Chapter 377

Magi Craft Meister 372

A Tiresome Party

The hall where the wedding banquet for Reinhart and Belche is being held overflows with life and joy .

Reinhart’s brother, Leonhart, is the family’s representative on the groom’s side . The same role is being fulfilled on the bride’s side by Belche’s brother, Matheus .

After they delivered their short but heartfelt speeches, the groom and bride begin serving all attendees .

Both Reinhart and Belche are pouring wine into the gla.s.ses of all of the guests .

After almost thirty gla.s.ses were filled, a toast is called for .

“Let’s make a toast to the future of these two promising young ones!”

Reinhart’s father, Wolfgang, raises his gla.s.s and after saying such words, drinks it up in one gulp .

After that, the room turns into chatter . Even though there are chairs prepared for the guests, this is basically a standing buffet party .

Jin and Saki are standing next to a wall, since they’re not that good at dealing with that kind of noise anyway .

“Now Reinhart is a feudal lord, huh?”

Saki murmurs that as she takes off her gla.s.ses and absentmindedly looks around the room .

“Ah, that’s right . What will our diplomat do now?”

“Lady Belche… No, his wife is a very reliable person, so even in his absence she’s more than fit for an official role . ”

Saki says things like ‘Belche has a good sense of economy’ and ‘She’ll take good care of him’ with a smile on her face .

“… I’m definitely no match for her, huh?”

After saying those words, a trickle of tears found their way out of the smiling Saki’s eyes .

“… Ah…?””

Saki hurriedly wipes herself off with the back of her hand .

“It’s weird, huh… And I had put my feelings in order…”

Her tears continue to spill over and over, no matter how much she wipes herself clean . Seeing that, Jin thinks to himself ‘I knew it’ .

So, Jin takes Saki outside of the room from a side door while n.o.body is watching .

“… You still think of Reinhart, don’t you?”

“… Yeah… It looks like that . Jin… I’m sorry… that you have to see me like this . ”

Saki’s voice breaks as she speaks, tears still rolling down her eyes .

“That doesn’t bother me at all . But don’t let Reinhart or Belche see you like this . ”

“Hmph, I know that . If they see me like this, I would have been putting up with this for nothing… Only you and Elsa are the ones who know about my feelings . ”

“Huh?”

Jin is surprised to hear Elsa’s name .

“A long time ago, I talked about my feelings with Elsa . I think she was 12 or 13 years old at the time . ”

Saki’s eyes look distant, as if reminiscing the past .

“Back then, I only needed to take it out of my chest with someone . Elsa listened to me without saying a word . Well, maybe that was because she was still too young and probably didn’t know what to tell me, but still . ”

Jin nods, agreeing with Saki that that is the most likely scenario .

“I’d like to see her again someday . ”

Saki’s tears finally stop, and with her smile back on her face, the two of them go back to the main room .

“Ah, Saki, I’ve been looking for you!”

The woman in front of us is about as tall as Saki, maybe a little shorter . Platinum blonde hair with grey eyes, and a lean figure .

“Oh, Aunt Karen . ”

“It’s rare to see you accompanied by a man other than Reinhart . And he looks like he’s from the Egrea Kingdom . Will you introduce us?”

Said the woman while eyeing Jin .

“Ah, this is Jin Nidou, he’s a close friend of Reinhart . As you can see, he’s the Honorary Magi Craftsman”

“I’m Jin Nidou . ”

Jin nods lightly .

“Jin, this is my aunt…”

“Karen Theoderic Von Banarth . Nice to meet you . ”

Saki’s aunt introduces herself in the middle of Saki’s introduction . Jin thinks that she might be a little impatient .

“And Saki, stop calling me ‘aunt’ . ”

“Ho ho! Got it, Karen . ”

“See, that’s much better . And I see that you haven’t changed that weird way of laughing of yours . Even though Father, your grandfather, told you to take care of it…”

“Hmph! But this is like a bad habit of mine . It’s not something I can easily get rid of . ”

“Good grief, you’re helpless . ”

Karen sighs as she says that, and turns to Jin .

“Jin, you probably already know this, but I’m the youngest daughter, and Saki is the daughter of my eldest sister . That’s why even though I’m her aunt, I’m actually younger than her . ”

Karen begins to talk about it even though no one has asked her . Jin thinks that this may be yet another aspect of her personality that she cannot hide .

According to her, Saki’s mother – s.h.i.+rley Theoderic Von Morley – left the marquis and ran off with Toa Eschenbach when she was 15 years old . The marquis himself was 16 at the time . Saki was born a year later . Two years after that, Saki’s mother pa.s.sed away at age 18 .

On the other hand, Karen’s mother is Emma, the marquis’ fourth wife . According to Karen, the marquis has been single ever since Emma too pa.s.sed away back when Karen was 12 .

Jin feels a little bored about being told so many unwanted details about the family’s affairs .

At that moment, Reinhart and Belche appear .

“Hey, Jin, Saki . Thanks for being here today . Oh, you’re with Karen too?”

Reinhart seems to know Karen from before .

“Thank you, Reinhart, Belche . You two look so happy . ”

“You seem to be doing great too, Karen . How is the marquis doing these days?”

This is a standard greeting between the two of them, but Karen frowns a little .

“Hmm, I’ve been a little worried that he might not be doing so well, he’s been losing some weight… His mood is not as good either these days . ”

“Did something happen?”