Living as an Unemployed in Another World

112 – 4. Silence in the Helm (28)

28.

We were forced to move due to the princess’ bombshell remarks. In the banquet hall where the meeting was held, a feast full of greasy food was held, but we climbed the spiral staircase and found our seats on the upper floor.

It’s okay because Hilda, Zenith, and Sukhbat-san are members of the same party, but I don’t know why I, Mira, and Alphonse have to accompany me. This was also a request from the gongnyeo, but it seems she originally had something else to say to me. I wasn’t too keen on it, but now that my adventurer level is blue, I have nothing to worry about, so I still had to obey the noble’s call. Old Gerald, you are so varied.

We sat facing each other in a drawing room slightly larger than the East Side, unlike the vast banquet hall. In fact, considering the structure of the rectangular table, it was natural for the princess to sit in the narrow seat of honor and each party to sit on either side of it, but for some reason, everyone sat one space away from Gerald, so he suddenly felt like a prisoner, as if he was trapped on an isolated island by himself. He was keeping his head down. A little pitiful…… Don’t lose Because I knew that one day something like this would happen.

“Now, can you explain? What happened that day with my sister, Felicia von Wiesenstein!”

As Elena threatened, the cold gazes on both sides of Gerald grew stronger. Hilda and Mira were almost at the level of contempt, and Mr. Sukhbat and Alphonse were not very kind. Even Janice, who is always expressionless, did not hide her displeasure, so she must have been burned.

“Stir… ….”

I am, well, more than anything else, to be honest, it’s just amazing. I knew he liked women, but I know the owner didn’t touch her, so you’re having an affair, and against a noble? It was a past that was not enough to be seen as protruding out of the stomach due to lack of a large liver.

“Felicia, no, it was a long time later that I found out that Lady Felicia was Princess Elena’s older sister, so she was a duke. She knew she had a younger brother, but that was, at the time, not an affair… ….”

“You mean my sister hid her identity and approached you first!?”

Bang! Elena couldn’t keep her straight and banged her table, causing her glass to shake and nearly spill out of her. She seemed to be tingling with herself, but she didn’t like Gerald very much. The boy shook his hand and bowed his head.

“Calm down. It’s not like that, if that’s what happened…….”

We listened to Gerald’s story. It is said that Gerald, who was just over 16 at the time, and Felicia, the second daughter of the Duke of Wiesenstein, who had been engaged until the age of 20 even though they were aristocrats, started by picking up a handkerchief that had accidentally fallen while taking a walk in the royal capital.

Felicia, who felt shame and helplessness at being chosen as the remarriage partner of a marquis 10 years older than her because she delayed her marriage due to her interest in studies, felt Gerald’s innocence, who had just become an adventurer at the time. ), And when they first met, he did not bother revealing his identity because he was enjoying escapades in his own boutique without an attendant on a hot summer day.

Gerald thought she was a successful boss at a young age, and she was Felicia, so she did not deny his illusion. The two gradually get closer to each other and enjoy a fresh romance…… In the end, the secret meeting was revealed due to the accusation of the attendant, and Gerald hurriedly moved the guild that served as her base and fled to the outskirts before being wanted, and Felicia also had a sad ending that her position in her family was greatly lowered.

Elena raised her golden eyebrows as she listened to him without fail. Rather than concluding that she was at least insulting her sister, she seemed to be judging her against the stories she had heard from her family. She withdrew her cold gaze, knowing that at least she was a member of the same party and we knew that she was incapable of improvising grandiose stories, though she had a tendency to exaggerate them.

“This is a real hit, Gerald.”

“Stop it… ….”

Gerald clutched his head sadly as Hilda raised her thumb in admiration. Before long, Princess Elena opened her mouth with a suspicious look.

“…… I’d like to take him to the priest and ask him to use a miracle to detect lies, but…….”

Gerald’s daylight turned dark in an instant. The princess added her words.

“I am not a person who wields power arbitrarily. Besides, you’re an adventurer enough to be invited to a conference, so I don’t think there’s any need to pretend…….”

Gerald let out a deep sigh. I knew that his ability to seduce women had reached its peak, but he couldn’t believe he had seduced a noble lady four years older than I was when I was picked up by a witch. At this point, isn’t that different from some kind of hypnotic ability? It is astonishing.

“Well, maybe Felicia-sama…… I haven’t heard from you since.”

“Sister? She broke off the engagement Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because I can’t forget you. She works as a teacher at the Royal Academy. Thanks to that, I was completely pushed out of the succession structure, so it’s not a bad story for me.”

Elena shrugged her shoulders indifferently. As her dress pulled up, her deep collarbones were accentuated. Did you notice my gaze? Elena opened her mouth as she looked in my direction.

“And…… I also want to ask you something.”

“You mean me?”

I made a disgusted face. I came because I was called, but I had no intention of even managing my expression. I don’t know if I’ll continue to be her adventurer. I don’t really have a reason to look good to her, with her guild and her acquaintances. Upon seeing my face, the princess sighed and readily brought up her story.

“…… Okay, before I ask any questions, I apologize for what I said and did to you at the banquet hall. Stop panicking then.”

Is Elena done now? He looked at me with a question mark on his face. Miss, do you really think I hate you narrowly just because you did that for a while? You got the number wrong. But there was no reason to refuse an apology, so I nodded. Still, compared to her position as a princess, she is a person with reasonable values.

“It’s okay. Because it was a mistake.”

“Thank you for understanding. Then…… I would like to make a suggestion.”

A suggestion? I put on a puzzled look, and with a serious look, she bit her entourage in the drawing room. Eventually, Princess Elena took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“ Jin and his party members. Will you be my aide and help me while I reside in the capital?”

