CH 33

With a thud…the headless man’s body falls to the ground.

As soon as he sheathes his sword, Harsalia jumps down from the top of the two-story building.

“Gray, are you done?”

“You saw the whole thing.”

“Perfectly.”

Then why did you ask?

“You’re as relentless as ever.”

“I don’t need to. Anybody who threatens the peace of my children is an enemy.”

If you’re going to take something from someone else, you’re at least prepared to have your life taken by them.

Even if they didn’t, I’d still take it.

“…Gray is such a character. A caring father?”

“I don’t care what you think about my character or anything else… it’s only natural for a parent to care for and adore their child.”

“Hmmm, Gray, you should get a wife soon too. How about …… our leader?”

What are you talking about?

“I don’t know what Emilia would do if she heard that…”

“She’ll just blush and be embarrassed anyway.”

Harsalia said this with an indescribable expression on her face, a half-smile on her mouth and a jittery look in her eyes.

“Uh…well, yeah.”

If you ask me, I don’t think so…

“Well, more importantly, do you know where the hero is?”

Harsalia nodded lightly to my deceptive question and pointed in a certain direction.

“Over there. Just outside the city. He looked just like the spirit said he would, so I’m pretty sure.”

Out of town…I guess it’s okay to make some loud noise then.

“Do you know how many people there are?”

“Hmm… 5 people including the hero. There’s a guy in a uselessly extravagant robe and a guy in a pure white plate mail, and then there are two people in the same outfit as the one lying there.”

“I appreciate it.”

Halsalia is a pretty good archer, but she’s also a top-notch scout. She’s different from the scout imitation I was doing.

So much so that it is lightly dented.

“You’re going, aren’t you? I’ll support you. …Or rather, if I go home here, the leader who’s crying and staying at home, will be furious with me.”

“Okay, then please.”

I explained the situation to Emilia and asked her to escort the children. She wanted to follow me so badly, but… there are not many people I can trust and rely on who are strong (at least as strong as me, if not more so).

In that respect, Emilia is perfect.

I’ll treat you to a home-cooked meal next time….

There was a delicate atmosphere with Ariamel last time. I hope they get along.

――――――――――

(Third-party perspective)

“I’ve been trying to find you for a while now, but they’re too slow. Can’t they even run an errand?”

A man in robes outside the walls surrounding Bastok, the bishop of the Holy Land of Storia, mutters grimly.

It was well before dusk and the knights dressed as mercenaries sent to gather information on Saint Ariamel and to report a rough idea of what to expect had been sent.

The orphaned saint, Ariamel, was picked up by an adventurer in the city and is said to be living with him.

He did not know for what purpose the adventurer had picked her up, but he was a lowly person living his life anyway. The bishop thought that if he gave him some money, he would be happy to offer him the saintly girl Ariamel.

But the source of the information is the source. First of all, I sent three knights out to see if the saintly woman Ariamel was really with the adventurer as reported, but they have yet to return.

The bishop was irritated by this.

(I would like to quickly return to Storia Holy Land with Saint Ariamel…. Then my future will be bright. If things continue as they are, even becoming a parishioner should not be a dream…. Even if negotiations break down, I can sneak into that house at midnight and forcibly take Saint Ariamel out. And of course, don’t forget to keep her mouth shut.)

The hero Ares, who was sitting on a rock near the bishop, looked gloomy and troubled.

(Will this Saint Ariamel be separated from her loved ones like me…)

Although he is now called a hero of the oracle, until about half a year ago, Ares was an orphan living in another country with other children who had lost their parents like him.

Suddenly one day, a group of people claiming to be bishops and emissaries of the Holy State of Storia came for Ares.

As a hero.

Ares didn’t want to become a hero.

He just wanted to live a quiet life with his friends, who were like family, and a girl he had been in love with since childhood.

If you take me as a hero, take my other friends with you.

Ares asked that, but he was refused, saying that he could not take them to the Holy City where Ares would be taken….

In exchange, the Holy Kingdom of Storia will take care of the lives of the other orphans.

However, even if I refuse, I would be taken by force, and in that case, they will not take care of the other orphans at all.

I don’t know if the bishops would keep such a promise. However, Ares accepted the offer if he was going to be forcefully taken away anyway.

Ares, who was still just an orphan at that time, did not have the power to resist such unreasonableness.

“Well… I’m just so tired of it all. That’s why you should have let me go.”

Meanwhile, a man in white armor opens his mouth.

“Rondi, you are my escort. What are you going to do away from the target of your protection?”

The bishop said so, but that’s not the only reason.

Holy Knight Rondi

He is a skilled but unsophisticated man, with a particular fondness for women, and if you send him to pick up Saint Ariamel, he is sure to try to “taste” her on the way.

“…Hey hey”

Rondi responds sluggishly to the bishop’s words.

(This chicken bastard… even though I’m frustrated because I can’t hold a woman….Huh?)

At that moment, Rondi noticed a figure approaching them. It was a man dressed like an adventurer and not the knights he had sent out.

“Oi oi … the air is pretty bad”

The man walks up close to speak to the bishop.

“….May I ask who you are? Can we help you?”

The bishop showed his vigilance against the approaching man, Gray, and the two knights, who had been standing back, stepped forward with their weapons at the ready.

“You’re the stalkers snooping around about my daughter.”

“………What?”