Chapter 175
It's surprising that you're still here.
Several days had passed since I returned to the Imperial Capital with Erna. Now, as Silver, I had come back to the city where the refugees had taken shelter.
Leo and the others were out escorting the evacuated civilians, but Egor was still in the city.
"Don't put it that way. I'm old, you see. Even a reasonably full-on fight tires me out."
"I see."
I hadn't taken all of it at face value.
He was the oldest SS-rank adventurer, an old man who wandered all over the continent. It was unusual for him to stay in one place for long simply because he was tired.
"Come to think of it, the Fairy Princess's daughter was angry. She said, 'How dare you leave me behind?!'"
"Ah, right. I'd completely forgotten."
"Since she was technically your client, you should have taken her with you. You'll have trouble later."
"She's troublesome under normal circumstances. A little more won't matter."
Egor laughed cheerfully at my words.
Sonia appeared in the room where Egor and I were sitting.
"Grandpa, it's lunchtime."
"Oh, my apologies, young elf lady."
Sonia was surprised to see me, but she quickly seemed to get used to my presence and began arranging Egor's meal on the table.
Perhaps deciding that she was in the way, she bowed without saying anything and left the room.
"Are you staying because you enjoy being served by a young woman?"
"That is part of it, yes."
"Hmph. You seem to have taken quite a liking to her. For you to stay behind for someone else's sake..."
If Egor were a lecherous old man who liked young women, the Guild wouldn't have any trouble with him.
This old man seemed to be the sort of person whose hobby was helping people. That was why he kept traveling across the continent. That was also why he rarely became attached to any particular person.
And yet, Egor was staying here for Sonia's sake. If Clyde had been here, he probably would have tried to recruit Sonia into the Guild.
"It's my job to help those who ask for help. But... even after defeating the Spirit Turtle, that young lady seemed to me to still be asking for help..."
"What are her circumstances?"
"I haven't asked. She doesn't seem inclined to talk either."
As an SS-rank adventurer, Egor had a good chance of helping Sonia.
But Sonia probably didn't speak because she disliked dragging others into her troubles.
That alone was enough to tell me Sonia had changed.
She had become more mature than when we'd faced each other before. She was no longer the person who had tried to stay on good terms with both sides using a fifty-fifty strategy.
I could sense her resolve to accept responsibility for herself.
So I gave Egor a simple explanation of Sonia's circumstances.
After hearing it, Egor fell silent for a while.
"I'll leave it to you to decide how to proceed. I have business, so excuse me."
With that, I tried to leave.
I'd only stopped by to see how things were going.
My real destination was elsewhere.
I was about to teleport away, but before I could, Egor spoke.
"...You're going to see the Third Prince?"
"That's the plan. As an adventurer who protects the people, I can't overlook this incident. I'll threaten him—and harass him a little while I'm at it."
"I see... Say, Silver, would you like to have me owe you a favor?"
"You want me to owe you a favor? What exactly do you want me to do?"
The chance to have an SS-rank adventurer—one even known as the Lost Sword Saint—owe me a favor was exceedingly rare.
That piqued my interest, so I asked him to elaborate.
"With regard to this incident, I want you to help that young elf lady."
"If you want to help her, why don't you act yourself?"
"I'm no good at maneuvering. All I can do is cut. I can't think of a peaceful way to save her foster parent."
"I'm not exactly going to use peaceful methods, either."
"But you'll steer things toward a resolution, won't you? All I'd be able to do is find the hostage and take them by force. That wouldn't resolve anything. I want you to set that girl free."
"You really have taken a liking to her."
"I have. What about you? She chose to help the people in a deadly situation even while her own family was being held hostage. Don't you think she's worth saving?"
Egor simply stared straight at me.
He was probably testing what kind of person I was.
Egor was an SS-rank adventurer. If he decided to save someone, he would certainly do so. If I refused, he would probably resort to force.
That would surely throw the imperial succession struggle into chaos, and afterward Egor would stay away from the Empire.
I didn't want that outcome.
At its core, what Gordon had done was simply a soldier's mistake in judgment—nothing more than that.
