Inside my study, I was looking at the glass cup of water in front of me.
It’s just some water that we use in our house for domestic use.
It turns out that this one also contains mithril.
Speaking of the amount, it’s about the same as filling up a 25-meter pool and taking out a grain of sand from it.
The bottom line is that “there are some, but there are very few”.
It’s no surprise that I hadn’t noticed it until now, and, after realizing that the mithril can exist in the water at the Lake of Hals, I finally figured it out after carefully looking at it on such a level.
“Which, means”
If mithril is present, albeit in minute quantities, in the water we use for everyday living, then it is safe to say that mithril is present in all the water in the world.
All that’s left is how to take it out and the cost.
I can’t think of a specific way to get it out yet, but maybe every time it rains, or when I go to the sea.
I should be able to get a decent amount of it.
That’s what it means, for it to be in the water.
But, I don’t need to think about it.
I won’t think about it anymore.
It’s too much hassle.
Thinking about this and that anymore, I really want to avoid the “Hermes method” becoming a powerful thing seriously.
Then, I just have to do nothing.
It was unavoidable that I accidentally discovered it and nee-san reported it to the king, but if someone were to study this in the future, they would eventually forget about me.
His tone of voice changes completely, and he pulls out an object and throws it on the table.
It was a woman’s handkerchief, decorated with lace and embroidery.
What was that? ――when I thought about it, I then smelled it on the handkerchief.
It was a scent I knew well ―― the scent of Orthia’s favorite perfume.
“……what are you gonna do”
“Seems like we have taken custody of a woman”
“What did you do with her?”
“It seems like she was a popular prostitute. I suppose you’ve never been in the business of just dealing with a large number.”
Nicha……And his sickening smile I felt at the beginning was back.
I know I’m sounding a bit cryptic, but he sounds like they’ve got Orthia, and depending on my response, he has several―― No, he means that a bunch of men were going to be violent on Orthia.
That’s what I guess.
“If I break this glass ball, they will receive an order.”
The guy pulled out a small glass ball.
I can feel magic power from it. It’s something that’s used in the military and warfare for its ability to send simple signals.
That guy, shows a pretense of crushing the glass ball.
“What do you think? The sooner you answer, the better, and it’s not at all unlikely that my hand would slip up――”
My hand moved.
As soon as I shook out my aligned index and middle fingers, two of the man’s fingers flew off and the glass ball floated into the air.
I couldn’t let it be broken, so I quickly collected the glass ball.
“――Ha?”
The guy is puzzled by the fact that I’m now holding the glass ball, and looked at the ball and his hand in turn.
When the sharpness of the slash exceeds a certain level, the bleeding from a wound that has been cut too cleanly often delays.
It’s the same this time too.
After a full three seconds, the wound spew blood as if it had remembered.
“Gyaaaaaaahh!”
“Get the fuck out of here”
“Yo,you think I’m going to let you get away with this ――”
I swore, and the guy kicked off while trying to blackmail me.
He jumped up from the couch, broke through the door and went out into the hallway.
Screams and noises of two people were combined, and the maids and servants gathered in the hallway.
I also went outside.
It was an unusual situation, but since it wasn’t the head of the mansion (me) who was being attacked, no one intervened or did anything about it.
I saw Midea among the onlookers.
“Midea”
“Yes! What is it, Master?”
“Knock that guy out of the mansion.”
“Understood!”
After leaving it to Midea, I jumped out of the mansion.
☆
At a rundown house on the outskirts of Pindos, far from the highway.
I beat up all of the ruffians, which numbered roughly twenty, and went inside.
“Wha, you bastard, what are you ――”
There was one last person in the rundown house, perhaps a lookout, but I knocked him down faster than he could get out.
Orthia was in the back.
Her hands and feet were tied and she was gagged.
I approached and tore off the rope and the gag.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
“It’s okay”
Orthia was laughing quite indifferently.
“Okay?”
“Since these guys were chattering fluently. I knew that Hermes-chan was involved, and I knew that he would come to save me.”
“Is that so”
“Hence, I wasn’t worried at all.”
As usual, Orthia speaks with a carefree smile.
But, her hands were shaking.
No, not just her hands.
Her face was smiling, but her whole body was trembling slightly.
How could she not be afraid.
She’s just desperately trying to be strong and act like she always do.
I hugged her closely.
I hold her a little tighter than usual to let her know that I’m here and to stop her from shaking.
“……Thank you”
“I’ve already been thanked.”
“That’s also true.”
“I’ll escort you for the time being”
“Okay”
Her trembling stops, and Orthia, who feels more moist than usual, leaned closer to me.
I put my arms around the back of her knees and gently pick her up.
We run down the highway as it is.
I turned back the way I came and returned to the town of Pindos.
On the way, neither she nor I said anything.
Orthia leans towards me like a borrowed cat.
This is a different Orthia.
If nothing happened, Orthia would be cute like this, but right now, her cuteness only makes me angrier at Goun Almond.
While suppressing that anger, I returned to the town and came to the brothel.
When I tried to enter the store with Orthia in my arms.
“Isn’t that Aniki”
I bumped into Kyorus, who was just coming out.
“Oh, it’s a pleasure Aniki. Well, Aniki introduced us to this place, and it’s been great. The girls are cute and the service is good. The whole time it felt like as if we were lovers, and we all became regulars here ――”
“It’s a nice place. Lend me your strength, Kyorus”
When I talked with a straight face, the deputy leader of the dream troupe, who had been deredere* until then, changed completely and had a stern look. (TN: it’s lovestruck, I guess)
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want to punish an unscrupulous merchant who tried to get what they want by threatening to violate a woman.”
“I see, he’s done that huh”
Kyorus lifted the corner of his mouth in a grin.
Watch out, Goun Almond.
I’ll take everything you have.
I’ve, made up my mind ――
“Hold on, Hermes-chan”
In my arms, Orthia spoke to me in a mellow, whispering voice.
“What’s wrong”
“Such Hermes-chan, may be a little scary.”
“……Is that so”
I see, I scared her huh.
This isn’t like me at all.
“I know it’s not my place to say this, but it’s mine to say, though”
Orthia said so with a carefree smile.
At some point, the trembling was completely erased from her body.
“I didn’t think Hermes-chan would be so serious about such small fries.”
“Yes, I guess so”
I nodded.
It was as Orthia says.
I should twist such small fries a little without getting serious.