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༺ I Don't Know Anything ༻
"…I'm going crazy."
As Ferloche clung to me and shut the cabinet door, darkness enveloped us.
"I'm scared!"
I waited anxiously for the bathroom to clear out, but Ferloche continued to tremble in my embrace.
"I'm scared… I'm scared… I'm scared."
"Calm down."
Pant, pant…
At first, I assumed she was overreacting like she usually did, but upon closer inspection, I realized that she was genuinely frightened.
Her face was pale, and she was sweating profusely. It was as if she was on the verge of a panic attack. I had seen this sight often in the previous regression, so I knew that was the case.
'…That's right. Ferloche is afraid of the dark, isn't she?'
Ferloche hated dark, enclosed spaces.
Although I too disliked the darkness, I could push myself to tolerate it. But Ferloche, even with her strong mental fortitude, was struggling.
"First of all, calm down…"
As I extended my arm with a concerned expression, I suddenly froze and bit my lip in silence.
Ferloche was still unaware of my true identity.
So, I couldn't afford to be kind to her.
"Don't be a baby, get a hold of yourself… huh?"
I tried to whisper coldly, but Ferloche closed in on me.
"Please hug me…"
"What?"
"I'm scared, so hug me…""
Ferloche buried her head in my chest and embraced me strongly.
Crunch
'What if she managed to crush me with that dreadful power?'
"I-I'm sorry…"
"Be quiet."
Hearing me groan, Ferloche stopped hugging me, and looked at me with her characteristic stupid expression as I put my finger over her mouth.
"Ah."
"…..?"
Ferloche's gaze turned blank all of a sudden.
Of course, this was not unusual for her during class or while listening to Clana's speeches.
But what's causing this now?
"Mhhm, aaa."
"…What's wrong with you?"
"No-Nothing."
When I tilted my head and asked her that question, Ferloche just answered with a smile.
"But! Frey!"
"…Keep your voice down."
"But, Frey…"
I quickly hushed her and placed a finger over her lips. She had started whispering again with her face peeking out.
"I've been feeling something on my stomach for a while."
"…Huh?"
"What do you have in your pocket?"
As Ferloche reached down, I grabbed her hand urgently.
"What's wrong with you?"
"…Wait a minute."
Sweating, I tried to pull myself back, but the cabinet was so narrow that my actions just got me even more entangled with Ferloche.
Because I couldn't do anything, Ferloche approached me with a pure smile on her face and whispered, .
"Woah, it's moving!"
"…Shh!!"
"It's fascinating, what is this?"
I felt guilty as I looked at Ferloche who had her head tilted in confusion. That was when I noticed something strange.
'The air is different from before.'
The cool, fresh air that was seeping into the cabinet was a stark contrast to the stuffy, unpleasant air of the bathroom.
Perplexed at the abnormal phenomenon, I hesitated before finally reaching for the handle.
"Oh? What's this?"
"Huh? What…Ugh."
Ferloche put her hand on my shoulder while attempting to stand up, causing her to waver before she froze in place..
– Rub, rub.
"Stop tickling my tummy, Frey! You can't do that!"
"N-No this is a misund…"
– Whoosh
Before I could say anything else, Ferloche began to exude holy power from her hands.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"Look at this! There's graffiti here!"
"…Graffiti?"
I quickly blocked the cabinet's entrance, afraid of any light escaping, but Ferloche pointed to the ceiling and whispered, forcing me to raise my head.
Guards – 15, Warlock – 2, Swordsmen – 3.
The key is in the gap under the cabinet.
I'll come to rescue you no matter what.
"I see! It's a code!"
"…Yes."
I widened my eyes as I reached the end of the scribble, hastily responding to Ferloche's inquisitive stare.
Written by Aishi.
"…it's the Princess of the Cloud Kingdom."
Only then was I able to grasp the situation properly.
This space was an escape route that Aishi, the Princess of the Cloud Kingdom had prepared.
This was because the family of Aishi, who would enter Sunrise Academy in the following year along with Roswyn and the youngest paladin of the church, were being held in the slave market.
'Yes, this was why this quest was important.'
It was a very important matter that a 'royal' was being held in a slave market.
Because if leaked, it could lead to a major diplomatic problem.
Although it was the responsibility of the royal family to handle such matters, they had turned a blind eye to the situation.
This was because the economic power from the revenue generated by the slave market was of great benefit.
In addition, the Cloud Kingdom had a reason that disallowed them to identify as royals.
Therefore, both the royal families had probably agreed in secret to extract only the members of the royal family of the Cloud Kingdom, but a problem would occur the day before the operation.
And, looking at the graffiti here, it was probably about to explode.
– Screech…
"Wh-What?"
"…Get out."
Thinking all of this, I soon opened the door of the cabinet and let Ferloche out.
A twinge of guilt stirred within me for putting my safety over her's. However, it was a necessary decision given Ferloche's usefulness and my own limitations with a time constraint and inability to control my powers properly.
Moreover, Ferloche's close proximity had made it challenging to focus on the task at hand, as she had been rubbing against me while holding my shoulder as I tried to decipher the graffiti.
"…This…?"
After assuring we are safe, I took the lead and scanned the dark cellar..
"What a horrible smell."
The familiar scent of blood assaulted my senses, reminding me of the countless times I had encountered it in the previous timeline.
"…ember, remember, remember…"
"…..?"
"Fr-Frey! Where are we?"
