After letting Luche drink a glass of water to calm her down, I leave her for a moment to go out to the carriage used to imprison the three captured ābanditsā and show them to Filianess-san and her adjutants.
āThat man...... is a member of the knight brigade...... They are the ones who attacked Luche!?ā
Filianess-san doesnāt even bother hiding her anger. She grips her rapier handle tightly but she doesnāt want to pull her weapon out in front of Luche.
(Eros: I am just translating)
āExcuse me, please wake up~...... It is time for your crime inquiry~ā
Marle-san is soft-spoken as usual as she slaps the male ābanditāsā cheek. Sigmut eventually regains his consciousness but as the first thing he sees after waking up is Marle-san and Filianess-san, he calmly closes his eyes in resignation.
ā...... Kill meā
āAa...... I really am tempted to do that. But I still want to ask you why did you attack Luche......? Second in command of the black knight brigade, Lieutenant Sigmut Yunkarlsā
The dukedomās knight brigade rank, from the top, is divided from the knight brigade leader and vice leader as the top and then below them the knights are divided into four squads namely blue, red, white, and black squad. Second in command of the black knight brigade means that this person has a thousand knights under his command.
(Eros: I will use Marshal for the leader, general for the vice leader, captain for squad head and lieutenant for second in command. I donāt really know the right translation from the Japanese for the knight brigadeās military rank)
Such a person with lofty status is actually going out personally to deal with Luche who is the princess of the dukedom. If this information got leaked out, disbanding the black knight brigade would be the least they need to worry about.
āI wonāt say it twiceā¦ā¦ kill meā
āā¦ā¦ For those who are wishing for death, killing them is not the correct punishment. Say it, what secret you are hiding?ā
āā¦ā¦ I am attacking the princess because of my own interest. I donāt have anything to hideā
Well, of course, he would try to hide the mastermind behind. Having already guessed how the enemy would act, I donāt feel annoyed by Sigmutās act. The only problem I have is finding a way to wrench the information out from this daredevil.
(Letās first make sureā¦ā¦. whether he is lying or not)
<table>LOG</tbody></table>
<table>- You activated [Detect Lie]!</tbody></table>
<table>- You know that <Sigmut> is lying.</tbody></table>
Well, even without using skill, anyone with a brain would know that he is lying. So it is a perfect statement to test the credibility of [Detect Lie].
---- Then lets the game begin. I will bait Sigmut to lie so I can grasp the hidden information he had ---- for example, something like this:
āWhat do you have on mind, Hiroto?ā
I gesture Filianess-san to lean over so I can whisper something into her ear. Then I told her to ask a few questions to Sigmut.
Filianess-san nods in agreement and then looks back at Sigmut with an intimidating gaze. She then starts interrogating him with the question I suggested.
āThere is someone who wishes to prevent Luche from receiving her baptism no matter what. Is that the case?ā
āā¦ā¦ No. I attack her by my own willā¦...ā
<table>LOG</tbody></table>
<table>- You activated [Detect Lie]!</tbody></table>
<table>- You know that <Sigmut> is lying.</tbody></table>
With this, the reason why the princess is being targeted can be concluded. But there are still many things I want to knowā¦ā¦
āEven if it was your own personal volition, we canāt let your subordinates free. The three of you will be court-martialed according to the knight brigade law. I will make you abide by the punishmentā
āā¦ā¦ Kill meā¦ā¦!ā
Filianess-san puts the tip of her rapier to barely touch Sigmutās throat who repeats that word once again. It pierces the skin and a line of red is running down quickly.
āGuhā¦ā¦ā¦...ā
āYou seem to misunderstand me. I am not giving you any mercy. In my opinion, your crime of assaulting the princess could only be atoned by your life. Thatās why I wonāt give you an easy way out. I wonāt let you die until you regret disgracing the knightās honor!ā
Such a cold yet wise saying that is. I never see such side of Filianess-san before ---- I feel that the current her is far scarier than the past her that I know when she was fighting to protect my mother.
Sigmut hangs his head down, he seems to lost his intention to resist. Then Filianess-san subordinate knights are taking them away into her castleās dungeon.
