to the ground in a graceful hop. Usually, the coachman would have placed a stool for the passengers to climb in and out of the tall carriage, but the driver did no such thing.

Following Eithea, a boy, identical to Sol, jumped to the ground. Eithea said a few words to the driver, who, after nodding, climbed back into the carriage to drive it to storage behind the house. Eithea, followed by her boy companion, walked to where the three girls and the two boys waited, lined up in front of the entrance.

When the girls and Sol bowed, Enji followed suit; he didn’t want to appear ungrateful to the mistress of the house. Eithea eyed him for a moment before continuing on her way in. The girls followed her, and Pol remained outside with Sol and Enji.

“Did you encounter any problems?” Sol asked his brother.

“None on the road, but at the inn, in the capital, some drunk fellas wanted to get wise with Mistress, so I took care of them.” Then Pol narrated how, after Eithea had stopped their insinuations with cold words, they became violent. Thinking that Pol was only an inoffensive little kid, they ignored him, a big mistake. Pol incapacitated the three men in an instant using only his hands.

“I see that you had some fun.” Sol giggled, then, pointing to Enji with his thumb, added, “This is Enji. He’s supposed to be a lord of shorts.”

“Hey! I’m not a lord. Just call me Enji.”

“Understood. My name is Pol, Master Enji.” And just like that, Pol headed inside the house.

“Why does no one listen to me when I tell them I’m not a lord?”

“Beats me, Chief.”

“Ack!” Enji grabbed his head in frustration.

***

“I knew that boy was strange...”

“Yes, Mistress?” The lean and elegant old man stopped pouring a hot concoction into a cup and turned to face the woman, who sat on the windowsill looking out into the night. The two moons’ light entering through the window outlined the silhouette of her face and fox ears like a surreal painting.

“Just thinking aloud, Kasus. You may retire for the night.” Eithea dismissed the old man with a slight wave of her hand.

The man with refined movements left the tray with the infusion and some snacks next to his mistress.

Taking the cup to her lips, she pondered what Nilsei had told her about Enji. A lord, huh? She had seen one of Enji’s books on the table when they were studying. As a dealer in rare items, she was a connoisseur when it came to grimoires and bound historical records. That book was priceless, not because of its contents, which were illegible to her, but because of the astounding craftsmanship and beauty it possessed. At the capital, she could sell. No! Auction the book at ten times the price she got for the runaway elf girl. “Wealthy scholars will pay anything to have something like it.” And the book being in another language would spur their curiosity even more. They will devote their entire lives to deciphering its content, if ever.

Eithea nibbled on one of the snacks. “A family name... and from a faraway country.” She knew there were other continents beyond the sea, but they were difficult, if not impossible, to reach by boat, due to the dangerous and unpredictable rise and fall of the sea tides. The few explorations to date conducted to those far lands had been done by dragon tamers who braved the strong winds and unpredictable storms. “Maybe Gala knows about those lands.” Eithea had already discarded the idea of obtaining ransom money in exchange for the boy lord since no one knew where he came from. Where is this Japan he mentioned?

She stood from her perch on the window and grabbed a brass bell next to her bed.

Kasus opened the door a few moments after the ring of the bell and asked, “Yes, Mistress?”

“Bring the boy to me.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

When the door closed behind Kasus, Eithea’s lips parted in a smile.

***

Enji felt nervous. Eithea had summoned him to her room, and he didn’t know why. He had noticed that she had watched him with an expressionless face when he was studying with Silma and Popa. “Is she against it, that Popa or I learn to read?” he mumbled to himself as he followed Kasus, Eithea’s butler, whom he believed to be one by his appearance and behavior.

“Do you know why I was summoned?”

Without turning, Kasus replied, “No, young lad.”

“Thanks, anyway.”

“You are welcome, young lad.”

At least he’s not attaching any strange honorifics to my name. Finally, they arrived at a door at the farthest end of the second floor, and Kasus knocked on it.

Receiving permission from Eithea, Kasus opened the door and ushered Enji in.

The door closing behind him startled Enji. He looked back, but Kasus was not in the room.

Eithea, sitting on the edge of her bed, beckoned him with her hand. “Come closer, I’m not going to eat you.”

Enji bowed his head as he approached. “Do you want something from me, my lady?”

