Chapter 314.
Chapter 314.
After changing into a luxurious suit, I left the boarding house with the luggage Hameln had packed. "Noona, I have to go, so please take care of others so they don’t cause trouble,” I requested.
Hestia noona ate a spoonful of parfait and readily nodded, gesturing at me to go ahead. "Okay, okay. Have a safe trip. If you’re planning to run away as is, Father will flip over the whole capital, so be careful."
Third Sister’s warning made me break out in a cold sweat. It was terrible just imagining it. I said, "Okay. More than that, we should find where Father went before he causes an accident.”
"That’s true. I’ll take care of that, so hurry up and go about your business." Hestia noona was already distracted by the sweet dessert given by Mrs. Arscilla, so she didn’t seem to care about me at all.
Well, for dessert in my hometown, all we had was just fruits from the forest, but there was no way fruits could beat the sweetness made of refined sugar.
I sighed and left for the train station, calling, "Gwalchavad, Lionel."
The two knights appeared in front of me from my pocket space.
"Did you call me, Master?"
"Please give your order, Master."
The two knights still called me that/ cheesy name.
"Go to Arietta, Gwalchavad."
"I’ll follow your orders." Gwalchavad bowed his head and immediately headed in the direction of my workshop.
In fact, I was more worried about the safety of my workshop than about Arietta’s safety in it. I couldn’t imagine how messy the old palace lady would have been, because I usually called on Percival, who would usually take care of the mess right away.
Please clean up with that excellent housework ability, Gwalchavad!
"And Lionel, go to Arwen in secret.”
"Is it a secret escort?" Lionel asked.
I shrugged. "It doesn’t really have to be a secret, but do as you please. The safety of Arwen and Hillis comes first."
"I will receive Master’s orders." Lionel prostrated himself once and disappeared as if melting into the shadows.
Honestly, few people were strong enough to harm Hillis. As such, it could be said that Arwen was safe if she went with Hillis. Still, Hillis wasn’t cold-hearted enough to prevent mishaps.
"Then the ones left are Tristan, Agravain, and Caradock?"
The rest were damaged to the point where they couldn’t move and had to be fixed, but my mana hadn’t fully returned yet.
"Caradock,” I called.
"Did you call me, Commander-in-Chief?"
"Secretly release the dragon tooth soldiers into the capital and look for my father. And let Third Sister know as soon as he’s found."
Not knowing my father’s location was no different from having a nuclear bomb that might explode anytime. The moment someone picked a fight with my father, the capital would become a mess.
"Yes, I understand." Caradock bowed his head at my instructions and walked slowly down a dark street.
"Tristan, Agravain."
Tristan smiled pleasantly at my call, and Agravain bowed his head seriously.
"Yeah! Did you call me, Master?"
"Please give the order, Master."
"The two of you, escort me without being discovered by others,” I ordered.
The two looked at me in surprise.
"Iya, I think it’s the first time Master has personally ordered an escort.”
"That’s right. Normally, you only reluctantly allow someone to be by your side because of Gwalchavad’s recommendation."
"Well, that happens sometimes." I smiled and glossed over it. Rationally, even if I had little mana, it wasn’t as if my physical strength had disappeared, so there was no need for an escort.
"More than anything, I have a bad feeling,” I muttered. Since my instincts were telling me to seek safety, I thought it would be better to have escorts.
The two knights hardened their expressions.
"We’d better do our best for this. Don’t you think so, you stiff?”
"Don’t call me a stiff, Tristan. But I still agree.”
The two quarreled as they concealed themselves.
I headed to the train station, smiling lightly.
* * *
Hillis smiled brightly as she hugged her sister. "Oh! It’s nice to see you after such a long time!"
"Huhu, you’ve only become more childish since I last saw you. You have to think about your age. You’re already twenty years old." Vibrio stroked her head and nagged her.
Hillis pretended to be sulky and grumbled, "But I still do well and act with dignity in front of others."
"Really? Then can I ask Sir Albatoss?" Vibrio asked playfully.
Hillis avoided her gaze with a slightly hesitant expression. "Uh... Maybe?"
"You! Hahaha!" Vibrio laughed sincerely and disheveled Hillis’s hair.
Hillis laughed along with her sister. "Hehehehe."
"Who’s the kid who came with you?" Vibrio asked.
Hillis introduced Arwen, having momentarily forgotten. "Oh, she’s a disciple of my friend, and she also has talent in divine power, so I’m also teaching her. Arwen, say hi. It’s my older sister."
Arwen faltered and bowed her head slightly.
-My name is Arwen.
When Arwen magically wrote a greeting in the air, Hillis whispered to Vibrio that she couldn’t speak.
"I see. I’m Vibrio. Thanks for taking care of my sister,” Vibrio said.
"Unni!" Hillis pretended to be sulky and pouted. "Woooh!”
Vibrio jokingly wagged her finger at Hillis. "This girl gets lonely a lot, so please take good care of her in the future."
Vibrio approached Arwen with a comforting smile. But when she suddenly drew near, Arwen was startled and retreated half a step before stopping in place.
"Hmm, is it because I’ve been a knight for a long time? Kids tend to be scared of me." Vibrio responded as if she were slightly hurt.
