The boy answered helplessly after being troubled for a while . Well, even if we had been together for half of the day, we were still people that he had only just met earlier . It was understandable that he would feel disheartened . However, he could not simply remain alone in a place like this . If he did, he might meet someone as nasty as that horrible guy from before .
Even though the boy had responded, he made no move to stand up from the fountain so we decided to wait patiently . Good intentions could not be forced upon people . Raising his head towards the sky with closed eyes, the boy called out to his mother one last time . We had spent so much time searching that I did not think it would reach her . Yet― .
“Sonnnnnn, sonnnnnnnnn . ”
We heard a woman’s voice behind us, calling out over and over again .
“Mamaaaaaaaa!”
Opening his eyes, the boy started running towards her . I really had not expected her to appear! I could not help thinking this as I saw the parent and son hugging each other . Roxy-sama and I both felt overjoyed .
“I’m glad . ”
“Yes, I wondered what would happen for a moment, but I guess this is it . ”
We watched their reunion . Roxy-sama’s hand brushed against my left one . Although she had not said anything, her emotions flowed in through the
After embracing for a while, it seemed like they finally calmed down . Then, the boy began to talk to his mother . He was pointing at us, so I could roughly guess what he was saying . As soon as she heard this, the mother walked over .
“For taking care of my child… Thank you . You really saved us when he got lost . ”
“Big brother, big sister, thanks!”
“Don’t get lost again, yeah?”
“Stay close to your mother, okay?”
“Yeah . ”
The mother explained to us that while she was delivering goods to a store, he had disappeared as she took her eyes off him for a moment . When she noticed that her son was gone, she searched frantically . At first, she had combed through the main avenue before it occurred to her that he might have wandered into a back street . Thinking this, it seemed that the mother had been looking through a different route than ours . In that case, they would never have met no matter how hard they searched… This was certain .
In the end, she was exhausted from not being able to find her son, so she had come here to drink from the fountain . They had met up again purely by coincidence because we happened to take a break here . Despite this, I wanted to believe that their reunion was the result of their feelings .
While the mother thanked us, the tiredness caught up to the boy… and he fell asleep in her arms . As we parted from the mother and son on the way home, we felt a weight lift from our shoulders . Telling a lost child that their guardian could not be found really did leave behind a bitter feeling . It was the same when I said earlier that we would continue looking tomorrow .
I should not do things that I was inexperienced in . With the orphan girl previously, I had most likely been spirited because I had grown a little stronger . Maybe I had become too confident .
Roxy-sama was still looking towards the path where the parent and child had gone, even though they had already disappeared . Eyes shining with tears, this image of her was very precious . A single tear ran down her cheek, reflecting the light from the setting sun . Suddenly, Roxy-sama noticed my stare and turned to me with a smile .
“It’s great, isn’t it?”
I could not reply . Her appearance was too much and I felt my chest tighten . I was captivated by her and in my embarrassment, I forgot the breathe . My face was probably flushed red . I just hoped that the colours of the sunset made it less noticeable . A servant like me should not show such an expression to his master .
“What’s wrong, Fay?”
“No, it’s nothing . If you don’t return home soon, the superior will scold you . ”
“When that time comes, let’s be scolded together . ”
“…That’s…”
I wanted to say that I did not want to, yet one look at her face and I did not care anymore . Well, I involved Roxy-sama in the lost child situation after all . It was half my fault that she would be reprimanded by that scary superior .
“Yes, I will accompany you . ”
“Good . Then, let’s go home . ”
She walked as imposingly as ever . Despite her disguise as a town girl, she was still a Holy Knight inside . I headed back to the Heart Family’s residence with Roxy-sama ― an affectionate and respectul master .
Many things happened today, although it was unforgettable for me . She was a wonderful person . I felt blissful from the bottom of my heart to have become Roxy-sama’s servant .
“Fay, what’s making you look that happy?”
“It’s a secret . ”
“Eh, it’s fine isn’t it… Please tell me . ”
“That’s one thing I can’t do . ”
“Geez . ”
Roxy-sama tried to make me confess by puffing out her cheeks . I would end up succumbing to her soon . It would be wonderful for this kind of daily life to continue .
It was time for my usual night hunt . I had purposely appeared in front of a few warrior parties several times . From these accumulated sightings, I gathered that they saw me as a fiendish apparition and had nicknamed me Lich . A monster with a ragged black hood and a fleshless body . Exactly the disguise I had aimed for .
The sky was cloudless yet again tonight, perfect for night hunting . Warriors with notable weapons were heading out to the Goblin Meadow and Hobgob Forest . In the midst of this, I ran freely through the moonlit Goblin Meadow as Lich . When I saw a goblin, I would slice off its head and if I came across a warrior, I would deliberately let them catch a glimpse . As I repeated these actions, the number of warriors who saw my existence as a problem gradually increased .
