26 – Lord Kartina
“You’re here. Elizabeth 1st Knight Commander. And next to him… F-class adventurer, right? You don’t have a name.”
“It is an honor that the lord remembers me, who is only a low-level adventurer.”
He slightly bowed his head and said hello. From that lord’s point of view, the lowest level adventurer would be just a human being like a fly that could die at any time, but to remember that. To be honest, I was a little surprised.
And the fact that people like me are always given honorifics and titles.
At my words, Kartina laughed a little.
“You’re an F-class adventurer, but you’re secretly famous? You’ve maintained an F-class in one place for 8 years. Rumors can’t be spread without going around. Actually, you’re an extremely strong adventurer, but you hide your power and live a leisurely life. It’s just rumors.”
What kind of madman is spreading such rumors?
There was a reason why I didn’t upgrade to E-class the whole time I was looking for dragons. The higher the rank, the more rights and money are guaranteed, but conversely, more obligations.
Rights and money are of no use to me, so of course I have to regard the promotion as a shackle.
F-class requests were in fact just a pretext for promotion to E-class, so most of them were chores such as collecting herbs or disposing of household waste.
The pay is also poor, and unless you do something really crazy, they treat it as a success.
In the first place, most adventurers start with E rank, but there were very few adventurers like me who started with F rank.
I had almost no rights, so conversely, I had almost no obligations, so I just picked up a business card, but I guess I should have put an E-class on it.
“So I really wanted to meet you at least once… but it’s a bit bittersweet to meet over rubble and dust in the ruins rather than over tea and refreshments in the drawing room of the mansion.”
“Enough of small talk, Kartina. Why did you come all this way? It must have been them who said that the mansion was safer.”
Serena cut off the conversation and spat out the words curtly.
He probably doesn’t have good feelings for the lord of this place, but he has to speak plain language to me now, and he’s laughing and talking to me, so it must be because the judges are twisted.
As soon as I stepped back, Serena stepped forward as much as she had stepped back. Naturally, Serena and I changed positions.
“Since the 1st Knight Commander rushed out so suddenly, I thought he might need some help, so I came here to help, albeit briefly…”
Kartina’s eyes alternately looked at the right arm and head of the monster that Serena was holding with both hands.
His face, which had already looked emaciated, hardened even more, and the slightest hint of laughter disappeared. My fists trembled as if the hand holding the hem of my thigh was getting stronger.
“……It seems that it was a misunderstanding.”
At that, Serena snorted.
“Support? You sound ridiculous. If I were an enemy that needed support, there would be people like you, but they wouldn’t know that it’s mana.”
The knights flinched at the sudden provocation, but when Elliot and Cartina nodded as if in agreement, they quietly retreated, probably deciding that they could not step forward while their superiors were still.
It’s because the words are a bit thorny, that’s true, but what can I do?
If Serena really needed an enemy who needed help, even the entire Royal Knights would not be enough as reinforcements.
Perhaps even Charlotte would have to be added to be able to manage to be called support, but it was simple, but since she brought her daughter and three knights as support, it was only natural that such words would come out.
It’s the same even if you don’t know Serena’s real strength and only know her as the 1st knight commander of the royal family. At most, three knights are nothing more than disposable meat shields even for those humans.
“My thoughts were short. I’m sorry.”
Kartina bowed her head and handed her an apology. I wondered if there was such a thing, but when I remembered what Serena had done here, I could understand why the lord was creeping out.
It’s probably an action that came out of a desperate heart not to touch the planting somehow.
“There’s no need to be sorry. Just go back to the mansion.”
“All right.”
Compared to the answer that came back almost immediately, Kartina’s actions were hesitant and slow. As if seeing Serena’s notice, she opened her mouth, and as if she had made up her mind, she closed her eyes and put her hands together in front of her lower belly.
“Elizabeth, Commander of the 1st Knights, would it be all right if I ask you a few questions?”
“What is the question about?”
“This is a question about what you heard in the hands of the knight commander.”
