CH 278

“Welcome, Mr. Inquisitor.”

“My name is Himmel. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today.”

“S-So, what is it you wanted to see me about ……? And–“

When we walked into the mansion, we’re greeted by the lord and lady of the house, Zanbia and Sonia, who led us to the same reception room as the other day. Zanbia greeted us with a smile, and Sonia opened her mouth with a look of calmness. She looked at us with a quizzical look in her eyes.

“No, it’s nothing. May I ask what you want?”

She was about to say something, but swallowed, smiled at Himmel-san again, and asked him a question. The only people in this room are Himmel-san, Basleigh-sensei, myself, Himmel-san’s secretary, and the knight guarding him.

Makina, Sephiro, Fath-san, and the other knights are waiting in another room because they are not allowed in the reception room.

“Mother, I want to stay with Makina, can I leave?”

“Of course not. I’ll find you a better girl than that country girl.”

“Chie ……”

I’m the one who wants to click my tongue. He hasn’t given up yet, and she called him a country girl? Damn …… I want to blow her up ……

“Well, that’s true. It’s a shame that Makina-chan is too good for that little boy, and it’s not a good match for him at all. It is wise to find a suitable woman. I’m sure she’s out there somewhere.”

“What ……!?”

Sonia’s face twisted at Basleigh-sensei’s unexpected remark. Nice work, Basleigh-sensei. Himmel-san admonished me with a wry smile, and then we got down to business. 

“I’m sorry for my sister. We have known Lars-kun and Makina-chan for a long time, so please forgive us. The reason I’m here is because I received a letter to the castle.”

“A letter ……?”

Zanbia narrowed his eyes as he picked up the letter that Himmel-san had presented to him and checked its contents. After reading through it, he rolled his eyes and opened his mouth.

“What is this ……? My wife was almost killed? I don’t see that anywhere.”

“What do you mean, Darling? …… This is ……”

“My mother is not in danger of being killed. That’s no doubt from looking at the people of this town, isn’t it? …… Well, if they do, it’s likely to be my brother …… although it’s only half, but he’s a man named Lux. He’s out of the house right now, so I don’t know where he is ……”

Varnish chuckles and makes a statement that lowers Lux’s profile. Sonia pinches Varnish’s legs while making the end of her brows twitch.

“Ouch ……!? Mother, what are you–“

“You shut your mouth ……! T-That’s how it is, there’s no fact that I was always killed, but …… who could do this kind of prank ……”

Sonia returns the letter to Himmel-san in a cold sweat. If there was no such danger, then I don’t think there’s anything to panic about, though ……? For the time being, there’s no room for me to interfere, so I’ll just keep my mouth shut and wait to see what happens. Then Himmel-san took the letter smilingly and started the next agenda.

“I’m glad to hear that. If there is a crisis, please do not hesitate to contact us ……. Now, let’s talk about the next topic.”

“I-Is there anything more?”

“Yes, two other things. First of all, I’d like to talk about the little brother, who your son mentioned earlier. I heard that the mother-in-law, Sonia-san, and the brother-in-law are not on good terms?”

“T-That’s ……”

Zanbia moved his mouth in a gibberish manner. Then Himmel-san, with a serious expression and a different tone of voice, said 

“It is fine for you to have a child with a concubine, but I think you should take responsibility for it. It is true that Sonia-san is the legal wife and Varnish-kun is the eldest son, but Lux-kun and Naja-san, right? Even though they are adults, why don’t you give them some attention as well?”

“Ah, yes ……”

Zanbia replied vaguely while breaking out in a cold sweat. And then Varnish opened his mouth again.

“With all due respect, Himmel-san, I don’t think that’s necessary since they left of their own volition. In addition, they have taken the medallion, which is a sign of the lordship, and disappeared. It’s not that he’s warm-hearted, but a criminal–“

“Y-You idiot!?”

“Hoh~ …… You mean the medallion is missing?”

Mr. Himmel’s eyes narrowed coldly. It’s understandable …… The medallion has been handed down from generation to generation by the lord, and without it, the family would be crushed. Of course, we have a medallion too, and my dad either wears it or keeps it in the safe.

It has a special magic on it, so it can’t be duplicated, and the only way to get it is to reissue it, but that means you’re disqualified from being a lord.

“It’s okay! We’re in the process of finding it! As he said earlier, Lux is also my son. It’s not like it was stolen!”

Zanbia was in a great hurry, but he managed to dodge Himmel-san’s words. If it’s a family member, you can certainly keep it, but that’s a gray area, you know ……

“…… Well, fine. But you have to find it during my stay. This is a condition. If you can’t do that, I’ll take appropriate action.”

“I-I, understand……”

“Kuh ……”

“There’s no problem! We’ll find him right away.”

Zanbia and Sonia groaned, and Varnish proudly shakes his stomach. I can say that this guy is an idiot, after all. Ah, he’s been hit by Sonia.

“So, one more thing. It took a lot of effort to get here, and there are a little too many monsters. How are things going in terms of cooperation and defense with the guild?”

“Ah, we’ve been working on that. The number of monsters has increased rapidly in the past few months, and since there were originally a lot of Treants, we’ve been lagging behind, but now my wife has called in a clan to conduct a large-scale cleanup operation.”

Zanbia spoke up confidently, exaggerating to make up for his earlier blunder. And Sonia, taking advantage of this, claps her hands and says with a smile.

“Yes, just like my husband said, I did summon them. I’m ashamed to say that I used to be an adventurer. So I used that as a means of communication. They’ll be starting on the job today! I’m sure they’re in the forest right now fighting off monsters.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

When Himmel-san nodded, Sonia continued with a smile.

“So, I have a favor to ask you …… The clan is planning to conduct a large-scale operation. And I’m wondering if you can join that. The more forces we have, the better, so what do you think?”

“Hmm, I think that’s a good idea. My sister and I can’t fight that well, but we have the knights, and Lars-kun and Makina-chan are strong. In addition, Fath-san the thunderbolt is also here, so she can be of help. We’ll give you a small reward for your efforts, so don’t worry. “

“That’s very helpful ……! I was planning to use people from the guild as well, after all.”

Sonia’s eyes lit up and she bowed her head in delight. There’s a lot of people in the clan, and even a small reward from the castle would be a big help. 

“So, I’ll leave the case with the medallion to you, okay? I’m planning to stay for about a week.”

“Ha, ha ha. ……”

“I know…….”

The couple smiled bitterly as Himmel-san smiled coldly, apparently refusing to budge on that point. When Himmel-san had finished, Basleigh-sensei, who had been listening in silence, raised her hand, put the material on the table, and opened her mouth.

“So, now that big bro- …… Inquisitor Himmel’s questions are over, I’m next. Can I ask some questions?”

Basleigh-sensei is next.

Nevertheless, I’m surprised that Lux escaped with the medallion. Don’t tell me, that was his goal all along? In any case, I want him to come out as soon as possible, but if he does, it won’t be easy, will it?

While I was thinking about it, Basleigh-sensei questions kept coming.

Basleigh-sensei’s talk …… Is it going to be okay?

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“He’s been raised too much like a little boy ……”

He’s old enough to be called a boy, though ……

“How old is he?’

Varnish is five years older than Lars and the others. So he’s 21 ……