Private Soldiers (2)
Ser-Aria was certain Erinn had just caused a massive disaster. No matter how you looked at it, blurting out something that hadn’t even been confirmed yet—something that could easily be twisted into high treason against the state—was the height of recklessness.
Even Ser-Aria, who had chosen the path of the Divine Archer precisely because she hated politics, knew this was something you simply did not do.
And yet, against all expectation, Erinn still wore that same smile, looking completely unbothered. If anything, she seemed proud of herself. Ser-Aria was still reeling from that smile when the reply came.
“Haha, Hero. I truly am hearing of this matter for the very first time. Should you have need of us, we will of course cooperate fully.”
Only after hearing the answer from Race, branch manager of Aurum Aquila’s Obern office, did Ser-Aria finally grasp Erinn’s intent.
She was testing him.
Erinn had deliberately spoken out to see whether the ducal house that ruled Obern had any connection here—and whether even Aurum Aquila, which maintained a branch in the city, could escape suspicion.
“Really? Then I’d like you to look into everything I just mentioned~.”
“Of course. As a merchant house, we make it our business to know which buildings our clients occupy.”
Race rose from his seat, retrieved a thick file of documents from the study, and held it out to Erinn’s party.
“If you look here, you can see which buildings belong to House Achilles.”
“Perfect. Thanks~.”
Erinn immediately opened the file and began scanning the contents. Since the city of Obern itself lay within the duchy, a considerable number of buildings were listed under the Achilles ducal house.
“When are we supposed to check all of these, Erinn?”
“…It’ll be tough with just the two of us.”
“That’s what I’m saying. So what are you going to do?”
“What else? We’ll put people on it~♡”
As she spoke, Erinn’s gaze settled on the man in front of her—Branch Manager Race. He looked slightly flustered.
“I-If you wish to make use of our merchant house’s personnel, I’m afraid a proper transaction would be necessary.”
“Hmm? What was that~?”
Erinn’s smile turned mischievous.
“Didn’t you just say you’d rather be bound up on treason charges and thrown in a cell~♡?”
“H-Hero, even so, we cannot afford to destroy our relationship with the ducal house. House Achilles is a major client of ours as well. We would have to hire people separately, and that would cost a considerable sum of…”
“Hmm. Aria.”
Erinn spoke without looking away.
“When we head up to the capital, should we start digging into all the lobbying, bribes, and tax evasion Aurum Aquila’s been up to? Suddenly I’m getting really interested~.”
“….”
Naturally, Aurum Aquila was far from a spotless organization. Becoming the continent’s greatest merchant house inevitably involved dirty work behind the scenes.
In particular, establishing a branch inside a noble’s territory required cultivating friendly relations with that house…
The problem was that while other nobles might push back by bringing up the favors they themselves had received, the person standing opposite them right now was the Hero.
Why in the world did the head of the house make people like this VIPs…
Race thought bitterly of the endless unfairness raining down on him, completely unaware that they truly deserved VIP treatment. The amount of money these women had entrusted to Aurum Aquila was nothing short of staggering.
Faced with Erinn’s attitude—which made it clear she really would go through with it—Race had no choice but to answer.
“…We will cooperate actively, Hero.”
“Great. Then the branch manager will put people on this and look into it for us. If we move ourselves, the ducal house might catch wind of it early, so we’ll stay here for a while.”
“Yes… that would be best….”
There was nothing else for it. Since he was already cooperating, he might as well do it properly and earn some goodwill from a VIP client who also happened to be the Hero. Race immediately summoned a receptionist and ordered her to gather personnel, then asked the two women,
“What exactly should I tell them to investigate?”
“Compile a list of every building owned by the ducal house that has a basement and report back.”
“Basements… understood.”
Race nodded. The receptionist who had been listening bowed and left.
“Even so, it will take several hours. Given the nature of the task you’ve assigned…”
“That’s fine~. In the meantime, I’ll just chat with the branch manager.”
“Chat, you say?”
“Yes~ Something interesting♡”
Erinn smiled as she asked,
“Would you mind telling me everything—absolutely everything—about the current situation in Obern~?”
After the series of disturbances, Mersius began sticking to Albrecht like glue.
“Benefactor, is there anything you need?”
She would approach first, asking if he needed anything, and naturally launch into conversation.
“Benefactor, shall I give you a massage?”
