Reborn As Noble

Chapter 453: Wine and Whimsy ( 453 )

As Javier walked away, hands in his pockets and Buddy waddling beside him, the air behind him shimmered.

”Then itʼs decided.”

Javier paused, sighed, and then—Delya reappeared directly in front of him, materializing from her shadow in a swirl of violet mist. Her scythe was gone, replaced by a soft, confident smile.

”Iʼll be number three,” she said plainly, as if claiming a seat at a dinner table.

Javier blinked.

”...Huh?”

Before he could step around her.

”YOU MEANIE DEMON GIRL!!!” Mimi roared from behind. She stomped forward, her fluffy tail tripling in size from rage, ears flat against her head.

”I WAS THE ONE WHO CALLED DIBS ON NUMBER THREE!!!”

Delya calmly turned her head to her.

”He never agreed to accept you as his future wife.”

Javier slowly stepped back, his face expressionless, voice dry.

”…Why are we ranking now?”

Mimi crossed her arms. ”I slept with him. That counts for something!”

”You napped on him.”

”SAME THING!”

Delya closed her eyes and smiled. ”Then letʼs settle it in order. If Liana and Gloria are one and two… Mimi and I can compete for the third spot.”

Javier stared at the two, then turned to Buddy.

”Is this what Father meant by ʼthe journey builds characterʼ?”

Cuquawked. (”Nope. This is divine punishment.”)

Mimi and Delya stood face-to-face, just inches apart.

Their eyes locked.

Their smiles were sharp.

Their mana flared.

A crackle of lightning and shadow sparked between them.

Mimiʼs tail bristled with static.

Delyaʼs shadow stretched like a living cloak.

All around them, the air tensed with brewing chaos.

And in that exact moment...

Javier activated his invisible skills.

A soft shimmer rippled across his body.

Gone.

Not a sound.

Not a trace.

Not even dust.

Beside him, Buddy also vanished, feathers fading mid-squawk as he finished his fruit and poofed out of sight.

The two girls continued to stare each other down, neither noticing a thing.

After a few paces away, in perfect invisibility, Javier walked calmly along the path with Buddy quietly padding beside him.

”…Let them sort it out,” Javier muttered under his breath.

Cuquawked. (”Strategic retreat. Well-played, boss.”)

”Right? This is why I love stealth magic.”

He didnʼt look back, just kept walking toward the capital like this was a normal morning.

Once they were a safe distance away—mana cloaking still active—Javier glanced over his shoulder, confirming that Mimi and Delya were still locked in their spark-filled staring contest.

”…Good. Theyʼre too busy trying to vaporize each other to notice.”

He swung onto Buddyʼs back with practiced ease, settling into the saddle as the big Pekko let out a soft, muffled squawked under the invisibility.

”Alright, Buddy. No stopping for food until weʼre well past the town gate.”

Javier patted his feathery mount on the neck.

”Iʼm hungry too. But if we stop now—”

He looked over his shoulder again.

”—theyʼll find us. And I hate dealing with brats.”

He leaned forward slightly, lowering his body against Buddyʼs feathered back like a seasoned rider on a stealth mission.

”Letʼs move. Quietly. Fast.”

Buddyʼs powerful legs flexed, and without another sound, they disappeared down the shaded path beyond the outer checkpoint.

After a long ride, well beyond the Beastkin border town—and safely out of sight of any chaos princesses—Javier finally pulled Buddy to a stop along a shaded patch of woods.

He glanced around the open trail.

”Hmm… which way, Buddy?” Javier asked, scratching his head.

Buddy squawked with a shrug of his big wings. (”How would I know?”)

Javier sighed.

”Well… thatʼs fair. If we were still in the Armand region, Iʼd know every inch of it.”

He leaned back in the saddle and muttered under his breath.

”Itʼs all those twoʼs fault. If not for them distracting me, I wouldʼve picked up a map at the border…”

His stomach growled loudly.

Buddyʼs ears perked up, and he let out an excited squawk.

Javier chuckled, patting Buddyʼs thick feathered side.

