Chapter 16: Parting
When we opened the door, Count Beetle and the knights all knelt on one knee and apologized to me.
"I am sorry, Mars-kun. Honestly, we suspected you a little."
Saying that, the Count and the knights bowed their heads.
"Eh, what happened? I don't quite understand the situation..."
"We knew in advance that Baron Dameze was planning a rebellion. We suspected you might be complicit, Mars-kun, so we were monitoring you. Of course, we believed in you, but we kept watch as insurance. The reason you felt a sense of unease or a gaze was naturally because you were being monitored by both Baron Dameze's men and us. By this morning, the suspicion had completely cleared, but we couldn't tell you."
"I also have responsibility for not being able to explain various things about myself. So, I accept your apology."
Saying that, I took Count Beetle's hand with both of mine and had him stand up.
"First, I would like to make my report. Is that alright?"
"Indeed. Then let us hear your report at my villa. I also have things I wish to discuss. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes. Understood."
Accepting Count Beetle's proposal, we headed to his villa by carriage.
I noticed that Baron Dameze was accompanying us on the way to the villa.
Only, his wrists were bound with rope.
It didn't take long to reach Count Beetle's villa.
Even though it was a Count's villa, I expected it to be quite luxurious, but it wasn't particularly so. The Bryant house in Ilgusia was actually larger.
We arrived at the Count's house and were shown into a large room.
Aside from Baron Dameze, there were about six other people with bound hands.
And the two from the Lampard family—Grey and Elna—were there too.
Since neither of them was bound, they probably hadn't done anything wrong to end up here.
Clarice noticed the two of them and happily ran over.
The tense expressions on their faces crumbled when Clarice approached. It was a cry of joy. Naturally, they must have been terribly worried.
"Father, Mother, I'm home."
"I'm so glad you're safe. We'll hear the report now."
Watching this, I bowed to the Lampard family and then made my report to the Count.
"Today, we cleared the Boss Room. The boss consisted of two Goblin Kings. This is a magic stone from a Goblin King."
I had only taken the Goblin King's magic stone, so I handed it to Count Beetle.
"Thank you, Mars-kun. And Lady Clarice did well, too. As I said earlier, allow me to apologize again. I suspected that you might be conspiring with Baron Dameze over there to do something unsavory."
This man named Dameze... his thoughts are completely unhinged. His eyes look like they're gone, too.
"However, this morning Mars-kun arrived at the meeting place an hour early. This is something you absolutely would not have done if you were conspiring with Baron Dameze. It would have ruined the plan. I didn't suspect you that much originally, but it is a fact that I harbored some suspicion. Please forgive me."
"Yes. As I said earlier, I accept your apology."
"Thank you. Now, let us move on to the rewards. Have you decided on anything you desire?"
"No, nothing has been decided yet..."
"I see. Then I shall state the decided matters first. First, the Baron Barker family will be abolished! Furthermore, the adventurer registrations of the six 【Barkers】 members will be revoked, and they, along with Dameze Barker, will all become slaves."
Oh, that's quite a drastic decision. Just as I thought that, the Dameze gang started making a ruckus.
Apparently, there was no more use for them; the knights grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and dragged them away.
"Now that the noisy ones are gone, one more thing. Grey Lampard. As of today, I appoint you a Baron!"
I was so surprised by this that I inadvertently let out a voice.
The man himself must have been told in advance, as he didn't look very surprised. So that's why he was tense earlier.
Still, to be ennobled for this... True, Clarice healed the townspeople with 《Heal》 and contributed greatly to the conquest of the Granzam 【Dungeon】.
But I don't think Grey did anything in particular... Maybe he achieved something I don't know about, or maybe Count Beetle has some idea... Well, it's not really my place to worry about it.
Unaware of my doubts, Clarice threw words of blessing with sparkling eyes.
"Yay! Father, Mother. Do your best for the people from now on!"
"A-Ah... somehow I feel conflicted since we didn't do anything."
