Maids stared at me through the broken window, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"B-Bellf-sama!!!"
The guest room Martinius had lent me for the day fortunately wasn't very high up, and I managed to land without any particular injury.
"...Should I try sleeping rough for a while for old times' sake?"
If I stayed in the castle, it was obvious I'd be targeted no matter what, so maybe I should just camp out like before...
Would a tent and a campfire be enough to hide me?
"Bellf-sama—!!!"
"This is insane."
It seemed word had already spread, because maids and knights had started moving around the castle grounds.
Damn it, should I project an anti-detection tent or something?
The dark night passed, and the sun began to rise.
"Sometimes, this kind of thing isn't so bad."
Maybe because I'd made a tent with an anti-detection magic tool, I'd been able to sleep soundly without any interruptions.
"Yaaawn..."
As I yawned and took down the tent,
"We found him!"
a knight in an iron helmet found me after roughly seven hours.
"Bellf-sama! Please, come with us—"
"No."
I'm not a criminal, so why the hell would I go with you?
Come to think of it, that's unfair.
What had I even done to deserve them sending knights after me?
Running away from maids wasn't a crime.
"Martinius told you to look for me, didn't he?"
"W-well, that is..."
Strictly speaking, it was Ares who ordered it, but...
"I'm leaving. Tell your superior he just barely missed me."
"W-What?"
"Oh, is Martinius in the audience chamber right now?"
"Yes..."
Since the knight didn't seem to be lying, I headed for the audience chamber.
"Halt!"
On the way there, a few guards blocked my path, but
"Move."
"..."
once I raised my hammer and magic sword as a threat, no one dared stop me.
"Good to see you again, Bellf Crozzo."
"I'm not particularly glad to see you."
As soon as I entered the audience chamber, Martinius and Ares greeted me as if they'd been waiting.
"Have you come around to returning to Lacia?"
"I've come around to wanting to smash Lacia to pieces."
"What did you say!?"
"Why did you have maids do the negotiating if you were going to offer attractive terms?"
"Were the maids I sent not quite attractive enough for you?"
"Not to me."
I'm not some beast driven mad by lust.
"Then I'll give you rare materials seized from various countries! If you use these, surely—"
"I don't need them."
No matter how precious the materials were, there were plenty of substitutes.
And I had no intention of selling my life for a few materials.
"Grr..."
"Do you have anything else to offer?"
"..."
"Then the negotiation is over."
"You little— Bellf Crozzo!!!"
The man who got beaten every time sure had a loud voice.
"...I can't believe I'd end up back here."
After speaking with Ares, I visited the Crozzo mansion with Aiz.
"...So you finally came, you unfilial brat."
"I didn't come to see my father."
I should just search the books quickly and leave.
"...A pleasure to meet you."
"You are..."
"My personal adventurer."
"...So I'll be able to see a grandchild, then."
...What?