The Sleeping Devil

The situation escalated quickly, with hardly any conversation between Gardo and Licht, who was originally not talkative. In this situation, he probably didn't have the energy to chat away.

"Why didn't Gardo accumulate impurity?"

"I, who am innocent, had no guilt. I processed resentment and anger by training my body."

Is he joking? Can impurity really be dealt with through training...?

Marcel's muscle devotion might not be entirely wrong. Remembering Marcel, a mage who cultivates muscles extensively, I made a mental note in the inner dimension, 'Training muscles is effective against impurity.'

"Licht, feel free to talk in a casual way, okay?"

"Sh-she, Lady Sheriel... Please don't say such things."

Licht blushed deeply and looked down. Hermes had said that, as Licht became acquainted with the outside world and participated in knight training, his personality was gradually taking shape. He's only thirteen. He might still enter the rebellious phase.

"L-Licht, are you also aiming to become a knight?"

"Yeah."

Hearing that, Gardo cried again, almost sounding like the roar of a bear. And then, Sergio and Julius finally returned.

"I've explained everything."

Upon seeing Julius, Gardo prostrated himself. It's unclear whether it was out of fear for his black hair, realizing Julius is the master, or for some other reason.

"Will you become my servant?"

"Yes!"

Even without self-introductions, why such a quick...? Apparently, I was the only one who found it suspicious. After Didier questioned and confirmed that it was indeed a false accusation, Julius decided to take Gardo in.

There seemed to be some hesitation in relying solely on Sergio's intuition as evidence.

Julius didn't show much surprise and calmly discussed the future with Sergio.

"Let Gardo stay here for a while. It will take some time to prepare."

"Then, shall we move to the guest room when the time is right? It would be helpful if Julius could teleport us."

In the end, Julius was asked to shuttle between the guest room, and they used teleportation magic to move. Sergio declared Gardo executed, and the knights and soldiers patrolling the streets were withdrawn.

If Gardo neatly trimmed his overgrown hair and beard, the bear-man who had been causing a ruckus until recently wouldn't be recognizable at a glance. However, due to his hair color and physique, confidently walking around the castle seemed impossible.

The responsibility for meal preparation and explaining the bath was entrusted to Licht. Even though it was a short time, I wanted them to reclaim some of the lost parent-child time.

A few days later, Julius arrived with a complete set of jet-black armor. It wasn't mealtime, yet Owens was also accompanying him.

"Teacher, you're a genius!"

"For a while, yes."

Once Gardo put on the armor, he transformed into a formidable black knight.

"Since we can't see his face, couldn't he work in the castle?"

"He's already mine, so I won't return him. Besides, isn't he a gift from you?"

"Uh... I didn't mean it that way..."

It's disheartening to treat people like objects, much like Didier or Sergio. Even though I made such a statement...

Without making a clattering noise, Gardo moved around in the armor.

"This armor is incredibly lightweight. There's no sense of suffocation! It must be a very precious piece of equipment, right!?"

"Yeah, it's blessed with the protection of spirits."

Although his expression couldn't be seen in the armor, Gardo seemed extremely apologetic. He fidgeted nervously on the spot.

"He is my only aide, Owens. For any future matters, you should ask Owens."

"Lord Owens, please take care of me."

As the black knight Gardo made a knightly bow, Owens, with tears in his eyes, was overjoyed.

"Ugh... Finally freed from menial tasks... I'm counting on you, Gardo."

Was it really that difficult? Seeing the earnest tears, I became curious about Julius's private life.

"Lord Owens, did you really handle everything for the teacher alone? Were there no servants or anything?"

"That's right. Everything from laundry to cooking, I did it all. Fortunately, Lord Julius is good at magic, so in that sense, I didn't really need servants."

What a situation. Certainly, with magic, servants might not be necessary, but...

