episode_0144

ah,

iced coffee!

It was done!

Diane shouted to herself when she saw Adele standing up in shock.

It was as Diane had intended that the two of them would remain in the tent by secretly pretending to be sick. It wasn’t that difficult to blush. It was a basic skill of high-ranking nobles to act while freely changing their facial expressions.

When I heard that they were camping near the forest, I was looking for an opportunity. Elsie would definitely go see her wolves, and I could easily guess that Amelia would follow her. I thought Adele would easily leave, leaving behind a sick person. I didn’t hesitate.

It was natural that they would be able to be alone together for much longer than in the carriage.

Of course, that didn’t mean I had any intention of kissing like this today. I didn’t expect that far. In the first place, what lady in the world would think that they could kiss while alone with a woman?

Above all, the process itself was impulsive. I don’t know where Adele heard that story—perhaps she made it up to make fun of Diane—but it was Adele who impulsively said it. Even if I thought hard, there was no way I could have predicted all that.

When I heard that sound from Adele, at first I almost yelled at her like I always did, asking what that meant, but then I quickly changed my mind and turned to taunting Adele, and it worked a lot better than I thought.

If you do well, you can do it afterwards. Of course, the purpose was ‘practice’ and you shouldn’t do something like that before marriage, so I thought I could kiss a little more even if I didn’t go that far.

The atmosphere was broken by the sound heard from outside the tent.

Adele had already slightly opened the tent and was looking outside.

Diane was thinking of waiting like this, but it seemed like there would be no point in waiting, so Diane got up from her seat.

“What’s happening outside?”

“Well, I can’t see it clearly from here.”

Adele turned around and answered,

“Are you okay if it happens like that?”

I tilted my head and asked that question.

“I felt better after lying down for a bit.”

Diane answered as she walked up to Adele.

“Or maybe someone just sucked out the pain through my mouth a little while ago?”

“… … I didn’t go that far, Diane.”

At Diane’s words, Adele blushed and moved her gaze back out of the tent.

That looked very refreshing, Diane thought.

What can I say, there were almost no means to fight and win until now, and I felt like I had finally found one.

*

In fact, there was a reason why Adele looked a little surprised.

I said it was just practice, but in reality, it was no different from a real kiss.

Although I smacked my lips in anger, Diane’s lips were incredibly soft and warm, when I came to my senses and thought about it, I wondered if this was really right.

Moreover, he got into the mood by kissing his lips and wrapped his hands around Diane’s waist.

Much to my chagrin, Diane’s waist was thin. It seems that whenever I lent her clothes, I grumbled, ‘I squeeze in my chest but my waist stays’, and it wasn’t just for teasing, it was real.

… … Did I cross a line? I thought so, but Diane was still talking to Adele casually after that.

Is it really true?

Really? Really? Do nobles do such things so casually? No, I am a noble too, but… … !

When I think about it again, I sometimes give a light kiss while greeting someone I’m really close to, so I think I might do it in the name of practice… … !

“The screams seem to have come from the forest. What happened to Cia Amelia and Elsie?”

“No, the voice was like a man’s voice. So, if ‘danger’ had come, it would have come to that man, not to Amelia and Elsie.”

Sure, that seemed like it.

There must be only a handful of people in the royal capital who can fight and win against Elsie. And those people who can be counted on their fingers may or may not be able to defeat Elsie.

“Why, do you want to go?”

“That’s right… … .”

Adele hesitated a bit in answering Diane’s question.

Even so, there were people peeking out from the other tents with their faces out. And it seemed like the troops who were guarding the surroundings had also started to move.

“Well, there’s nothing to lose by going there. If this area were dangerous, would the Magic Tower have sent noble disciples all the way here?”

“But, Diane—”

“I told you, it’s okay.”

Diane’s face looked really fine as she answered that way.

Diane was already holding out two swords.

Although the blade could not be seen because it was covered by the scabbard, it was easy to see that it was a real sword.

