Disturbance

Just as things were beginning to heat up between him and Lilia, Paul was interrupted by the sound of a knock at his door.

"Seriously...?"

Extricating himself from the scarlet-haired beauty writhing about beneath him, Paul pulled the covers over Lilia's body before hastily donning a pair of pants and making his way over to discover Jean standing outside.

"Jean? What's up...?"

With a visibly troubled expression on her face, Jean replied, "Sorry to disturb you, but an employee o the Inn came to inform us someone is requesting your presence in the lobby."

"Damn. They really don't waste time, do they...?"

Assuming it was a messenger of the King or someone from the Citadel of Reidal, Paul apologized to a secretly relieved Lilia before donning the rest of his gear and asking Jean to look after her. By then, everyone else was waiting in the hallway, so Paul asked Venti and Xinyan to stay back as he, Ei, Eula, and Ghislaine descended to the first floor.

Noticing Paul's group, a fairly handsome young man with pale, windswept blonde hair, muted green eyes, and an outfit that clearly distinguished him as a Noble asked, "You're the owner of that beast outside?"

Before Paul could answer, the youth's eyes widened noticeably as he got a good look at Ei and Eula. Ghislaine was also present, but most human Nobles, sans the members of House Boreas, considered members of the Beast Race unworthy of their attention.

"Hooo? You've quite the collection of beautiful women..."

Unamused by the youth's behavior, Paul briefly scanned the trio of guards blocking the entrance to the Inn before warning, "You should choose your following words very carefully."

"Oh...?"

Raising his hand to stop his guards from attacking, a challenging smile appeared on the youth's face as he stated, "You clearly have no idea who you're-"

Having memorized the crests of nearly every Noble family during his days at the Milbots Academy, Paul's expression morphed into a deadpan as he stated, "Your coat bears the crest of House Fawkes, a Barony in service of House Redbat. However, your lack of lapels means you aren't the First Son. Even then, you have no political power or authority. So go ahead, try something. Let's see how that pans out for you, brat."

"You...you..."

Not expecting a peasant from the Outer City to recognize his family crest, the blonde-haired youth found himself at a loss for words. He was initially planning to pressure Paul into parting with Ganyu at a discount or gifting her to him in exchange for his family's favor. Instead, he ended up getting exposed and insulted before negotiations could begin.

Coming to his Master's aid, one of the three bodyguards, a gruff-looking man with several scars on his face, stepped forward to say, "Besmirching a Noble House is a crime punishable by death. House Fawkes might be a Barony, but it's still a proper Noble House. Bow your head and apologize."

Just as a smile developed across the blonde-haired youth's face, Paul rolled his eyes and said, "You're right. However, death is the maximum sentence and can only be imposed at the discretion of a Tribunal. Know what else is punishable by death? Misrepresenting tenets of the judicial system in an effort to compel or pressure others."

"..." x4

Taking advantage of the group's silence, Paul shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Look, we both have better things to do than this. If you get caught causing trouble here, you're only going to make things difficult for yourself and your family. Return to the Inner City, or wherever else it was you crawled out from, and focus on making yourself a better fit for whatever position you're aiming for in the future."

Finished with what he had to say, Paul was prepared to return and spend more time with Lilia. Instead, an exasperated sigh escaped his throat as the youth suddenly shouted, "S-Seize them...!"

With Ei looking toward him for confirmation, Paul shook his head as the Dendro Vision embedded into the pommel of his sword pulsed to life. In the next moment, he half-turned his body, casually side-stepped a thrust from the gruff-looking swordsman as he asked, "Seriously? What are you, an Intermediate-Ranked Swordsman...?"

Leaving no room for the man to reply, Paul chopped him in the throat with a blurred knife hand. He held back a considerable amount, but the man's throat was nearly crushed as he collapsed like a ragdoll.

Before the man could fall face-first into the ground, Paul grabbed his hair and flung him back at his companions. He immediately regretted this, not because he had strained himself or anything, but because the man's hair had been excessively greasy.

"Ugh..."

While Paul was busy looking for something to wipe off his hand, the youth from House Fawkes was staring at his bodyguards in disbelief. They were members of a private mercenary group that protected young Nobles who wanted to venture out into the Outer City but lacked bodyguards to keep them safe. The trio he had hired might be some of the weakest members of the group, but they still possessed skills on par with Knights...

Seeing the blonde-haired youth tense to the point it looked like he was about to piss himself, Paul shook his head a second time and said, "Just go. Based on your reaction, you're smart enough to understand how this would have gone down if I were less forgiving. In the future, try not to go swaggering about unless you have genuine power and authority to back it up."

Though he could probably get away with killing such a low-ranking Noble, Paul doubted the boy was any older than 14-15 years old. That made him an adult in the world of Mushoku Tensei, but Paul didn't particularly enjoy killing. He would if he had to, but the grievances made against him by this little shit didn't warrant such an extreme form of retaliation.