She constantly tried to do something for him. In a way it was only natural—he was the one who had cured her illness, and it had been his power that turned the tide when the tomb raiders invaded.
Of course, while Albrecht was grateful for Mersius’s kindness, it also made him uncomfortable. He already knew from Letisia exactly what sort of feelings the dragon harbored.
“I’m fine. I was just about to get some sleep.”
“Ah, I’m sorry… You must be tired.”
“No need to apologize… I’ll gladly accept the thought, Mersius.”
At that, Mersius gave a small smile and nodded, then walked away with slightly reluctant steps.
Albrecht fretted over how forward she was being. He couldn’t help worrying that she might eventually ask him to take her along.
Gaining another dragon as an asset would be wonderful, but if he brought Mersius with them…
…Albrecht, another female dragon?
Clara’s scolding was all too easy to imagine. And it wouldn’t stop with Clara. Erinn would pile on, and Letisia… well, Letisia was right here so she could be set aside for now, but Freya certainly wouldn’t stay quiet either.
Ser-Aria might not react much, but just dealing with the other three already made Albrecht’s head hurt.
“Haa…”
“Why are you sighing like the ground’s about to swallow you?”
“Waaah!?”
He turned and found Letisia standing there. She tilted her head slightly, then smiled.
“Your startled reactions are always so entertaining, Albrecht.”
“That’s because you sneak up without a single sound…”
“You’re the only party member who can’t sense my presence, you know?”
Albrecht had no comeback. The others’ sensory abilities were far superior—even Caesius’s.
“…Saying it like that makes me sad.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Was that too cold?”
“You knew exactly what you were doing…”
“Hehe, caught me? I was just being a little spiteful.”
“Spiteful about what…?”
When Albrecht asked, puzzled, Letisia smiled lightly.
“Spite over the fact that you were afraid of me.”
“…That couldn’t be helped.”
It really couldn’t. Watching Letisia swing her whip and giggle for the first time in a while had sent goosebumps racing across his entire body.
If he accepted her feelings, he couldn’t shake the fear that those spirits might be a glimpse of his own future. That was why he was still deliberating—whether it was right to give Letisia the gift he had received from Gergius.
But I did bring it intending to give it to her.
Handing it over was definitely the correct choice. Taking something he had chosen for her and using it himself at this point… just didn’t sit right.
Then Letisia spoke.
“…You’re secretly quite sadistic yourself, Albrecht. That’s why you act like this.”
“I’m sadistic?”
Albrecht stared at her, dumbfounded by a claim he had never heard in his life. Letisia gave a small nod.
“Isn’t that exactly why you make a girl’s heart ache like this?”
“….”
Albrecht froze. He answered with some difficulty.
“If that’s what you mean, it’s not a preference…”
“I know. I was only joking.”
As she spoke, Letisia casually sat down right beside him. The naturalness of it left Albrecht a little speechless.
“Letisia, this is my room for the time being.”
“I know. So what? It’s not as if we’re doing anything embarrassing right now.”
“…I was about to sleep.”
“Yes, go ahead and sleep.”
Letisia simply stared at him blankly. Albrecht let out a small sigh.
“I meant I can’t sleep comfortably with you here.”
“Hmm? Why not?”
Depending on who heard it, the remark could have sounded a little hurtful, yet for some reason Letisia grinned. When Albrecht looked puzzled, she explained simply,
“Doesn’t that mean you’re that conscious of me?”
“…!”
That… was something Albrecht simply could not deny. One particular action of Letisia’s was still burned vividly into his mind.
The way she had memorized his scent. It had only happened the day before yesterday, so the memory was especially clear.
The ultimate expression of affection among cat-kin, something they offered only to the one person they would love for life. She had given that to him—how could he not be conscious of her?
It looked as though Letisia had no intention of leaving. Whether she planned to watch him sleep or not… honestly, he had no idea what she might do while he was unconscious, so he couldn’t rest.
How could he get her to go? After thinking it over, Albrecht finally decided to present the gift he had been fretting about earlier.
If he gave her a present meant for her, she might be satisfied enough to leave.
“…Hey, Letisia.”
“Yes?”
“This.”
Albrecht held out the wooden case containing the Golden Alchemist’s Elixir. Letisia’s eyes went round as she looked at him.
“This is… the gift you chose from Gergius. Why are you giving it to me?”
“…I picked it for you from the start.”
“…What?”
