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The Reincarnated Thirty-Something Woman’s Otherworldly Reform Life

[the western garrison]

Translated by: ME

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*****

A few hours ago. A fast horse from the Margrave’s family arrived at the Western Garrison Unit of the Gilmore Knight Order.

Thinking it was likely a reply or instructions regarding the report on the "Sailing Sickness" in Crews sent earlier that morning, the Unit Commander accepted the letter while looking suspiciously at the knight serving as the messenger, who appeared unusually worn out.

「...What did you say?」

Ethan, the adjutant, asked indifferently while skillfully raising one eyebrow as he signed the unit’s settlement documents.

Hugo Ducasse, the commander of this unit and Ethan’s superior, spoke while checking the delivered letter for any oversights.

「It seems they are sending someone who might understand this Sailing Sickness... A maid, a valet, and a total of three people. They should arrive around evening. Since they are unfamiliar with the West, we are to provide support.」

「Heh. Doctors, I assume?」

Hugo and Ethan looked at the messenger knight.

「...No. I believe it is someone from the Lord's family...」

The messenger guard, thinking it would be disastrous if he blabbered too much and caused them to be refused entry, shifted his gaze upward and could only speak in a roundabout way, as if he had something stuck in his teeth.

...If he were to say that a four-year-old toddler was coming as the Lord's deputy, he could only imagine being laughed at or yelled at not to mock them.

「Hmm?」

(If it’s the Lord's family, is it Lord Claude, or Sebastian as a deputy...?)

However, if it were Claude, he wouldn't be unfamiliar with the town of Crews. Since the letter was written in Claude's handwriting but didn't mention his own name, Hugo guessed that the person who "might understand" was someone else.

In that case, perhaps Sebastian, rumored to be a sharp man, had heard of an effective method from Gai or someone else. Thinking this, he conveyed his acknowledgment to the messenger.

He felt a strange snag as he watched the messenger leave in a hurry. However, the Unit Commander, known for being a moderate, simply scratched his short dark brown hair and saw him off without saying anything in particular.

***

And now.

There was no sign of Claude, nor Sebastian. Standing before them were the messenger from earlier—likely the guard—a young woman who appeared to be a maid, and two toddlers.

Not knowing whom to greet, Hugo blinked his tawny eyes.

About twenty knights who had been in the fortress and came out to welcome them also watched from behind with an awkward atmosphere.

Sensing the mood, Magnolia performed a curtsy.

「I am Magnolia Gilmow. Thank you for coming out to welcume uth dethpite being buty... I am thorry it ith tho thudden, but could I borrow two knightth who are familiar with the town of Crewth? If pothible, I would be grateful if you could lend uth a cart or hortheth ath well. I want to thend them to buy thingth nethethary for treatment immediately.」

At this time of year, the sun sets early. It would soon be evening; the sky was already beginning to turn a madder red. Darkness would envelop them in the blink of an eye.

「Hah... Jean, Clement!」

「「Yes!」」

Called upon, two men stepped forward. Magnolia bowed silently to the two.

「Well then, Lily, pleath get thalt, herbth, a container like a pretherving jar or thomething with a lid, alcohol with high thpirit content, clean clothth, and thoap. Dean, pleath buy ath many kindth of fruit ath pothible. Get extra of orangeth, appleth, and the kiwi we ate the other day.」

「「Understood.」」

「Thinth you are not uthed to thith land, pleath make thure not to leave the thide of the knightth. The luggage will be heavy, tho be careful. And to the two knightth, pleath take care of them.」

The first half was directed to Lily and Dean. The second half was conveyed to the knights acting as their guards and guides.

Then, she turned to the escort knight whom she had thoroughly worked to the bone all day.

「I am thorry for tying you down for thuch a long time today. After you return to the manthion and tell Big Brother we arrived thafely, pleath retht well.」

「...Young Lady, please do not be reckless, and take care of yourself.」

The knight unhitched one of the horses attached to the carriage, gave a knight's salute, and headed back down the road he had already traveled back and forth on multiple times today, looking back anxiously as he went.

Truly, good work.

「Now then. I am thorry to athk, but could you carry the luggage in the carriage to the kitchen? We will uthe it for treatment. Altho, pleath tell me about the Thailing Thickneth in detail.」

The smallest toddler, speaking in baby talk, began issuing brisk instructions.

