A Delicate Matter
I’d managed to get valuable intel from prisoner Schneider.
What stood out above all was the name Lowell Glaberson.
There’s now a strong possibility that he’s somehow entangled in the affairs surrounding the mana mine.
Worse, it might already be causing a rift between the McCreed and Glaberson families.
Lady Alyssa and Amira are as close as real sisters.
The people of Curtis Village are genuinely excited about the new industry this mine could bring to the Abbott region.
If this spirals out of control, it could ruin everything.
Ideally, I’d want to meet Lowell Glaberson face-to-face.
But he’s not someone you can just ask to see.
The Glaberson family has deep ties to the Magic Corps.
Even if Lowell isn’t the current head of the household, as a member of such a prestigious magic family, he likely holds significant sway.
And I—a provincial outpost knight—could easily be brushed aside by someone of his influence.
Maybe if I were still stationed in the royal capital, it’d be a different story.
“… Can’t believe this is what’s making me want to go back to the capital…”
Abbott territory is a remote province, usually treated as a backwater.
Honestly, even I had no idea what kind of place it was until I got assigned here.
But things have changed since then.
The people of Curtis Village welcomed me, a complete outsider, with warmth and kindness.
As I rode my horse Leon back toward the station, my head spun with concerns about the future—
—but no great ideas came to me before I found myself already arriving.
“Welcome back, Senior.”
“Yeah.”
“That response… I take it you didn’t get much good news?”
“Quite the opposite. I did get useful intel—just that it makes things even harder now.”
“So someone big is involved, huh?”
Elina rested a hand under her chin, her eyes sparkling with interest.
She’s got an uncanny knack for sensing these things.
It was already late, so Amira was asleep in her room.
In that case, I went ahead and told Elina everything Schneider had shared.
“Lowell Glaberson… another heavy-hitter.”
“He’s got connections in the Magic Corps. I want to avoid drawing too much attention and straining the relationship between the corps and the knights.”
“But he’s the one in the wrong!”
“Even so, we can’t jump to conclusions without solid evidence.
Schneider might not be lying, but he only heard it secondhand—there could be mistakes in the information.”
“But by then it might be too late!”
Elina looked frustrated, and I didn’t blame her.
Still, charging in blindly would be reckless.
“Calm down, Elina. Vice-Commander Bellows is already moving on this too.
Knowing that the Hank incident almost cost a noble family their name, the Glabersons won’t make any obvious moves right away.”
“Y-you’re right, but still…”
Looks like she finally accepted that—for now.
Not that I’m completely calm about this either.
Still, I’ll need to think carefully and act within my reach.
One step at a time.
What do you think about this chapter?
