Chapter 69: The Opening Ceremony of the Impoverished Viscount’s Second Son
A lot happened after I was chosen—or rather, volunteered myself—to be the elopement partner for Erika Solntsalri, who was being exiled from the Faltar Kingdom.
It was early summer when we departed the Faltar Kingdom, but before I knew it, more days felt undeniably like summer.
How many days had it been since leaving Faltar? In the beginning, I used to count the passing days like that.
But before I realized it, I started marking the days based on personal events.
In other words, today is the morning of the fourth day since returning from the Demon Realm Forest.
And since morning, I’ve been sitting across the table from Merseja, drinking tea.
Merseja is an adventurer hired by Erika’s father, the Prime Minister-dono of the Faltar Kingdom, and serves as our liaison now that we’ve been exiled.
Incidentally, to describe his appearance, currently, he’s a rather stylish man in his early thirties with a well-built physique and a beard that suited him.
Furthermore, when I met him two days ago, he was the same slightly chubby, kind-faced man with a round face and a beard whom I had traveled with from Faltar to Orclaugh.
As a Rank 6 adventurer, someone the Prime Minister-dono would hire even as an escort to Orclaugh, I knew he wasn’t just anybody, but he was even less ordinary than I imagined.
He’d changed so much I almost thought he was someone else.
I didn’t even recognize him as Merseja until I heard his voice.
Apparently, Merseja had been doing various investigations for the report he needed to send to the Prime Minister-dono about our situation here, and today, he was going to share that report with us as well.
It seems he also came to deliver a letter from the Prime Minister-dono to Erika.
However, the crucial person, Erika, said she had things to do, left the letter from the Prime Minister-dono on the table, and shut herself in her room.
Poor Prime Minister-dono.
“So, did anything happen?”
I asked, glancing at the Prime Minister-dono’s letter on the table and wondering if I should write a letter to my old man too.
“Well now, put simply, there wasn’t anything worth bringing to your attention, Boss.”
I raised an eyebrow at his suggestive tone and silently prompted him to continue.
“The Young Lady’s popularity is insane.”
“Naturally.”
“I reckon you’re the only one who’d answer like that without a second thought, Boss.”
I was inwardly surprised by Merseja’s words, wondering if there were really that many people in the world with such poor judgment.
“I haven’t got a clue why you’re lookin’ so surprised… Anyway, the Young Lady emerging from the Demon Realm Forest while burning hordes of monsters apparently left quite an impression on the adventurers. Beautiful and strong on top of that, it’s only natural people would wonder just who she is, right?”
Well, even if it took them a little time to notice, it’s a good thing they recognized Erika’s charm, I thought, nodding in agreement. Merseja let out an exasperated sigh.
“Please, just try to seriously consider, even for a moment, that exiled former nobles normally don’t rejoice about standing out.”
“It’s impossible for Erika not to stand out.”
After all, her mere presence lights up the place.
“You too, Boss.”
“No one notices a shiny pebble on the roadside, right?”
“You should’ve made jokes like that before the adventurers in town started hailing you as a hero. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to report to the Prime Minister-sama.”
Merseja said, holding his head in his hands.
A sudden, certain thought slipped out of my mouth.
“Wouldn’t he be pleased?”
Merseja looked up, his face a complex expression that was hard to describe.
“If he learned his daughter was thriving even after being exiled, that Prime Minister-dono would surely be pleased, right?”
Well, I’ve only met him once, but I get that feeling.
“What’s wrong?”
I asked Merseja, who still wore that strange expression.
“I could easily imagine the Prime Minister-sama being pleased, making me wonder if I chose the wrong employer.”
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Merseja, looking as if he’d just seen an unpleasant premonition, quickly hid his expression behind a mask of professional impassivity, perhaps out of professional pride.
He warned me that while standing out might be unavoidable, if we weren’t careful, people could trace Erika’s origins.
Whether adventurers would be interested in the affairs of another country’s nobility was debatable, but if her origins were known, the possibility arises that unsavory types might try to dig deeper.
Whether they could actually trace anything back is questionable, but if there happened to be an oddball like me—a noble who also works as an adventurer—the possibility is certainly there.
Well, since they’re the type to become an adventurer despite being a noble, their connections to the central government are likely negligible, so the chances of tracing her back are probably low.
Still, it would be foolish to rely too much on the Faltar Kingdom’s desperate cover-up efforts.
The story of being exiled for attempting to assassinate the Maiden of Light certainly isn’t something we want spread around.
As I seriously considered just assassinating anyone who started digging, Merseja held his head again.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking, Boss, so please, just don’t.”
“Well, adventurers are basically all muscleheads anyway. You probably don’t need to worry that much.”
Ignoring Merseja’s words, I said this, and Merseja muttered with a groan, “Seriously, please stop.”
I simply nodded in response.
“Ah, speaking of which,”
Merseja, who had settled for just sighing at my words, spoke in a completely casual tone, as if relaying news about a distant relative.
“Seems your master is heading this way, Boss.”
I screamed.