Intruder (2)

Ariel could not remember Shane's face at all.

That's why it was futile for Shane to wear a mask.

Ariel, who could not remember Shane, naturally did not know who the "young master" he was referring to was either.

From Ariel's perspective, Shane was just a robber who came at night wearing a mask to steal the ring.

Which was actually true, to be fair.

When Ariel asked who the young master was, Shane made a dumbfounded expression before soon losing consciousness.

Perhaps his body was battered from Ariel's punch.

Thinking he might die if left alone, Ariel went back to her room.

And she came back to Shane with Lu, who was sprawled asleep on the bed, intending to heal Shane. Ariel poked Lu's face with her fingertip to wake her up.

"Ugh... what... Oh, sister?!"

Lu opened his eyes wide and quickly sat up.

"Sister! How was the banquet?! But who is this human?"

Lu turned his gaze to Shane.

"Ah, this guy is the arrogant brat Carl Castarck's guard knight! Why is he here?"

"..."

Only then did Ariel recall who Shane was.

He was the knight who tried to pick a fight with someone at the banquet hall.

Then, the young master Shane mentioned must be the boy who suddenly approached her and Selly while they were admiring the night sky on the terrace.

Ariel looked down at the ring on her finger.

This ring was definitely put on her finger by Carl himself.

Of course, Ariel didn't know why Carl gave her the ring. And she didn't know why Shane came to retrieve it either.

What was certain was that Ariel didn't particularly need the ring.

If he came to get it back, she could just return it.

Earlier, since Shane was wearing a mask and she couldn't remember who he was, she didn't hand over the ring. But if Shane had revealed his identity and explained the situation, Ariel would have readily given him the ring.

Then there would have been no need for him to get punched and sent flying by Ariel.

Ariel took the ring off her finger and asked Lu to heal Shane.

"Hmm, his condition is serious."

Lu muttered as he examined Shane.

"I can heal him, but he won't wake up right away."

*

When Shane opened his eyes, the morning sun was already quietly rising.

'...!'

Slowly looking around, Shane soon realized he was lying in an unfamiliar place and abruptly sat up.

The events of last night replayed sequentially in Shane's mind.

Last night, Shane had infiltrated Ariel's lodgings to retrieve the Castarck seal ring.

First, Shane tried to use sleeping powder to put Ghost, the silver wolf accompanying Ariel, to sleep.

But for some reason, Ghost didn't easily fall asleep as a spirit beast, and Shane ended up using all the sleeping powder he had brought.

In the midst of this, Ariel appeared.

Shane tried to forcibly take the Castarck seal ring from Ariel by force, even though he didn't want to resort to violence.

But no matter how sincerely Shane swung the wooden sword, he couldn't even graze Ariel's clothes, and in the end, he was sent flying into the wall by Ariel's fist, losing consciousness.

"..."

Shane checked his physical condition. Before losing consciousness, he definitely sensed he was going to die.

The bones around his solar plexus were completely shattered, so it would have been difficult to survive such an injury.

But now...

'My body is fine.'

Shane's body was perfectly unharmed. Not a single bone was broken.

Then what was that last night?

One thing was certain - it wasn't a dream. The trace of blood at the corner of Shane's mouth and the fact that he was lying near the wall he was slammed into proved it was real.

Then could it be...

'Did the elf girl heal me?'

He could only think that. If not, there was no way Shane could be standing fine now. It's not like Shane had a troll's regenerative abilities.

Shane scooped up some powder scattered around him. This was definitely fairy healing powder.

Come to think of it, when he encountered Ariel before, she was with a fairy.

So it was a reasonable deduction that the fairy accompanying Ariel had healed Shane with the healing powder.

'But why...?'

Shane had attacked Ariel.

He didn't intend to kill her, but he did say so directly.

And yet, Ariel spared his life.

'Was it an act of mercy...?'

For Shane, it was an unpleasant situation.

A knight's defeat means an honorable death. If he rejoices at the enemy's mercy, he is unworthy of being a knight.

To make Shane happy, it would be better to return the ring...

"!"

At that thought, Shane's eyes shot open.

Somehow, the ring was already on his finger.

It was undoubtedly the Castarck seal ring.

Shane stared blankly at the ring with a dejected feeling.

Return it, why? No, Shane did ask for it, but still, why?

