41 - Chapter 37: And the Three Idiots Begin to Move
Serious-san "Look, they're starting with the gags again!"
While the fires of war were spreading across the eastern part of the Leonesta Empire...
"I'm bored."
"I am bored as well."
"Boredom is real..."
The Three Idiots, having no way of knowing such things, were simply idling away their time in the living room of their base in the Imperial Capital.
Truth be told, they were still under house arrest. While they could take requests, for those under house arrest, it was mostly chores within the Imperial Capital, which were jobs for novice Iron Rank adventurers. Through some mistake, they were currently Copper Rank, and it seemed a promotion to Silver Rank was scheduled for the near future, so it would not look good externally for a party like that to steal requests that served as the livelihood for Iron Ranks.
Fortunately, with the money from selling the herd of earth dragons, they could idle for several years, so there was no urgent need to earn, and as a result, they were just lounging around the base.
"The fact that we can't leave the Imperial Capital really hurts."
"If it were just a ban on traveling, we could at least take requests or hunt around the outskirts of the capital."
"I envy Lilitia and the others... adventuring happily with just the girls... they seem to be getting along well lately..."
It had been about two weeks since the house arrest order was issued by the Guild Master, Dusk. During that time, Geoglyph had been socializing with the upper class, Later had been doing mock battles with the Imperial Knights and construction on the base, and Marianne had been helping with her family's business and, again, socializing with the upper class.
Each of them had things to do, but those had mostly settled down.
All that remained now was the audience desired by the Emperor, who had taken an interest in them. He apparently hoped for an audience with the entire party, but as expected of the highest authority, he seemed extremely busy, and adjusting the schedule was proving difficult. Mostly for Dusk. Thanks to that, the Three Idiots had found themselves with a gaping hole of free time. However, because they were following the order not to leave the Imperial Capital, they couldn't move, and for the past few days, they had been living the lives of idle people, as if to say, "Am I a NEET?"
Just then...
"Oh? A visitor?"
The door knocker at the entrance was struck, but the Three Idiots looked up at the ceiling with reluctance.
"Sensei, you go."
"No way, it's a pain... Marie? You're the homeowner, so you go."
"Since you're just freeloaders, you should be the ones taking the initiative. However, I do wish I had a helper to manage the house... I think a beautiful girl maid would be a good idea."
"A fluffy animal-eared maid..."
"An elf maid would be nice too... but if I had to choose, I'd go with an angel maid. Usually, limited-edition characters from reruns are the strongest."
Urged by the continued knocking, the Three Idiots let out a sigh and shifted their gaze.
"Rock, paper... scissors... shoot!"
All three threw paper. They clicked their tongues at each other.
"Draw again..."
After repeating draws several times, the front door was opened on its own, and a voice was heard.
"Marie! Are you there, Marie!!"
"Eh? Grandfather?"
Marianne, who recognized the old man's voice, looked toward the living room entrance, where a single elderly gentleman in a jacket stood.
"Oh! Marie! You are here!!"
The elderly gentleman, who sported a white mustache, wore an expression of joy as he approached Marianne and hugged her.
"Hmm? The princess's grandpa?"
"Which means, the Chairman of the Romanette Grand Merchant Company?"
"Yes, Reed Romanette. He is my grandfather."
"I am Reed, as introduced. Now..."
The elderly gentleman, Reed Romanette, cleared his throat once and then...
"Are you the party members?"
He directed eyes like a bird of prey eyeing its prey toward Geoglyph and Later.
Hmm...
The two thought.
It seemed this elderly gentleman suspected the relationship between them and his granddaughter. Since they knew her inside was an old man, it was an impossible notion for them. They could deny it immediately, but acting flustered might instead invite more suspicion. Therefore, the two first tried to think from the elderly gentleman's perspective.
First, a granddaughter is a strong point for a man. She is simply so cute that it's impossible not to adore her, so it can't be helped. Furthermore, Marianne herself has a refined exterior, so Reed's affection, having watched over her since infancy, must be incredibly deep. Additionally, the knowledge cheat Marianne exercised was what made the already large Romanette Company even larger, so she is clearly an important existence from a practical standpoint.
Such a cute and important granddaughter, for some reason, became an adventurer and is eating and sleeping with two guys of unknown origin. It is only natural that he would be suspicious.
Therefore, there was only one answer here.
"First, let me say this to avoid any misunderstanding. I prefer demi-humans as the opposite sex."
"I'm a furry fan. I've got no interest in anyone other than beastmen."
They preemptively exposed their own sexual preferences.
"Ho... then, the possibility of you laying a hand on my Marie is..."
"Non-existent."
To Reed, who still maintained a stern gaze, Geoglyph and Later replied decisively. They must not be vague. Otherwise, he might suspect a change of heart in the future.
Only after they had stated it so firmly did Reed finally seem satisfied and nod generously.
"It seems my granddaughter has found good friends. I look forward to your continued relationship. If any bad bugs seem to be attaching themselves, you are welcome to physically eliminate them. When you've been in business for a long time, connections and enemies inevitably increase. I know how to handle corpses, so rely on me if you're in trouble."
"Yes sir!"
As expected of the world-renowned Romanette Grand Merchant Company. They seem to be well-versed in the dark side for ordinary people.
"By the way, Grandfather, what brings you here? I believe you went on vacation with Grandmother?"
"Yes. I went to the eastern side of the Empire for a change of pace to see if there were any business seeds... but it seemed to be getting fishy, so I came back. In fact, it seems the war has begun."
Reed answered Marianne's question, and the three looked at each other.
"Hey, the eastern side of the Empire is where Sensei's house is..."