Hillis replied with a playful smile, "Isn’t it because you look scary, Unni?"
"Hey!" Vibrio again playfully messed up Hillis’s hair. "If you’re scared, I won’t approach you,” she said to Arwen with a gentle smile.
Arwen hesitated and shook her head. Then, she approached first and reached out her hand.
When Vibrio saw Arwen sticking her hand out, she carefully grabbed it and shook hands. "Nice to meet you." Arwen nodded in response.
"I’m sorry, since we’ve only just met after a long time, but I have to go because something came up,” Vibrio suddenly remarked.
Hillis puffed out her cheeks and whined, "What happened as soon as you came back? Don’t do that; let’s hang out together instead.”
Vibrio smiled bitterly and patted her shoulder. "I can’t do that. It might be an opportunity to recover the golden goddess statue, which was stolen from the Great Temple."
Hillis gulped. "That means..." She looked up at her sister with worried eyes. Contrary to her worries, however, Vibrio’s eyes showed no sadness or hatred. They just contained an anger that could be called a sense of justice and a desire to recover the statue.
"It’s okay,” Vibrio answered.
Hillis nodded and said, "That’s good." For her, there was nothing more to wish for as long as Vibrio didn’t look at the world with hatred.
"Then I’ll head out." Vibrio smiled and passed Arwen before heading out of the room.
"Hey...!" At that moment, Hillis felt an unknown anxiety when she saw Vibrio’s back. As if she had heard a goodbye, she grabbed her sister, her mood suddenly low.
When Vibrio looked back, Hillis shook her head and smiled. "...Have a safe trip."
Vibrio smiled, saying, “Don’t worry." With that, left Hillis behind.
When Vibrio’s figure completely disappeared, Arwen wrote in the air with a cautious expression.
-Is she really with the temple?
Hillis couldn’t understand why she was asking that question. "Of course. She’s almost the youngest to have passed the paladin exam."
-Is that so?
Arwen looked at where Vibrio had just walked by with an uneasy look.
-Then, did you not feel anything strange?
"Strange feeling? Hmm? No, nothing.” Hillis took the lead with a calm smile. "Come, the Great Temple keeps some interesting holy relics in storage. It’ll help you even with your level of divine power, so let’s go see."
Looking at Hillis leading the way, Arwen couldn’t tell if she was pretending not to know or really didn’t know... that a strange musk-like magic that stung the tip of her nose was surrounding Vibrio.
For Arwen, the scent was so smoky that it reminded her of a terrible, ominous memory.
* * *
-The train is coming into the East Capital Station now. Guests, please take a step back for your safety.
The trains were entering the capital from Asterium.
According to the documents Hameln had given me, the reason why Duke Asteria was coming to the capital was simple. It was related to the war and the large-scale troop movements leaving the Demon’s Territory. As the owner of territory at the forefront of the battlefield, it was natural that he couldn’t stay still when the frontline had holes in it, and even great demons were attacking.
"What! Who might this be?! Isn’t it our war hero whose name resonates even in the far north?" As soon as the train stopped and the door opened, Duke Asteria welcomed me with open arms.
"Haha, I think the situation has become reversed for some reason. Shouldn’t I be welcoming Your Highness the Duke?" I asked.
Duke Asteria hugged me and laughed. "Huh-huh-huh, okay. Thank you for saying you’d welcome me. But I told you to call me grandfather when it’s just the two of us."
"I know. But I have to maintain courtesy in public places."
Duke Asteria looked around and snorted. "Hmph, it’s basically just the two of us. Those guys coming from behind don’t have loose lips, so it’s okay."
Getting off behind the duke was the platinum plate adventurer, Debt-ridden Knight; and the captain of the White Tiger Knights, whose armor bore a white tiger pattern.
"I don’t know. Is it my mistake to think that, although the Knight Captain’s mouth is heavy, his sword is light?” I asked.
When I had been dispatched to the Asteria territory two years ago, I had run into him quite often while coming and going from the duke’s castle, but he had openly looked at me with displeasure. It was simply because I had addressed Duke Asteria without formalities.
"Hahaha, he’s a little hot-tempered. Originally, I was going to leave him to protect the territory, but this time, he wouldn’t listen,” Duke Asteria said.
"Well, it is that important this time,” I remarked.
The Asteria territory was in quite an urgent situation right now. Although it was said that the Crow tribe and the Butterfly tribe were currently engaged in a joint line and guarding the boundaries of the Demon’s Territory, the biggest problem was supplies. Most of the war supplies had been kept in the south in preparation for a predicted prolonged war, so they became the source of the trouble.
"Hahaha, since you already know, it’ll be easier moving around. The visit to the capital this time will be short and busy,” Duke Asteria said.
"Yes. Guild Director Glont also said he would provide as much support as possible." I hadn’t heard that personally, but it had been written in the documents.
Duke Asteria smiled and whispered in my ear. "I hope I’ll have your support, too. The fifth great madosa, the Anti-Magic Specialist, Den."
I looked at the duke in surprise. Duke Asteria took the lead while humming, pretending to be oblivious, and I followed behind him.
Just how far had the rumor spread?