61 – 3. Two Adventurers (14)
14.
Sum. Do. Seeing Alicia covering my mouth like a little lady who unwittingly told me where she stashes her candy, I inadvertently touched my forehead. I know it’s not polite, but I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t even think about it for a moment.
What kind of evil spirit did I subdue in the first place? It was the two priests who were not here who fought against the fragments of Zulkar, and the one who held them back at the decisive moment was the Mira right here. I just shuddered the whole time and threw him a tool to kick him out.
“Subdue the evil god…… ?”
Fortunately, there were no customers near this table, so no one would have bothered to eavesdrop on our conversation, except for Calia (passing out), who was already listening, and Chloe and the others who were sitting together in the first place. I quickly held out my hand before the misunderstanding deepened.
“No, that’s not it.”
“But I just said Zulkar… ….”
“You heard me wrong.”
More than that, Mira, why are you just shrugging your shoulders? What else is that strangely proud expression? Other people don’t know, but you should say no. Aside from me, Alicia is the only one who knows her, and she doesn’t bother denying it, so it feels like her misunderstanding continues to deepen. I got up from her hips and put my face close to Alicia, the culprit of the problem.
“Huh!? Jin, Jin-sama!?”
“Lady, no, lord. Let’s not do this…… Isn’t that a secret between us?”
“Ah, ah, yes. Yes. Secret between the two of you. Ehe…….”
“…… ?”
As expected, something is strange. I thought she looked just as good as that necklace she was wearing, but is there another side effect I don’t know about? I’ll have to take a look sometime soon. I took her place again and made the declaration on her behalf.
“──Anyway, let’s pretend we didn’t talk about it just now.”
“No…… It’s like you’ve heard a story too big to ignore.”
“Mummy.”
“Yes.”
“Hey… ….”
When Chloe sank again due to Mira’s surprise attack, we were able to return to the main topic. More than that, Alphonse, the eyes looking at me have subtly become intense. You’re more anxious because there’s nothing to say.
“Please continue, Miss Alicia.”
“Yes. Me, but if you don’t have to be respectful…… What between us.”
“Alicia?”
“Yes, yes. Uh, it wasn’t our knights who discovered the dungeon, so it’s true that it was accepted by the guild after the initial report and the request went out. After investigating independently, we decided that it was dangerous on our own. However, the current situation is a bit confusing to mobilize all the knights stationed in the territory.”
“… ….”
I know what you mean. After the death of the Count, he devoted all his energy to filtering out the followers of the Zulkar Church hidden in the family, and since he had not officially inherited the title yet, he felt that it was too wasteful to pour all his remaining force into dungeon exploration while his political position was weak. It must be
“Didn’t you claim ownership of Kunt’s estate? If you are on the border, you might be interested in it.”
“As expected, you are sharp! Yes, it was Ji-min from our side who discovered it, and since we have already completed our investigation, it is a bit ambiguous to claim access to the labyrinth now. But we can’t stop them even hiring adventurers…… It doesn’t violate the guild policy, so I think it could be a competitive structure in a way.”
I see. It’s a really awkward situation. It is certain that there is ‘something’ in the underground labyrinth, but the danger has not yet been confirmed. Dungeon exploration is the domain of adventurers, but since it’s not an easy-to-understand quest like subjugating monsters, it’s difficult for adventurers with blue or higher to accept it easily. However, leaving it alone would not be as painful if adventurers from other territories might succeed in attacking Holladang. In the end, it is a strangely ambiguous situation to leave alone.
And…… It’s my guess, but there must be one more reason Alicia clings to this dungeon. Now the country is a rebuilt one, holding on to the remnants of a once prosperous empire. In the process, there must be quite a few aristocratic families that have built up their current position by showing off their legitimacy and lineage. Even if it is a historical document from a few hundred years ago, if wealth or treasure that can prove their lineage is found in the labyrinth at the latest, it will probably be a valuable negotiation material for Alicia to rule this territory in the future. It wouldn’t be strange to rise to a higher rank as long as you find a treasure that will help establish the royal authority.
Before the formal succession of titles took place, taking this opportunity to check in from other territories, the fact that the knights, which are the only force to move, cannot be moved hastily, and that a promising adventurer cannot hastily accept a request that does not promise a definite reward. I get it too. Even measuring the rating is ambiguous, so I said everything. That’s why the guild only says ‘exploration request’, and in reality, it’s a real situation that you have to retrieve something from the labyrinth…….
“So, why me?”
