Volume 4 - CH 16

Chapter 16 – Dinner With Lana

When Eto and his party arrived at the restaurant, they found that Lana had arrived at the restaurant earlier than them.

“My bad, did we make you wait too long?”

Lana shook her head to Eto who apologized.

“No, I just arrived too. It seems you already reserved a private room for us. Thank you.”

Tonight, Lana wore a shiny black dress, and she also has make-up on her face, though it is very thin.

“Waaa, so cute.”

Kohaku praised Lana’s dress. The dress that Lana wears was embroidered with black thread that made the dress look like it had flowers appearing from the inside. With that as the start, the conversation between girls is started, making Lana relax.

The five then fully enjoyed the restaurant’s recommended menu, such as Orc meat and vegetables stewed in a rich sauce, and steamed Wyvern meat. And then, while eating dessert after a meal, they talked about the release of Kohaku from slavery.

“Hee, only Kohaku-chan? How about Sorano-san and Amou-san?”

“Amou said he wanted to continue being a slave while saving money with this pace. Naturally, I will release him when his savings have exceeded the price I bought him. As for Sorano… there are circumstances.”

Eto wanted to say something but hesitated.

“I am a criminal slave. Money alone can’t release me.”

But of course, just like usual, Sorano answered without hesitation.

When Lana heard the place Sorano was enslaved was in Margrave Erven’s territory, Lana frowned and asked Sorano about the event in detail.

“That’s pretty suspicious. Margrave Stainbolt has been undergoing medical treatment for a long time because of his illness, so his son, Riesenbolt, was chosen as Acting Lord of his territory. But, he has a pretty terrible reputation.”

Apparently, before returning to the royal capital, the Hero’s party has been defeating monsters in remote areas. During their stay in the Margrave Erven territory, Lana heard that the Acting Lord and the influential nobles around him caused many problems for the commoners and silenced them with power.

“If the slave trader was close to the Acting Lord, then it is not strange to suspect him of using forceful means to enslave Sorano.”

“But is that allowed? Isn’t the treatment of slaves strictly regulated?”

“That’s right. But, we can’t absolutely say that national laws will be obeyed by everyone, right? Even more so if it was between a noble and a commoner. There are times when money and power can twist the rule, after all. Besides, that Acting Lord really can’t be trusted.”

“Have Lana ever met the Acting Lord?”

“Ee, in fact, he quarreled with Ronaldo-sama. Ronaldo-sama has a strong sense of justice, after all. Especially if the person concerned is a vulnerable woman.”

Lana continued with a bitter smile. According to Lana, when the Hero’s party returned from a party hosted by a local noble, Hero Ronaldo stopped Riesenbolt, who was persistently trying to make an advance on a young lady. After the young lady had thanked him and left, Ronaldo scolded the Acting Lord, saying that such an advance wasn’t likable to anyone. But in response to that, Riesentbolt just made an excuse, saying that he had only invited the girl on a trip.

Naturally, there is no way Ronaldo believed that. Because from what Ronaldo can see, Riesenbolt seemed to be trying to force the girl into the carriage. But Riesenbolt doesn’t lose his smile and just said that Ronaldo might be mistaken. And then, thinking that at this rate there won’t be an end, the quarrel finished with Mirei’s mediation.

“If Riesenbolt was merely trying to dodge the question, I don’t think I would remember him because there are many people like that. But he was a little different. I mean, the one he faced was Ronaldo-sama, you know? Even if they’re not in the situation where he would be attacked by Ronaldo-sama, he should have been capable of sensing the heroic aura coming from Ronaldo-sama, and he should at least know that it is unwise to turn Ronaldo-sama into an enemy, right? Despite that, he still has the guts to not admit his mistake and keep quarreling. I really felt a bad feeling from his shamelessness, also felt a menace from the way he does everything without thinking about the future. Because of that, I consulted with Mirei-sama and decided to leave that town as soon as possible.”