As knights go on expeditions, they take care of their surroundings themselves. Therefore, Gardo seems to be quite handy as a handyman. It might seem like a waste to make such a bear-like giant a laundry assistant, but judging from Owens's joy, it seems like the right decision.

"Shall we handle the laundry and firewood here?"

"That would be very much appreciated! If you could do that, I'd be greatly thankful!"

Owens's smile sparkled. Since Sarah is currently saving money, let's offer additional payment. Julius can do anything with magic, but his lack of life skills is becoming more noticeable.

Julius seemed uninterested in Owens's hardships and, along with Sergio, was testing the performance of Gardo's armor.

"I want to see how much it can withstand. Can we borrow a part of the garden?"

"Yes, feel free. By the way, shall we let Licht be his opponent? A father-son showdown sounds interesting, doesn't it?"

From Sergio's joking suggestion, the continuation of the father-son showdown was decided. At first, Gardo was conscious of the people around him, but the black armor made him stand out, and no one could tell who was inside.

Arriving at the usual square, the two immediately started their battle.

"Hmm, hmm, it seems he really doesn't feel the weight. Or is it that Gardo has become stronger than before?"

Sergio seemed to remember Gardo's movements from before. Even from my perspective, his movements didn't seem to have changed from yesterday.

"It seems to have resistance to magic. Shall we give it a try?"

Evading Licht's slash, Julius shot something with a swish.

Gardo couldn't respond to the attack, but the armor remained unscathed and repelled it.

"I see, it seems like this much is no problem."

"Gardo deflected attacks even without armor yesterday."

"What did you say?"

Perhaps unexpectedly for Julius, he increased the power slightly and began to attack Gardo. At first, Gardo was distracted by the magical attacks, but eventually, he completely ignored them and focused on Licht.

Gardo, maybe due to his lack of recent combat experience, was holding his own against Licht. Gardo took a defensive stance, while Licht was on the offensive. Both of them seemed to be enjoying the battle.

Bang!

Suddenly, with an explosive sound that shook the ground, the watchtower collapsed.

Of course, the battle between the two had nothing to do with it. Tension rose as it seemed like a new attack.

The sound of a flute echoed, and a knight came running. For a moment, there was a chill at the sight of the black knight, but he quickly reported the situation.

"Lord Sergio! The attackers are a mixed formation of knight-mages! They bear the royal emblem!"

"Hmm, that's the worst. So, he's here, huh?"

Presumably, it was

 a soldier from the royal capital who followed Gardo. But suddenly unleashing magic, could it be that hiding Gardo has been exposed?

"Well, let's excuse ourselves then."

As Julius was about to teleport with the two, a large shadow covered them. Above them, a griffin was flying.

"Griffy... well, not quite."

The griffin created a gust of wind and landed right there.

"Yoo-hoo! Long time no see! Are you doing well? Oh! You're really pure white! And there's a black one too!"

A very cheerful woman jumped down from the griffin. Is this the head of the Mage Guild...?

With tousled orange-red hair, she showed a toothy grin and seemed to be in a good mood. She appeared to be in her early twenties, but that youthful appearance might be due to her baby face or her behavior...

I know about the current head of the Mage Guild from the records. She entered the academy at the age of ten, and upon graduation, she joined the Mage Guild. A genius who rose to the top at a very young age.

"Oh my, we've been found, huh?"

Sighing, Sergio, with his hand on his waist, said, "Can we still make it?" While saying that, Julius canceled the teleportation array. He probably didn't want to attract more attention by using multiple teleportations.

"She's Dalia, the head of the Mage Guild. Despite being a countess, she's an amazing person who rose to the position of guild head at such a young age. But as you can see, her personality is like this, so it's better to avoid her as much as possible."

Humph! Dalia put her hand on her hips and proudly puffed out her chest.

In the position of guild head, family background doesn't matter. However, to ascend to the top of the Mage Guild, she shouldn't have enough magical power with just a countess title. She apparently achieved her current position with outstanding talent and dedication to magic, on par with Beriald.

