Chapter 13
“We’ve arrived!”
“Whoa!”
At Sir Gold’s words, Ruby leaned out the window and exclaimed in awe at the scenery outside.
“The outer walls are made of real stone! Amazing!”
Ruby was already looking around in wonder, her eyes shining, even though we hadn’t entered the city yet.
She really looked like a country girl straight out of a painting.
“Ruby, it’s dangerous, so come back inside now.”
“Yes~.”
Ruby’s hair had been blown into a mess by the wind, and she sat back down with a flushed face.
“Good grief… what are you doing?”
“Hehe, I’m sorry. It was so fascinating.”
I tidied Ruby’s hair while the golem passed through the gate into the city.
“What is your status?”
“Gold Lowen, knight of House Fortune. We’ve come to sell magical beast byproducts.”
“Sir Gold of House Fortune… confirmed. May we inspect your party and cargo?”
“Please do.”
If we had been commoners, entering another territory would have involved complicated procedures and taken a long time, but we were nobles.
Besides, Sir Gold handled the procedures for entering the city with great skill.
“Confirmed. Welcome to Mugwort, Lady Fortune.”
“I see.”
We reached Mugwort in less than half a day after leaving our territory.
“So this is Mugwort!”
“Sigh.”
I sighed as I watched Ruby lean out again once we entered the city, despite my warning a moment earlier that it was dangerous.
“If she looks to be in danger, I’ll save her, so please don’t worry too much.”
Heter said this matter-of-factly as he watched me sigh.
“Thank you.”
“It is only natural.”
After entering the city, we left the golem at the inn recommended by the little boy waiting near the gate, took a shell to show as a sample, and headed straight for the commercial district.
“Ehhh… Are we going right now?”
Of course Ruby complained about having to work the moment we arrived.
“I am the head of the household. You are a maid.”
“Tch….”
Since when did a maid get to disobey her master’s orders?
Even if we were childhood friends, certain boundaries had to be observed.
Ruby seemed worried that we would have to leave after doing nothing but work, but contrary to her fears, it wouldn’t take long to sell them.
“Don’t worry. If the byproducts are of this quality, people will be lining up to buy them.”
Sir Gold had even assured me that intact Snow Wyrm shells like these were impossible to keep in stock.
So we could sell them off quickly, rest, and return tomorrow.
***
“Snow Wyrm shell? Hah… We don’t need any.”
“Wait! At least take a look at the goods…!”
“I said we don’t need them! Leave!”
Bang!
The blacksmith, drenched in sweat, slammed the workshop door shut.
“….”
Again.
This was the fifth time we’d already been turned away at the door.
“My lady… why is no one willing to buy the byproducts?”
Ruby, who had been complaining about how impossible they were to sell, now seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation and asked me with a pale face.
“I… don’t know either.”
No, that was what I said, but in truth, I had an idea.
‘Belphegor Fridel…!’
It was definitely his doing.
Otherwise, there was no way the merchants, let alone the blacksmiths who would pay money they didn’t have for high-quality materials,
would all reject the goods without even looking at them—not just one of them, but all five.
Besides, he had more than enough reason to prevent us from selling them.
From his perspective, he wouldn’t want me earning money to repay my debt.
In a letter I received long ago, he had told me not to think about repaying the debt and to use the money to prepare my dowry, after all.
As the lord of Mugwort, stopping us from trading Snow Wyrm shells and meat would be child’s play for him.
Even so, I never imagined that a noble of his standing would resort to such a petty tactic.
‘What should I do?’
Of course, there were territories besides this one where we could sell the byproducts.
The problem was that it would take several more days to travel there.
The shell could last several days, but the meat was the problem.
To be honest, it wasn’t in particularly good condition even now.
If it remained like this for several days, it would certainly spoil.
‘Should I rent a freezing artifact if it comes to that?’
No, then the cost would outweigh the value of the goods.
Magical tools cost an enormous amount not only to buy but even to rent.
“Ugh….”
Stress made my head throb.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t think of a suitable solution.
Just as I was about to say that we had no choice but to return to the inn for today—
Whoosh.
“Huh?”
Someone grabbed my hand and pulled me.
‘What is this, déjà vu? This feels strangely familiar.’
