Translator: Nox

43 - Marquis Maron

Episode 43

Cyril started attacking again with his guards. His eyes were completely gone. As the fight dragged on, people gathered in the alley. If we dragged this out any longer, Grandis's entire force might mobilize.

After all, we were armed thugs who had kidnapped and released the Kasnatura princess in broad daylight.

It was when Reikart's sword finally wounded Cyril and, to top it off, incapacitated his guards.

"Reikart!"

I hurriedly grabbed his arm.

"If we're late, we won't be able to escape. Let's go quickly!"

"I told you to go first."

"You crazy bastard! Are you going to kill them here and die too? Can't you just follow me?"

"You…."

"Let's go together. I can't do it alone. Who's going to pull the wagon! Are you really going to do this?"

Reikart stared intently at me. I could usually guess what he was thinking, but at that moment, perhaps because of the tension of having to escape quickly, I couldn't read his eyes.

Reikart looked back and forth between Cyril and me, then pulled my hood down even further. I couldn't see anything in front of me.

"Hold on tight."

Then he picked me up and started running.

"……."

I felt like I was going to throw up.

Asta, I'm sorry.

Not only did we kidnap Asta, but we also attacked Cyril, which meant we couldn't freely buy things in the Grandis market. That night, we secretly crossed the mountains and went to Holt.

It was the territory of that stupid Margrave who had sent the poachers to Grandis a while ago.

I handed Reikart a money pouch and said,

"Let's just get a wagon here and load it up."

"Thanks to someone, I became a criminal and couldn't even go shopping…."

"Hey! The person we met yesterday was the famous Kasnatura princess, is shopping important right now?"

"It is important."

"And, am I the only one who caused trouble? Even if you ran into your family's enemy in a remote alley, how could you start a life-or-death battle out of the blue?"

"I didn't kill him anyway."

"Come to think of it, why didn't you kill him? You were so angry that you looked like you were going to kill him regardless of the consequences."

"You said you loved him."

What?

I couldn't understand for a moment. Who loves whom? Who loves whom? Ah.

"Ah, that's right!"

Realization dawned.

"I used to love him…."

That was the setting.

Reikart stood still, staring intently at my face. He clearly intended to read my mind, but he seemed frustrated that he couldn't.

I recalled Cyril's face as he glared at us until the end.

Hair as dark as chocolate and red eyes. A cynical personality that didn't suit his pretty face. Born as a bastard, he had many scars and deep complexes, so he became a perfectionist who was overly strict even with himself.

Why did Hayley love Cyril?

Because he had many scars? Because of his inferiority complex?

I don't know. I was Hayley, but not Hayley, so I couldn't fully understand their complicated relationship.

"Not anymore."

So I just said this.

"I don't love that kind of thing."

"Really?"

"My ideal type is a thousand-year-old Doraji."

"Same here."

Reikart burst into laughter. It was a very refreshing laugh for someone who was regretting not being able to kill his mortal enemy.

"Let's go shopping."

Holt's border was not as prosperous a commercial city as Grandis, but we could still get most of the things we needed there.

Small and medium-sized merchants whose business was blocked were pacing back and forth because they couldn't cross the border, so we were delighted to be able to buy goods from them at bargain prices.

"Why is this so expensive?"

"They say it's necessary in the kitchen? A balance scale."

"Ah, they don't have electronic scales here."

"What's that?"

"There is such a thing."

After buying what the kitchen team wanted, it was time to listen to the lumberjacks' requests.

"What kind of rope is this that's so thick?"

"They said they're building a bridge."

"Will this be enough?"

"They're testing the strength and making it themselves."

"What can't those people do?"

"I'm amazed that you really can't do anything."

"I was raised preciously, that's why."

"……."

Finally, it was food. I picked out a grain merchant and took him to a secluded back alley and asked.

"How much would it cost to buy everything you have?"

"Yes, yes? Please spare me."

"No, no. What's loaded on that wagon… no, not that. How much would it cost to buy everything, including the wagon?"

"Y-yes?"

"Would this be enough?"

I held out a small pouch of gold coins in front of him. It wasn't an old gold coin from the Maron Keep treasury. It was found in Grandis, so the merchant wasn't unfamiliar with it and quickly accepted it and counted the gold coins.

It would probably be more than enough. How much could flour and beans cost?

"Take it all!"

"It was a good deal."

Having quickly obtained all the goods, we connected two cargo wagons and moved slowly.

In late summer, just before autumn, we were finally able to taste the 'Cursed Demon Beef Butter Tomato Magical Energy Stew'.

What was more important than Fatima's naming sense was the incredibly delicious taste of the food, so from that day on, I and the people of Maron Keep became united and spurred towards civilization.