Chapter 447: On the Contrary
After being docile and tending to the farm for a few days, Ash’s bracelet spirits contacted me that they’re home . Isn’t it sooner than expected?
And so, I crammed the piping hot apple pie that I took out of the 【Storage】and hastily 【Teleport】to Canum and hurried to Ash’s home. Butler was apparently waiting for me; he promptly let me in when I knocked on the backdoor.
「You’re back. 」
「Mm. I’m home. 」
So glad they’re safe.
Ash, who seemed to be lounging in the living room after taking a bath, welcomed me. While greeting her, I requested the atmosphere spirit to dry Ash’s hair.
「Did you have a hard time? 」
「Not really, we stayed in the room most of the time. Dinosso and Hauron-dono dealt with the Guild. 」
Seemed like Mr. Grand Sage had been very active.
「Was everything settled?」
「Mm. 」
Ash offered me a seat and we continued chatting.
「What about the fortress city, the source of it all? 」
「Things seem to be messy over there, so we don’t really know. 」
「Huh? 」
「The entire family of the fief Lord of Anoma seemed to be unable to leave the temple as of the moment — Ash-sama, this is from Jean-sama. 」
Butler already divided the contents of the basket that I handed over to him at the back door. He was carrying a tray with a plate of apple pie and tea on it.
「Thanks, I’ll have a bite. It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed Jean’s snacks. 」
Ash happily inserted the fork into the misshapen apple pie — the original round shape had turned into diamond — and the crust gently crumbled.
She was over the moon after a bite, so much that it looked like flowers bloomed in the background.
「Oh, I forgot. Have some of this with the pie too. 」
I took a small bowl from【Storage】and dropped its contents — vanilla ice cream — beside the slice of apple pie. The ice cream melted as soon as it touched the pie.
I considered whether I should prepare fresh cream instead of ice cream since it’s winter and cold, but this room is warm so I opted for the latter. Butler probably put lots of firewood in the hearth so that Ash won’t feel cold after taking a bath.
「It’s also tasty. I also saw some apple pies in town, but Jean’s is the best. 」
Ash heaped praises on me without holding back. It’s probably because of the sugar, or maybe the ingredients that she said that , but it made me happy.
I made the apple pie a bit sweeter than usual to suit Ash’s taste, and the sourness of the apples added a fresh twist to it. The fragrance of cinnamon didn’t interfere with the scent of apples. I also made a batch with plenty of cinnamon, but the apples had a really nice aroma.
The top part of the crust crumbled perfectly while the part stuck to the apples covered with cinnamon sugar soaked the apple juice well, adding to the pie’s deliciousness. It would be too much fi there’s a lot of mushy parts, but mine had just the right amount. Yup, it turned out well.
「The fief lord’s family sustained injuries, so they’re currently in the temple. A fire broke out, and even the servants were mostly in bad shape, except for oneー no other than the younger sister of the lass. 」
「Yup. 」
The extent of the fire’s impact probably matches the extent of their contribution to Ash’s injuries.
According to Chris, Ms. Emerald’s sister was probably locked up in the mansion, and the servants were likely involved by either actively watching her, or they turned a blind eye.
「Now, there’s a rumor going around in the fortress city that the only girl who came out of the mansion unscathed is beloved by the spirits 」
「Beloved by spirits… 」
「It refers to individuals favored by spirits. When one emerges unscathed from such a perilous situation, it is commonly presumed they were aided by spirits. 」
Butler explained.
No, it’s the opposite. The spirits didn’t help the girl, on the contrary, the others are simply bad. The fire which was supposedly easily put out spread out because the spirits were mad.
「There was also speculation that the elder sister might be the beloved one, as she returned from the Magical Forest unscathed. Furthermore, under the protection of both the temple and the guild, the sisters recounted the grievances they had endured at the hands of the fief lord, and their testimony was readily accepted. Even the fief lord’s eldest son, driven by fear of the spirits, confessed a great deal, apparently. 」
Sounds like the fief lord doesn’t have enough power to control both the temple and the guild, huh. The fire couldn’t be covered up, so rumors are flying in the city.
「The fortress city had been powerful under the fief lord’s control, but…Anyway, even if the the Royal Capital sends a new fief lord, it won’t cause any issues for us. 」
Ash seemed to recall how fortress city used to be. Heh, powerful, yet everyone ended up injured…
「We have been generously compensated by both the Guilds of the fortress city and Cancun. It seems likely that part of this reward serves as hush money as well. 」
Butter poured me another cup of tea.
「 Well, as long as everyone is safe, I’m okay with things being peaceful. Still, I hope you guys won’t be too reckless.」
And please call me before you do anything like that.
「 Mm. I’ll be careful.」
Ash’s lips turned up a little despite her serious demeanor.
I also dropped by the rental house to deliver the apple pie and some side dishes. Retse and Hauron found out the real reason behind the fire, so I got scolded and my poor cheek was pulled again.
Dinosso had been pretty chill with it, yet Retze scolded me the most. Well, everybody is safe so whatever, it’s fine.
NEXT CHAPTER
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I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
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