Chapter 156: The Dagger is Short, the Light Pierces, and the Flame Runs 7 ~With a Side of the Margrave’s Stomachache~
*
Margrave Makikomarkrow, Comsas Dortwil, answered the knock with a “Come in,” but felt a sense of foreboding as the door was opened with urgency.
He put down his pen and moved the half-finished “Maiden of Light / Longdagger Countermeasure Chart” to the side of his desk to avoid staining it.
“My Lord.”
The urgent air, uncharacteristic of his Butler—a reliable warrior during his adventurer days and three years his senior—who had opened the door, intensified Comsas’s unease.
“The husband of the adventurer in question is running around town, chasing his wife while shouting her name at the top of his lungs.”
What the hell is that!
Comsas couldn’t help but slam his fist on the desk.
At least do something related to the Maiden of Light!
There was no such item on the “Maiden of Light / Longdagger Countermeasure Chart” he had been working on just moments ago.
He hadn’t thought anything worse than the attack on the Barrier could happen. He cursed his own lack of imagination.
Was his imagination failing due to age?
No, they were the ones who far too easily exceeded human imagination.
Ah, no, wait.
Idiots running around wasn’t particularly unusual news, though it was certainly a nuisance.
In other words, it wasn’t something significant enough to warrant planning countermeasures for, which was why he hadn’t written down the response procedure for when Longdagger (husband) ran around shouting his wife’s name in the chart.
“Give me the details.”
The Butler gave a quiet nod, as if trying his best to calm his master.
“The husband seems to be running across the rooftops, while the wife is using Physical Enhancement to run through the crowds.”
Isn’t that a major disaster!
A! Ma! Jor! Dis! As! Ter!
Comsas couldn’t stop himself from slamming the desk three times.
“The damage!?”
Entrusting his immediate anger to the desk, Comsas questioned his Butler.
No, really, he would make them pay for this later, but first, he needed to confirm the extent of the damage.
“Actually, there have been no reports of damage so far. Only a few complaints about the noise.”
“What is with those two?”
His long-serving, older Butler shrugged, ignoring his master’s question.
You’ve always been like that, haven’t you?
“Perhaps…”
Oh, so he’s going to answer now?
Comsas waited for the Butler’s response.
“A lovers’ quarrel, I presume.”
“Have even the dogs given up on them?”
“They won’t eat it, after all.”
Comsas clutched his head as the Butler replied thus.
No, I just don’t get it anymore.
Do those two hold some grudge against me?
I’ve been treating them quite leniently, haven’t I?
Normally, firing magic like that at the Barrier would warrant immediate action, no questions asked, right?
Don’t they have the option of just keeping quiet and inconspicuous?
The head of the church who tried to have them executed is in the same town, you know?
After venting for a while while clutching his head, Comsas took a deep breath and looked up.
The Butler’s expression, which seemed to say, “Yes, well done,” was infuriating.
“Dispatch the available Knights.”
Before the Butler could make a face like he wanted to say something, Comsas checked the time.
“Use the ones returning from patrol as well.”
It was just about time for the Knights to return from their regular patrol duty on the highway.
He was imposing hardship on his subordinates, but the ones running around were those two.
They were people who could defeat three Golden Ogres without injury, take down a Forest Dragon that was a Designated Subjugation Target, and furthermore, essentially perform a solo Subjugation of a Blackened Dragon.
…Hey, are they really human?
Given that anything could happen, holding back would be a bad move.
Again, before the Butler could make a face like he wanted to interject, Comsas continued speaking.
“The men assigned to city patrol duty can remain as they are; I won’t tolerate making fools of ourselves by focusing solely on those idiots. Tell them to adapt the manual for when Monsters breach the Barrier for their response. That should suffice.”
The possibility that dealing with Monsters might actually be easier flickered through his mind.
Ignoring it, he spoke to the Butler, who was now waiting for his words with yet another look suggesting he had something to say.
“Make haste. That is all.”
Wearing a satisfied smile, the older Butler bowed and left the room.
You really are like that, aren’t you? Really.
Watching the back of his older Butler—who, along with some crazy priest who beat Monsters to death back in their adventurer days, had tormented the walls of his stomach—Comsas rubbed his stomach.
The worst kind of person was the one who acted like a sensible adult and knew the right answer but silently went along with the mischief.
What was that about, “Ah, I thought you were aware”?
If I had been aware, I would have stopped it!
Comsas, who had been trying to escape reality by grumbling about the two problem children he knew from long ago, sighed and decided to face the situation.
For now, he would start by adding the response procedure for when the husband runs around town shouting his wife’s name to the “Maiden of Light / Longdagger Countermeasure Chart.”
Comsas picked up his pen, humming to himself to drown out the thought that if he listened closely, he might just hear Longdagger’s voice shouting his wife’s name.