”Alright, alright. Letʼs stop here. Weʼll grill some meat first.”

Buddy flapped his wings excitedly. (”Best idea today!!”)

Buddy hopped around, kicking up little clouds of dust as he circled a spot.

Javier slid down from the saddle, stretched casually, then raised one hand.

Summon: Puppet Knights.

With a soft hum of mana, twenty adamantite puppet knights materialized in a perfect outward-facing circle around them, weapons ready, their armor gleaming faintly in the dappled light.

”Guard mode. Alert perimeter. Donʼt let anything sneak up.”

The puppets responded by spreading out and forming a protective ring.

Javier knelt down, pulling out a mana portable grill from his magic storage—a compact, lightweight device heʼd built himself.

He scooped out a massive chunk of raw meat, fresh and perfectly preserved thanks to the storageʼs stasis effect.

Buddyʼs beak clicked eagerly.

”Alright!” Javier grinned, setting the meat on the grill.

”I think this much is enough, right, Buddy?”

Buddy flapped his wings excitedly. (”Double it!”)

Javier carefully set each thick, juicy slab of meat onto the mana grill, which instantly heated with a low hum.

SSSsssshhhhh~

The smell of roasting meat filled the air, rich and savory.

Buddy leaned in close, eyes wide, his huge beak hovering dangerously over the sizzling food.

A fat bead of drool formed at the corner of his beak, trembling like a tiny waterfall about to fall.

Javier noticed and narrowed his eyes.

”Oi!! The drool!!”

Plop.

A tiny drop almost hit one of the meat slices, but Javier flicked it away with a quick mana burst, like a professional chef swatting away a fly.

Buddy flinched back, wings flaring in innocent panic.

Cuquawked~ (”S-Sorry!”)

Javier sighed and shook his head.

”Seriously, youʼre worse than a Pekko chick sometimes.”

Buddy huffed, puffing out his feathers dramatically as he backed up a few steps, but his eyes never left the grill—laser-focused on the slowly cooking meat like a disciplined soldier on a mission.

Javier flipped one slice, its surface already seared golden brown, juices hissing deliciously.

He smirked slightly.

”Just wait a bit. Youʼll get yours first, greedy bird.”

Buddyʼs tail feathers wagged in excitement.

Javier flipped the final piece of meat off the grill, its golden-brown crust perfectly seared and sizzling with delicious juices.

He grabbed a thick cut and tossed it lightly into the air.

”Buddy! Catch!”

Cuquawked!!

Buddy snapped it mid-air with terrifying precision, cheeks puffing out as he chewed with pure joy, feathers ruffling in delight.

Javier chuckled.

”Alright, first batch done!”

He dusted off his hands, turned back to the magic storage, and casually pulled out a small bottle of aged wine—a deep red, likely something fancy that Alf or Erinnete would forbid him from touching until he was ”older.”

He grinned mischievously.

”Well... Fatherʼs not around, and Erinneteʼs nowhere nearby...” he muttered, popping the cork with a soft pop.

”Hehehe... time to enjoy this forbidden treasure.”

Without hesitation, he tilted the bottle back.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

A rich, fruity, slightly sharp taste hit his tongue. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, feeling a pleasant warmth settle in his stomach.

Meanwhile, Buddy happily tore into his meat, juice dripping down his beak.

”UMAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!” Javier cried out, laughing and raising his bottle like he was toasting the sky.

”Man, this life is good.”

He leaned back, propping himself on one elbow, watching the sky shift into late afternoon hues.

His mind wandered lazily.

”Now Iʼm thirteen in this world...”

He twirled the half-empty bottle slowly between his fingers.

”Sometimes… I miss my life back in Japan.”

He smiled faintly, the kind of smile of someone who had accepted it.

”Well… nothing I can do anymore.”

He glanced at the shimmering sky.

”Other than wait until I turn eighteen… marry Liana and Gloria… and live that lazy, peaceful life I deserve.”

He chuckled softly, swirling the wine in his bottle.

( End Of Chapter )