Volume 15 Chapter 6 The Reason She Still Won’t Break
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Well, that’s how we adventurers handle things. Was that helpful?”
I spoke down to Katerina, who was finally able to move again after downing the antidote. She glared at me with real hate — probably shocked she’d been hit with poison — but she knew better than to complain. Instead, she stood up on still-numb legs, squared her shoulders, and turned to face me.
”I have been made to realize that my swordsmanship is lacking. However, I still must beg of you. Please, will you take me with you?”
She bowed, head toward the floor again. Honestly, what am I supposed to do with this girl? Besides, why is she this desperate? Do high-ranking noble daughters usually obsess this much over a commoner servant? Surely someone like her could find a dozen replacements easily. Confused, I shot a sharp, sour look at the root of all this evil — the Margrave. Disrespectful? I don’t give a damn. But that old fox just brushed off my glare with a smirk that practically laughed at my annoyance, muttering a flippant “I’ll leave the rest to you” before abandoning the scene. What the hell is his problem!?
Left with no choice, I turned to the still-bowing Katerina for answers.
”Hey, Katerina-san? I’m just going to come out and ask: Why are you so desperate to save this body double of yours? Is she really that important? She’s just a common servant, right? You could replace her. Even if she is important, is this really something a high-born lady should be risking her life for? What are you thinking?”
At my question, she jerked her head up. She glared at me, but her cheeks were flushed a strange, deep shade of red as she spoke.
”Ra… Raisa is… my, pre, precious woman… That is why…”
”…………Hm?” I tilted my head in confusion, but Lydia drifted between me and Katerina — who was now blushing down to her ears — and whispered in my ear.
”You see, Soyuz. A high-ranking noble lady like Katerina-jou must stay pure until marriage. But, well, she’s a woman of age, and she needs to learn the arts of the bedroom for her future husband, too. Usually, a trusted handmaiden teaches her those things… but, well, you know how it is? It’s not rare for ladies to end up in romantic entanglements with those girls.”
…Ah. I see. So, this lady is this desperate because she wants to rescue ‘her girl’ — the one who was kidnapped in her place? Well, I suppose I can understand her panic now. If one of my own wives were taken, I wouldn’t be able to stay calm either. Thinking of it that way, her anger at seeing a ‘mere adventurer’ show up (when she expected a knight) makes sense, though I’ll say it myself: she was still being unreasonable.
…Though I still can’t forgive her for calling my lovely Georgia a ‘filthy beastman.’ Anyway, setting that aside, I understood her reason.
”Fine. I’ll do it.”
”Truly!? You have my thanks!”
When I nodded, her face lit up with pure joy for a split second before she bowed deeply again. My wives frowned at me, looking uneasy.
What else could I do? I had to nod.
I might not like spoiled, sheltered noble brats, but I can understand wanting to save someone precious to you.1 Truth be told, I respected her a little for it. It might be soft-headed of me, but the job didn’t sound too hard, and besides… the request came from that terrifying Margrave. I couldn’t exactly turn him down.
”But, listen, young lady. We need to get one thing straight.”
”Hm?”
”During the search, you follow my orders without question, no matter how small. That is a must.”
Can you really follow the orders of a commoner — an adventurer, no less? I left that unsaid, but Katerina seemed to get it. She met my gaze firmly and gave a small, sharp nod.
”Hm?”
”Understood. I will obey all your instructions. So please… save Raisa.”
”Got it. Let’s get started.”
And just like that, I ended up stuck with a big problem: a sheltered noble girl. …Well, it is what it is. I might as well tell myself that getting to boss around a noble lady is a rare experience and give it my best shot.
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The basics of any search start at the scene of the crime. You can’t start until you know where and how the taking happened. So, we headed straight for the site where Raisa-jou was snatched. We headed there, but…
”Hey. Why were you even here? This is practically asking to be ‘kidnapped’.”
