Episode 68: Yokinohakarae
“Miss Arianna Cybarossa… I am truly sorry to ask, but I would like to request you to speak to your father on my behalf.”
“Hm? What is it? Uh…”
“…Fabian Renesil-sama, I will give you my seat.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Thank you.”
Please remember your classmates’ names already! While thinking that, I secretly whispered that he was from the Earl House. Please don’t move so ticklishly, it’s embarrassing.
“So, Fabian-dono. About speaking to my father?”
“…It’s a rather pathetic story, but it seems my father has been rude to yours. Because of that, the amount of Cybarossa Hair Cleansing Liquid we receive has been reduced.”
Wow, is it okay to start talking so directly?
“My mother is strong, so my father has no standing in the house anymore. My mother is also agitated, and the female servants are grumpy because the amount of Hair Cleansing Liquid is limited… Even I find it a bit troublesome to be at home… Ugh.”
“Fabian-sama!?”
“C-Calm down, Fabian-dono!”
Fabian-sama suddenly started trembling. What kind of treatment do you usually receive!?
“S-Sorry. I seem to have been a bit shaken… So, I would like to formally apolo… have my father apologize, but I can’t even contact him.”
This guy is planning to make his own father prostrate himself?
“So, you were talking about speaking to my father?”
“I want you to accept this letter. If you can’t speak to your father, you can discard the letter. I will respect Baron Cybarossa’s judgment.”
“To that extent…”
“Yes, but I would like you to tell me whether you received the letter or discarded it.”
Fabian-sama said that with a truly tired expression. For a member of the Earl House to be so humble to a member of the Baron House, the situation must be quite serious. All because of Hair Cleansing Liquid…
“Understood. Depending on my father, I will accept Fabian-dono’s letter.”
The Young Lady nodded, so I accepted it on her behalf. It feels fine to the touch, and the smell is okay too.
“Thank you, really… I’m really counting on you.”
“U-Understood.”
Oh, the Young Lady is overwhelmed!
“That’s what happened at school. Father, what do you want to do?”
“Hmm. House Runesil, is it? The letter.”
“Yes. Cladfield.”
“Here it is.”
“Indeed.”
Saying that, Master tore Fabian-sama’s letter to shreds.
“Father!?”
“Aria-chan, you must not associate with House Runesil. Avoid getting close to them at school as much as possible.”
“…What did they do?”
“House Runesil, do you know what kind of house they are?”
“I thought they were relatively close to our territory…”
Ah, indeed. They are closer to the Royal Capital than our territory, but in terms of distance, they are close.
“That’s right. In some places, they are even adjacent. They are that close… By the way, you know about the Earl Lucrut House attack that happened in the spring, right?”
“Yes. Something about illegally trading slaves…”
Ah, that’s the house I blew away.
“Yes. A lot of people from rural territories were captured there.”
“Rural… Could it be?”
“That’s right. Our territory’s people were also included. And the ones involved in taking our people were…”
“House Runesil, is it?”
“A truth-detection Magic Item was used on the perpetrators, so there is no mistake, but no Lord would admit to such a thing.”
“So?”
“Currently under investigation. Knights and soldiers were introduced, but the investigation was temporarily stopped due to the troubles in the north. So, as a show of force and tightening, we first restricted the transaction volume of House Runesil.”
“Not a complete stop, then.”
Ah, indeed.
“We reduced the transaction volume but increased the sales price. If we stopped it completely, they wouldn’t pay us, would they?”
I see.
“That’s the background. So, try not to contact that Fabian Renesil too much. Cladfield-kun, I’m counting on you too.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Understood.”
I see. Still, I can’t just leave it alone, so I have to tell Fabian-sama that the letter wasn’t accepted.
“Fabian-sama, do you have a moment?”
“From Miss Arianna’s place, I see. So, you came, which means…”
“Yes. It’s not something to discuss here, so could we at least go out to the hallway?”
“I’m sorry to make you worry.”
“No, not at all.”
The other party is from a high-ranking noble house, so it’s natural to be considerate.
Fabian-sama, his Escort Knight, and I went out into the hallway. There are people coming and going, but it’s not uncommon to have such secret talks, so everyone is considerate and keeps their distance.
“Since Miss Arianna didn’t come, it seems the result wasn’t good.”
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t been told the details. These are Master’s words, but if you care about each other, you should keep your distance not only at the academy but also in other places.”
“I see. So, the letter was…”
“It was not accepted and was discarded.”
“What has my father done?”
I’ve been told not to say anything about that.
“That’s why, please avoid contact with the Young Lady even at the academy. I have received orders from Master, so I may have to take action in some cases.”