"Grey, do not say that. The fact that Lady Clarice has grown into such a fine person is undoubtedly thanks to you two as parents. The formal investiture will be at a later date, but I permit you to use the title of Baron starting today. If possible, I would like you to accept the request I mentioned earlier, but have you made up your mind? Of course, it is not an order, so you may refuse."
He must have been told something beforehand. I'm curious what it was.
"Yes, we are still undecided."
"I see. However, as you know, there is not much time. I will contact you again. You should go home today, spend time as a family of three for the first time in a while including Lady Clarice, and discuss it. Mars-kun will be staying at this house today. Is that alright?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"Understood. We will return home and discuss it as a family."
When I replied, Grey also bowed to Count Beetle and then spoke to me.
"Mars-kun, thank you for protecting Clarice again today. I'm always grateful to you. I haven't been able to repay you yet, but please wait a little longer."
"No, you let me live with you and I had a fun time, so that is enough."
Well, I did start paying halfway through, but it came with a poster girl. No amount of money would be enough.
"Then, we will excuse ourselves."
With that, Grey and Elna exited.
Clarice also said, "See you later," and chased after them.
"Now then, Mars-kun, there are many things I want to discuss, but first let's have a shower and dinner."
"Thank you very much."
I took a shower and headed to the dining room, where a large meal was prepared.
Several knights were also invited, making for a lively and very enjoyable meal.
Just in case, I used Appraisal on every ingredient, but there was no poison.
During the meal, a knight said to me:
"I apologize, but I was monitoring your actions the whole time. Please forgive me. But thanks to that, it was proven that you are a truly wonderful person. You sold 【Potions】 and ingots at the standard price or lower, and many residents of the city, including us knights, are grateful. Thank you very much."
One after another, reports of surveillance on me were brought up.
Apparently, all the knights here were the people who had been monitoring me.
I really need to learn to sense danger a bit better... It's no good just saying I felt a sense of unease when I was being watched this much.
After that, the knights continued to offer thanks and praise, which was a bit embarrassing, but everyone was happy, so I was glad.
The knights seemed to still have duties after this, so they returned to their respective posts.
When I was alone with the Count, he asked me a question.
"Shall we get to the main topic, Mars Bryant-kun?"
He knew after all... Only Clarice, Grey, and Elna knew my true identity.
Did someone leak it? Definitely not Clarice... So either Grey or Elna...
"From your reaction, someone knows your origins. It was by chance that I learned you are the second son of Viscount Zeke Bryant of the Kingdom of Barcus. I was troubled about what to give you as a reward, so I thought I would register you as an adventurer. Of course, registration alone isn't much of a reward, but I asked the Guild Master, Victo, whom I introduced you to before, to handle it. Naturally, since I didn't know your surname, I just used 'Mars.' Then Victo mentioned that there was a boy named Mars registered as an adventurer at age four in the Kingdom of Barcus three years ago. I thought it was undoubtedly the same person, so I laid a trap just now, and sure enough. Of course, I know you bear no hostility, Mars-kun. But I would like to hear at least why you are here."
I felt ashamed for even slightly doubting Grey and Elna.
"I understand. As you say, Count, I am Mars Bryant of the Kingdom of Barcus. My coming here was an accident. For some reason, I was teleported from the Ilgusia 【Dungeon】 and ended up in Granzam during the Stampede."
"Hmph. Is that so... For Granzam, it was a very grateful accident... Do you have a way to return?"
"No, I do not. I did think about trying to see if I could teleport the same way from the Granzam 【Dungeon】... but even if I managed to teleport, there's no guarantee I'd return to Ilgusia, and there's a possibility I could be sent to a completely different continent..."
"Hmm. Shall I arrange for your return, Mars-kun? If you have a letter from me when crossing the border, you might be able to pass through smoothly. Well, we are at war, so even with a letter, it might not go that easily..."
"Th-Thank you very much. Please, I would appreciate that."
