CH 36.2

“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

After I talked to Roseline, Raoul called me over and said he wanted to talk in private. He had a serious look in his eyes and the atmosphere was heavy. It must be a pretty important conversation. An important conversation with Raoul, who is overprotective of Roseline… W- wait, he’s not going to ask about our relationship, is he?

Oh no. I’m so nervous. This is definitely about Roseline. It’s one of those ‘What sort of relationship do you have with my daughter?’ type things. This is the niece version.

There’s nothing between me and her for me to feel guilty about. Nothing at all. I’ve been thinking about stuff like ‘We’re on good terms, aren’t we?’ or ‘I could probably call her my friend now, right?’ but it isn’t a romantic relationship at all.

“No, it’s nothing so serious. I was wondering why you accompanied us to Clermont. We did invite you, but did you also have your own reason?”

His question is so different from what I was expecting that all the tension disappears. Come to think of it, I never did say. If I said something like ‘Because I wanted to stay with Roseline,’ I’m sure I’d be judged guilty. He’s not in a joking mood in the least. Though, that’s not actually the real reason.

“I thought if we freed Clermont, I might be able to reunite with my party members.”

“Party members?”

“I was in an adventuring party with them a while ago. I invited them to come to Clermont with me. But then we ran into some trouble and got separated, and that’s where it ended.”

“…Is that so?”

It was bad timing. As a result of the servers going down during the open beta, we weren’t able to meet. Then on top of that, even after the official release, we haven’t had a chance to search for each other because of the event.

But I think it’s too early to give up. It’s true that we didn’t actually make any promises. This world is so big that reuniting would probably be difficult. And there might be a better way to search for them. But the feeling of wanting to see Alexia and Irene again, that’s what I’m certain of.

“But if Clermont’s like that, there’s no telling when we’ll see each other again. And it’s not just me. With a city that big, I’m sure there’s lots of people who have stuff to do there. There’s probably even people who feel the same as me. So I can’t just leave it like that.”

I’m sure Raoul’s guild will be able to free Clermont. They’ve helped me out a lot, so I want to repay them at least a little bit. That’s why I wanted to go with them and work together with them. But I’m so weak that all I did was end up even more in their debt.

Raoul stares at me long and hard.

“You are a kind person. And you care for your comrades.”

“It’s probably a bit different from caring for them. In the end, I think I’m just lonely. After being alone for so long, I finally managed to make friends, but we couldn’t be together anymore, so I was lonely. I was really lucky to meet Roseline back then.”

“Do you also think of Her Highness– of Lady Roseline as a friend?”

“Of course. Though, it’d be more accurate to say that I want to be her friend. After all, we traveled all the way to Charante together.”

“Hm, I see. It seems I was worrying needlessly.”

Ah, I knew it, he was suspicious of my relationship with Roseline. It’s not a romantic relationship like Raoul was thinking.

“Chaos. As her uncle, I’m glad you think of Lady Roseline as a friend. However, I don’t want you to openly declare her to be your friend. I’m giving you this warning for your own good.”

I can’t accept that. But before I can object, I start thinking about what Raoul said. He’s probably warning me because of his position. The guild members treat him with respect. It’s similar to loyalty, sort of like Irene’s devotion towards Alexia. He probably has an important position in the guild, like the guildmaster or an officer.

Maybe because of that, the other members of Raoul’s guild all wait on her hand and foot like a princess. Since she’s his niece, she’s probably important to them, like she’s family. But I’m just a total stranger who wants to be friends with her. I’m not exactly close with Raoul’s guild members, we’re not even acquaintances. They’d probably be offended if I came out of nowhere and tried to have an equal friendship with her and Raoul.

Actually, when I’m with Roseline, I get some kind of angry looks. Since Raoul is always with us, maybe he thinks there’s a risk that they’ll explode at me. He probably doesn’t want that to cause interpersonal issues. Worst case scenario, it might lead to the guild disbanding.

When I think about it that way, I don’t really feel much like arguing anymore. I’m still not entirely convinced, but I don’t want the guild’s interpersonal relationships to become strained because of me. I nod weakly.

