Chapter 6

A voice came from a direction where no one was. A few seconds later, the hedge rustled and swayed.

A man with leaves in his hair crawled out slowly.

When he stood up, it became clear that he was a tall, young man.

He had his long, pearl-white hair tied into a braid that hung down in front of his chest.

He looked to be in his early twenties. He wore silver-rimmed glasses that gave him an intellectual air.

"Huh, who are you?"

"I do not have a name to introduce myself to you."

"What!?"

The short-tempered man lunged at the young man. However, just before he could get close, his body was blown away.

"Eh, why!?"

On the crouching man's stomach, a light pink slime was bouncing.

'Punish the evildoers!'

It was bouncing as if striking his abdomen, causing the man to continue groaning in pain, "Ugh!! Gah!!"

Here, Pururun shouted.

"Oh, Gabriel!"

"Is that person Pururun's master?"

"Um, yes!"

The attention of the ruffians shifted to the mysterious young man, Gabriel.

"What, you suddenly get in the way?"

"Looking at your scrawny build, you must be controlling a monster, huh?"

"We'll take care of you!!"

About five ruffians attacked Gabriel. However, just like before, they were blown away before they could get close.

The ones that attacked the large men were colorful, five-colored slimes.

"You're weak, you know!"

"Your mouth is bigger than your stomach!"

"Hehehe, hahaha!"

"Let's play more!"

"Boring..."

When Gabriel raised his hand, the slimes transformed into long, rope-like shapes. They coiled around, immobilizing the ruffians.

In no time, the ruffians were subdued.

Pururun flew out of my arm and jumped toward Gabriel. I followed closely behind.

"Gabriel!"

Pururun flew into Gabriel's chest. However, the momentum was too much, and he groaned, "Ugh!!" and knelt on the spot.

I caught up and looked down at him. Thinking it was a good opportunity, I removed the leaves from his head.

Gabriel was startled, but he understood what I had done when he saw the leaves fluttering down.

"Thank you."

"That's my line. Thank you for helping me."

"N-no, I didn't mean to help you—"

"By the way, what were you doing near the hedge?"

"That!"

Gabriel suddenly knelt and looked around suspiciously, as if searching for something.

"Um, well, you see..."

'Pururun, were you looking for something?'

"Y-yes! I was looking for this slime."

"Is that so?"

I held out my hands, and he looked up curiously.

"Please take my hand. If you want to sit there, that's a different story."

"Thank you."

I pulled Gabriel up by his hand. Pururun climbed onto Gabriel's head, forming a beret-like shape.

It was so funny that I laughed.

"W-what is it?"

"Sorry. Pururun is just so funny."

"A-ah, this guy, what—"

But I shouldn't have been laughing. I needed to deal with the ruffians.

I couldn't just leave them lying in the garden.

"I need to call the knights."

"Yes, leave it to me."

Gabriel took out a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote something with a pen attached to his finger. I couldn't figure out how the ink came out.

He carefully folded it into the shape of a bird. When he blew on it, it flew away like a real bird.

"What is that—?"

"It's a bird message spell. I've informed the knight squad, so they should be here soon to take these guys away."

Just as I was about to thank him, a large carriage stopped in front of the house.

It wasn't the knights. They couldn't have arrived so quickly.

"That's the Fastu Trading Company's commercial seal."

"Oh—!"

My father had been involved with the wife of a wealthy merchant.

The Fastu Trading Company was a world-renowned merchant. What had he done? I held my head in my hands.

The carriage door opened, and a middle-aged man, stout and bear-like, stepped out.

He looked to be in his early fifties. Dark circles under his eyes and sharp eyes gave him an intimidating presence. His prominent hawk nose and tightly pursed lips made him look even more formidable.

The moment he saw me, he narrowed his eyes. It felt like I was being sized up, which made me more angry than scared.

The man introduced himself as he approached.

"I am Maxim Mayer, the head of the Fastu Trading Company. Is this the house of Duke Melcour?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, but my father is not here."

"Oh, is that so?"

The fallen men were clearly visible, but he pretended not to notice and continued talking.

Maxim Mayer was a great merchant. He was not someone to be trifled with.

I couldn't show any weakness.

"Have you heard about my father's misdeeds?"

"I know a little, but not everything. I heard from those men lying there."

"I see, I see. Ah, these men were incited by my young one. I apologize."

"That's fine."

It was my father who was at fault, but I had nothing to do with it. I had no intention of admitting or apologizing.

"I never thought Duke Melcour would run away with my beloved wife."

"What!?"

"Hasn't he returned home?"

"No, he hasn't."

I had assumed he had run away alone. I never thought he would disappear with her.

"We've been searching hard, but we can't find them. I'm deeply hurt. I want to see some sincerity."

"The 200,000 francs in compensation?"

"Yes."

It was an amount I could never earn in a lifetime of baking.

The ruffians had mentioned that a brothel might be able to manage it.

Maxim Mayer presented two options.

"Right... One, you can earn the money at a brothel. Two, you can find your father within three days."

If he wasn't found within three days, I would be sent to the brothel. It was a terrible situation.

"Choose whichever you like."

My throat was dry, and I couldn't speak.

Finding my father within three days was impossible.

Either way, he intended to sell me to a brothel.

"Well, what will you do?"

"I choose the third option."

Gabriel made an unexpected statement.

"What, a third option?"

"I will pay the 200,000 francs."

"Why would you, a stranger, go so far?"

"I'm not a stranger. I am her fiancé."

"What!?"

I almost shouted along with Maxim Mayer. What was going on? I looked at Gabriel.

His eyes seemed to be pleading for me to stay silent.

"Actually, I received the 200,000 francs as a dowry from her father. I'll cover it. Is that okay?"

"Well, as long as I receive the 200,000 francs, anything is fine."

Gabriel took out a check from his chest pocket and filled it out.

"Is this acceptable?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Shall we consider this matter resolved?"

"That's right."

Maxim Mayer raised the check in his hand and left.

The knights arrived in his place.

The ruffians were taken away, leaving only Gabriel and the slimes.