Timid and Shy - Chapter 25

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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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25.

Gunter caught his breath for a moment, accepted the water flask Sophia offered him, and asked a question.
“All these minor incidents require money?”
Jack spoke with an air of importance.
“Of course. When we rescue someone with a broken leg, we need to hire people. To find a missing person, we have to gather not just one or two people but many of them, and we need to make torches—all of that costs money. Running trials, catching thieves—everything requires paying people.”
“Money goes into things like that too?”
Sophia laughed at Gunter’s bewildered reaction. She found it amusing that what was ordinary in Ariel seemed novel to someone from abroad.
Sophia took back the water flask from Gunter and continued.
“Because the domain is so small, we don’t have a proper Security Guard Corps—the one we should have by rights. We have the Border Guard Corps, but they don’t involve themselves in civilian disputes. So we need to set up a Security Guard Corps separately. Since we don’t have the budget for it, we hire volunteers from the Border Guard Corps on a part-time basis and pay them whenever work comes up. They receive no regular salary during peaceful times.”
“Ah, a way to save money in its own fashion.”
Gunter glanced down at his expensive shirt, now dampened with sweat, and swallowed a sigh. He tried to ignore the wrinkled, sweat-soaked fabric as he spoke.
“Having limited funds, you’ve found various ways to manage. It’s quite interesting.”
Sophia said,
“What choice do we have? The problems that arise from people living together are probably similar everywhere, but this is a border territory. All priorities go to border defense, so we’ve had to find workarounds for everything else.”
This time Gunter slowly lifted his head and gazed toward the Titania Mountain Range before speaking.
“Everyone in the Capital assumes House of Ariel and House of Umbrial do nothing but receive budgetary allowances because of the mountain range. You must find that frustrating—treated as parasites by the Capital while your domain struggles with poverty.”
Despite Gunter’s provocative remark, Sophia only laughed calmly. It was Jack who flared up instead.
“You’re speaking awfully carelessly. Miss Sophia may let it slide, but watch your tongue in front of others. No matter where you’re from, you’ll get a fist in the face.”
Sophia looked at Jack with pity as he rose to the bait, then spoke.
“Jack’s right. That comment about parasites was too much. I know you meant it deliberately, but still.”
Gunter smiled knowingly.
“You saw through it, then.”
Sophia replied,
“I understand you’re trying to assess Ariel’s situation, but deliberately provoking the locals or spreading rumors won’t help. It won’t aid your investigation either. The Margrave of Ariel said he would cooperate fully, so you should be able to go anywhere you wish and ask whatever you want without concern.”
Gunter lowered his head slightly.
“I apologize. I won’t use the word ‘parasite’ again. To be honest, the local people aren’t really my concern. When I investigate a territory, I observe the lord’s family most carefully. That’s where the problems always lie.”
Jack’s expression darkened as he asked,
“So let me ask again—what exactly are you?”
“The Emperor’s eyes. The Emperor’s tool. The instrument of power. A watchdog.”
At Sophia’s string of descriptions, Gunter’s expression soured.
“You have quite a talent for returning fire. I’m impressed. Many people do call inspectors such things.”
Gunter laughed after speaking. Jack found his constant smiling deeply irritating and suspicious.
Sophia shot Jack a warning glance. He stopped glaring at Gunter and took the lead. Gunter fell into step beside Sophia.
“So where are we heading now?”
Sophia spoke with a light, cheerful tone.
“An old temple. Somewhere in this mountain range lies a temple dedicated to the goddess Titania. I recently received an ancient map as a gift, and we’ve finally found a clue to its location. I want to try finding it.”
“Ah, so Titania was a goddess?”
“Yes. The Titania Mountain Range itself is said to be the goddess’s tomb. So she lies beneath our very feet. Because it’s such a sacred place, the monsters that are said to roam frequently on distant continents never appear here—or so the old tales say.”
“Indeed…… Probably just myth, though?”
