Chapter 372: Chapter 372

“Well… he is his son.”

Yuridia replied with some disinterest.

It wasn’t exactly unusual for a father and son to resemble each other.

“Did you not hear what I just said? I said he was the spitting image! If it was just a simple resemblance, this old woman wouldn’t be saying something !”

Was it because she didn’t like the reaction, or did she just want to convey how serious she was?

Granny Peggy suddenly stood up and shouted.

“P-please calm down!”

The normally calm grandmother suddenly shouting with veins bulging in her neck left the children startled.

“I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t believe you… but honestly, it just doesn’t make sense, does it?”

‘Yeah, it’s nonsense. Unless someone came back to life…’

Granny Peggy muttered and sank into her seat.

The children hurriedly rushed to support her.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away without realizing.”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

Sweat was trickling down Granny Peggy’s forehead and the back of her neck.

Cold sweat. And her trembling, widened eyes.

She looked just like someone gripped by fear.

Luna wiped the sweat off Granny Peggy’s forehead with a handkerchief.

Only then did her gaze return to normal.

“It’s nothing. But really, they looked that much alike?”

“Of course! At first, I thought it was a ghost. The appearance and the ambition—it was exactly how Count Kelven used to be.”

Granny Peggy shuddered.

From her reaction, it seemed she still thought that might be the case.

“Don’t worry too much. Whether it’s a ghost or a demon, I’ll take care of it.”

“Alright… but don’t push yourself too hard. The fire of that ambition… isn’t something easily extinguished.”

After a brief farewell, we stepped outside. The sun was already starting to dip behind the mountains.

That meant we’d only be able to visit one more place at most.

“Hm… In the end, we didn’t get much useful information.”

“Even after catching the kidnappers, we’re still stuck . It’s frustrating. Could it be that their mouths haven’t been opened yet?”

“Should we go and ask Caron directly?”

“Sorry, but that’s impossible.”

Just as we were discussing our next destination, someone cut in.

He approached us with his limbs flopping lazily.

“Impossible? What do you mean?”

“Sir Caron is busy. It’s hard for even us to meet him outside of report times. Not that I’d want to meet him anyway.”

“Well… he is the busiest person here. He’s probably handling the interrogations well. Visiting him might just get in the way.”

This was also a test. The task this time was to uncover someone who had made a contract with a demon.

And we’re going to ask Caron for a hint?

‘Why do you even have a head if you’re not going to use it? If you’re going to waste it like that, I’ll just take it,’ he might say as he yanked it right off.

So then, where should we go?

As we were deep in thought, huddling together, Ron leaned in to join us.

“But really, isn’t this just too much? Not even a two-shift system—24-hour duty! I’ve been working for 68 hours straight! Even slaves get more rest than this! No, seriously, they actually do get more!”

That’s right. As you could tell by how freely we were moving about, there weren’t any instructors around us right now.

They’d all been deployed on security detail.

The kidnapping incident involving Bickerd and Redington.

Even the knights from the same order as them had to be investigated.

The instructors were covering the gaps created by that.

The entire village interior and parts of the outer perimeter.

Right now, the instructors were being pushed to their limits with brutal workloads.

“My work-life balance! My happy, easy-going academy instructor life is ruined!”

“That’s strange. I don’t feel any sympathy at all.”

“Of course. No one sympathizes with a parasite.”

Ron, who was rolling on the ground in anguish, lifted his head.

“This isn’t living. Maybe it’d be better if I just quit being an instructor.”

“Why not endure it a little longer? Where else could you find a better job than being an instructor at Annwood Academy?”

“It’s fine. I’ve already received an offer.”

“From Young Master Nade. And he asked me personally!”

“Apparently, he was impressed by the fight last time. He said he’d give me full authority over the order or something. He’s recognized the true value of Lord Ron. Kehaha!”

The children’s expressions subtly shifted.

It was odd enough that someone like Ron was being courted, but the number of knights was the bigger issue.

“What’s the current pay for a knight?”

“Minimum 15 gold. For someone like me, who’ll be appointed as the order’s commander, they’d probably pay at least 80 gold.”

Currently, a family of four could live a month on about 1 gold.

Considering a knight’s value, 15 gold wasn’t too much, but the number was the problem.

“How many knights are in the Trash Order right now?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure, but it looked like there were well over 50. The armory was filled with well-maintained equipment. All made by renowned artisans, too.”

At least 50. Even at minimum cost, that meant 750 gold per year.

“And now you’re saying they’ve got expensive, well-maintained gear? That’s definitely suspicious.”

Buying gear isn’t the end of it. Maintenance takes considerable effort—and naturally, money.

It wasn’t something a small territory could afford.

“If I quit, Sir Caron will be kicking the ground in regret… Hah, what do I do? Quit or not?”

“Quit. If it doesn’t suit you, then you should.”

“Frankly, it would be a welcome change.”

Yuridia and Victoria’s merciless attacks and harsh truths!

Ron slumped again, then wobbled toward us.

“Sniff… what awful students, slandering their own instructor… In the end, my only true companions are my team!”

