Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 97

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 97
“Please, I beg you. Let me meet with the Captain!”
The moment I saw everyone in the shop bow their heads in unison and plead with me, my breath caught in my throat.
When people approach like this, it’s difficult to refuse them outright.
Just as Elysion had said, everyone in the shop truly was a member of the Golden Silver Mercenary Company.
That was when it happened.
Elysion, who had been silently observing the situation until now, stepped forward like a protective knight and positioned me behind him, his displeasure evident.
“What are you doing? Did you bring Tania all the way here just to resort to such pathetic intimidation?”
Confronted with this fierce side of Elysion I’d never seen before, I blinked in bewilderment.
It felt strange seeing him angry when he always wore a relaxed, gentle smile.
Yet precisely because of that intensity, I felt reassured.
Without thinking, I reached out and grasped the hem of Elysion’s shirt.
I had wondered when that ten-year-old boy would finally grow into a man.
Somehow, he had already grown beyond recognition.
Whether he noticed or not that I was holding his shirt hem.
Elysion swept his gaze across the gathered crowd and curved his lips into a cold smile.
“I’m quite skilled at intimidation myself. Shall I give it a try? Let’s see whose threats prove more effective.”
Arthur quickly apologized.
“If it came across as threatening, I sincerely apologize. That wasn’t our intention, but everyone is simply so desperate that….”
I peeked my head out from behind Elysion and asked.
“But why are you asking me for permission to meet with Aiden?”
Wait, that wasn’t quite right, was it?
Meeting with Aiden shouldn’t require my approval.
“Aiden is my escort knight, so he came to the Papiope Dukedom with me. Since Arthur and the others have also come to the Dukedom, couldn’t you simply arrange to meet with him?”
“That’s precisely the problem.”
Arthur exhaled softly and explained the reason, as if he too found the situation frustrating.
“After Aiden left the Golden Silver Mercenary Company and transferred to serve as a knight of Papiope, he hasn’t responded to a single letter we’ve sent.”
“So he’s been deliberately avoiding you.”
“Yes. Because of that, we haven’t even been able to ask for a single meeting.”
In the future timeline, Aiden remained with the Golden Silver Mercenary Company until his death and lived well.
So the fact that he left the Golden Silver Mercenary Company at this point in time meant it was because of me.
My heart felt heavy.
Meanwhile, Arthur continued, as if asking me to understand his situation.
“Even if we forcibly arrange a meeting with Aiden, there’s no guarantee he’ll engage in proper conversation.”
“So what exactly does the Mercenary Company want?”
“We were hoping you could persuade Aiden and arrange for him to return.”
“No. That’s not what I was asking.”
“Then what do you….”
I took a slow, deep breath and opened my mouth with a tense heart.
“Are you hoping that Aiden will resign from his position as my escort knight and return to the Golden Silver Mercenary Company?”
“No, that’s not it. We simply wish to talk with him. Aiden’s retirement was far too abrupt, and it left us with nothing but questions.”
“…Did Aiden not explain the circumstances to the mercenary company?”
“He didn’t. He left the Golden Silver Mercenary Company without a word, and not long after, we heard he’d become a knight of Duke Papiope’s Household.”
Why was that?
Even though I’d only spent a single month with them, the mercenary company members must have been far closer to him than I was.
Yet I couldn’t fathom why Aiden would abandon all those bonds to choose me instead.
“Especially after hearing that Tania was adopted into Duke Papiope’s Household, we were astounded to learn that Aiden was hired through an irregular examination shortly thereafter.”
“That was….”
“In fact, one reason I wanted to meet with you privately was because of that. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
Arthur’s gaze fixed upon me.
More precisely, he wasn’t meeting my eyes so much as searching my face for something.
Perhaps he was looking for traces of Aiden.
I found myself unconsciously touching the area around my eyes.
I knew that the only feature I shared with Aiden was our amber eyes.
“Tania, are you perhaps Aiden’s biological daughter?”
It was an amusing question.
Had it been the Aiden from the future, he would have been furious upon hearing such a thing.
I shook my head slowly.
“No. Though I wish I were.”
“I swear by the honor of the Golden Silver Mercenary Company that I will keep your secret. Please, tell me the truth.”
Arthur and the other mercenary company members seemed convinced that I was Aiden’s biological daughter.
“I understand it’s hard to believe, but I really am not.”
“Yet the two of you bear a striking resemblance. In fact, the moment I first saw you, I was certain of it.”
“Is that…so?”
“Yes.”
His answer was refreshingly straightforward.
“Hearing you say that makes me happy. I’ve always desperately wished to be Aiden’s daughter.”
At my words, Arthur and John exchanged a peculiar look, their eyes meeting in silent communication.
They clearly didn’t believe me.
But as far as I was concerned, whether they believed me or not made no difference.
“For now, I’m only half a daughter. But someday, I hope the Duchess and Aiden will marry, so that we can become a complete family in every legal sense as well.”
“I see….”
I fell silent in thought.
I didn’t want to drive a wedge between Aiden and the Golden Silver Mercenary Company.
And of course, I couldn’t afford to lose Aiden either.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.
Perhaps there was a way to create an outcome where everyone could be happy.
If all the circumstances aligned just right….
My eyes brightened, shining with newfound determination.
“Arthur, I understand your situation completely. So if I convince Aiden to meet with you, what will you give me in return?”
“…What?”
They wore bewildered expressions, as though they’d never considered such a thing.
Tch. These people were trying to use me for free.
I planted my hands on my hips and explained with deliberate clarity.
“Listen carefully. When I submitted a request to the Golden Silver Mercenary Company, the acceptance condition was that I meet with you all separately.”
“That’s…true.”
“So persuading Aiden is a different matter entirely, isn’t it?”
“Ah, then… the entire Golden Silver Mercenary Company will assist the Papiope Dukedom in subjugating monsters without compensation.”
“No. I’m not particularly bound by money, and it would weigh on my conscience to use you all without pay.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Well. Before I tell you what I want, let me ask you one thing.”
“Yes, please ask anything.”
“Do the people gathered here want to protect the Golden Silver Mercenary Company, or do they want to follow Aiden?”
Arthur answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“The latter. I’m certain everyone here shares my feelings.”
“Really?”
“Yes. These are people who either received a favor from Aiden or were impressed by his abilities and joined the mercenary company.”
“…So he’s still the same. No wonder he’s always out there finding and saving the most pitiful wretches.”
I shot a sharp glare at Elysion, who had suddenly interjected.
He raised both hands in a surrender pose.
“Calm down, I’m included in that.”
I’d naturally assumed he meant Raspi, Rosemary, Ron, and the others.
When he puts it that way, what can I even say?
I eventually withdrew my sharp gaze and looked back at Arthur.
Then, for no particular reason, I twisted a strand of my hair around my index finger and drew out my words.
“Hmm, there is one way for Aiden and the Golden Silver Mercenary Company to continue together….”
“What is it?”
“For this to work, it requires active cooperation from the Golden Silver Mercenary Company and favorable circumstances. Are you confident?”
“If we can be with Aiden, my mercenary company will follow him to the very ends of hell.”
It was a satisfying answer.
I pulled one corner of my mouth upward in a smirk.
“Good. Then listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”
The Black Knights, still empty except for Aiden.
I was planning to integrate the Golden Silver Mercenary Company members into the Papiope Black Knights.
Direct subordinates of Aiden, the Black Knights Commander.
It was a perfect fit.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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