The Runaway Heroine is Too Good at Escaping

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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After that, silence filled the space between Simone and me as we walked together.

 

I wished Simone would confront me directly about my identity, but he just maintained a subtle smile.

 

‘What does he want?’

 

Is he planning to report me to Princess Eva? I need to figure out his intentions first….

 

As I tried to read his mind while walking, I finally spotted Arkhangelo and Ghieuspe in the distance. Have Raffaelo and Ghieuspe already finished clearing the area?

 

“Gyaaah….”

 

A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I saw them. Being alone with Simone was nerve-wracking.

 

“Hey, are you alright?”

 

“Arkhangelo!”

 

I quickly hid behind Arkhangelo.

 

I expected him to speak in an irritated voice, telling me not to be a bother, but instead, Arkhangelo looked at me with a somewhat flustered expression and then turned his attention to Simone.

 

“Did he scare you or something? Well, his personality is a bit messed up, isn’t it?”

 

It was best not to show that I was afraid of Simone.

 

“What. Are. You. Talking. About? I’m. Not. Scared.”

 

“Give up the act.”

 

“…….….”

 

As I stayed silent, a voice suddenly broke in.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“Oh my, Ghieuspe! You’re talking to me?”

 

“……..….”

 

“I’m okay now. Thanks for worrying about me.”

 

“That’s a relief then.”

 

“Wow!”

 

Ghieuspe spoke two whole sentences, and both were to express concern for me!

 

“Where’s Raffaelo?”

 

“Raffaelo went down to bring the soldiers that stationed nearby from this place. He said he would be back soon with soldiers to arrest these people.”

 

“Didn’t you think they might escape in the meantime?”

 

“It’s fine. We’ve secured the leader, and Ghieuspe used his magic.”

 

“By the way, I found something that seems to belong to Aurora.”

 

When I pointed to the golden box, Ghieuspe nodded.

 

“…….….”

 

Hmm, so this must be Aurora’s box?

 

I think I’m starting to understand the different silences of Ghieuspe.

 

After a while, Raffaelo returned with the soldiers.

 

The soldiers were surprised to see the bandits, subdued by Ghieuspe’s magic, lying on the ground.

 

The captives burst into tears once more, relieved to see the soldiers who had come to rescue them.

 

“These guys have been a problem around here for a long time, but I didn’t expect them to be dealt with so easily!”

 

One of the soldiers, who seemed to be in charge, smiled and extended his hand to Raffaelo.

 

“Thank you for stepping in personally. You will be officially commended by the state for this.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“And you managed to subdue them without any injuries. Are you a mage?”

 

Raffaelo briefly rolled his eyes, shrugged, and answered.

 

“Yes, we are a mage.”

 

“I see. That’s amazing…. The military is also trying to incorporate magical engineering to enhance our defense capabilities, but it seems we still can’t match real mage. Haha.”

 

The soldier’s words seemed intended to praise us, but Raffaelo didn’t take it well. As someone who took pride in choosing the path of a soldier over a mage, he didn’t appreciate the comment.

 

“Well, I think soldiers are quite impressive too.”

 

“Oh, but….”

 

“Enough with the flattery.”

 

Raffaelo spoke through gritted teeth, causing the soldier to shut his mouth.

 

At that moment, I noticed something and tilted my head.

 

“Who is that person?”

 

Among the soldiers, there was a man who wasn’t wearing a uniform.

 

“Oh, he’s a reporter. He heard that the problem in this village was resolved and wanted to write about it in the local newspaper.”

 

“I see. Make sure you get my good side.”

 

Arkhangelo suddenly lowered his gaze, adopting what he thought was his most elegant expression. It was a bit absurd, but in any case, we took a photo with Arkhangelo.

 

After the commotion, the bandit incident was finally resolved. We also safely retrieved our belongings.

 

The male leads praised each other as they led the horse loaded with our luggage down the mountain path.

 

“Raffaelo, you fought well as always.”

 

“I agree.”

 

“If Ghieuspe says so, it must have been really impressive.”

 

“Well, it’s nothing compared to you capturing the leader. Your skills haven’t diminished at all.”

 

“It was just one person.”

 

“That one person was the strongest. Ghieuspe, your magic seems to be improving every day.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

“Oh, it was just a compliment, so there’s no need to confirm it like that.”

 

“By the way, Seraphina was amazing too.”

 

Their conversation topic shifted to me.

 

“Thanks for helping earlier. I almost got caught.”

 

“Hahaha, no problem….”

 

“Simone said you were the one who cornered the leader?”

 

“It wasn’t a big deal….”

 

While I awkwardly brushed off the compliments, I noticed that someone beside me was unusually quiet.

 

I glanced at Arkhangelo.

 

His expression was…

 

‘Oh, this is awkward.’

 

Arkhangelo was clearly feeling down.

 

He was trying to hide it with an arrogant expression, but normally, he would have already complained about his legs hurting. The fact that he wasn’t doing so was proof enough.

 

In fact, there was a strange sadness in his red eyes.

 

Until now, Arkhangelo never seemed to feel any inferiority about not possessing combat abilities.

 

He even once told me to protect him because he was weaker than me. He was a shameless man who openly admitted his weaknesses.

 

Hmm, but suddenly seeing him this vulnerable…

 

Should I pretend not to notice, or should I comfort him?

 

As I pondered this, we reached the edge of the mountain.

 

Since we had spent time catching the bandits, we decided to spend another night at the inn in the village.

 

However, when we opened the door to the inn, an unexpected scene greeted us.

 

“Whuaaah!”

 

The people drinking inside cheered and threw their drinks into the air when they saw us.

 

“Ew, how filthy.”

 

Arkhangelo grumbled and stepped back, and I followed suit.

 

Ignoring us, the people in the inn excitedly shouted.

 

“We heard the news! You defeated the bandits, didn’t you?”

 

“Those bandits were such a nuisance, and you took care of them so cleanly!”

 

“What, the news has already spread?”

 

When Raffaelo said this in a smug voice, the people became even more excited and loud.

 

“Hooray! Let’s have a feast tonight!”

 

“A feast!”

 

“Let’s gather all the villagers!”

 

…What this? This is too much to make such events.

 

Even Raffaelo, who had just been showing off, seemed a bit taken aback, with his mouth twitching.

 

Meanwhile, the innkeeper started preparing a feast by carrying out loads of meat.

 

“What? Are they really throwing a feast for us?”

 

“I’m surprised too, but it seems so.”

 

“Well, since it’s come to this, let’s just enjoy it. Arkhangelo, you like this kind of thing, don’t you?”

 

“Hmph, I didn’t do anything to deserve this, so how can I enjoy a feast?”

 

…Arkhangelo was subtly showing that he wasn’t in a good mood.

 

I tried to pretend not to notice, but this made it impossible to ignore!