Right, this was definitely—
“Heter?”
It felt similar to when he had pulled me back as I was about to fall from the platform.
But… why all of a sudden?
“Argh!”
“?”
As I stood there bewildered by his sudden move, I heard a child’s groan from behind me, accompanied by a thud.
“Sir Heter. What is going on?”
“That child deliberately tried to run into my lady.”
“N-No, I didn’t!”
When I turned around, the little boy who had recommended our inn was breaking into a cold sweat and babbling incoherently.
“I was just going to meet my friends, but I was late, so I ran. Then I wasn’t looking ahead and….”
“You weren’t looking ahead?”
Heter gave a bitter smile and pointed toward the broad street.
“This is where they make knights’ arms and armor, even within the workshop district, so hardly anyone passes through here. And you weren’t looking ahead?”
Clomp, clomp.
Heter walked toward the fallen boy, his footsteps echoing, and looked down at him.
“Are you being serious?”
“Th-That’s….”
Soon, tears welled in the child’s eyes, and he looked ready to cry.
“That is enough, Sir Heter.”
“My lady.”
Heter slightly furrowed his brow and looked at me.
“Someone may have sent that child to target you.”
“You know that isn’t the case.”
If someone had really been trying to assassinate me, they would have done it somewhere crowded, like the commercial district, rather than here.
“….”
Apparently my guess was correct, because Heter couldn’t reply.
“Here, get up.”
“Th-Thank you.”
The boy took my hand and stood up, his face reddening.
“Wow….”
The little boy stared blankly at my face and chest.
“Ahem.”
“Ah, I-I’m sorry.”
When I cleared my throat, the boy came to his senses, lowered his head, and apologized.
“It’s all right.”
I crouched down, patted the little boy’s head, and whispered.
“Then, will you give it to me?”
“Y-Yes? What do you mean…?”
“You were asked to hand something to me, weren’t you?”
“!”
The child’s eyes grew as large as saucers.
“H-How did you know?”
It wasn’t particularly difficult to figure out, so I explained how I had realized it.
When we first entered the city, the children who approached visitors to solicit business didn’t come near us after seeing the golem.
All except this child.
“As if you knew for sure that we would arrive riding a golem.”
“Hic.”
Besides, he had followed us from the commercial district until now, so how could I not have known?
‘He probably made his move now because there aren’t any people around.’
In a crowded place, he might not have been able to hand it over if the collision looked like an accident.
“So that’s why you tried to bump into me here, where there are hardly any people?”
“Wow, you’re amazing.”
The boy’s eyes lit up as he took a note from his pocket and handed it to me.
“Thank you.”
I patted the child’s shoulder and unfolded the paper.
It contained the address of a building and a pattern made up of short and long marks.
“May I take a look?”
“Go ahead.”
I handed the paper to Heter, but I already had a good idea whose note it was.
There could only be one person in Mugwort who folded a piece of paper like this.
“It seems to be just an address. I don’t think it has any other meaning.”
“I suppose not.”
“Do you intend to go to that address?”
I nodded at Heter’s question.
“Why? Are you going to stop me because it might be dangerous?”
“No.”
He shook his head and spoke calmly.
“As long as I’m with you, no one will be able to lay a finger on you, my lady.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
Of course, since Heter was the one saying it, it probably wasn’t an empty boast.
“All right. Then let’s go.”
Before setting out, we left Ruby and Sir Gold at the inn and went alone.
The two of them did insist that they wanted to come along, though.
“The two of you could endanger my lady.”
“Nngh….”
“In that case, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
They immediately backed down at the mention that I might be in danger.
“Yes, Sir Heter is with me, so don’t worry.”
“Come back safely, Alice….”
“Tsk.”
“My lady.”
Thus, Heter and I arrived at a building in a gloomy back alley, following the address written on the paper.
“This should be the place.”
Tap, tok-tok, tap-tap, tok-tok, thud.
I knocked on the door according to the pattern written on the paper.
When the door opened, the person who appeared was—
“Alice.”
“It’s been a long time, Lyo.”
It was Lyo, the young nobleman of House Fridel who had confessed to me when we were children.
“Tch…. I didn’t expect it to be a man.”
“Hmm? What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”