Chapter 195: A Great Success

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༺ A Great Success ༻

"Goodbye… Have a safe trip."

"..."

As I was leaving to visit Isolet's house, Arianne and Alice bid me farewell at the front door.

"Alice, why aren't you saying anything?"

I raised my head and asked Alice when she simply bowed her head in silence. With a trembling voice and her head still lowered, she finally spoke.

"Mas…ter… please have a safe journey."

It seemed like she was trying to resist the influence of the 'Curse of Subordination…

While it was impossible, witnessing her resistance through sheer willpower surprised me quite a bit.

"Both of you, take good care of the house."

"…Yes."

Leaving Alice and Arianne behind, I stepped out in front of the front door, where the bright morning sunlight greeted me.

"Tsk."

Once, I could still feel some warmth from it, but now I couldn't feel anything other than 'it was the Demon God's gaze,' which left me feeling uneasy.

"Uhm, Frey."

As I quickly headed towards the waiting carriage, Irina, who had been sticking by my side, discreetly spoke.

"You should be careful with that girl, Alice."

"Huh?"

"…She tried to attack you just now."

Upon hearing that, I smiled and replied.

"I also noticed that she was trembling. So, of course, I was prepared. But ultimately, she couldn't attack me due to the 'Curse of Subordination.'

"So you knew I used magic to suppress her all this time?"

"…What?"

I tried to reassure her calmly, but as I listened to Irina's serious words and saw her expression, I couldn't help but become more serious myself.

"She's one of the top assassins in the Moonlight family. She might not be as strong as Serena, but she's definitely not an opponent to be underestimated…"

"Are you okay, Irina?"

Knowing that Irina's mana circuit hadn't fully recovered, I was worried about her condition because she had been continuously using such magic without the assistance of scrolls.

"Don't do that again next time. I'll take care of it."

"…A-alright."

As I held her shoulders and advised her not to do such things, Irina lowered her gaze and responded.

– Twitch, twitch.

"Anyway… when will those ears disappear?"

Unable to resist the cuteness of her twitching ears, I reached out to touch them as I posed the question.

"Heikk, uwaah… That's…"

Startled, Irina began to tremble and babble nervously.

"W-Well, I'm not sure either… It's strange, isn't it? Why haven't they disappeared…? Eh, hik!"

"What's wrong? Why are you acting like that?"

"I-it's nothing… Maybe it's just a side effect, so it's a bit sensitive…"

I raised an eyebrow in puzzlement as I watched Irina, whose face had turned bright red. She suddenly fell silent and hesitated.

"Uh, Frey."

After a while, she started to speak while fidgeting with her hands.

"If-if you like it… you can touch them as much as you want. A-after all, I made them just to show them to you."

Upon hearing that, I nodded my head and continued to gently touch her soft fluffy ears, causing Irina to shiver.

"Uh."

After I had touched her ears for a while, Lulu, who had been standing quietly beside me, spoke to Irina in a low voice.

"Please… make ears like that for me too."

"What? No, that's not something just anyone can do."

"B-but…!"

"If it's not possible, it's not possible."

However, Lulu, feeling rejected, activated her Magic Eyes.

"How dare you ask me for this identity that I've worked so hard to find? With these, I might even be able to beat Clana someh…"

"Wow! It looks even more amazing when viewed through Magic Eyes!"

"…..!?"

Lulu closely examined Irina's ears and couldn't contain her amazement.

"The mana structure is quite unique! It's like… well, I mean… transformation magic?"

"What?"

"Like the kind of magic that appears when you use transformation ma… mmph!?"

However, for some reason, Lulu closed her mouth shortly after and Irina, who had been glaring at her, began to speak with beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Yeah, that's right. I created it by applying transformation magic. You're pretty clever, huh?"

"Transformation… mmph… into a dog… you…"

"Huh? What are you saying, Lulu?"

"...….."

Lulu remained silent in response to Irina's inquiry and it seemed that the brief commotion had come to an end.

"…..Huh?"

As we walked towards the carriage, Lulu, who had been following behind Irina and me with a displeased expression, suddenly tilted her head.

"Th-this is strange…"

After saying so, she stared at Irina for a while.

"It's completely different from ordinary people's magic array…"

She began muttering in a low voice by herself.

"Excuse me, everyone? Aren't you coming?"

"Let's go, Lulu."

"Ah, yes!"

Upon hearing the coachman and my urging, she snapped out of it and began approaching the carriage.

"Lulu, not just anyone can use transformation magic as they wish. It's even impossible for ordinary people to do so."

"…Errrrr."

Ignoring the unusual tension between Irina and Lulu, I boarded the carriage.

"I wonder if Sister Isolet is safe…"

After muttering like that, just as I was about to instruct the coachman to depart, I furrowed my brow.

"…What's this?"

I felt someone's gaze.

.

.

.

.

.

A few hours before Frey left the mansion.

"What is this… What is this!!!"

At a large information guild in a back alley.

"No way, there's no way it could be real…"

Roswyn, who had locked herself in her basement room, was muttering with an embarrassed expression.

"He didn't come back to visit me…?"

"…Grind."

Despite her often difficult personality, Roswyn had a great deal of confidence in her skills. Thus, she had taken on Frey's request directly. For the first time in a while, she had tried to align with the preferences of the Church, engaged in conversations with the Pope, and even sneaked into the Church at night.

That was why she could obtain quite a harvest.

