Chapter 108 – Uneasy Silence

The reconstruction of the military district, previously wrecked by Rafal, was nearing its completion. The light fixtures on the tall buildings that lined up the district had returned their glow, and the researchers had begun working once again to make up for the lost time.

The middle aged man Mugan who worked for Roxy, could only lament as he has a daughter that was too devoted in her job as researcher, for she wouldn't be coming back home again anytime soon. The two of us seemed to get along fine since our first meeting, and have been spending times in tavern together whenever he had time. Even now, we were drinking at the tavern as the sun went down.

Mugan tended to be looser when he's drunk. Most of what he talked about usually revolved around his daughter though. As a father, all he wanted was for her to settle down and make a good family soon. And now that the same daughter herself had shown some interest in me, he forced me to listen to his drunken ramblings.

But this was a misunderstanding. What she's interested in was my black sword Greed. I'd been telling him that, but he won't have any of it.

[Fate, what did you and my daughter do today?]

[The usual things]

[Really?]

[If you are that curious, then you should just come along next time. That'd be for the best.]

Earlier today, I visited the military district and had myself examined until noon. I had to put on a helmet that was connected to a weird machine, which was said to be checking my something something, I didn't really catch it honestly. I also got my blood taken out via injection… for some reason, I felt like I was treated like a lab rat.

Greed also experienced something similar, but it didn't seem to be as weird or painful at all, since he ended up becoming more shiny than before. I suppose that was Raine's work.

[Right, I need to visit Raine. But I can't because I have something to do tomorrow.]

[Yeah, I know. I've heard from Roxy. There is a disturbance in the hobgoblin forest. The goblins must be up to something.]

[There are reports of attacks on the hawkers. It may not be anything big yet, but it's better to nip it in the bud as soon as possible.]

[Who would've thought that two holy knights would need to be dispatched to handle those goblins…]

Mugan scowled, then drank the wine left on his glass.

The barkeeper promptly refilled the empty glass. Then said with a troubled face.

[About what you two are talking about, I've heard the rumour from the warriors that frequent this place. As a businessman, I'd want this trouble to be settled as soon as possible. I'll be expecting good news, Fate.]

[Will do. Is it affecting your supply of wine already?]

[No, not yet. However, it may turn out the same as when that monster Lich went rogue last time.]

I almost spewed my wine out when I heard that. Seemingly satisfied with my reaction, the barkeeper moved on to another customer.

While I was wiping the wine off my mouth, I heard Mugan grumble.

[I also heard about that Lich. As you said, it's been wreaking havoc in various places.]

[Please cut it out.]

[Hahahahaha...my bad. We'll meet again tomorrow.]

Mugan pulled the stopper from the wine bottle and poured himself another shot. This man will only act this relaxed if he's sure that nothing will go wrong.

But for some reason I couldn't get this sense of danger out of my head.

[Don't tell me, that one will also come?]

[That's a good guess. But you are right. That girl might be a troublemaker, but she won't do anything that would inconvenience Roxy-sama. It's good to know that she's been working hard everyday.]

[Uaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

That magic sword wielder girl will also come….. She who considered me as enemy since she first set her eyes on me.

Usually I'm saved by Mugan's timely interference, but that won't be the case this time.

[Why isn't Mugan won't come together with her this time? Aren't you her guardian?]

[I'm not her guardian! I'll be accompanying Eris-sama as Her Majesty will be leaving the capital for a while. I had no say in this matter.]

[Hee~, this is the first time I've heard about this.]

Eris had said that the preparation to investigate what Rafal was up to is almost finished. I was planning to talk about our next step when I meet her next time.

According to what Mugan said, there was another one of Rafal's bases in Tenban at the eastward mountain. He's to accompany Eris in investigating that place.

I'd never been to the City of Tenban before, but if you asked me, I'd heard that it's a city surrounded by mountain ranges. A city built three thousand metre above ground level.

There was only one narrow mountain path that leads to the city, so it's not really good place to live in.

Then, why did such city exist in the first place? It's because there were rare minerals that can be mined from surrounding mountains, and an ancient ruin from the Gallian era that still waited to be fully excavated. It's one of the most important places for the kingdom, although not many people ever mentioned it.

