We were having breakfast as usual, just before I headed off to work.
「Uhh…」
「What?」
「Have you seen my back scratcher?」
「No.」
Huh, said Lyla, going to search the living room.
She had yet to put her collar on. Perhaps she had listened to my advice, or was just being fickle about it. Since it can neither break or be removed, it must take some courage to wear.
「I thought I left it here」, she said, pointing to the table as she returned.
「Maybe it grew legs.」
「It must have…」
「I’m joking. That’s not possible, is it?」
「But it’s your right arm, so…」
「That doesn’t change the fact that it can’t grow legs.」
After finally growing tired of playing around with my right arm, she had retired it as a back scratcher. She had been hoping to reattach it at some point, but as I had told Warwick, I’m fine either way as I can still do my work just fine.
「You can live without it. Without your magic, the flesh would have rotten away by now.」
But still, whined the ever-persistent Lyla. I got up to leave and noticed that she, for once, didn’t see me off at the porch.
She must have taken a liking to that back scratcher, I thought.
It was another uneventful morning at work until I heard a voice calling out to me from the entrance.
「Roland-sama!」
I looked up to see Lyan, the demi-human, bouncing up and down as she waved. Her three comrades were behind her.
「Oh, you’re back.」
They had been relieved of their official duty to protect Meiri once we had all returned to Ferland. Both parties, however, were reluctant to part ways. The squad had readily agreed to continue acting as Meiri’s bodyguards and had only returned recently.
Some commotion could be heard from the others in the room as the four girls entered.
「Lyan is always so loud」, sighed Sue with a weary look on her face.
Lyan wagged her tail.
「I haven’t seen Roland-sama in such a long time!」, she said, her ears twitching.
「You’re as cool as always, Roland-sama」, said Sans, who was standing next to Lyan.
「Good to see all of you looking healthy.」
Hire, the only human in the squad, beamed.
「You too.」
I extended a hand, to which all four girls extended theirs at the same time.
「Hey, I was just talking to Roland-sama –」
「Roland-sama was looking at me.」
「He wasn’t, Lyan.」
「Not you either, Sans!」
I shook their hands in turn to stop them from bickering.
「Thanks for all your hard work.」
It had to be said four times — once to each girl, or they would start doing that dominance-asserting thing again. I got them to sit down, which they did after some more bickering about who would sit in front.
「So do you want a quest?」, I said once we had caught up a little.
「Nope, not today.」
Hire shook her head gently, then winked at Sans.
「Roland-sama… your arm. Doesn’t it hurt?」
Her voice was still as monotonous and emotionless as ever.
「Not at all.」
「I mean… where your right arm should’ve been.」
I did feel some phantom pain every now and then, but nothing severely crippling so far.
「Sans was going on and on about the pain you were in」, added Sue.
「There’s a bit of pain, but it doesn’t affect my daily life. Don’t worry.」
「…Good to hear.」
I ruffled Sans’s hair. You could see a subtle shift in attitude in the other three’s eyes.
「It’s okay, Roland-sama can just grow his arm back!」
「No, Hire. Even I can’t do that.」
「Oh? Really?」
She looked genuinely surprised.
「I, unfortunately, do not possess such regenerative abilities.」
The days they had spent in Vadenhaag were credited under the large-scale quest, and they were rewarded accordingly. I handed Hire a leather bag stuffed with wads of cash.
「Eh… ehhhh? This is a fortune!」
Her friends crowded around her and reacted the same way.
「I wonder if I can buy Roland-sama’s arm with this?」
「Hey」, I cut in. 「Don’t treat an appendage of mine like some commodity.」
「We won’t have to work for… how long, Lyan?」
「But not working means not getting to see Roland-sama!」
「You’re right… maaaaan…」
As the two girls talked, Hire and Sue communicated with their eyes.
「Is something wrong?」
「A-Actually…」
「Don’t worry, Roland-sama」, interrupted Sue before Hire could continue. 「It was just a mistake.」
The dwarf refused to say another word. As a queue was beginning to form behind them, I sent the girls off. I was in fact somewhat worried about Sue and Hire, but decided that it wasn’t too important.
