Paradigm Parasite

Chapter 128: "Selection"

"Oh? What are you doing?"

The man approaches, his voice laced with dismay.

"It looks like you've scattered it all over the place, but I've already put an exclusion order on this house. No matter what you do, no one will come, okay?"

"I know... gosh... I know."

I don't know if I hurt myself, I feel nauseous and I can't breathe well.

I managed to get up, but I feel dead.

There is no chance of winning, to put it bluntly.

That's why I bet on it.

On this one point.

"Heidi-sama!"

Adolfo comes out of the door and rushes over.

The two men from earlier came out from behind her as if they were chasing after her.

I step forward on wobbly legs to protect her.

"I don't know what you're after, but just die for now."

"Ah. I'm sorry, but wouldn't it be better to run away?"

"Ah?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, sir, but just now, for a moment, the wards were..."

"......?"

A knocking on the gate can be heard.

"We're patrols, we saw what looked like an explosion from here! Is there something wrong?"

...thank God.

Thanks to the noise yesterday, there were a lot of knights on patrol, so we thought they would come if we made a loud noise.

Now if we can do something about the magic that's blocking the sound, we can call them in.

It was that little guy who was using magic.

As long as we disturb his concentration, the effect of the magic will be interrupted.

...and stared at it.

It was a thinly based gamble, seen only in context, but somehow we managed to win.

The man looks alternately at the gate and at us, then clucks his tongue loudly and runs off.

The remaining two men follow.

As if to replace them, the gate opens and we see the knights enter.

After checking on the approaching knights, I let go of my consciousness.

"...ugh."

I found myself lying on bed.

My body ...... ached dully here and there, but there was nothing unusual.

"Are you awake?"

I turned my head towards the voice and there was Pasquale sitting in a chair.

"This is..."

"This is my house. You fell unconscious afterwards, so I brought you here and treated you. Do you feel any physical discomfort?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you very much for treating me. And Adolfo..."

"She was with you a while ago, but it seems she had reached her limit, so she's resting in the next room now. I'm the one who should be thanking you. I would be dead if it weren't for you."

"No, more importantly, how long have I been unconscious?"

"A little over half a day. It's already late at night."

I look at the window and sure enough, it's dark outside.

"After that, the Knights rushed in and the bandits retreated. Additional Temple Knights were sent from Gnosis, so we managed to rebuild our defences. The numbers have increased considerably, so they were motivated not to make the same blunders as during the day, and I think they'll be fine."

"Who were they after all?"

"They were hiding their true identities with some kind of magical device, so we don't know exactly who they are, but there aren't many people in this city who could have done something like that. It won't be difficult to uncover their true identity if we take our time, but it won't mean much."

Once the selection process is over, there will be no reason for them to target us in the first place, so there's no point in exposing them.

"Do you think they will come back?"

'It will be fine. There are more Holy Knights, and I've asked for excessive help from the knights who rushed in, so I'm sure they're still patrolling outside?"

"I see."

"Now all we have to do is wait for dawn to decide who will be the head of the family at Father's mansion and this matter will be over. I'm not going to show my face, and I don't think that sister has the guts to come out, so I think it's settled on Adolfo."

...I don't know if that's true.

As for the person called Ettore, from my point of view, who hasn't seen her directly, I'm still uneasy.

With less than half a day to go before the deadline, it's time to hurry up and get on with it if she wants to kill them all.

"It's going to be okay for a while, so just rest there. I'll be in my room, so if you need anything, just call me."

After saying this, she got up and left the room.

I lie down and look at the ceiling.

I've managed to get through it...?

I gently stand up.

I'm a little unsteady on my feet, but it's no problem to walk.

I leave the room and head for the next room.

I tap on the door and call out, but there is no response.

I gently open the door and look inside to find Adolfo asleep on her bed.

As I get closer, I see that she is breathing regularly in her sleep.

I sat on a chair nearby and watched her sleeping face until dawn.

"Heidi-sama... are you sure your body is alright?"

"Yes. I've been treated. I'm fine."

The next morning, I was on my way to Adolfo and her father's mansion.

Adolfo looked at me with worried eyes, but I smiled and told her that I was fine.

In fact, it hurt a little, but not so much that I couldn't move.

I look back and see a few Holy Knights following us.

They are the escort Pasquale gave us before we left the mansion.

And since we chose a busy street to walk on, it would be difficult for anyone to attack us in secret.

In the end, nothing particular happened until we arrived at the mansion.

After that, we were taken to the room of Adolfo's father, the current head of the family, but me and the escorting Holy Knights were waiting in front of the room.

"It's thanks to Heidi-sama that we've come this far! Um, if you don't mind, we'll continue after this ...... No...! I'll do my best!"

Adolfo was about to mumble something, but then she turned around, smiled and went into the room.

I had something on my mind, so I spoke to a servant while I was waiting and she said that Ettore won't be showing up.

I was relieved to hear that.

Adolfo is now safe.

After a while, the door opens and Adolfo appears.

The servants enter the room to replace her.

"Is everything alright?"

I call out to her, and Adolfo slowly turns to me and nods.

