I felt warm drops dripping down my cheeks with a flop, and I could feel my lost consciousness slowly returning to me.

　My head was resting on something warm and soft, giving me a comfortable place to sleep.


'...... Master Flick, wake up, wake up. Please, wake up!　This is disgusting!　Wake up, please!


　I could hear a girl's voice crying and screaming in my faintly returned hearing.

　However, the voice was muffled and very hard to hear, as if immersed in water.


　Is anyone crying ......?

　So, what the hell happened to me?

　I think it was ...... the Abyss Walkers that the miners were using with the Abyss Walkers.


　He remembered that he had used his magic and strength to the limit of his own magic and strength to engage in a last-minute battle with a group of Abyss Walkers.


　After that, the limits of his magic and strength came and--


'I don't want to die. ...... I don't want to die. Please come home!　Master Fricke, please!


　As the muffled voice became a little more clearly audible, it became clearer and clearer that the voice was Noelia.


　Huh?　Why is Noelia here .......

　I thought I told him to wait for me in Devon village.

　I don't know when he was here.


　My body couldn't move at all, but I could feel Noelia's hand on my cheek and something warm flowing into my body from there.


　I'm not sure if this is Noelia casting a recovery spell on me.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.


''I still don't know anything about Flick-sama. That's why I don't want to say goodbye like this. I want to know more about Master Fricke. I'd like to know .......


　Her vision hadn't recovered yet, but the warm droplets of water hitting her face could be the tears pouring from her eyes.

　She didn't seem to know that I was still coming back to consciousness, and she was spewing out the words she'd been hiding inside herself in an emotional way.


'I still don't know anything about what kind of child Flick-sama was, or where he has been, or what he likes to do, or what he likes to do, or what his favorite things are, or what his favorite foods are, or what ...... women are like. I want to know everything about Master Flick. That's why I want to stay with you all the time more for that.


　Noelia's words, laced with her true intentions, reached his ears, and he began to feel lost inside himself for hiding his true identity and confronting her.

　But at the same time, the Alfine that I loved changed into a leopard and turned into a disgrace to me, and the days with her spread out in my mind, and I feel a bitterness building up in my chest.


　I'm sorry ...... I still don't have the confidence to accept Noelia's favor.

　I'm really ...... sorry.


　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of your time with the help of a good friend.

　As I put a lid on the feelings that had grown inside me, Noelia's recovery magic took effect, and my freedom to move my body returned.

　Then, when I opened my eyes with a puff, I opened my mouth with a smile on my face to Noelia's crying face.


"Thank you, Noelia. Thanks to you, you saved me!

'Oh, my God!　Mr. Fricke!　When did he come to his senses?　Oh, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!　Sisasa, you heard me earlier!


　Noelia's face was red and flushed from embarrassment as she looked at me with tears fluttering out of her eyes and a surprised face.


'You mean just now?　What are you talking about?


　I quickly pretended to pretend that I didn't know, and I fooled myself, but I felt my heart grow heavy with another lie to tell her.


'Noelia's about the flick...' Whew!　Dimolu, let me go!　Let me go!


　I saw Dimol take Cinzia, who was about to make a cup of tea, in his beak with a lightning-fast movement and fly away.

　Noelia, who was watching Cinzia like that, wiped her own tears with Gusigushi and wiped her own tears and smiled the same as usual.


''No, no. If you haven't heard, it's no problem!　He'll be fine. Now that Master Flick has lost his magic, strength, and blood, I would suggest that he rest for a while.


　Noelia's hand was hard on my cheek again.


'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be this reckless at all. ......

It's true. I didn't know that we were going to fight that many Abyss walkers.


　Noelia puffed out her cheeks and looked angry as she held my cheek with her hand.


'It was just a minor mix-up. ......

It would be hard for my heart to bear to fight an Abyss Walker by mistake. If anything happens to Master Fricke, please go to .......

What if something were to happen to me?

'If it were--Wow, we would lose our trump card against Abyss Walker. Master Fricke said that he would make you realize the value of the power you have--


　Noelia's hands on my cheeks feel a little stronger than before.


'Huh, huh. I'll be more careful in the future. I'm not going to be this reckless.'

Are you sure?


　I bring my own face to mine and Noelia peers in.


'Yeah, I promise,'

Yes, sir. I will keep those words in mind. Now, Master Fricke is still recovering from his injuries, so please go to sleep now. I will take care of the rest.


　When Noelia said that much, she blocked my gaze with her hand and began chanting her magic.

　And my consciousness was lost there again.



　The next time I woke up, I was awake in an inn in the city of Invahannes.

　I was told that the white robed men from the mine in question had all committed suicide by poisoning themselves after Cinzia had caught them for questioning.

　None of them survived, and they didn't know where those guys were from, the foreigners, they said.

　They must have been poisoned because they had been instructed by their leaders in advance that if the information was about to leak, they should pretend that they hadn't covered it all up.


　They were even more deliberate in their cover-up. The fortress that they were using as a stronghold exploded right in front of Noelia, who was prioritizing my treatment, and the facility itself, along with the new tunnels, collapsed and crumbled, and the village at the back of the Rahman Mine was buried under a landslide.

　The only thing that saved us was that the beastmen who were helping with the crystal digging had escaped beforehand and no one was killed.


　And the reason we were in Inverness is that when we returned to Devon village, we were brought in halfway to investigate the cause of the explosion in the Lachman Mine as the only witnesses to the explosion, under the guise of a joint investigation with the Adventurers Guild and the deputies in Inverness.

　Noelia, who was unconscious as I healed my wounds, told me that the Radcliffe family's involvement in the investigation was explained in a logical manner, though in a vague manner, so they weren't treated as the culprit, and that the mine had collapsed in a dust explosion.


