{Chapter 54} The Pre-Battle Session…
"Investigation... is it complete?"
"Everything is ready."
"...It seems all the culprits have been identified."
No need for simulations, and even simulations couldn't uncover more information.
In any case, after spending a night at Louise's place (though sleep was impossible) and another day passing, the day to confront those frenzied monsters had finally arrived.
Louise's background checks on Allen and John had finally yielded results.
Now, whether it was Anna and Atala, who were passively dragged into these events as victims, or Louise and Helga, who had actively inserted themselves into the situation for the sake of their loved ones, all of them were seated in Louise's living room, their expressions grave.
"...According to our investigation, both Allen and John were classmates of Philsey at the knight academy. Although there's no information suggesting they were close, what's noteworthy is that wherever Philsey went, whether it was when he first became a knight, later when he was promoted to vice-commander, or even when he came to this town as the commander, these two were always stationed in the same place as him," Louise read from a scroll provided by the old butler.
"Moreover, after investigating their backgrounds, we found that their families are somewhat connected to the Pure Blood faction."
"The Pure Blood faction... Your butler was from the Pure Blood faction, that suspicious guild leader was also a fundamentalist Pure Blood, and now these two suspects are also linked to the Pure Blood faction?" Anna's eye twitched.
"Did I somehow offend these Pure Blood folks?"
"Maybe it has something to do with the Garland family. After this is over, Anna, you should really look into it."
"I know, but for now, let's focus on resolving this matter," Anna replied.
"So... it's clear that this is all tied to Philsey, right?"
"Yes, and I've made all the necessary preparations," Louise stood up, and the old butler appeared out of nowhere with several men in black uniforms by his side.
"Since my father's investigation team hasn't arrived yet, I had to mobilize my personal guard," Louise explained.
"Although my father gave them orders not to act unless my life was in danger, I do have the right to call them once."
"...This sounds familiar. Louise, from the Latimir family, are you going to have to pay some kind of price for calling these people?" Helga narrowed her eyes, noticing Louise's hesitant expression.
"...No, it's nothing."
No, no, no, with that expression, it definitely seems like something's up!
Although it was strange that her usually sharp intuition had suddenly failed her, now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
"Louise, are you really going to have to pay some kind of price?" Anna asked worriedly.
"Is it like in those novels, where after using the guard, you'll lose your freedom, become a sheltered young lady waiting for a political marriage..."
"No, no, no, Anna, you've been reading too many of those weird novels!" Louise waved her hands frantically.
"You're all overthinking this."
"...Then what exactly will happen? You do seem quite embarrassed about it," Atala asked curiously.
"Well, if I had to say..." Louise, unusually, showed a very bashful expression, fidgeting for a moment before...
"My father... will make me... act cute for him... or something like that?"
"...?"
Upon hearing Louise's words, the brains of the three others present momentarily short-circuited.
"Okay, the Bartham family's reaction is expected! But why are Anna and Atala making that face too?!" Louise shouted in frustration.
"I'm an adult too, you know! Acting cute for my father is super embarrassing!"
"While I find it hilarious, having a father you can act cute with is actually quite nice," Helga quickly switched to a rare, gentle expression.
"Being able to act cute with your father... I'm actually a bit envious,"
"...Sorry, I'm an orphan now, so I can't do that anymore," Anna, on the other hand, wore a gloomy expression.
"Uh..." Seeing Anna unexpectedly upset, Louise was momentarily at a loss.
"It's fine, I'm not really that sad," Anna quickly returned to her usual self and looked seriously at Louise.
"With the guard here, our chances of defeating Philsey are much higher," Anna paused before continuing, "According to my investigation, Philsey's strength is at least close to that of a D-rank knight, if not already there. But we can't just kill him outright, the kingdom's laws don't support vigilante justice."
"So, when the time comes, please go easy on him, everyone in the guard."
...However, the guard completely ignored Anna.
Everyone, including the old butler, turned their attention to Louise.
Louise quickly realized:
"Did you all hear Anna's orders?"
"Yes!"
Relieved, Louise turned to Anna, only to find her looking gloomy again.
"Anna? Why do you look like that again?"
"This habit of mine, always giving orders to other people's servants... I need to find a way to fix it."
"Anna, you're getting hung up on the weirdest things again, just like when you were a kid," Helga laughed.
"This kind of thing doesn't matter! Back then, you were always bothering my family's servants, and neither I nor my servants minded, right?"
...That's just because the Bartham family doesn't follow the kingdom's strange customs.
With the plan set, it was time to act.
Returning to her guest room in Louise's house, Anna had already stored her armor and weapons in her spatial ring ahead of time.
After donning her full set of armor, Anna pulled out her longsword from the spatial ring.
Today, it was time to settle this.
"Anna."
Just as Anna was about to put on her helmet, which she hadn't worn in a long time, Louise called out to her.
"Louise? What is it?"
"...Earlier, when I mentioned that thing, did it make you sad?"
"Not at all," Anna shook her head.
"Although my parents have passed away, the worst of my grief is behind me."
"If... if you ever feel really sad," Louise smiled, "you can always cry in my arms, okay?"
...I think that was your goal all along, wasn't it?