By Zephyria 
The next day.
I met Ivan Holmes.
I was greatly surprised, but he had a calm expression as usual. Ivan Holmes placed a hand on his chest with a formal demeanor and bowed.
I, who was sitting in the seat of honor next to Rubel, half-rose in surprise, then sat back down, only to glance at me and let out a small chuckle.
“You… no, no. Why is Ivan here?”
“Didn’t you hear? I came for work, combined with my honeymoon. This person here is my wife.”
“⋯Hmph.”
The man standing silently with his head bowed beside him startled and looked at Ivan. I stared at the man blankly. I had only heard that he was big, but this…
After blinking a couple of times, I thought it was impolite and offered my greetings first.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Michael Ernhardt.”
“⋯Yes. I am Sienna Bicov.” (Glossary: Sienna Bicov is Sienna Bicov)
I turned my gaze back to Ivan.
It had already been three years since I graduated from the Academy. The child, long past adulthood, had the same height and build, but his originally fair skin was slightly tanned. Had his complexion improved? Had he gained a little weight? His impression, which used to be like a dry twig, seemed to have become a bit gentler.
Originally, Rubel was supposed to handle the conversation with merchants in my stead, but Rubel was just as taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. Glancing back at Rubel, I saw the child rise with a gentle smile.
It was obvious that his smile was a fake one, armed with social etiquette. I was quite bewildered.
As Rubel approached Ivan and offered his hand for a handshake, Ivan calmly accepted it.
“It’s been a while. I should have recognized you immediately upon hearing your name, but I didn’t consider that you would have inherited a title and changed your surname. Should I call you Baron Bicov now, instead of Young Master Holmes?”
“Yes. Well, I left the capital as soon as I received the baronetcy, so it’s natural that you two wouldn’t recognize me. I don’t mind.”
“How did you know we were here?”
As the two boys, no, young men, released their clasped hands, Rubel asked a pointed question.
The joy of meeting Ivan after so long was doused with cold water. While I stood there, flustered and unable to speak, Ivan Holmes, no, Ivan Bicov, answered without the slightest tremor.
“Since the latter half of last year, I’ve been submitting opinions on relevant matters to the Imperial Nobility Yearbook’s observation department. After receiving no contact for a long time, when I was suddenly summoned, I thought someone important must have arrived.”
“Is that all?”
“I had also heard from Shayden that Michael was traveling abroad, so I had a slight hope. I was half-believing it myself until I came in here.”
“I see.”
To me, Ivan had been a pale boy who carried chunks of meat around for every camping class.
It felt like just yesterday that he had given me a booklet on how men have sex, under the guise of sex education, and now he was a dapper adult exchanging pleasantries with Rubel. Children from other families truly grow up fast. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, amazed and bewildered.
We followed Rubel’s lead down the corridor.
We entered a reception room prepared in a room adjacent to the original drawing-room.
In the original drawing-room, Rubel and I had been seated side-by-side on a dais three steps high, with two chairs. Two modest chairs placed at a lower level were their seats.
However, the room we moved to had a more horizontal arrangement of sofas than the drawing-room we had just left. There was only a wide table between the sofas, arranged to face each other.
Rubel, in accordance with the etiquette of receiving guests, invited us to sit first. Ivan pulled his wife close before taking his seat. Rubel and I soon settled in as well. Still surprised and unsure what to say, I just stared blankly at Ivan’s face.
Then, Rubel gently took my hand, helping me regain my composure.
The child asked, “So, I heard you have something to discuss regarding the mermaid commotion in Indus Bay.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Why did you not detail the story in writing?”
“Information changes in real-time, and it’s useless to speak when there’s no one to listen. If there were no one to listen after I left this place, I intended to remain silent forever.”
“In that case, you didn’t have to submit an opinion in the first place.”
“I also hold a title in the Sierran Empire. I must do what I must do.”
“⋯.”
Rubel didn’t press further. He simply smiled wryly, adjusted his posture, and apologized politely.
“⋯I apologize for pressing you. The current situation is rather complicated, so I couldn’t help but be wary.”
“I understand.”
“⋯You understand?”
This time, I was the one who asked. What on earth did he understand? Ivan looked directly at me and explained without hesitation, in a voice similar to when he had recited that suspicious booklet long ago.
“There must be a reason why the two of you, who should be in the Widdrow Duchy, are in Palmire without formal entry procedures. Seeing as you didn’t offer to call Benjamin or Marianne when you saw me, it seems you are separated from your entourage as well.”
“⋯Ah.”
“However, I don’t think it’s something I should pry into further, so I don’t wish to ask. For now, may I tell you about what I have seen and experienced?”
“⋯Yes. I permit it.”
Rubel answered in my stead, flustered. This kid, he still acts like he can see right through people. I knew Ivan Holmes was a clever fellow, but I felt a bit awkward and cleared my throat a few times.