Albrecht continued,
“This will be a big help for you, since you have to handle the Spirit King. It’ll raise your mana far higher than it is now, and…”
“…You chose it for me? You had the chance to receive a gift from a dragon’s lair.”
She cut off his explanation, staring at him as if she needed to confirm it was real. The fact that he had even given up benefits he could have claimed for himself just to prepare a gift for her… was nothing short of astonishing.
Albrecht scratched his head a little awkwardly.
“Originally I was going to tell you to pick this, but you were looking at that other robe. You seemed to like it so much I couldn’t bring myself to say anything, so I just…”
“….”
Letisia still stared wide-eyed at the wooden case he had handed her.
“…So in the end, you chose it for me.”
“…Well.”
Albrecht didn’t deny that much. It was the truth.
At his answer, Letisia’s eyes sparkled brilliantly. And Albrecht saw it—
“Honestly…”
—the smile that bloomed across her face, dyed with happiness rising from the deepest part of her heart.
“How am I supposed to not fall for you after this?”
That smile was truly, unbearably beautiful. To be honest, the word “beautiful” felt inadequate for what Albrecht was feeling right now.
“You saw me struggling last time… Hehe. So you were thinking of me.”
“….”
Albrecht couldn’t deny it. How could he deny the truth? Instead, embarrassment made him hurry the conversation along.
“…You can drink it now if you want. Unlike the robe you chose, this is something you consume.”
“Is that all right?”
“Of course.”
Letisia gave a small nod and opened the elixir’s lid, then drank it in one light swallow.
A message appeared before Albrecht’s eyes.
Spirit Mage Letisia has consumed the Golden Alchemist's Elixir!
Effect:Mana stat +200. Trait [Mana Conversion] generated!
Letisia looked faintly startled. She must have felt it too—the dramatic surge in her mana reserves, and the change that had taken place inside her body.
Since the message about the trait’s creation had appeared to Albrecht, she would have understood how to use the trait the moment she drank the elixir.
And that seemed to be the case, because Letisia spoke as if she could hardly believe it.
“This is… haah, Albrecht. How did you even find something like this?”
“…I recognized it because it was something I already knew about. I just never expected it to be sitting in a dragon’s lair warehouse.”
In truth he had simply known from the information, but saying that would never have been believable, so he covered it. Letisia nodded as if she understood.
“Come to think of it, you’ve found treasures before as well. Twice, even.”
Albrecht nodded. Letisia continued with open curiosity.
“Were you an archaeologist in the past? Or an explorer?”
“W-Well… I don’t really remember much. Aside from the knowledge I already had…”
“Hmm? Is that so? That’s a little sad…”
“Hm?”
When Albrecht looked puzzled at why she would think that, Letisia explained,
“That means you don’t know how you used to live, or who your family was…”
“….”
Albrecht’s conscience twinged. In reality he remembered everything; he was only covering because he couldn’t explain the truth of his situation.
But he couldn’t correct Letisia’s misunderstanding either, so he simply stayed quiet.
She gave him a small smile.
“…Thank you so much, Albrecht. Thanks to this, I’ll be able to help the party far more.”
“It’s nothing, really…”
Watching Albrecht insist to the end that it was nothing, Letisia let out a soft laugh. How could anyone give a gift this precious and still say something like that…
…It feels good.
It sounded as if even something like this wasn’t too much if it was for her sake, and that made Letisia feel wonderful. She smiled faintly as she spoke.
“And Albrecht. You seem to be worrying about one thing, so I’ll tell you.”
“?”
Letisia made a small gesture, as if asking him to lean closer. When Albrecht drew a little nearer, she whispered quietly into his ear.
“I don’t hit people. I only hit spirits.”
“…Huh?”
“If I did, wouldn’t I already be watching for every chance to take a whip to you?”
So it wasn’t a sexual preference?
Albrecht was stunned by the revelation. At the same time, another question rose.
Then why in the world…
Why does she want to hit the spirits…?
As the question formed, Letisia added one more thing.
“If this was part of the reason you couldn’t accept my feelings, you can rest easy.”
Her voice dropped into something a little more alluring as she whispered,
“…I’ll be obedient for you.”
“…!!”
“Eut…”
Apparently even she was embarrassed by what she had just said. Letisia’s face flushed bright red as she stood, then quietly left without another word.
Albrecht stared blankly at the empty space she had left behind, then let out a hollow laugh. Making that kind of face while saying those words…
“…That’s foul play.”