"Yes, I'm the head of the house now."

She smiles as she says this.

...... What is it?

Something different -.

"Thank you so much, Lady Heidi. I will do everything in my power to change this house for the better!"

She said this and thanked me with a smile, her usual expression on her face.

Was it my imagination?

I felt like there was something stuck in my mind, but it slipped out of my head when I saw her smile.

"I see. Then the request I accepted is also complete?"

"Yes. The guards from the house will be with me now, so you don't have to worry anymore."

With this, my little fight with her was over.

After that, she saw me off in front of the house and we parted.

Adolfo told me to go, so after receiving my reward at the guild, I went back to the inn alone.

For some reason, the empty room felt strangely spacious, and I felt a little lonely in my heart.

I had only been with Adolfo for one night, but I felt as if we had been there much longer.

I shake my head inwardly to drive out the sentimentality and change my mind.

...Now that our business is done, let's call him back.

No, it's time for me to sort out my feelings too.

I can't stay "him" forever.

--Heidi.

Adolfo's smile comes back.

Yes, she called me Heidi.

I am Heidi.

I'm not Rothfeld anymore.

It's a bit sad, but I'll accept that.

I'm going to sit on the bunk.

So I greet him when he comes back, calling his name.

"... Roe..."

I whispered his name in a small voice.

"Haa...... haa..."

Night.

The place is a corner of the Royal Capital.

A woman was running down a narrow alley.

She was dressed in a luxurious dress, but it was very dirty thanks to her repeated falls.

Why?

She cannot keep her balance.

One of the running woman's arms is halfway gone, and her wounds are somehow frozen.

"Why do I have to go through all this?"

The woman was the eldest daughter of a family.

One day, she was summoned to the house and told that a selection would be made to decide the next head of the family.

The woman thought.

When you're head of the family, you can spend all the family money you want! ...and.

Recently, the amount of money that men contribute to her has been decreasing and she is running out of money.

That's why she decided to take a shot at becoming head of the family.

The woman immediately starts working to become the head of the family.

...but she has no fighting skills. Nor does she have wisdom.

The only thing she has is men to pay tribute.

So why not let those men do it?

Especially the man I recently met is a Red Adventurer, and I hear he is quite strong.

The men were happy to take on my request.

Looking back, that may have been the beginning of the mistake.

The men successfully took care of my brothers, but things started to go wrong when I failed to take out Adolfo, who was supposed to be the easiest of the three.

They got Grimm, but failed to get rid of Pasquale, which meant that the day of the selection was over.

On top of that, the selection came to an end as they were unable to do anything because Adolfo had teamed up with them and fortified their defenses.

It's not pleasant that Adolfo has taken the head of the family, but unfortunately I'll give up because I don't have that much trouble in my life at the moment.

So I thought, just as I was thinking about forgetting about the selection process and having a drink.

On the way to the bar, I was suddenly attacked.

The attacker shot an ice arrow at me.

The first shot hit me in the arm and my frozen arm shattered.

I ran away as quickly as I could, but the ice arrows were shot at me one after another.

The woman - Ettore - ran away desperately, screaming.

She didn't even know that she was being driven into more and more deserted places.

Then her escape is over and the woman reaches the end of the road.

A dead end.

Ettore, realising that she has been cornered, looks back at the sound of footsteps from behind her.

"Hey, hey? Please help me. I don't want to die yet. I'm sorry I tried to kill you!"

The owner of the footprints behind her silently draws the bow in her hand.

The bow sucks in magical power and produces ice arrows.

"Don't be mad, okay? See, we're both safe, so why not? See? Please, Adol--"

The next moment.

An arrow pierces Ettore's forehead.

Her entire body freezes.

Next, it cracked and shattered.

"I am sorry, sister. I can't afford to leave a useless person like you in my house. Oh, please put that away, it's in the way."

She left after a low sneer.

In turn, several shadows walk up to the corpse.

Thus, Ettore disappeared without being seen.

I - Pasquale - let out a small breath and drink the tea made by the servants.

At last, our annoying selection is over and we are free of our cramped life.

I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

But this incident has taught me a good lesson.

I think I'll rethink the house's defences now that I almost died in the bandit attack.

It was unexpected that the Holy Knights who were guarding the house yesterday were easily beaten back.

I myself was sitting on the idea that I would be safe if the Holy Knights were there, so from now on I will also take into account the possibility of escaping.

The problem is that the Holy Knights didn't have the option to run away as well.

But who were those people?

They were so strong and in such a casual attitude that they were willing to follow that sister.

They were probably adventurers or mercenaries.

If they were adventurers, the first name that comes to mind is Melchizedek.

They are the strongest adventuring party in the capital.

After all, it is led by a gold class.

They are different from the rest.

But is that many adventurers willing to follow her?

I stop to think about it.

As long as there is no more reason to be targeted, there is no point in thinking about it.

I changed my mind and decided to put away the documents in front of me.

Tomorrow, the new regime by Adolfo will begin.

What kind of leadership will that little sister give to the house?

I resumed my work with expectations for the future.