Chapter 60 (1/2)

Volume 1

V3 Chapter 14

「To the Eastern Empire」

“Lady Teresa!”

“Furani!”

Maid Furani and Teresa were embracing one another in front of Petros after we arrived at the castle .

“Though I was only heeding my wife’s request, I am also glad Furani is safe . ”

Petros held out his hand to Ariane as he said that . Ariane looked between Petros’s outstretched hand and his face before she took his hand .

“I really…… didn’t do anything all that impressive . ”

Ariane looked away as she bluntly responded, leading Petros to flaunt a brilliant smile and urging everyone to sit down .

Adorned in my luxurious full body armor I couldn’t sit down on a sofa, so I stood behind Ariane as you’d expect from a guard .

Just like me, there was an unfamiliar older gentlemen who stood rigidly behind Petros and Teresa .

“I understand that she had been held captive in that ship . However, that ship was certified by one of the companies of Earl Orunatto of Nozan Kingdom, and it’d be no small matter if he was connected to the kidnapping of citizens…… May I ask how you came across your evidence?”

Petros wore a wry smile as he questioned Ariane, but it was Furani that came forward and answered him .

“That reminds me, when I was still in the cargo hold, I heard a woman’s voice call out to me . I unconsciously replied, but those around me said that they didn’t hear anyone call out for me…… thinking about it, the voice was similar to lady Ariane’s . ”

Teresa’s expression said that she had understood what had happened when she heard that .

“Ah, did you use wind spirit magic?”

Ariane offered a small nod before she explained herself .

“Since I don’t have a contract with wind spirits, I’m only able to project my voice several meters away at most . ”

“Wind spirits are rather fickle, it’s amazing enough that you can do that even without a contract . ”

Ariane turned away and scratched her cheek in embarrassment when she heard Teresa’s praise .

She probably summoned a wind spirit when I saw her speaking into her hand before having it fly off . Apparently spirit magic was usable as wireless communication .

Petros nodded in admiration as he listened to the two’s conversation .

“Nevertheless, it’s still hard to believe that Gio was behind Furani’s kidnapping……”

When Petros sighed and expressed his disbelief, the man behind him stepped forward and lowered his head .

“This incident was the result of my lack of oversight, I’m not even worthy of asking those harmed for forgiveness . As the captain of the knight order, I Herido Gankona am to blame──”

The man who introduced himself as Herido had a Kaiser mustache and slicked-back, gray hair . He was vehemently trying to claim responsibility for this whole affair, but Petros cut him off with a light wave of his hand .

“Herido, there is no one to blame but me . I was the one that usurped father’s position as feudal lord without gaining complete control first……”

It seems that Gio tried to run away amongst the confusion our actions caused, but he was quickly arrested by a squad led by captain Herido himself .

“Did he do it for the money?”

“That seems to have been part of it, but his main goal was to restore public order by ridding the city of refugees . However, he was willing to turn a blind eye to the kidnapping of citizens as well . That fellow even overlooked some of that trader’s other shadier practices . ”

Herido had a sour look on his face as he answered my question about Gio’s motives .

I did notice that Gio didn’t really care for the refugees when we were with him .

The reason Furani had been captured was because she had come across the company’s goons capturing refugees and delivering them to Vitsio’s ship . Gio had her kidnapped and set to be sold in order to silence her .

One could say that the reason for Furani’s safety and well-being was the greed of these two men, since Gio wanted to put her up for sale and Vitsio was more that happy at the opportunity to sell an educated slave .

“Since this barbaric act was commissioned by one of the holdings of a foreign noble, are you planning to investigate them?”

Petros wore a bitter smile as he shook his head no .

“If I confront Earl Orunatto about the members of the Deoin firm, he could easily claim that they were using forged licenses . I don’t want to thoughtlessly aggravate a foreign noble, not to mention the fact that we forcibly boarded the ship . Considering that the opposition suffered serious injuries and lost a ship, I believe that they will remain silent to preserve their honor . ”

That’d be natural considering the fact that our evidence was obtained by Ariane’s magic and we didn’t even bother going through proper channels . However, if we tried to follow protocol, it would have been impossible to conduct an on-the-spot ship inspection .

“Though it won’t make up for the disturbance we caused, I think I have an idea about what to do with the overflow of refugees . ”

Both Herido and Petros stared at me in interest when I made that comment .