Knock, knock.
“Excuse me. The master of the manor has arrived.”
“Ah, yes.”
As I was wiping my face, reminding Shiro and the others not to eat too many sweets, I heard that the lord of this domain was coming. We stood and waited for the lord to enter.
“Oh, sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, we should be the one to apologize. Sorry for showing up so suddenly.”
“No, no, it’s absolutely no problem. Please, have a seat.”
“Yes, thank you.”
An eloquent, handsome young man strode confidently into the room. Yep, even at first glance he’s completely different from that yakuza-like baron.
Still… he felt vaguely familiar somehow.
“Ah, he looks like the Marquis of the Eastern Frontier!”
““It’s true!””
“H-hey, don’t speak out of turn.”
“No, it’s fine. Besides, the Eastern Marquis and I are relatives, so it’s not unusual for people to say that we resemble each other.”
As I chided Shiro and the others, I glanced at the lord again. Sure enough, he did resemble the Eastern Marquis. Being relatives made sense.
The lord of the manor took his seat, and we prepared to begin our discussion.
Once the lord had taken his seat, our discussion began.
“Actually, I received a letter from the Marquis saying that Shun-kun and his group would likely pass through this territory.”
“So that’s how it was. I’m sorry to trouble you.”
“No trouble at all. Though I admit, I was surprised when I received additional information later. Seems quite a lot happened in the Baron’s domain huh.”
“You even know about that?”
“Mm. Gathering information is part of a lord’s duty after all.”
He said it so casually, yet he already knew what had happened in the neighboring territory just a few days ago.
This lord is clearly sharp—and highly capable.
“The baron had been under suspicion for some time.”
The Lord continued smoothly.
“But thanks to you and your companions, we were finally able to catch hold of his tail. The Marquis’s forces have already arrived in the Baron’s domain.”
“The Marquis’s troops… in the Baron’s territory?”
He nodded, his expression calm but resolute.
“The Marquis holds investigative authority to deal with misconduct among regional nobles. The Baron’s own soldiers secured the evidence of his crimes. His arrest is now a certainty.”
That baron had finally reached the end of his rope huh.
Still, the Marquis’s ability to gather information—and act on it so swiftly—was truly impressive.
Then the lord turned toward Sue with a sly grin.
“I hear a certain female adventurer played a major role in capturing the bandits who broke into the inn. One of them, I’m told, was left… permanently incapacitated.”
“A-ah…”
“““???”””
At his words, Sue flushed scarlet and quickly cast her gaze downward.
He hadn’t said exactly what kind of incapacitation, but I was certain it was the man who had taken Sue’s knee squarely to his most delicate spot.
The children stared at her curiously, but this topic is one of those things they were much too young to understand.
Mm. Better to leave it at that.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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