CH 294

“I-Is he dead ……?”

“No, I can’t do that much with a mimicked skill. You need to work on it with my [Jack-of-all-Trades].”

“Um, Lars, you’re saying it casually, but can you use other people’s skills ……?”

“Ahhh, yeah. Rather than that, let’s capture this thing and put Naja and Orff to rest. “

There’s nothing wrong with being exposed, but we’ll talk about it another time. I suggested that they be taken to bed, as they needed to get things under control first. Zanbia and Varnish were sitting on their hands, but it seems like he’s still worried of his own daughter, so he hurriedly got up and started carrying them to the bedroom by himself.

As I, with Orff on my back, and Basleigh-sensei, who was lending Lux a shoulder, followed him into the hallway, I heard Makina’s voice behind me.

“By the way, Master, why did you come through the window?”

“Oh, yes, I forgot. Let’s go to the garden after we’ve let them rest.”

“?”

Fath-san smiled mischievously and Makina tilted her head. I thought Himmel-san and the others had returned, but if that was the case, they would have rushed here …… Well, I guess I’ll just have to go and find out. After passing through the bedroom, we went out into the garden dragging the man with me, and saw a scene that I honestly didn’t think was possible.

“Kuon♪”

“Gaw.”

“Woof!”

“Huh!? The baby bear and the father deadly bear!? And is that wolf from back then!?”

“Umu. When I was waiting outside, this thing with a wounded Orff came rushing in. When I returned to the house after hearing from Orff that Nada had been kidnapped, a window had just broken. I ran along the wall, and the wolf there pulled Orff with his mouth and took threw him to the window.”

I saw in the garden the bear and his son waiting, and the wolf who shows his belly to surrender.

That’s what Fath-san said. But what are these guys doing with Orff?

“‘Wow, we meet again, little Bear♪!”

“I-Isn’t that a Deadly Bear!? We’ll be killed ……”

“It’s okay, At any rate. why are the two of you here when we separated at the forest”

“Gaw …….”

The parent bear rubs up against me, hanging his head a little awkwardly. Then the gatekeepers and Himmel-san’s men came crashing in through the entrance.

“My lord, are you alright! There’s a deadly bear with our friend Orff going here …… I-It’s here!?”

“Basleigh-chan, are you all right?”

“Yes, big brother. We’ve solved it here.”

Basleigh-sensei pointed to the man I was holding, nodded in satisfaction, clapped his hands and opened his mouth.

“Okay, let’s go back to the mansion, it looks like the man you’re holding knows something, Lars-kun. We need to talk about our side of things too, after all.”

We nodded and headed for the dining room instead of the reception room. The parent bear was not allowed in the mansion, but they wouldn’t leave even if I told them to, so I left the knights to stay on guard, Makina carrying the baby bear, and the Wolf walking along with me.

Here and there, the maids show their drawn-out faces, but let’s just say it was an emergency.

“–Well, I don’t mind forcing the man to wake up, but let’s talk about my side first. In conclusion, there was a group of monsters deep in the forest. But since the Master of the ‘Ring’ had disappeared, the monsters were fighting each other. I watched them for a while, but because of the difference in power, the weaker monsters scattered first, and the forest became quiet. Oh, but I think I killed about 15 Qliphoth?”

(T/N: I don’t know what ‘Ring’ it’s referring to, but it says ‘Yubiwa’ in romaji which translates to ‘Ring’ (Ring in the finger).)

“♪”

Sephiro began to do a little dance when he reported that he had defeated the Qliphoth’s, and the little bear began to roll around and play with him.

“Thank you, Himmel-san. On our side–“

And then I reported about Sonia and the others and finish sharing information with each other. For the time being, if no Gospel’s Descent appears anymore, this matter can be considered to be settled.

“I hope we can get some information from that man, is he waking  up, Basleigh-chan?”

“It’s no good. I’m hitting him in the stomach with a [fatal wound], but there’s no sign of him waking up. Even though it was incomplete, it seems like Lars-kun’s blow was quite heavy. Leaving this guy for later, shall we decide what to do with the Zanbia-san and the others?”

“……”

Saying that, Zanbia- and the others smiled and straightened up. The moment Himmel-san was about to open his mouth, Varnish fell to his knees in front of him as if he were falling out of his chair.

