Chapter 30
I'll honestly confess that I thought the wait was longer than expected.
But I also thought it was worth the wait.
Erika, coming out of the store, looked like an adventurer.
Pants, boots, easy-to-move-in shin guards and knee pads, and the inner thigh area seemed reinforced, making it thick.
Her upper body had a leather chest guard, gauntlets, and reinforced shoulder parts.
Both the top and bottom were made of white fabric, likely monster hide.
It was clearly high-quality equipment, far too expensive and unsuitable for a Rank 1 adventurer to choose, but it suited Erika well.
"How do I look?"
Erika asked.
"You look strong."
I hesitated a bit before answering like that.
"Good to hear."
It seems saying she looked strong, rather than just saying it suited her, was the right choice.
"And look at this."
Saying that, she pointed to the arm part.
Wondering what it was, I followed her fingertip and saw a single blue line running across the white fabric.
"It suits me, doesn't it?"
I nodded while slightly looking away.
It seems I still shy away from things I like.
*
Comsas Dotwill, the lord of the Makikomarclow Frontier Marquis and resident of his mansion in Hekatai, was holding his head in his hands.
This was because he had read the report submitted by the Adventurer's Guild last night.
He knew that the certain marquis's daughter had arrived in town.
He had also heard that the man, whether her bodyguard or a partner in some farce, was with her.
However, he hadn't heard that the two of them were adventurers capable of defeating three Golden Ogres.
Comsas was a prominent figure in the Orclura Kingdom.
Though prominent, he was far removed from central politics.
To be precise, he had no time to get involved in central politics, but given his temperament, being away from court struggles was a relief.
However, being distanced from the center worked against him this time.
He knew the general outline of the story regarding the marquis's daughter, but he hadn't been informed of the details, nor had he felt inclined to find out.
If he were closer to the center, he might have learned more detailed information without even trying, but unfortunately, due to his lack of friends, Comsas's knowledge didn't progress beyond the basics.
Comsas was cautious, prone to worry, and extremely weak to unpreparedness or surprises.
Due to his worrisome nature, Comsas diligently devoted himself day and night to his work as a Frontier Marquis protecting the kingdom from the Demonlands.
This included coordination with adventurers, who were the main force against monsters, and the guild that managed them, as well as commanding the Frontier Marquis's army, the largest military force aside from the king's.
This report was also part of his coordination with the Adventurer's Guild.
Normally, the relationship between the kingdom's military or nobles and adventurers or their guild was strained, or rather, they maintained a delicate distance with mutual restraint.
Comsas, being a realist, didn't concern himself with such matters.
Though he didn't concern himself with it, he wished that reports like this, which startled people, would be written with a bit more tact to avoid surprising him.
According to what he heard, the two in question were sixteen-year-old Rank 1 adventurers.
The man was apparently a Rank 4 adventurer in Faltarl, but even so, for the two of them to defeat three Golden Ogres was, to put it mildly, utterly insane.
He often heard that Faltarl's adventurers, though few in number, were all monsters, but for a former Rank 4 and a noble who hadn't even graduated from the academy to achieve this was incomprehensible.
Normally, an increase in capable adventurers would be a great joy for both the Makikomarclow Frontier Marquis and the town of Hekatai.
Unfortunately, the two in question were those very two.
In Comsas's understanding, the exiled noble daughter was supposed to quietly live in his town.
He had never imagined she would turn out to be an adventurer performing such incomprehensible feats.
And with that, worries suddenly arose.
It was about how to deal with the Church.
How would the Church view a human who plotted the assassination of the Priestess of Light starting to make a name as an adventurer?
Would they ignore it? Or would they come to him with something to say?
Comsas held his head, sensing the foreboding of trouble brewing in the town under his feet.