"Since it's decided, let's go!"
"Wait! Just wait a moment!"
"What happened? Do you also have something?"
"I still need to prepare myself mentally..."
"No need for that, right? I'm not going to eat you, you know?"
"That's so gross!"
"Anyway, to avoid disturbing Lady Emilia, let's leave from here!"
"Wait! Wait!"
And so, Subaru was dragged away by Reinhard with a grin on his face, like a calf about to be sold, emitting miserable cries that echoed under the night sky.
Watching Subaru leave with Reinhard, Emilia turned to Fang Li for his opinion.
"So, we should also..."
Before she could finish her sentence, another voice interrupted.
"Wait!"
Hearing the voice, both Fang Li and Emilia turned their heads to look.
There, by the direction of the Stolen Goods Warehouse, Felt was hiding behind the door, peeking out halfway, looking at Fang Li and Emilia, with an expression that seemed hesitant to speak yet filled with timidity.
The former was directed at Fang Li.
Clearly, Felt seemed to have something to say to Fang Li.
The latter was directed at Emilia.
Unlike before, Felt now fully knew Emilia's identity.
Not only was she one of the five candidates for the throne, but also a silver-haired Half-Elf similar to the Witch of Envy. Just the thought of stealing from such a person, and stealing the insignia of a Royal Selection candidate no less, made even this fearless little girl feel a bit timid.
Emilia had long been accustomed to this.
However, being accustomed did not mean she wouldn't be hurt.
So, Emilia forced a smile and said to Fang Li, "It seems she has something to tell you, so I'll leave for now."
Regarding Felt's theft of her insignia, Emilia forgave her and bore no grudge.
"She was also commissioned by someone else, which led her to steal the insignia under duress. Although theft itself is not justified, it's also not unforgivable. So, let's forgive her for this."
With this reasoning, Emilia didn't want to pursue Felt's wrongdoing.
Otherwise, stealing from a Royal Selection candidate would be enough to warrant severe punishment for Felt.
In such a situation, Reinhard seemed to choose to stand by and watch after understanding the situation.
"After all, I'm still on vacation."
That's Reinhard's explanation.
Of course, at that moment, Subaru immediately retorted.
"You call that a vacation? Yet you're still patrolling the streets, not only breaking up fights but also helping with various errands. If the police officers in the eleventh district could be as cute as you, then as a modern young man, I wouldn't have to worry about getting robbed while buying instant noodles at the convenience store."
Unfortunately, Reinhard took this retort as a compliment to himself, so he looked embarrassed, making Subaru almost facepalm.
That's how Felt managed to stay safe and sound; otherwise, she would have been taken away long ago.
So, for Felt, Emilia was definitely worth being grateful for.
However, despite the gratitude, Felt still harbored some reservations towards Emilia's presence.
It couldn't be helped.
For the people of this world, silver-haired Half-Elfs held unimaginable power.
If it weren't for that, Emilia wouldn't have been constantly rejected.
At that moment, Emilia stepped aside and left on her own initiative.
Only then did Felt approach, her pair of red eyes firmly fixed on Fang Li, speaking somewhat hesitantly.
"Thank you for what happened earlier."
Felt's words hardly surprised Fang Li.
"If you're referring to telling you about the insignia and revealing the identity of the 'Bowel Hunter' to save you from being silenced, there's no need." Fang Li said nonchalantly, "I did it because of my own goals, not to intentionally save you. If everyone had to thank me individually, it would be too troublesome."
Saying so, Fang Li looked at Felt with a meaningful gaze.
"Let's get to the point of what you really want to say."
With just a simple sentence, Fang Li directly saw through Felt.
She was completely exposed.
So, Felt lowered her head slightly, struggling emotions evident in her eyes. After a while, she mustered up the courage to raise her eyes and gaze at Fang Li.
At that moment, Felt's expression was more serious than ever before.
"Can you tell me?" Felt spoke softly, "Do you know about my origins?"
This was what Felt wanted to say.
After Fang Li arrived at the Stolen Goods Warehouse and made a declaration as if he knew Felt's origins, this was what Felt had been wanting to say countless times.
Felt was an orphan.
And she didn't have parents.
This situation either meant she had wandered here for survival after her family's demise, or she had been abandoned here since childhood.
In other words, Felt wasn't originally from the slums like many others here who had families.
Given this, it wasn't surprising for her to seek out her origins.
Fang Li indeed knew about Felt's origins.
"But that shouldn't be something for me, an outsider, to tell you."
Fang Li threw out these words to Felt.
"If you want to know about your origins, go find the Knight among Knights who just left."
Leaving these words behind, Fang Li paid no further attention to the stunned Felt, walking directly toward Emilia.
Left behind, Felt stood in silence.
...
After walking for a while, Fang Li and Emilia finally returned to the streets of the Royal Capital.
Once back on the street, Emilia turned to Fang Li and said, "We still need to find someone."
"Find someone?" Fang Li asked indifferently, "Who?"
"The person who came with me to the Royal Capital and also takes care of me in daily life," Emilia said reluctantly, "We came together, but got separated midway."
It made sense.
As one of the five heirs to the throne, how could Emilia not have brought along attendants?
"So, if possible, I'd like to go to the guard duty room first," Emilia sought Fang Li's opinion again.
"Can you come with me?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Li was about to respond when he suddenly sensed something, smiled slightly, and said, "No need, they're already coming over."
As soon as he finished speaking, a voice immediately reached Emilia's ears.
"Lady Emilia."
...
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