Translator: Nox

52 - Marquis Maron

Episode 52

“Pardon?”

Asta's pupils trembled greatly.

“My memories start from when I was thrown into the Contaminated Canyon. The things before that only come to me vaguely, like reading them in a book a long time ago. It feels like I’m listening to someone else’s story.”

“Could it be… amnesia?”

“The Hayley you know is the Hayley before being abandoned in the Contaminated Zone, and the me here now is the Hayley after that.”

“You speak as if you’re a completely different person.”

“Hard to understand, right? Actually, I feel the same way.”

“Still, if you’ve lost your memory, you should see a doctor first. Is there a doctor here? I saw a few people living together earlier. Was there a doctor among them? Who are those people? Are they people who follow Hayley?”

“No.”

“Yes?”

“They’re my Omnivores.”

So, even if they’re a little harsh to you, don’t get angry. You’re the intruder in this house right now.

Fatima was angry about what Asta’s Spirit Bird had done, but she fully displayed the professional ethics of her past as an innkeeper and prepared a meal for the guest.

I was quite surprised that Fatima gave Asta potatoes, bread, and even soup with meat in it. I thought she would just toss a piece of bread on the plate.

“Enjoy your meal, Princess.”

“Thank you so much. Your name is….”

“Fatima.”

“Yes, Fatima. I’ll enjoy the meal. I’m really sorry about earlier.”

“Hehe, if you’re that sorry, how about helping with the field work….”

“Fatima!”

“Oh, my, Master. Can’t you even take a joke?”

When I yelled, Fatima massaged my shoulder as if tickling me and disappeared.

Lately, she’s only gotten more affectionate, acting like a concubine managing a tyrant.

Asta looked at me with a curious expression.

“It seems like you’re very loved by the people of the territory.”

“Not as much as you?”

“Yes?”

“You receive unconditional love in the Kasnatura royal castle, don’t you?”

Asta smiled shyly. A blush appeared on her peach-like cheeks.

She was supposed to have grown up being mistreated in an orphanage, but there’s not a shadow on her face. Children who have suffered a lot in their childhood tend to show that shadow, but maybe she’s received so much love that the shadow disappeared.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Asta.”

“Yes?”

“Even if I don’t know anything else, this place is off limits. Maron Keep is mine. I won’t let it be taken.”

Asta stopped eating her soup and looked up at me.

I put my bread on Asta’s plate and said, “The Contaminated Zone is my land. Maron Keep is my keep, and I’ve decided to live as the Marron now… no matter what, don’t even think about taking this place.” Fatima’s food must have been quite to her liking, as she was eating quickly.

“Why would I?”

Because I know the ending of the original story.

At the end of the original story, you declare that you will live in the Contaminated Zone, building your own kingdom with your four men.

I just smiled.

After finishing the meal, I said about ten times, “Now that you’ve asked all your questions, go back to your house.”

But Asta didn’t listen to me and ran around Maron Keep, helping Fatima with her work, apologizing to Doraji, and carrying drinks to the lumberjacks.

Is it because she grew up in an orphanage? Despite being a princess, she was good at her work.

She even followed Reikart around during his training, making me very anxious.

The protagonist can’t settle down here.

Absolutely not.

“Asta!”

The protagonist is originally followed by all the adversities and hardships of the world. If you bring such things into my peaceful and friendly farm, I won’t forgive you, no matter who you are!

“Go away now!”

“Just let me finish this. I’m good at this kind of thing.”

“I’ll do it, so go!”

“Look at Hayley’s arms. They look like they’ll snap while setting up pepper stakes. I may look like this, but I’m quite strong.”

“A princess doing pepper stakes! Get lost! If I let you do that, the King of Kasnatura will try to chop off my head. Get out of here, get out of here!”

“Ah, it tickles!”

I slapped Asta’s back with the reed I was holding, and she twisted her body, saying it tickled.

My Doraji sighed and muttered,

“Anyone would think you’re a witch whipping a princess.”

“What!”

“Anyone would see it that way. Look in a mirror.”

“No.”

I don’t really want to look at mirrors. I quietly put the reed I was holding next to Asta and stepped back with my hands behind my back.

“I’m the lord, so I won’t work. Don’t even think about making me work just because the princess is working.”

“No one will.”

Reikart pulled me back and handed the wild pig he had caught to Fatima.

“It’s a bit small, but it looks healthy. Is the pigsty ready yet?”

“Let’s see. Oh… it’s a female!”

“Really? It’s a female?”

“Wow! A pig has come! It’s a female! Finally… finally, a mate has arrived!”

Fatima hugged the pig tightly with both arms and ran towards the lumberjacks who were building the barn in the distance. She didn’t care that her clothes were getting dirty with mud, and she didn’t care that the pig was squealing.

Asta stared blankly at the scene.

I heard from Doraji that Reikart and Asta had a private conversation in a secret place. I casually said that they were destined to become friends.

Doraji seemed to have something more to say, but when I looked at the setting sun and prepared to rest, she just sighed.

Before the sunset completely faded, Asta came to say goodbye.

“Hayley, I’m going to leave now.”

“Goodbye. Don’t come again.”

“Actually….”

“What now.”

“Would it be okay if I went back and looked into what happened to you?”

“Why bother with that?”

“Because I want to know.”

Are you the kind of kid who won’t do it if I tell you not to? I sighed and told her to do as she pleased.

Then, I handed a bundle of papers to Asta, who nodded vigorously.

“What is this?”

You don’t know why I bought the best writing tools in Grandis.

“Documents secretly kept by the Grandis Diocese. The list of people they’ve thrown into that Contaminated Zone, their crimes, evidence, and the signature of the person in charge of handling it. It’s all recorded.”

“This… why this….”

“Don’t get unnecessarily hung up on my work. If you have time, investigate that. It seems like a lot of the Tainted wandering around out there are victims of injustice.”

“Oh… how could they do this?”

Asta quickly flipped through the papers. Then, she blinked her big eyes several times while reading the stories of one or two of them.

I said to Asta indifferently,

“The crimes are grand, but the things written as evidence are crude or repetitive, and the person in charge has changed too many times, so it will be difficult to find them.”

“That’s absurd…. How!”

“The one who made the list is someone called ‘Aquaper.’ But I don’t know if that’s a person’s name or a code name used by the order.”

“Have you been tracking this all along?”

“Kind of?”

“Is this the entire list? This is perhaps.”

“That was stolen from Grandis. What I gave you is a copy. Do you know how much I suffered every night copying that? Why is the writing in this world so unnecessarily squiggly!”

“You mean there’s another list?”

“The one I brought from Enif hasn’t been copied yet.”

“Ah….”

Asta raised her head sharply.

“The two Holy Knights who were trapped in the Enif underground cemetery…. They were sent to Eugene, the Selbon Cardinal. They seemed full of questions, even while mentioning Hayley’s name.”

“Really?”

“They asked several times if you were an evil Wizard. They said they were saved by Hayley. Even if it’s not me, they will definitely try to approach the truth.”