Book 5: Chapter 5 (4)

Hangover

The situation the cuckold couple was in was far more serious than I had imagined.

“So your daughter was captured by a group of bandits…?”

“Yes, and we want your help getting her back.”

He wants me to rescue his daughter who has been captured by bandits. Maybe it’s a good thing that I slept with his wife. I never would’ve met them with and the thought of what a group of bandits may do to a young girl makes even me, an alleged rapist, tense up.

“I understand the situation.”

I’m doing this to make up for my own wrongdoings, but it’s something I’d want to help with regardless.

If a young girls’ virginity is in danger, I should do my best to protect it. Still, if she’s already being gangbanged by bandits, I’d be lying to myself if I said I don’t want to see that or her ahegao.

“I’ll do everything in my power to save her.”

“…you will?”

“Absolutely.”

As I gave him a nod, I suddenly remembered something.

I should confirm my suspicions with him.

“On my way into the city, I came across a destroyed carriage blocking the road. Did that carriage belong to your family? A companion of mine said it looked like a bandit attack.”

“No, that wasn’t ours but it was transporting our daughter.”

“Transporting your daughter? What do you mean?”

“We’ve actually been looking for our daughter for some time now. She was captured by a slaver whom that carriage belonged to. Yesterday, we finally managed to catch up to him but discovered that the carriage transporting her was attacked by bandits….”

“I see.”

“That carriage belonged to the slaver. Other than it holding our daughter, we had no connection to it.”

“Of course.”

With a semi-credible rape accusation being thrown at me, I can’t help but rethink my choices.

And the dangers of drinking.

I’ll try to hold back going forward.

No more getting drunk in public.

“I just want to be sure about this. You’re really going to help us?”

“Yes, I promise I will.”

My body was healed by my recovery magic, but I could still feel a strange buzzing in my mind that made me want to go back to my room and sleep. However, given the situation, that is completely out of the question. My plans for the day have been decided.

“I just have one question.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m actually in the middle of a trip with a few companions. I’d like to tell them about your situation and ask that we give priority to helping your daughter before continuing on our journey. I hope this won’t be any trouble, but I’d like it if they could accompany me.”

It sounds like I need permission to help, but I can’t make decisions like this when travelling with a group. We originally only planned on staying in this city for one night, so I need to give them a proper explanation. The company that Richard is travelling with is sizable, so I’m sure even a single day delay will be costly.

Most likely a few gold per day.

“Sure, that’s no problem at all.”

“I’m sure you don’t want to speak to me, but I’d also like to have your permission Miss.”

“Eh? Oh, y-yeah, it’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

With this, I asked the cuckold couple to accompany me back to my original inn.

***

After returning to the inn I was staying at, we immediately headed to Richard’s room. I visited his room the previous night before I went out drinking so I knew exactly where it was. There was a knight standing guard outside his room, but I was allowed to pass by without any questions.

Luckily, Richard was in his room and allowed us to enter after only a brief knock at his door. Now we’re seated across from each other on sofas as I attempt to explain the situation.

Richard sat across from us with the same smile he always showed.

“Tanaka-san, and who might you two be?”

They sat side-by-side directly across from Richard.

“….”

I could tell just by looking that they were terrified.

Their wide-eyes were reminiscent of a prisoner sentenced to be executed. I could sense their nervousness the moment we arrived at the inn. Now that I think about it, I am dressed in simple traveler’s clothing. I doubt they expected me to have any connection to the nobility.

“I went out to a local bar last night and ended up drinking too heavily. I caused these two a great deal of trouble and promised to help them so that I can make amends.”

“…I see.”

Richard’s eyes shifted between the three of us. I had grown accustomed to his gaze, but the cuckold couple were not. They were completely frozen stiff as eyes ran across their faces.

I know how hard it is, but I just need them to hold it together. This will be over soon.

“I thought you may be tired from the long carriage ride, but I never imagined you were out all night.”

“I’m sorry I went out without informing you.”

I originally planned on only grabbing a couple drinks before returning.

But I somehow found myself in this situation.

I was elated when the crowd of strangers at the bar started cheering for me.

“I know you wish to return to the capital, but could I ask you to stay here for another night so that I can help them. I will be sure to reimburse you for the costs this delay incurs with interest.”

“….”

The potential cost this may be terrifies me. Considering our relationship, I can’t afford to be closefisted here. This is all my fault to begin with. I’ve had a few experiences in the past where overdrinking has led me to making poor decisions but nothing of this scale.

“…would it be possible for you to allow me to do this?”

“I understand the situation –”

Richard looked troubled as he began to speak when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Richard-sama, there is a High Elf and a Goggoru here to see you.”

The knock was followed by the voice of the knight guarding the room. There was a similar exchange the night before when I visited.

It must be Edita Sensei and Goggoru-chan.

“Let them in.”

The door was quickly opened following his response.

My two loli acquaintances entered the room.

“I-I heard that man is here!”

“…sorry for intruding.”

Edita Sensei looked tense as she entered while Goggoru-chan offered a polite apology.

“You heard correct.”

Richard welcomed them with a smile.

Now that Goggoru-chan had appeared, the normal arrangements needed to take place. She moved to the furthest corner of the room without speaking a word. That’s probably for the best given the situation.

She’d be able to learn of the relationship between this married woman and my crotch.

There was still one loli left standing in the doorway. Edita Sensei usually sits by my side, but today there was someone sitting in her spot and she was at a loss for where to go. It was actually cute seeing her glance to her normal spot wondering what to do.

