Chapter 95

“Yeah. The Black-winged knights once accepted a request to escort him.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s a relief! Lord Audley is such a wonderful person. With the cooperation of Lord Audley and the Black Knights, where Takumi-san is, we’ll quickly understand about the return ceremony, won’t we?”

Haruka’s face lit up with a completely relieved smile.

Indeed, I nodded in agreement, although my heart was full of confusion. I never expected Lord Audley to be harboring Haruka-chan… The world is indeed a small place.

But, according to Haruka-chan, he knew from the beginning that she was a person summoned from another world, right?

Then,

The reason he approached me the other time was to subtly check whether I was a person from the same world as Haruka-chan, to see if I was also from another world?

“Of course, that’s fine!” Haruka smiled cheerfully.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to speak with Lord Audley as well, could you arrange a meeting for me?”

Her smiling face showed just how happy she was at the thought of returning to her original world to see her family.

“Why don’t you come with me now? I was about to head back soon anyway.”

“Is that okay? Wouldn’t it be troublesome if we went so suddenly?”

“I think it’s fine. According to Lord Audley, all of his business in Ritzheim is already settled. He’s not returning to the Oster Kingdom because he has some personal matters to attend to. So he’s not that busy lately.”

“Is that so? And where is Lord Audley staying now?”

The location Haruka-chan gave me was surprisingly the same district where Gazelle and Felix had recently bought a mansion.

Lord Audley is renting a vacant house there by the month.

“A servant will come to pick us up in a carriage, so it would be good for you, Takumi-san, to join.”

“A carriage?”

“For me, who is still not familiar with the geography, it’s arranged that a carriage will come to pick me up at the meeting place.”

I then understood. The second time Haruka-chan came to this shop, she was lost from the sight of the guild members because she had gotten into a carriage.

“Mars-kun. I will go talk to her patron, but are you really feeling okay?”

Once it was decided, I was ready to meet with Lord Audley immediately. I called out to Mars, who was at the back of the shop and he popped his head out.

“I’m already fine. Takumi-san, please be careful too.”

“Ah, of course.”

“That’s right. I think it’s okay but… could you hold onto this for me?”

“What is this?”

What Mars handed to me was a small pouch that fit in the palm of my hand. As I brought it closer to my nose, a scent similar to lavender wafted out gently.

“It’s a sachet. It’s meant to be a charm, so if you’d like, please keep it in your pocket.”

“Did you go to the trouble of making this just for me? Thank you.”

“No, it’s not that much of a—”

As I smiled and thanked him, Mars’s cheeks tinted a faint red.

I’m still a bit worried about Mars-kun’s health, but his complexion seems to have returned, and he looked like he would be alright. Plus, after going to Lord Audley’s place of stay, I could come back here to check on things again.

Alright!

“Then shall we go, Haruka-chan?”

With a cheerful smile, Haruka-chan put on the overcoat she was holding.

After donning my own overcoat, I tucked the small fragrance pouch I received from Mars into my trouser pocket. As we left the perfumery, the air outside was a bit colder than when we had arrived. The breath I exhaled was white, making me feel the advent of the real winter even more.

“I wonder if it’s snowing in that world…”

While walking down the main street, Haruka muttered wistfully.

I thought about consoling her, but in the end, I didn’t say anything and just quietly walked beside her. After walking side by side like this for a while, we could see a carriage stopped at a corner of the main street. It was the same luxuriously decorated carriage that had been parked inside the Black-winged knights’ grounds before.

Then the door of the carriage opened, and a man wearing a frock coat stepped down onto the street and hurried over to us.

“Haruka-san, you’re late! You’ve passed the time we agreed upon…”

The man, upon noticing me standing next to Haruka, suddenly closed his mouth. Then he stared intently at my face.

“You are…?”

Ah, the one who came to the Knights with Lord Audley before.

I recognized him immediately because of his striking pink hair and pink eyes.

