Chapter 163: Disappearance Part 4

After admitting Cattleya to the hospital,

I borrowed a nearby bed to get a bit of rest myself.

That’s when it happened.

“Are you sure he’s here?”

“Yes, well… if you’re looking for the young master, he’s over that way.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

My father had come to find me.

Still, seeing his face again like this made something swell up inside me.

“Johan.”

“Father.”

Father, so much has happened. It’s been really tough…

“You little bastard!”

Smack!

My father greeted me with a punch before anything else.

Tears welled up at the sight of this domestic violence happening in broad daylight.

“So you finally did it! You really ran away from the Cradle?! How could you be so irresponsible! If you’d at least given us some warning, we could’ve prepared for something like this!”

It’s unfair.

But… I get it.

After all, the son who was supposed to be in the Cradle as of this morning had suddenly shown up, several days’ travel away, in his family’s territory.

With no word of warning, anyone would assume I had escaped.

Still, it’s unfair.

“Father, please, just hear me out—”

“Hear you out? What the hell is there to hear?!”

“You’re in front of a patient. Please keep it down, Count.”

“Ahem… I suppose I lost my composure in front of the doctor.”

“Yes, you did. Honestly, it was kind of shameful.”

My father who cared more about what the doctor thought than his own son.

How am I supposed to be a good son to a man like this?

“I didn’t come here because I wanted to. I got caught up in a terrorist attack, and when I came to, I was here. That’s all.”

I quickly explained the situation before my father could blow up at me again.

He glanced over at Cattleya, who was covered in burns from head to toe, and eventually, he had no choice but to nod.

The misunderstanding was cleared up.

And now, it was time to receive an apology for all the verbal abuse that misunderstanding had caused.

“You should’ve said that from the start.”

“You didn’t give me a chance to speak.”

“If you were a bit quicker on your feet, you’d have found a way to explain anyway.”

He just had to get the last word in.

Anyway, my father who had been about to grab me by the collar calmed down.

“So what exactly happened?”

“Well, you see—”

I began to calmly recount everything that had happened involving Under Chain.

When the story reached its climax and when I told him I’d finally buried Loki for good—

“…Excuse me for a moment.”

The doctor, with his face pale, suddenly left the room in a hurry.

Well, I suppose it was a bit much for a regular person to handle.

Still, being one of our territory’s people, I trust he won’t go blabbing about it anywhere.

He’s smart. Smart enough to realize that, from the moment he treated Cattleya, he’d already made himself an accomplice.

It might seem cruel, but given the state of the Empire these days, there’s no helping it.

That doctor was now an accomplice.

“You… just what the hell have you…”

The very father who had asked me to explain everything ended up falling silent, staring up at the ceiling with a deep sigh.

This is how your son’s been living.

The recent incident was a bit bigger in scale, sure…. but honestly, this has become my normal.

“That’s why you should’ve just stayed holed up in the Cradle! Why are you always running around?!”

“Well, I had my reasons.”

I told him why I had to leave the Cradle and stay out overnight.

By the time I finished, I noticed tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

“I told you to do something about that damn mess of a love life of yours!”

“I don’t have a mess of a love life! I’m not even in a position to do anything about it! One’s the daughter of a duke; the other is the daughter of the Tower Master!”

They’re not people someone from a small to mid-sized territory like ours could ever hope to handle.

In reality, I was no different from a commoner standing before nobility when I was around those two.

“Johan.”

“Yes.”

“There’s nothing else, is there?”

“No—”

Just as I was about to firmly deny it, I paused for a moment.

“I’m not sure how to say this, but first, let me just offer my condolences.”

I bowed my head as if I were greeting a bereaved family.

“There’s been… a scandal involving me and Her Highness, the Imperial Princess.”

“……”

This time, there was no nagging.

No shouting either. My father just quietly collapsed backward.

Thud!

Unable to accept such a shocking revelation, he fainted on the spot.

That day, the small rural hospital admitted one more patient.

