Chapter 108
“Joshua!”
Lucille recognized me at a glance.
The anger she had shown outside the window vanished, replaced by a face filled only with delight.
Clack, clack!
The iron boots she wore rattled as she closed the distance.
“I’m so glad you’re alive!”
She hugged me tightly.
I pushed away the cold sensation of the chainmail and met her gaze.
She was on the verge of tears.
“You must maintain the dignity of a noble, this is unsightly.”
“What! Does that mean you aren't happy at all?”
“It's not enough to shed tears over.”
“……You are still the same huh.”
She showed a smile as if she were used to it.
“This is my first time seeing this child, who is she?”
Lucille showed interest in Luna, who was hiding behind my legs.
“Her name is Luna.”
“She’s cute. Hello?”
Luna slowly stepped forward and bowed her head.
“Hello.”
“Kyaaa!”
Lucille let out a cheer and pulled Luna into her embrace.
“She’s so squishy. And fluffy.”
“Aaaargh.”
“How is such a cute girl together with Joshua.”
Whether it was the older sister or the younger one, they both couldn't resist cute things.
For some reason, I didn't feel bad.
Was it because of the notion that praise for a familiar is praise for the mage?
“Uh, Captain, who exactly is this boy?”
A soldier asked with a face full of curiosity.
He was not someone who had come along from the tower.
“He helped me when we were at the tower. If it weren't for this boy, I would have been dead long ago.”
“Are you saying he is your savior?”
“Yes.”
The soldier turned his head and met my gaze.
He trembled and fumbled about.
“He looks like he’s scared of you?”
“I haven't particularly done anything though.”
“Is it something like charisma? It means an intimidating aura is felt. This is a compliment.”
I left the increasingly talkative Lucille behind and looked out the window.
The sun was setting.
The serfs who had been working disappeared into their respective designated lodgings, and darkness fell over the fields.
A few soldiers scattered and lit fires on the pillars erected around the buildings.
When I ignored her, Lucille stared at me with a face full of grumpiness.
“How do you handle dinner?”
“It varies each time, but usually it’s bread. Sometimes lamb comes out as a special meal, but that’s only about once a month.”
She answered my questions immediately despite her displeased expression.
“Sit over there.”
Lucille sat at the window seat furthest inside.
Knowing she might act out if I ignored her again, I followed obediently.
Not long after sitting down, the soldier in charge of meals brought out bread.
“There’s a windmill. We can get flour through it.”
“I see.”
“How have you been all this time? And where is Tania?”
“I’ll tell you step by step.”
I told her about the journey during that time.
The things that happened at the tower and the mine.
I even mentioned the fact that her sister was alive and in a safe place.
“Where is she?”
“In a place that isn't far.”
“Does that mean you’re going to hide it even from me?”
“At least until I confirm the safety of this castle.”
Lucille's expression froze.
Like someone who had lost their appetite, she set down the bread she was biting into and sighed.
“I can't ever beat you. Just how much did you know before coming here?”
She paused as if trying to gauge my reaction.
I did not fall for it and feigned indifference while tearing at the bread.
It was Lucille who raised the white flag amidst the awkward atmosphere.
She suddenly slammed her head onto the desk and threw a tantrum by hitting the floor with her hands.
“Why must you trouble me as well!”
“I haven't done anything.”
“That’s the problem! It would be better if you spoke honestly and shared the situation. Do you not trust me?”
“There are many people listening here.”
“They are my people. You can trust them.”
“Did you forget what happened with Austin at Triden?”
Lucille's face turned pale.
She appeared cool-headed at a glance, but her nature was as pure as Tania's.
She poured unreserved trust into those close to her.
The results of such trust were never good.
“If I were the Countess, I would have planted at least one person. As the ruler of the castle, one would be most curious about the public sentiment.”
She remained silent and quickly glanced at the subordinates sitting around the hall.
She seemed to be looking for a culprit.
When her gaze returned to me, the corners of her mouth were distorted.
“I don't want to think that way.”
“I know. I won't ask Lady Lucille to suspect her subordinates either.”
A heavy groan flowed from Lucille's mouth.
“Lady Lucille, if it’s alright, I want to start working today.”
“It would be fine to start tomorrow, though?”
“I want to get used to things as quickly as possible.”
She instructed a subordinate to bring the duty roster.
“If you tell me the time slot you want, I’ll put you in there.”
I looked through the roster, searching for a name rather than a time.
As expected, the person I was looking for was written there.
* * *
It became dawn.
It was a time when the moonlight felt like the strongest light in this world.
Melor was quite flustered by the fact that his partner had changed tonight.
“I look forward to working with you.”
A boy stood before his eyes.
Since he was said to be an academy student, he was likely in his late teens.
His handsome appearance drew attention.
While carefully examining his features, their eyes met.
Melor reflexively turned his head and cleared his throat as if nothing had happened.
“I-I also look forward to working with you.”
It was a great spirit.
The boy possessed an aura that one shouldn't be able to have at that age.
“Is that child going along as well?”
When Melor lowered his gaze slightly, he saw a young girl too.
“Yes.”
“Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Today we will patrol the interior of the city. There is a set course, so you just need to follow me well.”
Melor walked along the road.
Fires burned atop the pillars erected throughout the streets.
While walking using those as milestones, the boy spoke to him.
“How do you like the city?”
“……Shouldn't that be a question I ask you?”
