I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 114: In Other Words, It Was Countered

Episode 114: In Other Words, It Was Countered 

By the time preparations for dinner began, Brother Leonard finally returned. The Duke of Flute was also with him. He looked exhausted. It seems something did happen after all. 

“Welcome back. Brother Leonard, you seem quite late. Did something happen?” 

“No? Nothing at all.” 

Brother Leonard said with a smile. He’s really bad at lying. If nothing had happened, he wouldn’t be coming back at this hour. And the Duke of Flute wouldn’t look so worn out. He’s definitely thinner than this morning—quite a lot, in fact. His cheeks were *that* sunken. 

“Father, are you okay? Did something happen?” 

“No, nothing at all? Hahaha…” 

He’s also terrible at lying. Is he really okay as a noble like this? It’s genuinely worrisome. 

Well, I suppose it’s understandable. Only we are in this room, so there’s no need for them to keep up their noble façades. 

“Leonard-sama, please tell us what happened.” 

Balt, the sensible and serious one, easily saw through Brother Leonard’s lie. He questioned him sharply. Well, everyone in this room probably noticed already. 

As expected from my bodyguard and tutor—he questions Brother Leonard without hesitation if it’s for my sake. 

“Balt, don’t look so scary. There were just a lot of monsters, and it took some time to handle them.” 

“What! Isn’t that a big deal… Ah, I see, I understand now. Brother Leonard, you went looking for monsters to test the sword, didn’t you?” 

That must’ve hit the mark because Brother Leonard turned his face away from me in a huff. I could hear Balt sigh beside me. He’s known Brother Leonard for a long time, so he’s probably thinking, “Honestly…” 

“Duke Flute, that’s how it is, right?” 

“Ah, well, depending on how you look at it, you could say that… Hahaha…” 

Poor Duke Flute. It seems he dutifully followed Brother Leonard around, running all over the mountain. No wonder he looks thinner and his cheeks are hollow. 

Seeing the Duke like that, Brother Leonard started to panic. 

“The sword Rufus gave me had the best sharpness. Just as I expected, it cut even better than the magic ore sword I have. Also, its sharpness didn’t dull at all. It’s an amazing sword. Truly the best sword.” 

“I’m glad to hear that. So, how was the sharpness of the holy sword Excalibur?” 

“Of course, it was like cutting through pudding with a spoon… Ah!” 

I stared at Brother Leonard with cold eyes. It seemed Balt and Ray were giving him the same look, as he started glancing around uneasily. 

Honestly… Was giving him that sword a mistake? But there was always that slim chance something might happen. It was a tough decision. 

“Ahem. So, how did things go on your end, Rufus? Did everything proceed as planned without issues?” 

“Ah, umm…” 

“Rufus.” 

Brother Leonard flashed me a brilliant smile. Ugh, what a perfectly executed counter. 

I don’t think it was directly my fault. But if someone said, “It’s your fault,” they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. I hesitated, avoiding his gaze. 

“Balt, what happened?” 

“Well, we discovered what seems to be the wall of a ruin…” 

“What!” 

It was Duke Flute who shouted. He was leaning forward in shock. No wonder he’s surprised. If ancient ruins were found in his territory, it would be a huge deal. 

I could feel Brother Leonard’s piercing gaze on me. But I decided to pretend I didn’t notice. 

“Tell me more about it.” 

“Well then…” 

Balt began explaining what happened on my behalf. Occasionally, Duke Flute would interject with questions. It seemed like he hadn’t heard anything about it from anyone else. 

It’s almost dinner time. So he must have come straight to this room, thinking we were worried. 

“Ancient ruins, huh? This could be an incredible discovery.” 

“It’s amazing, isn’t it!” 

Ah, Brother Leonard is giving me a cold stare. It seems he didn’t appreciate me acting like it was someone else’s problem. Meanwhile, Duke Flute is deep in thought with a serious expression. 

I was sure he’d be making a huge fuss over it. But that didn’t seem to be the case. Did I misread the situation? Flare-chan looked pretty happy about it, though. 

“Um, if it looks like it could become a problem, I can properly fill it back up tomorrow. With Moguran’s help, we can make sure it’s buried so well that it could never be dug up again.” 

“N-No, Prince Rufus, please wait! I beg you, give me some time!” 

The panicked Duke Flute clung to me. Whoa, whoa. Calm down, calm down. I’m not running away, so relax, okay? 

But why is he so troubled? If he’s that concerned, he could just start the investigation right away. As I was pondering this, it must have shown on my face. 

“Rufus, you can’t start investigating ruins so easily. You need to call in experts beforehand and do thorough preliminary research. Or you might end up destroying the ruins themselves.” 

“I see. There might even be guardians protecting the ruins, right?” 

“Guardians! Indeed, that’s possible!” 

“Rufus-sama, please don’t give Leonard-sama unnecessary ideas.” 

Balt was holding his head in his hands. It must be tough being in middle management. When we get back, I’ll be sure to tell His Majesty the King how hard Balt’s been working. 

Original Author’s Comment:

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Thank you so much for reading this far!

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Thank you in advance! 

(Here’s the link to the Original Author: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330653906747006.)

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