{Chapter 67} How Come I Didn’t Know You Had Such Long Titles?
"Pureblood faction..."
Damn it, the Pureblood faction again.
I didn’t notice it much before, but lately, it feels like the Pureblood faction is everywhere in the kingdom.
Look, Louise’s butler is a Pureblood, the leader of my knight order is a Pureblood, the branch head of the Adventurers’ Guild here is a Pureblood, and even the head of the royal investigation team sent by the royal family is a Pureblood.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think the kingdom had been taken over by the Pureblood faction.
And these Purebloods have all sorts of ideologies, the butler’s class-based Purebloods, the branch head’s fundamentalist Purebloods, and now these two with who-knows-what kind of Purebloods...
"Ugh, I get it."
Now, just hearing the term "Pureblood faction" gives Anna a headache.
"Just so you know, this is only a temporary measure," Louise said, clinging to Anna’s arm as if she wanted to merge it into her own body.
"Once you’re no longer being harassed by those Purebloods, we’ll go back to how things were."
"That’s what I was thinking too," Helga added, not even glancing at Louise.
"...So, why did you call me here, exactly?" Anna asked with a bitter smile.
"Was it just to hear you say all this?"
"First, while you can refuse the investigation, it’s still necessary to meet with them since you’re a key person involved in this incident," Louise explained first.
"Second, since you’ve been avoiding us, we had to drag you out to spend some time with us," Helga immediately added.
"...Alright."
The way you two seamlessly listed the reasons, I’d believe you were sisters from different parents.
"So... what about that Pureblood official? Are we meeting them now?"
"Not yet, let’s rest at home first."
And with that, Anna was pulled into the house by Louise and Helga.
...
"If this is mainly about me, why is Atala here?" Anna asked, feeling both embraced and pained as she looked at Atala sitting diagonally across from her.
"Atala is also involved," Louise said, her tone making Anna wonder if her brain was fried.
"Yes, since this involves the black market and the assassination attempt on you, I’ve also been called in for questioning," Atala replied with a smile.
"...Will this cause trouble for you?" Although Atala had helped Anna and the others a lot, considering her original intentions weren’t exactly noble, Anna couldn’t help but worry.
And that Pureblood from the investigation team... wouldn’t they cause trouble for Atala?
After all, the commission was also closely tied to the Pureblood faction...
Even though Philsey was wealthy, Anna still found it hard to believe she could casually drop a million gold coins to put a bounty on her head.
"Don’t worry," Atala shook her head.
"I do have some status, though I’d prefer not to rely on it."
"Really...?"
You, Atala, have status?
Thinking about how Atala was so broke she ended up in the black market taking on such commissions, and how she had to work odd jobs just to afford a place to stay, Anna felt like Atala was just brushing her off.
But Atala, despite her young age, was already a D-rank ranger, while Anna, in her twenties, was still an F-rank knight.
Sure, once the simulator was back online, Anna could exchange for that strength-enhancing potion and become an E-rank knight, but that would still leave her a rank below Atala...
Talent alone couldn’t achieve that, Anna was living proof.
Anna’s talent was easily within the top 100 in the history of the Knight Academy.
Considering the academy’s long history, dating back to the early days of the Carrick Empire, spanning thousands of years and countless graduates, being in the top 100 made Anna a genius among geniuses... Yet, despite that, Anna, being broke, was still only an F-rank knight.
According to her teacher, if she had the money for alchemy or to eat magical beast meat with special properties, she could have reached E-rank or even D-rank during her academy days.
As her thoughts wandered, Anna suddenly realized she was getting off track and quickly refocused.
"Atala, are you sure you don’t need help?"
"I’m sure. If things really get tough, I’ll probably just flee back to the Great Forest."
"...That makes sense."
Although this town was near the border between the Empire and the Kingdom, heading north along the border would take you less than a few dozen kilometers to reach the tri-border area of the Elven Forest, the Empire, and the Kingdom.
"Since you say so..."
"Miss."
Before Anna could finish, the ever-elusive old butler appeared like a ghost behind the sofa and spoke.
"Chief Theodore is waiting outside."
"...Ahem."
Louise quickly let go of Anna’s hand and straightened up, becoming serious.
Helga’s expression also turned stern.
"Let him in."
After adjusting her collar, Louise gave the order.
"Yes."
Watching the old butler vanish again, and sensing the tense atmosphere, Anna could easily guess that this "Chief Theodore" was likely the leader of the royal investigation team, the Pureblood faction member.
"Theodore Caolius," Louise said in a voice loud enough for Anna to hear. "A standard reformist Pureblood."
"...What’s a reformist Pureblood?" The sheer number of Pureblood factions was making Anna’s head spin.
"Basically, they branched off from the fundamentalist Purebloods. They believe that mixed-blood descendants of the Carrick lineage are impure, and only those with wisdom or power are true Carrick people... something like that."
After the brief explanation, everyone in the room saw a man led in by the old butler.
He was dressed in red and black noble attire, tall but as thin as a bamboo pole, almost alarmingly so.
His gaunt face was clean-shaven and lacked noticeable wrinkles, but his stark white hair and overall appearance made it clear he was quite old.
"...Daughter of Duke Salic, Daughter of Celestial Star, Miss Louise Latimir, I greet you."
His posture was humble, and his manners impeccable.
"Greetings to the valiant Countess of Aurelia, the Dark Pearl of Lunareth, successor to the Warhammer of the Kingdom, Lady Helga Bartham."
...Wow, Anna had no idea Louise and Helga had such a string of titles.
And Helga, you’re a countess?
Anna looked at her two lovers as if seeing them for the first time, and finally, the man’s gaze turned to her.