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With no additional enemies appearing and the situation having calmed down, we returned to the Alchemists’ Guild staff dormitory.

The Sister and the other children came with us. Apparently, they had negotiated to use vacant rooms in the staff dormitory as a temporary shelter until the damaged orphanage could be repaired.

It seems they had originally intended to take more time to handle things, so the move ended up being quite rushed. I didn’t expect the Sister to be as capable.

…If I had to sum up this whole incident in a single phrase, it would be: an act of aggression by the Kingdom of Bayer against the Kingdom of Roud.

It all started when a goblin settlement was discovered near Forligen.

The Kingdom of Bayer’s intelligence unit had been working behind the scenes to arm the goblins and orchestrate an attack. Although the adventurers discovered the plot and managed to thwart it in advance, casualties were numerous.

Realizing their failure, the intelligence unit’s operatives used their familiars to control the goblins and magic beasts, cramming them into wagons. Working with a gatekeeper who was in on the plot, they unleashed them all at once to wreak havoc throughout the town.

It seems their main objective was the lord at the center; while the knightly order was busy suppressing the chaos, their main force was apparently attacking the lord’s residence.

It seems we were targeted purely as collateral. The reason, as expected, was the Luminism Church’s search for silver-haired beastfolk.

Having failed to attack the lord, they schemed to at least grab the beastfolk children—their secondary objective—and stormed the orphanage. They planned to do it that very day so they could retreat from the city under the cover of chaos and the cover of night.

As a result, despite the casualties, Bayer’s plan failed completely. The commotion was fully quelled, and after capturing the gatekeeper who had been collaborating with them and extracting information from him, things were settled in a way one can probably imagine.

By the way, the attack by the Nameless Order seems to have been a separate incident from the commotion; their objective was to retrieve the artifact “Shield of Salvation”¹ from the Sister. We were completely caught up in that.

No wonder I thought everyone’s actions were all over the place.

That’s the full story of this incident, as told to me when I woke up after being bedridden with a fever for about four days.

■■■■■

“It was a real ordeal…”
“So many people showed up, it was a pain, nya. ‘What’s that light?’ ‘What’s that sword?’ Nyaa.”

Chýtis Philip finished his account of the events, and sighed deeply, saying, “I’m truly glad everyone is safe.”

As soon as he left the room, Sufi and Noche collapsed onto the bed where I’d been sleeping, looking utterly exhausted.

The flashy “Beam Rifle” (tentative name) and the mysterious black sword that delivered the finishing blow. The fact that a beastfolk child was in possession of both of them drew quite a bit of attention.

Mister Knight, Chýtis Khaleed, and Chýtis Philip are covering for us, but the more observant folks seem to have started suspecting they might be artifacts or powerful magical tools.

Apparently, Noche was even approached with offers to buy the weapons we used back then.

Of course, we can’t just hand over our trump card that easily. This is going to be a hassle.

“Come to think of it, is the Sister okay?”

After listening to their complaints, I asked about something that had been on my mind. She lost consciousness pretty soon after that, so all I know is that Sister was pretty badly injured. I wonder if she’s okay.

“Yeah, she was gritting her teeth, but she seemed fine.”
“She was walking around the garden a little while ago.”

Apparently, Sister was admitted to a nearby clinic. From what I heard, she has crushed ribs, bruises all over her body, and numerous cuts—pretty serious injuries.

What’s impressive, if I could say that, is that none of her injuries were life-threatening…

The church has miracles that heal wounds, and there are potions from the Alchemists’ Guild. If she’s already able to move around, there’s probably nothing to worry about.

“The Sister was worried about you, Alice.”
“…someone so gravely injured is worried about me.”

The only injury I sustained this time was a faint bruise where the Divine Soldier grabbed my arm. Even that faded quickly after I soaked a cloth with the low-grade potion Chýtis Philip gave me earlier and pressed it against the bruise.

However, my frailty—being bedridden for four days just from wandering around the orphanage—seemed to catch them off guard, and some of the people involved seemed to be having a bit of a meltdown.