Ivan, with his wife sitting silently beside him, began his explanation with a serious expression.
Unlike many at the Shierun Academy who had a more open view on same-sex marriage, commoners in the capital often viewed unions between people of the same sex as taboo.
After the wedding, as Ivan and Sienna began living in the same house, some workers belonging to Sienna’s family, the Eldos Merchant Guild, spread malicious rumors.
Sienna Bicov tried to resolve the issue by punishing the workers, but Ivan was different.
Ivan proposed they go on their honeymoon first, stating he would humble them with his own abilities.
The reason he specifically chose Yulan was that the Eldos Merchant Guild’s headquarters were currently in the Sierran capital. He intended to open a trade route to the Kingdom of Yulan, the closest foreign country down the Saras River.
“You may or may not know, but it’s customary to bring more gifts than items to sell on the first trade expedition. Since there were many items to distribute to local dignitaries, we chose sea travel over land to reduce transportation costs. It was a safe route that followed the Saras River, passed through Indus Bay, and reached Songbrue Port, which is adjacent to Palmire.”
“⋯.”
“However, as soon as we reached Indus Bay, we heard a strange singing.”
“⋯Singing?”
“Yes. The song of a mermaid.”
“How… how did you confirm that?”
“I saw an island. A large, wide, golden island that shouldn’t have been in Indus Bay. All the sailors were enchanted and steered the ship towards the island, but I, who possessed a Mana defense artifact, was not. Thanks to that, I had quite a bit of trouble knocking out the sailors.”
“⋯Ivan did?”
“Yes.”
“Ivan did?”
“⋯Yes.”
“What? Why?” their expressions seemed to ask.
But how could he knock people out with those slender fists? As I watched him with suspicion, Ivan clicked his tongue and told the truth.
“Of course, my wife also helped. Thanks to her being within the range of my artifact’s influence.”
“Ah.”
“Thanks to that, I got to steer a ship for the first time… It was fun. The same incident happened twice, and fortunately, we arrived at the port safely… but it still felt suspicious. While doing my main work, I gathered some related rumors.”
“You bothered?”
“Don’t all Academy graduates have such habits?”
Seeing Rubel immediately agree with that statement made me wonder if I hadn’t attended the Academy. Although it was good for me because I could receive help, I felt like I was being haunted.
Ivan continued, “There are not many trade ships currently traveling from Sierran to Yulan. Most ships have long since given up trading due to the interference of the Duke Yeldidus Family.”
“Do you happen to know the timing as well?”
“It was about four or five years ago. Around that time, the Duke Valentia Family began constructing ships to open a trade route through the Southern Sea.”
“⋯How was Baron Bicov able to travel down the Saras River?”
“I have a wide network.”
That wasn’t it. As I watched him suspiciously, Ivan Bicov corrected himself without batting an eye.
“I sold my younger brother.”
“⋯Hmm. Right. Anyway… so… you were able to avoid being enchanted by the mermaid’s song using a Mana defense artifact? Then perhaps…”
“No. From what I saw, it seemed closer to Spirit Arts than Magic.”
“Spirit Arts?”
“Because I never saw any formations resembling a Magic Circle while visually confirming such powerful and clearly visible phenomena. The golden island I confirmed twice lasted for 34 minutes the first time, and 26 minutes the second time. The island that appeared before the end of five verses of the song disappeared immediately as the ship moved a certain distance away.”
“⋯.”
He had counted that too.
When Ivan asked for writing utensils, I summoned a notebook, ink, and a pen from the other side of the reception room with a wave of my hand. Ivan merely raised an eyebrow, but his wife beside him was so startled that I was startled as well.
It seemed she had never seen such a skill before.
Feeling awkward, I coughed a couple of times and handed him the notebook.
Ivan dipped his pen in ink and drew the coastline of Indus Bay, marking dots for each port. He then wrote numbers next to each port. I realized he had brought everything in his head, as he hadn’t come empty-handed.
“Most of Yulan’s fishing boats, except for the wealthy ones, did not survive. Although the grounding points are unknown, we could tell from which ports they departed and did not return. This strange phenomenon started from Idel Port, the westernmost port of Yulan, and extended to the vicinity of the lower Saras River in the Sierran Empire, the easternmost part of Indus Bay.”
“⋯.”
“Even though 30% of Yulan’s fishing boats have disappeared over three years, the kingdom remains silent. This is probably…”
“⋯Something is wrong with a Divine object?”
“Yes. That’s what I think. It’s strange that a leader hasn’t stepped forward for such matters yet.”
Rubel sank deep into the sofa, lost in thought. I quietly looked at the map Ivan had drawn. I imagined what Rubel would ask first. The extent of the damage? The monetary value of the damage? Or perhaps a way to find the most recently disappeared fishing boat? Rubel’s neat voice broke the silence, placed on the table.
“So, what should we give Baron Bicov for his share?”
Huh?