Chapter 274

The news brought by the soldier naturally plunged Count Astram’s mansion into chaos.

Upon hearing the news, Count Astram, who had maintained a gentle demeanor throughout the meal, reacted with a mix of shock and anger that was unimaginable from his earlier appearance.

It was only natural, as he had just learned that his only daughter was in danger shortly after lunch.

“Rosemary was attacked by an Abnormal Bird?! What nonsense is this?!”

“W-well… Actually, Lady Rosemary left with a few soldiers shortly after lunch and headed to the outskirts of Astram. There, she encountered an Abnormal Bird that had lost its leader and wandered into the outskirts of Astram…”

*BANG!*

“That’s not the point! Why did Rosemary take soldiers and go outside without reporting to me?!”

The soldier who brought the news stammered, unable to respond to Count Astram’s furious outburst, as the usually calm Count rarely showed such anger.

“W-well… Actually…”

“…It’s because of me.”

At that moment, Yuri stepped forward, her face pale.

“What did you say?”

“I had a fight with Rosemary…”

Yuri then began to hesitantly explain what had happened between them after lunch.

—

Rewinding time a bit…

“Rosemary, don’t you think it’s time to stop crying?”

“W-who said I was crying!? *Sniff*…”

Not long after Rosemary stormed out of the dining room, she was still sniffling in frustration, and Yuri was trying to comfort her.

“Hmph! Father too, bowing his head to adventurers…!”

But even Yuri’s comfort had its limits.

Though she had come to console Rosemary, Yuri couldn’t tolerate Rosemary’s excessive insults toward adventurers, especially in front of her, who aspired to become one.

So, Yuri’s expression turned cold, and she spoke in a stern voice.

“Rosemary, I’ve ignored your words until now, but I can’t stand you badmouthing adventurers in front of me, especially when you lump Kurt, the adventurer I respect the most, into your insults.”

“What? Are you criticizing me too?”

“I’m not criticizing you. I’m just asking you to stop slandering adventurers.”

“Hmph. Even if you say that, my opinion won’t change. Do you know who has to deal with the mess adventurers make every night? How can you like those adventurers?!”

“That’s only some adventurers! Kurt is a good adventurer who doesn’t resort to violence or try to dominate others, and his companions are the same!”

“I can’t believe it! Even if what you say is true, I…”

Despite Yuri’s warning, Rosemary refused to back down, and the atmosphere between the two quickly turned icy.

Unable to bear the uncomfortable silence, Rosemary suddenly stood up and shouted at Yuri.

“Father and you! All you talk about is adventurers! Adventurers! Are adventurers really that great? Who do you think works day and night for Astram? Adventurers are just ruffians running wild on the soil Father has worked so hard to cultivate!”

“What did you say? Do you think Astram could last even a week without adventurers, when monsters appear several times more here than in other cities?”

“Grr…! Even without adventurers…! Astram can be defended by soldiers alone!”

What started as a small disagreement quickly escalated into a serious argument, with both raising their voices.

“Hmph! How do you plan to defend Astram? Most of Astram’s military strength comes from adventurers! By saying that, aren’t you just leeching off the security adventurers have built for Astram?”

“Leeching!? Are you done?!”

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“Ugh! Astram can be defended by soldiers alone! I’ll prove it!”

As their emotions reached a boiling point, they hurled insults at each other, and in the end, Rosemary, unable to control her emotions, stormed out of the room.

“Hmph! It’d be a miracle if you could even take down a single Iron-rank monster!”

—

After explaining the situation, Yuri buried her face in her hands, filled with guilt.

She had thought it would be safe since high-risk monsters near the outskirts of Astram were usually hunted down, but she had underestimated the danger.

“I… I provoked Rosemary instead of comforting her…”

“No, it’s my fault as her father for not paying enough attention to her…”

After hearing Yuri’s explanation, Count Astram slumped into his seat, looking as if he had aged several years.

At that moment…

“Right now, what’s important isn’t that.”

“You are…”

“Kurt!”

Kurt entered the Count’s office.

Having reached the level of a master, Kurt could clearly hear the commotion in the mansion as if he were right next to it.

He had come to the Count’s office immediately after overhearing the servants’ conversations.

“What’s important now isn’t why the Abnormal Bird appeared near Astram or whose fault it is that Rosemary took soldiers outside. What matters is rescuing her as quickly as possible.”

“Yes! You’re right! We must gather the soldiers immediately…!”

But Kurt stopped the Count and stepped forward.

“No, gathering the soldiers will take too long. Instead, prepare a carriage. I’ll handle the hunt myself.”

“I heard the story! I’ll help too!”

“Right! We can’t just ignore this after being treated to a meal!”

Mari and Serena, who had somehow heard the news, also joined in, offering to help Count Astram.

“You all…”

Seeing this, Count Astram’s expression softened.

Despite the negative behavior Rosemary had shown that day, he was moved by their willingness to help save his daughter without any hesitation.

“Don’t be too moved. Think of it as repayment for all the work we’ve done for Astram day and night.”

“Thank you… Truly…”

“But where’s Karina?”

“Should I go look for her?”

“If we have time to be moved, we should be moving. To save time, let’s go with just us. We can’t waste time looking for Karina. Let’s go with this group for now.”

With that, Kurt and his party immediately boarded the carriage prepared by the Count and headed to the outskirts of Astram where Rosemary had been attacked.

—

*Screeeech────!*

“Gahhh!”

The Abnormal Bird let out another screech as it swung its beak, sending another soldier tumbling to the ground.

With the last soldier falling, there was no one left to protect Rosemary.

“Eeek…!”

*Screech!*

With no soldiers left to protect her, the Abnormal Bird slowly approached Rosemary, as if mocking her.

“I-I have to run…! Aah! My leg…!”

Seeing the bird’s terrifying grin, Rosemary desperately tried to back away, but the pain in her leg made it impossible for her to take more than a few steps before she fell.

That was why she hadn’t been able to escape when she first encountered the Abnormal Bird.

The initial attack had injured her leg, leaving Rosemary and her soldiers with no choice but to fight.

But even if they chose to fight, the chances of her soldiers defeating the Abnormal Bird were close to zero.

Since she had taken the soldiers without her father’s knowledge, there were only five to begin with, and one had been sent to request help, leaving only four.

Even though a normal Abnormal Bird is a Silver-rank monster, the soldiers’ skills didn’t measure up to that of Silver-rank adventurers.

“Ugh… It’s all my fault…!”

Cornered, Rosemary, still on the ground, wore an expression of deep frustration.

Adventurers are necessary to protect Astram.

Ironically, by running out to prove that Astram could be defended by soldiers alone, Rosemary had only proven Yuri’s point.

In the end, Yuri was right, and Rosemary was wrong.

And in fact, her father, Count Astram, had been right all along, and her actions had been misguided.

From the beginning, it wasn’t the world that was wrong—it was her.

Rosemary had known this all along.

“Sniff… Sob… Dad… I’m sorry… Sob…”

She just hadn’t wanted to admit it.

But by the time she realized it, it was already too late.

*Screeeech────!*

Just like the monster Kurt had defeated in the forest, the Abnormal Bird approached Rosemary, laughing mockingly as it prepared to strike her with its beak.

*Clang!*

At that moment, a flash of white light flew between Rosemary and the Abnormal Bird, blocking the attack.