Shara was being scolded because she had missed reporting something, so I guess he didn’t know at that point.
I don’t know when the advance notice from the Maiden of Light’s party arrived, but it seems he likely made the decision to “handle it” and grabbed Merseja within a day of finding out.
I’m impressed by the Margrave’s decisiveness and ability to take action.
I revised my assessment of the Margrave, and inwardly, I’m impressed by the seriousness of his decision.
“I felt a strong intention from him saying he’s had enough of being dragged into any more trouble, though?”
Merseja, a commoner unfamiliar with the subtleties of nobles, said this with an exasperated tone.
That’s just an act, you know. How noble-like.
The Margrave has already resolved himself.
Well, with this, if the worst happens, even if I beat the Prince to a pulp, the Margrave will take responsibility.
To be honest, I wasn’t quite confident I could remain calm when face-to-face with the Prince.
As I sighed in relief, thinking, ‘Ah, this is reassuring,’ Merseja looked at me as if I were something suspicious.
“I get the feeling something is utterly and completely wrong here… but maybe it’s just my imagination?”
It’s probably your imagination.
“Well, whatever. What I received was a request, after all. Anyway, there’s one more message. I was asked to inquire what you folks would like as a reward.”
Reward?
Having no idea what she was talking about, I tilted my head.
“It’s the reward for the Blackened Jewelhead Dragon’s Magic Stone, obviously! Please, I’m begging you, could you try to be a little more aware of what you’ve actually done?”
Hearing Merseja say that, I understood what she was talking about.
But I kept my head tilted.
“Even if you say that, deciding what the reward should be ourselves is just troublesome.”
Merseja looked up at the ceiling.
“I see… the ‘Unbefitting Longdagger,’ indeed.”
Erica’s laughter overlapped with Merseja’s exasperated voice.
When I looked over, Erica was covering her mouth elegantly, but laughing in a relaxed manner I had never seen at the academy.
“Troublesome? Thinking about the reward is troublesome?”
Erica, narrowing her eyes as if wondering what was so funny, gazed at me.
“An adventurer’s way? No, that’s not it, is it, Shin? It must surely be your way. Ah, that’s wonderful, that way of yours. Some might call it arrogance, but I find it rather appealing.”
Erica’s words caused a warmth to well up inside my chest.
While wondering why I felt so pathetically relieved, I simultaneously felt an urge strong enough to make me want to shout right then and there.
“You obtain the things you desire without even needing to beg for them. If that’s so, then you cannot find value in rewards given for your own actions, is that it? No, that’s wrong… they are all equally valuable to you, aren’t they?”
I remembered a friend telling me long ago that such thinking was arrogant and greedy, and I felt embarrassed.
As I inadvertently averted my gaze, Erica tilted her head, peering at me with amusement.
“Surely, you would say that even if it were only words of gratitude, it holds the highest value, wouldn’t you?”
At the edge of my averted gaze, Erica smiled, her eyes looking as if she had found something shared between us.
Unsure whether I felt happy or embarrassed, I couldn’t look directly at Erica due to emotions I couldn’t sort out myself.
In the direction my gaze had inadvertently shifted, Merseja was once again looking up at the ceiling and grumbling.
“Aah, there’s nothing but Longdaggers here.”