(The person knowledgeable about Sailing Sickness... surely it isn't this child...?)

The toddler who named herself Magnolia Gilmore.

...Since she said 'Gilmore', she must be a member of one of the Lord's families. He recalled the words of the messenger—the knight who had been serving as the toddler's guard until just a moment ago.

(...I've never heard of a girl being born to either the Margrave family or the Gilmore family.)

She wore the crest of the Margrave's Deputy on her chest. If the letter from Claude wasn't a forgery, then this child was seriously the deputy.

...And that pink hair and crested ibis-colored eyes, which nowadays would likely only appear in the Gilmore family. There was no way to fake that.

(.......Is she a secret child of Lord Servas or Lord Gerald?)

「...Ith it pothible to athk thomeone to arrange lodging?」

Growing impatient with the knights who neither moved nor introduced themselves, Magnolia asked.

Ethan, who had been watching from behind, stepped forward.

「I apologize for the delayed greeting. I am Ethan Berlioz, Adjutant to the Unit Commander. This is Hugo Ducasse, Commander of the Gilmore Knight Order Western Garrison Unit.」

「Ouch...!」

Hugo was secretly kicked in the shin by Ethan, bringing him back to his senses, and he hurriedly bowed his head.

Lost in thought while the situation remained unclear, Hugo had forgotten the greeting he should have offered himself.

...Unfortunately, her line of sight was quite low. Magnolia saw that splendid kick perfectly clearly.

「Regarding lodging, it might be difficult to find an inn that can accommodate your companions together with you. If you do not mind, we can prepare a guest room within the fortress.」

Magnolia smiled and nodded at the adjutant, who tilted his head slightly as he spoke.

「Thank you. That helpth. I am thorry to trouble you, but pleath do so.」

Ethan's eyes widened for a split second at the Young Lady's immediate acceptance, but he gave a knowing smile and agreed.

***

Magnolia was made to wait in the dining hall for about twenty minutes before being guided to a guest room.

When she asked for the detailed briefing while she waited, she was told, "When the adults arrive."

They were served tea, and leaving one guard knight as a guide, the Commander and the Adjutant retreated to the office, claiming they were busy.

(Aha. So they don't trust me.)

The room they were shown to was likely rarely used; it was a musty room that had been cleaned only as a token gesture.

She worried whether the two legitimate children of a Baron house would be okay with such a room.

Well, their concerns were understandable.

She didn't know how much these knights had thought about Sailing Sickness, but suddenly a small child shows up; naturally, they wouldn't believe it in many ways. If they were taking the situation seriously, they might even be angry.

She had no intention of teasing or fooling around and was extremely serious about this.

(...Well, that's fine. As long as I can cure it, it's fine. If they help with what I say and don't get in the way, that's more than enough.)

Just in case, she wrote down instructions on a wooden board regarding how to boil and sterilize, precautions for the work, and a simple recipe. Disinfection of hands and tools was particularly important. It would be meaningless if the things made to cure the illness became unusable.

About an hour later, Dean returned with the escort knight.

He had bought a lot of fruit and carried it with the knight. She thanked them and praised their hard work.

Since they must be hungry, she decided to ask the Dorm Mother to warm up the leftover food.

The Dorm Mother—yes, there was a Dorm Mother in the dormitory who took care of the knights.

While carrying the fruit, she explained the situation to the stout Dorm Mother who was in the kitchen and checked if it was okay to use the space and free time to work.

As it turned out, she was from Crews. Although surprised at first, she was very grateful and gave her permission to do as she pleased.

In this somewhat "away game" atmosphere, that was something to be thankful for.

About another hour later, Lily and her escort knight returned. The sun had completely set, and it was already night.

Together with Dean, the two toddlers, one lady, and one knight cooperated to carry the luggage from the cart.

「I'm thorry, Lily. It wath hard work, wathn't it? Mr. Knight, I am thorry for keeping you tho late too.」

They ate the reheated meal together, and she asked about the situation in Crews.

She was relieved to hear that there was no particular chaos and the town seemed lively.

Ideally, Magnolia would have gone shopping too, but thinking it would be inefficient for a toddler to go, she had refrained in order to gather the necessary items quickly.

