SFO CH 16

The Young Man Finally Makes His Announcement

As soon as I spoke to Al, I reported to Joshua-kun, the company commanders, and Ethan that I had seen a Hami child, that they may be a former member of the neighboring country’s royal family, and that he may be using illusions and charm to confuse us.

“The Hami tribe, huh… I thought those were nothing but characters from a fairy tale~.”

“I had never heard of them before”

“Me neither.”

“So tomorrow we’re going to catch that white-haired, red-eyed kid, right?”

‘Yes, we have a necklace that can nullify a fairy’s powers, so I’m going to find that child. When I saw them yesterday, they seemed to be carrying groceries, so I think they come to the market on a daily basis. So tomorrow I’m going to stake them out at the market.”

“But if there is only one necklace, you might lose track of the kid, don’t you think~?”

“Apparently, if you’re within a 1 meter radius, the necklace will work just fine. At first, I’ll put on the necklace and look for the child, and when I find it, I’ll give it to either you, Ethan, or the company commander, so you can capture them.”

“I see~.”

“Then let me be the one to capture the child.”

Ethan volunteered immediately. There were no objections, so we decided to go with that plan.

The next morning…

We begin our search from the fountain square.

They had appeared to be carrying some kind of fruit basket, so there was a good chance they would stop in this area.

The last time I saw one was around noon, so it’s possible that they may not come until about that time. But since there was no way for me to be sure of that, I’ve decided to begin my stakeout early in the morning.

With the necklace Al gave me around my neck and Ethan right behind me, I search for the target child while being subtly surrounded by guards.

If we can’t get them today, we’ll stake them out tomorrow, the day after that, and for as many days as it takes. I would not let Al’s efforts go to waste.

Not long after we started the stakeout, we found a few hooded figures. …Very suspicious.

There are not that many hooded people to begin with. At any rate, after following the person whose movements seemed the most suspicious, I’ve now stopped in front of a fruit and vegetable store.

I moved with Ethan and his escort to a position where I could see the hooded person’s face…

—Red eyes!!

The red-eyed person casually put several pieces of fruit in front of the store–which was starting to get crowded–into their basket. Then, just like that, they walked away from the front of the store without being noticed by anyone.

This was a success.

The early morning stakeout had paid off. If I had come late, around noon, I would not have had the chance to catch them.

I gave the necklace to Ethan and asked him to follow me. It was very difficult to walk in the crowded marketplace, but Ethan was used to it, and he made his way through the crowd and managed to grab our target’s arm without any difficulty.

“Excuse me, I’m from the Marquess’ family. May I have a word with you?”

The red-eyed person immediately tried to run away, but they were no match for Ethan’s military strength. They were quickly detained and taken to the fortress.

We then took them to a small room in the fortress instead of a prison, and Ethan and I, wearing the necklace, took turns trying to talk to them, but they wouldn’t say anything.

Realizing that this could end up being a long-term battle, we were about to set up a surveillance shift wearing the necklace. But at that moment, we received a message from the gatekeeper.

A group of three or four white-haired, red-eyed people had come to the fortress and were apparently begging us to “give Lara back!”

When I went to meet them, a beautiful woman who seemed to be the leader of the group greeted me with a graceful gesture.

“My name is Lilia, a former princess of a neighboring country. I was banished from my home, so I can’t use my family name. I heard that my dear friend Lara has been taken here, and so I have come to ask you to return her to me.”

“My name is Finn Graphite. We only brought Lara-san here so we could ask them a few questions. I also have some questions for you, Lilia-sama, if you would be so kind…”

“I know we are causing you trouble. I will tell you everything.”

With a sad look on her face, Lilia-sama said that the Hami tribe was treated poorly in the neighboring country, that her mother had been forced into marriage and impregnated, that she hated the former king, how she herself had suffered hardships at the royal palace, and that she had been now exiled and had nowhere to go but to hide in the forest with the Hami who had been persecuted by the new king.

The Hami tribe has been declining in numbers to begin with, and there are currently only about 30 people left living in the forest. Since there are many old people among them, farming in the forest is not going as smoothly as they would like, so they borrow food and daily necessities from the market, even though they feel it is wrong.

They used the power of the fairies they communed with to dazzle shopkeepers so that they could steal things little by little without being caught, as well as using their charm to create the impression that there was no need to question the ledgers even if they didn’t match up a little, so that it wouldn’t be a problem.

This is… Well… The Hami seem to be good people, so they can get away with doing such bad things, but depending on how these powers are used, they can become quite scary…

I shuddered at that thought, and Lilia-sama burst into laughter before explaining.

“Fairies are fickle creatures, so they don’t always lend their power. They also prefer people with gentle personalities, so they will not lend their power to evil people or those who try to do evil. This time we just happened to get their cooperation because it was a matter of life and death for us.”

What to do with Lilia-sama and the rest of the Hami tribe will be left to the margrave’s discretion. Since they were driven out of their own homeland and the amount they stole was not that large, they may be issued a minor punishment by pleading extenuating circumstances, but they will still need to work to repay what they have stolen. Their white-haired, red-eyed appearance is unique even in this country, so it will be up to Ethan to show how he can work with a large group of 30 people.

