It Seems That the Slave Girl Is Actually a Count's Daughter. - Episode 28: The Desire to Become Stronger

Episode 28: The Desire to Become Stronger

In the bushes deep inside the Count’s estate—near the fortress wall—it felt like someone was watching us. Was it someone from the Count’s household, or someone else? I couldn’t confirm it. But I could use magic to mark them and track their movements.

I used tracking magic to place a mark and waited to see what they would do. Actually, I’ve also used this magic on Pamela. If anything happens to her, it would be a big problem. Of course, I don’t intend to track Pamela unless it’s an emergency. It’s just in case I lose sight of her.

“El-sama, is something the matter?”

“No, I was just thinking… Pamela is beautiful, no matter when I look at her.”

“P-Please stop saying such things… Don’t tease me like that.”

She puffed her cheeks, her ears turned red. And she turned her face away with a huff. It seemed she realized I was staring at her. I’d let my true feelings slip out in surprise. But it seems she took it as a joke. Still, she kept glancing at me shyly.

Shiro and Orto also seemed to notice the suspicious person. They lifted their heads and kept a watchful eye in that direction. For now, there was no killing intent. So I decided to let them be. If they worked at the Count’s house, we’d probably run into them eventually. I could confront them then.

If they tried to flee over the wall, I’d catch and interrogate them right away. That was my current plan. I didn’t want to do anything rough in front of Pamela.

Pamela had grown used to the roughness involved in fighting monsters. But she still sometimes turned away during battles.

Seeing her like that made me want to quit combat training many times. But Pamela was determined and kept insisting, “I’m fine.” When I tried to force her to stop, she would look up at me with teary eyes and shake her head “no”.

She went that far. So I just couldn’t bring myself to stop her. No matter how you look at it, I’m soft on Pamela. I admit that.

After our break, we resumed walking in the garden. The suspicious person hadn’t moved from their earlier location.

By the time our stroll ended, the sun had set quite a bit. And the western sky was faintly dyed red. There was still some time before dinner. So I returned to the guest room that had been prepared.

“Hmmm… this room is pretty big for a guest room. Maybe it’s not for guests but something they specially prepared for Master?” 

It’s no wonder Shiro said that. The room was so elegant that it would be convincing if they said it was the family head’s room.

The dark purplish-red sofa was soft yet firm. It made it a very comfortable seat. Shiro immediately liked it and curled up there.

Next to the sofa stood a solid, polished amber-colored table. Landscape paintings adorned the walls. It was almost as if they were windows showing real scenes.

On the shelves built into the walls, white porcelain from the East was displayed. From the lapis-colored designs, there was no doubt it had been imported from my home country—and it was genuine. It shouldn’t be that common in this country yet.

“These patterns on the porcelain… so nostalgic. Could it be that Count Reinach has his own trade route with my country? Or does he go buy directly in the royal capital? Either way, the international relations seem to be growing deeper.”

“Oh? Oh my~? Are you starting to feel like going home soon? Is that homesickness I hear?”

Shiro grinned teasingly. It wasn’t exactly homesickness. But maybe it would be good to return home and report once. I should also seriously consider the path I want to take from now on.

If Pamela weren’t here, I would’ve definitely continued being an adventurer. There’s no lifestyle more free and unbound than that. The freedom of not being tied down to anything—that’s truly wonderful.

But now I have someone to protect: Pamela. From the way she treats me, even I can tell that she loves me. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have risked herself with those dangerous full-body tackles.

Why does Pamela always want to take off her clothes so easily? What kind of education did the Reinach Count and Countess give her?

As I sat on the sofa, deep in thought, Shiro came over to me.

“Are you… seriously thinking of going home?”

“Well, yeah. There’s the matter of Pamela. She’s a noble lady—a Count’s daughter. I can’t just make a noble lady into an adventurer’s wife.”

“Fufu. I’m glad to hear that you really love Pamela, Master. If you had abandoned her, I was going to go tattling to Mama.”

“…Thanks for that.”

Telling my mother on me—that’s quite the threat, isn’t it? I allow Shiro a lot of freedom in how he acts and speaks. But he’s still my summoned beast. There’s no doubt he puts his master first. It seems like he can clearly read my heart.

He probably understands that I want Pamela. And he’s forcing himself to justify it by saying, “It’s for Pamela’s sake,” refusing to allow me to give up on her.

When I close my eyes, Pamela’s smile comes to mind. We’ve been together all the time lately. It felt strange that there was no warmth beside me at this moment.