Discussion

While I was feeling satisfied looking down on the unconscious Gautier on the floor, Charlotte sighed and then began to talk again.

“Sorry that it ended up like this again. This time I actually told them not to do this but Gautier was adamant that it was too dangerous and whatnot and decided to attack you himself.”

“I don’t mind. I didn’t even get a scratch and I got the chance to smack one into him for good after all.”

“I’ll ask just in case but……..you didn’t kill him, right?”

“He turned out to be softer than I imagined so I’m not sure but, I didn’t use enough strength to kill him in the first place so I assume he’ll wake up after a couple of hours or so.”

“Then, I guess we can leave him there. Now then, why don’t you sit down.”

As Charlotte asked, I ignored the collapsed Gautier and went and sat down on the sofa in front of her.

Just like last time, the three royal knights of the third squad and Mielle were standing behind Charlotte.

Alexandra gave a sincere bow, and while Bruce and Gilmour weren’t bowing their head, their expression did look quite apologetic.

Their bodies were still covered in bandages, and they had been made to come here while still far from fully healed it seems.

And finally, Mielle, who I hadn’t seen since we last parted inside that building……..

Wasn’t even looking towards me, and was instead more focused on enjoying seeing the face-down fallen figure of Gautier instead.

She really never changes huh…….for better or worse.

“Firstly, allow me to give you my thanks. Not only did you take down Milworc and two of their executives, you even went out of your way to support the royal knights afterwards. I heard from Asha that you saved her life.”

“I said this to Alexandra as well but, I was the one who dragged them all into this mess. I just finished my side of things early so I figured why not go and support them as well, that’s all.”

“Regardless of the reason, you have our gratitude. I never imagined things would turn out this well but, the plan to destroy [Under Eye] has been a great success. The fact that you actually killed Milworc is worth nothing but the highest amount of praise.”

Honestly, getting praised this openly wasn’t something I enjoyed.

I would have an easier time dealing with it if she stuck to her usual backhanded compliments instead.

“I heard you sent out your family’s personal healer as well for us, so like I said, I don’t need this much thanks. Thanks to that, I have already fully recovered as well.”

“That’s good to hear. That kind of support was pretty much all I could do this time around after all.”

“Honestly, it was so good, I kind of want to always come to them for healing if I get hurt in the future.”

“Well, if you ever work for the country, we’ll gladly lend him to you again, you know?……..What do you say? Have you considered quitting as an adventurer, and working for us, the royal family instead?”

“Sorry, but that’s not an option for me. I’m only in this together until I have taken down Klaus. After that, I don’t see myself working for the kingdom directly ever again.”

“That’s too bad.”

To think I’ll get an invitation like that. But I refused it instantly regardless.

After that, I took a quick glance towards Gautier but he seemed to still be unconscious.

If he was awake, rejecting a personal invitation from Charlotte in front of him would have surely made him throw a fit and cause even more problems after all.

“Let me get back to the topic at hand but, Charlotte did you incite Milworc to return to the base?”

“Hmm? Sort of, but not quite right either.”

Well that was a vague answer. I could only tilt my head in confusion.

“So it wasn’t intentional on your part then?”

“I mean I did try and induce Milworc to return to their base but, in all honestly, it was just pure luck that he actually did so, is what I’m saying basically.”

“I see. Well, regardless it really helped me out. Thanks to that, I was able to destroy both Milworc and [Under Eye] in one fell swoop.”

“To be honest, I was still only half-convinced until before, but after this whole ordeal I’m now confident that I made the right choice in making an alliance with you Chris.”

Likewise, having a influential backer like Charlotte has been a great help for me so I’m glad I was able to make a her think the same.

I suppose it really was the right decision to prioritize destroying [Under Eye] in that sense as well, as it further strengthened our alliance.

“So, let’s get to the main topic shall we?………Where is Klaus right now?”

As soon as I brought up the topic of Klaus, the calm atmosphere of the room suddenly tensed up.

Especially, Ralf and Esta sitting beside me seemed to perk up a bit, and as if affected by it, Charlotte’s side all also all tensed up as well.

“Klaus isn’t in the royal capital right now. To be exact, 4 days ago——meaning, the day before our assault on the [Under Eye] base, he left the capital.”

“What’s this about? I came to the capital chasing Klaus……….you lot didn’t leak our info and let him run did you?”

“Calm down. Even if I had told him about you directly, do you really think Klaus would have run from you, Chris?”

The sudden info made my brain go to extreme conclusions, and Charlotte gave back an anger0filled response to that but……..the question only calmed me down.

There’s no way the guy that has been trying his utmost to capture me would run the moment he knew that I was in the capital.

If anything, he would have rushed out to find and kill me instead, meaning the fact he left the capital in fact implies the opposite.

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——but in that case, why did Klaus leave at such a timing?

“……….yeah, he won’t run. Apologies for losing my temper. So is it just a coincidence that he happened to leave now?”

“No, it’s not a coincidence. It would be a huge trouble if your duel happened in the middle of the capital. So to avoid that I requested father to send Klaus out on an expedition.——meaning, that place will also become the location for your decisive battle.”

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