CH ss - 30

[Alfine: A Mysterious Civilization]

I – who was pranked by the Frontier Count Lloyd and his subordinate Meiss, thus pulling out my swords and took a stance – immediately put my swords in the scabbards, drop on my knee and present the two stilettos as an apology.

“I-I am sorry. Please forgive me, I didn’t have the intention to cause any harm.”

“It is fine, as was said earlier, it was just a prank. There is no need for you to apologize. Even so, Frick and Al – to think young swordsmen with such skill came here. Aren’t you also someone who was casted away by the kingdom?”

While saying so, Lloyd urges me with his eyes, “Keep your stilettos.”

I reinsert the stilettos I’m presenting into my waist belt.

“My skill is not that great.”

“Humility is a virtue in the Royal Capital, but it is useless here. Ability is what you need in the frontier. As long as you have the ability, your age does not matter.”

“I will keep that word in my heart.”

I bow to Margrave Lloyd again.

“I will always have a seat ready for you in my knight order. Think about it when this investigation is over.”

“Ha… Haah!? Y-you want me to become your knight!?”

My head is confused by the words that Frontier Count Lloyd said suddenly.

W-why do you so easily recruit an adventurer with a suspicious origin to your knight order!?

Frontier Count Lloyd is a former adventurer, so he is actively recruiting adventurers as his knights – so was what I heard from the rumors among the nobles, but…

Even for argument’s sake, you can stand amongst the nobles if you become a knight.

Considering the uproar that occurred when I was recommended by Gile to be a knight in the Royal Capital, Frontier Count Lloyd who is easily soliciting me to hire me as a knight is truly unbelievable.

“A-Alfi———I mean, Al! Becoming the Frontier Count’s knight, he said! Mmmph—”

Meila who was listening to the talk next to me was surprised and yelled, so I immediately close her mouth.

She almost exposed my real name.

Meila is happy, but if I become a knight, they would definitely investigate more about me.

If my identity as the Sword Saint Alfine is exposed, there is a high possibility that my whereabouts will be known by Gile in the Royal Capital.

If that happens, he will probably send a large number of his subordinates here, and there is a high possibility that I will not be able to follow the Finn’s footsteps anymore.

While closing Meila’s mouth, I decide to decline the invitation to be recruited as a knight proposed by Frontier Count Lloyd.

“I really appreciate the offer, but I am in the middle of searching for a person with my older sister… I’m not going to work for anyone until I find that person.”

“Is that so… Well then, it is fine even after you succeeded in searching for that person, so keep it in the corner of your mind.”

“I understand.”

I can only answer so.

Currently, I am doing my best in order to find Finn and apologize to him, so I can’t afford to think about anything after that.

As for the rest of my life, I will think about it after apologizing to Finn.

Including whether to return as Alfine or to stay as Al.

While thinking about what will I do after I find Finn, I feel like I’m about to fall to the bottom of a dark and deep swamp, but I’m willing to accept it because it is a situation that I brought to myself.

“It is a pity that we couldn’t solicit Al-dono. Let us settle it with we will be soliciting you again after you have done searching for that person. Lloyd-sama, I am sorry for changing the topic, but it seems that the investigation of the facility that Al-dono and co found is proceeding smoothly.”

Having seen that my determination is solid, Meiss changes the topic.

“That seems to be the case. According to Meila-dono, that is not a facility of the ancient magic civilization…”

Since the topic shifts to the facility, Meila’s eyes begin to shine immediately.

“T-that’s right. It’s also my first-time seeing the facility of such civilization, and according to the child of beastman that was in there, it seems that facility created by a civilization with the technology of ‘electricity and science’.”

“What is that ‘electricity and science’? Are they different from magic?”

Frontier Count Lloyd has a confused face at Meila’s explanation.

In truth, even for me who had seen the facility, looking at the equipment of that facility that was able to exert magic-like effects, if told to explain, I feel that I can only say they are kind of like magic.

“If you look at the facility, you can only think that it is operating with an energy source different from magic. I also couldn’t find the technology of the ancient magic civilization – that is the magic furnace.”

“Is that why you think it is the technology of another civilization?”

“Yes, I think it’s a facility of a new civilization that hasn’t been discovered yet. It’s just, it gave off a feeling like it’s new, it feels like it was made in less than fifty years ago.”

Since Meila is an adventurer specializing in ancient ruins exploration, she has a lot of knowledge.

That’s the conclusion she arrived at after mobilizing her knowledge.

She’s saying that the facility was built in not such a long time ago.

“Abyss Hole itself has exist for a long time, but… you are saying that the facility was built around fifty years ago!? What exactly does that mean?”

“Regarding that, I don’t know the role of the facility either, and I neither know who made it nor for what purpose. But it seems that it was being repaired. The child of beastman we took under our care testified so.”

“I have heard that report. It seems that the child of beastman is from the village of Devon in the south of Inbahanes, right? We do not know why they were brought from such a far away place though… Moreover, I am worried about the beastmen who are missing, and I’m also worried about the Abyss Walker who led them and those people who were speaking strange words.”

All the information known by Frontier Count Lloyd so far was given by Arnold.

According to Meila, there seems to be something suspicious about that facility.

I paused my search for Finn and came to Abyss Hole to shake off those pursuers, but to think I would be involved in this unexpectedly big case.

“It seems that the child you took in is in good health. And I heard that Al-dono and co volunteered to be her guardian.”

“Ah, yes. I thought that since we were the one who saved her, we have responsibility to take care of her. The child herself is a pretty firm child, so rather than being her guardians, we were being fed by her instead.”

“Hahaha, she sure is a reliable child.”

Maribel who was taken into our care said, “You can’t eat if you don’t work,” and she’s now helping out as a waiter and a cook at a temporary lunch shop created by the Adventurer’s Guild in the campground.

In short, we were allowed to eat for free there.

Rather than reliable, I think she is a resolute girl.

“Yes, well, she is too reliable.”

“If possible, I would like to find out the whereabouts of her father.”

“Yes, that’s right. I want to find him, and have them meet again.”

Since the whereabouts of Maribel’s father and his friends who were taken to the facility are still unknown, the Adventurer’s Guild side continues to investigate not only the facility but also the area around Abyss Hole.

When we are in the middle of having such a talk, a flustered knight rushes into the tent.

“T-there is a trouble! When we removed the rubbles at the part where the facility collapsed, there are human bones—”

The words of the knight who rushed in hurriedly changed the complexion of everyone who was there.

Maribel, what a reliable girl. And Al and Meila were sponging off her(LOL)

And those bones are bad news…