“Yes?”

There was no time to frown at the name being called. I asked right away, and Gerald’s party opened their mouths. A cooperative relationship proposed by an aristocrat, and a duke’s daughter. If the most well-known path to success as an adventurer is to wear red, another byway is to become their own knight. Now the second road is open to us. I demanded an explanation.

“As you may already know, I plan to formally participate in the search for the succession of the ducal family in the future. Being a third daughter doesn’t matter. However, in order to do that, I have no choice but to entrust myself to forces that no one has stepped into.”

“…… You mean the guild?”

“Yes. Taking charge of the meeting and helping the guild work like this are all part of that. The interests are aligned.”

A story that ordinary adventurers with dark eyes cannot easily understand. A satisfied expression appears on her face as I nodded as if I could continue.

“Just…… Although I try to maintain a close relationship with guilds and adventurers, the scope of my activities is limited by the attendants and knights assigned to me by my family. So, I need a skilled adventurer who is relatively less bound by interests and who will maintain a close relationship with me.”

“I understand what you mean, princess, but why me? No, why our party? As you know, we are in the periphery…….”

“Because of that.”

The princess cut her off for the first time. She continued her speech a little excitedly.

“You belong to the East Side of Louver Manor. I’m not an adventurer who always resided in the capital and gained fame. Everyone will take it for granted that we met for the first time at today’s summit.”

“…… Does that mean that your relationship with the princess will not be questioned?”

“Exactly. It means that there is no doubt that I am behind you. Besides, you guys are the adventurers who defeated the lich, right? Although I have never fought a monster, I understand the greatness of the feat. They are more suitable for trusting their skills than adventurers who have been promoted through long activities.”

I touched my chin. There must have been a reason for making this proposal to me, who is only blue. If you have revealed your true intentions up to this point, it seems necessary to discuss whether or not to accept it.

“Can I ask a question from my side?”

“If possible.”

“You said while you were in the capital, but it seems like you want me to do something in a short period of time, unless you ask me to move the base…… In order to rule out the risk of being dumped, I think we need to hear about the princess’s purpose.”

The atmosphere has completely subsided. If you’re an ordinary adventurer, you’d say it’s good and ask. A connection with aristocrats is not something you can make if you want to. However, I am not aspiring to be an adventurer. It means I don’t want any professional advantage, and I’m willing to let it go if the risks are there. To my fairly straightforward words, the princess let out a long breath and replied.

“…… Great. Actually, I know you’re not a regular bet, so I thought I’d ask. However, I think it will be difficult to maintain confidentiality here…….”

I looked at Janice. She quickly swung the wand in her hand to block out her voice. Indeed, it is a speed worthy of this name. The princess looked rather curiously at the drawing room where her beating was blocked, and then she said to me.

“A spell to block sound…… ! As expected, you are an excellent spell user as rumored!”

Yes? No, I didn’t do it. I looked at Janice again, but she shook her head as if she didn’t care. At this point, it seems that illusion is your specialty. I don’t have a wand or staff in my hand, so why do you think I did it?

“Then there should be no problem. What I would like to ask of you is to visit the cathedral as an adventurer and investigate the interior.”

I flinched, and involuntarily, my eyebrows raised upwards. She hurriedly conveyed her business, as if she hadn’t time to look at the change in my expression.

“As you may know, the royal capital is still in chaos after Zulkar’s secret plan. A considerable number of court nobles are subject to sanctions from the royal family as soon as their collusion with heresy is revealed, and we, the Wiesenstein family, are also proving our innocence every day.”

It’s none of your business. It’s probably the result of the Heretic Questioner’s side based on Mira’s information. Looking to the side of her, she was also responsive.

“In order to drive out heresy, the power of those who attend El-Ra is essential, so even in order to request the cooperation of the knights of the cathedral, the royal family has already granted the cathedral the authority to judge and punish them independently. Although the knights are strong, they are powerless in that way. Besides, there is a shortage of investigative personnel everywhere, but…… Since the leadership took greater power than ever before, some of the archbishops and cardinals are said to be accusing their opponents of heresy and trying to get rid of them.”

“…… Is that possible?”

“Since this country is protected from chaos in the name of El-Ra, it is only natural that the cathedral, which produces so many priests, is not easily interfered with. And even more so in the current situation.”

Elena sighed and continued her words. I suddenly remembered a person’s wounded face.

“Although I am not a devotee, as a believer who worships the Goddess in my heart, the movement of the cathedral does not always look pretty. They are trying to gain greater power under the pretext of protecting order.”

“… ….”

“In this meeting, we urged close cooperation with the cathedral for the expedition to the devil, so adventurers with proven skills will probably find it easier to enter and exit the cathedral. I want you to use that as an excuse to go in and out of the cathedral to investigate under the pretext of finding a priest to recruit into the party.”

“What do you mean?”

“Evidence that the leadership is privately rejecting priests. It’s okay even if it’s trivial. Each small testimony and witness information will serve as a foundation for me to check their forces in the future.”

The story is over. Elena tried to hold out her gloved hand to me, but then, as if she had made a big decision, she took off her glove and looked at me, revealing her white hand.

“Any reward is fine. As long as I can reach it, I’ll do anything you want. So…… Would you like to go on a boat with Elena von Wiesenstein?”

I looked into her transparent eyes. And, she recalls a more transparent look from her eyes.

If this is fate, is it fate? No, since I fell into this world, I have never been given a mission. It can’t be God’s will. Wasn’t that the same for Mira? That only I can decide my path.

Everyone looks at me. I head towards that trembling white hand.