That’s right. The place she led us to was the most lawless part of Verdaine — the so-called ‘Underground Town.’ It’s the kind of place where ‘Sara’s Shop’ — a store that sells all sorts of shady tools and outfits — can operate without a single person complaining, which tells you everything about how far from common sense this place is. It’s insane that this noble lady walked into a dump like this with only a single maid.
Katerina countered my grumbling right away.
”It is… because it is such a place. Rais… the, the young lady, out of a belief that a daughter of the family head should know the reality of the territory and fix what is wrong, was doing an undercover inspection… of this place.”
She started off with a puffed-up, lecturing air, but then seemed to remember her current role, choosing her words carefully with some rather amateurish acting. Because, right now, she wasn’t ‘Margrave’s daughter Katerina,’ but her servant, Raisa. The reason, of course, was for the investigation. Since her double, Raisa-jou, had been kidnapped while posing as Katerina, she had to act as the servant. In fact, she’d done this before, with Raisa-jou wearing the noble clothes and Katerina playing the maid. It was a habit of theirs, and it had saved her from kidnappers once before, so it wasn’t a ‘wrong’ move. Still, though… this girl’s acting is terrible. Ms. Mor was the worst among my wives, but this girl is even worse. It’s a wonder she managed to fool anyone with this disguise.
”So, you two walked into a place like this and got yourselves attacked, leading to ‘Katerina’-sama getting snatched, right? I suppose you thought, ‘My swordsmanship is good enough to cut through a few rat-thieves’?”
I looked at her with dull, tired eyes. She looked down in shame, mumbling something that didn’t even count as an excuse. Yeah, I’d seen her skills earlier. They weren’t terrible, but they wouldn’t work against seasoned adventurers or their ilk. More importantly, she didn’t know anything outside of swordplay. Someone once said, ‘Ignorance is a sin,’ and she was a living, breathing example.
Whatever, complaining about what’s already happened won’t fix it. It’s not what I wanted to be doing, but, looked at from a certain angle, this is a good chance for my girls to get experience with this kind of work. Yeah, I’ll be sure to ‘use’ that to the fullest.
With that thought, I called out to Lena and the others, who were already quietly checking the area.
”Alright, everyone. As you’ve heard, this young lady came walking into this place, overconfident, and got her body double kidnapped. Now… what do you think is the first thing we need to think about?”
Lena answered right away.
”Yes. The first thing to think about is what kind of enemy kidnapped Katerina-sama… but we already know that, don’t we?”
”Right. We’ve already had contact from that ‘Apostle of Rebirth’ group.”
I nodded, and Vera spoke up.
”Kidnapping someone is not easy. So, I think they chose a place that was easy to snatch someone.”
”Exactly right, good thinking.”
I praised her, and Vera’s ears twitched happily. Cute.
”I used to do this kind of thing myself, so I get it. The enemy must have been watching for a long time. They chose this place and did it. Yeah, I would have done the same.”
”Correct. They were waiting for the perfect chance.”
Georgia’s time spent doing ‘dirty work’ in the past was showing in her ability to think like a criminal. Good, good—my girls are growing up just fine.
”With that in mind, we’re going to start the search. What kind of method do you suggest?”
”Yes. Normally, using Ms. Vera’s Spirit Magic would be the most reliable, but if the enemy has an Elf, or a Half-Elf more skilled than Ms. Vera, it could backfire. So, I humbly suggest we have Ms. Georgia track the scent.”
”Well done, Lena. As expected of my head wife. You’re using what you learned last time. I was thinking exactly the same thing.”
At my words, Lena let out a small, breathless, “Haa… th, thank you… so much…” and hugged her own body, looking like she’d just been through a lot. Yeah, she never changes.
Either way, there’s no teacher like experience. Whether you’re an adventurer or a knight, that never changes.
And my wonderful wives are using that perfectly. It’s truly wonderful. As proof, Katerina, having zero experience, couldn’t say a word and just watched the capable Lena and the others with a blank expression.
…Damn that Margrave (shitty old man).
