Chapter 206
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: Catshi Mielephon's Concern
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Catshi Mielephon.
The head of the Mielephon family, one of the Thirteen Great Houses boasting the mightiest prestige on the continent—the Sword House.
This was the empire's capital, the imperial palace. It was only natural for her to be here.
"It's been a while, Your Grace."
"Has the young lord been well?"
She must know all about what happened in Bata recently, but asking anyway was just polite small talk.
"What brings you to the imperial palace?"
"Ah, His Imperial Majesty summoned me, so I stopped by."
"I see... That makes sense. Everyone knows His Majesty is utterly obsessed with the artifacts you crafted."
She was quick on the uptake, seeming to grasp exactly why I was here.
That said, to my eyes, most of her actions right now felt like she was hesitant to speak plainly about her true intentions.
"Shall we... talk for a moment?"
At my suggestion, she nodded silently.
She led me to a small building in the bustling noble district, a short distance from the imperial palace.
I scanned the surroundings in the space that exuded a quiet, bar-like serenity reminiscent of one I'd seen in my past life.
"This is a place I drop by now and then. The master here has quite the knack for mixing drinks."
"Ah, Your Grace the Duke. You've arrived."
"The usual for two. And could you clear out the area a bit?"
"Of course."
The beastkin woman flashed a soft smile, swiftly heading to the counter to whip something up and set it before us.
She then switched the shop door to closed, bowed her head, and stepped out briefly.
"Won't this interrupt business?"
"It's fine for me. I cover ninety percent of the costs to keep this place running out of my own pocket."
She might be the nominal owner, but the real boss was right here.
"Ah, then I have nothing to say."
I couldn't help but wonder why the head of House Mielephon had orchestrated this situation.
"The coffee smells great."
"Glad it suits your taste."
She savored her coffee with familiarity before asking me,
"How's the treasured sword treating you?"
"Very well. Honestly, I tend to wield swords pretty aggressively, so most blades shatter on me, but this one holds up perfectly."
In terms of durability, it's sturdier than any sword I've ever seen.
Customer satisfaction couldn't be higher.
"That's reassuring."
She fell silent again, sipping her coffee.
If the head of House Catshi was dragging things out like this, it couldn't be a trivial matter.
I waited patiently for her to speak.
About five minutes passed in that quiet silence.
With a short sigh, she finally addressed me.
"Young lord."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"House Mielephon believes we maintain a good relationship with you. Even though the engagement is no more."
"That's right. You and Sword Saint senior have always graciously accommodated my stubbornness, so I'm grateful to you both."
"It's not something I'm thrilled to ask, but..."
After some hesitation, she spoke.
"Isna... that child has run away from home."
Runaways weren't uncommon for her.
In fact, she'd often caused trouble in the family and fled to Cascadia under the guise of a runaway, visiting frequently.
Knowing it wasn't something worth making a fuss over, I picked up on the true meaning behind Duke Catshi's words.
"This time, it doesn't seem like just a simple runaway."
"......"
Her silence was affirmation. I recalled Isna's visit to Cascadia not long ago.
The way she'd tried to hide it, as if departing for a distant land.
The image of her stocking up on ice cream like emergency rations came to mind.
"What did Sword Saint senior say?"
"Father is currently away on business in the western continent. Even as Sword Saint, he has many duties."
True, that old man was always busy running around everywhere. Of course, if he'd known about Isna's situation, he'd have gone looking. It seemed he hadn't been informed.
"Actually, Lady Isna visited Cascadia. I thought it was just another one of her runaway escapades, as usual."
Her eyes widened at my response.
"Did she happen to mention where she was going?"
"No. Just... she gave off the vibe that she was heading far away. Something about not seeing each other for a long time."
If I'd known, I should've attached a tracking spell to the orichalcum sword I gave her.
But I'd held back out of consideration for her.
"Truth be told, Isna was ambushed."
"Pardon?"
"The culprits are the Moon Watchers. That's our current suspicion."
This was unexpected.
"The Moon Watchers are meticulous. I don't know about their individual combat prowess, but they're masters of stealth and assassination."
Indeed, assassins are fearsome not just for their power, but for how specialized they are in killing.
Poisonings. Murders using the terrain. And more—making death seem like a natural flow of events.
"Hmm......"
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I suspect it's related to why she left the family."
In her usual runaways, she'd leave traces everywhere.
But this time, she'd vanished completely, as if determined to leave no trail.
"She's eccentric and prone to wild antics, but she's no fool. She used to be so innocently pure... but at some point, she started hiding things from me in a strangely deliberate way......"
I could understand what she meant.
"You're asking me to help find her."
"Quick on the uptake—good. For now, just sharing any information as it comes would be enough."
"I'll look into it my way as well."
The Moon Watchers were elusive, but there was one exception.
A person I knew.
"Ambushed? Senior Isna? Why? She was even here recently... Ah, no way."
"Finding her right away will be tough, but I plan to make contact with the Moon Watchers."
"Those guys are super elusive. How do you even plan to meet them?"
Melissa, straightening her academy uniform, asked.
"I know where one of their members is."
