CH 14

[Father-Daughter Relationship is Complicated]

The first day of the exploration journey ended without any problems.

As planned, we have arrived from Youg Hannotes to the entrance of Demon Forest.

We would walk around inside the Demon Forest for five days to check for traces of “Abyss Walker”.

“I’m sorry Frick-dono. To even make you help us prepare the camp.”

Meiss, who is the Knight Captain under the Frontier Count, called out to me, who was preparing for camp with the escort knights.

“No, I don’t mind. I think this is also a part of escort mission. Rather than that, are those two okay?”

The Knight Captain Meiss followed my line of sight.

Beyond that, there was Noelia, who was reading a book and completely looked as if she wasn’t listening to anything[1], and the Frontier Count, who has been silenced and in a situation where he can’t let out his voice even though he’s been trying very hard to say something.

“Oh, that’s a daily occurrence, so don’t worry about it. Since Lloyd-sama is an overprotective father, so he can’t help but worry about his only daughter, Noelia-sama. Especially this is the first time that Noelia-sama is interested in something other than magic.”

Meiss laughed when he saw the two of them.

Apparently, that seems to be the usual thing.

In my case, I was an orphan, so I don’t remember having quarreled with the director who acted as my foster parent.

Well, sometimes Alfine play a prank on him just to make him angry.

Looking at the two of them, I suddenly recalled the memories of the dear old director and his wife from the days of the orphanage.

I wonder if the director and co are doing well…

It was last spring that I returned with Alfine to show our face for the first in a long time right.

Both of them are pretty old, so I hope that they didn’t get sick…and I haven’t been able to send money back.

Accompanying the memory that came back, I remembered what I was worried about about the orphanage.

It seems that my life and income here will be stable, so I want to resume to send money back to the orphanage.

However, if I send it under Finn’s name, my location may be revealed to Alfine.

Since it has become like this, donating to the orphanage under the name of Frick seems to be the least problematic.

I decided to resume sending money back to the orphanage from this completion reward.

“Is that so… I was wondering if there was something wrong with my participation all day today. So that’s just a daily occurrence huh.”

“Well, it’s a little different, but it’s a similar thing. Even so, Frick-dono seems to be accustomed to traveling. I heard from Noelia-sama that it hasn’t been a month since you became an adventurer, but…”

Meiss seemed to be observing me as he was preparing the camp skillfully.

“Before becoming an adventurer, I used to work for a peddler, so I’m good at doing this.”

I can’t say that my previous job was a platinum rank adventurer of Royal Capital’s due to Alfine’s involvement.

So, I made up a story that before I became an adventurer, I was working for a peddler.

By the way, if I was asked about my sword arm, I would reply that it was something that I learned from the peddler to protect myself.

Everyone made a doubtful face when I said that, but they will not pursue further, so I insist on that.

“Hou, so you used to work for a peddler huh. I see, so that’s why you are good at making camp.”

Meiss put his hand on his chin and nodded understandingly.

As expected, if I explain properly, he will be convinced, right.

Why is it that when I explain it to Rebecca and the young adventurers, they made a doubtful face…

“That aside, I’m surprised that the knights’ are that skillful in making camp. Knight is a noble, so usually they wouldn’t do things like making camp, right?”

When I followed Alfine, who received the title of Sword Master and became a swordsmanship instructor, and participated in the field mobilization training of the Royal Guard Knights, I felt so terrible that I want to give up.

Because they were the sons of the aristocrats, they could not even start a fire by themselves and they could not even build a tent.

Compared to that, the knights of the Frontier Count ignited the fire in a familiar manner and assembled the tent skillfully.

“Those knights were recruited from adventurers. They are former platinum rank adventurers, so they’re used to making camp.”

So they employ adventurer as knights huh. Now I understand why they were so good at making camp.

Nevertheless, even though knight is the lowest rank, they are still in line of noble status, but the Frontier Count seem to have employed a fair number of them.

When Alfine was given the title of Sword Master as well, even though the King had declared to confer Alfine knight status, the Royal Guard Knights issued strong opposition.

Due to that, a match was held in the presence of the King, and in that match Alfine beat down all of the bragging Royal Guard Knights, got her strength recognized and became a noble as a knight.

Even if you have such an ability as an adventurer, there should be a high wall to becoming a noble from commoner, but…

Is the Frontier Count the kind of person who doesn’t really care about someone’s origin?

I’m curious about the personality of the Frontier Count who employed adventurers as knights, so I decided to ask Meiss.

“Even though the Frontier Count-sama is a great noble, he employed commoner adventurers as knight?”