Serena raised one hand. Kartina trembled for a moment, as if her eyes met with the eight pupils, and then nodded quietly.
“It doesn’t matter. Do it.”
“Are those arms and heads of monsters?”
Hearing that question, Serena paused for a moment as if she was thinking about an answer, but her thoughts didn’t last long.
“Yes.”
“Well then, what is the shape of that head…?”
As befits a lord who ruled a city located on the front line for a long time, he seemed to feel uncomfortable with the fact that the monster’s severed head took on a human form, except for the eight eyes and bizarrely torn mouth.
He was also a flawless person, except for his weakness. It’s also pretty fast.
After this it will be faster for me to explain. Serena didn’t know much right now, so it was difficult to give an appropriate answer.
At most, it’s all that I called, arrived, and chopped up Scarface. In addition, I also had a few questions to ask over there.
“Is it okay if I explain from here, Lord?”
“Yes, you bastard!
As I stepped in front of Serena and intervened in their conversation, Elliot, who had been silently watching us until just now, suddenly burst into shouting.
Looking at Elliott with Kartina’s eyes wide open, it seemed that she didn’t care at all. If not, how could you make such a surprised face?
Before Kartina panicked and called Elliot, Serena shouted first.
“Elliot, hold on—”
“Shut up!”
Bang, Serena stamped her left foot. The floor began to split like a spider’s web around the spot where Serena hit.
Kartina staggered. A look of bewilderment was evident on the knights’ faces. No matter how hard they stomped their feet, cracks appeared and the ground slammed into each other and rose upward.
The crack that bloomed like a flower barely stopped moving until it engulfed the surrounding buildings and almost the entire street. He turned his head and looked at Serena. Anger flashed in those two eyes.
“I never gave you permission to speak. Direct article.”
Despite the fact that Elliott was bigger in height and size, Elliot was sweating profusely and only rolled his eyes.
Dark mana crawled out of Serena’s body and strangled the surroundings. Kartina, already weak, looked like she was about to burst into tears.
It was a bit surprising that the lord did not faint.
Right now, even those knights, who were considerably stronger than her, were trembling because they couldn’t stand the spirit pressure, but just being conscious and not losing consciousness was enough to be praised.
Well, there is no one to really praise.
I should have told Serena to put up with whatever I was told, but I sighed inwardly. I’ve warned you dozens of times so far, but why are you terribly refusing to listen to this?
“That… sin…”
“I’m sorry, Elliot.”
Before Elliott trembled and begged for forgiveness, he hit the ball on my side. When I bowed my head and handed over my apology, Serena was flustered and lost her mana.
Strictly speaking, it was my fault.
The lord of a city and the head of the royal knights were talking, and at most an F-class adventurer suddenly stopped talking and asked if he could explain.
On the face of it, it was obviously the fault of this side.
If you dig deep into it, I’m going to explain the information I’ve been beaten for a long time by a monster, but a mere article or something gets in, but that’s Serena’s point of view.
This is the right thing to do, as long as I can’t openly disclose my relationship with Serena.
“I was the one who confronted that monster before the 1st Knight Commander came to help me. So, I thought I knew more about monsters than the Knight Commander, so I presumptuously intervened before my heart. I’m really sorry. .”
When I bent down first and entered, Serena also completely reaped the mana that had been distracted with a pouty face.
Whoa, I heard several sighs of relief. Cold sweat was forming on Kartina’s forehead. The two clasped hands trembled.
While the four of them were each holding their breath, they quickly glanced at Serena. Serena’s displeasure was clear, but when I winked at her one more time, she opened her mouth.
“Don’t do that… again, okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. Commander of the 1st Knights.”
I deliberately left out Elizabeth. In the face of being in the position of admonishing me, I would really not be able to manage my expression if I called Serena by her last name instead of her first name.
Leaving behind Serena, whose face had turned to death, I waited for a while until Kartina regained her composure.
Kartina, who had been repeating heart-ho-hum for a while, opened her eyes, trying to calm down her trembling eyes.