Sophia caught her breath as she continued.
“Myth, yes. But that myth is connected to House of Ariel.”
“I see. That’s why House of Ariel has remained in Ariel domain from generation to generation—playing the role of guardian.”
“Exactly. You know about it? Most people don’t. The domain is only known as small and poor…… They treat it as nothing but a parasite, as you said. According to family records and historical documents, our true purpose was to serve as guardians of the goddess’s tomb. There’s no mention of ‘knights’ anywhere in the documents. It doesn’t seem we were ever a family particularly distinguished in martial prowess. Neither father nor Alex shows any special talent in that regard, and we don’t expect them to.”
“Oh! You speak so nonchalantly of things that would pain the Margrave to hear.”
Sophia smiled as she spoke.
“Father knows this well himself. Most of his work happens at a desk, and he has no complaints about it. Seeing that even young Alex shows no dissatisfaction suggests he lacks the qualities of a knight. We don’t aspire to such things.”
“You say you don’t aspire to it, yet I’ve heard from various people that the Margrave was delighted when he received approval to establish a knight order.”
“That’s natural. A knight order is necessary. As a border domain, we need one for appearance’s sake. Saturn Kingdom has its famous Titan Knight Order with Enceladus, after all. A border territory needs a knight order.”
“Is that so? Then why didn’t you submit such a petition before? You had a reasonable pretext even then—that you’re a border domain.”
“Because they said, ‘Once you become a Margrave, you can have one.’ There’s no budget for that. The truth is, owning a knight order is beyond Ariel’s capacity. It’s beyond our station.”
“But since the Emperor has commanded the establishment of a knight order, the Margrave has every reason to be pleased.”
Sophia pointed toward a dark rock visible above them.
“I suspect that rock might be the marker we saw on the map. Let’s climb up to there for now.”
Both Jack and Gunter latched onto the word “for now,” but the prospect of a brief rest made them quicken their pace slightly.
Gunter gazed at the rock.
“But what’s the benefit of finding the temple?”
Jack opened his mouth, seeming to agree.
“That’s exactly what I mean. You just tend the greenhouse and call it a day. But here you are, dragging us up a mountain in this heat.”
Sophia said.
“And when didn’t you want to come? You said you were dying under work and wanted some fresh mountain air.”
“That was then. Today’s just unbearably hot. Why couldn’t Prince Robert have bought me another romance novel instead of an ancient map and old documents?”
“Ah, so you did receive a gift. It was Prince Robert who gave it to you, then.”
Sophia said.
“He found it stacked with other materials in Umbrial and passed it along. I didn’t realize at the time what good resources they’d turn out to be. Ah! The shape of this rock looks right.”
Sophia’s voice rose with excitement. Jack shook his head and spoke.
“Is that reason enough to be so pleased?”
“We might be about to discover a temple from two thousand years ago. It’s like the very root of House of Ariel’s domain.”
“But why would they have built a temple way out here on a ridge? If they’d put it on flat ground, far more people would have been able to visit.”
“Back then, people’s faith ran deep. There wouldn’t have been complainers like you around.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Gunter chuckled and nodded in agreement, prompting Jack to glare at him again. Gunter, entirely unbothered by Jack’s hostile gaze, met his eyes with an easy smile.
Gunter vaulted past Sophia and leaped nimbly onto the rock above. Despite appearing tired, his movement was so fluid that both Sophia and Jack watched him in surprise.
Standing atop the boulder and peering down, Gunter pointed to a spot with his finger and spoke.
“There seems to be something like an entrance over there. Is it possible the temple isn’t actually a building but more like a cave?”
Sophia’s eyes brightened as she approached the dark rock and said,
“Exactly. We call it a temple, but it’s really just a cave with an altar. That’s probably why no one’s found it until now. Caves are common throughout the Titania Mountain Range, so it’s hard to distinguish which one might be the temple. But it looks like we’ve finally found it.”
