CH 193

“What’s going on, Henrietta? I heard there’s a guest …… Mu!? You guys!? D-D-Did you bring Conrad back here!?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Oh! Oh! I’m glad you’re back …… No, it’s too early to be happy …… Somewhere out there, someone’s …… T-There’s no one out there, is there? Come on in quickly.”

“O-Okay ……”

“You’re in a hurry.”

“Well, let’s hear what they have to say. Good morning, Henrietta-chan. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“It’s true! This is …… destiny!”

After Conrad and the others were invited in by the lord, Henrietta pushed us to go inside. The gatekeeper closed the door with a wry smile, leaving the lord, Henrietta, and us alone in the quiet house.

“……? Are the maids not here?”

“Yes, I think my dad will tell you about that now.”

Henrietta answers my question with a downcast look. While I was thinking that it was definitely about the threat letter, we’re ushered into a reception room that was about the same size as ours.

“W-Wait a minute, I’ll get my wife. Henrietta, prepare the tea, please.”

“All right!”

The lord and Henrietta walked out of the reception room in a flurry. Hmm, how careless of you to leave a stranger unattended ……

“He’s feeling a little overwhelmed, and the joy of Conrad-san’s return has him in a state of confusion. “

“Well, it’s a good thing it’s us ……”

Basleigh-sensei and Conrad looked away in disgust, and Borzov and the others laughed. After waiting for a while, the lord, his wife, and Henrietta, who had come back with tea, placed it in front of us.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“Fuh …… Well, thank you for your time, Borzov.”

“No, if I have to say, it’s just a coincidence ……”

He is the father of Henrietta, the lord of the house.

He has light blond hair and a slightly slack, troubled look on his eyebrows. He looks like he’s a bit of a wimp. 

“I’m sorry, my man is ……”

“Well, he had his reasons, so don’t worry about it. So, what is the threat letter about?”

Conrad asked his wife, who was wiping sweat off her face with a handkerchief. She has long red hair and a good set of eyes and nose. As Henrietta sipped her tea, thinking that she looked like her mother, the lord turned to us and asked the opposite.

“So, who are the three of you? You weren’t here the last time I was here, were you?”

“Yes, I’m ashamed to say that we had a fight with Borzov and the others in the tavern, and then Basleigh-san here wanted to talk to you about the matter. I brought her here with me. And she was accompanied by Lars-kun and Makina-san.”

When Conrad introduced us, Basleigh-sensei opened her mouth with a slight bow.

“I’m Basleigh. It’s nice to meet you.”

“…… Is that okay? Don’t tell me that these are the people who sent the threat letters, and they’re actually coming here to do something about us now, are they ……?”

That’s a harsh suspicion …… He looks us up and down with his mouth agape. I felt a little uncomfortable, but it would be rude not to say hello, so I put my cup down and said.

“My name is Lars …… Lars Irving. Maybe it makes sense if I say that I’m the second son of Lord Gust? This is my girlfriend, Makina.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Makina. Please make my acquaintance.”

Makina also smiles and bows, and after a short pause, the lord stands up in a panic and shouts 

“What, Roen-dono’s son ……!? Ah, it hurts!?”

“Darling, calm down.”

“Lars-san is the lord’s son ……?”

He stood up, but his momentum was so strong that his knees hit the table and he crouched down, leaving his wife stunned and Henrietta open-mouthed and dumbfounded. He quickly sat back down and continued his story.

“Ahem. S-Speaking of which, Roen-dono mentioned at the meeting that he has two sons and one daughter …… I’m sorry, Lars-kun. I am Hugel, the Lord of Oriola Territory.”

“I’m his wife, Rakute.”

“I’m Henrietta!”

“I know Henrietta, we met yesterday. Nice to meet you. So, can you tell us about you calling Conrad back and the threat letter matter?”

“That was my line, though …….”

I ignored Basleigh-sensei and went through the motions, and when I bowed my head again, Hugel-san began to speak, sounding relieved. 

“……Umu, where did do start ……”

“You, start from when you turned Conrad-san away ……”

“I, I know! This is the kind of thing you talk about when you’re trying to make a point!”

He’s pretty easy-going …… Just as I was thinking that, he gave us a step-by-step explanation.

“It was at the same time that the threat letter arrived that I turned Conrad away. As you can imagine, I’ve heard a lot about the damage, so I had to move. Well, the people say do-it-yourself is my principle, but I’m a believer in not doing the wrong thing. Ahhh, I’m getting a bit off-topic, I was just thinking about organizing a strike force when I received a threatening letter…… It’s this.”

Hugel-san took a letter out from under the sleeve of his loose-fitting clothes and placed it on the table, while Basleigh-sensei took it and opened it.

“Let’s see ……”

“I’ve never seen a threat letter before, Luciel’s kidnapping was so sudden, after all.”

“Kidnapping ……?”

Henrietta’s body stiffened as she muttered to herself, but then she put her face close to Basleigh-sensei’s hand, saying that the letter’s first. 

“If you stare at me like that, I’ll get nervous.”

“Open it already, teacher.”

“You’re not even scared!? …… Sheesh, having a girlfriend really is …… Er–“

“-I forgive you if you lent a hand with the Treant Extermination. If you ask the guild for a strike force or make any moves to gather people on your own, then be prepared for what may happen to this town. Since your daughter is particularly. All right? I’ll repeat, don’t help with Treant Extermination.-“

–such a statement was written with multiple handwriting. It was a run-of-the-mill threat letter, short, but it contained the demands of the other side and the retaliatory measures if they were broken. Then Basleigh-san said as she put the threat letter back.

“I see, that’s why you kicked Conrad-san’s plea, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. [Detect Presence] is famous in this town, so It’s not hard for Conrad to get people together. This is why …… I turned him away with a few strong words, I’m sorry. I’m surprised that after that, he also quarreled with Borzov and the others and left this territory.”

Hugel said, his eyes downcast. Now that I think about it …… Why did Conrad and Borzov fight with each other? And if your hometown is so important to you, it’s a wonder you left.

When I was looking at Conrad and thinking about it, he seemed to get it and lowered his shoulders at me.

“…… You look like you’re wondering why I left, Lars-kun. I had a fight with Borzov and the others, but it was because of the guild master. We tried to go on our own raid, but these guys stopped us.”

“If the lord can’t do anything about it, there’s a good chance the guild master will take notice if we push too hard. We stopped Conrad because it would have made it harder for us to work, but he didn’t like it, so he left. Well, you know, I’m sorry ……”

Borzov bowed, and Conrad soothed that it was over.

There are some suspicious parts, but I thought that the next word from Hugel-san could bring them out on its own.

“It’s probably too late now to mention what happened then. The threat letter is worrisome, but if we leave the Treants as it is, the people will eventually suffer. Then we have no choice but to cross the dangerous bridge …… I plan to form a strike team, starting with Conrad, who has [Detect Presence].”

The Lord is in a hurry!?

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“There’s a sense that the whole family’s in a hurry.”

Hugel-san and the others don’t play games, they run their business like they’re supposed to.

“Maybe they’re good at making choices ……?”

I should throw you out too.

“What!?”