Chapter 395 Chapter 395 – Charity Event Preparation
After leaving the underground, I briefed Tris slightly and returned home with her to inform Eli about it before putting the sealed Purple Eye in my mansion's basement. I instructed Garcia to keep away from the basement for the time being until I could investigate the monster further.
I apologized to them for using our engagement to hold something like this, but Tris understood where I came from and was happy that it could help people instead. As for Eli, she pouted because she didn't know anything and felt left out, especially after she heard how Tris called me.
So, to lift her mood, I played with her and Tris that night. Both my fiancées were so cute, but we only snuggled against each other in bed because Tris wasn't in the mood to do it with her mind bothered by the curse.
Thankfully, Eli's mood recovered with that, and she was willing to show up with me for the charity event the next day.
"Hey, Art! S-Should I really wear this dress? I only got this from that guy as a joke!"
"Don't worry, Tris. You look beautiful in that." I praised her honestly.
Currently, we were preparing to attend the charity event and got dressed up. Our engagement wasn't official yet, but many people would find out that we would get married one day.
So I proposed for Eli and Tris to wear a dress. And I had to admit... Tris looked really cute in her light green dress that matched her eye color.
"I agree. You look great in that green backless dress, Tris. The butterfly ribbon on the side looks so cute." Eli agreed with me and praised Tris with a smile, putting her hands together. "We just need to style your hair now. How about a crown braid?"
"T-Thank you, but... Can't I just wear my knight uniform? That's my formal wear."
"What are you saying!" Eli shouted in disagreement as she styled Tris' hair. "We would be there as Arthur's f-fiancées, so we need to dress up to match him so we won't embarrass him."
As a noble daughter, Eli understood more about high-class society than Tris. So she forced her to wear a dress and agreed with my idea.
The preparation took more than an hour for them, and I only took a minute because I just needed to change into my Paladin uniform and get it done.
Still... bringing Eli to this event was the correct decision. She managed to make Tris not worry too much about the curse and talked to her a lot.
Anyway, this morning's announcement put the Academy City into a festive mood. Sana didn't necessarily announce that the Paladin was engaged but only announced that there was a free healing event for three days.
The healer would also be someone with Lv 3 <Holy Magic> and higher who could use both <Heal> and <Cure>.
Secretly, Sana and Archbishop Cameron in the Capital City would use <Appraisal> to see whether there were cursed people or not. I would handle it for them if there was any.
We went to the church by carriage. Lisa and Lara had returned to Academy City for this occasion and reported to me the progress of their investigation on our way to the church.
According to her, Viscount Steelwill, also known as Jonathan Steelwill, and his first son Colten were drinking yesterday. The shadow squad couldn't confirm where the second son, Mair Steelwill, was. They lost track after he entered Tiga Port City.
"Lost track?" I asked the twins, confused. "Did he teleport away?"
With the shadow squad's tracking skill, they wouldn't lose track of someone that abruptly. Unless the one they followed was proficient in hiding and had <Stealth> skill or a magic item that allowed him to move like a [Teleportation Gem].
"No, there is no sign of teleporting. He just... disappeared." Lara answered in a low voice enough that only I could hear it.
Tris looked serious, and she suggested, "Should I join your investigation team? I have a tracking skill."
"There is no need, Tris." I shot down her suggestion and leaned back against the soft backrest. "We have the clue already and will use that to track the real culprit. As for the shadow squad, I hope you will continue your investigation of the Viscount Steelwill and his family."
"As you command, Your Holiness."
The ride continued as Tris asked me some questions about how I would track the culprit using the monster. I answered her by pulling out a scroll. It was a magic item left by my former comrade that could be used to track a monster summoner or master.
"There was a Boss monster that can summon a lot of monsters. It was tricky because while the Boss was weak, the summons were strong and troublesome. It also hid in a place where detection magic can't reach, so that magic item maniac developed this map magic item."
"I see." Tris nodded in understanding.
Eli looked a bit confused and tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"
"Remember the annoying guy I talked about?" Tris raised her finger and pointed at the ceiling, "The one who loves to experiment with something and wants to develop a potion or a magic item to change gender?"
"Ah! That Merlin guy?" Eli exclaimed.
"Yes. He's actually a pretty amazing guy who can develop useful magic items. The one that Art took out earlier was one of his creations, and the Boss monster is a scary monster stronger than anything you can imagine! Usually, they are Level 80 or above with more than 10000 HP!"
"What?!"
Surprised, Eli shouted, and her eyes widened.
"And Arthur fought something like that?!"
"Yes," I answered with a nod. "In fact, the mission in Lima Port City also involved a Boss monster called Scylla. It has many tentacles and is bigger than the Academy's main building."
"Woah... Will I be able to fight something like that in the future?"
"You will be able to do it. That's why we are training, right?"
"Un, you're right."
Both of them giggled.
We managed to change a topic thanks to Tris. She was able to lie easily and made a pretty convincing story.