Why do you want to use someone who was hanging out in the corner of an inn room for such an important job? I’ll get out of here. My heart feels like it’s going to shrivel like a bean from the pressure. Alicia tried to bring Zulkarwa into his mouth again, but then put it back together, covered her mouth, and answered with a shrunken face.
“Yeah, this is something other people don’t know about.”
“??”
“This is the result of my own guess based on the stories from the members of the Party…… Jin-sama, did you actually accompany the expedition back then?”
This time I had no choice but to pull my head out in surprise. I’ve felt before that this young lady is quite a smart person for always smiling innocently, but could you possibly figure that out? It is not impossible that Gerald was seduced by her beauty, but it is more credible that he deduced the clues himself as she said.
“And that thing at the mansion…… Even if it wasn’t this, he disguised himself in a mysterious way, and defeated several of our elite knights at once. Because he showed extraordinary performances that would be impossible without tolerable skills and courage…….”
“… ….”
“Actually, I don’t have anyone to rely on in many ways these days, so there’s no one I can ask for this except Jin-nim. That’s why I took the risk and came here…… Sniff.”
From nob le mt l dot com
No. Are you crying? Why? I was genuinely taken aback by her emotional outburst and seeing her finally starting to cry. No, no matter how smart she is, she’s only 16 years old, and I think that’s why her heart is broken, but I think it’s not a little bit to smile and do that at this timing.
In the end, my resistance was short-lived. I couldn’t even say that I didn’t intend to be an adventurer with her, and I had no choice but to let her go by saying that I would consider her positively. Thanks to that, Chloe now sends a look of anticipation whenever she sees me. Help me.
※
“Miss Alicia.”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
The butler, who was waiting in front of the carriage, saw Alicia appear and she immediately opened the carriage door. Her smile is still the same, but the corners of her eyes are slightly moist. He asked her out of concern.
“…… Are you okay? That face.”
“The head butler.”
“Yes.”
“Do I look okay?”
The butler, Jang, kept his mouth shut. That’s not going to be okay. He lost his only family overnight, and his father is being referred to the Inquisition as a corpse and is waiting for treatment.
In addition, he, who still maintains the position of chief butler, was originally taken to prison for being loyal to the lord, but it was not strange that he was not Zulkar’s spy. Because there is no one to take care of internal affairs, he is keeping his life. Even with ten mouths, he had nothing to say. The butler bowed his head knowing that he had said something presumptuous.
“It’s not okay. I’m not okay…… It’s okay though. Because he is there.”
Saying that, Alicia climbed into her carriage and before the door closed, she ran her fingertips over the jewel part of the necklace that hung around her neck and smiled. ….
“When I finish this job well, I will ask him about the curse again. Anyway, I want to live happily ever after. Because that is my only punishment and hope…… “
The butler was silent. Then the carriage door closed gently.
※
After Alicia left, we parted again after her meal. Even if we broke up, we would just use another room. There were still a few things to do in the city, so in the end, Mira and I decided to stay at For a day or so.
“If you change your mind, tell me. I have no intention of joining a party with only those thieves and elves.”
Alphonse was adamant even after hearing the contents of the request directly suggested by the lord. They probably misunderstood me as a skilled wizard, and after hearing what Alicia accidentally leaked, they became even more obsessed with it. In the end, we decided to postpone the story until tomorrow and go to bed early.
And the night. The room next to Chloe’s was empty, so I took it. However, I received a stinging stare from Calia, as if the intention of the two of them coming in and occupying a room was considered a bit dishonest. Mira was going to sleep in Chloe’s room anyway, but she never believed it.
Smart. And not long after I laid down on the bed, someone knocked on my door. I didn’t even bother checking through the crack in the door, I knew it was a mummy by the sound of a knock. Oh, I’m tired of waking up. Had I known it would be like this, I would have left the door slightly open. I trudged over and opened the door…… There, as expected, a mummy dressed in comfortable clothes was standing in the hallway. It was so comfortable that her white thighs were exposed beneath the long hem of her dress. Huh? No, what is it?
“Jin.”
“Uh, uh.”
I listened to her rather stiff tone and closed her eyes tightly. sh*t. Is it coming He must be arguing about the fact that he pierced Calia’s breastbone earlier. Or you’re unhappy about making a colleague proposal to Alphonse without consulting it. Either way, it’s something you have to overcome. I made up my mind and opened my eyes, recalling the excuse I prepared in my heart.
“I can’t stand it anymore.”
“Huh?”
────My vision was once again dyed into darkness by the blurry silhouette of her rushing by.