“I didn’t think I would have brought the real sword, so I brought it just in case. It’s a good sword that will be difficult to hold in your lifetime, so use it gratefully.”

… … I heard that if you try to say thank you, you always say it this way.

“Aren’t you saying you don’t trust your own swordsmanship skills and want to entrust me as your guard?”

So, for no reason, Adel also answers like that.

“Stop talking nonsense and take the lead.”

Diane responded with an expression that didn’t seem particularly offended.

*

“Ugh!”

First of all, we were immediately convinced that the voice was not one we knew. The scream was a male voice, and at least among the male voices we knew in the royal capital, we did not know this voice.

A deep middle-aged man’s voice.

“Amelia, behind me.”

I said as I pulled out the sword from the sheath on my waist. Amelia quickly came behind me and hid without saying another word.

The wolves that had their noses buried in the pork also heard the sound and pricked up their ears. Snow, in particular, immediately turned back and made a growling sound.

Does this sound like a familiar voice?

Suddenly, I saw a bright light running through the trees.

Following the light, I briefly saw two people through the trees.

One side had one arm stretched out. The light started from that side and ran towards the human on the other side.

He seemed to be running away in a hurry, but the voice seemed to come from the man.

I tensed my body.

Could it be that we witnessed a murder scene?

“Snow, gray.”

When I called their name, the two wolves shot straight ahead.

and-

“Ugh! Save me, save me!”

“Oh, this is… … !”

… … huh?

Isn’t it normal to get scared when you see a wolf?

One voice was a voice filled with fear, but the other was shouting with interest.

And, I recognized that voice.

“… … Magic Tower Lord?”

I heard Amelia, who was hiding behind me, mumbling something like that.

*

It seems that Amelia didn’t just want to be protected by me.

Although it was a slightly thinner and shorter sword than the one I had drawn, Amelia also pulled out her own sword, and a small fireball was blooming on top of her other hand.

I thought it was so natural for magic tower wizards to use magic that I didn’t think much of it, but seeing Amelia clearly appear to be a ‘magic swordsman’ was very surprising in many ways.

Well, I didn’t have time to quietly observe that strange sight right now.

Except for Gray and Snow, who jumped out first, the remaining twelve wolves advanced slowly and approached the place where the sound came from.

“Please, please do something about these wolves… … I don’t want to die like this yet… … !”

There is one middle-aged man who screams like that while pouring out tears and snot.

Blood was oozing out of his arms and legs, and the black clothes he was wearing were torn and scorched here and there, which was very sad. Other than the scratches seen here and there from the wolf’s teeth, there didn’t seem to be any serious wounds serious enough to cause death.

… … It appears that the piece of black cloth stuck between Snow’s teeth was this person’s clothes.

Of course, if they had made up their minds to bite him, there was no way his limbs would have been fine, so they seemed to have adjusted their strength to capture him alive.

“Gray, Snow, Stop.”

“Oh my!”

When I saw Snow and Gray opening their mouths and freeing the man at my command, Matopju let out a cheer.

I decided to ignore it for now.

“For now, just make sure they don’t run away.”

When I said that, Gray sat down on his butt next to the man.

And as soon as he was released, he pressed his front paw on the back of the man who was struggling and trying to escape.

“Keuuk… … !”

The front legs of a wolf that was about 2 meters high at the shoulder couldn’t have been light. Still, the man, who had many wounds on his arms and legs, eventually gave up on running away and fell limp.

Okay, let’s leave this person like this for now.

I took a deep breath and turned towards the direction of the Magic Tower.

“… … I would like to ask the reason why the Lord of the Magic Tower is here.”

When I said that, without giving any commands to the surrounding wolves, the wolves growled and slowly approached the magic tower owner.

“I swear with all my career I have built up to this point, I have never followed you two.”

The Lord of the Magic Tower quickly raised both hands and answered.

However, the somewhat relaxed expression on his face was a bit unpleasant.