Colt entered the Inn and took care of everything.
"The Young Master of the Edgeworth Family is in your presence; who is the owner of this establishment!?"
Colt's face lightly flushed as he thought, 'Dammit, Mary!!!!!' having been announced in such a manner was too much for him, and Colt thought he had no more shame—he was proven wrong.
"Miss Knight, I am the owner of the Flower Blossom Inn; how may I help you?" An old man who wore a grander outfit than even the original Colt Edgeworth every wore stepped before the two of them.
"Empty the whole Inn for the day. We have urgent matters to discuss."
"I cannot do such a thing like favoring someone just because they are of Nobility, my Inn had been—"
Mary showed the crest of the Courtgain and the Edgeworth Family. If the pull of a Count was not enough, use a Duke's with it.
"I shall obey your words, Miss."
The result spoke for its effectiveness. Colt chose to take a seat on one side of the Inn and waited for everyone to leave. Some wanted to complain, but a little bit of pressure from Colt was enough to keep their mouths shut.
All the while that happened, Colt had the staff take the Hero and clean him up.
"I can do it on my own!! I don't need any help!" he shouted in displeasure, but because women took him away, he could not do anything to do them.
It was fun watching the Hero flail about trying his best not to touch boobs or any unmentionables.
'Hehe, so much for a great warrior.'
Colt snickered while Fluff demanded food, and with Fluff with him, he and his group somehow found themselves in the dining area.
Where two humans watched a flabby cat eat with delight.
"Nya?"
"Nah, I am in no mood to eat."
"Meow." Fluff shrugged its tiny little shoulders.
"My Lord, I may be overstepping my bounds, but…who's the boy you saved? Is it a friend of yours?"
"Hmmm? No, he isn't. But he's someone rather important."
Mary gasped at the sudden realization, "I-is he another one of your illegitimate..."
"NO!" Colt shouted, startling Mary, "No, he is not…he is not—please don't make such assumptions, especially in front of Mina."
"…I understand, my Lord."
"Are you sure you don't want to eat?" Colt asked Mary, who stood like a statue by his side.
"It is unbecoming of a Knight if I eat before my Lord."
"Suit yourself."
One of the employees approached him with another serving of food meant for the consumption of Fluff.
"Thank you," Colt said with a smile.
The employee was trembling before Colt for no reason. With a sigh, Colt just said, "Don't worry, we aren't going to hurt any civilian. The Count and some merchants in enslaving our Kingdom's people are simply bringing them to justice. Do not worry, no commoner will be hurt."
"...Thank you, sir General." The employees lowered his head before leaving with a much lighter heart.
An hour or so later, a frail-looking child walked into the dining area. He was being assisted by three girls who bathed and cleaned him, the boy was, of course, the Hero, and with his arrival, the three maids were given tips by Mary.
"Keep everyone away from this room; no one enters unless it is someone of Royal Blood."
The maids did not quite understand what she meant by "Unless it is someone of Royal Blood," but they accepted their job nonetheless.
The Hero took a seat and ate the still warm, easily digestible food Colt had the Inn prepare earlier. He first smelled the food, checking if any drug was added. He confirmed no tampering was done and began eating with a big appetite.
His eating manner was unrefined, much more savage than Colt's, proving his life had no need for such things.
While the Hero was eating, Colt asked, "So, what's your name?"
"Didn't your Goddess told you?"
"They want to keep me in the dark for most parts. They say it's for the best (I call bullshit)." Colt did his best to avoid speaking of the last part.
Colt wanted to continue the conversation but noticed Mary trembling from the corner of his eyes.
"Oh, I failed to inform you about the Goddess part, didn't I?" Colt planned on telling Mary because she was now his Knight, and soon enough, everything would be said, but with everything going on, he forgot about it.
So, with a simple shrug of a shoulder, Colt nodded his head, "I can speak to Goddesses, and it's a secret. Yes, they are beautiful, powerful, and kind; no, you can't meet them and don't kneel before me; it is uncomfortable. I'll explain later, but for now, don't tell anyone. Okay, let's get back to what's important."
Colt already answered 50% of Mary's question and with her mind still in a state of confusion. She sat on a chair, thinking deeply about matters of life.
"Apostles…Real…Goddesses…My Lord…." She was happy, albeit a teeny tiny bit confused.
"Is she going to be okay?" The Hero asked, his concern for Mary surfaced.
"She'll be fine, this will shake her, but it will be good for the mind. It will strengthen her…hmmm, this might be good training for the kids."
With this, only a handful of things would ever catch Mary by surprise. He did her a favor, really.
"Okay, let's go back to the topic. What's your name?"
The Hero was observing every little bit of change in Colt's expression. He may be a boy in this mysterious man's eyes, but he was someone who had to cling to read someone's expression to survive.
He deemed Colt to be trustworthy, "…Arte…Geras....my name's Arte Geras."
"Okay, that's a good name, now you can me ask me anything. But remember, if you ask me, I get to ask you something in return; it's a win-win situation."
"…Who are you and the Goddesses you spoke of; how did they know?"
"That's two questions…who cares. My name's Colt Edgeworth; I am the Son of a General in the South of a Kingdom named Regalus. The Goddesses know about your situation because…they are the Goddesses who created everything. Don't ask how and why you got here; you're only wasting your time because I don't really know. What you don't believe me?" Asked Colt as Arte gave him a probing eye.
Arte could see Colt's honesty…he was too honest, in fact.
"I believe you. Now, ask me, Young Master…should I call you that?"
"Good enough, okay, where did you come from?"
"It's a place called Dragon God Continent."
The name alone was a dead giveaway, "Did your world practiced martial arts or martial techniques or something?"
"Yes…how did you know that?"
"Nothing."
'That explains a lot…' Colt now understood where Arte came from.
Colt sat there explaining Arte about the Western Continent. The Magical Beasts, the world's different energy, everything Colt had to learn himself less the plot and the world's artifacts.
He made sure to make his name a lot flowery to ensure he wouldn't have any idea of wanting to kill Colt for certain reasons.
The conversation lasted for more than two hours, and in the end, Arte failed to stay awake. After learning what was happening to him and felt more secure than the past few days, he fell asleep.
Mary offered to carry Arte but chose to do it himself. He went and got Arte in a room.
As Arte lay on the bed, Colt asked himself, "What now?"
Now that he had the Hero out of his cell and spared him from further suffering, Colt was supposed to be relieved of his temporary position of acting Hero.
But, looking at Arte now, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid.
Despite not knowing what he underwent, knowing he was tortured for so long was enough to make Colt question himself, 'Will I really make this kid fight and have him kill someone else? No, don't question; it's his destiny. It's the right thing to do…right?'
He wanted to hear confirmation, but he only remembered the Goddesses' words, "There is no such thing as Destiny."
Colt looked at the window and whispered to himself, "Those useless people only ever sound convincing when I don't need them...well, I have been feeling a little lucky these past few days…is that Plot Armor?"
He was thinking of becoming the one thing he didn't want to become!
'Fuck you, conscience...'