Chapter 72.3: Conclusion of Gladdstone’s Riot

Chapter 72.3: Conclusion of Gladdstone’s Riot

Despite the post-battle exhaustion that assailed her body, Aria kept her word. She started helping the wounded citizens the moment she finished speaking.

Stella had conked out, exhausted from the recoil of her trump card.

Tama’s tentacles were again wrapped around Reis’s body, preventing him from escaping.

Aria sighed, relieved that the two fairies were safe.

They had lost consciousness but their conditions were stable.

Suddenly, someone shouted from around the area.

「Eei, what are you doing?! This man is the one behind this whole incident! Kill him immediately!!!」

The one who shouted was the Gladdstone Earl, who arrived with several escorts and his butler. He had probably decided to come only after being assured that the commotion had ended.

The Earl approached Reis and prepared to give the unconscious man a kick, but Aria silently intercepted with a well-placed foot and tripped him.

「UGYAAAA!? 」

「Earl-sama! 」

The Earl’s butler and escorts all rushed toward their fallen employer as he screamed in an incredibly ugly voice.

Dany advised Aria, a little concerned.

「Y-You shouldn’t do that, Aria-chan…」

No matter how lighthearted the Earl was, a commoner couldn’t harm a noble.

Another commotion was about to break out. The angry Earl sent his escorts to capture Aria while Dany restricted Aria for formality’s sake.

「Please hear my story, Dany-san. The truth is… 」

「… What? Is that true, Aria-chan? Yosh! Marietta, Kenny! Capture the Earl! 」

「WHAT?! You bastard, what are you doing?! I’m Earl Gladdstone, the lord of this city! 」

Dany, after hearing about a certain story from Aria, ordered his subordinates to capture the Earl.

Being restrained without retaliating against Aria enraged the Earl even further but once Dany started speaking, Earl Gladdstone paled.

「Sorry, but we’re knights under the direct supervision of the Marquis. Going against us means going against the Marquis. Also, if you did not know, our captain is the son of the Marquis, Cedric Leuwin The Brave. So, following us like a good child is the best decision you can make now, don’t you agree? 」

「M-MARQUIS?! 」

The moment Dany mentioned the Marquis and his son, Cedric, the Earl became white as a sheet of paper.

Both were noble titles, but Marquis ranked above Earl.

Dany was right, the Earl couldn’t act against them. Thus, the Gladdstone Earl obediently followed after Dany and his subordinates, albeit with a sour look on his face.

「Well, then, My Lord. Please allow me to take a bit of your time.」

「EH? What are――」

The Earl tried to ask what the knight was talking about but he passed out before he could complete his sentence. His sudden unconsciousness was a result of the hand chop Dany aimed at the back of the Earl’s neck.

Leaving the Earl’s butler and escorts aside, even the adventurers and knights that were still present were confused by Aria’s behavior.

「Aria-chan, could you lend us the thing you spoke of earlier? We’ll make the Earl drink it.」

「Thank you very much, Dany-san. Here’s the Droplet of Truth.」

Aria took a glittering flask from her bosom pocket. It was the same flask she had acquired from the labyrinth’s treasure box, the Droplet of Truth.

Earlier, Aria had reported the Earl’s evil deeds to Dany. She also told him she could force him to confess using that item.

Dany himself had already heard the unpleasant rumors that surrounded the Earl. Thus, he cooperated with Aria to find the truth hidden behind those rumors.

He took the Droplet of Truth and force-fed it to the unconscious Earl.

Meanwhile, his subordinates Howard, Kenny, and Marietta made sure the Earl’s butler and escorts didn’t make a mess of the situation.

Once the Droplet’s effect kicked in, the Earl became a yes-man.

He confessed to every crime he committed under Dany and Aria’s interrogation, making his servants’ faces pale rapidly.

◆

「WAWA! THIS SWEET IS REALLY SWEET! 」

「THIS HONEY PICKLED FRUIT IS SO YUMMY~! 」

It took only a few days for Lily and Faeri to recover enough to gorge themselves on sweets, the food they loved the most.

After spending some days asleep from the exhaustion of having their mana stolen, the fairies had finally woken up. To celebrate their awakening, Aria and the others decided to treat them with a full course meal of only sweets at Gladdstone’s bar.

So much happened in the last few days…

Reis, the mastermind behind the Gladdstone riot, was detained by the Knight Order of the city. However, he was spared from the death penalty and only charged with life imprisonment thanks to Aria and Dany.

The duo had interrogated the Earl and discovered the motive behind Reis’s plot to destroy the city: enacting revenge for his murdered fiancée. She had been kidnapped by the Earl, turned into his plaything and mutilated until death.

The Earl, having confessed many atrocious crimes, was stripped of his status and punished with life imprisonment, like Reis.

Once he was informed of the Earl’s fate from the inside of his prison cell, Reis looked as if a heavy stone had just been lifted from his shoulders.

Meanwhile, those at the bar were busy stuffing their faces, especially Stella.

From her seat beside the fairy duo, Stella stuffed her mouth with a big piece of steak which still had the bone attached to the meat.

「MUGUMOGU! MEAT IS DA BEST! 」

Beside her were Aria and Tama, the latter being fed pieces of steak from Aria’s plate.

「Here, Tama, a~ahn.」

「Nya~n! 」

The three girls stared at the shameless flirting and felt envious.

They couldn’t help but express their displeasure.

After all, they all wanted to switch places with Aria.

「Uhm, SO SLY! LET ME TO DO THAT TOO! 」

「I want to feed Tama too! 」

「Me too~! 」

Aria skillfully ignored the commotion and promptly stowed Tama in the valley between her melons, caressing his head gently.

(Fumu… Although many things happened, in the end, I was able to protect my master. But I mustn’t allow myself to become complacent from this victory! Since master aims to become an ally of justice, there’ll be no end to my battles!)

Even while exposed to such extreme skin contact, Tama did not lose his composure. He renewed his knight’s vow right there as he nestled between Aria’s melons.

It was the beginning of the adventure of the Justice Warrior Elf Girl and her Knight-like-Cat [pet].