On the Way Back to the Mansion

  The gathering of evidence at Kabino’s mansion continued to go smoothly.

  After everything was finished, I said to the district manager,

  “Please take care of the young victim.”


  “Leave it to us. We will take the responsibility of protecting her.”


  “And if you need anything, please call Lord Morton.”


  “That would be a great comfort for us.”


  “Daddy is friends with His Royal Majesty, and is just as powerful as those upper-class nobles!”


  Serulis said proudly.

  The district manager had said that the people higher up had obstructed his attempts to investigate Kabino.

  However, he now had evidence of Kabino’s crimes.

  So now they would be able to do very little to stop him.

  After all, any attempts to defend Kabino could cast suspicion on to themselves.

  The forbidden ham was especially important.

  Even if you were of the upper class of nobles, any involvement in the forbidden ham coming to light would have grave consequences.

  It could result in the demolishing of your house.

  As for the immense amount of weapons, this too would look worse the higher up you were. You would be suspected of planning a coup.

  In this case, you would lose your house and be executed.

  “District manager. I hope that you will be careful?”


  The current situation was dire for Kabino and the powerful nobles and the district manager’s superiors.

  Perhaps they would try to assassinate him, as interfering with the investigation was no longer enough.

  “I will tell you where I live. Lord Morton visits me often as well.”


  “That is very…thank you so much.”


  The district manager looked at me a little suspiciously.

  He was wondering what kind of F Rank Warrior I was.

  “Long ago, when Lord Morton was still working as an Adventurer, I would often help him.”


  “I see.”


  It wasn’t a lie. I did indeed help him a lot.

  “Daddy is still an Adventurer!”


  “Ah, that is right.”


  I said placatingly.

  After that, I decided to leave the rest of the business to the district manager, and return home.

  “Ario and Josh. Thank you for your help today.”


  “No, it was nothing. These thugs aren’t intimidating at all compared to a goblin lord.”


  “That’s true.”


  Ario and Josh said and laughed.

  They had been with Shia and helped her arrest five of the men.

  That was five against three. Even if Shia was there, it was a pretty impressive result.

  “As it was a personal request from me, I will not forget to pay you.”


  “No, Locke. You shouldn’t worry about that.”


  “Exactly.”


  “I can’t allow you to go unpaid.”


  “Yes. These are the kinds of matters that must be settled properly. And as one of the people who hired you, I will also compensate you for your work.”


  Serulis said as she tried to persuade them.

  And so Ario and Josh accepted the payment that was fitting for being F Rank Adventurers.

  “And since Shia is a B Rank…”


  “No! I do not care about that. It was not a request through the guild, and so I will accept the same amount as Ario and Josh.”


  “But…”


  “I have only done what Josh and Ario also did. And so I cannot receive more than them.”


  Shia would not accept any more than they had.

  After that, Ario and Josh returned to the guild.

  They said that they would look at the quest board again before returning to their inn.

  Shia came with us as we walked back to the house.

  “That was quite a detour, considering we were only going to go shopping.”


  “I’m sorry. It’s all because I got caught in such trouble.”


  “No, it’s not your fault, Milka.”


  As we talked, Serulis said,

  “Mister Locke. Do the baths in the mansion work?”


  “I think there was hot water…”


  I had not really inspected everything yet.

  But now that I think of it, the new house did have a bath.

  It was a noble’s house, after all.

  “Milka. Can you clean the baths when we return?”


  “Yes. Since it was you who asked, Sister Serulis, I shall make it squeaky clean.”


  Even as she said this, Milka looked a little confused.

  She did not know why Serulis had requested this.

  Serulis nodded in satisfaction at Milka’s answer, then she looked towards me.

  “I just remembered that I had something to do, and so I will return home now. But I’ll be back soon.”


  “That’s fine. And you don’t have to come back if you are busy, you know?”


  We were going to reinforce the tunnels now.

  It would be rather helpful to have strong Serulis help us, but we could still do it without her.

  “No! I will be back soon!”


  After saying this, Serulis ran away at an incredible speed.

  “Sister Serulis sure is fast.”


  Milka’s eyes were full of respect as she watched her go.

  “Serulis has had much combat training since she was young, and so she is very capable physically.”


  “Since she was young? That’s amazing.”


  “She is the daughter of the famous Goran, after all.”


  “Uh…Mister Goran… Do you mean that old man from this morning?”


  “Yes.”


  “And…that old man is the same as this Lord Morton that the district manager was talking about?”


  I had introduced Milka to Goran and the others after breakfast.

  But it was very simple. This man is Goran, this girl is Serulis. Something like that.

  And so Milka did not know that Goran’s name was Morton.

  “Yes, yes. Goran and Serulis have the family name, Morton.”


  “Ohh. That sounds impressive!”


  Milka had not even known about Eric. So she likely didn’t know who Goran was either.

  As I thought about this, Luchila said,

  “You don’t know about Lord Goran Morton?”


  “I only just met him this morning! But he seems like a nice old man. And sister Serulis is very kind.”


  Serulis had shared her breakfast with Milka.

  Or perhaps she was just baiting her.

  It might be a good idea for me to do the same.

  “I’m getting hungry. Do you want to eat something?”


  “Gulp.”


  “…Grrr.”


  ……..Cluck.”


  “…………………..”


  Milka gulped, and at the same time, her stomach rumbled.

  Grulf’s tail began to wag vigorously. Gerberga seemed to become restless.

  Shia was pretending to be calm. But her ears were twitching and her tail was wagging.

  Luchila’s eyes were shining.

  “Then let’s get some food at one of these food stalls. You can all pick anything that you like.”


  “Yes!”


  “I will accept the offer.”


  “Thank you so much!”


  “Grr.”


  “Cluck!”


  Everyone seemed incredibly pleased.