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“A red-haired Mage… You’re Muriel Vest, aren’t you?”

“Ummm, do I know you?”

“Oh, pardon me, my name is Delia and I work as one of the chamberlains of Duke Ferias.”

Judging from her beautiful hair and the way she bowed gracefully, she was probably the daughter of a lower nobleman serving under the Duke’s office. If that were the case, then she must be someone appointed to an important post within the household.

(I wonder what she needs from her…)

I tried to pay attention, but I couldn’t focus on their conversation because my sister who had turned into a fox cub kept on badgering me for more venison meat.

“Slow down…”

“～～♪”

I exasperatedly watched my sister heartily eat the diced meat. Meanwhile, from what I could gather from their conversation, it seems Muriel was the one who submitted the report regarding the Valley Ants’ appearance to the local government office.

“Yesterday, village chief Rechte also came by and told the Duke about you… I know it’s sudden, but could you please come with me to the mansion?”

“Uu, am I allowed to refuse?”

“I’m sorry, but I would be troubled if you did.”

The chamberlain quietly pressured her behind the polite smile, and Muriel stiffly turned to us like a rusty tin doll. 

“Oh, well, I have to change my bandages…”

“And I have to go and accompany Mirea back to the inn, ya know.”

While avoiding eye contact, Mirea used her injuries as an excuse to get out of the troublesome situation and Riberto went along with it. Similarly, Ares also followed, saying he couldn’t stand being in a nobleman’s mansion.

Well, no ordinary adventurer would want to go to a feudal lord’s mansion after all… 

“You guys are so cold… What about you, Archer?”

“Hmm, the Feudal Lord, huh…”

Duke Ferias is a peerage title given to the ruler of the territory. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s their real name. In fact, in the Feudal Lord’s Sanctuary Certificate that the Steel Sage showed me in the royal capital, it was signed as Bernholdt Leidingen.

The territory that this person governs also includes my pack settlement, so it should be alright to meet him at least once.

“I should be fine accompanying you.”

“N, thanks, I’ll be in your care♪”

After eating the last piece of venison, I exchanged information with Ares about the inn we were staying at, and went ahead and left the Adventurer’s guild first.

And so, as we followed the chamberlain along the road leading to the lord’s mansion while the chilly night wind blew through the city of Warren, Muriel suddenly leaned in and spoke to me in a whisper.

“Hey, I’ve wanted to ask, but… Is that fox cub Dagger?”

“Yes, long time no see, Muriel.”

“Kyuu!”

“Woah!!”

The small fox immediately jumped on her head as soon as she pointed at her. I let Dagger do as she pleased since it lifted the weight off my shoulders as well.

“She’s heavier than I expected! Mmu~ I’ll come to your room later and catch up with you, okay?”

“Oh my, so you’re close enough to stay in the same room, aren’t you? That’s so bold♪”

“Fuwah, n-no, you have the wrong idea, Ms. Delia!”

Muriel jumps back in a panic at the surprising remark, but the chamberlain merely smiles.

“Fufu, let’s just leave it at that.”

“… have it your way.”

Contrary to my first impression of her, it turned out that Delia had a mischievous personality. The three of us chatted for a while as we walked through the deserted streets of the city until we arrived at the Duke’s manor.

(Even though it’s this big, it’s still just a mansion. After all, a city far from the national border doesn’t need a castle, to begin with…)

The city walls only surround about half of the old parts of the city within a radius of about 0.8 km which is centered around the administrative district and does not cover the newer parts of the city which were part of the recent expansion.

While thinking whether the situation would also destroy the rest of the land, Delia instructed the guards to open the service entrance by the main gate.

“Please enter here.”

We passed through the side gate we were guided to. Because the maids were finishing up their tasks for the day, Delia guided us to the lesser populated parts of the mansion and into the receiving room.

“Apologies, but I would have to ask you to leave your weapons here.”

“Of course, that’s fine.”

In response, Muriel handed over her staff, while I handed over my Scimitar and mechanical bow to the maid who was waiting inside the room. From there, we moved up to the office of Duke Ferias which was on the 3rd floor of the mansion.

“Your Grace, I have brought our guests.”

“Thank you, please let them in.”

As the heavy doors were opened for us and we were ushered inside, there was a middle-aged man who was reading some documents written in parchment paper behind his desk. In addition to that, my senses, which were still better than an ordinary human even though they were dulled by my humanization, sensed other presences as well.

I didn’t just smell the personal scent of the white-haired Duke that was mixed in the air, but the scents of other people hung thickly in the nearby walls. If I focused my senses momentarily, I could hear an unnatural draft coming from those walls.

(There are hidden rooms on the left and right side of these walls and two guards per side, huh…)

As expected, Dagger, who currently had sharper senses than I, also sensed the people hidden in the room and reacted.

“Kuon, gauuruo guruaan?” (Big brother, it seems we’re surrounded, should we take them down?)

I shook my head towards Dagger who cutely tilted her head while Muriel held her in her arms.

Since the other person rules a vast territory and is a venerable Duke with ties to the Royal family, it was understandable that he wouldn’t just meet with unidentified Adventurers without any guards or escorts around.

After making my conclusion, I faced the white-haired Duke who was looking at Muriel holding the little fox that cried out earlier and opened his mouth,

“Long time no see, young miss of the Vest family.”

“… Duke Ferias, I’m sorry, but have we met at a soiree or something before?”

“Why, yes. I believe it was around 10 years ago when I was staying at Baron Vest’s estate. I was strolling in the garden when a little child who was covered in leaves came out of the bushes and happily showed off the lizard that she held by the tail.”

Muriel froze as she heard the Duke recount their first meeting.

“Why, you were the only person who ever slapped me in the face with a lizard, haha!”

“N-no, it was a misunderstanding. The lizard’s tail just happened to snap off on its own!”

It was the second time Muriel said, “no you have the wrong idea” while making some kind of excuse and turning to me for help.

“Wh-what should I do, he still remembers me!”

One of the guards who was hidden in the room couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the exchange, and the tense atmosphere in the room relaxed.

This translation is brought to you by Nocturne Translations.

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T/L Notes:
Sorry for the long wait! I got sick with the virus (again) so I am only posting now. Please enjoy the update(s)!

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