Chapter: 243
“When I heard it from Joy, I thought maybe it was a joke or not, but it’s real, huh?”
Duke Partran chuckled as he looked at the odd group I’d brought along for the hospital visit.
“Surely, the members going to visit the sick are no ordinary bunch.”
There was Phoebe, the church’s mascot, who, despite being tied to the royal bloodline, was Arthur.
And then there were Duke Partran and Joy joining in.
It’s a guest list no noble would dare refuse.
To put it another way, it’s an entourage so intimidating that the Burrow family can’t possibly turn us away.
With such formidable people showing up at their doorstep, how could they even think about giving us the cold shoulder?
The moment we arrive, the door is bound to swing open for us.
With this, entering their dungeon is confirmed! Just need to trigger the right moment!
“I told you so many times that I delivered the message correctly, Father.”
“Haha. Sorry for doubting it. Joy. I never thought the Young Lady would come without a fuss.”
‘…Oh. Maybe that was a bit too much?’
“Is Duke Haphazard unable to handle this level of visitors? I thought you said there was no need to refuse, but apparently, I was mistaken.”
“Of course not! The Burrow family is likely to be quite overwhelmed. I warned them beforehand, but hearing it is different from seeing it.”
The casual way he spoke caused him to pause mid-sentence, but Duke Partran just smiled it off without further comment.
It’s likely he’s being courteous because I’m his daughter’s friend. Had it been someone else from another house, they would have raised their voice.
Once we step into the Burrow estate, it’s best to keep quiet. Who knows what kind of commotion might arise?
After I finished greeting everyone I’d brought along, we headed straight for the territory of the Burrow family.
The journey wasn’t long.
True, there is quite a distance from the academy to the Burrow estate, but Duke Partran’s magical prowess made that gap disappear in mere seconds.
As he used his magic, I braced myself for the impending motion sickness. However, once we arrived, I felt nothing.
What’s going on? Why didn’t I feel anything? Did that clumsy fox do something? Or have I really gotten strong enough to endure the pain of teleportation?
“Truly, a Duke indeed. Such a smooth teleportation is impressive.”
“Haha. It’s just a simple trick, Your Highness.”
Unfortunately, all my guesses were wrong. The smooth teleportation was merely due to Duke Partran’s skills.
Amazing magicians have that kind of flair.
“Welcome, Duke Partran. And…”
Not long after we arrived, a retainer from the Burrow family appeared and, after a moment of being frozen, quickly regained composure upon seeing our group.
It seemed they hadn’t anticipated this many important figures to actually show up.
“I’ll escort you to the mansion right away.”
As I followed behind, I scanned the Burrow estate for any signs of wrongdoing, hoping to find traces of some foul play on the streets.
However, I couldn’t find anything unusual at all.
Neither Grandpa, that clumsy fox, Phoebe, nor Adri found anything amiss on the streets.
It was just a slightly gloomy atmosphere, caused by the Duke’s illness.
The mansion didn’t seem noticeably different either. We couldn’t spot a single oddity even inside.
It felt strangely quiet for a place where so many people worked, but that was just typical of the Burrow family.
“A perfectly ordinary noble mansion. I can’t find anything strange at all.”
‘Yeah, right.’
Seeing as the clumsy god even issued a quest, it’s clear that something is unfolding within these walls—so why can’t we find anything?
Given the members I had brought, it would normally be expected to sense even the slightest oddity by now.
Am I really overreacting? Is this quest just one of the clumsy deity’s nasty pranks?
“My son’s grace is truly remarkable. Who would have thought such esteemed guests would come to visit during his illness? Hah. But our Jakal went out for training this morning and hasn’t returned yet.”
My suspicions deepened further when I met the Duchess.
She was closest to the Duke, and if something unholy was meddling in his condition, there’s a strong chance she was involved as well.
Yet, I couldn’t pick up on anything wrong about her. To my eyes, she seemed like a wife exhausted from caring for her ill husband and managing family matters.
“Let’s go meet your husband.”
“Is it alright for so many of you to join us, my lady?”
“Thank you for your concern, Duke Partran. But it’s fine. He is quite stable. He’s just been complaining about not being able to swing his sword outside every day.”
Just as the Duchess had indicated, Duke Burrow looked stable.
“Come in.”
The moment the door opened, he stood up to greet us, and the seriousness in his gaze was evident.
Just from that, it was clear. The illness afflicting Duke Burrow wasn’t serious.
“Thank you for coming out, Duke Partran, and to his daughter, the Saintess, the Prince, and even to Lady Benedict. It seems having an illness isn’t so bad sometimes.”
The signs of stability weren’t just in his gaze.
