Chapter 48: Only Request

Miss Grace was putting our order on the table, two bowls of soup with vegetables floating in the liquid, when I started to hear someone yelling outside.

“What is all that commotion out there?” I asked Justine, now sitting on the opposite side of the table.

“Who knows.” Justine said with a shrug, clearly more interested in the food in front of her. I looked at the bowl in front of me, and sincerely, I couldn’t blame her.

It was a simple soup, but I could tell by the aroma that it was delicious. I guided a spoonful of the meal toward my mouth, ready to savor those vegetables, when the sudden creak of the entrance door stopped my hand a short distance from my lips.

“Bernardo?!” I cried in shock when the tall and muscular guy stormed through the front door.

“Captain… the white-haired one is here… outside!” he said to us in a gasping voice.

I stood up as soon as his words entered my ears. The soup looked good, but duty was calling me. If we let her escape, we could lose track of the princess.

“Let’s go, Justine!” I said to my closest underling, but she didn’t move an inch from her meal. On the contrary, she was still ferociously eating.

“Wait a moment…” she said with her mouth full. When she noticed her own bad habit, she gulped the soup down her throat. “I’m still eating.”

’How can someone eat soup with this intensity?’ I thought while looking at my friend eating. Then I asked her, “What is more important, a plate of soup or our missi—”

“The soup, of course,” she said, extending an empty bowl toward Ms. Grace. “More, please.”

“Oh my,” said Ms. Grace with a cheerful smile on her face. “You have quite an appetite.”

“People have been saying that to me since I was young.” Justine casually said to the inn owner, as if my urgent call didn’t matter to her. Of course, that made me even angrier.

“Justine!” I shouted at her, scaring even Ms. Grace, who hadn’t done anything wrong. However, Justine acted as usual.

“I’m terrible at pursuing. I would just get in your way, so it’s better for everyone if I stay here.” she replied to me in a monotonic voice.

“You are really a lazy woman, you know that?” I said, looking at her with narrowed eyes.

She ignored me and focused her energy on finishing her second bowl. I kept looking at her slim body, imagining where all the food she ate went. Her boob size didn’t match with that.

“Forget it!” I said in a loud tone. “Let’s go, Bernardo!”

I left the inn in a rush, leaving Justine with her food, and there she was. Wearing a full white suit covering her body was the white-haired Assassin, staring at me with cold amethyst eyes. Diane, once a bodyguard of the royal family, was carrying someone on her shoulders. She was some meters away from me, but I could tell her hostage was a woman. ’Alicia?!’

I couldn’t see her face because it was covered with a hood. Something was telling me that something was wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

’No! She’s a fugitive regardless, and I’m not planning on letting her escape from me.’ I thought inwardly, deciding to take her down.

I pulled my weapon out of its case, an accuracy rifle. I quickly loaded it with special ammo for her.

They weren’t regular bullets. They were magical bullets, capable of generating a magical side effect on my target and the surroundings. It wasn’t as flexible as magical spells, but I didn’t need more possibilities beyond helping me hit my target.

’In her case, since she has so much mobility, an electric bullet might do the trick.’ I thought while aiming at the ground next to her.

A crisping sound echoed through the street when I shot. My first shot wasn’t meant to kill her, but to slow her down. When the magical bullet struck the roof, bluish lightning exploded across the surroundings. Sadly, Diane was fast enough to escape the magical effect.

“W-What are you doing?!” James cried out to me, as if I had done something horrible. “You ordered us to bring the girl alive!”

“Ah, don’t worry. My electric bullets aren’t strong enough to kill a human. They only cause paralysis.” I responded to my underling.

“B-But if she trips, Captain?” Bernardo asked me in a worried voice.

“That’s why I have two manly officers by my side. Follow them on the ground and protect the hostage from falling. Don’t worry about the white-haired one.”

Diane, of course, didn’t want to stay in the same place and get hit by a bullet, so she started jumping across the rooftops.

“You’re not going anywhere. Not against me.”

…

Almost everybody was looking outside the inn, except for two people. The first one was Justine. Even with the sound of explosions caused by Erina’s bullets, she was still eating as if the world around her were perfectly peaceful. She looked like she was truly enjoying her food.

The second one was Ms. Grace. I was at the top of the stairs, signaling her to come close to me and Alicia. Thankfully, she noticed and came to help.

“I think it’s better if you escape through the back of the building.” Ms. Grace said.

“Is it a good idea to pass through the tavern with that girl there?” Alicia asked, referring to Justine. It was true that she was busy eating, but it wasn’t wise to risk passing right in front of her.

“It’s a bit troublesome, but I have another idea. Follow me.” Grace said, and together we walked until we reached the last room on the first floor, which she easily opened with one of her keys.

“Luckily, this room isn’t occupied for now, so it won’t be a problem for you to do it.” she said.

“What do you mean by ’do it’?” I asked her.

“What else could it be, silly? Jump through the window.”

“I see…” I barely replied. It was over two meters from the first floor to the ground, so I wasn’t very happy with that idea. Sadly, I didn’t have a better one, so I decided to go through with it.

“Thank you for your help, Ms. Grace.” Alicia said, giving a small bow to the woman in front of her.

Ms. Grace gave her a cheerful smile, stroking her head with kindness.

“You are such a kind girl, Alicia. I would like to have a girl like you as my daughter.” she said, then turned to me.

I felt guilt when she looked me in the eyes. She had lied to a Silver Fang officer and helped us until the end, but if she asked me why all of this was happening at her inn, I couldn’t tell her the truth. For her own sake, she shouldn’t know it.

But I didn’t expect the beautiful lady to lean toward me and give me a kiss on the cheek.

“I think you got involved in something complicated. But the Rick and Sarah I know wouldn’t do anything wrong. I’ll just ask you one thing in return for my help.” Ms. Grace said to me.

“And what would it be?” I asked, still dumbfounded after receiving the kiss of the most desired woman in town in such a hurry.

“Fufufu.” she gave me a playful smile, as if I had said something really funny. Then she looked me in the eyes, her expression warm, like a mother saying goodbye to her son.

“Alicia is too delicate, and Sarah is pretty stubborn sometimes. I was worried she wouldn’t get married.” she said, sighing as if imagining Sarah in trouble.

Ms. Grace had known me and Sarah since we were young. After Sarah’s parents were killed by monsters, she helped us as much as she could. She lent me a hand when my father fell ill, and after his death, she kind of adopted me.

We helped her with the inn until we were old enough to adventure on our own. The mayor paid us to get rid of monsters, and then we started paying her for our stay. Money couldn’t repay our debt to the lady in front of me.

“So I was really happy when I knew you two were together.”

She stopped to caress Alicia, then gave me a small bow. “So please, protect Alicia and Sarah. That’s my only request.”

Words couldn’t express how much I appreciated her kindness and trust in me. I was paralyzed by her gesture, but I nodded.

“Thank you, Rick. When everything is settled, don’t forget to come back. I’ll keep your room intact until then.” she said, her eyes closed and her smile as bright as ever.

I smiled at her finally, my mind finally thinking straight. “Don’t worry. Me, Sarah, and Alicia. We’ll all come back here.”

“Sure you will.” she said to me.

Then I turned toward the window. The two-meter fall seemed smaller after our talk, and without thinking twice, I jumped through it, preparing for the impact.

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