'Could it be that she doesn't know the value of this ring?'

If Ariel had demanded money in exchange for returning the ring, Shane would have paid any amount.

The Castarck seal ring was so precious that money could not buy it.

That's why Shane tried to retrieve it, even abandoning his honor.

'In the end, it failed...'

The morning sunlight shone on Shane's face. Squinting from the glare, Shane was startled.

Come to think of it, he shouldn't be dawdling like this.

Today was the day to depart Sierra for the capital.

Since they were scheduled to leave at dawn, Carl and his party must be looking for Shane at the lodgings by now.

Shane didn't know why Ariel returned the ring, but in any case, he was glad to have retrieved it.

'For now, I should head back.'

Shane took the ring off his finger and put it in his pocket. Although he had retrieved the ring, he had no intention of returning it to Cale.

Shane planned to keep it and directly hand it over to the Lord Castarck when he returned to the North, without Carl knowing.

'Things will work out somehow after that.'

Shane's role was to retrieve the ring and deliver it to the Lord Castarck .

The Lord Castarck would surely handle things well after that. To have it sent to Princess Illiana.

Shane was about to take a step forward.

Then, he suddenly saw something large and white.

The silver wolf, Ghost.

Ghost was lying in the middle of the yard, quietly watching Shane.

Considering Shane had dumped an entire bottle of sleeping powder on her last night, Ghost had woken up quite quickly.

If that much sleeping powder had been used on a human, they would have been asleep for at least two days.

Shane approached Ghost. Even as Shane came near, Ghost did not move.

Ghost bared her fangs but did not get up or pounce.

The reason became apparent when Shane noticed a small figure next to Ghost.

It was Ariel.

Ariel was hugging Ghost tightly as she slept.

With a completely peaceful expression on her face, very serene.

Ghost was not moving so as not to wake Ariel.

'If I had truly been an enemy, my head would have rolled.'

Watching the sleeping Ariel's face, Shane thought.

Although he couldn't even graze Ariel's clothes last night, it would be different if she was asleep like this.

Killing a motionless opponent would be like eating cold rice porridge.

Of course, that was Shane's misconception.

Even if Shane struck with all his might, Ariel would not shed a single drop of blood. Shane's strength could never penetrate Ariel's defenses.

'Are elves usually this carefree in nature... or is this girl special...?'

Shane chuckled.

The one who made a mistake yesterday was clearly Shane. He barged in and tried to steal the ring.

If Shane had experienced such a thing, he would have killed the other party and more.

Showing mercy to an enemy is foolish.

In that sense, Ariel was...

'...I can't bring myself to speak ill of her.'

Shane scratched his nape. In any case, he was alive thanks to Ariel, and he had retrieved the ring too. He should be grateful instead.

Shane quietly withdrew so as not to wake Ariel.

And he thought about Ariel.

'Certainly, she's worthy of your admiration....young master.'

In a sense, one could say that Ariel suits Carl better than Princess Illiana.

In the North, they pursue strong women.

Ariel is certainly stronger than Shane. Even if Shane attacked with all his might, he could not defeat her.

It would be difficult to find someone that strong in the North.

'Perhaps I did something foolish...'

Shane felt uneasy, wondering if his choice was wrong.

It might have been a better choice for the future of the North to let Carl and Ariel be together instead.

But he had already retrieved the ring, and it was too late to turn back.

'...Somehow, I'd like to meet her again.'

Before leaving Ariel's lodging yard, Shane glanced back at Ariel.

Ariel was still sleeping, hugging Ghost tightly.

*

A few days passed.

The nobles staying in Sierra had all departed for the capital, and the bustling atmosphere had quieted down.

One by one, the street stalls disappeared, and various events like festivals came to an end.

Sierra had returned to its original calm atmosphere.

Thanks to that, perhaps.

Ariel could eat strawberry tarts every morning.

She no longer had to wait in line, and could even buy two at a time.

For Ariel, it was a happy day-to-day.

Aside from eating strawberry tarts, Ariel had nothing much to do.

She spent peaceful days wandering around the quieted streets of Sierra or returning to her lodgings to laze around.

Of course, that didn't last long.

Exactly a week after arriving in Sierra,

Ariel left Sierra early in the morning, taking Lu and Ghost with her.

To embark on her original purpose - adventuring.