Karma

Sheryl, having apparently been filled in on the situation while bathing, naturally came looking for me in the room Asilie and I were staying in.

Just as expected, the pickled radish sprouts of Sheryl—whose passive trait was shooting up sky-high without knowing restraint—were drooping. She was trying to not let it show and act with decorum, but I'd already been around her for nearly two years; did she think I wouldn't notice?

"Did you get any results... don't start."

And the same went for her. Watching me stride over, she started to speak, only to instantly assess the situation and cut her words short. But as if that'd work.

"Oh my, look at this. Those eyebrows that are usually so gallantly raised, drooping all wilted and gloomy again."

"I'm not gloomy. Stop."

"You'd have better luck tricking a ghost."

With that, I slid my hands under her armpits and lifted her by the shoulders, forcibly turning Sheryl into Longcat Sheryl. Despite working out and having solid muscle, she was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠oddly light, so I could easily lift her to around my chest without even using Magic Power.

Other servants probably couldn't even imagine doing this, but my actual standing was that of Ragnis's benefactor and Lord Ekaf's guest.

Even if I maintained a self-imposed butler life, that fact didn't change, and Sheryl usually adjusted her behavior to match. Maybe it was because she was a kid who knew how to play her role thoroughly, even adjusting her speech patterns little by little depending on the situation.

Anyway, the point was, outside of butler duties, our relationship was no different than that of ordinary same-age friends.

She said to stop, but once lifted, as always, she showed no particular resistance. I kept Sheryl in that state, diligently shaking her left and right as I spoke.

"You just need to do well with what you've learned at the academy so far. It's not shameful to be lacking in things you haven't been taught yet."

"Did you get no results?"

"I did. But a huge part of it was extremely good luck."

The guards at the temporary detention center being utter morons, Duke Lesrom summoning me because of that incident, even meeting Zikmel, and even coming across Shadow Foot, that entirely new connection—it was all luck. If I hadn't lurked around the street stalls mimicking what I'd seen in spy movies to confirm my tail, I wouldn't have met Zikmel at all, and if I hadn't wasted time there, I wouldn't have crossed paths with Shadow Foot either.

"I just happened to benefit today from things I could do because I'm not a noble, along with seeds I'd planted four years ago bearing fruit in an unexpected way. So don't make pointless comparisons and get impatient."

"...Don't you ever get impatient?"

The question she threw out while in Longcat Sheryl state, offering no resistance at all, was a little puzzling.

"About this matter? Not really?"

It was a little disjointed, so I couldn't make sense of it all at once. I gave a noncommittal answer, only for another unexpected question to follow.

"What about situations outside this matter? For example, the process of achieving your goal."

Hmm. I, master of Sheryl-speak, had no trouble understanding that what Sheryl was feeling right now was impatience.

But why had she asked by comparing that to impatience about my own goal? Was she trying to say that because this mattered so much to her, impatience was inevitable?

"A bit of a sudden question, but not at all."

"Someone else might kill him faster than you, you know?"

"Aha. Yeah, I guess that can happen. But I'm already living my life doing everything I can for revenge and planning around it. Within those plans, rushing any more would actually be harmful. Impatience is what you feel when you don't know what to do, can't tell how well you're progressing according to plan, or aren't putting in the effort. It has nothing to do with me right now."

I was doing my absolute best.

Not making excuses about doing my best while doing nothing—I was truly making an immense amount of effort for my second life. I learned common sense so I wouldn't become a madman blinded by revenge, and I studied knowledge so I could handle things beyond combat on my own. Of course, there were still times when obsessive compulsions flared up, but that was a separate issue.

That seven years was no trivial amount of time? Others might say that spending all seven of those years solely on learning killing techniques is the only normal and desirable stance for revenge, but at least I didn't think so.

Wouldn't true completion of revenge be properly preparing for the life after revenge as well and moving forward?

So the enemy gets fucked, and I'm happy.

To take revenge on the bastard who gave me the big 'fuck you' and tried to become happy himself, I had to do at least that much.

I fully intended to enjoy a proper fantasy life after taking my revenge, and this time around, I planned to live out my natural lifespan. I was taking advantage of my young age to acquire the knowledge I would need for that and diligently building relationships too.

Thanks to that, I'd made it this far without crashing into regret over having blindly let my life slip away.

Not everything was going according to plan, but I was steadily growing and achieving results, so there was no reason for me to feel impatient.

"I'm a commoner, but you're a noble. For a noble, being outstanding on your own isn't enough. The attitude to lead those who follow you while knowing how to fully utilize their abilities is also important. And to do that, rather than trying to solve everything by yourself, you need the attitude to trust and wait for others."

"...So, listen first?"

"Yeah. Don't mope around. Contrary to what we were afraid of, it looks like there won't be any problem with Ragnis's safety."

No matter what, I felt it wasn't quite right to spill the contents of my conversation with Duke Lesrom before talking with Lord Ekaf, so I asked for understanding on that part and proceeded with the story.

