Night Meeting
After returning Bulk and Leon to the stable and regrouping with Reskel, we headed to report to Chief Ganun at his house.
It seemed that the chief had intended to stay up until we returned, and he was surprised by our earlier-than-expected arrival. After explaining the various events that had transpired, we managed to conclude the usual contract and brought the village's vegetable earnings back home.
"That was quite the ordeal... Having Sir Justin accompany you was the right decision."
"Yes. If it had just been us villagers, we would have been forced to accept the injustice in silence."
"That's... I merely fulfilled my duty as a guard."
"Don't be so modest. You did an excellent job.—And who might this beautiful lady be?"
Now that the incident in Gracela was settled, the attention naturally shifted to Miracca.
That was only to be expected—after all, Chief Ganun hadn't been informed about her at all.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Miracca, I am a member of the Royal Knights Order"
"Given that you're wearing the same uniform as Sir Justin and Lady Elina, I figured as much... Are you another new member of the station?"
"No, I happened to meet her by chance in Gracela. Apparently, she was already on her way to this village to see me."
"Oh...?"
Chief Ganun's expression showed a hint of interest.
He was probably caught on the part about her "coming to see me."
However, he must have sensed that pressing further wouldn’t yield any answers, as he didn’t pursue the matter any more. I seemed to have made him hold back out of consideration.
Since it would be rude to stay too late, we decided to take our leave for the night.
As for the new contract, we agreed to visit Gracela again and discuss the matter further with Chief Ganun involved.
—However, when we returned to the station, a problem arose.
"It's already so late... I won’t be able to return tonight."
Miracca murmured.
"Huh? You're not staying over?"
"Would that be alright?"
"Of course. As you just said yourself, traveling alone in the dark is impossible, right? There may be no monsters or bandits around here, but you never know what might happen. To minimize risk, it's better to wait until daylight before setting out."
"Heh, you're as rational as ever. But I do appreciate your thoughtfulness."
"Well... If it were you, Miracca, I feel like you could take on ten monsters at once and wipe them out with ease..."
"Elina? Did you say something?"
"N-nope! Nothing at all!"
As soon as Miracca leaned in, Elina averted her gaze and, for some reason, started stammering. It seemed like she had said something odd, but I hadn’t quite caught it.
"Anyway, I'll take you up on your offer and stay the night. I'm also curious about how you all live here—besides, I haven’t finished delivering my important message yet."
The latter half was the real reason, no doubt.
An important message...
It was almost certainly related to Vice-Commander Bellows, who had sent Elina here.
"There's no point in standing around talking. Come inside."
"Alright, I'll be intruding, then."
I opened the door and welcomed Miracca into the station.
"Oh my, this is much nicer than I expected."
The moment she stepped inside, Miracca's eyes lit up.
She had probably imagined something closer to a smaller version of the Knights' barracks.
However, the first floor of the station was neatly organized and had the cozy atmosphere of an ordinary home.
This was entirely Elina’s doing.
Personally, I would have preferred the kind of image Miracca had in mind, but the villagers found this version more appealing, and I couldn’t say I disliked living here. From what I’d heard, Elina’s family home was set up similarly.
"This is totally Elina’s taste."
She figured it out instantly.
Well, given how long they had known each other, it made sense that Miracca would notice right away.
After Elina served coffee for the three of us, we finally moved on to the main topic.
"We're planning to meet with Hank and Knight Commander Solard—the key witnesses—to prove your innocence."
"Hank..."
Right.
It all started with him.
When I was informed of my demotion, Hank had spoken as if he had orchestrated the whole thing.
Of course, I hadn’t taken his words at face value.
He had always been the type to bluff. If someone told me he had just been putting on an act, I could believe it.
—However, it seemed that Miracca and the others had a different perspective.
More importantly, why was Knight Commander Solard’s name coming up?
What do you think about this chapter?