In any case, the investigation team’s role ends here. I was relieved to be able to return home as planned, without having to extend our stay.

The last supper was a grand affair. To celebrate the resolution of the problem, a lot of food and drinks were served, and even the soldiers on duty at the gate joined in the drinking, singing, and revelry. Al, who had done the most to help us, didn’t want to make it public, so Ethan and I were the only ones being praised, which didn’t make much sense to me.

When I told him that, Al laughed and said, “Just being helpful to you is enough for me.” Stop it, you.

You have no business being this cool, stop it!

As I was thinking about this, Ethan called out to me from behind.

Come to think of it, Al didn’t leave my side during the welcome banquet, but today he’s drinking somewhere else. I wonder what happened?

“Finn, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure…”

I wondered what Al was doing, but I couldn’t refuse Ethan’s invitation, so I went along.

“So… Your husband told me that he has been ignoring you for the past three years and that your marriage was falling apart. So he figured you didn’t like him or anything, right?”

“Huh?”

“And, uh, he told me that if you didn’t have any feelings for him, you might want to start over with me…?”

“…”

Frankly, I was quite shocked. To think that Al would voluntarily hand me over to Ethan… I could feel the blood rushing to my head.

I had made my point clear.

I told him that I wanted him to listen to me.

Why does he get to decide how I feel without listening to me?!

I turned on my heel and went to my husband.

“Hey! Finn? Where are you going?”

I stopped hearing the voice behind me.

“Al.”

‘Yes, Finn. I thought you were talking to the next-in-line margrave?”

“Al.”

“There’s no need for you to hold yourself back on my account. I was the one who asked for too much in the first place. I want you to be with someone you truly love, Finn.”

“—Al!!!”

Al, who had been talking in an unusually talkative manner, stopped moving.

“I told you that I’d let you know once I’ve made a decision, didn’t I? Why are you deciding stuff on your own without waiting for me?”

“I…”

My husband looked downwards.

“I… I overheard you and Ethan-dono talking at the welcome party.”

“…Ah!”

“You seemed to be troubled for quite a while after we spoke. You’re a very kind person, so I’m sure you’ve been hesitant to dump me because you’ve taken pity on me… I don’t want to burden you any more, so I got in contact with Ethan-dono and asked for his advice…”

“I never asked for such a thing!!!”

I interrupted him loudly, and my husband opened his eyes wide. I’ve never been this rude before. But I couldn’t stand it.

“Why do you get to decide how I feel? Why do you take it for granted that I won’t be choosing you? I am already so….”

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes with tremendous force.

“I am already so much in love with you…!!!”

At that moment, he hugged me with a strong force.

“Finn, Finn, is it true…? Are you really going to choose me…?!”

“…That’s what I’m saying.”

“Oh… Finn! … Finn! I love you too! I swear to all the gods that I will make you happy for the rest of my life! I’ll never hand you over to anyone else again!!”

As my husband shouted this, cheers rose all around him.

Ack!

We’re still in the middle of the party…! Everyone saw me …!

I was so embarrassed that I felt as if my face was really on fire.

I heard voices coming from all over the place, clamoring ‘That was great, Graphite-sama!,’ ‘Please make him happy~,’ ‘Ah, this reminds me of when I proposed to my honey bunny…,’ and the like, making it impossible for me to take my head off Al’s chest.

From then on, I couldn’t stop toasting to Al, and I received far more toasts than any other person who had contributed to solving the case. My husband had a big smile on his face the whole time, and was in the best mood I’ve ever seen him, emptying glasses one after another.

“Ethan.”

“…Finn.”

I slipped out of the circle and called out to Ethan, who was standing off to the side.

“I’m sorry, Ethan. I really liked you… I loved you so much that I had to break up with you, but right now, Al is very important to me.”

“…Well, after being shown such a scene, anyone would be able to understand that. …And sure enough, after such a display, I suppose I’ll have to give up as well.”

“Ethan…”

“Don’t make that face. It’s going to take some time, but I’m going to give up. All I want is for you to smile and be happy.”

“…Yeah…!”

“Don’t cry. Back then, at graduation… It was my fault for not being determined enough to resolve your concerns. It’s not your fault.”

“…sob.”

“I’m glad you told me you loved me. I don’t think you’ll have many opportunities to come to the frontier, but know that I’ll always think of you as my best friend.”

“Yeah… you’re my best friend too, Ethan.”

“Ha-ha. Go back to your husband now. You should write to me sometime, best friend.”

“Of course, best friend.”

When I returned, wiping away my tears, my husband’s kind face was waiting for me.

“Did you get a chance to say goodbye?

“Thank you, Al. I’ve said my goodbyes properly.”

I said that with a lame smile, and Al gently hugged me.

He held me right next to him as he carried me to my room.

Wait, does this mean—is this going to happen tonight? Here???

Wait, maybe I’m not ready for this…!!!

When I arrived at the room, Mia was waiting for me.

I looked at her as if I was hanging on to her for dear life, but she simply smiled and left the room.

W-wait, Mia, don’t leave meeeee!!!

When I nervously looked at my husband, he chuckled and kissed me.

“It’s going to be my first time with you, Finn, so I’ll be gentle.”

Yes, be gentle, please…