　If it was true, we should have pulled out information about the Radcliffe family's involvement and denounced them, but since all the information about his family's involvement was only speculation and the testimony of beastmen who weren't here, Noelia also said that they retracted a lot of things and settled the case politically.

　So we're not considered the mastermind of the mine explosion, and we've been released just for testifying as witnesses, and the frontier county and Radcliffe family are not ostensibly in conflict, it seems.


　However, it is beginning to come to light that the Radcliffe family and the foreign group that uses the Abyss Walkers and the Radcliffe family have a lot of scheming going on behind the scenes in the kingdom.

　They had decided to rush to investigate the sightings of Abyss Walkers seen in other regions in order to obtain conclusive evidence that the two sides are linked.


　Right now they were preparing to leave in the inn to head to Algren in the north, where the next sighting had been reported, and they were preparing to leave.


'Really, the Radcliffe's didn't let their tails fly. I didn't know they'd go so far as to blow it clean and clear like that: ......


　Susana remembered her anger at the attitude of the Radcliffe family deputies at the survey meeting, and she received Noelia's belongings and folded them neatly, pouting and angry.


It couldn't be helped, sir. From the information we had, we couldn't say that the Radcliffe family had planned it all: ......

It's a good thing that you've got a good idea of what you're looking for. I've been blown up and buried under a huge amount of dirt and sand. It's just that they got you.

It was so close, though, that all I could see was that they were one better this time. ......


　Noelia also looked at me with a slightly tired look on her face, but if it wasn't for her, I could have been beheaded as the adventurer who blew up the mine.

　So I feel I owe her more than I can ever repay her for this time.


'But thanks to Noelia, I managed to get out of the crisis, so the next time I have a sighting in Algren, I'll definitely grab the Radcliffe family's tail.


　Now that the Lachman Mine, the place of investigation, had been blown up, he thought it was very dangerous to stay for a long time in Inverness, where the Radcliffe family's influence was strong, and he was in a hurry to pack up and leave the area as soon as possible.


'Yes, I suppose so. The beastmen around Devon village who have become aware of the situation to a certain extent have also given a letter to anyone who is thinking of moving to Yughannotes, asking for your father's help, and we should come to our next destination as soon as possible.


　Noelia herself is aware that the reason she was able to get through this time was a combination of various fortunes, and she also sensed that if she stayed here, she would be in a position where she didn't know when she would be able to unleash her assassins.


'Really, that helps. I was a party to this, and I'm really sorry I was just sleeping around.

'No, it's just that thanks to Master Flick wiping out the Abyss Walkers in that land, that monster is no longer likely to be scattered throughout the kingdom and wreaking havoc!　So, Master Fricke should just keep his chest up!

I appreciate that.

Flick, I'm ready to get out of here. Let's get out of here.


　The main body was loading up outside the inn, and Cinzia stopped on my shoulder, hurrying me to leave quickly.

　I didn't need to be rushed by Cinzia to get ready to leave, and both I and Noelia were almost ready to leave.


''Yeah, we're ready. Let's get ready to leave. We'll go to Algren next.

Yes, sir. Now let's get the information on the Radcliffe family's involvement.

'It's cold. I'll be spending more time in Fricke's cloak.

I'm sure Dimol and Deedle at the garrison will be waiting for you long enough.


　Once we had our respective luggage, we decided to leave the Inn of Invahannes and get into the carriage and head to the garrison once we had picked up Deedle and Dimol.

　On the way there, I caught a glimpse of a crowd of Black Mountain people in front of the Kingsguard's post.


　What was that crowd?

　Is there information on this mine explosion?


''Sorry, I'm just curious about something, so I'm going to take a quick look.''

Hey, Mr. Flick.


　I jumped down from the carriage, and as I made my way through the crowd, I saw a sign.

　As I ran my eyes over the contents of the sign, I was horrified by the sensation of the ground I was standing on shaking.


''I heard that the Swordsman Alfine was executed in the royal capital for attempting to assassinate the Knight Commander of the Kingsguard. That swordsman apparently cut down Master Gilet.

It says here that Master Giles received a severe wound in his back but survived. In that case, many of his knights in the Kingsguard were wounded as substitute shields.

''I heard you've been ill and recuperating lately, but you've lost your mind to slay the Knight Commander of the Kingsguard.


　Every time I heard voices from the residents who were looking at the signs, the ground shook louder and louder, and I was kneeling on the ground as I found it difficult to stand.


'You're lying ...... how can that be ...... how can that be ...... Alfine executed ...... bad. You're kidding me. ......


　When I saw the sign that that Alfine was executed as an assassin, the image of her that I had spent time with since I was a child came to my mind one after another and then disappeared.


　No matter how reckless Alfine is, she would never draw her sword against a nobleman .......

　What the hell is going on?

　What the hell are you really doing!　Alfine's one!

　You're really dead. ...... Lies...right? Alfine.


　His ragged breaths made him distant from consciousness, and the figure of headless Alfine flickered in his hazel eyes.


'Master Flick!　Are you all right?　Oh, you mean the seizure!　I'm going to need some recovery magic right away.


　Noelia grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me back from my fantasy world.


'Nah, I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy. But more importantly, can we take a little detour to the royal capital? I've got something I want to make sure about.

'You're a royal city ......?　I was planning to stop by on my way to Algren, so it's not a problem. Are you sure you're okay?　I'm blue in the face. ......

Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, let's change our destination to King's Landing then.


　I forced my strength into my relaxed body and decided to return to the carriage with Noelia supporting me.


　Alfine...... why did you do that?

　I don't understand ...... Alfine, I don't understand.


　I was disturbed by the news of Swordsman Alfine's execution, so I decided to fly the carriage all the way to the royal capital.