“He is a great noble now, but Lloyd-sama was originally an adventurer. He was married to Noelia-sama’s mother’s parents’ house, the Henestrosa family, and ascended to the Frontier Count position.”

This is the first time I hear that the Youg Hannotes Frontier Count was a former adventurer.

In the “Great Invasion”, I heard that he was a hero who led the skilled platinum rank adventurers rushed into the Demon Forest full of “Abyss Walkers” and destroyed the origin of the outbreak.

I heard that he, who was already a low rank noble due to his achievements, became a great noble by being promoted to Frontier Count of Youg Hannotes.

“So the Frontier Count-sama was a former adventurer huh…”

“Maybe the people from Frick-dono’s generation don’t know a lot of people. Most veteran adventurers fell in the “Great Invasion” after all.”

Meiss who is at the prime of his life had the same expression as the adults in the village who talked about the “Great Invasion”.

“Perhaps, Meiss-dono too?”

“Yes, I’m an adventurer who was a part of Lloyd-sama and Florina-sama’s party.”

Knight Captain Meiss, who could be called the Frontier Count’s right-hand man, was also a former adventurer.

Moreover, it seems that he was part of the adventurer party led by the Frontier Count.

In that, a name I didn’t know came out.

I was interested, so I asked him about it.

“Florina-sama?”

“It’s the name of Noelia-sama’s mother. She was the daughter of the Henestrosa family, but she ran away because she didn’t like the fiancé recommended by her parents, and because of her magic talent, she became an adventurer on the frontier as a mage. She was a strange person.”

I see…Florina-sama seems to be a strange person.

I only heard it from Meiss, but Noelia’s mother seems to be similar to Noelia in which she is also a person with a strange behavior.

Even so, I haven’t heard the story of the wife of the famous Frontier Count from the townspeople and the adventurers.

“Because Noelia-sama has the blood of such person, so I felt that the situation of those father-daughter is a copy of the relationship between Floyd-sama and Florina-sama. I think that if Florina-sama still alive, those father-daughter’s relationship won’t get that complicated…but in the end, a lot of people lost their precious person in the “Great Invasion”.”

“Perhaps, Florina-sama also died in the “Great Invasion”?”

“…yes, because she was pregnant with Noelia-sama, Lloyd-sama accepted her parents’ condition of marrying into their family, and while they were preparing for her childbirth, the “Great Invasion” started. Lloyd-sama, who volunteered to be commander of the bracher unit, stopped her because she’s in her last month of pregnancy, but Florina-sama, who was a capable mage, force herself in to increase the success rate of the breacher unit entering the Demon Forest which was the source of the outbreak of the “Abyss Walkers”, and then she died giving birth to Noelia-sama in the midst of battle. Due to that, that father-daughter’s relationship became as you can see earlier.”

Meiss turned his gaze towards the Frontier Count and Noelia again.

Before his gaze, the Frontier Count was trying hard to appeal something, but Noelia ignore him and her eyes never leave the book in her hand.

“Every year, I led The Demon Forest’s “Abyss Walker” investigation team as a pretext of visiting the graves of Florina-sama and the adventurers who died a noble death on behalf of Lloyd-sama. However, as it was the 20th year this year, I was pleased to hear that Lloyd-sama said he wanted to participate, moreover, even Noelia-sama wanted to accompany us…but from that situation, I feel that the journey ahead will be full of troubles.”

The man at the prime of his life, the knight captain Meiss, make a wry smile at the sight of Noelia and the Frontier Count.

“Is that so? Wait, from what you said earlier, Noelia is 20 years old this year?”

“Yes, she is 20 years old this year because she was born just before the end of the “Great Invasion”.”

I completely thought that Noelia is younger.

Her body is quite petite and her face is childish, so I really thought she is younger than me.

So we are the same age huh…

When I learned that Noelia was the same age as me, I suddenly felt ashamed that I had treated her as a younger girl.

“Frick-dono also seems to be quite young, but your conduct is rather calm. I wonder if this was also cultivated when you was working under the peddler.”

“Is that so. I think it’s normal though…”

“Well, Lloyd-san was also married into his wife’s family, and well, they always said that young man who have the ability will make his own way in the world, so there is no problem with Frick-dono一一”

When Meiss was saying something, a voice came from the Frontier Count.

He bowed lightly and ran to the Frontier Count.

I wonder what did he want to say at the end…

Nevertheless, it seems that Noelia had also lost one of her parents in the “Great Invasion” at the same age as me…

I thought that she was a daughter of a noble with strange behavior, but her root part may be close to me.

I feel that I’ve became a little closer to Noelia.