“But Alice’s awake now, so that’s a relief.”
“It scares me how I’m starting to get used to this, nya”
“……”

Displaying a deft shift in emotion, both relieved and exasperated at once, Sufi and Noche finally relaxed their shoulders. It seemed they had stayed up the whole time to make sure the weapons didn’t get accidentally snatched up, and they looked a little tired.

…I’ll repay them by giving them a proper rest later.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on Alice too, Filia.”
“Oh, yeah… It’s the least I could do.”

It seems Filia was the one mainly keeping watch over me while I slept. When Sufi thanked her with a smile, Filia nodded vaguely, her usually perky rabbit ears drooping limply.

…She seems a little down?

“Thanks, Filia.”
“It’s nothing…”

I’m a little worried about Filia acting so strange, but bringing it up at a time like this never ends well.

As I moved my ears, wondering what to do, I noticed what sounded like singing coming from outside.

“…Alice, what’s up?”
“I heard something?”

Seeing this as a perfect chance to change the subject, I mention the sound I’d heard.

“Looks like some kind of minstrel has shown up, nya.”
“Alice, if you can move, wanna go check it out?”
“Yeah.”

People who earn money by playing and singing while traveling—they’ve come to the village where Sufi and I used to live before, too.

Since this is a trading city, I guess it makes sense they’d be here. Usually, they probably perform in parks closer to the center. In this world without TV or the internet, they’re one of the few valuable sources of information from the outside world.

I got a little curious, so I decided to have Sufi carry me on her back so we could go take a look.

“Like a tailwind, fury pushed the hero forward.”

As the four of us headed out together, we found a group of children from the orphanage gathered in a corner of an alley near the dormitory. A man’s clear singing voice rode atop the lively rhythm of a stringed instrument.

“O God, why must you give the hero such trials?”

It sounded like some kind of epic poem. Sitting on the ground and listening quietly, the children were gathered around a single minstrel.

He wore a hat adorned with a large feather plume and was clad in travel garb decorated with a variety of colors…

“……”
“Alice?”
“What’s wrong, nya? You look like you’ve seen something strange.”

The one deftly strumming a small stringed instrument, was a human-shaped figure made of rusted wires.

It seemed the song had ended while I stood there dumbfounded by this figure that looked so familiar.

As the figure stood up to applause from the children, he flicked the brim of his hat with a part of his body shaped like a fingertip.

Judging by the way the hat was facing, I think he was looking at me. At that moment, I realized he was the same being I knew.

In my past life, at the facility where I was confined, three mysterious Unknowns approached me. One of them was the being I secretly called “Wire Man” in my heart.

For some reason, he had appeared at this very moment.

“Alice, know him?”
“…well.”

As I tilted my head in response to Sufi’s question, the figure—who had been receiving intense stares from the star-struck girls—came straight toward me.

“Heya.”

The way he approached, raising his hand in a friendly gesture, matched my memories exactly.

“You’re cute. Would you like to go on a date with me?”
“……”

That easygoing, refreshing tone and voice, yet those mocking, frivolous words… Yeah, no mistake about it.

“…………grrrrrr…”

I pat Sufi’s shoulder gently as she growls softly at the human-shaped figure, even while carrying me on her back.

The fact that he’s approaching me so directly and yet so roundabout like this makes me think he’s not dangerous. He’s a bit shady, but he’s never taken hostile action against me in my memories.

“On your tab?”
“Of course.”
“Huh? Is he a lolicon, nya?”

After an exchange that would be hard for outsiders to follow, Noche frowned in puzzlement.

Tentatively, this language also has a slang that alludes to something like MAP or pedophilia, so I’ll translate it to Lolicon.

It’s not against the law, so it’s not a crime, but there’s no doubt it’s considered in poor taste.

Following him might lead to all sorts of misunderstandings, but I have a mountain of questions I want to ask.

Since he went out of his way to come out here, there’s a high chance he knows something. Above all, I had no intention of backing down, not when I’m craving for information.