Once all of the attackers had been taken away, we finally entered the marquis’s estate properly. We were immediately shown into a reception room, where I took a sip of the tea that had been served.
Ahh… It really hit the spot after all that fatigue.
“Whew, finally. I can relax. Staying on high alert the whole time was exhausting…”
“You were constantly focused while those suspicious people were watching us.”
I wasn’t the only one who was exhausted. Sue looked pretty worn out as well, and she was even eating some of the sweets that she normally wouldn’t touch in a setting like this.
Tory-san, meanwhile, is helping himself to the tea and sweets without the slightest hesitation.
“You rest properly whenever you have the opportunity. Whether you’re a soldier, a noble, or an adventurer, that part is the same for everyone.”
He certainly had a point, but did he really have to demonstrate it in the reception room of the marquis’s estate?
Knock, knock.
“Excuse me. His Lordship is on his way.”
Oh. The attendant had come to announce that the marquis was arriving, so we hurriedly got to our feet.
“No, no, my apologies for keeping you waiting. And thank you for saving my territory from such a crisis. Now, please, sit down.”
The man who entered the room was an imposing figure, quite large in stature, with short green hair. For a moment, I almost mistook him for a large beastman.
“Looks like some dirty rats managed to sneak into the town.”
“They say that if you want to hide a tree, you should hide it in a forest. In this case, I imagine they concealed the attackers right in the middle of the crowds.”
“And then they intended to kill anyone who stood against the underground organization, making an example of them and letting the entire country know just how dangerous the organization was. Ruling through fear is, quite literally, the method of terrorists.”
The Marquis gave us his thoughts on the attack, and I found myself coming to much the same conclusion. They might have been planning to free the captured executive we were escorting, but judging by the attackers’ level of strength, Ao alone would have been more than enough to drive them off.
We had already fought people connected to the underground organization in various places, not just in the Western Margrave’s territory. I would have thought they had at least some idea of our capabilities by now.
“In any case, be careful on the road. Apparently, there were those who resisted when the dark organization and the Human Supremacy Church were being hunted down in the Royal Capital. We increased patrols along the highway to keep a close watch, but we cannot prevent everything.”
The Marquis had already taken measures on several fronts. I almost wished I could force that idiotic viscount to drink the bitter lessons scraped from the marquis’s fingernails.
“Speaking of which, Sue, you’ve grown even more beautiful and stronger than you were in the past. Though it seems that when you get absorbed in something, you become just as lively as ever—far more so than your appearance would suggest.”
“Marquis… Um, thank you very much…”
Apparently, the marquis already knew Sue. After hearing about the battle, he praised her while teasing her just a little.
It was true though. Sue might look quiet and reserved, but once she made up her mind to do something, she could be surprisingly proactive.
As for Sue herself, she turned slightly red from being teased and lowered her head in embarrassment.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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