I quickly checked the child who came running up to me. She had no weapon and no Magic Bag. Her running style was also amateurish, so it seemed unlikely that she was an assassin, at least.
While I was checking her out, Neurath raised his voice.
“What happened that made you want us to help you?”
“My… my father was attacked.”
Neurath and Schunzel looked at each other when they heard the girl’s reply. But not moving was the right thing to do as my escort. They couldn’t just leave me alone, could they?
“Neurath, Schunzel, you stay here and protect Lily and the others. Where is your father, girl?”
Hearing my command, complexion of Neurath and the others immediately changed.
“It’s dangerous. No way, by yourself.”
“You two stay with Lily until I get back. Where’s your father?”
“Uh, um, the side road over there…”With that, I jumped off my horse and ran. If this was a trap, and I was the one being targeted, I would want to stay away from Lily now. I had a spear in my Magic Bag, but to be honest, using it to fight while protecting Lily and the maid on foot would be a little tough.
Also, if Lily was the target, Neurath and Schunzel would protect her and I could come up from behind and launch a pincer attack on the attacker while they bought time. If both of my guesses were wrong and the girl was really telling the truth, I would just help them.
I looked down the side street and saw a man lying on the street with the smell of blood, and I looked at Lily and the others to make sure there were no other figures on either side before approaching. He was middle-aged, and like the girl, this man was not well-dressed.
The wounds were not only deep, but numerous. The road surface was wet with blood, but it certainly seemed that it was not long since he was attacked, judging from the fact that blood had not dried up. He seemed to have already stopped breathing. I checked his hands, but there was no pulse.
I looked around. There was no trace of the killer’s belongings, and there were no footprints in the blood. Once again, I checked my surroundings to make sure there were no signs of other people, and then returned to the place I had just been.
I saw Lily also dismounting from the horse with the help of the maid, but I had other things to do first.
“Are you all right, sir?”
“Yes. Schunzel, go to any of the noble houses in the area, rent a servant, and have them contact the guards. It’s a murder. Also, you can mention my name.”
“Right away.”
“Neurath, be on the lookout around just in case.”
“Yes, sir.”
I thought about sending Lily home first, but I couldn’t be sure she’d be safe on the way, so I decided to hold off.
I smiled slightly, but gave her an apologetic look as I pulled my jacket over my shoulder, since she was so conspicuous in her dress.
“Um, Welner-sama, I’m so flattered, but this one needs it more.”
“Oh, right, then, Neurath, I’m sorry, but could you please lend this girl your jacket?”
“Yes, sir.”
Neurath lent her his jacket and the girl bowed her head. Lily gave me a small earful with a serious look on her face. I nodded lightly.
Schunzel returned, so I waited until the guards arrived, but then the girl turned to me and spoke.
“Oh, um, n… noble-sama”
“Yes?”
I was dressed like a knight, but looking at how Lily was dressed, it was not surprising to imagine that she was a noblewoman, and so yet she addressed me with “noble-sama”. I looked at her with a poker face, as she looked at me with a serious expression.
“Umm, do you know… Zeavert-sama, noble-sama?”
“Why?”
“Well, you see…”
“No, never mind. Let’s wait till the guards arrive.”
For the time being, I brought everyone to the side of the road. Even though it was getting darker and darker in the aristocratic district, we could still feel people’s eyes on us. Both Lily and I were famous because of recent events, so the strange or curious stares were bothering me.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long before a group of guards came rushing toward us.
“We’re the Guards! What…happened?”
A man, who seemed to be the leader of the group, called out to us. He appeared to be in his mid-20s. He seemed to have heard only that a murder had occurred, and changed his attitude by looking at Lily instead of me.
While I think it was too blatant for him to change his attitude there because Lily looked like some noble young lady, I could not help but sympathize with his feelings.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter