CH 270

“This place is ……?”

The place where we landed was not well lit, and many of the houses that had been built were not that good. However, it’s not as bad as a slum, perhaps because there is a certain amount of government surveillance? Even so, there are a few “barren houses” here and there that you would never see in the town of Gust.

“Orff-san, right? I think it’s about time you told us. You may be thinking of trapping me, but I’m not just a big name with a big title, you know? Lars-kun and Makina-chan are both strong, and Fath-san, the thunderbolt is also here.”

“U-Um, the person who’s one of the top five martial artists ……!? This could be it, this could be it …… T-This way, please!”

“Oh, hey!”

He ran excitedly and before I could stop him, he walked into a house with a wagon parked in the yard. The light  …… is not on.

“What do we do? I’m …… I’m fine, though.”

Ohhhhh …… Makina is not good with ghosts and stuff, so this kind of thing is not good for her. She’s fine with mountain roads, but she’s not a fan of caves. It’s a so-called claustrophobic place that seems to come out. Then Fath-san stepped forward and looked at the house.

“I don’t mind leading the way, you know? I don’t have a bad feeling about it, but I don’t want to get caught off guard.”

“Then I’ll go, you wait here and I’ll call when it’s safe. Is that okay?”

“!”

“You stay with Makina. You can destroy that cage, can’t you?”

“!!”

Sephiro nodded his head and let the flower bloom.

I looked at Basleigh-sensei and she nodded in affirmation, so I returned the nod and walked closer to the house.

“Where are you, Orff? Are you in the house?”

“Oh, it’s this way. Excuse me, this is one of the rendezvous places…… In here.”

I went in the direction of the voice and found Orff right next to the entrance, opening a hidden door in the ground and revealing a staircase leading to the basement.

“I’m sorry, but until we know that there is no danger, I, as a man, will have to handle this alone.”

“…… You’re right. I’m sorry, The one who will talk to you is down there ……”

I followed him down the stairs, and after about three meters, I saw a room on my left with a light leaking from it.

“Now …… I wonder if it’s the person I thought it was ……”

As I muttered to no one in particular, Orff opened his mouth cheerfully in front of the room.

“I’ve brought them!”

“Thank you, Orff! I haven’t seen you in years …… When he was at the academy, you took care of Lux.”

“…… So it was you.”

It was Lux’s sister, Naja, who was there. It’s been two and a half years since I’ve seen her, since the last time I saw her was in the fifth grade competition. Well, I don’t really remember having a conversation with her, I only remember that she enjoyed watching Lux poke at me every time we played against each other.

“Fufu, the smart Lars-kun thought it was Lux? …… I’m sorry, but I’m looking for him too.”

“What the hell happened to you? Why do we have to do this hiding thing? And how did you know it was us?”

When I asked her a lot of questions, she turned her head down with a troubled look on her face. Orf ran up to her and supported her shoulder.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Orff. It’s okay.”

“O-Okay …… I’ll tell you one thing then. I’ve known Naja and Lux for a long time, when we were little, that is before Lux went to Oblivion Institute, we used to talk to each other. I brought you here because Lars-sama told his name in that reception room.”

Apparently, he was initially forced to act as a coachman in order to ask for help from Basleigh-sensei, who had been dispatched by the government. The reason why he was able to get into the reception room was because he wanted to talk to Basleigh-sensei on the way home to see if she was a friend or foe.

But when I told him my name was Lars Irving, he realized that I was a friend of Lux’s, and brought me directly here.

“You’re so reckless. There’s always the possibility that I’m an enemy, you know?”

“No, from what I’ve heard from Lux, I don’t you’re the type of person who would use his power as leverage just like the lord, his wife, and Varnish-sama ……”

“So–“

“Wait a minute, I’ve got people waiting outside. It’s dark, but it’s better that they’re out of sight, right? I’ll go get them.”

“…… Thanks.”

I quickly climbed the stairs, told Makina and the others who were waiting for me what had happened, and went down to the basement again. Fath-san said there was no presence, so it wasn’t as if Orff was being pursued or monitored.

But if he’s close to both Lux and Naja, then you can’t be too careful.

“I understand the situation. Then tell me why you need to hide. And do you have any idea where Lux-kun might go?”

Unusually, Basleigh-sensei asked again with a serious face what I wanted to ask. Naja nodded and explained with a pout.

“…… There wasn’t anything special for about a year after Lux came back. It’s just that Varnish kept telling me that he was the one who should take over and that I should follow him, so Lux and I left the mansion and lived together in town.’

“That fat man didn’t seem very smart, after all. He was too stupid to believe that he was right.”

“I agree with you …… So I was hoping you’d go your own way. I don’t want any inheritance either. In return, I want you to stay out of our way, I said. My mother-in-law was happy, so I thought that my choice wasn’t wrong. But–“

Naja looked reluctant and held her tongue for a moment, then opened her mouth a little later.

“About half a year ago, after Lux went back to the mansion to get the luggage that was still in the room, he came home with an ogre-like appearance and said, ‘Sister, get out of this town. Promise me! I’ll take care of the rest ……!” And then he disappeared. Leaving me with a lot of money.”

“I was just there, but she looked like she was in trouble, so I left the house with nothing but my clothes and what I needed. I hid her in my house and when I went back to my house, I found it had been ransacked so badly that I had to build basements in empty houses all over the place to hide her.”

“That’s …… isn’t it better to run away ……? You never know what will happen if you’re found out, right?”

Makina said with concern. I agree with her, this life is pretty bad without any allies. This is because if Orff is under surveillance, or if someone happens to see her and reports her, that will be it. If possible, it would be better to go to a town outside the territory, and I’m sure Lux would like that. However, Naja shook her head and smiled weakly.

“It’s okay. I’m going to wait here because I want to know what Lux is doing. If anything happens to me because of that, I know I deserve it.”

“No way ……”

“Oh, and about the place where Lux might be, I’m sorry. I don’t know either. My father ordered all the vigilantes and guild members to search the whole town, but they didn’t find him. Maybe he’s out there. I hope he’s safe, though, since he’s been working out hard to have a fight against Lars-kun.”

It seems that his rivalry with me has come in handy in this unexpected situation. For the time being, it seems that the two of them won’t know anything more about Lux’s whereabouts. Then I’ll ask them if they have any idea about the other thing.

“Thank you. Anyway, I’m glad to see that Naja-san is okay. And while we’re at it, I’d like to ask you something else. We came here because we heard that Lux was going to be executed for trying to kill his mother-in-law. Is there anything you know about that?”

Then Naja and Orff folded their arms with a troubled look on their faces.

“Hmmm …… honestly, it seems possible…….”

“Yes ……, but I’ve never heard of anything like that. I’ve never heard of such a story. The town hasn’t even been told about it, so how could something like that ……?”

“The town hasn’t even heard of it ……?”

What do you mean, ……?

But come to think of it, the wife never mentioned that she was almost killed either …… which adds to the mystery, and we stood there looking at each other.

——————-

Unfortunately, it’s not Lux ……

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Now then, do we have all the actors?”

No, no, no, the older brother hasn’t arrived yet, though!?

“Eh, the story can move on even without him, right”

That’s true, but ……