I Was a Dropout Who Couldn’t Use Magic for 16 Years, but Then I Remembered My Past Life as a Scientist and Became OP in Another World - Chapter 13

“Is that the appraisal sheet? May I have a look as well?”

Fiolette reached out to the document in Paté’s hands, but he reacted nervously, quickly hiding it behind his back.

“Oh?”

Fiolette tilted her head in curiosity.

“Well, um, this is… you see, I was just about to finalize the, uh, payment process…”

“Ah, by all means, please go ahead and prepare the payment. But I’d still like to take a quick look at the appraisal results… Or, is that considered improper?”

“N-no, not at all! It’s just that, uh…”

Beads of sweat rolled down Paté’s face as his eyes darted around.

“Fiolette-sama, do you know him?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yes. He occasionally visits the Glastark estate, correct?”

“Y-yes… I’ve been fortunate to serve your family.”

“I see. If he’s a trusted acquaintance of Fiolette-sama, that’s even more reassuring.”

I turned back to Paté with a polite smile, but his shoulders tensed, and his uneasy expression deepened. Fiolette, noticing this, narrowed her eyes.

“Yes, that would be reassuring… if that’s truly the case.”

With that, she took a step closer to Paté and smoothly plucked the document from his hands.

“Ack!”

“Ronnie-oniisama, I trust you don’t mind if I take a look?”

“Not at all.”

“~~~~~!!”

Paté reached out desperately, trying to retrieve the paper, but Fiolette nimbly evaded him, twirling her skirt as she darted behind the cart. As she began scanning the appraisal sheet, Paté stood frozen, pale as a ghost.

I could do nothing but watch the scene unfold, while Carla stood stiffly, clutching her shopping bags in stunned silence.

And then—

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Her voice rang out sharply, startling everyone present. Carla, in particular, let out a yelp and nearly dropped her bags.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong, you ask? This, Oniisama! This absurd appraisal sheet! I’ve never seen such nonsense in my life! How could something like this even exist?! You there, fetch the evaluation criteria immediately! This is absolutely unacceptable! I’m livid!”

Her cheeks flushed with anger, Fiolette gestured wildly as she vented her fury. Carla and I could only gape at her outburst.

From behind me, Paté’s trembling voice barely managed to escape.

“F-Fiolette-sama, please, t-this is a misunderstanding, I assure you—”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses! I’m going to verify just how outrageous this is, detail by detail! Don’t you dare think of running away! In fact… Marduk!!”

Suddenly, she called out a name that shouldn’t have belonged to anyone present.

But then—

“You summoned me, Fiolette-sama?”

From the shadows of a narrow alley, the tall, coat-clad figure of Marduk emerged. I nearly jumped in surprise.

“Ensure this man doesn’t flee. Understood?”

“As you wish. However, might I ask about last night’s matter, wherein you declared, ‘If you won’t speak, I won’t acknowledge you either’? How shall we proceed with that?”

“That is irrelevant right now! Ronnie-oniisama is about to be scammed by a vile con artist!”

“As you command.”

Marduk bowed gracefully and strode toward us. Standing beside Paté, he calmly unsheathed his sword.

“Eep! Even Sir Marduk…!”

“Hey, don’t make a scene. If there’s bloodshed here, it’ll just create more trouble.”

Marduk shot a cold glance down at Paté before driving his sword into the ground with a sharp motion. Paté, now trembling uncontrollably, seemed on the verge of collapse.

Still struggling to keep up with the chaos, I turned to Fiolette for clarification.

“Fiolette-sama, could you please explain what’s going on?”

“Rest assured, I pride myself on having a discerning eye. I, Fiolette Glastark, promise to ensure that this man pays the fair value for your goods.”

The blonde, doll-like noblewoman declared this with a confident smirk, puffing out her chest slightly.

—

〇

“Th-thank you for your continued patronage…”

Ignoring the feeble, mosquito-like muttering from behind me, the now four-person group left the morning market.

After we had walked some distance, Fiolette spoke up, still dissatisfied.

“Are you truly okay with this, Oniisama? What that man attempted is a serious crime. If you wish, we could drag him back to Glastark and make him pay reparations.”

“No, no, I have no desire to squeeze him for more. Thanks to you, Fiolette-sama, I’ve already achieved several times the outcome I expected.”

Indeed.

After Fiolette meticulously recalculated the appraisal, it became clear that Paté’s initial evaluation had undervalued the items by more than tenfold. The degree of dishonesty was appalling, but it was likely that Paté, seeing me as the good-for-nothing son of a count, thought I would be an easy target.

…And honestly, without Fiolette, he would have been right.

Paté’s smooth talk had completely fooled me. If I had known the purchase prices or the market value, things might have turned out differently. But since I knew neither, it was no surprise I was duped. I could only blame myself for my ignorance.

After Fiolette systematically dismantled every inconsistency in his appraisal, Paté broke down in tears, begging for forgiveness while prostrating himself on the ground.

He pleaded, promising to pay the rightful amount and swearing never to pull such a stunt again.

