Chapter 76: Cohabitation (1) (2/2)

All she could do was stare at him in the rearview mirror and blame herself for hastily following his will.

“Is this an affair?” Zeit asked.

Arlos had always contemplated whether she was a puppet or the main body; however, she had never hoped so desperately to be a puppet as she did this time.

Deculein, however, replied…

“She doesn’t fit my standards.”

Uttered something strange for the second time today.

“She’s just a passerby I met on the way.”

She heard his words loud and clear, but it took some time for her to understand them.

“A passerby?” Zeit asked for clarification.

“Yes. Her car passed by chance, so I asked her to accompany me.”

Arlos couldn’t understand his intentions, but before he said anything else, he got out of the car.

“Now that you’re here, I may let her go.”

“Ohoho. She’s a beautiful woman, though. It would be a shame to send her away like this. It looks like some of our knights are already in love.”

At Zeit’s words, Arlos simply smiled bitterly.

That crazy 2m 10cm bastard.

“Hey! Open the way!”

The knights soon cleared the road, allowing her to drive away slowly. As she did, she looked at Deculein, who was reflected in the side mirror.

He was looking back at her.

… After 5 minutes.

Arlos pulled over to the side for a moment and glanced at the seat where Deculein had been sitting, holding her breath.

There she found a letter and a crystal ball.

She looked at the letter first.

[Are you aware, Arlos? Although chaos cannot know its shape, that doesn’t mean it is an evil existence.]

[Gerek must also be part of that chaos, so I’ll leave him to you. Find a better way to deal with him than killing him.]

[Think of this crystal ball as a link between you and me. I think we can be good partners.]

As she read his handwriting, she narrowed her eyes at it.

“… What does he want?”

At that moment, she finally felt relieved of the tension that had caused her entire body to tighten up.

Psychologically, it was the first time since Zeit that someone pushed her this far. Sharing the same space, a moment, with Deculein was a burden in itself.

“I can’t figure that guy out…”

It felt like she was being pulled into the abyss. It was as if amid his overflowing aristocratic dignity, a monster whose size couldn’t even be estimated was waiting for prey with its mouth wide open.

“…?”

Not long after, she found a hawk perched on a branch and staring at her. It was a well-made familiar spirit.

“I heard there was a report of a kidnapping. Did that guy report it?”

The moment their gazes met, the bird quickly flew away.

Arlos stepped on the accelerator.

* * *

… My plan was simple.

After reconstructing the barrier to make it as sturdy as possible, I would provoke Gerek, and while he violently raged around me, I would escape.

To that end, I put my faith in my [Iron Man] and a technique that weakened bullets even a bit.

I had no doubts about the former’s performance, but that was the first time I learned how powerful a revolver truly was. Had I not woven very faint mana into its muzzle, I could have died.

I didn’t want to get shot again.

After that, I artificially lowered the speed of my blood flow by using [Iron Man] once more. That allowed me to fall into a near-death state where my heart dangled ever so close to stopping.

Even Gerek, the man-eating bear whose rage had swallowed him, wouldn’t touch a corpse with many live beings around him.

“Do you feel dazed or have a headache, professor?”

It was already 8 AM.

The case I was involved in was finally over. I could finally enjoy a peaceful morning filled with the melodic chirping of birds.

“I don’t.”

I pushed the doctor away, who was trying to diagnose my head. I didn’t want to expose my [Iron Man] body.

“Still, it would be better to get a proper diagnosis.” Lilia Primienne said, observing my checkup.

I was currently at the head office of the Public Safety Bureau, ‘Equillium.’ Deputy Director Primienne brought me here in the name of protection and investigation.

“I’ll be fine in a day.”

“Her Majesty also seems concerned, considering she sent her servants here.”

She shrugged and stepped away. An imperial courtier then appeared behind her and handed me a sealed letter.

Premienne murmured. “I think she likes you a lot. I’m jealous.”

“… Likes?”

As I stared at her, she coughed and avoided my gaze.

The servant then said, “Your Majesty wants you to read it right away.”

“… Okay.”

I broke the seal, finding only two lines.

[How can someone who calls himself my teacher get kidnapped? If this happens again, you’ll have to be prepared to be dismissed from employment.]

As I put the letter in my pocket, the servant spoke.

“Moreover, as per Her Majesty’s will, an escort knight will be assigned to you to protect you.”

“An escort knight?”

