Earl Keeleyâs house was quite the peculiar place . Overhead on its bejeweled walls hung mounts of stuffed animal heads and longbows, underfoot were carpets made out of pelts of various monsters . The house presented itself as if it were the den of a hunter .
Earl Keeley spoke, sitting opposite of the four-member party . The Earl, Oswald Mickle Keeley, was an old man in his late forties .
As a consequence of being a Lord, Earl Keeley was most certainly a trained Knight of the Order and during emergencies, he would certainly have to raise his sword and command an army in the name of his King, but the man had a delicate air . He seemed much more a mere civilian than a Lord . His short hair ran down in gentle streaks of well-trimmed and primmed orange, while his grey eyes shone brightly like gems, lightening his otherwise stiff expression .
To put the impression he gave off in one sentence, heâd be âone of those old, stubborn and inflexible officer typesâ .
While adventurers had at least some social status, to be called to the Earlâs mansion itself to receive quests was certainly a rare occurrence . It was clear this was common for the Earl to do as well as for Dragonâs Throat to accept these summons .
âPlease, I could never refuse a request by the Earl himself . â
Benedict grabbed his own, large paws and smiled with all his teeth bared . His tail, popping out from behind his pants, swished and swashed on the sofa like a hairy mop .
He wore a ragged, old t-shirt with no sleeves, most likely because his fur prevented the cold from affecting him much .
Oswald nodded, satisfied with the current state they were in, and began his talk of work .
âIâve already spoken of this with Benedict, but I would like to take this chance to explain this quest to all of you once more .
âŠâŠFor quite some time now, I have started operations to expel Night Python from my realm . Upon reaching the final stages of my plans, I understand they will launch a counterattack, or perhaps seek to take vengeance upon me . That is why I ask you, Dragonâs Throat, to protect me, and my daughter Catharine . The quest will officially start from next week . I do not know the exact duration of the quest, but I do expect it to be within the range of two to four weeks . You all will receive your rewards on a daily basis during that period . â
âLord Earl, may I?â
Clad in full body armour even in a place such as this, Hugh raised his arm .
He had left his sword and shield behind, however .
âPlease . â
âI would, um, like to request that we be informed of the status of the Night Python Expulsion Campaign, both current and future situations . If we do not fully understand the situation, we would be unable to do our work properly . â
Hughâs true intentions were, in this case, to find out whether or not they were in over their heads with this matter .
Oswald paused to think, then answered .
âNight Python has embedded themselves deeply in my realm, raising bases in the bigger cities⊠Well, theyâre more like hideouts . Hideouts, yes . We have already found out where those are . Beyond that, we are well-equipped to capture all of their prostitutes and sellers of illegal drugs at a momentâs notice . If we are only able to apprehend their key executives, we can slowly crush their source of funds within my realm, thus impairing their activities . â
Iris was the type to never speak during negotiations, so there was a tad bit of worry about whether or not she would look unnatural, but nevertheless, it was a question that she must ask .
âDo you know where the Night Python boss is? Can you arrest him?â
The first order of business was to obviously check the place where Miriam had worked . A spirit can travel a thousand miles in one night . To her, traveling to the other side of the country was quite easy .
There, she listened for days on end, but there appeared to be none who truly knew anything about the boss .
She would get her chance to rampage through the streets again once she had achieved her current goal . It could wait . And while pondering on how she would advance her investigation, she caught wind of talks of an Earl planning to mount a campaign to expel Night Python from his realm .
And when she traveled all the way to that realm, she chanced upon the most delicious of coincidences and the tastiest of conveniences, bearing the name of Dragonâs Throat .
ââWell, as long as Iâm in this kinda position, it should be pretty easy to ask the Earl about things related to the campaign and whatnot . I need to use this Earl and Dragonâs Throat well, know as much as I can about Night Python . Of course, anything about the current state of affairs would be much appreciated . If he can tell me where the boss is, thisâll be a piece of cake .
ââŠâŠIf by that, you mean the Head of Night Python, then Iâm afraid even I am unaware of his whereabouts . Of course, it would be most surprising and most unlikely for him to even have stay within my realm, and even if he did, I would be unable to touch him . If possible, I would love to have the heads of those key executives running their business in my realm, but⊠. To be honest, I have no idea where even they are . Well, no matter . My goal is to put a stop to their nefarious business in my realm . Catching the boss unnecessary for that . â
ââWouldâve been perfect if I could find that bossâ lover and possess them . But if theyâre not female, my magic output would drop by a lot . On top of that, these people are like the underground mafia, their defenses should be airtight . One mistake and I might even have to say goodbye to ever fulfilling this contract . I want time to look at the countryâs state of affairs too, so I guess putting a squeeze on them slowly is all I can do for now .
âLord Earl, I have something to ask as well . Is it true that you wish for Iris to act as a body double for Miss Catharine? Could I ask to hear more on this matter?â
Of course, Diana acted to confirm Irisâ safety .
âHmm . I was thinking of discussing that right now . Anyway, it is not as if I want Iris to pretend to be my daughter and jump headfirst into danger, nor do I intend for her to be a decoy . â
âI simply wish for her to be with Catharine at all times . My phrasing was dubious, I understand, but it is simply a mechanism to cause hesitation in the enemy before they try their hand at assassinationâââ
Just before Oswald could finish, the doors slammed open .
âBenedict!â
A well-dressed girl jumped into the office room .
Her physical appearance looked to be the same as Iris . While her long, glossy hair matched the soft orange of her fatherâs, her eyes were a mismatched pairing of ash and red . She wore a red dress that looked like it was woven with numerous, interconnected red ribbons .
She ran around the sofa and jumped into Benedictâs arms .
âYouâre hereăŒ!â
âGh- My young lady, please . â
His begging helped him little as the young girl floofed his big and furry body as one would a giant dog .
This was Catharine Margatera Keeley . Irisâ escort target .
Before he was an adventurer, Benedict worked as a family bodyguard for the Earl .
And ever since then, Catharine had taken a liking to him, a liking that persisted to present day .
âCatharine . Manners . â
âOka~y, father . â
After being reprimanded slightly by her father, Catharine crept away from Benedict .
She gave the impression of a little bit spoilt, little bit willful young girl . Whenever her eyes went to Iris, they seemed to thin, her face turning into a scowl .
ââŠFather, are we really going to do it?â
âYes . It is for your safety . â
âHmph . â
âMy lady, please listen to what your father, Lord Earl, is saying . He is thinking of your safety first and foremost . â
Catharine stared daggers at Iris for a good moment, then slung her finger at her .
âListen good, okay? Youâre pretending to be my body double, so make sure you act as I would, with grace and finesse! If you dare display any vulgarity whilst donning my name and appearance, I will-!â
âCatharine, stop . It is rude to point at people . â
Having concluded their talks, the party of four made their way through the castle corridor, to the room they had been alloted to stay for the duration of their quest .
âYa know, sometimes, I think the young lady sees me more as a puppy than a man . â
âYou better turn that thinking around, pal . She does actually think youâre her pet puppy, definitely not a guy . â
Benedict looked down with a silent whimper and started patting his furry tail .
âAnyway, is it just me, or does the young lady really not like Iris since, uh, forever?â
When Hugh posed the question, Benedict looked up from the stone-cut cold floor .
âThe young ladyâs, ya know, how do I put it lightly? A sore loser⊠. On toppa that, she didnât inherit any magical prowess from her mother, so itâs a sore spot our Iris is hitting . â