First, despite the fame of the 'Youngest Paladin of Church', very few had actually seen her in person.

Second, even the executives of the Church, who claimed to meet the Paladin frequently, seemed to avoid answering her questions for some reason.

Moreover, her limited solar mana had detected a presence concealed within the underground chamber of the church.

Since she managed to obtain such valuable information, for the first time in her life, she attempted to ease the "upset" Frey by showing him those things and acting slightly cute.

Roswyn was convinced that Frey must have had this in mind all along. To her, the reason for Frey's actions was clear – he wanted to earn some affection from her, even if just a little.

"Grind…"

That was why, while grumbling about being swayed around by Frey, she secretly hoped he would come back to visit her again.

Yet, he hadn't shown his face for a week.

He even took time to write a letter a few days ago, saying he had concluded the request.

"..."

Thanks to that letter, Roswyn was in her worst state at this moment.

Her pride had been wounded as she clung to Frey, someone who had meant nothing to her just a few days prior…

And, on top of that, she had been coldly rejected. It was no wonder she would be in such a state.

"So annoying… really…"

Despite her frustration, seeking him out in person would be a devastating blow to her self-esteem. So, she opted to isolate herself in her room and grit her teeth to regain her composure.

– Knock, knock, knock!

"What?! What is it?"

Someone suddenly knocked on her door, so she asked in an agitated voice.

"Is Frey here? Right? He came, right?"

"..."

When the door opened, a female employee came in and stared at Roswyn.

"Yeah, I knew it would be like this. Where else would he go instead of visiting this place?"

"Sigh."

"He managed to endure for a week. All right, so where is he now? Waiting outside? Then ask him to go to the reception room first…"

"It's not about that."

The female coworker, who had patiently waited for Roswyn's excited soliloquy to conclude, now spoke in a composed manner.

"The result of the investigation that you, I mean, Young Lady commissioned, has come out."

"…Oh."

After hearing that, Roswyn, who was momentarily stunned, forced a nonchalant expression and asked.

"I-is that so? I see, then tell me."

"..."

"What the hell is he doing that he hasn't come to visit me again?"

Then, the female employee, who had been silent until now, slowly spoke up.

"He's switched to somewhere else."

"That's right, I knew it would be like this. Definitely… Wait, what?"

When Roswyn showed a disbelieving expression, the female employee sighed deeply and continued her report.

"Do you remember that 'detective agency' I mentioned before? He has entrusted all his requests to them for a while."

"…Unbelievable. To that shabby place?"

"Yes. I've confirmed it."

"..."

After hearing that, Roswyn, who had been momentarily dumbfounded, spoke up with a bewildered expression.

"I-I knew it would be like this. So that's why he hasn't come?"

"Huh?"

"Well, that pushover. He must be getting scammed there. Haha."

"Lately, that place's reputation has been g…"

"I knew it. He's so stupid and naive…"

The female employee had a blank look while she was listening to Roswyn's words.

"Anyway, he is such a stubborn guy."

Grumbling with an uneasy expression, Roswyn then rose from her seat and spoke.

"Since it's come to this, I have no choice. I'll have to go visit him myself."

"You're going to visit him?"

"That's right. Our VIP is being scammed there, so we can't just leave him alone. Yep, yep. I have no choice but to go."

Ignoring the bewildered expression on the female employee's face, Roswyn muttered to herself as she started pacing around the room.

"I have no choice but to go…"

She paused for a moment before murmuring again with a dark expression.

"Huff…"

The female employee, who had sighed and held her head while observing Roswyn's action, tilted her head in surprise when Roswyn lifted her head and looked at her.

"Ah, right, what about that girl? That annoying bitch."

"Are you asking about Miss Lulu?"

"Yeah, that snake-like bitch."

When Roswyn asked that, the female employee immediately rummaged through her inner chest pocket.

"…Here."

She took out a photograph.

"....."

Then, there was a moment of silence in the room.

"Uh…"

Roswyn, her ears ringing, looked at the photo of a muttering Frey and Lulu, who was trying to separate from him with an embarrassed expression.

Roswyn blankly stared at another photo of Frey, who seemed to be trying to distance himself from Lulu with a troubled expression, and Lulu, who was posing as she bit Frey's ear.

– Clench…!

Without even realizing it, Roswyn clenched her fist so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"…What's wrong?"

Looking at Roswyn acting like that, the female employee asked with a low voice.

"N-no, it's nothing."

With her fist still tightly clenched, Roswyn continued to glare at the photo.

"…I guess I have no choice. I'll have to go visit him right away."

After saying that, she started to prepare to leave.

"Is he deliberately doing this? No… that can't be. There must be some hidden intention…"

"Huff…"

Meanwhile, the female employee sighed for what seemed like the nth time before quietly heading towards the door while taking out a cigarette from her pocket.

"Hey! Don't smoke here!"

"…I'll smoke outside."

When Roswyn scolded her, the female employee responded in a gloomy tone.

"Why is it that the one I'm responsible for is the only one like this…? Everyone else under Sun and Star's supervision is fine. Why…?"

She then left the room while softly grumbling.

"Mhm.. hmmm… hmmm…"

Alone in the room, Roswyn silently packed her things.

"…Perhaps, is he preparing a surprise event?"

Suddenly Roswyn muttered like that.

"Hm hmph… if he really plans to do that…"

She left the room while wearing a strange expression on her face.

"…It is a great success."

Shortly thereafter, a carriage departed from the back alley.

You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02