Even Sensei’s cuteness is something I find hard to enjoy given the current situation.

I wonder what this feeling is.

For some reason, the world feels much lonelier than it did yesterday.

“…is something wrong, Tanaka-san?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I did my best to hide how I was feeling when I responded to Richard.

Was it starting to show on my face?

“I mentioned this to you previously, but we are in a bit of a hurry. The explanation you’ve provided to me isn’t sufficient to warrant such a delay. I’d like to hear an explanation from these two before deciding anything.”

Richard turned his gaze to the husband.

He stared straight at him and waited for a response while keeping his normal smile up. If you don’t know anything about him, you’d have to say he looks like a good person from any angle. He’s dressed like a proper noble and is renting the most expensive room in a high-class inn.

“Eh?”

“I don’t want you to take this poorly, but you can be too good of a person, Baron Tanaka. It feels strange for me to tell you this, but you have a tendency to misplace your priorities and easily place your trust in others. It’s not that I don’t trust you or your decisions, I would just like to hear from them directly in order to properly understand the situation.”

“B-Baron? You’re a noble?”

The husband immediately turned to me.

I wasn’t sure how to respond, but that didn’t matter as Richard answered for me.

“Yes, that’s correct. Baron Tanaka of the Penny Empire.”

“….”

The husband’s body went rigid and I could feel him shaking.

The face of his wife turned blue as she stared at the floor. Her legs were shaking so bad that they created an audible sound in the quiet room. She reminded me of a certain maid.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“No, u-umm, it’s just….”

“How did the two of you become associated with Baron Tanaka?”

“….”

However, the husband did claim to be a merchant so it’s possible he’s had dealings with nobles before. There was a brief moment of hesitation before he finally spoke.

“I’ll tell you everything. This morning I met Baron Tanaka in my wife’s room at the inn we’re currently staying at. Naturally, this encounter led to our asking the Baron for a favour.”

“I see.”

“As you said yourself, Baron Tanaka is a good person and offered to help as compensation for what occurred. I can see how this may be a selfish request on my part, but we have already received his word that he will help us.”

The husband’s behaviour completely changed as he met Richard’s gaze.

People who are desperate can gain surprising strength when needed. If it’s someone they want to protect, they’ll drink dirty water or be beaten down and keep on going. They’ll completely disregard their own well-being to protect those they love.

“What is it you’ve asked of him?”

“To help rescue our daughter who has been taken by bandits.”

“That’s far from a simple task.”

“I witnessed Baron Tanaka defeat a famous adventurer last night. The man was well known in this area for being a capable fighter, but he was like a weak child compared to Baron Tanaka.”

“I see. And, is that all?”

“Yes.”

The husband is a good guy.

He told Richard just enough to satisfy him, but he still hid the full details of what happened this morning between his wife and me. My reputation managed to only take a small hit.

However, it doesn’t take much to put two and two together. A few seconds of silence passed before I noticed a change on Edita Sensei’s face. She suddenly started staring at me and I suspected that she was able to guess the truth.

For a moment, the change in her expression was surprisingly cute.

Even so, she’s usually happy when she’s looking at me, so that cold stare hurts my heart.

“W-What do you say…?”

The husband asked this as he glanced up at Richard, trying to ascertain what the noble was thinking.

Richard’s expression had me worried for a moment, until —

“If all of this is true, I’d like to assist as well.”

His answer wasn’t at all what I expected.

“Eh?”

The husband was as surprised as me.

Richard continued,

“I have heard tales of Baron Tanaka’s heroics on many occasions but never had the chance to witness them myself. I’d never pass up a chance to see the Baron use the full scale of his power.”

His lines slowly shifted from the husband to myself.

The same smile as always on his face.

“This is a great opportunity for me to witness it first hand.”

“Richard-san, that may be true, but….”

“No need to worry about my safety. I know how to protect myself. And if something goes wrong, it will be good to have someone to watch your back. Or do you disagree?”

“….”

His words caused a sense of deja vu in me. I remember him saying something similar when he and his wife were disguised as merchants and visited me in Dragon City. However, this aggressiveness reminded me that I was dealing with Ester-chan’s father, the head of the FitzClarence family.

Considering the power dynamic between us, I have no room to protest. The delay is caused by my own mistakes and now he’s offering to help even though it will cost him a large sum of gold.

“I apologize for the inconvenience but I would be grateful for your help.”

“I can’t wait to witness your power first hand.”

Team FitzClarence has been formed.

As I agreed to this, another voice chimed in from the doorway.

“I-If that’s the case, I’ll go with you!”

Edita Sensei.

She looked desperate as she called out to us from the door.

“We can all go together.”

Richard was the one to respond. He cast his gaze to Goggoru-chan who was still silently standing in the corner.

“I would ask that you accompany us as well. Is that alright?”

“…I don’t care.”

Goggoru-chan gave him a slight nod.

Normally, I would’ve had trouble pulling my attention away from her exposed thighs, however, for some reason, today I’m just not feeling it. I simply focused on the conversation with Richard as if it were the only thing that mattered to me.

“By the way, Rocoroco-san, could you spare a moment to speak to me later?”

“No.”

Richard wants to discuss something in private with Goggoru-chan?

I wonder what it’s about.

“It’s a matter that will help him. Is that enough to convince you?”

“….”

“I’m not ordering you to, but….”

“Fine….”

I’m curious to know what’s going on between them.

I wanted to ask, but I felt like I wasn’t in a position to do so. I silently watched them exchange words as I sat on the sofa feeling completely empty.

***