Pardon the Abduction, Holy Knight - It's an Emergency - Chapter 3.5

I asked Adriel something I had been curious about.

“But how do you know about all this, Sir Knight?”

“From a merchant, I met by chance…”

“Please don’t lie.”

“…It’s a story I heard from my late grandparents.”

Adriel, finally being honest, sighed softly and opened up candidly.

“To be frank, I had been considering it a fictional story all this time. They were people with quite vivid imaginations…”

Adriel gently shook his head. His fine silver hair swayed slightly with the movement.

A few minutes later. His eyes, having finished a brief contemplation, had already sharpened.

“But after seeing that demon’s reaction last time, I felt uneasy about dismissing it as a completely baseless story.”

The people of the Empire only know Adriel as a commoner. But I, having read the novel, know. That Adriel was actually the heir to a prestigious ducal family in the Northern Continent, the Sienna Empire.

Even though his family was wiped out by a demon’s surprise attack.

That’s why I had such a question. Especially since Oberon was also killed by demons. Is it just a coincidence that Adriel’s grandparents, who were also killed by demons, knew about Oberon? Could Adriel’s family also have some connection to Oberon?

“I’ve told you everything I know.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Now it’s your turn to answer my question.”

Me? What is he going to ask? If it’s about the necklace, I’ve already explained that I don’t know anything.

“What did you mean by those words earlier?”

“What words?”

What did I say?

“Didn’t you suddenly say something harsh to me?”

What harsh thing did I say… Ah, could he be talking about when I said he was annoying?

“No, that…”

It’s just that it was ridiculous how he assumed I would naturally like him…

Adriel’s left eyebrow raised slightly.

“Is there some difficult reason you can’t answer?”

“No. It’s not that…”

Should I take this chance to talk about it again? After pondering for a moment, I nodded inwardly. Yes. Let’s talk about it one last time.

“To be honest, I think you’re under some big misunderstanding, Sir Knight.”

“What misunderstanding are you referring to?”

“The misunderstanding that I like you.”

Even before I finished speaking, Adriel’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Are you saying that’s not the case?”

See? I knew this would happen. I clenched my fist. Today, I wanted to make Adriel accept the fact that I don’t like him, no matter what. I placed both hands on the table and emphasized once again.

“Sir Knight. As I’ve told you before, I don’t like you anymore.”

Adriel’s gaze deepened as if trying to determine if I was lying.

“Really.”

“……”

“I swear to God.”

Of course, I don’t believe in God, but. Stay calm. Don’t get excited, just calmly convey the facts. I think this is the first time in my life I’ve looked at someone with such honest eyes.

How much time had passed like that? Finally, his lips parted.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

At last, Adriel had acknowledged it.

“That’s what I’ve been saying.”

A smile naturally formed on my face, feeling relieved as if a weight had been lifted off my chest. Adriel’s expression became strange as he looked at me. I just told him I don’t like him anymore, so why is he making that expression instead of being happy?

“Master, Wit brought tomatoes!”

As I was wondering, Wit returned. I stood up first, looking at Adriel who seemed somehow dazed.

So according to Adriel, Oberon is the king of the fairies. That blue diamond necklace must have been created by Oberon, the king of the fairies, right? Since the necklace is called Oberon’s necklace.

“Master, is Wit good? Will you pat Wit’s head? Kekeke.”

I continued thinking while patting Wit’s blonde hair. When Wit and Taro touched the blue diamond necklace, they revealed their true forms in pain. The war with demons. And demons pretending to be fairies… Perhaps Oberon was trying to use this necklace during the war to find demons who had infiltrated the fairies.

“Wit, can you help me prepare for cooking?”

“Okay, Master!”

Right. I roughly understand about Oberon and his necklace now. What remains is why on earth was something like this in the Ferial Count’s mansion…

“Master, is it delicious?”

“……”

“Should Wit try some too?”

“……”

“After we finish eating, let’s go plant tomatoes with Wit, Master. Kekeke.”

“Wit.”

“Yes, Master!”

“Let’s just eat.”

“Mmm….”

As Wit closed his mouth, silence fell except for the sound of curtains fluttering in the spring breeze. Adriel seemed lost in thought since earlier, and I was preoccupied with my own thoughts about Rosemary’s family.

Where should I get information from? I think in novels like this, there’s usually an information broker. Should I try to find one? But where do I go to meet an information broker? How much would the request fee be? For me, lacking information about this world, everything was a difficult problem from start to finish.

However, a few days later. Making all my worries seem pointless, an opportunity suddenly arose.

***

The catalyst came from Echo, who visited the Red Thread Guild.

“Teacher… I bought ‘Sunset of Roth’ a week ago….”

“You mean the painting by that artist you thought was good back then?”

“Yes… You remember…”

Echo smiled brightly as if pleased. I recently learned that Echo has an excellent eye for art. Seeing such an ability at that age, I thought it might be an innate talent.

“Did Marquis Berto pay for it?”

Echo nodded slightly.

“My brother said I just need to pay him back later….”

Rich people are something else, I tell you. As I was inwardly clicking my tongue, Echo whispered softly.

“I’m going to collect these and sell them all later….”

“What? You’re going to sell all of this?”

You mean it wasn’t for your personal collection? Echo nodded affirmatively at my words.

“I’m going to follow your advice, Teacher….”

“Um, I’m sorry, but what did I say?”

What did I say to this child? As I was breaking out in a cold sweat, Echo’s eyes suddenly shone with determination.

“You said that one should know how to protect what’s theirs….”

No way…

“And that for that, the most necessary thing is money… only money….”

I remembered. It was something I had said without thinking, telling Echo to remember this above all when she becomes independent later.

“You’re teaching the child good things.” Adriel’s sarcastic comment, which he had made after overhearing my conversation with Echo from the room, rang in my ears.

“So, you mean you’ve been collecting these to make money?”

“Yes, Teacher…!”

Echo looked at me with sparkling eyes. No, that’s not it. That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean for you to start doing that already. Whether Echo knew my thoughts or not, she just kept looking at me with bright, shining eyes.

“Haha….”

It seemed that no matter what I said now, it would be useless. As I just laughed awkwardly, Echo’s cheeks turned peach-colored.

“So next week, I’m going to an auction….”

“An auction? Are you going alone?”

“No… I’m going with Sister Violet….”

Why Violet?