Not needing to be told thrice, the blonde-haired youth practically bolted from the lobby. His guards followed after him, carrying their unconscious comrade, but the trouble apparently wasn't over as the innkeeper, a portly fellow with a gleaming bald spot atop his head, rushed over to say, "You and your group need to vacate your rooms and leave as soon as possible. I understand you were just defending yourself, but I can't afford to shelter people who willingly antagonize Nobles. Please be understanding."

Unsurprised by the man's words, Paul replied, "Yeah, yeah, just make sure to return my deposit. You can keep half as an apology, but you're touched in the head if you believe I'll let you keep the full amount when we haven't even stayed a single night."

Though his face became red when he heard Paul's words, the innkeeper didn't argue with him. There was no way of knowing what anyone foolish enough to stand up to the Nobility would do, so he begrudgingly returned half of Paul's deposit before kicking out his group and asking them never to return...

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Seeing Paul's group leaving the Inn, one of the undercover Knights tasked to observe them, a handsome woman with vermillion hair, turned to their leader and asked, "Should we apprehend that knave from House Fawkes? Even if he wasn't aware of it, he tried to accost someone with a summons from the King. Impeding a summons is a Class-A Offense."

"Hmmm..."

After a moment of deliberation, the leading Knight eventually shook his head and said, "We'll let his family handle him. Send someone to apprise his father of the situation and ensure he is placed under house arrest for no less than 180 days."

Resisting the almost instinctual urge to stand at attention and salute, the vermillion-haired woman replied, "Yes, Captain." before turning to one of her subordinates and parroting the order she had just received.

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After retrieving Ganyu from the stables and ensuring her she wasn't at fault for them getting kicked out of the Inn, Paul and his Party made their way through the darkening city streets of the Capital. There were lanterns powered by magic crystals lining the paved streets, but the visibility was still pretty low as a mist rolled in from the coast.

Unable to contain herself, an anticipatory smile developed across Venti's face as she mused, "Ominous~." in a sing-song tone. Paul rolled his eyes at this, but he still increased his level of alertness as Eula and Jean moved a little closer to Lilia.

Fortunately, as eerie as the atmosphere had become, nothing leaped out from the alleys to attack Paul's Party. Several people eyed them as they passed, but the presence of Ganyu was enough to cause most people to give them a wide berth.

After traversing several city blocks without incident, Paul's group finally found a decent-looking Inn with the Guild logo attached to its sign. It lacked a stable, but Paul no longer had any intention of letting Ganyu stay outside. Instead, he had her shrink down as much as she could, roughly the size of a house cat, before concealing her in his tunic. He could feel her wet and slightly chilly nose sniffing at his body, but Paul ignored it as he procured a large bedroom reserved for Parties. The interior had a total of seven beds lined up along a single wall, mannequins for armors, racks for weapons, and three large chests for personal items and belongings.

Though it was significantly less lavish than their previous Inn, businesses operating with the Guild's logo were some of the safest places you could stay if you wanted to avoid harassment from Nobles. Their soundproofing and privacy left a lot to be desired, but Paul wasn't an animal incapable of restraining his urges. Lilia said she was already satisfied, so everyone just pushed their beds together and cuddled up for the night...

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"Paul..."

"Yeah, I know..."

Having noticed Ghislaine's ears perking up, Paul rose to a seated position just as a knock echoed through the room. It hadn't even been half an hour since everyone settled in and made themselves comfortable, so Paul's expression darkened as he groaned, "We're camping out in the forest from now on..."

Since everyone was pretty much fully clothed, having only removed their shoes and equipment, Paul only had to throw on an undertunic before he was decent enough to answer the door. When he did, the woman on the other side briefly tensed as the dark interior of the room, combined with the look on Paul's face, caused chills to run up her spine.

Before the woman could run off or think to apologize, Paul's expression softened ever so slightly as he asked, "What is it...?" in a hushed tone.

Feeling considerably less pressure, the woman exhaled a sigh before explaining, "Someone from the Citadel of Reidal has come searching for you by name. She introduced herself as Water King Uote."

Recognizing the name pretty much immediately, Paul remarked, "One of Reida's kids, huh...?" before shaking his head, adopting a wry smile, and adding, "Tell her I'll be down in a moment."

Though she gave Paul a slightly incredulous look when he referred to Reida in such a casual manner, the Inn employee offered a polite bow before scurrying off to deliver his message to Uote.

After briefly following the woman's departure, Paul closed and secured the door before turning to face the others as he said, "Looks like Reida sent someone over. I'm not sure she came to invite us to the Citadel, but there's a fairly solid chance that's the case. Ei and I will head down first to confirm."

"Understood."

Hearing Paul's words, Ei rose to her feet and promptly joined him at his side. She was ready to leave then and there, but Paul took a moment to help fix her clothing before they left. As much as he enjoyed seeing her walking around in a loose kimono, he didn't want others doing the same...

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