As though to sweep away the atmosphere which was a little heavy, Juno changed the topic.
「By the way Erika-sama, what do you plan to do for the date tomorrow ～?」
「Naturally, I’ll go. Since it is the perfect chance to get into contact with Harold-sama」
Erika showed her spirit by clenching both her fists with a 「Mun!」 near her torso. When Harold told them not to approach him as soon as they met, she was flustered as to what she had to do, but a chance came her way due to Hayden’s statement. Although Erika didn’t feel good to get on with Hayden’s proposal, she couldn’t let it get away.
「Then, it is a must for you to dress up ～. And in that case, how about wearing Western-style clothes which you rarely wear ～」
「There’s no reason to be so enthusiastic about it………..」
「That won’t do ～. A maiden should be charming no matter what the time ～」
「How about you yourself dressing fashionably once in a while? Even though you’re beautiful, it’s such a waste」
「Fu Fu Fu ～, that is a strategy ～. At the critical moment, with the appeal of me being different from normal, I’ll catch the other party’s heart ～」
「Then, even I’ll keep it in reserve until the critical moment」
「Eeeh ～, it’s your first date, alright ～? If it goes well, you might be able to make Harold-sama fall for you , alright ～?」
「He shouldn’t be a person who would bend down to another by something of that level」
No matter what, Erika couldn’t imagine a Harold who would be soft on a girl. But it was easy to imagine him hurling abusive words at her without any mercy, even if she went all dressed up.
「Yesterday, I found such a cute one piece dress ～. Wear it, Erika-sama ～!」
「When did you buy such a thing……..」
Juno took out a one piece dress with frills from inside the luggage, and asked Erika. That appeal went past wanting to maintain a maiden’s dignity or ensnaring Harold, and it was just her personal wish to see Erika wear the dress.
「Juno, we haven’t come here to play around. Even you should know that, right?」
「Mmmm, it’s a pity ～」
「Then, let us return to the real issue ～. I’ll tell you about the points you need to keep in mind when in contact with Harold-sama ～」
「Right, please」
Under a single roof, the two’s motives intersect. Probing around for each other’s true intentions, the lock on the gun was removed.
◇
Kazuki was forcefully asked to play the role of a guide for Erika, but to accomplish this mission, he had a huge flaw. It was that he hardly knew anything about the town, where he needed to act as the guide.
But this time, he had the excuse of being restricted to “Showing Erika around the town”. It wouldn’t be unnatural for him to ask about the town, if he took the stance of wanting to know about places suitable to guide someone to rather than for his own enjoyment. Thinking that his hypothesis might be correct, Kazuki successfully procured information from the people in the mansion, indirectly.
(Well, it’s not like I can make use of it though………..)
「Uh, um Harold-sama……….」
「What?」
「……….No, it’s nothing」
(Neglecting the rumor that I killed Clara became a disadvantage……….)
「This is enough already. We’re going back」
「………..Alright」
「You came back fast ～」
「I had heard that the support for the Stokes house from the populace was low, but I didn’t think that it was to such an extent」
「Certainly, that type of hate isn’t normal ～. Well, as far as the talks are concerned, it is obvious ～」
「By the looks of it, it seems as though investigating the internal affairs went well」
「That is, obviously ～」
「It’s just that, there’s some worrying information ～」
「Information which is worrying, is it?」
「Yes ～」
「Actually, it seems recently, Harold-sama burnt a servant and their family to death, using magic ～」
「–Eh?」
Without being able to process the words conveyed by Juno, Erika leaked out her breath in a daze.
「It seems that the people who were killed were a woman named Clara, who was a servant of the mansion, and her daughter, Colette-chan ～」
「W, wait, Juno! Is that the truth? Isn’t it just a rumor………….」
「There is a possibility of that, but when different people were asked separately, almost identical testimonies were obtained ～. It doesn’t seem to be totally unfounded gossip ～」
「Such a………….」
「I’ll continue investigating secretly, but refrain from being with Harold-sama alone from now on ～. Since we don’t know what might happen ～」
「………..Okay, I’ll be careful」
「It’s alright Erika-sama ～. I’m here ～」