From the perspective of the bigger picture, the two civilians who had been left behind might as well not exist. I couldn't overlook it because I was an adventurer.
It would be impossible to bring Gordon down over this incident. I could use Silver's reputation to deal him a blow, but that would still just be harassment.
In that case, it would be better to have Egor owe me a favor.
"Sigh... All right. I'll negotiate with the Third Prince and save her foster parent."
"Oh! Thank you!"
"However, involvement in the imperial succession struggle means she can never be considered completely safe. What does the elf girl plan to do?"
"I'll shelter her foster parent in a safe place. As for the elf girl... if she's willing, I'd like her to serve as my assistant. I'm terrible with directions."
"This is surprising. Are you finally planning to put an end to a problem you haven't addressed for hundreds of years?"
"Don't put it that way. I've tried to fix it many times. I've even kept people by my side. They just couldn't keep up with me."
"Few people could, certainly."
He was the sort of person who traveled wherever he pleased. He followed his own instincts, said incomprehensible things like having heard a voice, and casually traveled from one end of the continent to the other.
Following him would be difficult enough. On top of that, he was extremely bad with directions.
It would be hard on Sonia, but there was no doubt that she would be safe if she stayed by his side.
"And if the young elf lady stays beside me, relations between dwarves and elves should improve at least a little."
"That's optimistic. Elves don't accept half-elves."
"Don't lump them all together. Not every elf refuses to accept half-elves. Small steps are enough. It's fine if things change little by little."
There was a depth to those words that only Egor, who had lived through so many years, could express.
In terms of life experience, Egor was far beyond me. As an SS-rank adventurer, he must have seen countless unpleasant things.
Even so, Egor continued to help those who asked for help.
He did so because he believed it would lead to a better future.
"Little by little, huh... That sounds like you. Then I'll try believing in that too."
"Yes, do that. All we can do is lend a hand to a world changing little by little."
I gave a single nod at Egor's words and teleported away.
The place I headed to was a fortress on the northern border.
It was a hated place for the Empire. The Crown Prince had once sortied from this fortress and met a tragic death.
Gordon was currently stationed at this fortress as deputy commander of the army guarding the northern border.
I teleported to the front of the fortress gate.
"Wh-who are you?!"
"A-a black robe and a silver mask?!"
"No way... Could it be...?!"
The guards stationed at the gate gathered and took up positions around it, but they all froze when they saw me.
Well, that was only natural.
An SS-rank adventurer showing up at a border fortress was practically unheard of.
"Tell Prince Gordon that Silver has come to see him."
"U-understood!"
One of the guards saluted and hurried into the fortress.
The remaining guards raised their weapons and formed a semicircle around me. It was probably a soldier's instinct.
They probably couldn't feel safe without pointing their weapons at someone like me, whose actions they couldn't predict.
That continued for a while, until the guard who had run to deliver the message returned.
His face was ashen.
"Hmph... You look awfully pale."
"P-Prince Gordon... says he won't see you..."
"I see. And why not?"
"H-he says there's no reason to meet you..."
The guard muttered the words, looking as though he might collapse at any moment.
Hearing that, I placed a hand on the guard's shoulder.
"I see. Good work."
"I-I'm sorry..."
"No, this isn't your fault."
With that, I slowly stepped forward.
The guards, who had apparently thought the matter settled and that I was about to leave, looked shocked.
I addressed them in a low voice.
"He may have no reason to meet me, but I have one to meet him. So I'll let myself in."
"S-stop! Even if you're an SS-rank adventurer, you can't force your way into a military facility... Ah... ah..."
The guards holding spears were overcome by the ominous magical power I released and fell hard on their backsides.
I walked past them and opened the gate.
"You should be grateful that I had the decency not to teleport inside. I'm merely paying a polite visit. My goal is to meet Prince Gordon. I won't attack anyone or destroy anything. Of course, I'll fight back if attacked."
With that, I slowly entered the fortress.
At the same time, a soldier watching from afar rang the emergency bell.
"Emergency! Emergency! Silver has infiltrated the fortress!"
It was the most shocking report the northern-border fortress had received since the news of the Crown Prince's death.