Chapter 15
"You mean that's your duty...?"
Enrique narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the boy before him.
Honestly, what the boy had told him was absurd beyond belief.
Lyon was the largest and most stable city in the Randall domain.
Could something like that really happen there...?
The future the boy described was far too shocking.
That was precisely why Enrique had asked him.
He'd pressed the boy again, putting the weight of a former S-rank adventurer behind his words.
Was he sure that was what he wanted?
Wasn't leaving it to someone else an option?
But the boy was different.
The boy said...
that it was his duty.
Even Enrique—a former S-rank adventurer who had weathered countless brushes with death—found himself cowed by that unwavering gaze.
Those eyes spoke volumes.
"So that's a noble's duty—noblesse oblige, huh?"
"I see," Enrique thought, feeling he had finally come to understand.
The reason for this boy's strength.
The source of a strength that didn't suit his age.
"How strange."
Enrique opened his mouth.
"If an ordinary noble said that, it'd sound like nothing but fishy hypocrisy... But, young master, I can tell by looking into your eyes. You truly believe it's your duty."
"Y-yeah..."
"Then I'll start making preparations, too. Looks like I'll get to cut loose for the first time in a while—"
But just as he said that, the boy suddenly stood up and stared out the window.
"What's wrong, young master? Why are you suddenly looking away from me?"
"N-no, this is seriously getting kind of chuuni... I mean, never mind. I-I see. That's good... Yeah, really."
"Well, whatever."
Calling out to his employer, who for some reason had turned toward the window, Enrique cracked his neck.
"Young master. You can use me however you like. Just tell me what you need."
With that, Enrique left the room.
For the first time in ages, he felt his blood surge.
Even when he'd been kicked out of the guild, he'd never felt this excited.
"—Sounds like a hell of a fun festival."
Enrique grinned ferociously.
"Y-yeah..."
Apparently having finally reached some kind of understanding, Enrique left the room.
Meanwhile, I was feeling nothing but awkward.
I mean, you know...
"I don't know why, but that guy's really good at giving off an aura of strength."
Even though he's F-rank, I thought.
How did he come up with cool lines like that one after another?
Things like, "Looks like I'll get to cut loose for real..." and "You can use me however you like."
It was so bad I couldn't help standing up and looking at the sunset.
The glare hurt my eyes pretty badly, but surely that was still easier than looking straight at Enrique when he was in that chuuni mode.
...No, that's not right.
I shouldn't judge someone like that.
Right.
Our goals were a little different—I was aiming to be a background character—but maybe Enrique admired strength and was hooked on giving off that powerful aura, too.
No, with acting skills like that, maybe instead of being an adventurer stuck at F-rank forever, he should become an actor and perform in a decent-sized city—Lyon, for example.
With his acting, he could probably make a pretty decent go of it.
...No, but still.
"...................."
I silently stared at the door Enrique had left through.
"Hmm, noblesse oblige, huh..."
I felt bad for the loser who'd looked at me as if I were dazzling, but the phrase was about two letters off.
Sorry, Enrique, I said silently.
—In our case, it's Kuzulesse Oblige.
"Guess I'd better start preparing."
And so, while thinking up that pointless pun, I set off for Lyon, the city where Kuzutos's downfall would begin.