Then he pulled the three of us into a tight hug.

“Eeeeeek! I’m gonna burst! I’m gonna die from being squished!”

“Let go right now or I’ll bite you to death!”

“Yes, yes. Luna, it’s nice to see you too. I’m just so glad to see you.”

Just as Ron was rubbing his face against Luna’s cheek—

“Hey, you there! Stop right there!”

A group of unidentified individuals wearing robes suddenly appeared in front of us.

There were easily over thirty of them. But we didn’t feel any particular sense of danger.

That’s right. They were students from Annwood Academy.

It was impossible for so many people to be in a small village like Trash, and the glimpses of uniforms under their robes confirmed the suspicion.

Judging by their small builds, most of them seemed to be girls.

The girls rushed in and grabbed Ron’s limbs, lifting him up.

With four on each limb, even Ron, a trained instructor, couldn’t resist.

“W-What is this! Are you assassins sent to kill the future commander of the knights?”

“Silence! You wicked beast! Not only did you touch her, you even rubbed your face on her! You deserve to die!”

The group dragged Ron into a side alley and disappeared.

One of them, at the very end, came up to us and bowed politely.

“We are the passing-by ‘Love Aid Club.’ Please don’t worry—we’ll take care of that beast ourselves.”

Love Aid Club? What the heck is that?

A new group I’d never seen before, even in the game.

But the confusion was short-lived. Shouts erupted from the alley.

From those voices, I realized who they were.

“How dare he lay a hand on Lady Luna’s body!”

“Burn him! Burn him at the stake!”

Ron’s final scream echoed from the alley.

That’s right. The Love Aid Club. A club that supports Luna’s love, known as “LAC,” without a doubt.

‘They’re even executing instructors now?’

From formal organizations to secret societies—what a terrifying group they’ve become.

“Love Aid Club… I like it.”

“A truly magnificent organization has been born.”

Hmm… I wasn’t entirely sure, but there was one thing I could say for certain.

That the ‘future me’ who had to clear up this misunderstanding would at minimum be drawn and quartered.

I don’t know who will take on that role, but good luck. Future me.

Huh? Isn’t that me anyway?

As I tried to escape reality from the bleak future—

“Hm… So what now? Is there anywhere else we can get new information?”

As the kids huddled together again in thought, Alex opened his mouth.

“How about we go pay someone a visit?”

“Who? Don’t tell me…”

“Let’s go see Lord Nade.”

Granny Peggy’s testimony that Nade not only looked just like Baron Kelven, but had the same ambition too.

To such nonsense, Yuridia immediately objected.

“Are you trying to hunt ghosts now? You believe in totemism after all?”

“To think you believe in such superstition instead of the Goddess. How disappointing.”

Despite Yuridia and Victoria’s negative responses, Alex only smiled softly.

“At the very least, we might get some information about Baron Kelven. He might know something we don’t.”

“Well, Baron Kelven is suspicious. Everyone’s been thinking he might be the mastermind, after all.”

“If we can uncover how he escaped the heresy interrogation… it’s worth investigating.”

Alex smiled at Yuridia. She was currently the party’s leader.

‘Not because she earned the title, but because she insisted on it to maintain appearances.’

Which meant Yuridia was fighting her own battle in her own way.

Yuridia flicked her hair back proudly.

“Well, not a bad idea. Let’s go. We can also find out why he’s maintaining such a large number of knights.”

“You guys are coming too, right?”

Alex looked toward us. My answer was, of course—

“Keke, from here on out, we’ll move separately.”

“Let’s just go together. There’s nowhere else we can get any more information anyway.”

Yuridia’s insistence was natural.

She probably wanted to show the kids that we were cooperating to strengthen the anti-Teron alliance.

“Honestly, it’s fine to travel together for just one day. Zero is also at odds with the Teron faction, so… mmph!”

Victoria clamped Yuridia’s mouth shut. Then she began whispering something.

Even in the game, I’d never seen a situation , so I didn’t know what she was saying.

But judging by how Yuridia’s eyes slowly curved into crescents, I could guess.

-We should give them some time alone now. Our mission is important, but so is nurturing love, wouldn’t you agree?

-That’s true! I wasn’t thinking straight. Romance always blossoms more during travel. As expected of Lady Victoria!

Yuridia and Victoria locked eyes.

They both nodded at the same time.

“True, having too many people could be a problem.”

“We’ll share any information we find, so there’s no need to worry. Zero and Lady Luna, please enjoy your passionate love—ah, I mean, do your best collecting information.”

“B-But… I can’t hand Zero over to that demonic hag…!”

Raymon’s shout grew more distant. That’s because Yuridia and Victoria dragged him off the moment he opened his mouth.

In the end, only Alex waved goodbye to us.

“Have a lovely time, just the two of you.”

Alex walked off with a bright smile.

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‘Rezé’s right here. Right next to me…!’

It seemed none of them could see Rezé anymore.

Or maybe they really did see her as a rabbit.

Like a pet cat owned by a couple?

“He, hehe… Pe-peace has returned…”

Whether she knew or not, Rezé took a bite of her carrot.

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