Chapter 5 - Sukekkio
「Hair, good! Skirt, good! Smile, good!」
After checking myself in the mirror and getting ready to go to the "West Tower", I was about to go call Alec, but Meena came first.
「Serina-san, today's adventure has been postponed.」
「What? Does he have sudden sloth disease again?」
「No, the Baron's butler came over ...... you know, Aelyria-san」
「Oh, her, huh.」
She's the nobleman I met when we were retrieving Lily's ring.
「Is she had business with us?」
「That's not clear to me either」
「Yes, I understand. I'll go with you then.」
「Sure.」
Meena and I got into the carriage with Alec.
After the carriage departs, Alec asks the old butler sitting directly across from us.
「So, what's the situation? Did that drum-bellied priest come to the house again?」
「No, Delamac-sama hasn't come to the house since then. I don't think the Holy Church will give up so easily, but for now.」
Delamac? Who is that? He seems to be the head of the Holy Church.
「Is there a problem?」
This butler came because of Alec. I asked him if they were in some kind of trouble.
「No, nothing like that.」
「Well, then, why ......?」
I looked at Alec, but he didn't seem to know what was going on and just shrugged his shoulders.
I asked a few other questions, but the old butler didn't seem to be interested in answering them properly, so we headed to the baron's house in silence.
「This way, sir.」
We were ushered into the house and led down a long red-carpeted corridor.
The old butler knocked on the door and announced to the person on the other side.
「Madam, Alec-sama and his companion are here to see you.」
「Come in.」
The door was opened and we stepped into the parlor.
「Eh?」
The first thing that struck me was how strange it was. The person sitting on the sofa was wearing a white mask over his head.
His eyes, peeking through two holes in the mask, were staring at me.
He's well-dressed, so he doesn't look like robbers,.......
「Who are these people?」
The masked man asks.
「Yes, they are the adventurers who killed the bandits and avenged my husband.」
Aelyria explained to the man in a polite manner, but he seemed to be a nobleman.
「Hooh. I must also thank you for this. I'll thank you for avenging my brother's death.」
「Brother? You're Baron Riot's brother?」
「Hey, wait a minute, Alec.」
I was impatient with Alec's language. How could he talk to a nobleman like that? However, he has a unique atmosphere for a nobleman. It was that of an adventurer.
The masked man nodded.
「That's right. No wonder you were suspicious of me. You can't just show up dressed like this and suddenly claim to be his brother. My brother and I are very different in height. We're half-brothers. So you don't have to worry about that. I've been living as an adventurer for a while now. I'm not going to make a big deal out of your language」
The masked man was quite muscular and tall. Baron Riot was shorter, so it's even harder to believe that they're brothers.
「So, I'll be rude and say that we're adventurers, but the way you say it, you've only recently returned here?」
「Yes, I did. I was in a neighboring country for a while. There were a few mix-ups over there, and it was only a week ago that I received a letter informing me of my brother's death.」
「Hmm.」
I'm going to appraisal him, just in case.
『Heruko, please』
『Yes, sir. There's something fishy about this guy, isn't there?』
〈Name〉Sukekkio 〈Age〉36 〈Level〉29 〈Class〉Fighter 〈Race〉Human
〈Gender〉Male 〈HP〉324/324
〈Status〉 Healthy
【Description】
A mysterious adventurer.
His personality is unknown and he is inactive.
《Sukekkio's personal skill.》
Ｃａｕｔｉｏｎ！
Your browsing has been interrupted by a skill.
He's a level above us. Hmm, mysterious adventurer, huh.......
「You're imposters.」
Alec says abruptly.
「「「Huh? 」」」
「Hou. May I ask your reasoning?」
「Yeah, I don't mind, Sukekkio-san. Your class is not nobility.」
Ah, that reminds me.
「Oohhh, I see. You seem to be quite the adventurer with [Appraisal] skill. I'm certainly not a nobleman. I ran away from home a long time ago. My younger brother took over the reigns of the family.」
「So, do you have any proof of your identity?」
When Alec asked, Sukekkio stood up from the sofa in silence. As he grabbed the sword at his waist, Meena and I both drew our swords and prepared ourselves.
「Wait, I'm not going to pull it out. Look at this sword」
Sukekkio pulled the sword out of its sheath from his waist and handed it to Alec.
「Hmm? It seems to be a work of art in its own right, but. ...... Oh, this is it?」
The steel sword had a family crest engraved on it, a black pig that looked familiar. It was a familiar black pig, the crest of the Riot family.
「That's the sword I took out of the house without permission when I decided to become an adventurer. Now it's the only thing that can prove that I'm of the baronial bloodline. If you suspect it's stolen, that's it, though.」
The sword had countless scratches on it, and the hilt was wrapped with a cloth soaked in glue to make it easier to grip. The blade is warped and curved in places, indicating that the blade has been repaired and sharpened.
「No, I believe it. This is a very well used sword. If it was stolen, it wouldn't have been damaged this badly in a normal sale」
Alec said, but because noblemen's goods have family crests, the origin of ownership is immediately known. So unless you are the rightful owner, you can't carry it around in the open.
「Thank goodness. Now let's hear the end of my brother.」
I gulped. It was Alec and I who had gotten our hands on this Sukekkio's brother, Baron Riot. In the past, Baron Riot, who was hanging out with the Blood Shadow bandits, was the bad guy. ...... But we faked it and said that we avenged Riot, who was attacked by bandits.
Alec told us that the baron was unlucky to be killed by bandits.
「Hmm...... I see...... some exaggeration mixed in, but if you're saying that the Blood Shadow bandits and their head Gardon are also dead, then you've got a neat story to tell. I want to thank you again for avenging my brother for me」
「You know, I don't like it when outlaws run around. It's not like I did it for you.」
「Fumu」
I'm relieved that he believe us.
「What are you going to do now, Sukekkio-san?」
「Well, I haven't decided yet. Once I'm done mourning my brother, I'll probably go on another adventure, but it's been a while since I've missed cooking in this house. I'm thinking of having staying here for a couple of days, Aelyria, if that's okay with you?」
「Yes, if that's what brother-in-law wants, I don't see why I should refuse.」
「Why don't you two have dinner with us? Two or three more would be fine, right Aelyria」
「Yes, of course.」
「Then I will go and prepare the supper.」
The old butler bowed and left the room.
「By the way, um, ......, Sukekkio-san」
I've been wondering about him for a while, so I hesitantly spoke to him.
「What is it?」
「That mask is ......」
「Ah, this is it. I should have told you about it first. When I had my run-in with the dragon, I got a good dose of its breath on my face」
Sukekkio stroked his cheek, which was covered by the mask.
「Unfortunately, I didn't have any good potions at the time, nor did I have the money to pay a good priest. I was so stingy with my treatment that I ended up with a face that frightened everyone who saw it」
「Oh, I see. ...... I'm sorry to hear that.」
「You guys, weapons and armor are important, but you'd better make sure you have some money to spare. Unless you want to end up looking like me」
「Yes, sir. We'll be careful.」
Previous Chapter --- TOC --- Next Chapter
Join Our Discord Server
Comments
Post a Comment