Family Reunion
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Eric .
However, I had not quite expected it to be this effective .
They were great nobles, the Marquis and his wife, and they had dropped to their knees in a flash .
And so I explained it to them again .
“His Majesty has asked me to investigate an incident involving vampires who found a way to trick the divine barrier…”
“Is that so . ”
“It goes without saying, but you must not tell anyone else that you have seen Vampire Lords within the city . ”
“I would die before revealing such information . ”
“Well, that might be taking it too far . ”
“No, as the representative of the king, your words are those of royalty . And as such, we will do what is expected of us as nobles . ”
“I see . As for that…”
If they took everything I said as the words of the king, I would have to be very careful about what I said .
That was annoying .
“Then I will tell you in advance when I am about to speak on the king’s behalf, but otherwise, please treat me as you would anyone else . ”
“But…”
“If you don’t, I shall not be able to speak to you at all . ”
I said with a laugh .
“If you insist…”
This seemed to have satisfied the couple for now .
“By the way, don’t tell anyone that I am representing the king . ”
“Of course . ”
After that, the Marquis and his wife obeyed me willingly . The authority of the king’s representative was impressive .
The Marquis and his wife now knew that there was a way to break through the barrier .
It would now be necessary for the king to give them some kind of office and keep them on his side .
I’m sure that Eric had it all figured out .
We left the room that had been their prison, and passed the servants’ rooms and entered the hallway .
“We should go and meet Philly . ”
“Is she close by?”
“Well, she is close by, yes . She was imprisoned in a different room within this mansion, after all . ”
“What…”
And so I took them to Philly’s room .
I knocked on the door and called to her .
“Philly . I’ve brought Marquis Mastafon and his wife . ”
There was the sound of a chair screeching very loudly and then the door swung open and Philly came flying out .
“Father! Mother!”
“Philly . I’m so glad you’re…”
“Ruff-ruff . ”
The three of them cried as they clung to each other . Tama ran, circling them happily .
His tail was wagging .
“How sweet…”
“Everything is resolved for now…”
“Groof . ”
Shia and Grulf were also watching the family and wagging their tails .
The intimate mood lasted for a while until we suddenly heard a loud voice .
“Daddy, uncle, over here!”
“Ah, the gatekeepers are unconscious . ”
“This is a serious matter . ”
It seemed that Serulis had brought Goran . The mansion became very loud all at once .
“Locke . Where are you?”
“Over here!”
I answered . Goran and the others came quickly .
To my surprise, Eric was right behind Goran . But why?
“Yo-your Majesty… It is the height of honor to have you visit our humble house…”
Marquis Mastafon and his wife kneeled once again .
“Raise your faces . ”
And then Eric continued,
“Tell me what happened here . Locke . ”
“From start to end, please . ”
And so I explained .
I had wanted to cut the rat hunt short, but Goran wanted to hear the entire story, so I couldn’t .
“I see . So that’s what happened . ”
Eric nodded .
Eric had asked many questions whenever there was something that wasn’t clear .
But Goran was silent as he listened to the entire time .
His fists were shaking .
“Hey, Locke!”
“What? You look a little angry there . ”
“You ran off alone again! You knew there was a possibility of an Evil God, didn’t you? And that there could be multiple High Lords!”
“True . But High Lords aren’t really…”
“That’s not the point! Call for support!”
“I thought it was best to hurry . ”
“Yes, that is important too . But this was a plan that the enemy took years to set up!”
“That’s true . ”
The butler had started working here two years ago .
“So what difference would it have made if you were delayed for ten or fifteen minutes!!”
“Uh, oh . You know, you might be right . ”
“Why didn’t you tell me anything!”
“…Sorry . ”
Goran was right, so I couldn’t argue with him .
His hands were shaking angrily and so Serulis grabbed them .
“Daddy, Mister Locke said he’s sorry, so…”
“…You better not do something like that again . ”
“I understand . ”
I apologized and then Grulf came and licked my hand .
He was probably trying to encourage me .
I patted him on the head .
“I understand the situation here now . Locke, you must be very tired? You can leave the rest to us . ”
“Thank you . I’ll leave the rest to you then, Eric, Goran . ”
“Don’t worry about it . ”
“Goran . About the enemy base…”
“Ah, where the Evil God was? I will send a select team of A Rank Adventurers to search the place . Leave it to us . ”
“Thank you . ”
Just as I was about to leave, Philly grabbed my arm .
“It must have been hard for you as well, Philly . You should rest as much you can . ”
“Locke . I can’t be anymore grateful to you . ”
“Don’t mention it . It’s just my job . ”
“But, thank you . ”
“If you ever need any help, come and pay us a visit . We’re just two houses away . ”
“That’s awfully close by . ”
“Yes . You can visit too, Tama . ”
“Ruff . ”
And with that, I returned to my mansion .