Hestia’s green eyes turned towards Cloney, who was standing behind Yuma.
“…So cute!”
Hestia’s eyes widened as she stuck close to the black-haired, golden-eyed girl who was beginning to stare at her.
“How old are you?”
Cloney let out a soft voice while looking at Hestia, who was intently gazing at her.
“I’m fifteen.”
“Hmm, you’re a baby! Baby! I’m nineteen!”
Yuma slowly shook his head.
It didn’t seem like anyone had the right to call anyone else a baby.
“What’s your specialty? Mine’s a sword! Whoosh! Swish!”
“I’m a mage.”
Cloney found it tough to handle Hestia’s high energy. The instinctive struggle came from their wildly different personalities. But Cloney tried her best to match Hestia’s vibrancy.
That’s because she had heard from Yuma about what happened the night before before departing this morning.
It seemed they would be acting as a party together for the entire day.
Plod, plod.
Having satisfied some of her curiosity about Cloney, Hestia stuck close to Yuma again.
“We’re almost at the guard station. What are you planning to do there?”
“I’m looking for a guide.”
Yuma thought it would be easier to handle things by bringing someone who was at least somewhat familiar with the area of Count Rubelt rather than barging in with a cat-folk in tow.
‘Someone like the one who guided me to the inn should suffice.’
Now it was Yuma’s turn to ask Hestia something he was curious about.
“You mentioned you could smell different races, right? Can you track their locations too?”
Hestia shook her head slowly.
“Sometimes, but it’s not that clear right now.”
“I see.”
“Why are you hanging out with that girl?”
“That’s not something you need to know.”
Hestia pouted at Yuma’s curt response.
“What’s your level as a swordsman?”
Hestia fiddled with the sword strapped to her waist as she replied.
“I’m about an intermediate sword expert.”
She was clearly aware of her own level. Self-awareness was a crucial trait for a swordsman.
“Arrived!”
Hestia’s cheerful shout rang out.
Yuma stood before the gates of Count Rubelt’s guard station. Two crossed lances blocked his path.
“Please state your business.”
The words were quite polite.
Unlike the crossed lances.
‘Seems like an order came down.’
Don’t engage in deep conversations with the agent of the princess. That was the kind of command he sensed.
“I intend to meet Count Rubelt. I would like the person who guided me to the inn to act as my guide.”
The guard’s expression darkened immediately.
“…Please wait a moment.”
And he entered the guard station. The person brought out by the guards was someone familiar to Yuma. It was clearly the person who had taken him to the inn last night.
The middle-aged man bowed deeply to Yuma.
“I meet you as the representative of Her Highness the First Princess, My Lord Yuma. I am Count Arsen, the captain of the guards.”
Arsen, with his neatly groomed mustache, straightened up and looked directly at Yuma.
“May I ask the reason for your visit to Count Rubelt?”
Yuma slowly opened his mouth while looking at Arsen.
“Captain Arsen.”
Arsen swallowed hard at Yuma’s call.
Yuma continued.
“Do I look like someone who needs to explain myself to you?”
He had a reason for the meeting he had thought up while coming this far.
“Her Highness the First Princess asked me to convey a message to Count Rubelt. She specifically requested that I deliver it in person.”
A reason that Count Rubelt could not dare to refuse.
“So, guide me.”
Arsen bowed his head once more, acknowledging that it was a matter he could not refuse.
“Understood.”
Once he accepted it, Arsen’s actions became quick and brisk. He immediately secured a carriage heading to the lord’s castle.
Clatter clatter.
The carriage began to move toward the castle.
*
“We have arrived.”
Yuma was able to see the magnificent count’s castle.
In front of the castle, the atmosphere felt incredibly guarded and tense.
A knight in white armor approached, clanking his greaves.
“Captain Arsen, what brings you to the castle? Who is this?”
“Please show some respect. This is My Lord Yuma, the representative of Her Highness the First Princess.”
The knight slowly bowed his head toward Yuma.
“I am Rockman, the deputy captain of the Rubelt Knight Order.”
“The representative of Her Highness the First Princess, Yuma.”
“Have you come to meet Count Rubelt?”
“Yes.”
Rockman stared at Yuma with a serious expression.
“Please wait a moment in the guest room. Captain Arsen, guide him.”
“Yes, understood.”
Arsen guided Yuma and his party to the guest room and then disappeared.
Yuma checked the information panel of the deputy captain of the Rubelt Knight Order, Rowelk.
[Lv.81] Rowelk
Class: Swordsman
Skill Level: Sword Expert (Advanced)
Growth Potential: Sword Expert (Advanced)
He was not as overwhelmingly strong as he had expected.
His growth potential had already reached its limit.
Of course, compared to the average person, he was indeed a remarkable talent.
Yuma rummaged through his spatial pocket.
It was not the spatial pocket given to him by Princess Brigitte.
It was the spatial pocket that the Sword God Chronos had placed in his coat pocket.
