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Volume 11 Chapter 2 Part 1

Chapter 52: Imperial Liberation Society

『Roxanne』
Current Levels & Equipment:
Shrine Maiden Lv.8
Equipment:
Rapier
Hardenended Leather Helmet
Leather Jacket
Hardened Leather Shoes
Sacrificial Misanga

Throughout the rest of the day we fought in the Labyrinth as usual, and then, when it was late evening we returned home to get ourselves ready, after which I warped all of us to our destination: Bode’s castle.

Specially for this occasion I have set Adventurer as my First Job, so even if I’m going to have my Intelligence Card checked, I have nothing to worry about.

「I will call the leader immediately. Please wait here for a minute.」

When I arrived at Bode’s castle and was about to enter without permission, I was stopped.

Oh? It is different from usual. Am I being treated differently because it is dinner invitation?

No. I am not alone today, so perhaps that’s why?

Even though they know me, they can’t allow a human of unknown origin, who brought other people of unknown origin with him, to meet the Duke right away. It’s the ABC of risk management.

「Michio-dono, I am glad to see you. Please, come this way.」

Gozer comes over to meet me immediately.

This time, the light-hearted Duke didn’t come out to greet me in quick strides, as expected of someone skilled in the crisis management of the Knight Order. His leadership of them seems to be as solid as ever.

We were then taken to meet the Duke, who was waiting for us inside of a big room. There were other members of the Knight Order waiting inside as well, and the room itself was made out of beautiful wood, but was otherwise empty.

「Lord Michio, it is so nice of you to have come.」

「Yes, I have come to join you tonight as per your invitation.」

「Good, good. But here is no need for formal greetings, so you can rest easy.」

「Okay, if you say so.」

The Duke is, after all, a Duke.

「And these girls that came with you are…?」

「Yes, they are the members of my Party: Roxanne, Sherry, Miria and Vesta.」

When I introduced the four of them to the Duke, they all bowed their heads to him.

「It’s good to finally meet you ladies. I am the Duke of Hartz Duchy.」

「Yes, you have our deepest gratitude for inviting us here today, your Lordship.」

Roxanne greeted the Duke as the representative of the rest.

「The pleasure is all mine. Hmm Lord Michio, am I seeing correctly, or are these four ladies the only people you brought with you here today?」

「Yes, they are the only ones with me today, because they are the only members of my current Party.」

「Ahh, I see. So you only brought them, and not any of your parents, siblings or acquaintances as well?」

「Oh… I see.」

When I answer the Duke’s question while being more than a little confused, the Duke clarified what he meant. So if I und4rstand it correctly, he was expecting that I was going to bring people other than those who were the members of my Party with me here today?

Well, since this is supposed to be a dinner that was long-awaited by him, then I guess that would make sense to him, because normally that would be how these things are supposed to go. It’s that I just didn’t understand whether by 「members」he meant people whom I fight together with in the Labyrinths on a daily basis or other people as well.

Not that it would have changed much, because I don’t really have any other relatives in this world, and bringing just my Party Members is still a better decision than bringing just some random stranger who would’ve started behaving badly

「So you really heil from such a faraway place, huh?」

The Duke mutters to himself quietly.

Why would he think that I came from a faraway place if I have never talked to him about that myself? It is probably because of Luke.

I told Luke that I was from a faraway place to keep him from spying on me, so the Duke most likely heard about that detail of my history from him.

It would seem that the old saying that walls have ears and shoji screens have eyes remains true in this other world as well.

That, and information is incredibly fast on its feet, huh?

This may actually be the reason behind him inviting me to come here today.

The Duke is probably trying to sniff a connection between me and the Knight Order in my 「hometown」.

I knew something was off with this invitation from the start.

However, it’s unlikely for him to have a connection with the Knight Order in my 「hometown」since it is so far away from here.

In any way, all that I need to do here if I want to go home soon, all that I need to do is make him acquire the knowledge that the exploration of the Labyrinths is the only thing that I care about at the current moment.

However, I think that I’m safe from any of his suspicions, because if he found anything suspicious related to me, then he would have probably cut all of his connections with me a long time ago.

This also proves that the Duke’s aim was perhaps not Roxanne all this time when I thought it was.

「This woman right here is the one whom I witnessed fighting in a duel after I happened upon Lord Michio’s Party in a Labyrinth once.」

Gozer said to intervene after he read that the atmosphere of this dinner party was not going in a colorful direction. I swear to God, this guy is really too hardworking for his own good. I am so glad that he came here together with me after all.

However, with that, it would seem that we’re finally going to cut straight to the main event of the evening. Gozer didn’t forget about Roxanne, so the Duke probably didn’t forget about her either.

The moment of truth has finally come.

「She is Roxanne.」

「There’s no gap in her posture. She looks like a strong warrior indeed.」

The Duke offered Roxanne words of praise when I reintroduced her.

Is that really what he thinks about her? He realized that she is strong from just a glance, or is he just acting? Well, Roxanne does look like a strong warrior, that’s for certain.

I think she’s strong, so she must be strong, just like with the Harlow’s Effect.

「Yes. Her stance was indeed brilliant.」

Even Gozer has been tricked by Roxanne’s appearance, it would seem. The only difference between the two of them is that unlike the Duke, Gozer has witnessed Roxanne in battle once before.

But rather than that, I want to know where did that praise come from, since all that Roxanne’s doing is just standing here, right?

「Perhaps even I might not be able to make any of my attacks land an actual hit on her.」

「Her strength is something that definitely can’t be neglected either.」

Is it really like that? Can they really figure that much out just by looking at her, or are they just pulling my leg?

「What do you think?」

「Hmm, with all due respect, I would like to duel with her at least once.」

「What do you think about it, Lord Michio? This person is the most talented person in the entire Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, so I hope you will allow him to partake in a duel with your companion at least once.」

The Duke was talking to one of the members of the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy, and he requested a duel with Roxanne.

This man’s job is the same as the one that the Duke has, Paladin. Moreover, he is the Paladin that I saw as a member of Gozer’s Party in the Labyrinth.

He is the Holy Knight from Gozer’s party.

Is he one of the most talented members of the entire Knight Order of Hartz Duchy?

「No, no. It would be too messed up for a member of the Knight Order to be dueling a slave…」

「They will be using wooden training swords, so there will be no danger of harm coming to either of them.」

「Master, I would like to try my hand at dueling this person as well.」

You want to do it as well, Roxanne?!

Well, if Roxanne herself wishes for this duel to happen, then I guess there is just no way for me to avoid it, and a sparring match between them is going to be inevitable.