Chapter 35: After The Fight, The Sun Goes Down


TL: Scaramochi


***


A young woman was staring at me with a terrible look in her eyes. Maybe this is how I come to resemble the boss. Her platinum blonde hair was disheveled and her cat-like eyes were filled with hostility, but she looked okay.


She was gagged and bound behind her back, but she had not lost her fighting spirit, as one would expect from a knight.


Well, she is no better than a thief when she tries to break into a stranger's house.


Summard crouched down in front of me.


"I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully. Remove the gag, but no yelling or screaming. If you do, I'll put it right back on. This is your first and last chance. Okay?"


The knight didn't stop glaring but gave a small nod.


I took a deep breath as I removed the cloth.


The cloth is heavy with saliva.


I put the cloth on the floor.


If I have to put it back on again, it will be in contact with dust and dirt, but it's not my mouth, after all.


"I wonder if you'll regret doing this to me, huh?"


"It's a big deal if you can stretch your bluff that far."


Summard holds up a piece of paper with the Commander's signature on it.


It's similar to the one she sent to me, but the contents say that she will be released from the role of Knight.


"No....."


"You know what it means that you're on loan to me for a military initiation letter. It means that you are now talking to your superiors, or rather your former superiors. Now, Carrie. You have two choices. You can either stay here or be sent to Sitre Island."


Just as Carrie's mind was getting the gist of what was going on, Summard continued.


"You have long felt the stiffness of knights, and you were interested in adventurers, so you went to Harris to ask for advice. So you tried to force open the back door and the following is omitted. There are scenarios like this."


Carrie looked alternately at Summard and me.


"What are you up to?"


"Nothing, I'm just taking advantage of your weakness. Let's say you're an adventurer here at the guild ...... and I'll have you work for us for about three years. Isn't that more appealing than an almost certain and ignominious death?"


Summard was going to scout for promising swordsmen as part of the newcomer training corps, for example.


Even though it was the first layer of the dungeon, it was impossible for Comba alone to be the vanguard.


Even if I were to go to the front in the worst case scenario, I would still need another vanguard, and that was Carrie.


"What are you going to make me do?"


"For the time being, I'm going to have you join the party that Harris is leading, to help familiarize these amateur adventurers with the dungeon. The specifics will be determined by the leader."


"Ha. I'm supposed to follow a thief who is enslaving a helpless little girl?　I don't know what kind of instructions he's going to give us."


"I think he's better than those guys on Sitre Island, though. You know the story about the women prisoners there having children, even though they're supposed to be held separately for men and women, right? Well, take the night to think about it."


Summard motions for me to get up from my bent over position.


I take the lamp off the hook on the wall.


I close the warehouse door and Summard locks it.


I grumble to Summard as we climb the gently curving slope.


"It's insane to dive a dungeon with a party that could betray me at any moment."


"I'll make sure to avenge you then."


She looks at me and smiles slightly.


"I'm just kidding. Don't worry. She's not stupid. She'll understand who got her into this mess."


"There is such a thing as resentment in this world, though."


I heard Tiana and the others laughing and whispering as I opened the door to the first floor.


"You look like you're having a lot of fun. You can go home for now. Come back tomorrow morning. I'm sorry to keep repeating this, but the Comptroller of the Order wants to speak with you in private."


I walked into the room by the counter where they were all surrounding that dumb dog.


"Ah, Master. Are you ready to go?　I was just feeding this boy."


The dog shoves his face into the bowl and eats his meat contentedly.


"Let's go home."


I sound grumpy.


This was all because I was tired from the day and because I was unwilling to keep this dog.


I couldn't go against Gina's sound argument that we were safe because of her.


When I got home, I dismantled the traps and devices that I had set here and there.


This was the reason why I couldn't let Tiana and the others go home first.


I was grateful to Comba, who had left his cart in the backyard. I stopped them from going home.


The four of us gathered around the dining table. It was a lively meal.


"It's really good. Oh, don't tell my mother that. She would pull my head off. But brother is a lucky man, isn't he? He get to eat this delicious food every day."


Comba was full of praise for Tiana's cooking.


After Comba went home, I started taking care of my armor and weapons.


The knife mark under my left shoulder had a large tear in it.


It was too much for me to do, whether it was a jointed skin or a partial metal reinforcement.


Well, I'll ask my father to do it for me. He's going to tell me to get a new one soon. Then, I'll have to earn money again.


While I'm sitting on my bed thinking, Tiana comes in, having finished her chores and wiped herself off.


Tiana puts away her earrings and I turn off the lamp.


I took a pause and listened with my back turned to her.


"Are you afraid of me?"


I hear Tiana gasp.


A few moments later, a small voice says,


"I don't know. I was scared that time."


"I see."


I felt a rustling, and something warm touched my back.


"I guess I was surprised. I thought Master was a gentle man."


"You don't think me as murderer?"


"Yes. But it's strange, isn't it? I'm the one being protected. But I'm afraid of Master."


Tiana presses her face hard against my back.


"Thank you for saving me today."


She stops speaking after that.


It seems that her exhaustion had taken it's toll on her.


She is a good sleeper by nature.


I closed my eyes and fell asleep, feeling the warmth of her breath on my back.



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