Chapter 72
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「Anon, Sensei, I leave the rest to you.」
The brothers, seemingly relieved, fall into a deep sleep.
It’s understandable, especially for Chloa. Though he’s recovered, he was on the brink of death not long ago.
The same goes for his older brother. I recall Chloe’s exhausted expression. He must have been pushed to his limits by stress and fatigue.
「Son-in-law, we understand. Leave these two to us and go on ahead.」
Sensei says, narrowing her eyes with a grin.
「Indeed, I noticed you were getting restless.」
Anon adds, nodding firmly in agreement with my proposal, following Sensei’s lead.
「You have some important business to attend to, don’t you?」
He’s right.
I need to return to Ashley, report on the situation, and then—
I give Anon a casual response: 「Yeah, I’ve got somewhere I need to be.」
But there’s something I need to ask him first.
「Actually, I have a question for you, Anon.」
「What is it?」
「Well, you and Chloe knew each other before, right?」
「That’s right. We’ve worked together on jobs, and I’ve also dealt with them as an informant to a client.」
「When we first got here, I saw you talking with Chloe. You seemed pretty close. For you, Vienetta and its master Chloe aren’t just colleagues or clients, are they?」
Anon clasps his hands behind his head, looks up, and lets out a thoughtful 「Hmm.」
「You’re right. I respect Vienetta’s management style, and I think the skills of its members are worthy of an S-rank clan. Above all, I don’t dislike Chloe, who leads them. He’s straightforward and sincere.」
I think to myself that saying he 「doesn’t dislike」 someone is very typical of Anon. It’s his way of showing respect.
「Even though you know about Sensei’s Heal, it’s surprising you’d entrust Chloa to just the two of us without asking anything.」
Anon grins under his hood—or at least it seems that way.
「You don’t get it, do you?」
「Don’t get what?」
He wags his raised index finger a couple of times.
「That’s right. You don’t get it.」
「What do you mean?」
「Because you said it would be fine.」
For a moment, I’m at a loss for words.
I did say that, but isn’t it a different story to entrust everything based on just that?
「I mean, I did say I’d handle it, but—」
Anon touches my lips with his raised index finger, signaling me to stop rambling.
「I trust you more than you think,」 he says.
Then, with a cynical chuckle, he adds,
「After all, you’re my ‘Hero.’」
With those words, he made his declaration to me.
○○○
I’m riding an Eagle Dragon, heading towards Ashley.
Anon’s trust feels too heavy…
It would be a lie to say I’m not happy, but still, it’s overwhelming.
I imagine the ground sinking with each step under the weight of that trust, and I shake my head vigorously to dispel the thought.
「I better not betray that trust.」
I mutter to myself.
「What was that?」
Asks the young man acting as my guide in front of me.
He’s Thomas, an A-ranker and a member of Vienetta.
「Oh, it’s nothing,」 I reply.
「I see,」 Thomas says, not sounding entirely convinced.
「By the way, thanks for volunteering to be the driver. Come to think of it, I couldn’t have ridden the dragon alone.」
Not only could I not ride the dragon alone, but I wouldn’t even have known where to go. The real problem is that I didn’t even consider these issues. I need to reflect on that.
「Ah, it’s no trouble at all.」
Thomas answers, focusing on steering without turning to face me.
As I continue to talk to him, his initially brief responses gradually become longer. As we chat, he expresses gratitude for helping Chloa, and we enjoy some small talk during our journey through the sky.
○○○
I spot Ashley’s manor from the air.
What catches my eye immediately is a large fire blazing in front of the building.
At first, I worry it might be an enemy attack, but then I see Ashley and the members of Berserga, including their leader, gathered around the fire, looking rather lively.
After dismounting the Eagle Dragon, Thomas and I approach them.
「Low! You’re back!」
Ashley is the first to notice us.
She greets us with a smile.
For some reason, a scruffy-looking man follows behind her, as if attending to her.
「Boss Ashley!! Why did you suddenly start running?!」
「Boss…?」
I mutter. Ashley’s face turns bright red as she flails her hands, repeatedly denying,
「N-no! This isn’t— It’s not what it looks like!」
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