“I wanted to hear the opinion of someone with experience.”
“I think it’s a safe place. Zombies appear every time, but we are repelling them without issue.”
“Is it truly safe when people have died?”
The boy answered in a blunt voice.
“It is common for people to die in any group. Only how many fewer die is what’s important.”
“Isn't that too irresponsible?”
Melor stopped walking for a moment.
The boy was the first person to harbor dissatisfaction from his very first day at the castle.
“If it were me, I would have been proactive in finding out why such a situation occurred.”
“Are you saying there is a problem with the Lord?”
“A snot-nosed kid who isn't even ten isn't at fault.”
“……So you are talking about the Countess.”
Goosebumps broke out on Melor's body.
He didn't even exchange this kind of jest with Lucille Rainwood.
“If it weren't for the Countess, we would be in a much harder situation.”
“She hasn't done anything. She merely inherited what was already made.”
“You’d better watch your mouth. Neither Lady Lucille nor Sir Osmond will be able to protect you.”
Melor was excited to a degree that surprised even himself.
He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.
“I will act as if I didn't hear this story.”
We walked again.
The boy was silent.
He opened his mouth again only after we arrived at the turnaround point on the outskirts.
It was a place where a small garden sat near a lion statue.
“What crops are being grown?”
“It’s wheat.”
“Is there nothing else?”
“Isn't doing one thing well enough?”
The boy had a dissatisfied face.
“I heard the orchard became a mess, is repair work underway?”
“Since zombies appeared, entry was prohibited for safety. For the time being, the Knights of Red will investigate the area to find out the cause.”
“Will the results be made public once the investigation is over?”
“We don't have the right to know that.”
“Then who manages it in the meantime?”
“Nature will take care of itself.”
The boy let out a sigh as if he were fed up now.
“Do you still think the Countess is doing well even after I’ve said all this?”
“People like us just need to do the tasks assigned to us well.”
Joshua ran his hand through his hair.
“Since when have you been acting as a spy?”
“It’s been about a month…… wait, what?”
In the moment Melor was flustered.
Luna returned to her original form and struck his chest with her foot.
He was thrown back as the blow tore through his leather armor.
“Kughh!”
Luna then picked Melor up in her mouth and walked into the forest.
She dropped him in the deepest part of the forest.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“You don't know even after being hit? I came to catch a spy.”
Joshua chuckled lightly.
“I know you’ve been reporting what happened in the security unit behind the scenes.”
“E-Evidence?”
“You just confessed in front of me.”
“The words just came out wrong by mistake.”
Joshua shook his head.
“Stop the excuses and let's have a more constructive conversation.”
“It isn't me. You’ve misunderstood.”
Joshua took a towel from his backpack and gagged Melor’s mouth.
His face turned pale with terror.
Joshua took out a dagger and stabbed the back of his hand.
“Mmmph!”
His scream could not pierce the towel and lingered within his mouth.
“I am in a very bad mood right now. Because the state of the castle is worse than I thought.”
“Mmmmmmph!”
“When I ask a question, either nod or shake your head. Choose one.”
Melor complied while on the verge of tears.
“The incident that happened at the orchard was ordered by the Countess, right?”
He could not act immediately and hesitated.
He agonized with bloodshot eyes.
Joshua stabbed the back of his other hand this time.
He suppressed Melor's struggling from the pain with force.
“Don't overthink. Just answer according to what you know.”
He nodded his head.
[Hidden Quest - Investigating the Spy of Saint Stalia is in progress.]
[You have acquired 20 coins.]
[Current coins held - 120]
The questions asked of him were a verification of the information already known.
The coins acquired in that process were the true goal.
I intended to fill up to 200.
“Dumping Vale near the Onda River was also her order, right?”
He nodded his head once more.
[You have acquired 20 coins.]
[Current coins held - 140]
“There is one spy in each unit besides you, right?”
He nodded again.
[You have acquired 20 coins.]
[Current coins held - 160]
“Is she also related to the reason the previous Lord died?”
He was now like a nodding doll.
[You have acquired 20 coins.]
[Current coins held - 180]
“You knew all of this and still took the Countess's side?”
“Mmmph!”
Even if only one of the questions I had asked was the truth, they were shocking things.
Yet every single one without exception was the truth.
Her life was foul.
It wasn't just misconduct committed to survive.
She had been that kind of human long before the world became like this.
“I suppose it’s because you thought it would be advantageous to do so.”
“Pwah!”
The gag in Melor's mouth fell to the floor.
“What is the purpose of doing this?”
“Purpose?”
“There must be a purpose. Revenge? If not that, then status? Surely you aren't going to say some outdated thing like it was for justice?”
“None of the above.”
“Then what?”
“Firstly, I am angry.”
He looked up with a bewildered expression.
“The fact that things have remained at this level despite possessing a castle of this size.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“Why wouldn't it have anything to do with me? It’s the place I will occupy from now on.”
Melor looked at me with a face of horror.
“I’m sorry, but my questions aren't over yet. There is one more left.”
“Just what are you?”
“The number of times she instigated someone to kill another for her sake. If it’s above 100, nod, otherwise shake your head.”
“…….”
After a moment of deliberation, Melor nodded his head.
[You have acquired 20 coins.]
[Current coins held - 200]
[Hidden Quest - Investigating the Spy of Saint Stalia has been completed.]