"You do?"
"Yeah. So I'll head out briefly. I'll just check the situation and come back—don't worry."
She'd been fretting over whether I'd cause another incident, but she nodded half-dubiously.
At that moment, Arsha, nestled in Melissa's arms, called out to me.
"B... Big Brother, are you... going far away?"
"No. Just meeting a friend and I'll be right back. You can wait, right?"
"......"
Her gaze pleaded for me not to go, but there was no helping it.
"You have to... come back soon......"
Her little sister's brave words brought a smile to my face.
"I'll bring chocolate cake on the way back."
"Ah... Ahh!"
Her adorable confusion over whether to be happy or not was too cute, so I ruffled her hair roughly before leaving Melissa's office. Luna quietly followed.
I pulled a box from my subspace and handed it to her.
"What?"
It felt embarrassing to say it outright.
"A gift."
Her eyes widened slightly as she opened it, then widened again at the necklace.
"Pretty."
"Thought it'd suit you."
"Put it on me."
She held out the necklace.
Asking me to do it? As I stared blankly, she averted her gaze slightly, unable to hide her flushed cheeks.
"Hurry."
At her urging, I glanced at my hesitant hand before slowly reaching out to take the necklace.
I wrapped my arms around her neck like an embrace and fastened it.
Then, Luna extended both hands and pulled my waist toward her.
She buried her face in my chest and fell silent.
Just wordlessly.
She stiffened in my arms.
"Why?"
"Smells like another woman. Where?"
"Huh?"
"Where'd you meet some bitch."
Looking up at me slowly, emptiness flickered in Luna's eyes.
Luna didn't end up grilling me.
After staring at my sweating self, she backed off a step.
Now, I'd arrived with her at Revela, the labyrinth city of the Holy Kingdom.
The Moon Watchers weren't easy to find unless they reached out first.
I'd once tried tracking Merrill Daina with a spell, but their leader sniffed it out like a ghost and scattered them, so half-baked methods wouldn't work—that was my judgment.
"Isn't this Leon Cascadia, the young lord?"
As I passed through Revela's lively streets and entered a familiar mercenary guild building, a familiar man lit up at the sight of me.
It was Albion, the leader of the Herakles Mercenary Corps, whom I'd met here alongside Sullivan.
"Long time no see, Captain."
"Haha, indeed. Good to see you again. But what brings you here? Ah, conquering a dungeon, perhaps?"
"No, just meeting someone. You seem quite busy."
"Haha, we're preparing to promote to guild status, so we're moving buildings. All thanks to you."
He treated me far more comfortably than before, which was nice.
"Meeting someone, you say?"
As he looked puzzled, a girl carrying a box bustled about energetically beside him.
"I'm here to see Rebecca."
Rebecca, who had been dashing around with her box, froze and turned toward me.
She seemed a bit scared of me, but that was fine.
"Rebecca?"
"Yes. Got some questions for her."
"Hmm... Very well. Rebecca, set down your load and come here."
At his words, Rebecca approached hesitantly.
"What... did you want to ask......?"
"Captain... Could I speak with her alone for a bit?"
"Mm, sure. The training grounds in the back should be empty."
Thanks to his consideration, Rebecca and I reached the deserted training grounds, where I deployed a sound barrier.
"Wh... What is it?"
"I have questions for the Moon Watchers. You're still here, even if others aren't."
Moon Watchers didn't abandon their entire lives for it.
Many lived normally and gathered only when missions arose.
She tensed up visibly at my words.
But I couldn't back down either.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about......"
Her eyes darted fearfully, and Luna glanced at me.
Should I?
No, hold back.
"Did the Watchers recently attack Isna Mielephon?"
She froze at my question.
She was just a low-rank, so she might not know details anyway.
"......"
"If it's hard to answer, at least arrange a superior. I need to confirm something."
After agonizing, she promised contact soon.
That was enough, so I left the mercenaries, bought chocolate cake nearby, and returned to Cascadia.
I hadn't been hostile to Rebecca because I needed to verify the facts first.
And exactly one day later.
I sensed a presence near the mansion and moved immediately.
The location was a silent forest beyond the territory walls, devoid of people.
Waiting for me was a Watcher I'd met before.
Merrill Daina.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah. Straight to the point: Did you attack Isna Mielephon?"
I'd let their actions slide without forcing involvement or deep ties, but if an acquaintance was on their hit list, that changed things.
Frightened by my aura, Merrill shook her head.
"N... No. It wasn't... us."
"Really?"
"From the intel we gathered, someone impersonated the Watchers to ambush her."
"Heretics?"
"No, the heretics don't have the capacity right now. The leader wiped out a huge chunk of their forces. They're focused on recovery and won't move for a while."
Unexpected information.
"Then you have no leads on her whereabouts?"
"None. Whatever method she used, there's zero trace. Like she vanished into the earth."
"What a wild girl."
I frowned in disbelief, and she sighed, handing me a small artifact.
"Signal artifact. Changes color based on the situation. We'll signal through it if we find info on her."
"You sure?"
"We might need your help. The heretics are weakened, but so are we."
Fair enough.