“Yes. Her Majesty’s decided that you are worthy of being classified as an individual important enough to be granted national protection for the next three months.”

Primienne helped deliver the servant’s message.

“That’s right. Runes are such powerful magic that many evils are coveting them. In fact, the latest incident was somewhat predictable.”

“If you predicted it, wouldn’t you have prevented it?”

“… Shouldn’t you leave now?”

“Yes. Then, I’ll be going.”

The imperial courtier bowed and left.

I sighed, feeling my head suddenly ache.

“It would be an insult to the Imperial Family if I say I don’t need it.”

“That’s right,” Primienne replied, causing me to stare at her.

Strangely enough, I found every word she uttered disturbing.

“I’m going.”

“If you leave now, you’ll find yourself in a bit of trouble.”

“Don’t worry.”

I ignored her words and stood up. I still felt a bit dizzy, but I’d recover soon anyway.

Riding the elevator in the hallway, Primienne, who followed me to guide me, pressed the 1st-floor button.

Ding-!

Exiting the machinery and reaching the lobby, I swiftly came to understand what she meant about finding myself in a bit of trouble if I left now.

“Ah! Professor! Are you okay?”

“Thank God! You don’t know how worried I was…”

“How dare some coward do that to you!”

Instead of ministers, many merchants and entrepreneurs gathered in the reception area. Pretending to be concerned, they asked the information they wanted most seemed to be the contents of Emperor Sophien’s letter.

“Thank you for your concern. Now, everyone, I’ll have to excuse myself.” I answered appropriately and headed out.

In the parking lot, I found Roy waiting with a new car.

“Master. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“That’s fortunate.”

I went to the back seat of the car.

As I sat down, I noticed something strange.

The seat next to me wasn’t empty.

Looking at the person occupying it, I found a knight in light armor.

“… What are you doing here?”

Was I in the wrong car?

I tilted my head, and the knight, sitting still, said, “I’m on a mission.”

“… What mission?”

Only then did the knight turn to me, her eyes reflecting me.

“I am Professor Deculein’s escort knight.”

Julie. Her words made me speechless. At that moment, I imagined the emperor smiling mischievously.

All I could do was sigh.

Clack—

The passenger’s door opened not long after.

Yeriel came in.

“I’m here. Can you tell me what happened— Huh?”

As soon as she sat down, she abruptly stopped speaking and looked at Julie with surprise in her eyes instead.

“Who are you?”

“Yeriel. You?” Her eyebrows furrowed.

Julie answered, “Starting today, I’m Professor Deculein’s escort knight.”

“Escort knight?”

“Yes. Her Majesty herself assigned this task to me.”

“No, seriously, what are you talking about?!”

Yeriel’s face distorted.

* * *

… Yeriel thought about asking what happened. She even thought about asking if he had any injuries.

However, what dawned upon her was nothing short of a nonsensical reality.

Looking at him, it seemed as though nothing really happened. She even found it funny how he was finally acting like a brother to her.

Even though he had given up his position as the family Head, that didn’t mean their relationship had been restored.

In fact, at this moment, she thought she had learned his reason for doing so to some extent.

‘Julie.’

It was probably because of that girl.

Through the rearview mirror, Yeriel glared at Julie, the knight guarding him like a stone statue. She was too sincere and serious.

“Tsk…”

Sometimes, she found herself wondering how such a dull, rigid, and savvy woman could capture the insensitive and sharp Deculein. However, she just couldn’t understand why he fell in love with her.

“… Since you’re his escort, does that mean you’re going to be staying in his mansion as well?”

“Yes.”

“What?!”

That startled her.

On the other hand, in her ‘official execution mode,’ Julie remained emotionless and firm.

“This is the first order issued to the private knights since Her Majesty took the throne. This mission will remain active for three months, and we must stay near him until then.”

“Why do you have to be in his mansion, though?”

“Her Majesty ordered it herself. I would appreciate it if you could give me the smallest room. My home is too far from my protectee. If I were to stay there, I wouldn’t be able to ascertain his safety.”

“That’s absurd. In the past, even when I asked you if we could live together, you hastily refused. What is this…”

Deculein swiftly replied.

“Yeriel, be quiet.”

“… Aren’t we members of the same family? This is ridiculous.” She softly muttered as she looked out the window, finding a certain hawk in the sky seemingly circling around the vehicle they were in.

“Is that one chasing us…?”

Nothing seemed to go in Yeriel’s favor that day.