Kartina, who wiped away the well-gathered tears with the sleeve of her clothes, tried to smile.
“I didn’t come to see the Knight Commander for this, but I keep repeating my apologies. I’m sorry, Elizabeth 1st Knight Commander. Please forgive my knight’s rudeness.”
“……done.”
It seems that no one heard the voice.
“Well, if you feel offended—”
“No. Really. Don’t make me say it twice.”
Serena replied like a knife. The voice sounded somehow urgent, so I tried to hold back a laugh. At least, he must have cut like a knife like that, wondering what to do if he had to reverse his master-servant relationship with me again.
“Okay. Then, adventurer?”
This time, Kartina looked at me.
“Yeah, wait a minute before that. Where should I start? All of it? Or just the nitty gritty?”
“……Do you have much to explain?”
“If you want me to explain everything, I have to explain the events that happened from the time I entered the village in order. Conversely, if you want me to explain only the core, you just have to listen to what it is.”
I pointed my finger at Scarface’s head. Even Kartina wouldn’t want a simple explanation like that’s a humanoid monster.
Where it came from, what it was, how strong it was, and so on. It was clear that he had a lot of questions.
“Then, adventurer-sama must mean that you know the identity of that monster.”
“I’m not sure either, but I think I know for now.”
The reason why he added the word “not sure” was to create a minimum escape route.
I couldn’t say that I melted Scarface by activating high-level magic with the scroll that Charlotte gave me, and then a monster came out of the pit.
I had to recreate everything about why I met Scarface and why that human turned into a monster.
As a bonus, about purgatory magic. Even if there is a corner that is not clear, if you give Serena a glance, she will affirm it, so you can get over it.
In a way, it was like lying, but I didn’t feel particularly guilty. There are things in this world that are better off not knowing, and above all, you should always be prepared for the worst.
“I’d like to ask you to tell me everything… but this is probably not the right place to tell a long story.”
Kartina smiled bitterly. The city had already been devastated, but thanks to what Serena had just done, it had turned into a landscape as if an earthquake had struck.
The cracked buildings were dangerous as if they would crack at any moment, and the land was rising here and there, so it was easy to lose your balance and fall over if you made a mistake.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to talk to you at my mansion. How are you?”
I can’t say that the place is in good condition, but it has been added.
“It doesn’t matter if I go to the mansion itself. Instead, I have a place to stop before that. Is that okay?”
“A place to stop by? Where is it?”
“It’s an Adventurer’s Guild building.”
“An adventurer’s association…? Why is it there?”
I checked the expression. A pure doubt appeared on Kartina’s face, and Elliot was still watching Serena’s eyes. The two knights in the back did the same.
“Because the first place I stopped by when I came back to this city was the Adventurer’s Guild building.”
“In that case, isn’t there a need to go further? I heard you heard about it first.”
“The door was locked. All the windows were barred from the inside with wooden boards.”
“yes?”
Kartina blinked. It was as if he had heard something completely unexpected.
“So, with the help of the Royal Knights Commander, I’m going to forcefully break through. Will it be okay, Knights Commander?”
Serena just nodded her head up and down, but didn’t answer. It was clear that he didn’t want to speak ill of me.
“If I go back to the mansion, I’ll have to come back later to check the building. I thought it would be better to check it now and then go.”
“……I thought the people gathered at the mansion were all that remained by my side.”
Apparently, Cartina thought that the people remaining on her side had gone into the Adventurers Guild building and were holding a sit-in.
If so, that would be great, but if not… … To be honest, I wasn’t sure what happened after that.
“Okay. Let’s stop by the Adventurer’s Guild building first. Elliot, follow me.”
“Yep!”
As Elliot took a stand for a while, the knights behind him followed Elliot’s actions as well.
Perhaps it was because he had the hope that there might be more on his side, and Kartina walked forward without hesitation. Serena and I were still standing, and the four passed us.
After confirming that the distance was wide enough, I quietly whispered to Serena.
“Keep an eye on those four.”
“I see, lord.”
Yes, you should always prepare for the worst.
