Chapter 15: An Ego
“Anon, Sensei, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
The brothers Kuroe and Kuroa seemed to relax, drifting off into unconsciousness. Although Kuroa had recovered, he had only just been on the brink of death, so it was only natural. The same went for his brother. I recalled the weary expression on Kuroe’s face; he must have been hanging on by a thread due to stress and fatigue.
“Son-in-law, I understand. Leave the two to us and go on ahead.”
Sensei smiled, narrowing her eyes.
“Indeed, I noticed you were fidgeting.”
Anon nodded in agreement with my suggestion, giving a firm nod.
“You must have something important to attend to, right?”
That’s right. I was about to return to Ashley and report on the situation, and then—
I lightly replied to Anon, “Yeah, I’ve got somewhere I need to be.”
I also had questions I needed to ask him.
“Forget about me for a moment; I have a question for Anon.”
“What is it?”
“Well, Anon, you already knew Kuroe, right?”
“That’s correct. I’ve worked with them before, and I’ve interacted with Kuroe as an information broker and a client.”
“When I saw you talking to Kuroe right after arriving here, it seemed like you two had a close relationship. For you, the Old Capital (Bienetta) Clan and its master Kuroe aren’t just colleagues or clients, are they?”
Anon clasped his hands behind his head and looked up, pondering for a moment.
“Indeed, that’s true. I respect the operational policies of the Old Capital (Bienetta), and I evaluate the skills of its members as worthy of an S-rank clan. Most importantly, Kuroe, who leads them, is earnest and sincere, and I don’t dislike him.”
The way he said he didn’t dislike him felt distinctly like Anon. It was his way of showing respect.
“Even knowing Sensei’s Healing Magic, you entrusted us with Kuroa without asking anything.”
Anon seemed to smirk beneath his hood.
“You don’t quite get it, do you?”
“I don’t?”
He shook his raised index finger a couple of times.
“That’s right. You don’t get it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because you said you were fine.”
I was momentarily at a loss for words. While I had said that, it didn’t mean I could leave everything to them without a second thought.
“Sure, I said I’d manage somehow, but—”
Anon touched my lips with his raised index finger, signaling me to stop my rambling.
“I trust you more than you think.”
With that, Anon let out a cynical chuckle and added, “After all, you’re my Hero-sama.”
He told me that.
I rode the Eagle Dragon, heading towards Ashley.
The weight of Anon’s trust was overwhelming… It would be a lie to say I wasn’t pleased, but it was still too much. With each step, I imagined the ground sinking beneath me, and I shook my head vigorously.
“I need to make sure I don’t betray that trust.”
As I muttered to myself, a young man, the Eagle Dragon’s rider, responded to my voice.
“What was that?”
The young man was Thomas, an A-ranker from the Old Capital (Bienetta) party known as Naturehood.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” I replied.
“I see,” Thomas said, though he still looked unconvinced.
“By the way, I appreciate you stepping up as the rider. If I think about it, I wouldn’t be able to ride the dragon alone.”
Not only could I not ride the dragon, but I also wouldn’t have known the way to our destination. The problem was that I hadn’t even considered that. A moment of reflection.
“Ah, it was no trouble at all.”
Focused on steering, Thomas didn’t turn to face me as he replied. As I continued to engage him in conversation, he initially responded with few words, but gradually opened up. We exchanged thanks for helping Kuroa and chatted about trivial matters, enjoying our journey through the skies.
From above, I spotted Ashley’s mansion. What caught my eye was a large fire blazing in front of it. My heart raced with worry, fearing it was an enemy attack, but I soon saw Ashley and the members of the Berserga Mercenary Corps, including their leader, bustling around the flames.
I dismounted the Eagle Dragon and headed towards them with Thomas.
“Row! You’re back!”
The first to notice us was Ashley. She greeted us with a smile. Behind her, a scruffy member of the Berserga Mercenary Corps rushed over as if following her.
“Ashley! What’s going on? Why did you suddenly take off running?!”
“Sister…?”
I muttered, and Ashley turned beet red, waving her hands in a fluster.
“N-No! That’s not it! This is! It’s not what you think!” she repeatedly denied, leaving me puzzled.
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