“L-Lord Inquisitor ……! I don’t care what happens to me, won’t you let my father keep the lord’s position in exchange for my own body!”

“!? Varnish, what are you–“

“S-Shut up! Lord Inquisitor, the whole thing was set up by your mother …… and even though father didn’t stop her, he didn’t know what was going on, so please have mercy ……!”

…… I’m surprised. It’s an unthinkable manner of speaking from that arrogant attitude of his. He is able to move around freely now because he didn’t know what was going on, but I honestly didn’t think he would throw that away to help his father. 

When Himmel-san heard this, he closed his eyes for a moment, then thought about it, turned to Varnish, and spoke up.

“…… I’m not sure I can do that. It’s not that there aren’t things like that, of course. If he’s just a normal nobleman, there’ll be a pardon. But he’s a lord. The problem is not what the people did to him, but what his wife, his family, did. Besides, if you alone bear your mother’s guilt, you’ll be punished accordingly. You could also be facing capital punishment, you know?”

“……!?”

Himmel-san smiled a cold smile, and Varnish shuddered and fell silent. Everyone is afraid of dying. So no one laughed at Varnish.

But then Varnish looks up and says.

“If it saves father and mother’s life ……! I-I’m not his real son anyway, so I’d better off being gone–“

So he thought that much of Zambia …… even if he’s related to him by blood, a son is still a son, huh …… It seems that Zanbia was a good father to this guy, and he had good memories of him. But before he could finish, there was a figure approaching Varnish.

“Fatty!”

“Ebu!?”

“Basleigh-sensei!?”

“W-What are you doing …… If I’m the substitute, it’s fine! I’m my guilty mother’s son!”

“You idiot!”

She hit him twice!? When I panicked and tried to stop her, Basleigh-sensei stopped me with her hand and continued talking.

“I don’t want to hear you say that it would be better if you were gone. I’m sure you’ve heard that Sonia entrusted you to Zanbia-san. Have you already forgotten? And how would Sonia feel if you were dead when she finished her service.”

“T-That’s ……”

“If you’re a man, you’ll do something noble and live your life proudly so that Sonia’s sins will be forgotten! …… You don’t have to die for the people who made you do this. How much better it is to live and accomplish things.”

“Teacher ……”

“Experience it firsthand, there’s that kind of saying. He seems to be having a hard time too.”

As Makina and Fath-san muttered, Basleigh-sensei clapped her hands and looked at me for a moment. I looked her in the eye, wondering what she was thinking.

“Oh, by the way, Lux-kun, what happened to the medallion?”

“What? Er, it’s here ……”

Lux rolled his eyes at being asked to talk so suddenly, and took the medallion out of his pocket. Basleigh-sensei nodded her head and said.

“Hmm, It seems that the right to be a lord will be transferred to you, Lux-kun. This is the official medallion. The one who has it is supposed to inherit it, right, Lars-kun?”

This time, she spoke to me. For a moment, I wondered what she was talking about, but then I quickly realized her intentions and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s supposed to be in the hands of the lord. What is it, Zanbia? For someone who was so loud, you’re letting Lux inherit it, huh.”

“What? What? ……! T-That’s right! In fact, the succession has already been completed, and I was expecting an official letter at a later date. So what happened this time is what the former lord and his wife did …… That means…….”

“You heard it, brother? Apparently, we thwarted a plan orchestrated by a mere citizen.”

“Hah~ …… I hope you’ll take responsibility for this, Basleigh-chan ……”

When Himmel-san sighs in exasperation, Basleigh-sensei smirks.

“Well, It depends on the attitude of these people from now on, though. If I think they’re no good, I’ll take it away.”

“No way, you can do it …… for that!?”

“It’s boring to die, you know. There are things you can find only by living. I think you should take care of that tummy first.”

She put her hand on his shoulder and asked if he could understand what Basleigh-sensei said. Varnish was prostrate on the floor, crying out loud.

And then, in the midst of all this, the man we captured woke up–

It’s too cold.

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“The spiritual pressure of the water supply …… has disappeared …….”

Stop it!? Well, there’s no hot water either.

“I’m dying.”

Oh, so a goddess dies, too.