"Understood. Then I will prepare it as soon as possible. But give me a week. Also, if you write a letter, I can send a fast horse to deliver it to Ilgusia ahead of you. Wouldn't it be better to inform them of your safety first?"
"Thank you for everything. Then I will write the letter first thing tomorrow."
"Mm. Then please rest well today. We can talk again tomorrow. Good work today."
With that, the Count returned to his room.
I was relieved that I wasn't punished even though my identity was revealed.
I returned to my room with peace of mind and went to sleep.
I hated just waiting for the week to pass, so I dove into the 【Dungeon】 alone.
I invited Clarice, but since the day we conquered the Granzam 【Dungeon】, she felt somewhat distant.
She seemed happy when we met, but I could tell she wanted to prioritize Grey, Elna, and the children of the town over me.
Among those children were boys about my height, and seeing her having fun with them made my chest feel like it was going to burst.
I felt like I was heartbroken... no, not 'felt like', I was heartbroken...
In my previous life, I always strove alone, but since coming to this world, Ike had always striven together with me. Recently, it had been Clarice.
When I'm with Clarice... let's stop thinking about it.
Only when I was relentlessly killing goblins in the Boss Room and Spawn Room could I focus solely on what was in front of me without thinking about Clarice. Thanks to that, my level went up, and I could do more things.
I slept in the Safe Zone and tried not to return to the city of Granzam as much as possible. Because meeting Clarice would bring up various emotions again.
Fortunately, the Beetle Knights visited the Safe Zone, so if I needed anything, they brought it for me, which was helpful.
But after clearing the Boss Room many times, I ended up getting good equipment.
Fate seemed determined to remind me of Clarice; the equipment I obtained was for her. Clarice wearing this... I decided I would give it to her at the very end as a parting gift.
Finally, the morning of my departure from Granzam arrived.
This is the result of immersing myself in the Granzam 【Dungeon】 Boss Room all this time.
【Name】 Mars Bryant
【Title】 Wind King / Goblin Slayer
【Rank】 Human・Viscount Bryant Family Second Son
【Condition】 Good
【Age】 8
【Level】 21 (+2)
【HP】 130/130
【MP】 7832/7832
【Strength】 83 (+10)
【Agility】 88 (+11)
【Magic】 124 (+9)
【Dexterity】 111 (+12)
【Endurance】 81 (+8)
【Luck】 30
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Gift (Lv MAX)
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Eye (Lv 7)
【Unique Ability】 Lightning Magic S (Lv 0/20)
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship B (Lv 6/17) (5→6)
【Special Ability】 Fire Magic F (Lv 5/8) (G→F) (4→5)
【Special Ability】 Water Magic G (Lv 3/5)
【Special Ability】 Earth Magic G (Lv 2/5)
【Special Ability】 Wind Magic A (Lv 13/19)
【Special Ability】 Holy Magic C (Lv 6/15)
【Equipment】 Mythril Silver Sword
【Equipment】 Wind Dagger (Sylph Dagger)
【Equipment】 Disguise Bracelet
Having aged a year, my stats rose considerably. When my Dexterity exceeded 100, I finally became able to manifest Wind Magic other than 《Sylphid》 while swinging my sword. However, only Wind Magic manifested. I suppose this is related to the Talent value as well.
Speaking of Talent, when my Fire Magic level rose and hit the limit of Level 5 for Talent G, surprisingly, the Talent rose to F, and I became able to chant 《Fireball》 as well.
And perhaps because my Dexterity increased, or because my Fire Magic Talent and level rose, I'm not sure, but when I tried to use Fire Magic while using Wind Magic, I was able to use a certain magic by pure chance.
I couldn't unleash 《Fire》 while manifesting 《Tornado》, but I could unleash 《Tornado》 and 《Fire》 simultaneously.
I thought Lightning Magic might also be Dexterity-dependent and tried various things, but I got no response from it whatsoever.
However, effort never betrays you. I will continue to strive.
Thinking about such things as I walked through the city, I arrived at the West Gate of Granzam.