After their brief visit, the rest of the day passed unremarkably.
I returned to find a magnificent stallion tethered in front of my house.
「Whose horse is this?」
The stallion whinnied softly when I stroked its muzzle. I assumed that Rodje or some other frequent visitor had ridden it here. When I entered, however, I heard voices coming from the back.
「I don’t know what brought you here, but rest assured that he’s a good person.」
「I was ordered to conduct a search on milady’s behalf.」
Someone’s talking to Lyla… doesn’t this voice belong to…?
I opened the door to the room that was seldom used.
「I’m back.」
「Oh, welcome home.」
Lyla lifted her head, and so did…
「You’re late, Roland.」
…an annoyed-looking Elvi, with her hands on her hips.
「Why are you here?」
「Why am I here? Some way to start a conversation.」
Almeria had probably told her a lot already.
「Ahem」, coughed Elvi, clearing her throat. 「What happened during the matchmaking session between Almeria and our kingdom was a grave misdemeanor on our part. We have Roland to thank for preventing his Majesty from going ast –」
「Spare the formalities already…」, whined a bored Lyla with a shake of her head.
「Are you here to join in on the search for my arm?」, I asked.
「I was short on manpower, and this knight just happened to show up」, said Lyla. 「And that idiot elf is out frolicking somewhere… the timing was excellent.」
「No」, said Elvi flatly. 「But this Lylael-dono, the lady cohabiting with you, seemed to be in a tight spot, so…」
「I know you like to do your best, but please loosen up a little. It’s suffocating for all of us.」
「There’s nothing to be gained if you just get a new one.」
That’s Elvi for you, I thought. We invited her to join us for dinner, where I took the opportunity to thank her for tipping us off about the drugging incident all those months ago.
「It looked like it originated from some port in Ferland」, I said. 「We considered that possibility, but never thought about destroying the entire stash. It was only with your help that we managed to stop its distribution altogether.」
I decided to leave it at that as Lyla was present too. Further talk of what had happened back then would no doubt trigger unpleasant memories.
「So… you didn’t come here just to see my face, did you?」
「Of course not」, said Elvi, choosing her words carefully. 「I heard about your ‘career change’ the last time we met, and Almeria filled me in about your arm.」
「You can get straight to the point.」
「His Majesty, King Reubens, has passed away.」
The air got heavier the moment those words were said. Lyla especially suspected what was coming, given that Elvi had come all the way here to break the news to us.
「Though I believe the news has yet to reach these shores」, she continued.
「From the lengths to which you’ve gone to tell us about this, I see that he did not die of natural causes?」
If he had died of some unexpected illness or in a freak accident, there would have been no need to inform me.
「The public will be told that he was struck with a malady.」
And in reality…?
「Listen, lass」, said Lyla with fury in her eyes. 「Mind your words, or don’t think you can just walk away like that.」
「Lyla」, I said, cautioning her with my gaze.
Knowing that I was telling her to hold her tongue, she snorted.
「Just go on, Elvi. It takes the most special of circumstances to make a Reubens noblewoman bring news all the way here on horseback.」
「Thank you, Roland. Your mental acuity saves us much time」, replied Elvi. 「The king… is believed to have been assassinated. It’s no surprise, given that he ruled by abusing an iron fist. The thing is… I was in charge of his protection.」
「What’s the big deal?」, scoffed Lyla. 「Your plans weren’t watertight enough.」
I was the one who had drilled the basics of offering protection into her — both by herself and in groups of various sizes. I had taught her how to make things difficult for the other party and wear them down.
「I know of few people who could have gotten away with it undetected. That’s why I want to hear what you think.」
Lyla sighed.
「You’re this close to being mincemeat」, threatened the Demon King. 「If you even suggest that he’s sus, you’re toast.」
「I can’t deny that I briefly suspected him, but Roland isn’t the kind to take a life for no reason.」
「That’s correct」, I agreed.
「Roland.」
Elvi looked me in the eye and lowered her head.
