Chapter 252
As Muriel headed into the Baroness’ office with the maid in tow, Archer was giving the Baroness an account of the events that transpired during the trial.
Meanwhile, the captured Lesser Buncle, who was placed in a hemp sack, was handed to Ligretta and taken out of the room.
Although the troublesome beast spreading the plaster disease had been promptly captured, Adelia, who had been sitting on her office chair, lightly covered her face and let out a sigh as the news she heard was not all good.
“… I told you to compete by catching the Lesser Buncle, but I don’t recall telling you to beat each other up on the streets.”
“In my defense, it was unavoidable.”
From what I understood, the content of the test was decided after considering various matters to avoid seriously injuring the heir of the viscount’s family. However, it was Lord Dykebell and his overly loyal attendant who made the first move.
(Well, I also got carried away, but…)
After all, if you meet a fearless fighter who makes your heart race on the battlefield, it’s not a bad idea to set aside the urge to kill them, since you could only kill them once and just fight to exchange skills.
In situations where one’s loss is not directly tied to death, they could afford to lament their lack of strength. And since they are alive, they could still train further, so they would not have any regrets.
(“Keep going, even when you stumble,” was it?)
While Archer was feeling nostalgic as he looked back on his mercenary days, Adelia was mumbling to herself as she collected her thoughts.
“Sir Archer… To confirm, you were not the one who attacked first, correct?”
“Yes, they attacked me first.”
I expected as much, so I made sure that both the attendant’s and bodyguard’s attacks, plus Lord Dykebell’s water bullets hit me first.
“If that’s the case, then it won’t be a problem. At the very least, the viscount family head, Lord Riglight, is a man of reason, for better or worse…”
Judging from the meaningful smile of the captivating madam whose red hair had been tied back like her daughter’s, Lord Dykebell’s father would be a difficult man to deal with if things had gone south.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to apologize for the unnecessary trouble I might have caused, my little sister, who was sitting by my feet, turned towards the door, her furry ears perking up.
“Kuauaan, gauruouu♪ “ (Natalie’s here, is it lunch already?♪ )
It was just about lunchtime, and my sister was wagging her tail in response to the footsteps of the skilled maid who had completely won her heart and stomach over the past few days, when someone knocked on the door.
“Madam, I have brought Milady.”
“Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”
After their exchange, the door slowly opened, and Natalie bowed, leaving Muriel to enter alone. Meanwhile, the little fox, who had rushed over in anticipation of lunch, disappointedly trudged back to her spot.
“Uu~”
“What’s wrong, Dagger?”
“Nah, don’t mind her…”
I looked her way as I answered her question. Muriel stared back at me and reached out to touch my face.
“Hmm, you have a cut on your mouth… Gather, Healing Holy Light.”
A warm, white, magical light spread from the soft palms touching my cheeks, and the healing light spell healed my wounds, including the cuts inside my mouth.
(This might seem imprudent, but I’d be glad if he got those wounds fighting for me… just kidding)
For some reason, she blushed as she let go of my face. Muriel stared at me as if to ask about my injury, and I told her about the situation, albeit a little awkwardly.
“I had a little scuffle with Lord Dykebell…”
“Eh, is he okay!?”
“Relax, we went easy on each other.”
When I told her that he was quite a good fighter, Muriel curiously tilted her head. According to her, he wasn’t much of a fighter to be able to take on a strong opponent, so… he must have studied hard to make progress in such a short time.
I silently thanked the quasi-mage for helping me release the pent-up stress caused by the limitations on my senses and physical strength from maintaining my human form for an extended period. Then, I urged Muriel, who still looked unconvinced, to face her mother.
“There might have been some unexpected incidents along the way, but I will admit that the skill with which you caught the Lesser Buncle that had been roaming the city was the minimum competency I required to entrust my daughter to you.”
“The minimum… Then that means…!”
Adelia quietly nodded in response to Muriel’s question.
“Yes, I shall allow your union.”
“W-what!? Mother!!”
Muriel glanced at me with some hesitation, but when I accepted the request to pretend to be her lover, I knew that I would have to face this situation as well.
Since we’re now officially engaged, nobody would approach her with any unwanted marriage proposals anymore. And when the time comes to hold a wedding, we could just make up an excuse to break off the engagement.
(Come to think of it, this request wasn’t worth my time…)
Although I was annoyed with myself, I decided to follow through to help Muriel convince her mother.
“I won’t ask you to marry me right away, and you could leave if you came to hate me, but… Muriel, won’t you come live with me?”
Since this was technically a request, I held out my hand while saying my lines with a straight face and without a shred of embarrassment, but… Muriel had frozen up and turned a bright shade of red.
“…Are you sure you’re okay with me?”
“Of course.”
I took the hand that she timidly offered me and looked into her eyes as she confirmed my response. She immediately smiled back at me like a flower in bloom.
(Hmm, I see… so it was her inexperience)
Although there was little to be gained from this, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that I unconsciously had an ulterior motive behind my vague response to her request. I pulled Muriel’s hand and pulled her body a little closer to mine.
“Fufu, you really do get along.”
“Eep~”
After being mercilessly teased by the smirking woman, we were encouraged to have lunch first as the Baroness still had to meet with Lord Dykebell, so I left the study with an exhausted-looking Muriel.
Since the main dish served for lunch and dinner at the dining area was beef steak, my sister was in a good mood the whole time as she munched on the meat.
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