The Visitor (3)

"Excuse me?"

"So you, as a trainee knight of the Ertinez family, are supposed to handle monster combat techniques."

"Excuse me?"

"It's temporary, but you're essentially a technical advisor—"

"Excuse me?"

"….."

Fed up with the foolish back-and-forth, I interrupted.

"How long are we going to do this? Just pretending not to hear doesn't make it go away, Sir."

Then, Raul, who had been repeatedly asking "Excuse me?" like a broken record, made a face as if he had just bitten into a sour fruit. He had come face-to-face with reality.

"Why the hell do I have to hang out with those rookie bastards who swore to serve some noble's head…?"

"Right now, Leo is using the identity of the young master of the Ertinez family. You're a fugitive who defied royal orders and need a more solid cover identity, right? This is perfect."

Raul's identity could be verified with the bronze identity badge he had used during his time as a fugitive. He even used it when entering El Dante.

It's a bronze badge given to anyone who has hunted over a hundred monsters. When I asked how he got it, he replied like this:

[The First Field Army was so dirt-poor that they hunted monsters and sold them to raise funds for the army… Ah, you know? Since you're an 'Apostle.' Anyway, I was in charge of entertainment, but they mistook me for a monster hunter and gave me this.]

So, the arrangements were made, and his identity was settled without any issues, but the real problem was that he was broke.

"The fact that the commander is treated as the scion of a noble family—Ha! What kind of cruel joke is this! Whether it's a miracle or something, the irony is truly impressive."

Raul, stressing the word noble, twisted his lips in a cynical sneer. Looking at him like this, I feel a bit uneasy. It's a bit difficult to just leave him to rot in some back alley of the inn, so I dragged him in here, but I'll have to make sure he doesn't run into anyone from the Ertinez family.

I can guess why the other person is speaking with such venom, but it wasn't the time to let on that I knew, so I just let it slide.

"If anyone asks how you became the technical advisor to a count's family, just tell them the story I mentioned. Easy, right?"

Raul trembled, his lips twitching as he retorted.

"That blatant lie you're asking me to tell, where I just happened to show up when you were being harassed by the street thugs and knocked them all out to save you?"

"For a made-up story, it's actually quite convincing, don't you think?"

"Where the hell do you see any convincing part in that? Are all the people living in the castle blind? How could you possibly be the type to get into trouble with thugs? Anyone can see that you're the one ordering them around!"

"Haha, I have no idea what you're talking about. You're an interesting one."

I smiled brightly and tilted my head casually. Raul was left dumbfounded, like a fish out of water, unable to continue. It took a while for him to regain his composure, and then he turned his head toward Leonardo.

"So, the body you're borrowing, is it really the body of the well-known young master of the Ertinez family? But… with a face like that, is it really okay for a noble to look like that?"

His muttering was clear due to the close distance. Raul's harsh judgment almost made me instinctively defend the person in question, but the words hovered at the tip of my tongue.

'If you look carefully, it's not really that obvious a face… At least the contents are from Leovald…'

But for some reason, I thought that if I defended Leonardo here, Raul would go back to his fish-out-of-water state, so I bit my tongue and refrained.

"Since I've been here, I've heard a lot of different things about the Count's family. I heard they have three children. So, the body you're borrowing must belong to the eldest son, right? I've heard the eldest is a natural warrior, just like his father, and has an impressive physique."

Completely wrong.

Just as I was about to correct the misunderstanding, Raul didn't give me a chance to interject and continued ruthlessly.

"On the other hand, the second son is a complete disaster. The young man was so soaked in alcohol that he spent his days unconscious, then suddenly ran away, and in the meantime, he apparently fell for a commoner man with a child?"

"Um…"

"I heard that in the end, he couldn't shake his old habits and even set fire to that poor, powerless commoner's house, bringing everything here? Ugh, what a piece of trash. Having a brother like that must be quite a headache for the commander."

"Hmm…"

I looked back at the 'piece of trash.' The other side was also casting a glance at the 'powerless, pitiful commoner man.'

Since the gossip was primarily fueled by interest, it inevitably spread in various forms.

I knew the rumours circulating in the castle would gradually spread and eventually reach the corners of El Dante, but it seemed Raul had heard the most sensational one. I should correct the misunderstanding, but… I'm sure he'll just react in an exaggerated way again.

'This is kind of annoying.'

「Anyway, once we get to the Count's castle, he'll realize it was all a misunderstanding. Let him figure it out for himself. If you correct it here, he'll probably just pretend he didn't hear it, like before.」

'Ah, so you want to put it off until later? But whether he finds out now or later, I have a feeling he'll be really shocked.'

「He'll recover on his own. Don't worry about it.」

This guy, how far does he trust his subordinates' resilience?

