Rudok waves to his companions who are leaving.
「Um, do Rudok and the others not need to go with them?」
At Father’s question, Rudok nods.
「Yes. Fogas and I will serve as your guards」
「Guards?」
Father looks at Rudok and Fogas anxiously.
「Yes. Because we do not know at this stage whether all of their accomplices have been caught」
Does that mean there might still be accomplices left?
I casually look around.
『Rina, it is okay. There is no one around』
I feel relieved by Yuu’s words.
「By the way, the Church will pay for the house repairs, so please fix it properly」
Father and Mother look at Fogas with a confused expression.
「It is never permissible to aid the perpetrators instead of helping the victims of curses. This is a scandal for the Church. Therefore, the Church will cover all the costs for repairing the house」
「Is that acceptable?」
Father looks at Rudok.
「That is compensation for the victims. You, Rigus-san, have the right to receive it. Also, reporting the one who cast the curse to the Church… Huh? If the priest already knows, does that count as reporting to the Church? It is not an accusation of crime, though」
When Rudok looks at Fogas, he shakes his head.
「Since he acted to protect the perpetrator who cast the curse, it is not considered a report to the Church」
「That is true. In that case, we can get plenty of compensation from the problematic noble too. We will add various reports from our side to increase the compensation」
「Additional reports?」
Mother makes a troubled expression.
「It is fine. We will not make false reports. We will just slightly exaggerate the fact that the three children were attacked and had a very scary experience. When children are included in the victims, the impression becomes much worse. Undoubtedly, the compensation will be increased」
I see.
「Speaking of victims, their target was Rina」
Onii-chan looks at me, so I nod.
「Hmm? They said they broke into the house to scare you, but is that different?」
Eh, did the captured men say that?
「No. They attacked the house to capture Rina」
At Father’s words, Rudok and Fogas make stern expressions.
「How did you obtain that information?」
Fogas looks at Father and Mother.
Ah, what should I do? How should I explain it?
「They approached the house once to confirm Rina’s identity. At that time, Rina heard their conversation and found out」
At Father’s explanation, Fogas nods.
「It must have been scary. It is okay now」
Rudok gently pats my shoulder. At that, I smile slightly.
Somehow, my chest feels a prickling pain.
『Even though you omitted various details, thanks to Rigus’s misunderstanding, it was explained well』
Yuu looks impressed and sends applause toward Father.
「It is almost dawn. Why do you not rest a little?」
Fogas looks at onii-chan and me.
「That is right. Agus, Rina, you must be tired. Shall we go back to our rooms and sleep?」
Father looks at onii-chan and me.
「It is fine. I am not that tired」
I nod at onii-chan, who says this with a smile.
「I am fine too」
Or rather, because various things happened, I do not feel sleepy at all. This is usually the time I would be sleeping.
「Is that so?」
Father looks at us worriedly.
「「Yes」」
「But there is cleaning to do tomorrow as well. Also, when the Bishop comes, I think we will need to talk about various things」
Ah, that is right. When the Bishop comes, we will need to explain what happened.
「It will surely be busy, so it is better to take a break now. Besides, it is usually the time you are sleeping, right?」
「「Yes」」
「Surely, if you get into the futon, you will be able to sleep. Even if you cannot sleep, lying down will relieve your fatigue. So, let us get into the futon」
I nod at Father’s explanation. Thinking about tomorrow, I felt that a little rest was necessary.
When I return to my room and lie down on the bed, I let out a big sigh.
『What is wrong? Are you tired after all?』
I shake my head looking at Yuu.
「No. I was just thinking that it went well」
I want to shout 「Yay～」. But if I do that, Father will surely rush in. So, just a little.
「Yay～」
I sit up, raise both hands, and whisper in a small voice. Then I lie on my back on the bed again.
「Yuu. I was able to protect everyone」
『Yes. That is good』
「Yuu, thank you for cooperating with various things」
『You are welcome. Also, I was a bit noisy earlier, wasn’t I?』
Hmm? Ah, when I made a fuss about wanting to see them fight monsters.
『Sorry. When I think 「I want to see」, for some reason, I cannot suppress it』
That is typical for a ghost. And typical ghosts do not think it is bad that they made noise.
Yuu really does not seem like a ghost.
「It is fine, I do not mind」
『I see. Good』
「Yawn」
Huh? Did I suddenly become sleepy?
『Sleep well』
「Yes」
Ah～ but my clothes are dirty, and anyway, these are not pajamas. Should I change? But I cannot get up anymore….
『Good night』
-0-
『Rina, wake up! Wake up soon! The Bishop has arrived』
So noisy. What is bee shop? Hmm? Beeshop? …Bishop!
「Eh, why?」
I sit up and look out the window, it is bright.
「Did I oversleep?」
『Yes. It is 11:05 now. Before noon』
Yuu looks outside from the window.
『Rina, look too. That seems to be the Bishop』
Invited by Yuu, I run to the window. And I look in the direction Yuu pointed.
Two black carriages. Near them, there was a tall man with a gentle expression.
「Is that the Bishop?」
『Probably. From the attitude of those around him, he seems to be the most important person among them』
Certainly, I can see him giving instructions to those around him.
「He is handsome」
『…First, that?』
Because he is as handsome as Fogas. When it was Fogas, I could not look carefully because of the situation. But now I can look slowly.
He has blue hair, and I cannot tell his eye color from here. But his face is slender and his eyes are large. He is quite an ikemen (handsome man).
『Even after what happened, you are energetic』
「That is right. I am surprised myself」
I thought the terrifying experience from yesterday would affect me a bit more, but it seems I am completely fine.
Knock knock knock.
「Rina, are you awake? The Bishop says he wants to talk to you」
「Good morning, onii-chan. I will change and come out immediately」
I open the door, greet onii-chan, and go to wash my face. Then, I hurriedly change clothes and go outside.
『You have not brushed your hair』
You should have told me that sooner.
I fix my hair with my fingers and head toward where onii-chan is.
「Rina. Your hair…」
Onii-chan’s fingers gently fix my bangs. Then, he looks at me and nods.
「Alright, Rina is cute today too」
Embarrassing.
「Thank you」
I can feel my cheeks turning slightly red. But this seems to happen quite frequently. In Rina’s memories, there are many instances of onii-chan saying 「cute」.
「Good morning. Were you able to rest a little?」
Rudok calls out to onii-chan and me.
「「Good morning」」
「It seems the Bishop wants to hear from the two of you. Can you spare a little time?」
「Yes. It is fine」
When onii-chan nods, he looks at me.
「Is it okay if you do not eat breakfast?」
Since I overslept, I skipped breakfast. But I do not feel hungry again yet.
「It is fine」
Let us eat lunch slowly after talking.
「Eh, you did not eat breakfast?」
Rudok looks at me with a surprised expression.
「I overslept. I just woke up」
It is a bit embarrassing.
「I see. We can talk after you eat breakfast if you like」
「No, I will finish what is on my mind first, and then eat lunch slowly」
「Certainly, if there is something on your mind, you cannot enjoy your meal. Alright, let us go to the Bishop immediately so we make it in time for lunch」
Rudok smiles at me and starts walking toward where the Bishop is. Following him, I look at the carriages and the adventurers around.
「There are many adventurers」
「They are the Church’s guard knights. It seems they were on a top-secret mission, so to keep their identities hidden, the carriages do not have the Church’s mark, and the guard knights are dressed as adventurers」
I see. Was it okay to interfere while they were on a top-secret mission?
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