「I need your help.」
We were having breakfast as usual, just before I headed off to work.
「Uhh…」
「What?」
「Have you seen my back scratcher?」
「No.」
Huh, said Lyla, going to search the living room.
She had yet to put her collar on. Perhaps she had listened to my advice, or was just being fickle about it. Since it can neither break or be removed, it must take some courage to wear.
「I thought I left it here」, she said, pointing to the table as she returned.
「Maybe it grew legs.」
「It must have…」
「I’m joking. That’s not possible, is it?」
「But it’s your right arm, so…」
「That doesn’t change the fact that it can’t grow legs.」
After finally growing tired of playing around with my right arm, she had retired it as a back scratcher. She had been hoping to reattach it at some point, but as I had told Warwick, I’m fine either way as I can still do my work just fine.
「You can live without it. Without your magic, the flesh would have rotten away by now.」
But still, whined the ever-persistent Lyla. I got up to leave and noticed that she, for once, didn’t see me off at the porch.
She must have taken a liking to that back scratcher, I thought.
It was another uneventful morning at work until I heard a voice calling out to me from the entrance.
「Roland-sama!」
I looked up to see Lyan, the demi-human, bouncing up and down as she waved. Her three comrades were behind her.
「Oh, you’re back.」
They had been relieved of their official duty to protect Meiri once we had all returned to Ferland. Both parties, however, were reluctant to part ways. The squad had readily agreed to continue acting as Meiri’s bodyguards and had only returned recently.
Some commotion could be heard from the others in the room as the four girls entered.
「Lyan is always so loud」, sighed Sue with a weary look on her face.
Lyan wagged her tail.
「I haven’t seen Roland-sama in such a long time!」, she said, her ears twitching.
「You’re as cool as always, Roland-sama」, said Sans, who was standing next to Lyan.
「Good to see all of you looking healthy.」
Hire, the only human in the squad, beamed.
「You too.」
I extended a hand, to which all four girls extended theirs at the same time.
「Hey, I was just talking to Roland-sama –」
「Roland-sama was looking at me.」
「He wasn’t, Lyan.」
「Not you either, Sans!」
I shook their hands in turn to stop them from bickering.
「Thanks for all your hard work.」
It had to be said four times — once to each girl, or they would start doing that dominance-asserting thing again. I got them to sit down, which they did after some more bickering about who would sit in front.
「So do you want a quest?」, I said once we had caught up a little.
「Nope, not today.」
Hire shook her head gently, then winked at Sans.
「Roland-sama… your arm. Doesn’t it hurt?」
Her voice was still as monotonous and emotionless as ever.
「Not at all.」
「I mean… where your right arm should’ve been.」
I did feel some phantom pain every now and then, but nothing severely crippling so far.
「Sans was going on and on about the pain you were in」, added Sue.
「There’s a bit of pain, but it doesn’t affect my daily life. Don’t worry.」
「…Good to hear.」
I ruffled Sans’s hair. You could see a subtle shift in attitude in the other three’s eyes.
「It’s okay, Roland-sama can just grow his arm back!」
「No, Hire. Even I can’t do that.」
「Oh? Really?」
She looked genuinely surprised.
「I, unfortunately, do not possess such regenerative abilities.」
The days they had spent in Vadenhaag were credited under the large-scale quest, and they were rewarded accordingly. I handed Hire a leather bag stuffed with wads of cash.
「Eh… ehhhh? This is a fortune!」
Her friends crowded around her and reacted the same way.
「I wonder if I can buy Roland-sama’s arm with this?」
「Hey」, I cut in. 「Don’t treat an appendage of mine like some commodity.」
「We won’t have to work for… how long, Lyan?」
「But not working means not getting to see Roland-sama!」
「You’re right… maaaaan…」
As the two girls talked, Hire and Sue communicated with their eyes.
「Is something wrong?」
「A-Actually…」
「Don’t worry, Roland-sama」, interrupted Sue before Hire could continue. 「It was just a mistake.」
The dwarf refused to say another word. As a queue was beginning to form behind them, I sent the girls off. I was in fact somewhat worried about Sue and Hire, but decided that it wasn’t too important.
