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Leaving the Abbot Town
“Well, anyways. I will come and visit leisurely next time, so don’t go to the god’s side by that time, alright?”
“I am already old. And I don’t know about that.”
“What are you saying? Just now, you managed to fight against the town mayor’s escorts.”
So Priest Rou did such a thing?
As expected from the guardian who had raised Frank-san.
“After kidnapping my children like that, there’s no way I’d just quietly let them be, right?”
“Good grief… You really never change, huh? Rest assured. If Gramps is about to die, I’ll just heal you.”
“I’d rather be senile than be indebted to you like that.”
“…It seems like you still have a long life to live, I can be rest assured now.”
To Frank-san, Priest Rou was the parent who had raised him after all. It was obvious for him to be worried.
“Geez. If you’re worried, you can just honestly say so.”
“Who the heck is worried?”
Frank-san annoyedly responded to Louise-san who was astonished.
“Kyu, kyu, kyuu!”
Luan lightly tapped on Frank-san’s head.
“Look. The little rabbit also said so, didn’t it? You should be honest.”
“Shuddup!”
Frank-san turned his face away, but his ears were red.
I unintentionally locked eyes with Ar-niisama and we ended up smiling.
“Thank you for helping us.”
Maa-kun, who came to see us off at the town’s entrance, looked at us and bowed his head.
“We’re knights, after all. It’s just natural for us to protect the people.”
Ar-niisama said as he patted Maa-kun’s orange head.
I was by his side as I nodded.
“No worries. I’m also glad that we got to find everyone.”
“Yeah… You too, come to this town again next time.”
I faltered, unable to come up with a reply to Maa-kun’s words.
Next time, huh?
After leaving this town, I’d be going towards the Earth Labyrinth, then Fire Labyrinth…
And after gathering all the keys, I’d be headed towards the Sage Tower, and then… I should be able to return to my original world.
That’s why, perhaps I won’t be able to go back to this town again.
I was still hesitating when Maa-kun smiled.
“It’s okay even if it’s very near in the future!”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Certainly, I might have to come here again soon.
“Then, see you, Yuuri!”
“See you, Maa-kun!”
Being called by my name like that, for some reason it finally dawned on me that we were friends.
Ar-niisama and Amanda-san were older than me, so… Maa-kun should be the very first friend I made in this world!
“The boy’s slime will be taken under my responsibility for further research, so there’s no need to be worried about it.”
Karin-san caressed the slime bag hanging from her waist with a face beaming with happiness.
The magic crystal slime that Maa-kun kept under his bed was then purified by the water that had Priest Rou’s Cure spell, so it wasn’t like it was tame only to Maa-kun alone.
And there was an issue regarding to its fodder, so it was taken into Karin-san’s custody.
As expected, feeding it magic crystals would cost a lot, after all.
In exchange, Priest Rou purified another slime with his Cure spell, and it seemed that the slime was to be fed with the holy water at the church.
Karin-san requested Priest Rou to observe it carefully and send reports to her.
“Then, shall we go, Yuuri?”
“Alright, Ar-niisama.”
By the time we were about to leave the town and I waved my hand at Maa-kun, a luxurious carriage entered the town.
That carriage stopped right in front of us, for some reason.
“Oh my, isn’t it Argo-dono? To think that we’d meet coincidentally here.”
Count Rainier, with his slightly drooped eyes that looked like a racoon’s, raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“This is really unexpected. …For such a busy person like Count Rainier to be here, I wonder what matters bring you here?”
“I’ve received a notification from the town mayor here that he has an important thing to talk about. I was told that I’d hear the details later in this town, but…”
“The town mayor, Bowan, has been arrested for the crime of kidnapping the children.”
“Kidnapping…! But why would he do such a thing?”
Count Rainier backed several steps away, surprised to the point of exaggeration.
“Krumm. Unfortunately, but our visit here has been a waste of time.”
“If the town mayor was arrested, it meant that he wanted to talk about something that’s certainly not decent. Rather, it’s best for it to be finished without you getting involved in the crime.”
“That is certainly right. It can’t be helped. Then, I should probably return.”
“Yeah.”
Count Rainier was about to close the carriage window when he looked at Ar-niisama as if he suddenly thought of something.
“But why are you and the others here, Argo-dono? Are you perhaps interested in Colora’s marble?”
“No. We heard that Priest Frank’s teacher is over here, so we decided to stop by for a little while.”
In truth, we heard about the kidnapping case and came here, and the guardian who had raised Frank-san—Priest Rou—happened to be here as well.
But I should become a good child and keep my mouth shut here.
As I averted my gaze and hugged the kitten-sized Noir, I felt a strong gaze from Count Rainier’s direction.
But I won’t look that way. If I were to be careless and have our eyes met, a conversation would occur and my secrets might be exposed, after all.
After continuing the roundabout conversation that seemed to be a noble’s conversation, Count Rainier’s carriage returned to the path it originally came from.
Phew. I was so nervous…
“What do you think?”
Seeing the carriage off, Ar-niisama asked Frank-san who was next to him with a serious expression.
“Oh, he must’ve known that there are magic crystals over here.”
“If not, he wouldn’t have come to this place, would he? There’s also a possibility that he’s the one pulling the strings from behind, but… Count Rainier’s a sharp person, despite how he looks. He wouldn’t dare to touch the laws directly, so the kidnapping must’ve been the town mayor’s own decision.”
“I know, right?”
“But I’m glad that Count Rainier… or rather, that Krumm didn’t find out about the golem. He’s one of the people who study the [relics left by the gods (artifacts)], after all. In the unlikely event he discovered and analyzed it, thus making it become one of Count Rainier’s fighting power, then…”
“Yeah. It’d surely be dangerous.”
Certainly if there were lots of things like that golem, it’d become a fighting power that could even bring about a revolution. If Count Rainier had such an ambition, it’d be really dangerous.
…I wonder if he has that kind of ambition? I don’t know about it, though.
“Oi, Gramps. If that Count Rainier comes here again, don’t break the golem’s seal no matter what happens.”
“Hmph. I don’t need you to tell me that.”
“Then, stay healthy, ‘kay?”
“You guys too, alright?”
Then, we waved our hands and bid our farewell to the Abbot town.