There was another reason the temple’s entrance had been so difficult to locate: it was positioned in a hollow carved into a cliff face so steep it seemed like a sheer drop.
With Gunter’s help, Sophia climbed to the top of the dark boulder. Standing there, gazing down at the temple entrance, she spoke.
“You’ve got a better eye than I expected, and you’re quite athletic.”
Gunter chuckled at her compliment and replied,
“The temple itself doesn’t interest me much.”
In other words, he didn’t want to go in. Sophia turned her gaze to Jack without speaking. Jack was desperately avoiding her eyes. Looking toward the cliff that appeared to be the temple entrance, Jack spoke.
“It’s far too dangerous. Much too dangerous.”
It did look perilous. Examining the cliff carefully, Sophia shifted her feet restlessly.
“Isn’t there a way to get in? If we just turn back, it’ll be such a waste. We’ve already suffered through this heat.”
Jack spoke.
“It’s not as if there’s treasure inside. It’s just some old relic. What’s really there?”
Sophia said,
“There’s an altar. It’s probably made of rock too. Given the kind of entrance we’re looking at, I doubt the interior is anything elaborate. Even if someone knew about the cave, they might not have realized it was a temple.”
“In that case, we shouldn’t attempt it at all. There’s nothing valuable inside. Stone ages no matter what. This rock right here is already ancient. If you really want to see it, you’d need proper equipment. Ropes and someone trained in cliff climbing. Someone like Jason.”
Gunter asked,
“Who is Jason?”
Jack perked up at the change of subject and explained,
“He’s the best climber in the domain and specializes in harvesting the rarest stone mushrooms. He handles almost all our rescue operations too.”
“Interesting. It seems everyone here has developed their own area of expertise.”
Sophia said,
“But Jason’s at his busiest right now. It’d be a shame to call him out just for my hobby. Still, I’d like to have a look inside.”
“Even without an expert, you’d need someone to hold a rope and steady you. I can’t manage that cliff on my own.”
Gunter raised his hand and said,
“I think I can be of help.”
Gunter reached into the pack on his back and withdrew a rope. He even had a carabiner. Sophia and Jack stared at him in bewilderment, and Gunter spoke.
“Since I’d never climbed before, I packed the essentials just as the books recommended. Doesn’t everyone bring these things when they go mountain climbing?”
“Here in Ariel, only the cliff climbers usually carry such items. They’re heavy, and they’re rare.”
“The rope?”
“No, that metal ring for connecting things. The kind you can hook and unhook. Those are extremely expensive. They must be dear in the Capital too?”
“Ha, well, being the trusted aide of an emperor who does things in style has its perks.”
Sophia gazed longingly at Gunter’s rope and asked,
“You don’t happen to have torches too?”
Gunter rummaged through his pack and produced a small bundle.
“I have pitch and cloth, so if we can just find a wooden stick, I can make one right away.”
“Wow, those who serve an emperor really are in a different league.”
Gunter laughed at Sophia’s flattery. Jack looked at him in exasperation and said,
“For someone so well-equipped, why are you dressed so lightly?”
Gunter replied,
“I thought it would be a quick outing, so I dressed casually. I forgot that the Titania Mountain Range is considered the backyard here in Ariel.”
Jack pointed at the pack and said,
“So why do you have all this equipment?”
“I picked these up when I came to Ariel. Since most of the domain is mountainous, I thought we’d need equipment like this. Seemed pointless not to bring them today, what with how busy things are. I still have reports to write.”
Sophia laughed at the absurdity of it and asked again.
“But why the clothes?”
“I was planning to look at the view for a moment, then head back down to handle the work. Doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen, though.”
Gunter looked down at his clothes again. His shirt was creased all over, and dirt and dust caked the area near his ankles.
‘What a waste. Such a waste.’
The smile faded from Gunter’s face. Jason glanced at Sophia with a look of quiet satisfaction. Sophia’s gaze remained fixed on the entrance of the Temple of Titania.

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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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