He knew that if he or his Chivalric Order did this, they’d be holding a grudge, so he dumped the babysitting of this girl and the ‘dirty work’ on an outsider like me. When this job is done, I am definitely going to bleed him dry for every penny. Absolutely!
—
Summary:
Soyuz reluctantly agrees to help Katerina search for her kidnapped handmaiden after realizing the emotional bond between the two. He brings his household along to the lawless Underground Town to begin the investigation. The party identifies the ‘Apostle of Rebirth’ as the culprits and prepares to track them using Georgia’s keen sense of smell.
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Trivia:
- Katerina and Raisa have a history of switching places for security reasons.
- The Underground Town is so lawless that ‘Sara’s Shop’ operates there without scrutiny.
- Soyuz’s decision to help is driven by both empathy for the bond between the noble and her servant, and the fact that he was commissioned by the Margrave.
- Lena, as the head wife, demonstrates that she has learned from previous field experiences.
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Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Katerina – The youngest daughter of Margrave Verdaine is a sheltered, proud noble girl in heavy armor who wields a greatsword. Though initially arrogant and overconfident, she has fierce resilience and respects her father’s authority. Deeply devoted to rescuing her handmaiden, Raisa, she is currently forced into the role of a servant to facilitate an undercover investigation.
• Margrave – A noble authority figure and the cunning, manipulative puppeteer who initiated the request. He enjoys orchestrating others to achieve his tactical goals, deliberately delegating the “dirty work” to outsiders to insulate himself from any potential fallout of the mission.
• Raisa – The handmaiden who was kidnapped while disguised as Katerina.
• Lydia – A poised household noblewoman in flashy, practical masculine riding attire, she blends gentle femininity with masculine poise. Serving as the protagonist’s mistress and Soyuz’s advisor, mediator, and cautious companion, she guides them through elite circles. Well-versed in noble social norms and romance, she uses polite public composure and discrete pinches to keep Soyuz’s bluntness in check.
• Soyuz – Trapped in a youth’s body, this 47-year-old pragmatic adventurer leads a household of wives and slaves. Armed with a poison mantle and magic silver sword, he uses cynical formal speech to mock nobility. Though reluctant to engage in politics, his sharp combat instincts and deep empathy drive him to protect his companions and household, including role-playing with Lena in his mansion.
• Georgia – A loyal beastfolk demi-human girl and devoted slave-wife to Soyuz, this household member has a past in illicit work. Highly observant and expressive, she vigorously wags her tail to show happiness. In combat and field operations, she utilizes her predatory instincts, natural low stances, and practical tracking skills.
• Verdaine – Verdaine’s capital, a massive walled city with bustling markets and the Adventurers Guild, is the protagonist’s temporary base near Lena’s village. It is ruled by its House’s Margrave, a ferocious, sixty-year-old frontier warrior resembling an old lion with a sturdy physique and graying hair. Pragmatic and calculating, he commands terrifying psychological pressure yet holds a casual, grandfatherly demeanor.
• Sara – The elegant and alluring proprietor of a mysterious shop selling various questionable tools and outfits. Sharing a slave background similar to Lena’s, she is deeply supportive and welcoming to others, offering a special kind of assistance.
• Mor – A mansion staff member with a terrifyingly calm, sharp demeanor and a distinct, poised appearance. Despite their eerie competence and calculated relationships with others in the household, their recent attempt at an act of disguise was surprisingly subpar, revealing a rare crack in their otherwise flawless, intimidating facade.
• Lena – A highly competent, rational, brown-skinned fighter, she is Soyuz’s devoted lead wife, primary advisor, and serious guard. She has a ponytail, scarred face, blind left eye, and wears tattered, collared clothes. Despite facing discipline from other women, her keen instincts and deep devotion drive her to protectively warn others about the terrifying extent of Soyuz’s strength.
• Vera – An innocent, observant elven girl with animal-like ears, she is a household member and one of Soyuz’s companions and slave-wives. She addresses him affectionately and displays a radiant, happy demeanor when praised by him. Wielding a wooden training staff, she effortlessly utilizes Spirit Magic without the need for incantations.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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