Chapter 46

Seeing the girl’s pointed ears, the patrol soldier immediately realized her identity.

Elf.

Elves usually live in the forest, but they are sometimes captured as slaves by humans.

In Goldcastle, it’s not uncommon to see such elf slaves, so the patrol soldier wasn’t particularly surprised that the girl was an elf.

However, the elf slaves he usually saw in Goldcastle were a bit different from this girl.

Elf slaves usually wore shackles around their necks and had gloomy faces, as if they had lost all hope, but this girl was different.

No shackles around her neck, and her face wasn’t gloomy.

An expressionless face.

With just that expressionless face, the girl was holding onto the patrol soldier’s baton.

“What’s this?”

The patrol soldier tried to retrieve his baton. But the baton held by the girl didn’t budge.

“Dare you interfere with the patrol’s duties?”

Interfering with the patrol in the city is a serious crime.

Depending on the situation, summary execution isn’t even considered a crime.

Unless the other party is a high-ranking noble, a mere little girl, and not even human but a different race, drawing a sword and cutting her head off wouldn’t be a problem.

“Such a cheeky brat.”

The patrol soldier let go of the baton and tried to draw his sword from his waist.

He didn’t intend to kill the elf girl, but he thought she would be scared and back off if he drew his sword.

But the moment the patrol soldier grabbed the sword hilt, a chilling voice came from behind.

“The cheeky one is you, lowly human.”

The patrol soldier flinched and turned around.

Behind him stood a blonde girl in a dress and a giant silver wolf.

On the silver wolf’s head sat a small winged creature. Probably a fairy.

“Who are you…?”

The patrol soldier asked, looking at the blonde girl.

The blonde girl’s attire was luxurious, and her gaze was particularly haughty, making her look like a high-ranking noble lady.

So, the patrol soldier slightly softened his attitude.

“I’m currently on official duty. I don’t know which family’s young lady you are, but interfering with official duties is problematic.”

Of course, he only slightly softened his attitude and had no intention of backing down.

In Goldcastle, the Baraton Family is king.

Since he’s following the orders of the Baraton Family, there’s no reason to back down from other nobles, especially a little girl like this.

The blonde girl raised the corner of her mouth.

“I have no interest in what humans do. The important thing is that you’re trying to draw your sword against Lady Ariel without knowing your place. Go ahead, draw it. The moment you do, I’ll turn your body into ashes.”

“……”

The patrol soldier quickly scanned the blonde girl from head to toe.

The dress the blonde girl wore was made of high-quality material but was wrinkled all over.

Even the buttons were misaligned, and the sleeves were folded, making it look untidy upon closer inspection.

Her hair was tied up, but it didn’t look like it was done carefully; it was just haphazardly tied.

‘No escort knights either.’

By those standards, this blonde girl might not be a noble.

Even if she were, she might be from a fallen lower-ranking family.

Looking closely, her companions were also ridiculous.

A wolf, a fairy, and an elf. At this point, hitting them with a baton and driving them away wouldn’t be a problem.

But there was one thing that bothered him.

‘Why is that wolf so big…? How did it even get into the city…?’

The moment he attacked the blonde girl or drew his sword against the elf girl, that giant silver wolf would probably pounce.

The patrol soldier had trained his body since childhood and had practiced swordsmanship professionally before joining the patrol, but he wasn’t confident in facing this giant silver wolf.

At least three patrol soldiers would be needed to subdue this silver wolf.

‘I need to call for backup.’

The patrol soldier put the whistle hanging around his neck into his mouth.

The moment he blew this whistle, patrol soldiers would come running soon.

Then he could throw these ridiculous brats into prison for interfering with official duties.

But.

“……”

The patrol soldier couldn’t blow the whistle.

Because a magic circle had already lit up beneath his feet.

A purple, flashing magic circle.

At a glance, it was a high-level magic circle.

The patrol soldier looked up and saw the blonde girl again.

The blonde girl still had a relaxed smile and was ready to snap her fingers.

The moment she snapped her fingers, the magic would activate, and whatever magic it was, the patrol soldier wouldn’t survive.