“Lady Roseline is in a difficult position. She doesn’t have anyone she can call a friend. But if she has someone like you, I’m sure it would put her at ease.”

Huh, Roseline was also alone? As a solitary player, I sort of feel a sense of kinship towards her. But she’s always so full of energy, so I thought she’d have a bunch of friends. So she’s the type who doesn’t have friends in real life, huh?

Maybe she can’t make friends because of her family situation. Like, she’s changed schools a lot or something. That might be the reason why she couldn’t meet Raoul for so many years. If so, then her family’s circumstances must be pretty complicated.

“I want to continue supporting Lady Roseline. However, I cannot stay by her side forever. Therefore, if I’m not there when Lady Roseline is struggling, I want you to support her.”

“Alright, I will. I promise.”

I don’t know how dependable I’ll be, but I at least want to be helpful to her.

“Also… Lady Roseline is beautiful, but you are absolutely not to lay a hand on her,” Raoul says, his face suddenly turning serious again. I knew it, he’s the overprotective parent type.

“A man with childlike naivety and ignorance which doesn’t suit his age…? Come to think of it, Roseline, who lives in the palace, would never open her heart to someone who approached her with ill intent. She may have unconsciously perceived this. How has he lived to turn out this way? Lying and deceiving a person such as that… Good grief, it makes me want to vomit. …Perhaps I am the one with ill intentions.”

We arrived at Clermont, but the gates were shut tight. I guess the barricade was removed when I destroyed it with the runaway carriage, or maybe it’s on the other side of the door. However, we’ve been able to enter cities up until now because they were small towns with no walls, but what are we going to do about the door being shut like this?

Raoul’s guild stops their march and holds a strategy meeting in front of the city walls. Raoul’s guild isn’t the only one here. They’re not as large as Raoul’s, but there are other guilds gathered here, big and small. Because of this, the number of people here has more than doubled. Apparently, Raoul called them here. It looks like Raoul is serious about freeing the city. I think our combined strength should be plenty, but I guess that’s just how many enemies there are.

When the strategy meeting is over, Raoul approaches me. Roseline is also there, but she looks mad for some reason and she immediately goes off somewhere. Concerned, I watch her as she walks away, but this is interrupted when Raoul calls out to me.

“Chaos, I have a favor to ask of you.”

What is it? I listen while staring blankly.

“As it stands, capturing Clermont will be difficult. In essence, the defending side has the advantage, and breaking through the city gates will take a great amount of time and damage. That’s why I’d like you to use teleportation magic to invade directly inside Clermont and open the gates from the inside.”

Teleportation magic… I guess he means Warp Portal. It’s true that since the portal is inside the walls, I can get in without having to worry about the walls’ defenses. In that case, the story changes depending on how many enemies are inside. Warp Portal can only teleport six people including myself. Even if a small number of people successfully teleport in, if there are too many enemies, they’ll inevitably be killed. Even if we make several trips to bring the soldiers inside, Warp Portal can only teleport to a portal, so going back and forth between here and the Clermont portal is impossible.

“Of course, a small unit will soon be overwhelmed. The main force will be here on standby, but the selected soldiers will temporarily gather at the nearest city and then be teleported from there.”

Ah, I see. Teleporting back and forth between portals would be possible. So after the gate is opened, the main force on standby will rush in and start the real battle.

“However, there is a hole in this strategy. There are few mages who can use teleportation magic. That is what I’d like to ask of you. You can use teleportation magic, can’t you?”

I do know Warp Portal. But I haven’t used it even once since the start of the official release, so how does he know that? Maybe he heard my level from the guild members I was partied up with and made a rough estimate of my skill composition. Well, this skill is almost essential for Magicians. Maybe he thought it was obvious that I’d have it.

But they don’t have many Magicians? Hmm, this is gonna be a pretty big job.

“Her Highness is making every effort to free Clermont as quickly as possible for everyone’s sake. It is truly heartbreaking. Chaos, will you help us for Her Highness’s sake?”

“Alright, I’ll help.”

Maybe that’s why she was mad earlier. She’s upset because she hasn’t leveled up very much. Yeah, I’ve gotta do all I can in her place.