Chapter 311 : A Familiar Face
「Huh…? But… I didn’t do anything!」(Celine)
Suddenly being told that the gatekeeper would take her to the guard post, Celine was confused.
「Yes, you did.」(gatekeeper)
「But, I have no idea what I did!」(Celine)
「Seriously?」(gatekeeper)
Celine put her index finger on her chin and thought for a moment. She then opened her eyes wide and her face turned pale as if she just remembered the terrible thing she did.
「Wait! I… admit I’ve done that, but you get it wrong! It’s some kind of misunderstanding!」(Celine)
「Misunderstanding? No way. The information we got is valid.」(gatekeeper)
「But it happened a long time ago! Why did you people bring it up now!?」(Celine)
「Huh? What are you talking about? It happened a few days ago.」(gatekeeper)
「…Eh?」(Celine)
「We got news from a guard riding a fast horse from the town of Torfe saying that a small party of adventurers had captured a group of bandits with ties to the dangerous criminal organization that has been terrorizing this territory. It was you, right?」(gatekeeper)
「Bandits…? ーAahh! S, So it’s about the bandits we captured the other day. I see, I see!」(Celine)
「Hm? What did you think I was talking about?」(gatekeeper)
「N, N-Nothing! It’s nothing! It’s not important, so… nevermind!」(Celine)
Suspicious…
It seems that Celine has done something bad and she’s trying to hide it from the guard.
I wonder what she did… I think I’ll ask her about it later.
「Anyway, yes, we did capture bandits a few days ago. I’ve already explained the details to the captain of the guards in Torfe Town. Why do I need to go to your guard post too?」(Celine)
Celine asked quickly while wiping the sweat on her forehead with her hand.
「I don’t know. I’m just carrying out the order from my captain. You can ask him there.」(gatekeeper)
「Hahh… Alright… Am I the only one who has to go with you?」(Celine)
「No. All the people who fought the bandits.」(gatekeeper)
「Then… Mark, Nicola-chan, Ester, you have to come with me. And… Garrett-san, I think we part ways here.」(Celine)
「But… Are you guys going to be alright?」(Garrett)
「Don’t worry. I think they will only ask us a few questions.」(Celine)
Celine answered with confidence.
She didn’t look panicked at all like a few moments ago. Seems like she has completely regained her composure.
Seeing Celine’s confident face, Garrett-san softened his expression and let out a sigh.
「…I see. I honestly still want to spend time with you guys, but I guess it can’t be helped.」(Garrett)
After saying that with a lonely smile, Garrett-san approached me and crouched down in front of me.
「Mark, thank you for helping me. It was fun having a journey with a miraculous boy like you. You take care of these ladies, okay?」(Garrett)
「Of course. Take care, Garrett oji-san.」(Mark)
After smiling at me, he stood up and turned to Celine.
「I hope you and the children will reach home safely. Please be careful.」(Garrett)
「You too. Take care of yourself and don’t ever trust an unregistered mercenary to escort your carriage again.」(Celine)
「Haha! I won’t. I’ve learned my lesson, you know? Well then, guys, may we run into each other again someday!」(Garrett)
After saying his goodbye, he got onto the driver’s seat and drove his carriage through the gate and down the main street.
〇〇〇
After parting ways with Garrett-san, the four of us were following the guard walking along the outer wall, heading for their guard post.
While walking, I decided to ask Celine about something I was curious about.
I got close to her and asked her with a low voice so that the guard didn’t hear us.
「Say, Celine, why were you so panicked when the guard asked you?」(Mark)
「Ahh… When I visited this city a couple of years ago, I almost killed a man…」(Celine)
「Eehh…!?」(Mark)
「He persistently asked me to have a drink with him. I refused but he kept following me around for three hours! I reached the limit of my patience and blew him up with magic without thinking. The guards then immediately came after hearing the explosion, but I quickly ran away before they could see me.」(Celine)
「I, I see…」(Mark)
I keep telling myself this but… I really shouldn’t make Celine angry…
After walking for about fifteen minutes, we reached our destination. There was a sign in front of the building.【South Gate Guard Station】.
By the way, this place was unexpectedly huge for a guard post.
The guard led us through a hallway and entered a room that seemed to be a meeting room or something.
There was a large table in the center of the room, and chairs were lined up around it. It was a simple room with simple decorations such as pieces of armor, shields, and swords on the walls.
「Please wait here for a moment.」(gatekeeper)
After the guard left us, we took a seat on the chairs.
「Ugh… I wonder what they want from us…」(Ester)
Ester looked somewhat anxious.
She was putting her hands together while nervously looking around the room.
「Hmm… I think they have finished interrogating Lumon and his subordinates and found out that their group was bigger than expected. Well, don’t worry. We are heroes who captured those bad guys, so I think the guards just want to give us some rewards.」(Celine)
I agree with Celine.
The captain from Torfe said that we might get additional rewards if those bandits had a relation with the criminal organization.
They finished interrogating them and found out they did have a relation with that organization, and decided to give us additional rewards. That’s probably what is happening.
After waiting for a while, I could hear people’s voices and footsteps from outside the room.
「Sir, you don’t have to come all the way to a dirty place like this!」(?)
「Hahaha! It’s not dirty. It’s okay. I want to see them myself.」(??)
「But…」(?)
Right after, the door opened, and then a man with blonde hair and an expensive-looking suit entered followed by a guard in armor that looked a bit different from the armor that the other guards wore.
I don’t know about the blonde man, but the guard seemed to be the captain of this post.
「Ladies, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. Sir, these people are the ones who captured those bandits.」(captain)
「Hee~ I see. Welcome! So, you guys are the adventurers who captured those members of Phantom Mist?」(blonde man)
Phantom Mist…? Is it the name of the evil organization?
No, it’s not important. More importantly, I think I’ve seen this man somewhere before… He looks familiar…
While I was wondering who that blonde man was, he turned his gaze to me and smiled.
「Oh! I can’t believe I would meet you here! It’s been a while, Mary-chan!」(blonde man)
Mary-chan…?
Aa! I remember now!
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Ahaha I was kinda right but wrong, noble dude is here