“What’s wrong, why aren’t you doing anything? Do what you want.”

The blonde girl urged, but the patrol soldier couldn’t move. Sweat was dripping from the hand holding the whistle.

“Do it quickly~”

“……”

The patrol soldier finally dropped the whistle.

He could handle the elf girl, and with backup, he could subdue the silver wolf, but a mage was a different story.

If he wasn’t careful, he could be wiped out by the mage. Moreover, mages often had higher status than nobles.

Whether they were a disciple cherished by the Magic Tower Master or a genius with the potential to become a great mage…

“Y-you’re a mage. I didn’t realize. Are you from the Magic Tower?”

The patrol soldier asked while subtly stepping back.

He even showed a servile attitude by raising both hands to show he had no intention of attacking.

There was no other way. Life is precious. There’s no need to risk one’s life just to drive away a couple of vagrant brats.

“I’m not a mage.”

The blonde girl retorted bluntly, but the patrol soldier didn’t hear it. Right now, getting out of this situation was more important.

“Then, excuse me…!”

The patrol soldier forced an awkward smile and stepped back, and fortunately, no one stopped him.

*

After the patrol soldier disappeared, Ariel threw the baton she was holding far away.

Then she looked at the two vagrant children crouching on the ground.

A red-haired boy and girl.

Both were around ten years old. Outwardly, they didn’t seem much different from Ariel or Rakia.

In any case, their appearance clearly showed they were street vagrants.

Their hair, faces, and clothes were all dirty, and their cheeks were hollow, as if they hadn’t eaten for days.

Ariel took out food from her inventory.

She took out two precious cream breads, which were almost gone, some emergency jerky, and a warm stew she had obtained from somewhere, and gave them to the two children.

The short-haired boy, who seemed to be the older brother, initially glared at Ariel as if wary, but when the food appeared, he greedily pounced on it.

However, he took care of his long-haired younger sister first before eating himself.

Munch munch.

It didn’t take long for the two children to finish the food.

The food Ariel had taken out was quickly gone, and only then did the two children look at Ariel with satisfied faces.

“Thank you, elf.”

When the boy said that, someone smacked the back of his head. It was Rakia, who was standing nearby.

“Call her Lady Ariel, human.”

“……”

The boy looked a bit upset, but he didn’t dare to confront Rakia.

He had witnessed the magic circle beneath the patrol soldier’s feet and heard the patrol soldier call her a mage.

If you mess with a mage, you could die.

“T-thank you, Lady Ariel.”

“You should say ‘thank you very much.'”

“Thank you very much.”

The boy obediently followed Rakia’s correction.

And beside him, the boy’s younger sister also bowed her head and greeted Ariel.

“T-thank you… Lady Ariel…”

The younger sister’s voice was almost a whisper. She seemed to be shy, but Rakia didn’t pick on that.

“Then, goodbye.”

Ariel said that and turned around.

She had saved the two children and given them food, but it was only because they happened to catch her eye.

She didn’t know their circumstances, and while they surely had a pitiful story, she couldn’t take responsibility for their lives.

So, she helped but didn’t interfere, that was her thought.

As Ariel started walking, Rakia, Ghost, and Roo followed her.

Watching the departing group, the boy suddenly stood up.

“H-hey!”

“?”

Ariel stopped and looked back at the boy.

The boy forced a smile and said,

“I-I’m Sion. And this is my sister Clara. Thank you for saving us and giving us food. I’ll definitely repay you someday. I’m going to become a hero soon! I’m planning to pull out Excalibur!”

At Sion’s words, Roo, sitting on Ghost’s head, chuckled.

“A brat who can’t even eat properly becoming a hero? I’d become one faster.”

And Rakia glared at Sion.

“I’m the hero. Don’t get cocky, human.”

And Ariel just didn’t say anything.

“……”

After a moment of silence, Roo suddenly made a serious face and muttered,

“…Wait, come to think of it, isn’t that how it usually goes? A vagrant kid wandering the city one day pulls out the hero’s sword, that sounds more plausible, doesn’t it?”

“I’m the hero.”

Rakia repeated, and Ariel just started walking again.