Eventually the carriage I had been calling for arrived, so I said a quick goodbye to Sylvia and the others who seemed to be missing out, and decided to head to my next destination with Garnett, who was exhausted.

　I would have liked to meet Noir, Alexia and the others, but that's a story for another time.

　The destination is the inn where my relatives in my hometown are staying.
　Abigail said she was going to pick up her luggage and took a separate trip, so it's just me and Garnett who are heading there.

　When a knight from a civilian background invites his relatives to a ceremony, the travel expenses are basically paid out of the knight's group, so I didn't make my parents spend extra money.

　In addition, this time the funds should come from Mark's Purple Junior Knights, but the combination of that will probably be adjusted later.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with this particular person.

　On the other hand, I, on the contrary to Garnett, was tensing up as the carriage approached the inn.

　The reason, of course, is Mark's presence.

　Like me, it's not surprising that that guy thought about joining his people as soon as the ceremony was over.

　Then there's a good chance we'll run into each other in the future.

　With this in mind, the carriage carrying me arrived at the inn without any trouble.

　--But what was waiting for me was a disappointing reality.

"Sightseeing in the royal capital, sir?
Yes, sir. Your party has departed with you.

　When I tried to ask for my relatives at the front desk, they told me that they had already gone out for sightseeing.

　I didn't have time to contact them beforehand, so I thought this situation could happen, but I didn't expect them to be right.

　But the bad thing was that I couldn't tell them I was going to visit them.

　I'll have to pull out for now, and we'll have to wait until another time to meet with everyone and Garnett.

　I asked the front desk to give me a message and then went back to my room at the inn.




'Aww, I'm so tired!

　As soon as she entered the room, Garnett raised her voice without reservation and sat down in a chair.

　Her clothes are still the same as they were when she acted as a young lady, but her tone and behavior have completely reverted to her normal one.

''As expected, aren't you opening your legs too wide?''
It's okay. You're the only one around here.

　Perhaps as a reaction to the neat and serene expression she had been acting all this time, Garnett retorted while distorting her eyes and mouth in a grand manner.

　The figure of Garnett, who is sitting in a skirt that seems to have been fully swept up in decorativeness, and who is sitting with her legs open as usual, is not very likely to be shown to the other guys.

　I'm not talking about the fact that she hides her gender, but even if they know her real gender.

I mean, you can take it off. You don't mind, do you?
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Don't do that. You didn't bring a change of clothes.
'Hahaha!　Don't bother with the details!

　Garnet laughed, clearly in a teasing mood.

　He seemed to be joking, but I have a feeling he could really take it off if he wasn't careful.

'...... I'm sorry about today. I went out of my way to bring you around and you mostly struck out.
It's all good. If I'd met everyone as planned, I'd probably have a couple of bad words to say to them. I'm just glad it was only with Sylvia that they were playing with me.

　Garnett smiles with exaggerated hand gestures.

　Until now, A(r)ma(...) rarely appeared to the members of the knightly order, and she was treated as a deep-windowed daughter who only appeared on the front stage on special occasions.

　Inevitably, the opponents who faced her in that form, whether they were knights or nobles, would have treated Alma with behavior appropriate to the time and place.

　In other words, it must not be an exaggeration to say that the experience of dealing with a girlish girl like Sylvia is close to none.

　I'm sure you'll find a lot of people who have a wide range of friendships in spite of their families.

It's a good idea to have a good time with them.
'Maybe they will. The others would believe it if Sylvia and the others told them.
Yes!　It feels like a bit of a weight off my shoulders. It would be great if we could just get the rest of it done and get it all out there.

　Garnett looked sincerely refreshed and slouched, letting his entire body weight rest on the chair.

　It was a word that he let loose quite comfortably, but he couldn't help but feel heavy when he thought of the background.

　-- The reason why Garnett hides her gender, is because she continues to belong to the Silver Wing Knights, whose main mission is to investigate crimes and maintain security in order to hunt down her mother's avenger, the mithril trafficking organization Agart Ram.

　The Silver Wing Knights have a tradition of having only male members, and thanks to his brother, the Knight Commander, Garnett was able to join the group with his identity secret.

　To finish what you have to do and blurt everything out means that you will complete the investigation against Agart Ram and avenge your mother.

Hey, Garnett, I've been thinking about this for a long time. I've been wondering for a while now, which face do you plan to spend your time with in the future when you won't have to hide your gender?
'What?　Does that mean it's Alma or me on a regular basis?

　Garnett looked up at the ceiling, thought about it often, and then gave a vague response.

'At first I thought I'd marry the right guy and live like Alma, as I promised your father ...... now, but now I don't know. I rather think you'd rather be the one.
...... me?
Of course. If you want to pick a side, I'll pick a side.

　Tilting her head only to me, Garnett smiled wanly.

　It was neither a bitter smile nor a silly laugh, but a smile that fits the expression "smile" well.

　When I was presented with a choice that was so difficult to make that I was forced to shut up, Garnett waved her hand in a flutter.

It's not that we have to decide right now. Let's take our time and think it over.
Yeah, ...... right.

　If we're going to be responsible for what's to come, this is still a question we can't avoid.

　If not right now, it's something that we both have to answer at some point.

　As I was thinking about this, there was a knock on the door of my room and Abigail came in.

'You're home early. Were your parents out?
Yeah, I'm afraid I struck out. By the way, what was that package you went home to get?
'Here's a change of clothes for you, Miss. I thought you might want to change right away anyway.
Really?

　Garnett raised his voice to show his temper at Abigail's consideration.

　Abigail handed the bag she was holding to Garnett and then offered me a sealed letter she had in her pocket.

'This is a letter addressed to Mr. Luke. I left it at the front desk.
Sorry. Um, the sender is ...... what?

　-- the name on it was more than enough to harden my mood, which was on the verge of loosening up.