Alfine's point of view


　Noelia, the daughter of Lloyd-sama, Count of the frontier, has an eye-catching appearance with her well-manicured silver hair and striking ice blue eyes, as well as an elegant gesture of a nobleman with a fragility in her gestures that makes even I, as a woman, want to protect her.

　According to the rumors in town, she was originally devoted to magical research and was a man of few words, having lived a life of adventuring on her own, but I had heard that her impressions had completely changed since she had recently teamed up with the crimson mage Flick, who had come to Yuguha-Notes.


　She seems to be a completely different race from me, who was brusque and lived my entire life with a sword.

　But I'm sure she's feeling the pain of thinking about the person she loves, too.

　I'm sure she can't help but like the person she calls "Flick".

　She's got a lot of problems and she seems to be suffering from frustration at not being able to get over them.


　I felt the same pain as I did in the tears that Noelia glimpsed, and I decided to support her as much as I could.

　This was the small way I could repay her for offering to help me in my search for Fynn.


　He decided to support Noelia's love and was just shaking hands with her when a beastly man, who seemed to be a representative of the village, came running in.


''Lord Eugene, I told you that I would have a confidential conversation with these people. I told you beforehand not to come near the house because if you knew what was going on, you might harm Lord Eugene.


　Noelia reprimanded the beastly man named Eugene who ran in with a slightly harsh tone.


'I'm sorry, sir. But it was an emergency and I couldn't make a decision myself, so I thought I'd ask Noelia to decide.

Emergency ......?

'Yes, sir!　The guys from the village who had gone to the mine have returned with Mister Flick's horse, along with Mister Marko on his horse!

Where's Master Fricke?


　Eugene shook his head at Noelia's question.


'Master Al, we have a slight problem. Please wait here for a moment. Susana, I would like you all to attend to this.''

Yes, sir.


　Noelia, who quickly changed her color, was about to leave the room as soon as she left her personal maid, Susana, in charge of answering us.


''Father!''


　Maribel, who had been sitting in on our discussion, hiding her face because there was no guarantee that there were no insiders in the village, suddenly got up from her seat and ran out of the room before Noelia did.


'Maribel!'

Maribel!


　We were chasing after Maribel, who had run off and were running with Noelia and Eugene and the others towards the village square.



'Father!　Father!　Wake up!　Father!


　Maribel was screaming as she clung to the beastly man strapped to the saddle of a huge horse with a black body and red mane.

　I pulled the screaming Maribel away from him.


Maribel, calm down. Is this man your father?

'Uh-huh!　Father!　It's scarred, but I'm pretty sure it's my father. Brother Al!

'You're Lord Marko's daughter ......, you're Maribel!　You're getting so big!


　He looked at Maribel's face as the cloth that covered her face was removed and saw Eugene's nostalgic look.


'Lord Marco was supposed to say that his daughter had been killed ....... Speaking of which, he ran off before I could get the name of that daughter. Does that mean that the daughter is the Lady Maribel there?

'Yes. Apparently there was a misunderstanding and a misunderstanding.


　Maribel and Marco looked at each other and Noelia and Susana nodded their heads in agreement.


'But why are they tied up?　Is this a letter?


　As I was untying the ropes that bound Maribel's father, Marco's body, Meira had found the letter taped to his back and was showing it to us.


　Meira is so quick with her hands.

　Also, I'm sure she'll get mad at me if I touch her without permission.


''Mayra-sama, may I have a look at the letter?''

Oh, yes. Okay.


　Noelia received the letter that Meira was holding in her hand and ran her eyes over the contents.

　Then, he began chanting his magic without hesitation.


''Ugh, uu...... Flick-dono, avenge my daughter......''


　Marco seemed to have been magically put to sleep and was beginning to wake up in a daze.

　Maribel, who was watching him, escaped from my hands and hugged her father.


'Father, Father!'

'Ugh, ugh, Maribel ...... Maribel!　Oh, I'm dead. ...... It's nice to finally meet you: ....... I'm sorry, Maribel. I got you into this .......


　The dazed Marco seemed to think he was already dead.


'Father, Maribel isn't dead!


　Daughter Maribel repeatedly slaps her father's dazed father on the cheek.


'Ugh ...... ouch ....... Maribel, Maribel!'

'Father, I finally woke up ......!　I've been thinking he's dead for a long time: ...... ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh.