"The Triad Border Territory, right...?"
"Uh, I'm Geoglyph Triad. Is something happening at my place...?"
"Oh, the Margrave's house... if I recall, you were the third son."
At Geoglyph's question, Reed spoke with an awkward expression.
"Your house is at war."
●
Looking up at the lapis lazuli sky before the sunrise and taking a breath, Geoglyph passed through the gates of the base.
"So? Are you going, Sensei?"
"You're up early, Ray."
He was immediately addressed by Later, who was waiting with his back against the outer wall surrounding the base, and Geoglyph put a hand to his forehead.
"Well, I had a feeling it would turn out like this."
Yesterday, after hearing about his family home from Reed, Geoglyph had maintained a calm exterior. Though he lacked information, he had boasted that unless it was the entire army of the Kingdom of Karim, the Triad territory would not fall so easily, and he had indeed carried out territorial reforms to that effect.
It was originally a family of military tradition. On top of that, the current Radglyph was an excellent mage, earning the alias "Flame Demon." Believing that one must master not only martial arts but also magic, he had worked on territorial reforms immediately after inheriting the title and had organized his own mage unit. Perhaps due to that influence, the next heir, Midglyph, was more proficient in magic.
Because of that foundation, they had accepted various suggestions from Geoglyph and received the most boost from his previous life's knowledge. The lord's family had been super-strengthened to the point where they could defeat dozens of court mages attacking them individually.
That said.
If asked whether he was worried or not, it was definitely the former. And Geoglyph had a contract with his father, Radglyph, in exchange for his freedom. It stated, "I shall rush to aid if my homeland is in crisis."
Therefore, he had originally intended to return, but judging that he couldn't involve the Serious Breakers in a personal matter, Geoglyph tried to return home alone, but it seemed he had been read.
"Besides, it's not just me."
"No matter how strong Geo is, using flight magic all the way to your homeland would be grueling, right? I have prepared transportation."
Where Later pointed with his thumb was the usual luxurious carriage, but what Marianne was attempting to hitch to it was not the usual shadow horse, but a shadow pegasus. While Geoglyph stood stunned, wondering if they were actually going to fly, he noticed three people peeking out from the carriage.
They were Latia, Kazuha, and Lilitia. They had already cheekily climbed into the carriage.
"If Big Sister is going, I'm going too. You can use the Saint's healing magic, right?"
"I believe barrier magic might be useful for something as well."
"Setting aside those two idiots, you guys should stay behind. It's a war, so it's dangerous."
"That applies to you too, doesn't it, Geo? I know well that you are strong, but you can't do everything alone... though I think you know that without me having to say it?"
Geoglyph urged the three to change their minds with an exasperated look, but he sighed when Latia called him out. He knew that, of course. In fact, he had thought it might be okay to involve the other two idiots.
"Listen, I have to go because I made a promise to Father in exchange for being free from the family fence. But you guys are different. You'll be killing people."
However, where they were heading now was a battlefield. A place of mutual slaughter. It was not like the hunts they had done until now. It was not a fight to eat or obtain sustenance. It was a fight to kill or be killed. The opponents were not beasts, but humans.
Compared to the ethics of his previous life, it was something to be avoided... however.
"I've already killed hundreds of the bandit type who came to the village."
"When inspecting traveling merchants, bandits pop out like mosquito larvae. Since they sometimes hoard a lot, exterminating them makes for a good side job. Bandits are resources."
"When on pilgrimages or training journeys, they attack even when they know I'm from the Refill Church."
"There are many times when I dispose of unscrupulous people who come to the village to make beastmen into slaves."
"Elf slaves sell for a high price, you know. Occasionally, humans look like moths drawn to a bug zapper."
"That's right. The ethics of this world were based on the Medieval Dark Ages..."
But alas, this was what Medieval ethics were like. Ethics regarding murder differ depending on the era. Moreover, Geoglyph had forgotten that they change accordingly when the world is different.
"Don't complain if you have a bad experience, okay?"
Judging that any persuasion would be useless, Geoglyph eventually gave in.
●
"Now then, this strange job is finally coming to an end."
That day, Dusk went to work at the guild as usual, and while spreading out the schedule on his desk, he felt relieved that the project was nearing its end.
"Tomorrow is sudden, but given His Majesty's busyness, it can't be helped."
For now, once the Serious Breakers' audience with the Emperor was finished tomorrow, he could take a breath. He had already let most of the nobles see them, and the secret struggles to pull them into their own factions had already begun, but once it reached that point, it was out of his hands. He didn't know which faction they would join, but adventurers value freedom. Dusk intended to push through with "They are adventurers, so I respect their own will."
Anyway, tomorrow. Just as he thought he would be released from this extremely tedious role as a caretaker once he survived tomorrow's audience...
"T-This is terrible! Guild Master!"
A staff member rushed into the room. This staff member was the one ordered to periodically monitor the Serious Breakers. He monitored them closely morning, noon, and evening, and was instructed to run and notify Dusk if anything happened.
Cold sweat ran down his spine.
"What is it. So early in the morning."
"Those three are not at the base!"
His bad feeling hit the mark, and Dusk looked up at the heavens. While lamenting that it had to be at this timing, he tried a bit of escapism.
"..................It's just a coincidence, right? Even until now, there were times they wandered the capital together... Today, from the morning, for example, maybe they headed to the market..."
"And there's this note!"
However, as if to crush his hopes, the paper the staff member showed said this:
'We are returning to our family homes.'
"Are you a couple on the verge of divorce!!"
It is said that Dusk's soulful retort echoed through the morning of the Imperial Capital.
Next time, tomorrow.