After their brief visit, the rest of the day passed unremarkably.
I returned to find a magnificent stallion tethered in front of my house.
「Whose horse is this?」
The stallion whinnied softly when I stroked its muzzle. I assumed that Rodje or some other frequent visitor had ridden it here. When I entered, however, I heard voices coming from the back.
「I don’t know what brought you here, but rest assured that he’s a good person.」
「I was ordered to conduct a search on milady’s behalf.」
Someone’s talking to Lyla… doesn’t this voice belong to…?
I opened the door to the room that was seldom used.
「I’m back.」
「Oh, welcome home.」
Lyla lifted her head, and so did…
「You’re late, Roland.」
…an annoyed-looking Elvi, with her hands on her hips.
「Why are you here?」
「Why am I here? Some way to start a conversation.」
Almeria had probably told her a lot already.
「Ahem」, coughed Elvi, clearing her throat. 「What happened during the matchmaking session between Almeria and our kingdom was a grave misdemeanor on our part. We have Roland to thank for preventing his Majesty from going ast –」
「Spare the formalities already…」, whined a bored Lyla with a shake of her head.
「Are you here to join in on the search for my arm?」, I asked.
「I was short on manpower, and this knight just happened to show up」, said Lyla. 「And that idiot elf is out frolicking somewhere… the timing was excellent.」
「No」, said Elvi flatly. 「But this Lylael-dono, the lady cohabiting with you, seemed to be in a tight spot, so…」
「I know you like to do your best, but please loosen up a little. It’s suffocating for all of us.」
「There’s nothing to be gained if you just get a new one.」
That’s Elvi for you, I thought. We invited her to join us for dinner, where I took the opportunity to thank her for tipping us off about the drugging incident all those months ago.
「It looked like it originated from some port in Ferland」, I said. 「We considered that possibility, but never thought about destroying the entire stash. It was only with your help that we managed to stop its distribution altogether.」
I decided to leave it at that as Lyla was present too. Further talk of what had happened back then would no doubt trigger unpleasant memories.
「So… you didn’t come here just to see my face, did you?」
「Of course not」, said Elvi, choosing her words carefully. 「I heard about your ‘career change’ the last time we met, and Almeria filled me in about your arm.」
「You can get straight to the point.」
「His Majesty, King Reubens, has passed away.」
The air got heavier the moment those words were said. Lyla especially suspected what was coming, given that Elvi had come all the way here to break the news to us.
「Though I believe the news has yet to reach these shores」, she continued.
「From the lengths to which you’ve gone to tell us about this, I see that he did not die of natural causes?」
If he had died of some unexpected illness or in a freak accident, there would have been no need to inform me.
「The public will be told that he was struck with a malady.」
And in reality…?
「Listen, lass」, said Lyla with fury in her eyes. 「Mind your words, or don’t think you can just walk away like that.」
「Lyla」, I said, cautioning her with my gaze.
Knowing that I was telling her to hold her tongue, she snorted.
「Just go on, Elvi. It takes the most special of circumstances to make a Reubens noblewoman bring news all the way here on horseback.」
「Thank you, Roland. Your mental acuity saves us much time」, replied Elvi. 「The king… is believed to have been assassinated. It’s no surprise, given that he ruled by abusing an iron fist. The thing is… I was in charge of his protection.」
「What’s the big deal?」, scoffed Lyla. 「Your plans weren’t watertight enough.」
I was the one who had drilled the basics of offering protection into her — both by herself and in groups of various sizes. I had taught her how to make things difficult for the other party and wear them down.
「I know of few people who could have gotten away with it undetected. That’s why I want to hear what you think.」
Lyla sighed.
「You’re this close to being mincemeat」, threatened the Demon King. 「If you even suggest that he’s sus, you’re toast.」
「I can’t deny that I briefly suspected him, but Roland isn’t the kind to take a life for no reason.」
「That’s correct」, I agreed.
「Roland.」
Elvi looked me in the eye and lowered her head.
「I need your help.」
