LIGHTNOVELWORLD Episode 18
Chapter 18
“So, what’s our plan from now on?”
I inquired about our future plans while sitting on the floor of the empty mansion, addressing Alshade.
The fireplace in the dining room, facing the courtyard, was the entrance and exit point.
Just as Alshade had mentioned, it seemed like the place had been minimally cleaned, and there were no ashes falling.
The view of the courtyard from the window was enough to convince us that our escape had been successful, and both she and I sat down, the tension gradually dissipating.
“First, I intend to go to my master’s house and seek their cooperation. After that, we’ll gather information to assess the current situation.”
“…Understood. Is your master’s house nearby?”
“…Yes, it is. This area is prime territory, close to our estate. The houses of my retainers are also located here. My master lives nearby and teaches swordsmanship to soldiers and me as their mentor.”
Knowing that Alshade’s master lived nearby was good news, but I pondered whether going directly to their house might not be the wisest choice.
“Your master’s strength is well-known, right? Won’t they be cautious and have people watching for any movements?”
“Most likely.”
“Then, wouldn’t going to their house risk being spotted by their watchers?”
“If we go straightforwardly, yes, we’ll be spotted.”
The straightforward answers gave me a slight headache. Why was Alshade so confident about this?
“That doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Indeed.”
“No, it’s not right! There must be another way!”
Alshade’s smile remained unchanged, even as I raised my voice, momentarily forgetting to use honorific language.
But as I noticed her smiling in response to my anger, I regained my composure.
“I see you’ve finally dropped the honorifics. Ah, I’m relieved. It was so stiff.”
“I know it’s formality, but that can wait for later. Besides, my master works for the Baltzfeld family, but he doesn’t serve them directly, so he doesn’t mind such formalities. Even the retainers and servants who know me well won’t make a fuss about it.”
It appeared that Alshade had put on an act to make me drop the honorifics. I had fallen for her performance.
But if that was the case, she must have some plan in mind for going to her master’s house.
“True, that’s one way to see it.”
“I’m glad you understand. Now, about the route to my master’s house…”
“Yeah.”
Alshade deliberately paused, prompting me to nod and encourage her to continue.
“In a sense, we’re almost there since we came out here.”
“Huh?”
“It’s behind this mansion. My master’s house.”
“(Whaaat!?)”
“You have quite the reaction.”
Suppressing my urge to shout, I held back, but Alshade couldn’t help but laugh with delight.
“Wait a second. If that’s the case, wouldn’t there be watchers within the premises of this mansion?”
“No, there aren’t any. It’s foolish to closely monitor someone as skilled as my master from such a close distance. As far as I know, Hyann isn’t stupid, although he may be average.”
I reluctantly agreed to the surveillance part, considering that in the original work, powerful characters often sensed others’ presence. However, I was still skeptical about how Alshade evaluated Hyann.
Her straightforward way of dismissing him was rather harsh, but in my mind, Hyann was a greedy, incompetent character. However, he hadn’t been deeply explored in Wildia Chronicles, so the current version might not be as foolish as Alshade suggested.
“Since my master wouldn’t want any attention drawn to the estate, Hyann’s likely observing from afar to keep the information restricted.”
“I see. So, it would be too obvious if they conducted overt surveillance.”
“Exactly. My master’s movements are uncertain, and they wouldn’t want to provoke any unnecessary reactions.”
As battles on a small scale had a significant impact on individual combat prowess in this world, the concept was evident.
They probably wanted to avoid actions that might wake the sleeping dragon.
“So, let’s head out to the backyard from this dining room. We’ll use the window to leave the mansion. Since Rios wouldn’t know where to go, I’ll lead the way.”
“…Just for this time.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”
Ignoring my casual remark, Alshade left the dining room and turned left.
The moonlight entering through the window faintly illuminated the unmanned mansion’s corridor, creating a creepy atmosphere as if something might come out. However, Alshade paid no attention to such things and confidently moved forward.
“I’m used to the slums, so I’ll be fine, but aren’t you scared, milady?”
“Scared? Are you talking about the undead of the Wraith-type? I’m not afraid of them. The church properly sanctifies this area, so undead creatures don’t appear here. And even if they did, I could handle them with a single strike using Finbul.”
“Come to think of it, you’re right.”
In this world, ghosts were referred to as undead of the Wraith-type. Wraith-type undead could be defeated with magical attacks, so they weren’t feared as they were in my previous world.
While there were non-monster ghosts, their existence wasn’t generally believed in.
That’s probably why Alshade wasn’t scared at all.
“We’ll go outside from this window.”
“Understood.”
From the window Alshade opened, we could see the overgrown backyard and the backs of houses beyond the fence.
Following her guidance, we went through what seemed to be a hidden path among the grass and arrived in front of the fence.
The fence seemed taller than an adult’s height, so climbing it would attract attention.
Seeing Alshade crouch down in front of the fence, a question popped into my mind.
“Hey, how do you know so much about this mansion? And what’s this thing that looks like a hidden path?”
True, Alshade had left the dining room and turned left without paying much attention to the outside view.
And besides, even if we were in a residential area, it was odd to have a hidden path like this. How could I explain her movements as if she knew about it beforehand?
“Well, I wanted to inspect the commoners’ area during a light rest day after studying and training. Since it gets too formal with escorts around, I often use this to lose the household’s people.”
“…What are you doing?”
“At that time, my master accompanies me as my escort, so it’s all right. I’ve also got permission from my father.”
She studied and trained before getting permission, so technically it was done with sincerity, but I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the escorts who would have to be shaken off every time.
Alshade’s impression had changed quite a bit from the first one.
As I furrowed my brow slightly, she moved the large stone in front of the fence and pointed there.
“Alright, we’ll get there by going through here.”
“Ah, yeah… Let’s go.”
Following Alshade’s indication, there was a hole under the fence that seemed easy for a child to pass through.
As a precaution, I went first and crawled out through the hole, finding myself in front of a low bush that concealed the hole.
When I stepped aside, Alshade also crawled out through the hole.
“Is this your lady’s master’s house?”
“That’s right. More precisely, it’s their backyard.”
All we had to do now was make our way to the back entrance of the house while avoiding detection. Just as I thought that, suddenly, I saw someone’s legs in my field of view.
“…Lady Alshade, why have you brought an unfamiliar guest to my house at such a late hour? This must be something serious.”
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