17
I stared blankly at Sion’s cold, sunken expression.
'How can someone look that good even when they’re angry?'
Then I tilted my head slightly.
'But… why is he angry in the first place?'
In the original story, it was extremely rare for Sion Luxior to express anger toward anyone. No—forget anger—showing emotions at all was something he almost never did.
No matter how urgent or frustrating the situation was, he always maintained his signature charm: silence and cynicism.
So seeing Sion quietly directing anger at me now came as quite a surprise.
'Wait—could it be? Is he worried about me?!'
…Yeah, right.
Sadly, no one knows my favorite character better than I do.
Sion wasn’t the type to worry about someone he’s only known for less than a month.
Most likely, he was concerned I’d mess up this important northern mission.
'Hmm, I guess I need to reassure him a little.'
I flashed a confident smile. Sion, whose face had been stiff, slightly raised one eyebrow at that.
“Alright, Sion. If you’re really that worried, I guess I have no choice.”
I stretched out my arms and legs with an exaggerated motion.
“To avoid a repeat of the kidnapping incident, I should charge up my energy to full before heading out.”
“…What?”
With that, I leaped toward Sion’s face like a flying squirrel.
“…!? What are you—!”
I stuck myself right onto Sion’s left cheek, pressing my whole body against him.
“……!!!”
I could feel the muscles in his face tense up.
At the same time—
Ding!
[Event Host: Contact with your favorite character detected! Fangirl energy is being recharged! ^0^]
“Ah, bliss.”
I could feel the energy replenishing through the contact between my limbs and Sion’s cheek.
I had used my fangirl skill earlier to escape from the cage this morning, so I must’ve used up some energy back then. Recharging before my next 'mission' was definitely the right move.
“Ahem, I’m absolutely not doing this for selfish reasons or anything.”
After a brief moment, I voluntarily pulled away from Sion’s face.
"Alright. Energy fully charged!"
Sion staggered slightly and leaned on the terrace’s glass door with his hand.
Garen cautiously stepped up and asked.
“…Are you alright, young lord?”
“……”
Sion remained silent. But even from behind, the turmoil in his heart was obvious.
‘Oh dear, looks like he still isn’t immune to my touch.’
But it couldn’t be helped.
For the sake of my smooth fangirling, Sion had no choice but to get used to it.
“Well then, I’m off!”
I called out cheerfully to Sion’s back.
Just then, Sion spoke.
“…Wait.”
“Huh?”
With a face that had regained its composure, though his eyes still held a complicated glint, Sion said.
“I’ll go with you.”
“…!”
I shouted “Yay~” and flew over to Sion, patting his left shoulder enthusiastically.
“Great decision, Sion! Good, good! So proud of you!”
“……”
With a drained expression, Sion quietly donned a stealth cloak and grabbed his sword.
Moments later, we quietly left the annex.
***
About an hour’s distance from the Grand Duke’s castle, on the outskirts of a nameless forest—
In the middle of a pitch-dark and silent grove, numerous cargo boxes were scattered about.
Rough-looking mercenaries and what appeared to be subordinates of the Merchant Guild’s head stood guard around them.
“…Two, four, ten, twelve… Around twenty in total.”
Garen, who was counting the enemies in sight, whispered in a low voice.
I was startled by the higher-than-expected number and asked.
“Whoa, twenty of them? That’s… a bit more than I thought. Maybe we should revise the plan—”
“We sneak in and ambush them.”
Sion cut in bluntly. Garen nodded as if he was already used to this.
‘…Ah, right. My favorite is seriously strong.’
I belatedly recalled this obvious fact and felt a wave of relief.
Soon, Sion and Garen split up like a pincer movement and approached the enemies from both sides.
As we got closer, the voices of the Merchant Guild men chatting among themselves became audible.
One of them, who appeared older, seemed to be the aide who had sent the formal letter on behalf of the Merchant Guild’s head.
“—Sir, are you sure the bird really made it safely to the merchant head?”
“I said yes, didn’t I? Why are you being so ominous, asking over and over?”
“It’s just… Master Noel is awfully late. He should’ve arrived long ago…”
“…I-it’s probably because the forest paths are rough! Don’t jinx it, just stop talking!”
They seemed to be growing increasingly anxious since their boss hadn’t shown up.
‘Of course they are. The letter you sent was intercepted and is now sitting in Sion’s pocket.’
A few moments later—
Rustle—
“……!”
Sion stepped into the shadow of the man who appeared to be the mercenary leader.
His movement was like that of a wild wolf, seamlessly blended into the darkness.
Then—
Slice—
“…Hmm?”
By the time the mercenary sensed a killing intent and turned around, it was already too late.
Slash—!
“…Guhah!!”
The mercenary leader's dying scream marked the beginning of the battle.
“An ambush!!!”
“Damn it! How did they find us…?!”
Clang! Slash—!
“Agh!!”
“Screa—!!”
“Gahhh—!!”
The battle didn’t last long.
In the blink of an eye, Sion was surrounded by a heap of mercenaries, piled up like sacks of rice.
Witnessing the North’s elite knight’s real-life combat up close left me speechless, my hands instinctively covering my mouth.
“Holy crap.”
It was, without a doubt…
Total. Overload. Of. Coolness.
“He’s so insanely hot…!”
“This side is secured as well.”
Garen reported, having handled the group with fewer mercenaries. He dragged along the only survivor— the aide of the Merchant Guild head.
“P-please, spare me…!”
The aide, his hands tied, dropped to his knees, trembling uncontrollably.
I flew over to him and gave him a threatening glare.
“Hey. From now on, you answer exactly what I ask you. Got it?”
“H-huh?!”
Startled by my sudden appearance, the aide’s eyes bulged in shock.
“Huh? No answer, huh!?”
I raised my fist menacingly.
“Y-yes! I-I’ll talk! I’ll do whatever you say!”
“These goods here. They were originally meant to be traded with the North, weren’t they?”
“…W-well, the truth is… we were ambushed by bandits right after entering the Grand Duchy! These are the goods we just barely managed to retrieve…!”
“Tsk. Don’t waste your breath. We already checked the letters exchanged between you and the Merchant Guild head Noel. We’ve caught you red-handed—don’t even try to weasel out of it.”
“…No way…!”
Only now realizing the situation, the aide’s face crumpled in shock and despair.
I pretended to jab at him with my fists.
“Should I just! Go ahead and! Clean this mess up right here and now, huh~?”
“P-please spare me!!!”
Finally understanding it was all over, the aide broke down and wailed.
“I-I have a wife and kids back home!! I was only following orders for a paycheck!! It was all the Merchant Guild head’s plan from the start to deceive the North and smuggle the goods!!”
Conveniently, he turned out to be someone with no loyalty or sense of honor whatsoever.
“Fine. I’ll spare you. But you’re coming to the Grand Duke’s castle to confess everything.”
“Then… what’ll happen to me…?”
“What kind of question is that? Obviously, you’re going to prison. Still better than dying, right?”
“…Ugh…!”
He hung his head in defeat.
I searched the inside pocket of his jacket and found the very first letter Noel had sent from the Grand Duke’s castle.
It explicitly ordered that the smuggled goods be kept safely hidden in advance.
I rolled up the letter and tucked it into the inner collar of Sion’s cloak.
“Okay! We’ve secured both the evidence of conspiracy and the crime scene!”
“Garen, take care of the area. We’ll return to the Grand Duke’s castle immediately, report the situation, and request the dispatch of a knight order.”
“Yes, understood. I’ll join you soon with the hostage—er, I mean, the witness—once things are settled here.”
“Got it.”
Now, it was time to put an end to this whole ordeal.
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