“I can’t compete with the academy’s number one Escort Knight. I’ll be quiet.”
I would appreciate it if you did.
So, please don’t glare at your escort either.
“…Also, please accept this.”
“What is this?”
“If you have long hair, you might use it up in a week.”
“Hair Cleansing Liquid! That’s a big help!”
“It’s from Master. He says, ‘Be careful not to do anything rash.'”
I think it’s Master’s plan to bring his son or wife into our camp.
“By the way, it’s a new fragrance.”
“Wonderful! This might appease my mother!”
I’ve handed over what I needed to, so my job is done. The rest is up to Master and the others.
“That’s what I thought, but…”
Recently, there have been frequent incidents of people collapsing or being killed on the way to and from the academy and near the mansion.
It’s clearly happening near the Cybarossa House.
The targets are maids, butlers, gardeners, and Chefs who worked for the Runesil House. Some were killed, and those killed were burly men. When we checked with the protected members of the Runesil House, they were escorts, Knights belonging to the territory, or Adventurers. There are many people involved with the Runesil House.
Despite the Knights guarding the Noble District and the patrolling soldiers, such incidents have been occurring frequently.
“Suspicious deaths are not good…”
Our Escort Knights are guarding the mansion. Their skills are not particularly high, but the security is not so lax that they would easily allow intrusion.
I’m also being cautious. However, such incidents occur outside the mansion, so it’s hard to notice… Or rather, even if it happened within my perception range, the crime would be too quick for me to intervene. In the first place, the area outside the mansion is outside my警戒range.
“A stab in the back, huh?”
The killed were attacked and stabbed in the back of the neck. It was as if they were killed with a thick needle-like weapon.
Those without much combat ability were not killed but were knocked unconscious.
They were instructed to deliver letters to the people in the mansion and were waiting for people to come and go.
On the other hand, those with combat ability were not given letters and seemed to be moving with some other purpose.
In any case, even if you’re watching at night, there’s hardly any traffic, right?
“…Ah!”
When I saw the bodies, I thought it was like something a ninja would do… I have an idea!
“Ryuga!”
“Yes! Here!”
“Not ‘here’!”
He was there after all!
I hit Ryuga on the head as he was coming out of the shadows! Why are you here!?
“You, following me without permission…”
“I am your Escort.”
“Not ‘I am your Escort’!”
“But, in reality, there are people like this who are hiding and trying to harm His Majesty and His Majesty’s protectees.”
“It’s our job to defeat them! Our! Escort’s job!”
“I am also an Escort.”
“You’re not an Escort, you’re the Village Chief! What about the Village!”
“I have left it to Houryuu.”
“Aaaaaah!”
I didn’t notice! As expected of the best user in the Village! The physical enhancement effect was also high, but before that, the way he erased his presence surpassed that of wild animals!
“Also, I have investigated various things. I was going to report to His Majesty if you noticed me.”
“…What did you investigate?”
“The hiding place of someone called Earl Joshua Runesil, the total amount of combat power there, hidden funds, and contracts that cannot be shown to people.”
“Seriously!? And you understand it?”
“I may look like this, but I am the village chief. Even though the village was closed off, I still review old wooden tablets and create new ones.”
Ah, now that you mention it, that’s true.
“Still, you’re quite capable. And the Count was hiding his tracks, huh?”
I can’t believe he didn’t know anything about the world outside the village until just recently!
“What would you like to do? You can leave it to me, you know?”
“…I want to recover the hidden funds. The contract documents need to be delivered to someone who will judge them properly… Where? The lurking guys should be reported to the Knights Order, huh?”
“If we consider the possibility of them escaping, we should seal their movements beforehand.”
“Indeed.”
Still, I can’t just act on my own. Lately, these suspicious incidents, Ryuga’s fault though… because of the incidents, I haven’t been able to leave Young Lady for long.
Should I bomb them again? But Fabian-sama isn’t exactly a bad guy…
“Since you seem to be troubled, let me take care of it.”
Muu, the devil’s whisper.
“It’s not something that should trouble His Majesty. And it won’t take much effort for me either.”
Indeed, this guy is ridiculously strong. In terms of actual combat, it’s either Barbatos or Ryuga.
“…Yokinohakarae.”
“Understood.”
And Ryuga literally disappears.
“…I left it to him. Is it going to be alright?”
Later, the crimes of House Runesil were exposed. The house was abolished. Fabian-sama and Countess Runesil apparently returned to the Countess’s family home.
…But you know, those contract documents that were evidence of the fraud. Is it really okay to deliver them to the King’s bedside? That caused quite a problem in its own way, you know?