Alfine's point of view


　As we ascend from the underground facility to the surface.


　The bodies that had been removed from the underground facilities in Abyss Falls were laid out one by one near the cemetery near the encampment where those who had died in the great raid had been laid to rest.

　Some of the bodies were in various states of decomposition; some were just bones, some were half decomposed, and some hadn't been decomposed long enough.


　The total number of bodies was probably about two hundred.

　I say probably because the bones that had been white-boned were in pieces and it was impossible to know the exact number.


　Meira, Maribel and I were in the graveyard where such bodies were laid out.

　I thought the story of the bodies would soon become a rumor among the adventurers, and since Maribel is a perceptive person, I felt it was useless to hide it, so I brought her ahead of time.


'Maribel ...... I know it's hard, but is your father in here?'


　Maribel, who was clinging to Meira's waist with a bright blue face, goes to look seriously at each of the bodies laid out.


　I'm aware that I'm making a young child miserable, but I'm ...... aware that I'm making a young child miserable.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out on your own, even if you say your father is the only one missing from this situation.


　I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do, but I'm going to be able to tell you what to do.


"Thanks for the ...... brother Al,


　Maribel, with a thin layer of tears in her eyes, thanked me in a faint voice.


You don't need to see it if it's hard for you. I'll tell the Countess of the Frontier about it.

No, this is Maribel's job. I think it's very important for the Countess of the Frontier to know if this is your father's work or not. So I'll do my job.


　Maribel wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with her sleeve, looked at my face for a moment, then returned her gaze to the body.


　A very strong child .......

　And he's a very smart boy.

　He's a far cry from me .......


　After that, she held Maribel's hand for a while, but when her eyes went to the body of one of the beastmen, her body began to tremble.


'That corpse with the big old wound on its back. I think it's Uncle Donto: ......

Uncle Don't?　Not your father?

'Yes, but my uncle came to this place with my father. We're from the same village. ......


　The body with a large old sword wound on its back was one that was still relatively undisturbed by decay.

　Considering that Maribel had been hiding in the underground facility alone more than three weeks ago, there was a strong possibility that the body had died just about that time, based on the state of decay.


'So that means ......'


　When Meira heard Maribel's story, she looked at the relatively undecorrupted bodies.


　It's roughly about twenty bodies.

　Some of them are scattered, though.

　There's that many of them, right?

　Could it be that those bodies are the ones that Maribel came with from Inverness?


"Maribel. ......

Thank you, Al, brother. I think I did my job well. Please tell the frontier count that your fathers were killed. ......


　As soon as I said that, Maribel's face fell and she began to cry hoarsely.

　I hugged Maribel gently without saying a word.


　The knights and Meira who were around me also began to sob when they saw Maribel.



　-- One week later...


　Excavation of the newly discovered underground facility is still going on, but most of the work has been transferred to the Order of the Knights for confidentiality, and the Adventurer's Guild's branch office has been closed down, which means we're back in the Yggernotes.

　The body we found was buried as it was in the cemetery near the camp.


　After losing her father, Maribel continued to help out in the Adventurer's Guild with a smile, but it was clear to everyone that her smile had a lot of energy.

　We took Maribel in and lived with her at the inn in Ygghanotes that the Frontier Count had prepared for us.


The Earl of the Frontier is calling for you, brother Al, sister Meira!　I need you here ASAP!　Come on, get up early.


　Maribel, who was already awake, stripped me of my blanket when I was asleep.

　Similarly, Meira's blanket has already been stripped off as well.


　When I decided to live with Maribel, I told her my identity and gender, and we made a pact to keep it a secret.

　She is a smart woman who understands the reason for my hiding my identity, and she makes it a point to call me "Brother Al" both inside and outside the house.

　Moreover, during this week of living together, Meira and I have already found ourselves in the position of being looked after by Maribel.


Maribel-chan, I'm sorry, it's just a little while longer!　Huh, please.


　I opened my eyes thinly and saw Meira next to me, clinging to me to get the blanket back from Maribel.


　That made it hard to tell which one of them was the adult .......

　Huh, and yet I'm sleepy .......

　I don't even know how Mayra feels--.


　Gently, I reached out to retrieve the blanket, but it was gone.


Get up, both of you, and--


　Mmm, this might be tougher than you think.

　Shall I surrender and get up?


　I decided to surrender to Maribel just as my hand was about to pick up the blanket.


"Good morning, Maribel.

Good morning!　Brother Al, this is a change of clothes.　Here you go!


　Maribel handed me a change of clothes in her hand and jumped on top of Mayra's body, who was still struggling to get up in bed.


'Sister Mayra, wake up!　Maribel will make you change while you're asleep, you know.

'Ugh, that's good!　I don't want to wake up. ......


　Refusing to get up, Meira showed no resistance as she raised her hands and got into a position that made it easier to get dressed.


'Moo. Again.


　Puffing out her cheeks, Maribel had begun to help Meira change her clothes, which she refused to get up.

　This exchange was a regular morning routine that had been going on ever since they had started staying at the inn.


　I know that the loss of her father and other people she knew in the village is a great hurt. ......

　I'm sure that we can help her heal a little bit.

　I'm not at all sure we've been able to do that, but .......


　In fact, I know that Maribel has been sobbing in bed in the middle of the night for the past week, so I was hoping to make her feel a little better.


Meira won't be able to change herself if Maribel keeps letting her change, either.

It's all right. Maribel is going to be my wife.


　That said, Meira was hugging Maribel, who was letting her change clothes.


'Whoever is going to be Maribel's husband has to make money, Mully.

'Higgghhh!　Rame, I'm going to work hard again today!

'Yes, well, I'll be at the Count of the Frontier's in a minute, so get ready. Good luck.

Now get dressed.


　When Maribel handed her a change of clothes, Meira reluctantly stood up and immediately began to change.