I had intended to go to the Lampard house to say goodbye and give Clarice her present, but the whole family was absent, so even that wish didn't come true.
Maybe they don't know I'm leaving today.
As a substitute of sorts, Count Beetle, the Knights, and the town residents came to the West Gate to see me off, giving me happy words like "Thank you, Sword Saint" and "Come back anytime."
The Count and Knight Commander Blair were apparently going to accompany me outside the city.
I bid farewell to everyone in the town and left Granzam behind.
Thinking that I was leaving Granzam, the tears wouldn't stop.
As I walked, recalling the events of these past few months, I saw three silhouettes about a kilometer away. When I got closer, I found the Lampard family there.
Seeing Clarice for the first time in a while made my chest tighten again, but there was also a sense of comfort.
"Mars-kun. Thank you for everything. Thanks to you, the Lampard family... and Granzam were saved."
"It wasn't just me, it was because of everyone's hard work. If you had given up, Granzam would have fallen before I even arrived."
Saying that to Grey, I looked straight at Clarice, whose eyes were swollen, perhaps from crying.
"Thank you too, Clarice. The three months I spent with you were very fun. This is a birthday present for you. I've never given a present like this to anyone before, so I don't know if you'll like it, but I'd be happy if you used it."
Grey had told me previously that Clarice's birthday was January 1st, the same as mine.
"...Eh!?"
Tears pooled in Clarice's eyes.
"...This flower... a pink Phalaenopsis orchid... and a heart-shaped magic stone? It's cute... Thank you..."
Accepting the present, Clarice immediately took off her white hair clip to put it on, fastening the hair clip with the pink flower motif I had given her.
A single beautiful tear rolled down her cheek, but letting her hair flutter, she struck a pose and asked happily, "Does it suit me?"
I was captivated and lost for words, but it seemed to convey my feelings to Clarice. She blushed, looking a little shy.
I'm glad. I was able to meet Clarice at the end, and she liked the present. Being able to say a proper goodbye like this will soften the pain when I remember this city.
"Well then, I'm going."
Thinking this was the end, my voice trembled with tears.
"...Wait a minute."
Clarice stopped me as I tried to leave.
"...Count Beetle, Knight Commander Blair, and Father, Mother... Thank you for everything..."
At Clarice's words, Grey and Elna hugged her while crying, and Clarice, trembling, began to cry aloud too.
I watched the scene in a daze.
After a while, Clarice stopped crying, came to my side, and said:
"Now, let's go."
She said this while gripping my hand tightly.
"Eh?"
"Let's go."
"Eh? No..."
Count Beetle explained the situation to me as I failed to grasp it.
"While you two were conquering the 【Dungeon】, back when we returned to Granzam for the Dameze incident, I asked Grey: 'Would you be willing to entrust Lady Clarice to Mars-kun?'"
"Count Beetle said he would give the Lampard family time to think about it, and planned to start a meeting without you, Mars-kun. But before we could enter the agenda, Clarice herself said she wanted to go with you. At first, I hated treating Clarice as a reward or an object, but since Clarice was the one saying it..."
"I was surprised when I heard it too. It pained me to even propose it."
Count Beetle and Grey's words weren't entering my head.
The only thing I understood was that Clarice wasn't using me.
This past week, she was making memories with her family and friends before being separated from them!
"Mars-kun, please take care of Clarice. I think she'll be fine since she's with you, but be careful on the road. There are bandits and such..."
Elna said through her sobs, and Grey, desperately holding back tears, smiled and bid farewell to Clarice.
"If anything happens, you can always come back. Father and Mother will always be on your side, Clarice."
Clarice, who had been holding back tears at their words, could hold them no longer. Grey and Elna rushed to her and gave her a parting embrace.
Having finally grasped the situation, I couldn't hold back my tears either, and the Count and Knight Commander also wept seeing the three of them.
On this day, a small, beautiful rainbow arched over the outskirts of Granzam.
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