Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 236

 "Ha! Hyah! Taahh!!"

Aizen's voice and the sound of wooden swords clashing echoed through the courtyard of the detached palace as he faced off against the old man.

Not only had he grown taller, but his sword skills had also improved, displaying much sharper swings compared to two years ago.

However...

"Haahh! ...Huh?!"

It seemed he could still only focus on the opponent in front of him. A ball made from rolled-up cloth that I threw from above hit him cleanly on the head.

"You're still not there yet."

Taking advantage of the distraction, the old man closed the distance and pointed his wooden sword at Aizen.

"…Tch."

When I came down, I saw him glaring at the ball rolling at his feet in frustration. However, by the time he picked it up and brought it over to me, his face showed no sign of it. He used to glare at me a lot in the past, but he's grown up...

"Huh?"

"What's up?"

Receiving the ball, I floated up again, and from beyond the wall, I saw a carriage approaching. Knights on horseback escorted it, and an old man I recognized was inside the carriage.

The three members of the royal guard were also present. They were being quite cautious just to visit a potential suspect.

"It looks like the lady of the house is coming back."

The lady of the house... That means Seriana. I accidentally called her 'Miss' yesterday and got a smack on the backside for it.

Seriana is the lady of the house. Liesel is the lord of the house. I need to be careful about that.

"Hmm? I see... Aizen, that's enough for today."

"…Yes. Thank you for your guidance."

Saying that, Aizen hurried back inside. He's been swinging his sword in the heat all day... he's drenched in sweat.

...I'll go greet her in his place.

When I went to the front entrance and waited, the servants also came, perhaps informed by the old man and the others. Before long, the carriage arrived. The knights went ahead toward the stables, probably to have a discussion.

"Welcome back, my lord, my lady."

Still floating on the sphere, I greeted Seriana and the others as they descended from the carriage. Though I had been taught how to do it, I rarely had the chance since I was always with them. Somehow, I became the representative, but considering our master-servant relationship, it's probably appropriate.

"Sera, raise your head."

"..."

This specific call by name felt ominous.

"Sera, do you have anything to say?"

"...One thing."

"Go ahead."

"That old man is to blame!"

I pointed sharply at Yuzeff, who was with Seriana and the others. As all eyes turned to him, he spoke, looking slightly awkward.

"Well... I won't deny it."

With that exchange, it seemed what I wanted to convey to Seriana had gotten across.

"Hmph... very well. I want to hear from you as well, so come along."

"…Yes, ma'am."

◇

We gathered in a guest room to discuss what we had learned since capturing the suspects the day before yesterday.

"The original plan was to infiltrate the evening party with the winner of the martial arts competition as an assassin and take advantage of the chaos to kill Seriana, right?"

"Yes. They planned to decide whether to proceed based on the information gathered on the way to the capital, but the new route we took disrupted that plan. Since the main target was an attack in L'tur where they could gather their forces, they likely didn't want to take unnecessary risks."

"Then why did they go through with it? And in broad daylight, no less?"

"Ah, there was supposed to be a prior signal, but it never came. Well, they were just pawns after all. They wanted to avoid the risk of being probed by making contact. They probably thought they could manage on their own, but acting recklessly only got them captured and thrown in prison."

The old man and the others laughed as they explained.

Looking around, I saw Seriana, Liesel, and even my usually sensible father, Alec, and Elena were laughing too.

Despite the poor outcome, why are they laughing...?

Oh... Aizen and the royal guards were horrified. Good. I’m on their side.