āWe can give their judgment trial here. But this will definitely put the black knight brigade in a tight spot and they would have a reason to antagonize usā¦ā¦ The dukedom knight brigade, the four colored knight brigade have to be united no matter what. That way, we could continue our existence as the dukedomās sword without any troubleā
Hearing Filianess-sanās word, Marle-san and Aletta-san shows a serious expression unlike their usual persona when they are together with me.
This might not only be just a case of the princessās assassination. There might be a colored knight brigade, or even maybe someone from the royal family as the conspirator.
āHiroto, you have my thanks. Thanks to you being present here, I managed to stop my handā¦ā¦ If you are not present now, I would have stabbed that man to death from the startā
āā¦ā¦ Luche-sanās case is really serious after all. Even for me, if someone I loved got hurt for an unreasonable reason thenā¦...ā
At that time, I would not shrink back from my fear of committing crime and chase after vengeance. Thatās why, in order not to get anything precious stolen, I never let my focus go and stay careful at all times.
The current me should not be fallen under crisis when faced with normal human any longerā¦ā¦ but the people around me is not the same. Rather than a monster, humans are actually scarier when they have a hidden ill will towards you.
(ā¦ā¦ I wonder who pulled the strings behind Sigmut? I donāt know whether forcing that out from Sigmut would be the right thing or not)
Indeed I am feeling conflicted about doing that. But thereās also the risk of Sigmut choosing suicide over exposing the secret. Or maybe because of Filianess-san threats just now he would reverse and become scared of death instead?
āTorturing Sigmut would be the last resort. Before that, it is essential for me to inform this case to the leader of the black knight brigade. If I could make a wish, then I wish to not make the entire black knight brigade into my enemyā
āYou can say that again~ā¦ā¦ Well, if push comes to shove, I donāt feel like losing from them in a fight. But then again, fighting against fellow knight is not something to look forward toā
āIf it is a mock battle training then Marle-san would fight with her all instead. People from the black knight brigade are afraid of her and treat her as a demonā
āMaybe I should stop using the maceā¦ā¦ If I use the rapier and people call me a frail maiden, I might just forgive them~ā
āI am not frail in the slightest thoughā¦ā¦ Donāt change your weapon just because of that stupid excuse, it is discourtesy towards the weaponā
Seeing the usual banter of Filianess-sanās group, I finally let go of the tension in my mind and feel relaxed.
Marle-san is now 24 years old while Aletta-san is 28. Both of them are still singleā¦ā¦ Compared to when I first meet them, their equipment seems to be a lot stronger now. They give the feeling of a veteran knight now.
āWell thenā¦ā¦ Marle, Aletta, itās about time to have dinner. Arrange the cooking so that the food could meet the princessā palateā
āOrder received. I will emphasize the message to the head maid!ā
āHiroto-chanā¦ā¦ no, it would be better to start calling Hiroto-kun soon right? Itās been a while, I am glad to see you wellā
Aletta-san starts chatting with me cheerfully. It reminds me of how I havenāt had many chances to have a light-hearted chat with Marle-san and Aletta-san since I grow up.
āHmm, maybe I still prefer to use Hiroto-chan~. Because, if I use Hiroto-kun, it seems like I start to see him in a different way from the past which made me feel happy yet bashful at the same time. Yes, thatās how it feelsā
Marle-san is still as tall as ever. Her breast continues to grow until she reaches 20 years old but Filianess-san is now catching up to her now. For the two who have Maternity skill reaches over level 80, it seems that the average bust size deviation becomes larger as the level increases ---- For example, Aletta-sanās growth seems to stop when she is 24 years old.
āā¦ā¦ The two of them find that their breast is in the way when they are fighting so they tied it up with a sarashi (bandage) and it becomes like thatā
āAaā¦ā¦ n-no, I donāt really look anywhereā
I have to remember that I am already old enough now so I canāt just stare at a girlās breast brazenly like that any longer. I tried to make some excuse in panic and it seems that I managed to save myself somehow.