"Nice to meet you for the first time, I'm Sheriel Beriald."

"Sheri-chan! Cute~! Silver hair, or rather, it's already white! Could you share a bit with big sister?"

Approaching cheekily, Dalia was restrained by Sergio's sword.

"Wait a minute! Sergio, was it really without an incantation just now? Seriously! Hey, how do you do it?"

"As troublesome as ever."

Indeed, she quickly noticed Sergio's incantation-free magic. While her attention shifted to that, I wondered if I should escape while I had the chance, looking at Julius.

"By the way, did you really execute a prisoner? Well, I don't mind either way, but tell me the details. Also, the black boy there, I want to hear his story a bit~."

What's with this woman? Isn't it impolite to talk about people as if they are white or black?

I don't mind the behavior related to status. Since the position of guild head is a privileged class, it's equal to a ducal family. Rather, my status is lower since I haven't inherited the title.

However, as a person, I find myself a little irritated by her attitude.

I have to let Julius go. No, rather than Julius, I should let Gardo escape.

"This person is my teacher. It has nothing to do with Miss Dalia."

"Eh~ But look, that other person looks suspicious at a glance, right? Doesn't he resemble the escaped prisoner, the black knight?"

"Is it just your imagination? Ever since Lord Marcel came here, there has been an increase in people who admire him. Oh well, oh well!"

"Wow, as expected of Beriards young lady. Well, that's fine. In exchange for not finding out what's inside, let me talk to the boy in black."

I almost clicked my tongue, but hurriedly disguised it with a smile.

When I looked at Julius to confirm, he was nodding with a well-proportioned, inorganic smile. Oh, this is so grumpy. Even though it was a fun atmosphere until just now.

Having to change locations, they ended up guiding them to the guest room. They welcomed the knights and magicians who had been stuck at the main gate, only picking up Marcel to take along."

The representative of the knight order seems to be acquainted with Sergio, and he seems to be waiting in the garden with his squad.

Upon entering the castle, Dior was standing at the entrance. And she looked really furious. This is bad...

"So it was you after all!! Get out of here right now!"

Dior's shrill voice echoed throughout the hall.

Eek... Mother is extremely angry. It feels like the first time I came to this castle...

"Dior-sama~! Long time no see! I missed you~!"

"Eek! Don't come near me!"

What a hellish scene...

Dalia tries to jump on her, while Dior restrains her with her staff. It's far from a ladylike greeting.

"Oh dear, sister! I properly cleansed myself before the expedition!"

"When was this 'before the expedition' talk?! You stink so bad! Anyway, either cleanse yourself or leave!"

Sergio explains this terrible scene. Apparently, the two were classmates at the academy for several years. It started when Dior was sixteen and Dalia was ten.

There was a sister system at the academy, and Dior took care of the genius Dalia for about three years.

Dalia had been obsessed with magic since then and would sometimes go as long as half a year without cleansing her body, just to test the limits of purification magic.

While Dior was fond of beautiful things, she detests anything dirty or ugly. Dalia clung to her, and Dior tried to escape.

It was bearable during their academy days, but after Dalia became the head of the Mage Guild, she lost all inhibitions. She seems to be a source of fear for Dior now.

"So, Dalia-sama is twenty-nine now. She looks very young, doesn't she?"

"That's why Dior doesn't get along with Dalia. Well, it's good that she's not a target of jealousy."

With that demeanor, Dalia looks about twenty, including her behavior, maybe eighteen. She had her arms wide open and was about to dive into Dior.

Marcel was hastily grabbing her collar from behind, because if things continue like this, Dior's anger will explode.

And then, at that moment, Dalia, along with Marcel, was engulfed in water. From head to toe, they were completely enveloped in water, swirling like in a washing machine. After a brief moment of silence, the water disappeared.

Cough! "You little brat!"

At the top of the stairs where Dalia looked up, Didier was holding a staff with a mischievous smile on his face.