He didn’t have a physique like Benedict’s, showing off muscles that surpassed mortals, but he was well-toned in all the right places, giving the impression of a master skillfully trained up to the limits.
At least in my eyes, he seemed capable of jumping out of bed at any moment.
I wondered if it was just my interpretation, so I asked others, but the feedback was the same.
Nothing unusual.
Everything seemed normal.
“But as you can see, I’m perfectly fine. I could return to my duties at a moment’s notice. If it weren’t for my wife scolding me to take it easy, I would have been back to work already.”
“Is that a boast, Duke Burrow? When I visited here a couple of months ago, you looked close to death.”
“Back then was back then. Look at me now. Where do you see any traces of illness?”
Thanks to Duke Partran leading the conversation, we managed to finish our hospital visit without having to say much. He then ushered us outside, saying there were things to discuss among Dukes.
So, we had no choice but to wait in the reception room until their conversation was over.
Ugh. I genuinely don’t get what’s going on.
Why was there nothing wrong?
There’s nothing suspicious at all?
As I sat on the reception room sofa deep in thought, Grandpa chimed in.
[At this point, I wonder if your suspicion might be misplaced.]
‘…I think so too.’
I had checked the streets, the mansion, the Duchess, and the Duke, but I couldn’t detect anything unusual.
And all that was with the likes of the Fairy’s owner, the Saintess, a powerful necromancer, past heroes, and a great mage in our company.
Given how things are, it should be safe to conclude there’s no oddity in the Burrow family.
‘But the clumsy god keeps insisting there’s something off.’
Why isn’t he declaring the quest complete if I’ve confirmed there’s nothing wrong?
Why does the quest remain active even after confirming no anomalies?
[Did the god draw it out?]
‘Yes.’
The clumsy god declares a quest complete only when he gets what he wants.
If his intention was to prank me, he’d likely reward me with something mischievous along with the clear.
Yet, the clumsy deity remains silent.
[…So that’s the case.]
‘What’s it about?’
[Girl. How about flipping that thought around? Why might the people here not sense something wrong even if there is an anomaly present?]
Flip the thought around? I pondered on Grandpa’s statement.
Magic. Dark magic. Barriers and curses. Various foul methods. Even with the current members capable of detecting most of these, there might still be something lurking that they can’t catch.
That’s quite a tricky requirement.
It’s only natural seeing that the members I prepared were intended to detect almost anything.
A myriad of possibilities swirled around in my mind, but they kept coming and going.
Coming up with a means that exceeds those stringent conditions, as well as one that could be deemed sufficient to tangle with the beastly Duke Burrow, was equally as tough.
A few ideas did come to mind, but most were things that couldn’t happen right now.
For instance.
Right.
If that boastful lamebrain—who I made flee after getting beaten up by Grandpa—was the one causing this, it could explain the phenomena.
The premier ability of the evil god of darkness is concealment.
If he sets his mind to it, it’s only natural that no one can notice a thing.
But I leave him out of the equation as he doesn’t possess the power to touch a Duke.
Duke Burrow is a robust warrior, someone who is stronger than Benedict. While he may not be a match for the likes of him, he’s not someone a boastful weakling would dare challenge.
Unless the dark god had completely awakened, and that’s a different story altogether. But that’s not likely to be anytime soon. Such an awakening is the bare minimum two years ahead.
That leaves me with considering other variables…
“I didn’t think so many people would come to see me.”
As I desperately racked my brain, I heard the creaking sound of the door and lifted my head.
“It’s been a while. Everyone.”
Jakal Burrow politely finished his greeting, then scanned the reception room before his gaze locked with mine, his brow furrowing in confusion.
Does he really think I confessed to him? Does he think I’m still following him around?
Ugh. How annoying.
How am I supposed to clear up this misunderstanding?
Suddenly, Phoebe beside me jumped up, causing all eyes to turn toward her.
But Phoebe didn’t seem to care about the stares; her focused gaze was solely on Jakal’s face.
“Saintess? What’s wrong?”
“Ah. Um. It’s nothing, really.”
Seeing the obvious panic on Phoebe’s face made me think.
I have no clue what’s got her so flustered.
But I do know that it’s strange for her to be so caught off guard.
Being a Saintess and having traveled to many places, she’s used to maintaining her composure. The fact that she stammered indicates she must have seen something that threw her off balance.
Thus, I need to step in and smooth things over.
If there’s something I can do, it’s that.
“It’s not a big deal. The inferior prince is just yammering about how I liked him, something that’s clearly nonsensical coming from our clumsy Saintess over here.”
Just baiting them.
“…Oh, that horrible rumor?”
Upon hearing my words, Jakal’s face twisted in genuine disgust.
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