　Maribel cried as she hugged her father, her face sticky and wet, with large tears streaming down her face.


'Maribel, Maribel!　I thought all the beastmen in that facility were killed ...... I didn't expect them to have survived.

'Brother Al and sister Meira came to help!　If you two hadn't helped me, I think Maribel would have died right there, right there.

"Yeah, well, ...... I was worried about their condition, so you followed the law when I told you to stay hidden: ......


　Marco got off his horse and when he saw us, he bowed deeply.

　A man from the group of beastmen who had been following behind the giant black horse said to us, "I'm sorry to inform you that we're in the middle of an interrogation, but the mine is in trouble.


I'm sorry to say that we are in the middle of an intake, but the mine is in a terrible mess. ...... Flik-dono, who came to help Marco-dono, has begun a full-scale battle with Syntzia-sama, and is engaged with Abyss Walker.

Are we engaged?　Is it really true?!

'Yes, sir. At first we were hostile to Lord Flick, but then we recovered our wounds, and then we escaped from the mine when we were told that there were people who could help us if we returned to the village of Devon. So please help us. We just wanted money for our lives.


　The man sat down in front of Noelia and rubbed his head on the ground, apologizing and begging her to help them.


　So these beastmen were the ones Noelia was talking about working for the foreigners who were hired to work for them.

　They were probably just people who were paid to do their jobs without being told the details, and were only paid to do their jobs.


　Noelia, who received the man's plea, showed a little thoughtful gesture, but rather than that, I could see that she was impatient with the fact that her favorite person was fighting a powerful enemy.


'Yes, I understand. But I don't think the Radcliffe family will miss you guys who worked in the mine. So you will never be able to return to your life here. So I will write to my father and ask him to move to a new home near Jughatnots. Then it will be under the protection of my family, and the Radcliffe family will not be able to touch it easily. Fortunately, the frontier county territory is needlessly large and we have a surplus of land.

We have no choice but to move to the Huguenots: ......

Yes, I thought that living in this village would only serve to silence you.


　A sigh of resignation escaped from those from the mine at Noelia's reply.

　Then Marco, who had been hugging Maribel, lowered his daughter to the ground and stood in front of the miners.


'Now that we've been involved in the grave affairs of the kingdom, I think the only way for us to survive is to take shelter from the frontier county families and help thwart the Radcliffe family's ambitions. That should be our only reprieve for our countrymen who were killed by them.


　Marco said, and one by one those from the mine agreed with him.


'I think we can come to a consensus. Well, I will write a letter to you quickly. Master Al, there is a favor I would like to ask you.


　I could only watch the situation, but Noelia spoke to me with a mysterious look on her face.


I'm not sure what to expect.　I'd be happy to help in any way I can.

'Oh, good. Now, I'm sorry, but would you be willing to take these beastmen to my father's side with you?

Is it meant to be an escort against the Radcliffe family's pursuers?

'Yes, because there is no guarantee that they won't be pursued, and they are important witnesses in many ways, and I'd like to send them back to the Yuguhanotes with a skilled escort, if possible. I'm sure my father will bounce for the reward.


　Yes, these people will be the key witnesses to the Radcliffe family's plot to rebel.

　If there's only one witness, they could be squashed, but if there are many witnesses, the frontier count's story will be more credible.


　I had no reason to refuse Noelia's request since I was planning to return to Yuguhanotes immediately after accomplishing the request for exchange of information, so I had no reason to refuse Noelia's request.


''I understand. I will accept Noelia-sama's request. As soon as I receive the letter, I will leave for Yuguhanotes as soon as I receive the letter.

'I can't even let you rest, and it's very painful for me to ask you to do this: ....... I will indulge Master Al here.


　He handed the letter to the frontier count, who handed it to us and rode straight into the mine on the huge black horse that Marco had ridden.


'Are you sure you should have let Master Noelia go alone?

''Yes, since Deedle is with us, Noelia-sama will have no problem. But more importantly, please take care of the escort. It's not much, but this will be an advance payment.


　After I finished my preparations for the trip, Susana handed me a gold coin in a leather bag in the form of an advance payment.


　I'm grateful that I'm traveling with so many people, because as expected, I'm a bit lonely in my pocket.


Thank you for your consideration. Well, then, I think we're going to set out before night falls.


　I bowed to Susana and the people of Devon village, and then decided to leave the village with a group of beastmen who had decided to settle in the Yuguhanotes.