Chapter 345 : The MVP In The Shadow
After having a pleasant morning conversation, the five of us headed for the dining room to have breakfast.
Tryon was already there when we entered the room.
I could see bags under his eyes. It seemed that he had been working through the night. However, his eyes were shining as if he still had so much energy left.
He was probably so happy because we successfully captured Darkan.
「Good morning, everyone. Thank you for your hard work last night. I have a lot to tell you, but you can listen to me while eating.」(Tryon)
Tryon gave a hand signal as he said that. Right after, Maya in a maid dress, came in with our meals on a cart and put them on the table.
Normally, the other servant would serve the food, but there was no one except us, Maya, and the head butler, Alex, in this room.
It seemed that Tryon didn’t want other people to hear our conversation.
While we were eating, Tryon started talking and explained everything. First, he was talking about the girl we saved, Kati.
She is currently staying at the knight headquarters. Fortunately, there seem to be no abnormalities in her health.
She will live under the knights’ protection for a while since she is the only witness of Darkan’s evil deeds they have. After everything is settled, they will send her back to her village safely.
Next, Tryon talked about our big villain, Darkan.
Apparently, his injury was more serious than I expected. It seemed that I completely busted his leg.
Although his leg hasn’t fully healed even with the help of healing magic and potions, he has recovered enough to speak, so the knights interrogated him in the basement under the headquarters.
He wasn’t too cooperative at first, but after receiving a few beatings, he finally talked.
First, he revealed everything he knew about the criminal organization that had been causing trouble in this region, The Phantom Mist.
It seemed that Darkan had been working with them for quite a long time.
The knights are now able to track them down thanks to the information they got from Darkan.
Darkan also talked about the notebook he hid in his mansion. It contained so much information about his illegal businesses including the list of the customers who bought slaves from him.
With the notebook as the lead, the knights planned to locate and save the slaves that had already been sold.
Tryon found the names of some powerful nobles on the list. He was grinning evilly when he was talking about it.
He didn’t say who those big shots were, but judging from the evil look on his face, I’m sure he was planning something to deal with those people.
「Well then, I think that’s everything. Now let’s talk about your rewards. Alex.」(Tryon)
「Sir.」(Alex)
After he finished talking about everything we should know, he called Alex.
Alex then approached our table while holding a tray with three fancy-looking leather bags of different sizes on it.
I don’t need to see the content to know what it is. It’s most likely money, but the question is… How much?
「First, Miss Celine. You joined the knights to raid the mansion and captured some mercenaries hired by Darkan. For that, I give you 80 gold coins.」(Tryon)
「E… Eighty!?」(Celine)
Celine was so surprised that she couldn’t help but cry out while covering her mouth with both hands.
I was also surprised. That was a huge amount of money.
Her eyes were sparkling when she received the leather bag from Alex. She was probably thinking of buying a lot of liquor…
「Next, Miss Ester. You infiltrated the basement with the others and fought Darkan’s mercenaries alongside Maya. You also created an opportunity for Mark to chase after fleeing Darkan. For that, I’ve prepared 150 gold coins for you.」(Tryon)
If Ester wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have the chance to unlock the door and chase after Darkan. Maya is strong, but I doubt she would be able to deal with those mercenaries by herself while protecting me while I was unlocking the door.
That almost doubles Celine’s prize, but she does deserve it.
「A hundred and fifty…」(Ester)
While muttering to herself, she moved her gaze to Maya.
She’s probably still worrying about the mistakes she made last night, but Maya smiled at her as if saying, “You deserve it”.
Ester nodded and returned her gaze to Tryon.
「Th, Thank you very much!」(Ester)
She still seemed a bit nervous in front of Tryon, but she couldn’t hide the big smile on her face when Alex handed her the leather bag.
She looks so happy. I’m glad for her.
「You’re welcome. And lastly, Markー」(Tryon)
Before Tryon could finish talking, Nicola raised her hand.
「ーLa, lastly…? Tryon-sama, what about me? Don’t you have anything for me?」(Nicola)
「Nicola? Hmm, you did come with Celine last night, but you were hiding while everyone was fighting, weren’t you? Did you do anything useful?」(Tryon)
「Of course!」(Nicola)
That’s right. I was able to locate Darkan thanks to her.
If it wasn’t for her, Darkan might have escaped. But…
「So, you were doing some kind of work that I didn’t notice… I’m sorry about that. If that’s the case, I should prepare a reward for you too. Can you tell me what you did?」(Tryon)
「I… Aa…」(Nicola)
Seems like she forgot that we kept our telepathic ability a secret…
「Hm?」(Tryon)
「Ne… Nevermind… I didn’t do anything useful…」(Nicola)
Realizing that she couldn’t tell him, she slowly lowered her hand.
「Is that so? Then, I’m sorry, but no reward for you. Well, I can at least give you some sweets if you want. Hahaha!」(Tryon)
『Gunununu! I really don’t like this man!』(Nicola)
『Ahaha… I’ll share my reward with you later, so don’t worry too much about it.』(Mark)
『Really!?』(Nicola)
『Of course. I could find Darkan thanks to you.』(Mark)
『Yaay~ Thank you, Onii-chan!』(Nicola)
Although I said that, I know how bad she is at managing her money. She will definitely waste it on snacks. I think I will hold her money for a while.
「Father, you really don’t understand. Nicola-chan was more than useful. Even though she didn’t do anything, she brightened the atmosphere of the battlefield with her cuteness! I think she deserves a good reward! Right, Nicola-chan~? Forget about this ungrateful father of mine. I will give you a reward later~ Please look forward to it~」(Liane)
「Th… Thank you, Lia-chan…」(Nicola)
After glaring at her father with sharp eyes, Liane rubbed her cheek against Nicola’s while stroking Nicola’s head.
「Hahaha! Alright, I leave Nicola’s reward to you. Oh, right. I almost forgot. Before we continue, Liane, Mark, I want to talk about you two. It’s about your future.」(Tryon)
「Hm?」(Liane)
「Huh?」(Mark)
Liane and I looked at each other in confusion.
About our future, he said?
I wonder what he wanted to talk about.
Why Liane and me…?
Wait… No, no. Don’t tell me he wants to…
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Nope nope, run Mark, run!
The only question is if he is presenting the idea of them becoming a couple directly or just pushing Liane to go with him “for education reasons”
Just engagement if I were to guess
Run away from the future full of crossdressing.