Suddenly, Ferloche interrupted my trail of thought, muttering something in confusion. I turned to face her, covering my nose with a frown, and urgently urged her to remain quiet.
"Please shut up."
"What? What are you…"
"We have to get out of here as quietly as possible."
We had basically broken into the slave market.
Of course, if it had just been me, I might have been able to persuade them. But Ferloche, the Saintess of the Church, whose face was as memorable and beautiful as mine, was also accompanying me.
'Was there any way?'
"…Aha, the cabinet."
"What?"
"Ferloche, get back inside the cabinet. Hurry."
After pondering for a moment, I swiftly pushed Ferloche, who had a vacant expression, into the cabinet.
"I'm scared!"
"Quiet down and hurry up."
I promptly shut the cabinet door before anyone could spot her and let out a sigh of relief.
"Go back to the cafe. I'll be right back."
"Wait! Where are we, and you…"
– Boom
I ignored Ferloche, who had been trying to say something in an urgent voice, and slammed the door of the cabinet close, before muttering with a relieved expression,
"I don't know how this happened, but this is good for me."
"Frey! What do you think you're doing?.."
– Boom!
However, for some reason, Ferloche was still inside.
Feeling ashamed, I once again slammed the door closed before cautiously opening the door again, but Ferloche still had not left.
"I can't tolerate this kind of violence! You and I are to be partners for two semesters…"
Ferloche still had not disappeared.
"…Close the door yourself."
"What?"
So this time, I instructed her to close the door herself.
"I closed it."
From inside the cabinet that had just been shut, there still remained the dense voice of Ferloche.
"Who's there?"
"Damn."
I sighed as I considered what to do with Ferloche, but to make matters worse, there was someone approaching me.
'What should I do?'
.
.
.
.
.
"Put your hands up! I need your identity…"
"Who would dare order me around?"
The guard captain brandished his spear at the unknown man, but began to frown when the man spoke to him unabashedly.
"Don't you know who I am?"
"What?"
"The greatest thug in the Empire."
The guard captain puzzledly looked at the man's face as he heard the words that popped out of his mouth.
"What is that supposed to…"
"Bring me someone in charge."
"What?"
"I asked you to bring me the person in charge."
When Frey spoke to the guard with an arrogant voice, he just stood there and opened his mouth with a troubled look on his face.
"I can't leave a suspicious person behind…"
"I can't believe this."
"…What?"
Then Frey began to talk to him with an annoyed look on his face.
"Top customers like me can look at slaves in advance before the market opens. Surely you're aware of that, being of high rank yourself?"
"I'm aware, but you've never been granted access…"
"Really?"
Frey tossed a gold coin to the captain of the guards. He looked at it blankly for a moment and then coughed and started speaking.
"Hmm, that's… I do recall hearing something about it…"
"I'm certain you heard it from the guards at the entrance."
"Oh, come to think of it, I do remember something. What did they say? Hmm…"
"Please allow Frey Raon Starlight to confirm the condition of the slaves?"
"Yes, that's right!"
Frey continued to slip the captain gold coins as he spoke, eliciting quick and eager responses.
"However, time is of the essence, and I must educate the newly captured slaves."
"Can you please introduce me to a guide? I will reward you generously upon my return."
"Of course, Young Master! I will personally take care of your access."
The captain of the guard, who finished speaking and even saluted, was about to turn around with an excited expression, but soon frowned and asked Frey a question.
"Who's that next to you, Young Master?"
"…he is my colleague."
"I see. But we have to verify their identity…"
When the captain of the guard reached out to the person, Frey quickly interjected and whispered to the captain, preventing him from touching them.
"He's wearing that because he doesn't want to be identified. So, don't touch him."
"I understand, but no matter how sure Young Master Frey is, it is expected…"
"Do you now understand?"
"Yes, I'll inform the guide as well!"
Continuing to pass gold coins to the guard captain, Frey asked him quietly with a smile,
"What are you going to do with those?"
"I'm going to save them for now since I'm busy educating these slaves!"
"Yes, saving is a good habit. Save them well."
After hearing Frey's words of blessing, the captain of the guard disappeared with a big smile on his face.
"…So you can get what you deserve."
Looking at his retreating figure, Frey smiled with satisfaction.
The money I had given to the captain of the guards were the fake gold coins that had the curse of misfortune cast onto them.
Frey's target had always been the captain of the guards, whom he had known was a serious miser due to his thorough investigation in the previous timeline.
"Phew…"
Frey breathed a sigh of relief as the guard captain went out of sight and turned to look at Ferloche.
'This will work.'
He was pleased that his plan to disguise Ferloche with his robe had worked. As a guide approached, Frey whispered to Ferloche,
"Don't say a word from now on and stay quiet. Don't complicate things unnecessarily. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"Okay, then… Huh?"
When Ferloche calmly answered, Frey sighed and turned around,
"What's this?"
Soon however, he frowned and asked Ferloche a question.
"…Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
"What?"
Ferloche was taken aback by his words and replied with a cheerful smile,
"What are you talking about? I'm smiling."
"...…"
She replied with a silly smile, but Frey couldn't bear to acknowledge it.
"What the hell…"
It was because her eyes that were shining brilliantly in the dark, weren't smiling at all.
"…what are you hiding?"
In Ferloche's hands, there was a torn letter.
You know about the DLC, don't you?
It was a letter from Serena, delivered by the pigeon, which Ferloche had clearly claimed was sent from the church.
"I don't know anything!"
Ferloche Astellade, knows nothing.
You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02