Vanport looked at me and motioned me over.
"Come with me. I'll bring you to meet the Medwin house's heir." [Vanport]
I followed him up the stairway to meet the blonde young man. He seemed to be around my age, but I can't say the same for his mentality.
"Young Master, Roland. May I ask what happened?" [Vanport]
The young master, Roland, pointed at himself. He wore a white suit and tie, which was ruined by a light orange stain.
"Vanport! A maid spilled tea on me! Look!" [Roland]
"...I see. I will punish her accordingly. Please get yourself a change of clothes right away." [Vanport]
Roland shook his head.
"No! I want to see the punishment through myself!" [Roland]
Vanport made an expression like he wanted to let out a sigh.
"Young master. I'd like to ask you why you have called upon me when you were going to punish her yourself?" [Vanport]
"I require your sword." [Roland]
Vanport put a hand on his sword and gripped it tightly when Roland reached out for it.
"I cannot allow that." [Vanport]
"What?! How dare you! I am your master!" [Roland]
Roland reached out for it again. However, Vanport simply stepped out of reach.
"A knight's sword is their conviction. It is not possible for us to lend it to another so easily." [Vanport]
"I don't care about your conviction or whatever! Just hand it over!" [Roland]
Hearing that, Vanport drew his sword and placed it next to Roland's neck in an instant.
"You…?!" [Roland]
He froze with a blade pushing into his neck.
"Do not insult a knight's conviction. This is your first and last warning." [Vanport]
Roland stared at the blade gleaming dangerously.
"You would dare point your blade at me? My father will have your head for this." [Roland]
"No. He will not lift a finger." [Vanport]
Roland locked eyes with Vanport and realized that it wasn't a bluff.
"...I apologize. Lower your blade." [Roland]
Feeling that Roland had surrendered, Vanport sheathed his sword.
"Go clean yourself up. It is unbefitting of someone with high stature." [Vanport]
Roland let out a sigh of relief and nodded before taking his leave.
"...Alt, I am sorry you had to see that." [Vanport]
He turned to me with an apologetic look.
"I meant to introduce you, but I suppose that ship has sailed." [Vanport]
I felt bad for having him apologize.
"N-No, you don't need to feel bad about it. I came here uninvited anyway. How about this? Can you just tell me a bit about the Medwin house? I'll be on my way after that." [Solace]
Vanport tilted his head.
"Just that? Did you not come here to see everything for yourself?" [Vanport]
"For… myself?" [Solace]
"Yes. To see the house I serve." [Vanport]
I had almost forgotten the lie I told him.
("Oh! I did say I wanted to see him!") [Solace]
"True, but I don't think this is the best time to do so." [Solace]
Vanport nodded slowly.
"Perhaps. Then I will tell you about the Medwin house. Do you have any questions you'd like to ask first?" [Vanport]
This was the perfect chance to learn what I needed and get straight out.
"That… young master. Can you tell me a little about him?" [Solace]
"Young Master, Roland…" [Vanport]
He made a sour expression.
"You could say… he isn't the most loved. Terrible temper, violent, and uneducated. He's married multiple times and killed them in a fit of rage. Currently, he is expected to marry Finea Kaleid Von Haverend." [Vanport]
("That must be Fina's full name.") [Solace]
"Is he good at sword fighting or magic?" [Solace]
Vanport shook his head.
"His skills are… non-existent. However, the evolution level of his spirit is quite high for his age." [Vanport]
"And that is?" [Solace]
"Great Spirit." [Vanport]
("Yikes.") [Solace]
So it was higher than I am.
"Okay, how about the head of the Medwin house?" [Solace]
"Ah, Bols Medwin. I am currently serving him as his personal knight. He may be considered a noble, but the Medwin house operates similarly to a merchant organization under his command." [Vanport]
That made a lot of sense. Merchants do like to scam their customers, especially dumb ones like Fina's dad.
"The rest I can say about this house is that it dates back quite a while." [Vanport]
"Oh… Then I don't think that this is the place to talk about it." [Solace]
Vanport glanced around us. He then took notice that we've been standing at the top of the stairs for a while.
"How about I find a usable room?" [Vanport]
Hearing that, I knew the conversation was going to take a while.
"No thanks. I think I've overstayed my welcome." [Solace]
Needless to say, I didn't want to stay for that long.
"I see. That's unfortunate." [Vanport]
He made a sad face. I started to feel bad about it until his expression changed to a serious one and he slashed at me.
"Woah!" [Solace]
Reacting quickly, I stepped back enough to evade it. I also managed to not fall down the stairs behind me.
"What are you doing?!" [Solace]
"Attacking you." [Vanport]
"I can see that!" [Solace]
"Then why did you ask?" [Vanport]
He then proceeded to jab at me. Thankfully, I caught it between my hands.
"Why are you doing this?!" [Solace]
I kicked him back, thinking that I could take his sword as he staggered backwards. Contrary to my expectations, Vanport's grip strength allowed him to take the sword along.
"Why? I have two unique skills. One, a combat skill. The second, a skill that allows me to view threats as red and allies as blue. Now I wonder, why are you red?" [Vanport]