Ch.199199. Why? Are You Going to Try Imitating Me?

“What about Rebecca?”

“…She’s treating Clara’s mother.”

“Then what about Clara? She fainted when she saw you earlier?”

When I asked nonchalantly, Jawil Wilson bit his lip hard.

A drop of blood fell from his chin, and I unconsciously averted my gaze.

“…She woke up a little while ago, had a conversation with me, and is currently resting.”

In the study of Lake Estate.

Perhaps because it felt like my hometown, I happily slammed my hand on the desk with a “thud.”

“Good, everything’s going very well!”

At that, Jawil Wilson looked at me with darkened eyes.

“…Why did you bring Clara here?”

“Her mother is sick, should I just do nothing? Without Rebecca, she wouldn’t get treatment and would just die, right?”

“Then you could have just kept pretending to be me until the end.”

Jawil Wilson still didn’t know that Clara liked him.

I wanted to tell him, but it seemed like things would unfold in an interesting way, so I decided to hold back.

“But you’re here at Lake Estate.”

“If you had given me advance notice, I would have obviously stayed away. Besides, it’s a problem if Clara returns to Pandera Estate.”

“What’s the problem?”

“What if Clara goes to Village Chief Loris and tells him everything that’s happened?”

“After I saved her mother? She’d betray my kindness? Surely Jawil Wilson’s first love wouldn’t betray him!?”

“W-why are you suddenly bringing up first love!!”

I leaned forward from my chair and put on a serious expression.

“Clara won’t tell Village Chief Loris.”

“May I ask why you’re so confident?”

“Brond is dead.”

“What does Brond’s death have to do with—what!?”

“And his followers are dead too.”

Jawil Wilson’s eyebrows trembled as he raised his voice.

“Don’t tell me they were killed by monsters?”

“No.”

“…Then who?”

“Who else could it be?”

“…It wasn’t you, was it?”

“Oh, you’ve become quite perceptive!”

Jawil Wilson’s shoulders jerked in surprise.

“Why on earth did you kill Brond?”

“He tried to kill me.”

“B-Brond did?”

“In other words, he tried to kill you. You can ask Clara about it. If I hadn’t killed him, Wortman and Berik would have been killed by Brond too.”

Jawil Wilson was so shocked that he staggered, barely managing to steady himself by placing his palm on the desk.

“You met Wortman and Berik too?”

“Haven’t you heard from Clara yet?”

“…I only explained about the transformation leather and left because she seemed to need to calm down.”

“Hah! Do you think I met them because I wanted to? Wortman was guarding the gate at Pandera Estate from the beginning. That’s how I ended up meeting Berik too.”

“Hah… I expected we might run into each other, but how did all of this…”

“Just know that I tried my best to avoid running into them.”

Finally seeming to regain his composure, Jawil Wilson spoke calmly.

“…Why did Brond try to kill me?”

“Well, Clara…”

“Clara?”

“No, never mind. Hear it from Clara.”

“…Pardon?”

“It would be much better if Clara tells you rather than me.”

Jawil Wilson tilted his head, looking completely confused.

“W-what does that…”

“Anyway, anything else you’re curious about?”

When I asked with an indifferent expression, Jawil Wilson pondered for a moment before his eyes lit up.

“Berik and Wortman still don’t know, right?”

“Yeah, even Clara only found out after coming to Lake Estate, so Wortman and Berik don’t know.”

“Hah… if you were going to hide it, you should have hidden it from Clara too…”

Looking at Jawil Wilson biting his lip, I let out a short sigh.

“Do you think I’d keep pretending to be you even after returning to Lake Estate?”

“That’s a fair point…”

“Besides, I need to go to Pandera Estate once more.”

“…What? If the demon-taming grass doesn’t work, there’s no need to go back, is there?”

“If the demon-taming grass doesn’t work, I’ll be going for your sake, not mine.”

“For my sake?”

“I think Pandera Estate needs to be cleaned up thoroughly.”

Jawil Wilson trembled, his eyes wide.

“A-are you planning to destroy my hometown?”

I placed a necklace on the desk.

Jawil Wilson lowered his gaze and asked.

“What is this?”

“It’s Brond’s possession. If you put this necklace on a monster’s neck, you can easily tame it. I tested it on the way here.”