āWhen I think about it again, this seems to be the first time Hiroto visits me in my place right?ā
āHiroto-chan, itās already late so how about staying here for the night? When it dark outside, the ghost will come out to kidnap you, you know~?ā
āI donāt think thereās any ghost that could kidnap Hiroto-chanā¦ā¦ But then again, the road in the night is still dangerous to some degree. So it would be better for you to stay the night hereā
I can feel everyone hot gazes on meā¦ā¦ We-well, I am worried about Riona and the others but there are Monika-san and my other party member there. And we are not that rushed to go into the capital either.
And then there is also matter concerning whether I would go escort Luche to her baptism ceremony or not. On that matter, letās bring it up after we have our dinner while having an idle talk with everyone.
(And most of allā¦ā¦ This is also a chance)
I am not a skills maniac. I am not butā¦ā¦ When someone changes or upgrades their job, their inherent skill would also change.
Filianess-san is now a paladin. She always appears to have skills that made my heart goes aflutterā¦ā¦
(Holy sword masteryā¦ā¦ Nothing happened even when I reach level 30. In other words, this skill needs a lot of grinding before becoming useful. And I am really curiousā¦ā¦ the curiosity is really killing the catā¦ā¦!)
En route of going back to the lord mansion, Filianess-san who is walking beside me casually extends her hand out towards me like she is asking for my hand.
āā¦ā¦ I-it is your first time being here after all. To prevent you from being lost, you better hold my handā
āTh-thank youā¦ā¦ But somehow I felt shyā
Getting lost is something that rarely happened to me. Filianess-san only wants to hold my hand it seemsā¦ā¦
Compared to my hand, Filianess-sanās is still slightly bigger. But my hand would grow bigger in no time Iām sure.
I now know why she took off her gauntlets before and knowing that fact made me feel even more bashful. It seems that she has planned to do so ever since we go out of her mansion.
āā¦ā¦ What do you think about Luche? She is more ladylike than I am and even I think that she is cuteā¦...ā
āIndeed I also think she is cute but we just met so I canāt say anything muchā
āIs that soā¦ā¦ I see. Please forget what I just askedā
Filianess-san said so with a wry smile but her side profile looks very happy somehow.
But then again walking side by side with her like this, I canāt help but be attracted to somethingā¦ā¦ Her jiggling breast really gives a strong impact.
(ā¦ā¦ Looks deliciousā¦ā¦ wait, what am I thinking just now? I should have graduated from that alreadyā¦ā¦ I have graduatedā¦ā¦!)
The word [Holy Sword Mastery] keeps repeating itself inside my head. Luche is also present here so this is not a good time to think about perverted stuff. By the way, Lucheās [Royal Blood] skill is also tempting. My poor heart canāt take that much seduction.
But if it is Filianess-san who already maxed out her affection towards me then I wonāt have that much trouble. However, the little conscience I have left would not allow me to use [Request] on her. Yes, I still have conscience left with meā¦ barely.
(Th-the curiosity is killing me. I canāt even think of another thingā¦ā¦!)
āā¦ā¦ Why are you being restless like thatā¦ā¦? Are you perhaps thinking of the same thing as I am right nowā¦ā¦?ā
Filianess-san face blushed red as she asked me that question. Th-thinking the same thingā¦ā¦? What I am thinking now is about skill and milking and my mind is already full of thatā¦ā¦
It is not clear whether she knows what I am thinking about but in front of her mansionās front door, she suddenly leans over andā¦ā¦ whispers to my ear in a sound that only I can hear.
āā¦ā¦ Come to my room tonight. Thereās something personal that I wish to discuss with youā
āā¦ā¦!ā
Her voice is like the voice of an angel that pleases my ear in heavenly feeling. While suppressing her own shyness, she coolly pulls my hand into her mansion, acting as nothing happened.
Yes, in theory, all we would do is just a private talk. While reminiscing of the past, we would have a pleasant idle talk.
Noble, just, beauty. Those words are the ones that currently keep repeating on my head now.
In my thought, before enjoying the festival in the capital with everyone, a festival made its way towards me so how about enjoying it privately? Such a thing is like a dream, too good to be true. But it really happened to me. Filianess-san keeps her hand linked with mine while constantly giving out a beautiful smile showing her good mood.