“Lady? You amuse me, boy.” She smiled and wiggled her fox ears in satisfaction.

“Sorry if I said something insulting. How shall I address you?”

“No need to use polite language with me. You can call me Eithea. Unlike you, I have no family name.”

“Yes, Eithea.” Enji tried not to shift his eyes from her face, but he couldn’t help looking down at her body. Don’t let her notice! Look at her ears! Look at her ears! Besides having those fox ears that he found attractive, she had a beautiful face despite the scars and the eyepatch.

In contrast to the colorful dress she wore when they met, Eithea wore a white camisole that couldn’t entirely contain her breasts in the cleavage, and if she sneezed, they would certainly spill out. On her lower body, she sported one of those Victorian long underpants he had seen on Western period dramas.

“I heard that you are studying our language because you want to be a mage. Why?” She leaned forward. Her breasts came precariously close to spilling out of her blouse.

Enji didn’t know where to look. “I-I want to return to my country and my family, and if the only one that could do so is the one that brought me here, I want to go to the capital to talk to her.”

Eithea straightened. She seemed surprised. “Ah, the Long-ear.” She rose from the bed and walked to the window. As she swayed her hips, her plush tail moved from side to side. Enji couldn’t help but admire her tail and, at the same time, suppress the urge to hug it against his face.

“So... you want to become a high mage to join her at the guild,” she stated more than asked while looking at the twin moons in the night sky.

“Yes!” He eagerly took a step closer to her.

“It will cost money.” She glanced back at him.

“Is there anything that I could do to earn it?”

“Are you willing to part with one of your grimoires? I can sell them at the capital for big money.” She sat back down on her bed.

“My grimoires? Oh! My textbooks!” He pinched his lips with one hand as he thought. If I go back, I can always replace them. He deliberated on the disadvantages of losing one or more of his books. In conclusion, the most valuable book was the physics book, while the Japanese history and literature books held less interest for him. Popa seemed to like his English book for the pictures.

“Yes. I’m willing to negotiate one of the books.”

“Wonderful! I’ll make sure you learn to read and write and use magic.”

“Thank you.” Enji bowed.

“By the way... how is your sword training?”

Enji twisted his lips in a grimace. “Not too good. It will take me years to be proficient with it.”

“Then I shall appoint a bodyguard to you.”

“Huh?”

“For your safety. I don’t want you to die.”

Enji nodded, then realized something and asked, “Wouldn’t it suit you better if I did, then you would have all the books for yourself?”

She sprang from the bed and scowled at him with furious eyes; her face red with indignation. “Doing that would make me a thief!” Eithea shouted.

“Sorry! I meant no disrespect.”

“I’ll let it pass because you came from another country, but never imply anything similar, or I’ll kill you.”

“Y-yes.”

“You are dismissed. Go to sleep, tomorrow you start your training early.”

“Yes, madam—I mean, Eithea.” Enji hurried out of the room and descended the staircase in long strides. He thought about the way Eithea had reacted. It confused him. Does she live by a code of honor?

He arrived at the kitchen, where Eitheas’s summons had interrupted their studying. The three girls rose from their chairs when they saw him.

“Is everything alright, my lord?” Nilsei seemed worried, so Enji reassured her with a nod.

“Eithea will let me learn magic in exchange for one of my books.” He sat on his chair, and the girls did the same.

Popa pressed the book that she liked so much against her chest. Enji reassured her with these words, “Popa, I won’t get rid of that book.” She smiled and wagged her tail. Enji curbed the urge to pat her head.

“If the Mistress is interested in your grimoires, it means that she places great value in them,” Nilsei said.

“Is she a mage?”

“Yes, but not a high one; She’s also an excellent swordsman,” Silma replied instead of Nilsei.

“Swordsman?” Enji thought that he had heard wrong. Shouldn’t it be swordswoman?

“The title is genderless,” Nilsei clarified when she saw the confused look on Enji’s face. “And our mistress’s business is in dealing with valuable items, in which she is very proficient.”

Enji looked at each girl in turn; even as slaves, they seemed happy and thankful for her mistress.

“Is Eithea a righteous person? Does she treat all of you fairly?”

“I’ll die for her, my lord. All of us will!” Nilsei stated very seriously. And the two other girls nodded in unison.