Rumors (2)

"Rokbel is not only safe, but he seems to be doing very well at the orphanage."

"Doing really well?"

"The orphanage has always had a great reputation, and Rokbel has already made many friends there."

"Have you personally gone and seen?"

"Yes. He wanted to see his brother Grobel. Apart from that, there were no special issues."

At Selena's words, I nodded. I asked what was bothering me.

"What about Gregory? Have you looked into it?"

"Gregory did not contact Rokbel."

"Are you confident about that?"

"Rokbel said so himself, and we confirmed the orphanage's entry and exit records. Rokbel did not meet any personnel from outside, including Gregory."

Rokbel is the brother of a mercenary. If not Gregory, there would be no reason for anyone else to meet Rokbel.

I was somewhat relieved. It appeared Grobel's worries would be alleviated for the time being. Of course, I must intermittently check as I am not sure when Gregory might attempt to contact Rokbel.

"The problem is, where Gregory is right now."

If Gregory had contacted Rokbel, we could have traced Gregory's movements from there, but it's hard to find him this way.

Then, Selena put her hand on her chest and spoke.

"Lord Frondier, may I speak my mind, even if it may seem impertinent?"

"You don't need to worry about being impertinent, just drop the formalities."

"While investigating, I found out that there are numerous rumors of unknown origin circulating in Constel right now. Most of them were false rumors, but among them, there were quite a few stories with high credibility."

"Oh, like Aster freely using Aura, or Elodie succeeding in the tri-element combination?"

Those were the rumors that were so famous they reached me. There were also many rumors about me.

"Yes. Including those rumors, the number is excessively high."

"......Ah. Then Pascal too?"

I realized what Selena was trying to say. Selena nodded.

"There's a possibility that Pascal 'misunderstood' that you, Lord Frondier, use Aura, which could be one of those rumors."

I crossed my arms and thought.

Only Gregory could misunderstand me using aura. Assuming this as a fact.

It's true that Gregory got in touch with Pascal. And the rumors currently pouring out randomly within Constel.

"Is Gregory intentionally spreading rumors in Constel?"

I spat out as if I was talking to myself.

[A subquest has been generated]

[Subquest: A rumor begets a rumor]

Description: Rumors are spreading simultaneously in the Imperial Palace and Constel. Find the mastermind amidst the mixture of fake and real whispers.

Objective: Find and subdue the culprit spreading random rumors

Reward: +2 simultaneous weaving amount

Failure may result in the loss of named characters.

When I checked, a quest notification popped up on my smartwatch.

Constel aside, the Imperial Palace too. It seemed they were suffering from a similar headache.

The quest indicated that the incidents in Constel and the Imperial Palace were not unrelated.

When I played the game, the quest gave rewards according to Aster, but finally the quest's reward is tailored to me.

Increasing the number of simultaneous weavings is always a good thing.

By the way, this damned quest keeps threatening the lives of named characters.

"Lord Frondier, also, from what I've checked,"

"There seems to be a similar situation in the Imperial Palace. It seems to be related to spreading rumors in Constel."

"......That's right. You're amazing. You're collecting other information besides me."

Selena spoke as if she was admiring. Well, there's no way to explain this, so let's leave it alone.

By the way, a similar incident is happening in the Imperial Palace. Moreover, Pascal is a knight of the Imperial Palace.

......I should let him know, right?

But do I have a way to meet him from my side?

* * *

"Pascal became a teacher?"

Empress Philly was a little surprised at the news that came in today. The image of Pascal she had in mind and 'teacher' didn't match well.

The maid serving Philly nodded her head.

"Yes. He is said to be in charge of basic combat training in Constel."

"Basic combat skills...... I wonder what Pascal can teach."

The knight next to Philly carefully started a conversation, noticing Philly's sigh.

"Your Majesty, isn't Pascal an excellent knight?"

"He is excellent. A knight with outstanding talent. That's why he can't teach people. Because he can't understand the hardships of others."

Pascal is the most promising knight in the royal family. He strongly expressed his desire to become the escort knight of Empress Philly, but Philly personally rejected it.

"Your Majesty, you seem to be very stingy with your evaluation of Pascal. Although he's a bit distracted, there's no big problem with his character, and his skills are excellent, aren't they?"

"I'm not stingy~ But to become my escort knight, that's not nearly enough."

Philly denied it with a wave of her hand.

She knows it herself.

Philly is very stingy with her assessment of Pascal.

"What about Sir Robert, since you mentioned the escort knight?"

As the knight asked, Philly's face darkened.

Philly had sent Robert, her escort knight, to Tyburn. It's been quite a while ago. But she hasn't issued a return order yet.

The reason was that her previous intuition was correct.

'Premonition can sometimes be tiring.'