Chronos’s spatial pocket was literally a treasure trove of swords without a separate report. Countless legendary swords piled up like a sword museum.
Yuma thought it best to use these legendary swords for “parrying,” but Hestia, who was right next to him, would think differently.
The cat-folk swordsman, with a growth potential of “Sword Master,” was a cut above the rest.
Swoosh…
Yuma handed over a suitable sword he’d picked from Chronos’s spatial pocket to Hestia.
[Moonlit Kiseteria]
Sword
Durability: 100,000
Attack Power: 700
Special Trait: Increases the chance of landing a critical hit when performing a “slash” attack.
Hestia’s eyes widened as she stared at the sword Yuma handed her.
She gazed at the sword, which gleamed with noble radiance.
“This… this is…!”
Hestia spoke as if she couldn’t believe it.
Then she looked back at Yuma.
“What kind of sword is this?!”
As if she understood the value of the sword.
“…Kiseteria. It’s a legendary sword specialized for slashing. If someone comes at you head-on, just slice them down with this.”
Hestia gasped in awe, examining the sword from every angle.
“Giving me such a legendary sword means you’ve appointed me as your subordinate, right?”
That was not the intention at all.
“It means don’t make things difficult for me. With that sword, you could take down most of the knights in this castle.”
If the sword’s characteristic critical hit for “slashing” activated properly, it could even cut off Rockman’s breath.
“A sword of that caliber…!”
Hestia was starting to seriously misinterpret again. She thought Yuma was giving her a legendary sword because he was looking for his brother.
‘Indeed… a great martial artist must be so merciful to the weak!’
Just as Hestia piled on her misunderstandings, a knight’s voice was heard from outside.
– “No, miss. Please turn back… Ugh, fine. Just a moment, miss. Just a tiny moment.”
The door opened, and a girl walked in. She had striking blonde hair.
The girl bowed to Yuma.
“I am the representative of Her Highness the First Princess, nice to meet you, Yuma.”
Her pronunciation was clear, but her voice was visibly trembling.
“My name is Luine. Pleased to meet you.”
Her trembling carried an earnest plea.
“Please help rescue my brother, Count Rubelt’s eldest son, Kaisen, who is in a strange prison. It’s odd. They could have locked him up anywhere they wanted to, but they locked him in a place only a handful of people in the Count’s family know about. It’s a place no one can visit.”
Luine pressed her tiny face close to Yuma’s ear and whispered.
“Daddy—I mean, the Count has changed.”
After finishing her words, Luine hurriedly pulled her face away.
Yuma looked down at the bowing Luine once more.
Looks like the family’s a complete mess.
– The Count says to come in.
The knight’s voice could be heard from outside the door. Yuma got up.
The knight opened the door to the Count’s chamber.
A massive chair that looked like a throne.
Count Rubelt was sitting in that chair.
White hair peeked out among the brown locks.
Hagail Pel Rubelt opened his mouth.
“Nice to meet you, the delegate of Her Highness the First Princess, Yuma.”
Yuma slowly replied.
“Nice to meet you, Count Rubelt.”
Yuma didn’t show an expression.
But [Search Eye] was only telling the truth.
[Lv.31]
Hagail Pel Rubelt
Alignment: Evil
Caution: Currently engulfed by magic due to an unknown entity. Most self-awareness has been lost.
Controlled by an unknown entity.
Already consumed.
The mind.
The “unknown entity” written in the warning probably means…
‘Maybe a dragon.’
If it’s someone handling magic, the likelihood of it being a black dragon was high. It could even be a demon dragon.
‘For now.’
I’ll just kinda muddle through and slip out of the Count’s quarters.
Then I’ll meet the Count’s eldest son locked up in the dungeon. The fact that someone as significant as the Count’s eldest son is imprisoned means he’s likely to know a lot.
I might even discover where the main body of the one dominating the Count’s mind is.
There was also a chance that Hestia, who had her cat-folk ears covered with a robe, knew where her little brother, whom she was desperately searching for, was.
Count Rubelt gazed at Yuma and spoke.
“Does Her Highness the First Princess Brigitte have something to convey to me?”
Yuma cleverly opened his mouth.
“It’s a very simple request. It would be great if you could lend your strength to Her Highness the First Princess. Since it’s the Princess’s plea, wouldn’t it be appropriate to inform you face-to-face?”
Though it was a rather simple request for coming to the Count’s chamber, it gained validity as it was from the Princess.
Rubelt slowly nodded his head.
“That’s right. If it’s the Princess’s words, it’s only natural for the delegate to inform me directly. So, is there no further business?”
“I might stop by again before leaving the Count’s domain.”
Rubelt smiled.
“Then I shall prepare a feast for you. The Princess’s delegate, Yuma.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Having wrapped up the conversation in a way that didn’t create any awkwardness for the Count, Yuma intended to turn and leave.
And Count Rubelt, thinking the same way, did not stop Yuma and his party from descending the count’s castle.
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