Chapter 81.2

About ten minutes later, I had finished all the maintenance.

“Why did you all suddenly gather here?”

Now that my work was complete, I asked the question that had been nagging me the most. Why had those who set out to hunt the Bell Witch and dark mages suddenly returned here?

“We recalled a likely place where they might be hiding. It’s thanks to the detector you made. Without it, we’d be in serious trouble.”

At those words, my thoughts naturally drifted to Arina, the Northern Grand Duchess, who should be at the High Tower. Now I understood why they had come here.

“You should hurry to the Palace of Glory! Her Highness is in danger!”

“Indeed! Sir Balzac, Commander Sun, you must head to the High Tower immediately.”

“No matter how important Sir Arad and the factory are, Her Highness is far more important.”

Not only I, but the other senior knights present also urged them urgently.

“Don’t worry. We still have time. Besides, the Spring Grand Witch is at the High Tower, is she not? By the way, did you give her any magical artifacts? If you gave her something like these, it could be a great help in battle.”

“There were hardly any magical artifacts that didn’t react negatively to her curse. The only one that seemed compatible was a magical smoking pipe, so I crafted a highly effective one and gave it to her.”

“That’s a relief.”

While the other senior knights and I were on edge, Balzac and Sun seemed unusually composed.

“Your calmness is unlike you, Sir Balzac and Sir Sun.”

I kept pressing them.

“You must go to the palace and protect Her Highness. What will you do if something happens? How will you bear the grief?”

“All right, all right. We’ll go soon.”

“We can’t ignore your insistence, can we?”

Finally yielding to our prodding, Balzac and Sun prepared to depart.

“I’ll go too,” Mary suddenly declared from beside me, expressing her intent to join the battle.

She, too, must have sensed something odd in Balzac and Sun’s attitude.

“Sir Arad.”

Ignoring Mary’s statement, Balzac turned to me.

“Yes?”

“Where will you be tonight?”

“I’ll likely remain here in the primary factory.”

“Good. That’s reassuring.”

“I’ve developed a knack for these things.”

“An excellent sense, indeed. That’s why you’ve prepared so thoroughly, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I tend to ensure proper preparations in any place I spend a significant amount of time.”

“Impressive.”

Balzac visibly relaxed at my response.

“I have one request.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“As you said, stay here no matter what. Especially with Lady Mary. Do not leave this place under any circumstances.”

“Understood.”

“This might sound odd, given that I’m the one making the request, but could you swear it? Swear that you will not take Lady Mary outside the factory.”

“…I swear.”

This was the first time since the Abyss of the Demon Realm that I’d seen Balzac this serious, and without thinking, I made the promise.

Of course, I understood why Balzac was so adamant.

‘Though illegitimate, Mary also carries the blue blood of House Renslet.’

“……”

At this point, Mary remained silent.

“Well then, we’re off.”

“Good luck.”

With that, Balzac, Sun, and the senior knights from the High Tower left the factory.

Some of the Frost Knights assigned to guard me also seemed to have joined them.

After the knights departed, Mary spoke in a hardened voice.

“Boss, aren’t you going?”

“Going where?”

“To protect the Grand Duchess.”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

“Mary, I have almost zero combat ability.”

“What?”

“Yup.”

Mary looked at me with a bewildered expression, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. I returned her gaze with equal confusion.

“But…! Didn’t you rush into the Abyss of the Demon Realm alone when Her Highness was in danger? I heard about the magical crossbow you used back then.”

“Ah, that.”

Now I understood her reaction.

“That was because I was the only one who could save Her Highness at the time. But this isn’t the same. Now, the senior knights of Renslet, armed with magical armor, and a Swordmaster are protecting her. On this continent, there is no one who can face them—not even the Dark Duke Doom or the Golden Tower Master, Yulkanes.”

Perhaps a legendary dragon could, but those creatures hadn’t appeared in Era of Silver 1, so there was no reason for one to suddenly appear now.

“Even so… your participation would surely be a great help.”

Despite my explanation, Mary wasn’t giving up.

‘She must be worried about her sister’s safety. And likely Isabelle’s too.’

I respected Mary’s feelings.

“Do you really think our participation would help? Have you considered the possibility that we might be a hindrance instead?”

But respecting her feelings didn’t mean agreeing with her opinion.

“If we go to the High Tower now, both of us will be in danger.”

“…!”

“Balzac, Sun, Isabelle, and the other senior knights would be too distracted protecting the two of us to focus on their roles.”

As my firm words continued, Mary’s shoulders slumped.

“More importantly, I’ve already sworn to Sir Balzac. I can’t break that promise.”

Empathy aside, some things simply cannot be done.

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