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[Whereabouts of Truth]
“Your wound was deep, but you should be able recover completely if you rest for a while. About your eye, I feel like won’t be able to restore it with my current skill, so I left it as is.”
“No, even just getting saved from dying, I’m grateful.”
Marco who is wrapped in bandages have a pale face due to the large amount of blood lost.
Just that, his pain seems to be significantly reduced due to healing magic.
“No, you don’t have to be grateful to me, please don’t mind it.”
“No, I will return this favor eventually. Beastmen are not brutes that would forget the favor they received. It’s just, I think I will only be able to do it after settling my affairs…”
Muttering with a detached voice, it seems as if a flame of hatred dwells behind Marco’s one remaining eye.
It makes me feels like something dreadful is drawing close to me…
I think it’s not unreasonable given his physical condition.
In order to find out the cause of the disturbing presence Marco emitted, I decide to talk to him.
Depending on what he says, we might have to deal with various things soon.
“Well, please calm down. I’d like to hear a lot about that ‘affairs’ too, so how about you talk while having a meal?”
I can hear Marco’s stomach growling when I said meal.
Healing magic is a magic that forcibly raises the natural recovery power of the body with magic power, so it consumes a lot of nutrition; he should be starving now,
“I appreciate it…”
Hatred disappears from Marco’s face, and an embarrassed expression emerges on his face.
At the same time, Suzana comes into the room with the meal she prepared and serves it.
“Please enjoy. I have prepared food full of nutrition.”
The smell of food filling the room makes my belly growl.
Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten lunch yet.
Let’s eat together while listening to his story.
“Suzana, is there some for me?”
Perhaps she heard my stomach growling, as Suzana looks at me while laughing a little and nods.
“Then, I’ll go get it for a bit. I want to eat while talking about various things with Marco-dono.”
“Noelia-sama have already prepared it, so it is about time she is here—”
Before Suzana done speaking, Noelia brings in my share of meal.
Resting her body seems to have rejuvenated her pale face from yesterday.
“You don’t have to do that! I was just about to get it myself. You’re still tired, right?”
Seeing Noelia coming to serve me the meal, I immediately stand up and try to get the meal tray from her.
“I have taken a rest last night, so I am fine. Frick-sama yourself, aren’t you tired from going around the surrounding villages to gather information and check on the villagers’ illnesses and injuries for this whole week?”
I feel like I catch a glimpse of Noelia’s will – that is ‘Please at least let me serve you’ from her eyes that are a little damp.
“No, my body is strong after all. I won’t get tired from—”
“No, even I can see the fatigue on Frick-sama’s face. I think you should quietly sit and wait to be served by Noelia-sama.”
With Suzana also supporting Noelia, I conclude that refusing more than this is unwise, so I decide to sit in my original place and wait for her to serve me.
To quench my thirst, I bring the water carefully poured by Noelia to my mouth.
Watching the situation, Marco murmurs.
“Is Noelia-dono the wife of Frick-dono…?”
“Bufuuu! Cough! Cough!”
“Mm!?”
Marco’s abrupt mutter makes me spurted out the water in my mouth.
“S-she is only my traveling companion. B-besides, she is the sole daughter of the Frontier Count, Lloyd-sama, so there’s no way she could be my wife!”
“I-I see! Please pardon my discourtesy. I thought you are a well-matched couple, so… this is, a slip of tongue.”
Learning the truth, Marco looks at us and apologize in a hurry.
However, do we really look like that….?
When I glance at Noelia, her face is flushed and she covers the lower half of her face with the tray.
If you got so embarrassed, I’ll also have trouble reacting tough…
“Mmm! Now’s not the time to have such a conversation! We’re going to talk about the lot of the mine, aren’t weeee~?”
Cinzia who is in my cloak flies out to try to get the conversation back on track.
“The bird talked!?”
“Calling me a bird – how rude of you. I plan to have my ‘real body’ be a beautiful mage girl you know. Rather than that, the villagers have confirmed that you worked in the mine, okay? Obediently confess the reason you got injured!”
Flying around over Marco’s head, Cinzia directly asks about the thing I tried to ask carefully.
“F-Frick-dono. This bird is—”
“Eh? Ahh, that person is a mage and because of certain circumstances, she is currently taking the form of a bird. I haven’t seen her main body either, so I don’t know whether she’s truly a beautiful mage girl.”
“Hey, Frick! Isn’t that terrible!?”
Cinzia perches on my head and pokes the top of my head with her beak.
“Yes, yes, please shut up for a moment, Cinzia-sama.”
“Hau, Suzana! Let go! I have to make Frick know that I’m a super beautiful mage girl——muguu.”
Captured by Suzana, Cinzia is stowed in a leather bag.
After seeing that, I decide to once again ask Marco the same question as Cinzia.
“The order of things has changed a little, but I’d appreciate it if you could answer the question that Cinzia asked earlier. Depending on the situation, it might be bad if we don’t move right away.”
“Frick-dono…”
Hit by the question, I can see various hesitations on Marco’s face.
I wonder if that meant that various troubles will occur if he tells the truth.
He seems to be petrified as he keeps silent.
Seeing my expression, Marco seems to realize my seriousness, as he eventually tightens his expression and bows deeply to me.
“What I am going to talk about from now on could endanger the entire beastmen, but I trust Frick-dono who saved my life; I will tell you everything.”
With his head bowed deeply, Marco promises to tell me everything he knew.