Taking a breath after killing ten goblins, I heard screams erupt from the grass .
“It’s Lich! Mukuro is here, everyone run!”
As soon as he saw me with my skull mask, the warrior’s serious face turned pale and fled . Recently, they had been calling me Mukuro . The reason for this is that I was often seen standing atop a pile of dead goblin bodies (corpses) . It was rumoured among the warriors that the goblin-loving Lich ― Mukuro would start to attack people soon . (TN: Fate’s nickname, Mukuro (マスク), was written in kanji inside the brackets as 骸 which means corpses . Since the author used katakana for his nickname, I’ve kept it as a direct translation of the pronunciation . )
This was because monsters naturally preferred humans . Although this was an unusual monster, it would definitely aim for people sooner or later… Even the warriors at the bar I frequented said this as they drank sake, anxiety on their faces . The bar owner had also said that while Mukuro’s appearances were currently limited to midnight, there had not yet been any noticeable impact on the trade economy . However, if the rumours were to spread outside of the capital, it would be a different story . If the logistics became stagnant, the price of goods would rise which would put pressure on the management of the bar .
I had apologised to the shopkeeper in my heart, yet still waited for the Holy Knight to appear . However, there was an unavoidable matter I had to attend to the next day . A while ago, I had been invited by Roxy-sama to accompany her to the Heart Family territory . Having spent so much effort to lure out the second son of the Breric Family, Hado… It was truly a pity .
“You seem depressed . Does Fay dislike coming to the territory…?”
Inside the horse-drawn carriage, Roxy-sama pouted at me . There was no one else with us . Yet, my mind was lingering on other thoughts like being unable to resume the operation of drawing out Hado from the Breric Family . Not good, not good . I would ruin Roxy-sama’s happy return like this .
“Not at all . I’m looking forward to it very much!”
“Really?”
She looked at me very doubtfully . Did I really have such a bored expression earlier?
“It’s true! It’s grape harvesting season right now, right? It would definitely be fun to pick grapes together!”
“Well, at least you remembered . ”
“Of course . ”
Every year during this time, she would return to the territory and harvest grapes with her people . It appeared to be one of the few events where Roxy-sama could interact with them . She had been in an exuberant mood ever since climbing into the carriage, so I could see that it was very important . Roxy-sama’s territory was located in the mountains north of the capital . It was currently autumn, however, it became a bleak and snowy landscape during winter .
Despite this, the lands were fertile as a result of the residents uniting together to constantly improve the soil over many generations . More than just harvesting produce for storage during the severe winters, they now shipped large quantities to the Royal Capital . Apart from their wine, it was the Heart Family’s pride to be able to supply all manner of crops to the kingdom .
“Just by listening to Roxy-sama, I can tell it’s a wonderful place . The food seems so delicious!”
“Fufufu, Fay always talks about food first . Certainly, it’s good to have an abundance, however… This time, there is a monster aiming for those crops . I’m returning to the territory to subdue it . ”
“A monster? …They really do appear everywhere . ”
I said this with raised brows which made Roxy-sama put her hand over her mouth, laughing .
“It’s troublesome . Although if they are defeated this time, then they won’t come out until next year . After all, I’m a Holy Knight so something like this isn’t a problem . ”
“Just as expected . Uh… What monster is it?”
“It’s Kobolt . ”
Kobolt… If I remembered correctly, it was a monster that looked like a dog walking on two legs . It should be larger than me . Ranked higher than a goblin, I heard that vanquishing it was impossible unless the warrior was powerful .
Besides, they had a strong consciousness as a horde . When a companion was attacked, they called for reinforcements in a chain of howls . Moreover, they had a sharp sense of smell and could immediately find anyone hiding in the bushes . On top of this, they had a tenacious personality . For an opponent, they were a pretty troublesome monster .
As I pondered this, my stomach grumbled . Guuu…
“Fay, what’s wrong? Are you hungry? Although we just had just eaten . ”
Lately, my stomach had been growling in front of Roxy-sama a lot… I felt embarrassed . This was definitely due to the Gluttony skill . Either way, I had only consumed goblin souls all this time . It was about time that an urge to devour a different soul would appear . Smiling bitterly, I tried to cover it up .
“Sorry . Even though I ate that much… I’m hungry again . ”
“Fay really does eat well . I think that’s a good thing . We’ll arrive at the territory soon, so just endure it for a little longer . ”
Saying this, Roxy-sama looked out the carriage window . A vineyard extended all the way up to the mountain . Purple fruits hung from every tree . As the carriage continued on its way, a large mansion came into view, one that was not at all inferior to the size of the Heart Family’s residence back at the Royal Capital .
Chapter end
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