The commotion attracted attention from nearby vendors and shoppers, who must have seen the scene as the Narazario family’s infamous eldest son forcing an antique dealer to grovel.

Not wanting to draw any more attention, I agreed to let the matter slide as long as he paid the correct amount.

—

“I think you’re being too lenient, Oniisama. Even if he seems repentant now, people like him are bound to repeat their behavior elsewhere.”

“As someone in a business reliant on trust, I doubt he’ll be pulling any stunts for a while. Besides, I have his business card.”

“A business card? You should toss that worthless thing away!”

“No, I intend to use it. If I ever need him again, I’ll summon him from Glastark. I hold his weakness now, and he knows it. Even if he’s not arrested, just spreading word of what happened here would ruin him. He won’t dare try to deceive me again. It’s far more productive than tossing him in a dungeon.”

“Well…”

Fiolette’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Oniisama, have you always been such a cunning person?”

“Haha, am I the bad guy here?”

“Oh, no, that’s not what I meant…”

Fiolette quickly tried to backtrack, though her words carried a hint of playful teasing.

“But still… you do seem different from the impression I had of you before.”

“This is just how I’ve always been. We didn’t have as many chances to speak back then.”

“It wasn’t a lack of opportunity. The last time we spoke, you weren’t nearly this approachable. To be honest, I always felt a bit lonely.”

“…I see. That wasn’t my intention.”

“It absolutely was.”

“My apologies, then.”

I gave a wry smile, and Fiolette softly chuckled in response.

To be fair, I probably did see Fiolette as someone distant and unrelated to me. I might have even thought it would be unfair to her to interact with someone like me. From her perspective, it must have looked like I was avoiding her. Looking back, I admit I’d been wallowing in my own insecurities.

At the same time, my impression of her had changed as well.

I had thought of her as a polite, ladylike doll—prim and proper. But I now saw someone full of life, brimming with emotions. She cracked playful jokes, laughed at little things. Even someone like me, once dubbed a dull fool in my past life as a scientist, could recognize her charm.

I felt reassured that Johann was going to marry someone like her.

—

“Well then, shall we head back to the mansion? I’d like to check on Johann-sama’s condition.”

By now, Marduk had quietly taken over pulling the cart, which was loaded with the items they had bought. I hadn’t looked at the contents, but from what I gathered, it was mostly spare clothes for Fiolette.

Apparently, part of the reason she had insisted on joining me was to purchase necessities for her extended stay.

In any case, we made our way through the bustling morning market toward the road leading back to the mansion.

But as we walked, I stopped and turned to them apologetically.

“…Ah, I’m sorry, but I still have some errands to run. Feel free to return without me.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Eh, you do?!”

Both Fiolette and Carla looked surprised. I realized I hadn’t mentioned this to Carla earlier, out of convenience.

“Since we’re already in town, I have some personal matters to attend to. It might take a while… Besides, you have Marduk for the trip back, so you’ll be fine, right?”

“Understood. I won’t intrude. Although… having to ride back with only Marduk will feel rather gloomy, won’t it? Well? Don’t you have anything to say about that?”

Fiolette gave Marduk a pointed look, but he remained silent, his expression stony.

It seemed he still hadn’t explained what had happened with Johann during their late-night duel. Considering the situation, I could understand why—Johann’s impulsiveness had been the root cause. Still, the fact that he stayed tight-lipped even as Johann remained unconscious felt… off.

Something doesn’t add up.

The duel’s conclusion, the moment I had missed. What exactly had Marduk done when he reached for Johann? I could only hope Johann would wake up soon and unravel the mystery himself.

—

“Ronnie-sama.”

Marduk’s voice startled me as he called my name.

“Please take care on your way back.”

He looked down at me with his tall frame, his gaze steady. I nodded awkwardly, and he turned to lead the others back toward the mansion.

“Hey, don’t just leave me behind! Ronnie-oniisama, don’t stay out too late. I quite enjoyed our shopping trip.”

“—Yes, me too.”

—

Watching their backs as they disappeared into the crowd, I turned and began heading toward a different shop in town. Selling the antiques had been a way to fund this next errand.

—

“Um, Ronnie-sama… What kind of errand is this? I thought your business was entirely within the morning market.”

“Actually, this is the main event. But if you’d rather head back to the mansion, feel free to join the others.”

“No, no! I’ll accompany you! But, um… I apologize for even bringing this up—it’s very embarrassing, but… well…”

“Hm?”

Carla fidgeted awkwardly, avoiding eye contact as she trailed off.

“Well… I haven’t had breakfast yet, and I’m feeling very hungry…”

“Oh, so that’s what it is.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Carla clutching her stomach, swaying slightly as if to emphasize her hunger. Truthfully, my own stomach was starting to grumble as well.

“Alright, let’s find somewhere to grab a bite first. After such a successful morning, we can afford to splurge on breakfast. Let’s eat as many steaks as we like.”

“Th-th-th-that’s way too much! Carla couldn’t possibly eat… um… well, maybe not that much!”

“That pause was suspiciously long.”

—

With Carla’s grumbling stomach leading the way, we set off in search of a place to have a light breakfast before continuing with the day’s errands.