Could it be that he has also recognized me? Lord Audley had told Haruka-chan to “stay away from the people of the Knights,” so if it gets out that I’m a person of the Black-winged knights, it could get bad.

Sweating on my back while trying to maintain a calm expression, the pink-haired man turned to face Haruka-chan. “Haruka-san, who is this?”

“Uh, well, you see, we met by chance at the perfume shop there, and got along well. Hey, is it alright if he comes to the mansion with us?” Haruka’s words caused the pink-haired attendant to look at my face once more.

His gaze seemed to appraise me, as if to gauge my true intentions or something doubtful.

That’s right, isn’t it? Being asked to bring someone to the mansion right after meeting them, you can’t just easily agree…

“Understood. That should be fine.”

Really, it’s okay?

“That’s great! Then, Takumi-san, please get on the carriage!”

“Ah, no. Haruka-san, you go ahead and get on first. You, a moment, over here, please.”

Following the attendant’s request, Haruka obediently nodded and quickly climbed into the carriage. I too wanted to quickly get into the carriage, away from the cold wind. As prompted by the attendant, I moved to the side of the carriage.

I was a bit envious. It was quite cold today.

“Could you please come over here for a moment?”

“Ah, that’s good,” a voice resonated.

Just at the space between the building and the carriage body, my view of the main street was completely obscured from where I stood. As I tilted my head in curiosity, the servant pulled something from his pocket. It appeared to be a small bottle made of glass. When he removed the lid with his fingertips, there was a spray nozzle attached to the end.

What could this be, perfume perhaps?

As I wondered, quite abruptly, he directed the nozzle at my face and sprayed the liquid towards me.

“Huh!!! Cough, what, what is this!? Some sort of disinfection before getting on the carriage?

But there’s no need to spray it on my face without warning!! At least say something before you do it, wait? My eyes—

Suddenly, my thoughts become fuzzy… I can’t keep them open… This is strange. I can’t seem to gather my thoughts…

***

“Hmm…?”

A sense of consciousness emerged.

But my head still feels light. My whole body is warm, and I want to keep rolling around in this soft blanket… Have I woken up? Was the effect of the sleep incense too weak? Well, it’s more enjoyable to be awake, I suppose.

I tried to sit up in bed with a start, but it’s no use. Looking around, I found myself in an unfamiliar room, in bed. Moreover, my wrists were bound together with handcuffs and attached to the headboard above, and the unfamiliar voice, along with the chilly touch on my bare skin, snapped my consciousness fully awake.

What is this?!

In shock, I tugged at the chains, but there was no indication that the handcuffs would come off.

Confused, I looked at the man before me—Bernard Audley. “Audley-sama, what in the world is this about?”

“Please stop calling me Lord Audley, it’s so formal. I would very much like you to call me Bernard, Takumi,” Audley said, with a smile.

However, the conversation isn’t making any sense at all.

What is this? What kind of situation is this?

I looked around the room again. It was an unknown room. There were no windows, just a bed and a closet placed against the wall, and no other furniture. On a hook near the door a coat was seen hung and a sword, which probably belonged to the aforementioned Lord Audley.

Judging from the quality of the carpet on the floor and the spaciousness of the bed, it doesn’t seem like a commoner’s home.

And if Lord Audley is here, does that mean this is within the estate where he stays?

But then, why am I bound to a bed in that estate? Furthermore, I can’t find my coat, pants, or the cursed sword I was wearing. I’m now only in my undershirt and underwear. Tracing back to my last memory… I was sprayed by Lord Audley’s servant with the spray, and I couldn’t maintain consciousness and fainted.

Objectively considering the situation… His servant must have forced me to sleep and brought me here, right…?

Faced with an entirely unexpected situation, I gazed at Lord Audley with bewilderment. The man then sighed with a “hmm” while his eyes sparkled like the spring sky.

Then…

“Ah, as I thought, beautiful… Black as ebony, both your hair and eyes. And for a knight, your skin is also surprisingly delicate. You’ve exceeded my expectations, Takumi.”

“!”