The ruins still contained many lost technologies from Gallian era. At first I thought that the lost technology being studied at the capital came from that ruins. But that didn't seem to be the case after hearing what Mugan said.

[I see. Then I'll be expecting some souvenirs from Tenban]

[No time to buy anything until we return. It's not a trip for god's sake!]

[Is that so? It's Eris we are talking about here, so it should be fine. No need to go crazy on that.]

[I know. I've seen the aftermath of Fate's fight, so I have the gist of it.]

The conversation then veered off to wines, recent state of the royal army, and what influence Eris' ascension as the kingdom's ruler had brought.

And then, the topic returned to his daughter Raine once again. I didn't know this before, but Mugan could actually show some funny expressions only when he's talking about his daughter. I guessed that came in the package of becoming a father.

Looking around the tavern, it was filled with noisy, flush-faced merchants and warriors enjoying booze. It's as if everyone believed that peace has returned to the Capital Seyfat.

However, some disturbing signs were slowly creeping out. By the time I and Roxy found the cause, the damage had been inflicted to the people. There was no way for anyone, including me, to foresee that this would happen.

On the next day, I was awakened by a very energetic voice. Recently, in my dream――I'd been meeting Greed in the spiritual world created by Luna. I fought against Greed at first, but our battle became to intense and upset Luna. It's like this kind of event always repeat itself..

The world was created by Luna, so she's pretty much invincible there. In the end, me and Greed had no choice but to raise the white flag and apologize.

[Oversleeping again today. Please wake up, Fate-san!]

A little girl in a maid uniform woke me up. Despite the traces of childishness in her nine year old voice, her voice was firm.

Today as well, her pale pink hair was tied in twin buns on each side so that it wouldn't interfere with her work, now shook left and right.

This little girl….Shara, I met her for the first time back when I became a servant at Roxy's house. It was when I had just awoken to the Gluttony skill, coincidentally I came across her being kidnapped by an ugly-looking man. I went to help but was in a pinch myself. The enemy was too strong for me back then, but fortunately I managed to win despite my spotty movents thanks to Greed.

The little girl was also someone without proper skill, and so was among the people who would move away from the capital to Barbatos territory. At that time, while I was watching people leaving the capital, she recognized me, so she ran towards me.

As it turned out, she was disturbed by the fact that she never had the chance to thank me back then.

She said that she wanted to be useful for me and that she could do anything, which made me embarrassed to no end. Especially since there was Aaron standing next to me.

After giving it some more consideration, it's actually a good opportunity.

The current Barbatos family was still lacking in servants. And so, feeling motivated, Aaron invited her to become a maid.

Shara agreed to work as a maid under two conditions. Even as I watched from the side, I couldn't really grasp the situation.

I've been woken up from sleep by Shara everyday since then, which frankly I'm not used to just yet.

[Eerrr, morning.]

[Good morning]

I got up from the bed, still yawning. Glancing at Shara with my still half asleep eyes, I found her already starting to tidy up the messy bed.

[Aaron has already left, hasn't he?]

[Yes, going to the palace as usual. Ah, Mimir-san is with us here today.]

[I see… so Mimir is here.]

I was a little relieved. It's been a month since Mimir came to become a maid in this mansion. I'd be lying if I said that we've been getting along well.

Because many things happened in the past, there is an intangible distance between us. It's not hatred at the very least, just that we were wary of each other.

That's why, when Aaron went to the palace, and Shara went out for shopping or other business, I would feel particularly uneasy. Being in such a large mansion by myself was actually uncomfortable, so I mostly spent my time inside my own room.

I have to do something…..while I was thinking like that, I realized that someone had wandered in..

Mimir seemed to actually want to greet me, since she happened to be around here. However, she stopped before she could say anything and wandered away.

What is going on here….. Seeing me troubled like that, Shara advised.

[If you want to get along with Mimir-san, why not invite her to eat? I mean, it'll be easier to work together if we are honest with each other.]

[Yes…. indeed it is.]

I was given relationship advice by a nine year old kid. How embarrassing…

When I saw Greed who was leaning on the wall, I had this feeling that he's laughing so hard at this moment.