The Peerless Kobold - Chapter 244
There was no response from the inside even when we waited in front of the door for a while.
“Mother, we’re coming in.”
Muriel pushed open the doors after notifying the person inside. Upon entering, a red-haired woman was sitting on an office chair with her back to the window. She paused her work and looked at us with a sharp, thoughtful gaze.
“You came home earlier than expected… Welcome home, Muriel.”
“N, I’m home.”
“It seems all that experience you gained from adventuring made you look a bit more mature.”
“Yes, I did my best while working as an adventurer.”
After giving her daughter a cursory glance from head to toe, the Baroness smiled wryly and shifted her interest to me who had accompanied Muriel inside the room.
“By the way, who is this young man beside you? Won’t you introduce us?”
“Umm… uuuh, I’m so nervous.”
I took over from Muriel who was fidgeting and stumbling over her words and faced the Lady who was her mother.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Baroness. I am Archer from the adventurer’s guild in Zelgra.”
Since I was not meeting her in an official setting, I greeted her with a slight tilt of my head but I was met with a stern look in return due to her daughter’s suspicious behavior.
“So… What kind of relationship does Sir Archer have with my daughter?”
“I met her when I participated in the Valley Ant hunt that was led by Lord Ferias. Although it was brief, we became close during that time.”
When I confidently answered that we had met during a mission, the Baroness returned her gaze to Muriel and let out a heavy sigh.
“Haaah, since you have gone home bringing along a close member of the opposite gender with you, then I suppose it can only mean one thing…”
“Yes, we have been seeing each other for a while now.”
“…My, now I know how my parents felt when I got married to Christ who was an adventurer.”
“Uu, I’m so sorry.”
Perhaps feeling guilty about misleading her mother who was taking it seriously, Muriel shrugged her shoulders and shrank back apologetically. Upon seeing her daughter’s reaction, the Baroness broached the topic with a determined look on her face.
“If you have already made your decision, then be proud of it. I never had a shred of doubt when I chose to be with Christ.”
(That was quite an effective follow-up attack she unleashed there…)
I’m sure it must have done some damage to her already guilty conscience…
But while I was thinking it was somebody else’s problem and not mine, a stray arrow flew at me too.
“Sir Archer, I have two conditions before I allow you to be together.”
As she propped her elbows on top of the desk and intertwined her fingers, the Baroness directed a challenging glare at me and declared,
“I would like you to prove your usefulness so that my daughter would not have any regrets with her choice.”
Hmm, since the first condition is related to her feelings as a mother, the next condition might be related to the Vest family who serves as administrative officials, but I was not sure what exactly that would entail.
“… And how do you suggest I prove it?”
“I shall have you compete against the heir apparent of the Dykebell family who is in talks to be engaged with my daughter.”
Since it was Count Schwark who arranged the engagement, there had to be a good reason to break off the engagement. The Count was also the one to decide whether or not the groom-to-be was a suitable son-in-law.
But while I am an adventurer who had a friendly relationship with House Vest, the odds were in favor of the Dykebell heir.
“Au… Goodluck, Archer.”
“It still depends on what kind of competition it is though.”
It was an unexpected development, so it was decided that the details would be given out later. Since I was the one being tested, I wanted to think that the challenge given would be fair to both parties.
(Of course, I don’t want to just throw in the towel, but it still depends on my opponent.)
While I was observing the situation and imagining how it would play out, the Baroness seemed to suddenly remember something and changed the topic.
“By the way, when I asked if I should send them a portrait of my daughter, he responded that the two of you were acquainted in the Magic Academy.”
“… Do you know him, Muriel?”
When I asked her with some hesitation, she tilted her head and hummed cutely.
“Hmmm, the academy… Dykebell… Ah, I think I know him!”
During the early spring of their fourth year in the Magic Academy, a certain aristocratic friend of theirs made advances towards Muriel’s close friend who was very attractive if she only kept her mouth shut.
“But he persistently followed her around so much that Ernesta used her Storm Fist to punch him… So Mr. Dykebell, who was my senior then, also got involved and told that person off.”
After Muriel felt sorry for the guy and treated him with Healing Light, the two of them became companions of the Tempest Witch who dared to tell the Headmaster that there was nothing else left to learn at the academy. Since then, it seems they interacted here and there until they were made to graduate early.
Since he had timed his stay at Velheim to match Muriel’s return, the Baroness also permitted me to stay at the mansion until the whole affair ended.
My little sister, who behaved while we discussed various matters, let out a huge yawn as she sat on my shoulders in her fox cub form just as we left the Baroness’ office.
“Uu~~h, wafi kuruoau” (Haaa~~h, I’m tired.)
“Guruaau” (You did well.)
I lightly patted the fox cub’s head as she stretched out her limbs and draped herself over my shoulder while I followed Muriel who guided us to one of the guest rooms.
……………
………
…
After her three guests had left, Adelia Vest took out the piece of parchment she received the other day and read its contents with a slightly tired expression.
The sheet of paper that was densely packed with fine script described the events that transpired from their retreat in Grau village to the subjugation battle against the Valley Ants.
“As I see it, there is not much difference in what my collaborator has reported…”
Naturally, Muriel had no way of knowing this, but… the Vest family had previously paid off her companion Mirea to keep them updated about their only daughter’s situation by regularly sending out letters through a specially-trained pigeon from the adventurer’s guild in the city of Warren.
“Be that as it may… What is that child of mine doing?”
When she saw the words, “…visited Archer’s room in an inn and stayed there until late the first time they met at the tavern…” written on the report, Adelia sighed heavily as she wondered where she had gone wrong in raising her daughter.
However, when she thought back and remembered how she had fallen in love at first sight with Christ, she could not deny whom her daughter had taken after and moved on to the next part of the letter.
“In the subjugation battle against the Valley Ants, he had defeated 2 Imperial Ants…”
If it is indeed true that he had defeated two Imperial Ants that were classified as C-level threats, then his actual strength is closer to a gold-ranked adventurer.
Adelia was also curious about the oddly shaped bow she had seen Archer carrying around. According to Mirea who was also an archer, the bow was a fine, handmade article which is commonly owned by royalty and titled nobility.
“… I’m still not sure about this young man, but he might not be so bad if he were to become my son-in-law.”
After collecting her thoughts for a while, the Baroness nodded in acceptance.
