episode_0040

As expected, the surrounding area was very chaotic. Due to Arjen’s performance just moments ago, no one came close, but thanks to the crowds surrounding him, there was no way out.

Arjen, who was capable of forcefully breaking through, just buried his face in my arms and did nothing, as if to prove that he had overdone it.

“…….”

“…….”

A silent standoff continued for a while until those who were shocked to see Arjen’s true appearance came to their senses. The silence was broken when someone in the crowd shouted hurray.

“Hail!”

“Uh…?”

“Arzen saved us!”

“Wow!!”

At first, everyone was dumbfounded by the sudden cheer, but then the shouts quickly spread out as the man shouted that Arjen had saved them by preventing the meteorite impact.

People who came to their senses too late, perhaps because their brains couldn’t keep up with the fact that she came back to life right before she died after almost being killed without being able to do anything, kept chanting Arjen’s name and praising her.

“Who are you?”

A man who appeared to be a guard took a step towards me and asked. Of course, perhaps because Arjen was scary, he didn’t come close.

I hesitated for a while about what to say. No matter how much I thought about it, answering that I was human didn’t seem like it would bring very good results.

In the first place, Arjen, whose staple food is human meat, is a human being taken along. Well, it’s not a snack to satisfy your hunger…

Above all, with so many people gathered, it had to be assumed that there must be at least one ‘human being with good sense’ like a warrior, but by their standards, I am not a human being but an inanimate object without any mana.

It was the appearance of a higher being who saved me in a difficult situation where even if I told the truth, I would be ruined.

“Count Globec Duneld has passed away!”

At someone’s loud shout, the crowd all regained order and cleared the way. I directly made eye contact with a middle-aged nobleman riding a white horse.

Although I didn’t know much about the characteristics of clothing in this world, I could tell at a glance that I was wearing much better fabric than other people.

“…….”

The Count, who had been looking at me for a while, suddenly bowed his head and said hello.

“Arjen, thank you so much for protecting our territory residents from this meteorite.”

It didn’t seem like he mistook me for Arjen. It seemed like he just ignored me and tried to talk to Arjen in my arms.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been a very pleasant experience to have someone ignore me, but in a situation like this where I couldn’t do anything proactive, it was rather fortunate.

The problem was that Arjen showed no sign of responding even though he spoke to him from the other side. No, it wasn’t like Arjen was obligated to answer, but I was embarrassed to see the conversation being cut off in the middle.

“Arjen. They say he’s a count.”

“Ugh… I don’t know….”

I reluctantly spoke as if admonishing him, and Arjen finally opened his mouth. The problem was that I was told that it was not clear whether I was quite tired or not.

“Wasn’t it an automatic doll…?”

The Count, in his own way, seemed quite surprised when I spoke. Seeing that he was talking about an automaton, it seemed like he didn’t think of me as a human.

“Yes, well… it’s not a doll…”

“I didn’t feel any magical power at all, so I thought it was Arzen’s automaton. The fact that Argen’s rare consists only of automatons is so widespread.”

The Count said that and nodded repeatedly.

“Seeing you face to face, I am starting to understand everything that has happened. The elves spread the information that there were two dragons in Arjen’s rare, and they said that the only hero was Arjen. It seems that the elves misunderstood your existence.”

Be a warrior. Now that I think about it, it’s not very pleasant to think about it because when the hero came, something big would have happened to Arjen. Arjen, who received ‘compensation for his actions’, seems to have settled the matter cleanly without any regrets, but since I am a human, that was impossible.

“…A sudden thought occurred to me, but how did the hero find out that the elves mistook me for a dragon?”

The hero himself made an oath, and he also had experiences of doing things he couldn’t tell others about, so even if it was overlooked, he wanted to make the guy who sent the hero to Lair pay a fair price someday.

And according to my expectations, there was a strong possibility that the count in front of me was that guy. Since heroes are also humans, it would be difficult to obtain information directly from elves.

“Okay. The warrior also has very wide feet.”

I tried my best to say, ‘You?’ in my tone, but since the other person didn’t win the title of Count at a gambling table, he evaded it with a completely clueless gesture like a snarky snake. Wow, no matter how much I think about it, he’s that guy.

“Anyway, Arjen is not in a state to be thanked for using too much power right now. And we didn’t do this hoping for additional compensation, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

Ever since I opened my mouth, I continued to implicitly express my position to the Count. This is to appeal to the fact that he can call Arjen without hesitation and that he is someone who can represent her opinion.

There is no particular reason to do so. It was because I didn’t think that a nobleman like a count would come out here just to say thank you.

“…If you don’t mind, may I know your identity?”

The Count asked me the most difficult question to answer. I was reluctant to tell the people here that I came from another world. This is because the warrior’s visit made me realize the fear of rumors spreading.

“You are welcome to ask any questions. I will answer just one thing properly.”

“Just one thing?”

Yes. Just one thing. Of course, you may be very curious about my identity, but from the count’s perspective, there is probably something he wants to ask Arjen more than anything else. I had heard about him several times, and even used him to infiltrate the city.

“……Then can you answer how recently the village where tribute was offered was burned down?”

That’s it. That’s something I can answer with the most ease, and it’s something I really want to clear up any misunderstandings for Arjen’s sake. Since he had already been told that he would answer one question properly, the Count probably couldn’t wait to hear the answer about the village.

“The reason for burning down the village is not a big deal. It was just that an infectious disease was rampant, so Arjen personally took the initiative and carried out the incineration. It is a highly contagious bacteria that affects the respiratory system, and all the villagers were already infected, so it was necessary to prevent further damage.”

I told him the truth as it was, except that I was the cause. It was up to the Count himself to decide whether to believe what I said or not, but it wasn’t that important.

As long as I am holding Arjen in my arms, the Count will have to accept whatever I say. Well, I didn’t lie, so I’m not getting stabbed.

“Then I’ll just leave. Everyone, enjoy the festival.”

Perhaps because of the aftermath of the meteorite falling through the atmosphere, the sky was showing off a much more beautiful appearance than before. I wanted to do more stargazing, but I couldn’t push myself when Arjen was so tired.

“Ah… And from now on, there is no need to make a living sacrifice when offering tribute to Arzen… Although it is limited to humans.”

“Well, those words…!”

A look of great surprise appeared on the Count’s face. Since it was such an unconventional content, it was understandable that people were so surprised.

“I stopped eating human flesh. I think you can just donate it in currency or crops.”

I know for sure that they don’t eat humans because of me, so there’s no need to make them rare. Arjen had a tendency not to send back those who entered the lair, so it was better to tell him this in advance.

“Well, is that really true?”

“Arzen doesn’t eat humans anymore?”

Attention was focused on whether what he said this time was great news not only for the Count but also for others.

“Yes. Well, Arjen looks tired too, so I guess that’s enough…”

I was able to get out of the crowd safely thanks to the people who made way for me every time I took a step. As soon as I left the square, I heard people cheering.

Some people thanked Arjen for destroying the meteorite, others thanked Arjen for preventing the epidemic, and still others thanked Arjen for not eating humans anymore.

Whatever the reason for my gratitude, the direction was still heading towards Argen, so I felt happy for no reason.