Honestly, even without that part, it had been a pretty eventful day, so there was plenty to say. After hearing the whole story, Sheryl, who had been lost in thought for a moment, quietly opened her mouth.

"Part of me wants to jump into action the moment I hear this Shadow Foot person's information... but I can't."

"Right. Since those bastards tailed me, this is my problem."

If we messed up unnecessarily and got tangled together, even resolvable things could get twisted. And I wouldn't be able to comfortably raise hell either.

"Then, if there's no other specific information, will you target the slave traders directly?"

"If possible, I want to cut off the ones watching me first and then hit them, but if that doesn't work, there's no other choice."

What else could I do? I had no intention of leaving them alone, so I'd just have to charge in with them tailing me. More than anything, Asilie was already burning with motivation regarding the slave traders too. The fact that Asilie and I met could, in a way, be said to be thanks to slave traders, but I didn't have the slightest intention of using that as a free pass to let them off.

As I thought up to that point, one question flickered past, so I quietly whispered into Asilie's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ear.

"Big Sis? Come to think of it, what level of skill do the slaver bastards actually have?"

"They vary greatly. The elf hunter bastards are honestly strong. Partly because they study and prepare extensively about elves, to the point you could call it hunting rather than combat, but they're also fundamentally on the strong side. Other than that, it just depends on what kind of slaves they mainly deal with."

"But those bandit guys back then were just ordinary bandits."

"I was unlucky, and they were lucky. The slave merchant group transporting me had been attacked, you see."

"Attacked?"

It was a completely unfamiliar story, one I hadn't brought up for fear of hurting Asilie.

"They attacked incredibly fast and wiped out the entire slave merchant group. It seemed like they moved as a unit, not just one person, but they struck in the middle of the night, so I don't even know their identity. In the chaos, I happened to get knocked out, crushed under a pile of falling luggage. By the time I came to, all the slaves had apparently fled without a trace. All that was left were corpses and bandits who were just starting to rummage through the wreckage of the merchant group."

Asilie looked every bit the elf as she calmly recounted memories that were far from pleasant, a faint smile on her face.

"But still, I didn't suffer anything worse and ended up meeting Eldi, so now it doesn't matter at all."

Mm. That was embarrassing for no reason.

While we shared stories she hadn't bothered to tell despite living together for years and took a short rest, the sun gradually slanted lower, but neither Shadow Foot nor Lord Ekaf came.

Eventually, the sun completely set. Staring out at the city under the evening sky, just waiting endlessly felt a bit off, so we all left the room together to at least grab dinner. Just then, one of the servants was about to knock on our door.

"Ah, perfect timing. Eldmia? There's a guest here."

"Is he a Pulling, by any chance?"

"Yes. He said you'd be very pleased to know he's here?"

Shadow Foot's judgment was spot on. I even forgot the slight hunger I'd started ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to feel and dashed downstairs. Rushing to the front gate like that, I found Shadow Foot killing time there, tap-dancing barefoot without a care for the guards standing before him.

Spotting me while enthusiastically dancing and even humming a tune, Shadow Foot spread both arms to his sides, stopped his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dance, and shouted cheerfully.

"Wahaha! I have returned, honored guest!"

He really was bursting with manic energy. Just watching him was enough to lift my mood.

"You've worked hard, Shadow Foot. Aren't you hungry? How about having a meal first?"

Of course, Ogatorf House wasn't my house, so I couldn't invite him inside, but that could be solved by going out to eat. While we were at it, I also wanted to treat him to at least one meal.

But Shadow Foot raised his index finger and shook it along with his head, expressing his refusal.

"Ah. Ah. Ah! I won't fall for it, honored guest. If I let you treat me to a meal, that's no different from accepting more than one copper coin in payment. Even if you suggested we each pay our own share, if you made up your mind to sprint away, I couldn't possibly beat you, could I? I must decline!"

My goodness. Seeing him speak with that sly grin, he seemed to genuinely view this push-and-pull over goodwill as an amusing game. Seeing how stubborn he was, it looked like there was no way except what Asilie had told me, so I gave up cleanly too.

"Haha. Understood. I'll give up this time."

"Good, good! Then let's get straight to the main topic. In truth, it's not that far. The reason it took a while was that those fellows must have some brains, being mindful of being tailed and pointlessly wandering all over. Naturally, it was a futile effort. So futile I wanted to just dash over and smack the back of their heads. If those friends had even bent down to tie their shoelaces, I would've tried it right then and there!"

Shadow Foot rattled off his words like a machine gun, pulled a single sheet of paper from inside his clothes, and handed it to me.

"A map, sir! I'd like to guide you personally, but one must be cautious with this kind of thing! If other ordinary people who saw me earlier witness us together, it could come back to bite us absurdly later!"

I couldn't hold back my applause at his meticulousness, something I hadn't even imagined.

Amazing! Shadow Foot!