“…A monster?”

“Yes, Brond tamed Cerberus to try to kill me… no, you.”

Jawil Wilson, still looking at the necklace, continued.

“If it’s an accessory imbued with magic power, the price would be…”

“Right, even without the demon-taming grass, it means Village Chief Loris is plotting something in Pandera Estate.”

Completely caught off guard, Jawil Wilson just blinked.

Then, as if his legs had given out, he supported himself with both hands on the desk.

“How could such a valuable accessory be in such a small estate…”

“Moreover, Village Chief Loris said he wanted to meet me. Doesn’t that smell fishy?”

Jawil Wilson seemed to be wrestling with various thoughts as he closed his mouth, then let out a short sigh.

“…It’s Pandera Estate’s business. Do we need to get involved?”

“Oh, you said it was your hometown, but you don’t care about it?”

“Even if Village Chief Loris is committing some corruption, the people of Pandera Estate won’t be greatly disturbed.”

“Because Village Chief Loris has accomplished a lot in Pandera Estate?”

Jawil Wilson’s eyes flickered as if wondering how I knew.

“Yet you still insist on exposing Village Chief Loris’s corruption!?”

“Three people have gone missing.”

“M-missing?”

“I heard it from Berik and Wortman. People who complained about or defied Village Chief Loris have disappeared.”

Jawil Wilson’s face instantly hardened.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, his expression twisted slightly.

“Are you saying Berik and Wortman could be in danger too?”

“Not just them, but anyone who defies Village Chief Loris.”

“…I understand. For my friends’ sake, I can’t just stand by.”

“Not for Clara’s sake?”

“M-master!”

I scratched the bridge of my nose and snickered.

“I was just joking, why so sensitive?”

“…What should I prepare?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“Shouldn’t we prepare transformation leather that looks exactly like your face?”

“Why? So you can pretend to be me?”

“Of course, since you’ll be going in as me…”

My face on Jawil Wilson’s build…

Well, a master craftsman of transformation leather would know what to do if asked, but that’s beside the point.

Why?

Because the person who will be talking to Village Chief Loris will be ‘Selden Alphonse.’

“Forget it. I’ll go as myself, and you’ll go as yourself to Pandera Estate.”

“What!? Village Chief Loris will surely be suspicious!”

“So what? Our heights are similar anyway.”

“H-haven’t I gained weight?”

“As for the weight, just say you’ve gotten fatter. Anyway, it will take some time before we depart to check the effectiveness of the demon-taming grass.”

Jawil Wilson continued with a voice full of concern.

“I’ve gained quite a bit of weight. Will Village Chief Loris believe it?”

“Why wouldn’t he? You are Jawil Wilson after all.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Just joke around about getting fat. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Understood. So there’s really nothing else I need to prepare?”

I tossed the demon-taming grass I had obtained from Pandera Estate onto the desk.

“Give this to Castleton. He’ll understand when you tell him it’s demon-taming grass from Pandera Estate.”

“Yes! Then I’ll be going now.”

Jawil Wilson picked up the demon-taming grass from the desk and turned to leave the study, then looked back at me.

“…Master, since you met Berik and Wortman, you must have heard a lot about me.”

The bullying he suffered from Brond when he was young.

I thought it was a past he didn’t want to remember.

Even I was furious when I heard about it, so how much worse must it be for him?

I didn’t want to bring it up unnecessarily.

“That you were afraid of monsters when you were young?”

“Is that all?”

“Should there be more?”

“…No. Master, and…”

Trailing off, Jawil Wilson bowed so deeply his back might break.

“Thank you so much for caring about my hometown like this. And for treating Clara’s mother.”

“That’s enough. Just focus on your training while we’re preparing to go to Pandera Estate.”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

As Jawil Wilson left the study with a loud voice, Federicks, who must have been waiting outside, immediately entered.

“Oh, what is it?”

“Miss Clara wishes to see you, young master.”

“Is that so?”

Should I have revealed myself as ‘Selden Alphonse’ on the way to Lake Estate?

I didn’t expect that.

I didn’t think she would foam at the mouth and collapse after looking back and forth between Jawil Wilson and me wearing the transformation leather.

I got up from my chair and spoke.

“Tell her to come to the reception room.”