His voice is surprisingly soft, I thought."...Ever since she was young, my daughter has always made decishions without consulting me..."
"Ah..."
"...Her enrollment in the officer's school, her decishion to pursue a military career, even being chosen by a Divine Sword... I've always heard about these things after the fact and worried each time..."
"Ah, well, it's normal to worry if your daughter is aiming to be a soldier."
"...The incident where she was caught off guard and taken prisoner, I didn't hear about it from her but from that... girl in the maid outfit..."
"Saffron, you mean?"
"Yes... I first learned about it from Miss Saffron... It was chilling."
"That's understandable."
"...Crow-kun."
"Yes?"
"...My daughter is the type to independently make decishions about anything and everything. She's always been a bit careless, which worries me as a parent..."
"Ah..."
"...And even if I say something, she never listens..."
"No, I don't think that's entirely true..."
"...She's like her late mother in that way... she never listened to me..."
Is that because you're so timid and soft-spoken despite your appearance?
"...I hear she listens to you quite well, Crow-kun..."
"No, I don't think that's true either..."
"...Please take good care of my daughter..."
"Ah, well, I think she'll be fine. She has dependable people around her."
"...I'm entrusting my daughter to you..."
"No, but just to be clear, your daughter and I are just classmates, okay?"
"...I understand that... She prefers men smarter than herself..."
"Ah, is that so... wait, what?"
"...And she's quite particular about looks, won't consider anyone who isn't a tall and handsome man..."
"...But please, take care of her."
"Ah, well, I'll do my best within my ability."
What does he mean by "I understand that"? Do I look that dumb?
Sure, I'm not a tall and handsome guy...
"...What were you talking about with her father?"
"...Didn’t I tell you to make it quick?"
When the two waiting at the entrance of the Netamoto household said that and glared at me, I let out a huge sigh.Well, let's return to Pendragon for now.
Chapter 5: False Accusation
After solving the water shortage in Blue Dragon, I found myself back in Pendragon, visiting the underground prison within the royal castle, a place I had been confined in once before.
I wasn't imprisoned, though. I was on the outside of the bars, visiting someone who was.
"...So, what's this all about, Instructor Cattleya?"
"I should be asking you that."
Instructor Cattleya, dressed in prisoner's garb behind the bars, glared at me through the iron grid.
Upon my return to Pendragon, I was greeted with a shocking situation. Part of the royal castle had collapsed, suffering tremendous damage. Apparently, there was a massive exploshion near the private chamber of King Daria, narrowly missing killing him. Fortunately, the king was unharmed, but what followed was the problem.
There weren't many with the power to cause such destruction to a part of the royal castle, especially with an exploshion. There was no trace of oil or gunpowder, and yet an exploshion occurred inside the castle. This led to Instructor Cattleya becoming a suspect.
With the Blazing Sword, the extent of the destruction would have been easy for her. Moreover, there was no need for an alibi in her case. Following my advice, she had gained the ability to place bombs in floors and walls and detonate them at will. As a result, she was stripped of her Blazing Sword and confined in the dungeon.
"...Were you planning to overthrow the state, Instructor Cattleya?"
"Of course not! Do you suspect me too?"
"No, I don't suspect you."
If she were the culprit, she wouldn't have surrendered the Blazing Sword and willingly entered the dungeon. The fact that no one could see this was infuriating. But more importantly,
"Instructor, I believe there's zero chance that you're the culprit. You're not that kind of person."
"Oh? Yeah..."
"So why did you give up the Blazing Sword so easily? You could have easily escaped with it."
"What? If I did that, I would just raise more suspicion."
"Huh... So?"
"So what?"
"Why did you hand over the Blazing Sword so quietly and willingly enter the dungeon if you didn’t want to raise suspicion?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
I grabbed the iron bars and brought my face close to Instructor Cattleya."You're too naive! What if you had been killed?"
"Well, you see..."
"No excuses! You've always been too lenient on yourself when it comes to your own safety! Remember when you relinquished the Blazing Sword before? That was partly my fault, but even so, you're just too reckless!"
"Don't be so angry... I was pretty panicked myself, you know."
"No matter the situation, please prioritize your own life. You could have used the Blazing Sword to escape and regroup with us."
"Yeah..."
"If something happened to you, not just me or Iris, but everyone who knows you would be devastated."
"Yeah..."
"Actually, wouldn't all your former students be completely crushed?"
At that moment, Instructor Cattleya began to sob quietly within her cell.
"There are tens of thousands of people who would mourn if you died. Please never be so careless again. Always prioritize your own life."
"I'm sorry..."
But seriously, there's no way she's the culprit.
Why can't anyone else see that?
After visiting the instructor, I walked silently through the capital. I had never imagined returning to such a mess so soon after arriving.
An attempted assassination of the King.
The suspect: Instructor Cattleya.
When I first heard the news, I almost fainted from dizziness.
It's just unbelievable. Why do people close to me always end up in such dire situations when I look away? Both Iris and Instructor Cattleya are overwhelmingly stronger and more competent than me.
Especially with someone as battle-hardened as Instructor Cattleya, I thought she would be fine on her own, which makes this even more frustrating.
At this rate, will Saffron be the next one in trouble?
No, that seems unlikely.
But what really bothers me is the timing of my return.
As the prime suspect in an attempted assassination, Instructor Cattleya would eventually face execution, just like when I stole the sacred sword.
Fortunately, we returned to Pendragon before anything happened to her, but that was only because Saffron urged us to return.It wasn't just a coincidence that we made it back in time; it was thanks to Saffron.
She must have known about the situation in Pendragon somehow and, while she didn't tell me directly, she advised that it would be better for us to return. This means Saffron was trying to lead me to save Instructor Cattleya. But she didn't want to reveal how she knew about the incident from afar.
I can't make heads or tails of what Saffron really wants. I can assume she's on our side in this matter, but...
"Are you Crow-sama?"
Lost in thought, I was interrupted by a man's voice I didn't recognize. Turning to face the speaker, I saw a man I definitely hadn't met before. I'm usually uninterested in others to the point of not remembering my classmates' faces, but this man was certainly not someone I knew.
"...?"
He was a tall man, clad in a dark coat, with an entirely black outfit. Although I was dressed similarly in all black, his tall stature gave off a completely different impresshion. His hair was slicked back in a dark green color, and most notably, he was quite handsome, with narrow eyes and well-defined features. He smiled pleasantly, unlike the arrogant Prince Heath.
He was the type of person I had nothing to do with.
"I apologize for my late introduction. I am Platanus, recently appointed as the tutor for the Hero."
I racked my brain, trying to place the name Platanus, and then it clicked. He was the top graduate from the Royal Officer's Academy, mentioned in the discusshions about providing a home tutor for Shion.
"Oh, you're Mr. Platanus?"
"Yes, I consider it a great honor to teach the Hero, who will save the world from the threat of the Demon King."
"Ah, I see..."
Frankly, I was too preoccupied with figuring out how to help Instructor Cattleya to spend time talking to this man. Moreover, something about the way he spoke irked me. Plus, I had an inherent annoyance with tall, handsome men. Unlike Prince Heath, who, despite being tall and handsome, had a terrible personality and was foolish enough to be endearing, this guy was just intolerable."Do you know about Instructor Cattleya's imprisonment?" Platanus asked me.