Instead, she had intended to finalize the discussion during that time, but since the other party had no intention of doing so, it was a miscalculation that things hadn't progressed at all.

「Really, Lady Magnolia, to think you haven't eaten until this late...」

「More importantly, let'th finish what we have to do, okay?」

Since Lily looked like she was about to complain, Magnolia smiled brightly and shook her head.

While eating, they boiled the jars in a large pot to sterilize them.

Then, while taking them out to dry after some time passed, they would have their meeting.

***

「What do you think?」

「Hm? She's a remarkably capable Young Lady. I think she's more capable than my nephew.」

Hugo and Ethan sighed as they looked once more at the letter that had come from the Margrave's house.

「Your nephew is eleven, right? Isn't that bad comparison?」

Hugo smiled bitterly at the exasperated Ethan.

Ethan stroked his chin and muttered meaningfully.

「However, she is a well-trained Young Lady.」

「...That's not it, is it? Greetings are one thing, but it's impossible to memorize responses for everything at that age. Besides, there's no point in doing so.」

While thinking there was truth to Hugo's words, something still nagged at Ethan.

「She didn't say anything about your insidious harassment, did she? ...I mean, she is a Marquis's daughter. You really shouldn't do weird things, you know?」

They had handed over a guest room that should have been polished to a shine, almost uncleaned. The guard knight said she had followed the dust bunnies in the corner of the room with her eyes but thanked him without changing her expression.

She also said she would eat with her attendants when they returned, and instead of grumbling or acting selfishly, she quietly did paperwork.

She was refused a meeting, but simply withdrew gracefully when told they were busy. Not a single complaint was uttered.

Dealing with a sudden visit was hectic for them too, but considering she was sent all the way from the Margrave's house (and on the same day), this treatment was something they deserved to hear a complaint or two about.

「She doesn't seem to be a selfish, nasty girl. And it's impossible for her to be investigating us, right? What did she come for...?」

「Surprisingly, she might have actually come to treat the illness.」

Ethan smiled wryly at Hugo's words.

「Do you really think so? Such a small toddler? Well, it's better not to let them into the office. Especially the maid.」

If anyone was actually going to act, it would likely be the adult, who would be a skilled agent. Although the innocent-looking maid didn't seem like one, Ethan's philosophy was that one can never be too careful.

It’s not like it hurts to be probed anyway. Since he essentially lives in the office—whether because he doesn't go home or can't go home—Hugo is practically a resident there.

Hugo sighed as he looked at his adjutant, who was competent but stubborn and suspicious.

***

「This is the outline. One person from Azenda, who appears to have a mild case. We hear there are five foreigners, but we haven't confirmed the details. They are being treated on the ship. We don't know the specifics.」

Standing in front of the office door, handed a scrap of paper, they received a verbal explanation.

——He spoke mainly to Lily.

He must assume that the one who will actually handle things is the adult, Lily.

Dean, who must be tired, was resting in the dining hall, so only Lily was standing behind her, but Lily's mouth and eyes were wide open at Ethan's terrible attitude.

「...Is that tho. Then, may I athk thomeone to guide uth tomorrow? We will uthe the dining hall and kitchen to prepare for the treatment after thith. We have obtained permithion from the Dorm Mother.」

「Understood.」

The smiling Ethan looks extremely suspicious. Magnolia returns a suspicious smile of her own.

(...It's a waste of time to engage with him. Things would go smoother if he cooperated, but let him suspect whatever he wants.)

「Well then, pleath treat uth well tomorrow.」

She retreats before Lily can say anything unnecessary. There is no need to even hear Ethan's reply.

Magnolia turns on her heel.

「What is with him?!」

After coming back to her senses a while later, Lily fumed angrily. Magnolia smiled bitterly at her.

She understood Lily's indignation at such an attitude toward someone who had pushed through to come here, even though it couldn't be stated for certain that there was zero risk of infection.

「He was just thurprithed that a child came. He'th probably thuthpecting thomething elthe. Just ignore him.」

Her speech slipping back a little was part of her charm.

Pon-pon, she gently patted Lily's arm and smiled brightly.

「Now. I know you're tired, but just one more puth!」

「Yes!」

*****

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