CHAPTER 92
Our new party member, Lululio.
When I brought her back to our room, I saw Aranseol just getting out of bed.
Her clothes were half-slipping off as she greeted us with a long yawn.
Next to her on the bed, the indentation where I had slept was still there.
“Sir Harua, Sir Harua.”
Lululio tugged on my sleeve and whispered.
“If you two need some quality time alone, just say the word. I’ll know to make myself scarce!”
There's nothing like that going on.
“Mmm, what are you talking about?” Aranseol asked, her face still half-asleep.
I told her to fix her clothes first, worried that if anyone in the Regular Army saw her like that, there would be mass casualties.

A moment later, Aranseol returned to her usual, proper self.
She had an exceptional talent for waking up quickly.
“Nice to meetcha! I’m Lululio, and I’ll be Sir Harua’s escort for the time being!”
“Lululio, I’m Aranseol. It’s nice to meet you.”
Aranseol received Lululio’s greeting with a relatively bright expression.
But I alone could read the unease in her eyes.
Ever since her parents were murdered by a Transferee, she has suffered from a hatred of them.
A hatred engraved into her body couldn't be easily discarded.
It was like trying not to feel disgust at the sight of an insect with dozens of legs.
To Aranseol, Transferees were not so different.
Although she had mellowed out a lot since spending time with me, it wasn’t an issue that could be resolved overnight.
Still, she didn't make the same expression she used to when facing a Transferee.
It was a huge improvement.
She's trying her best, in her own way.
When my eyes met Aranseol's, I gave her a thumbs-up.
Aranseol smiled faintly, pleased.

“Well then, I need to go see someone to introduce our new team member. Lululio, are you okay with that?”
“Yep, I’ve got nothin’ but time!”
The next person we had to meet was Babiyen.
She had to be awake and alert by now.
We left the Regular Army barracks immediately to find her.
It was just past lunchtime.
It seemed like a good idea to meet up with Babiyen and have a meal together.
It was with that thought that we arrived at Babiyen's inn.

“Babiyen?”
I knocked on Babiyen’s door, but there was no answer from inside.
Moreover, I couldn't sense any presence within.
“I don’t think Babiyen’s here,” said Aranseol, who was sensitive to such things.
Where could she have gone at lunchtime?
“Maybe she went out to eat?” Lululio suggested.
“That’s a high probability, but…”
There was also a chance she had thought of a new spell and gone to the Mage Tower.
“Hm? Excuse me, guests. Do you have some business in that room?”
Just as we were wondering where Babiyen had gone, someone spoke to us.
Turning our heads, we saw a person who appeared to be a cleaner, standing there with a cart.
“Ah, our companion isn’t here.”
“Your companion, you say? The guest in this room should have checked out last night.”
“What? That can't be right.”
What was this about?
Don't tell me Babiyen finally ran out of money and got kicked out.
Even so, I thought she would have calculated for that.
Besides, if she were truly out of money, she would have told me beforehand that she needed to borrow some.
The cleaner, looking puzzled, opened the door with a master key.
“Would you like to check for yourselves?”
When the cleaner opened the door, the room was indeed empty.
Traces of a person remained, but even those were scheduled to be cleaned away soon.
Babiyen was gone.
And she had disappeared without a word.
“...Where on earth did she go?”
No matter what, she wasn't the type to go somewhere without telling us.
As I stood there with a complicated expression, Aranseol turned away.
“Let’s go ask at the counter. An employee might know something.”
Right, standing around wouldn't give us any answers.

“Ah, are you asking about that guest?”
Fortunately, the employee recognized who we were talking about.
She had been a long-term guest, after all.
There was no way they wouldn't remember her.
“If you mean that guest, people from the Asteria Barony came and escorted her away yesterday.”
“What?”
The next words plunged us into even deeper mystery.
The Asteria family took Babiyen back?
Why?
The pondering didn't last long.
“...Because the Red Flame Lord is dead.”
The news of the Red Flame Lord’s death had started in Nox and spread to the outside world. As it was the death of a Lord, everyone was talking about it for a while.
And, of course, the Asteria Barony would have been aware of it.
The reason they had cut ties with Babiyen was because of the Red Flame Lord.
If Babiyen, the Red Flame Lord’s disciple, remained with the Asteria Barony, the family could have been harmed.
They cut her off with that in mind.
But now that the Red Flame Lord was dead, there was no longer any issue with her.
So, they naturally called Babiyen back to the main house.
That was one way to think about it.
“Knowing Babiyen’s personality, she never would have gone quietly,” Aranseol said.
That was something one could only say if they didn't know Babiyen’s personality.
Babiyen was stubborn and had strong pride.
This was the Asteria Barony that had abandoned her once.
Moreover, Babiyen herself had accepted that she was no longer a member of the Asteria family.
Would she have meekly gone back just because they called for her?
No, absolutely not.
Knowing her, she would have thrown a fit and refused.
Furthermore, the Asteria family's actions were also suspicious.
This was a family that would readily abandon its own child.
Would they really have called Babiyen back for no reason?
There must be another reason.
A reason why they had to call Babiyen back.
That reason had to be at the Asteria estate.
“Harua, you’re going to find her, right?”
“Of course.”
Babiyen was a member of our team.
She had a bit of a personality, but I had practically raised her from a little girl, through her adolescence, and into adulthood.
I couldn't just leave her be until I heard the story from her directly.
“Ooh, are we storming a noble’s house?!”
For some reason, Lululio was the one who was excited.
“No, we’re not storming a noble’s house, no matter what.”
Doing something like that would get us arrested for treason.
Nobles were a terrifying group with the right to carry out summary executions.
The dead tell no tales.
Of course, I wouldn't die anyway, so I could talk all I wanted, but I'd rather not.
“We’ll go to the Asteria estate and formally request a meeting.”
“Ooh, is that possible even if you’re not a noble?”
“It might be impossible for me, but it’s possible for one person.”
My gaze fell on Aranseol.
She pointed at herself with a puzzled look.
“The Red Flame Lord was killed by the Sword Lord. In the end, the one the Asteria Barony fears most is the Sword Lord.”
If the disciple of such a man showed up, they would be scared stiff and open the gates.
They would be worried she was there to say something about Babiyen, the Red Flame Lord's disciple.
“So, I’m counting on you, Aranseol.”
Let’s make use of the ‘Sword Lord’s Disciple’ brand name.
“R-Right, leave it to me.”
Aranseol puffed out her chest, showing her determination.
It was the reliable posture of a puffed-up sparrow.
Time to go pick up our problem child, Babiyen.

The Asteria Barony.
A family of great wealth that had amassed a huge fortune since their time as merchants, eventually purchasing a title.
Because of that ruthless growth, the Asteria family had a tendency to cut away anything that wasn't a stepping stone for their own advancement.
That was also why Babiyen had been abandoned.
They were a family with the resolve to cut off even their own children.
Such a family naturally had a residence to match.
A mansion of overwhelming size, as large as a small village.
And a mansion like that was located right in the middle of the capital.
People could say what they wanted about nobles who bought their titles having no honor.
But when faced with overwhelming wealth, people tend to become polite.

“So Babiyen really was a young lady?”
“You do treat Babiyen a bit too roughly, Harua.”
“She brings it on herself. It’s not my fault.”
If she wanted to be treated like a lady, she should have acted like one.
“If Babiyen heard that, you two would be fighting again.”
It would only add another victory to my record.
“Whoa, it’s really huge!”
Lululio spun around in front of the gate like a puppy.
“You there, who are you?”
Just then, someone approached from the gate.
He was a knight who appeared to be a gatekeeper.
This reminded me of being turned away at the gates of Rapiel’s mansion a long time ago.
Those were good times, in their own way.
It was the day I first met Shishiroka.
But I was still far from being able to save her.
One day, the day I can save her will come.
For now, this matter came first.
“Hello. We’re here on business with Lady Babiyen Asteria.”
“...I have not been informed of any guests arriving.”
The knight spoke without specifically mentioning Babiyen.
I could see him trying to subtly sidestep the issue.
It seems the Asteria family doesn't plan on revealing that they've taken Babiyen in just yet.
“That’s why we’re here to make an appointment. The Sword Lord himself requested it.”
“The... The Sword Lord, you say?”
The moment Soun's name was mentioned, the knight froze.
The story involving the Red Flame Lord and the Sword Lord was already famous.
“Lady Aranseol, the Sword Lord’s disciple, has come here in person.”
As I proudly presented Aranseol, she straightened her back, displaying herself with as much confidence as she could muster.
The knight stared at Aranseol’s face, his mouth agape, before belatedly coming to his senses.
“Ah, I understand. I will contact those inside, so could you please wait a moment?”
“Of course.”
Waiting wasn't a difficult task.

I was watching Lululio draw a picture on the ground with a stick when the knight who had gone to deliver the message came running back, out of breath.
“You are to be escorted inside.”
The firmly shut gate finally opened.
A carriage was already prepared inside to take us.
I guess a person’s name really is everything.
We were naturally guided to the carriage, and as we boarded, the coachman set the horses in motion.
The Asteria estate was as vast as it had appeared from the outside.
Thanks to that, the view of the garden seemed endless.
To think they lived in such a huge mansion.
At this size, even just going out for an errand would be a chore.
After the carriage had traveled for some time, it finally stopped in front of a magnificent, palace-like mansion.
It was a massive residence that required climbing a long flight of stairs.
Looking at it now, I could understand why Babiyen was always complaining about the inn.
After living in such a spacious house, adjusting to a smaller place must have been quite difficult.

“Ah, welcome!”
Just then, a woman came running out to greet us at the entrance.
She was tall and, unlike someone else, had curves in all the right places.
Brilliant red hair and large eyes.
The moment I saw her, I knew which bloodline she belonged to.
Unlike Babiyen, she greeted us with a very elegant curtsy, lifting the hem of her dress.
“I am the eldest daughter, Vasia Asteria. Welcome to the Asteria estate.”
A superior version of Babiyen was right here.