But it's equally troublesome, so Leonardo and I tacitly decided to let Raul's misunderstanding slide. It wasn't going to last long anyway, and he'd figure it out the moment he stepped into the training grounds.

'He'll come to terms with it on his own.'

Raul didn't seem to accept the truth so easily.

By the time noon passed the next day, a strange rumour had already started spreading inside the castle: "The new technical advisor screamed during training and dislocated his jaw. It's supposedly a side effect from monster venom."

I briefly checked Raul's status in the , but the few lines of text felt like they were filled with madness and chaos, so I quickly closed it.

It feels like I've glimpsed into the abyss…

'Is it really that bad?'

At the same time, another thought quietly follows.

In a world where the boundaries around group bonds and connections are so open, misunderstandings about being in relationships or family are common, so maybe I've become too used to it without realizing.

Should I distance myself? But it feels like it's too late for that. If that guy weren't around, wouldn't I be unable to get any sleep at night?

This part still feels a bit embarrassing when I think about it again. I'm not a child afraid of monsters hiding under the bed or in the closet. Why does someone need to be beside me when I sleep?

Moreover, after fully realizing what my 'nightmares' were about, I realized it wasn't just about the warmth of another person. When I kicked Leonardo off the couch and woke up in the middle of the night, I instinctively turned to the side of the bed and looked for him. It wasn't some vague need for warmth; I was specifically looking for that particular person.

'Is it that I'm just used to someone else's touch?'

But I had an inkling of why. The start of my nightmares was watching Leonardo die four times due to a failed scenario. That's where it all began.

Does this mean that in order to end this nightmare, there no longer needs to be any reset, and a moment will come when the protagonist's life is no longer in danger? So, until then, it'll be hard to sleep without Leonardo?

'Now that I think about it, this situation feels a bit awkward.'

Raul's unusually strong reaction made me suddenly become aware of it. I had been reflecting on what had happened between Leonardo and me up until now when Vittorio approached with quick steps. The child, tiptoeing and scanning the table, tilted his head in confusion.

"Are you taking this with you?"

"Ah, uh, yeah. I thought I'd take a quick look at the training grounds."

Inside the basket placed on the table were energy bars that could be eaten easily. It was the result of choosing a simple, large-batch recipe.

Nuts, dried fruit, and fried grains were lightly roasted over the fire, then generously mixed with honey to make it sticky. The mixture was quickly stirred, letting the heat and moisture dissipate a little. Once the dough had some stickiness, it was quickly pressed into a flat pan or tray before it cooled, then cut into pieces according to the number of people. Though it didn't contain chocolate, so it tasted more like traditional sweets rather than the modern energy bars.

Lately, the kitchen had been filled with the savoury and umami-rich scent of roasted grains.

Although Leonardo's side quest to win the loyalty of the knights had been completed, I thought it might still be helpful, so I had occasionally been bringing snacks or iced tea to the training grounds. But I suddenly stopped doing that, and it felt a bit strange.

Since today was also Raul's first day joining, I figured it would be better to get a feel for the atmosphere in person rather than just spying through the , so I prepared something.

"Ah."

"Ah…"

After placing a small piece into Vittorio's mouth, I whispered with a grin, "Let's keep it a secret that we ate first." The child puffed his cheeks and nodded eagerly, smiling softly.

"Let's go."

When we arrived at the training grounds, Leonardo and Raul were halfway through a serious sparring match.

What's this?

"What's going on?"

"Ah, you're here! Oh, it smells delicious."

A few familiar trainee knights greeted us warmly. They were all watching the fight between Raul and Leonardo with the attitude of casual onlookers. As soon as they noticed the snacks, they couldn't hide their hunger and quickly gathered around.

As I silently made the clinking sound of gathering my things, the knights casually responded to the scene where swords and spears were clashing.

"The hunter, who came as the technical advisor, suddenly rolled on the ground and then jumped up to charge at the young master. At first, we thought it was an ambush and tried to stop it…"

One of the trainee knights scratched his cheek and added,

"But it turns out he's been suffering from aftereffects since getting poisoned while hunting monsters, so it's causing him nervous spasms. The young master said there was no need for us to intervene, just to watch and learn, so… yeah. That's what happened."

Is that kind of excuse really enough? Is the monster excuse a universal solution?

From a distance, Raul's voice could be heard shouting.

"Did you lose your mind or what? Who the hell are you, you fraud? Hey!"

How peaceful, huh. It seems like insubordination was inevitable after all.

At this point, I was starting to fear what kind of people might be left from Leovald's old subordinates. I laughed helplessly and caught eyes with Leonardo, who was still facing Raul. I waved my hand lightly to encourage him.

And in that moment…

[Waiting time expired! A new scenario note has been assigned.]

The news I had been waiting for came to mind.

[Main Author: Hide, Isaac.]

An ominous warning displayed in the message window, which I hadn't seen in a long time.