***

I left the hospital for a bit and decided to stop by the local merchant guilds.

Though calling them that sounded fancy, in a rural territory like this, there were only two of them.

There were two places I had in mind. The long-established general store I’d always done business with, and the newly opened branch of the Andvaranaut Merchant Guild, which had been brought in thanks to Cattleya’s scheming.

I was glad I’d managed to stay on good terms with Cattleya.

As for the lady who ran the general store… well, she’d probably be fine. I didn’t think Andvaranaut was so violent that they’d trample all over business ethics.

Even if it had rotted a little, it was still a fine croaker. After all, they’d risen to become the Empire’s top merchant guild.

Surely, they hadn’t relied solely on aggressive expansion.

“First, I should check if they have any ingredients for antibiotics.”

The doctor had said that if things continued as they were, one of Cattleya’s limbs might have to be amputated.

It was probably not a matter of lacking skill but of lacking proper medicine.

There was no way a small territory like this one would stockpile medicine in preparation for a full-body burn victim.

The Andvaranaut branch likely dealt with some medicinal herbs and ingredients, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to show off a bit of what I could do for once.

Fortunately, I had enough alchemical knowledge to make even Professor Georg drool over the idea of enslaving me.

Whipping up antibiotics would be easy. I could buy us some time with that.

While I was at it, I figured I’d use the opportunity to earn some credit with Cattleya.

“Where can I find that new store that just opened up?”

“Oh, you probably don’t know since it’s been a while, young master. If you go that way, you’ll see it. They bought out the shop that old man Eric used to run and are doing business there now.”

“What about Mr. Eric?”

“He’s rolling in cash now. I hear he just travels around these days.”

“I see.”

Just as I’d suspected, he must have reached a smooth agreement with Andvaranaut.

Cattleya probably had the goal of monitoring the Damus territory, so it seemed she’d paid a hefty premium to buy the location.

From the territory’s point of view, it was likely a deal with no downsides.

Mr. Eric who had managed the Damus general store for years got to retire with a fortune. Good for him.

And the townspeople benefited from a much more diverse product lineup. Good for them too.

As long as I maintained a decent relationship with Cattleya, there was really nothing to lose in this situation.

“Let’s see… No, come on now. Building something bigger than our lord’s castle? Isn’t that just plain rude?”

I couldn’t help but click my tongue at the building, which was so tall it could easily be spotted from a distance.

There were even imperial laws forbidding any structure taller than the imperial palace unless it was a tower. Were they mocking us just because this was a small territory?

Feeling rather annoyed, I knocked on the shop’s door.

“Yes, this is the Andvaranaut Merchant Guild, Damus County Branch. …But who are you? I don’t think I’ve seen anyone like you in our territory before. Are you a traveler by any chance?”

“No, not exactly. Uh, I’m the Count of Damus’s son.”

“Haha! You might want to be careful pulling that kind of scam. Get caught and you could lose a hand, mister. The young master of House Damus is a hulking brute, and here you are, looking like a dried-up fish, trying to impersonate him?”

“This guy’s got some nerve, talking like that with a smile. You looking to die or something?

Should I draw my sword?

At this rate, I could execute him on the spot for insulting a noble, and no one would bat an eye.

And what’s wrong with me anyway? I’ve actually taken good care of my body.

I only look skinny because of the clothes…I’ve trained enough to draw a sword properly, you know?

I even hold a knight’s title!

“Tch, I’m not looking to get into a shouting match with you, so let’s just get to the goods.”

“Fine by me.”

Instead of trying to clear up the misunderstanding, I decided to just buy what I needed and move on.

Arguing or dragging in the locals to prove my identity would only make me look pathetic.

Of course, if I did clear things up, that damn merchant would probably bow so low he’d end up licking my shoes.

But that satisfying scene could wait until he came to deliver goods to the lord’s mansion.

Right now, the priority was making antibiotics for Cattleya.

But before that…

“Do you have any antibiotics?”

“That’s usually something hospitals carry. Have you checked there?”

“They said they’re running low, so I came to look elsewhere.”

“Hmm, unfortunately, we don’t have any. As you can see, this is a small territory. We don’t really stock large quantities. But if you’re looking for antibiotics, the injury must be serious. Is the patient all right?”

Still, he didn’t seem like a completely heartless guy. Once he heard there was a patient, his tone shifted appropriately.

Not that I’d forgive him for calling me a dried-up fish or whatever.

“They said if things go wrong, we might have to amputate.”

“Oh my, that’s serious. I’ll try to place an order right away, but since we’re out in the countryside, it might take some time to get here.”

“I know. That’s why I wanted to look through your herbs and medicinal ingredients.”

“You do know it’s dangerous to mess around with those unless you know what you’re doing, right?”

“My specialty is alchemy, so I know enough to handle it. I can make potions too, so something like antibiotics won’t be a problem if I have the right ingredients.”

“Oh?”

There was a spark of interest in the merchant’s eyes.

That look like he was seeing me in a new light wasn’t unpleasant.

“Any chance you’d consider working here?”

“No.”

“Ah, too bad. Well, come on in. I’m not sure what you’ll need, so feel free to pick it out yourself.”

“Sure. Excuse me.”

And with that, I stepped inside the building that was bigger than even our mansion.

There were already other customers inside.

A man and woman who were dressed even more like travelers than I was were examining some potatoes and comparing their weight.

“P-Potatoes! Let’s have potatoes for dinner tonight, big brother Dietrich. Just imagine biting into a warm, fluffy one…”

“Wait! Helena, this one’s bigger. We should go with this.”

“Ooh! As expected of my Paladin. Your eye for detail is amazing as always!”

…Who are these people?

I don’t know them.

I want to not know them.

Should I call this fate or just bad luck?

“Wait a second!”

“What’s wrong? Helena, did you find an even bigger potato?”

“…I sense divine power.”

“What?”

Flinch!

A strange sensation passed over me, like a lukewarm breeze brushing my skin.

I hadn’t been hiding my presence, so it didn’t take long before I locked eyes with the one who’d spread their energy.

Eyes as blue as ice.

That unnerving gaze faltered the moment it met mine.

“…What the hell are you two doing here?”

“Senior?”

“Huh? Doctor? I never thought we’d run into you in a place like this…”

“That’s my line.”

All I could do was run a hand down my face, suddenly overcome with a deep sense of weariness.

I was wondering where they might be and what they were doing, but to think they’d be in a place like this, fussing over a single potato….“This one’s heavy”, “That one’s heavier”… what a pitiful sight.

Is this really how the next Prophet and her Paladin are supposed to carry themselves?

“Do you know them?”

Sensing the awkward tension between us, the merchant looked back and forth at us before asking.

“Yes, well… they’re colleagues of mine. And it looks like we won’t be needing the medicinal herbs after all.”

“Oh, really? Tch, I thought I’d snagged a pushover. What a shame.”

The hell did he just say?

Well, I guess a dose of divine power was better than slathering yourself with a bunch of random herbs anyway.

And it was the Prophet’s divine power, no less. It was bound to be effective.

“Shall we step outside and talk?”

“Just a moment, Senior. There’s something we need to take care of first.”

“He’s right, Doctor. This is something important for us.”

I tilted my head while eyeing the two of them with serious expressions.

As if you two have ever been serious about anything that wasn’t potatoes.

“Mister, I’ll buy all the potatoes you’ve got here, so please pack them up for me.”

“Hey now, have a little conscience, would you? You can’t just buy them all.”

“Then just give me half.”

“Alright.”

They were awfully particular about the weirdest things…

“There. I bought you the potatoes, so we’re good now, right? Let’s go talk outside.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“Mhmm!”

Seriously, how did you end up like this, Helena Hereticus?

Is the word “Marquis” cursed or something? Everyone from one ends up broken.