Although it looks like a medieval landlord's mansion on the outside, the interior has apparently been remodeled several times to suit modern life. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

With a friendly smile on his face, Sir Leinster led Flick and the others into the hall of the mansion, followed by a heavy closing sound of the door. It was a heavy wooden door, not only to keep out the cold wind outside, but also to resist some simple attack spells.

The living room they were substituted into was indeed gorgeous, with tall solid wood beams and columns lined up closely, dyed with a color befitting their owner's due to their age. As if to highlight the identity of the owner of this room, several statues of crows are also decorated in the corners of the room.

The old fireplace in the depths of the hall had long been filled with freshly chopped firewood by the servants, and the freshly lit firewood would occasionally make a crackling sound, driving the winter chill away from the room. Without hesitation, Frick and Curt reached out to warm themselves on the fire, as if they were both numb from the long ride, but Acully looked at everything around him with hostile eyes.

During the time of the fire, Frick looked around again, and the house was full of ornaments like what everyone thought of as an "old-style aristocratic house". The long narrow windows are inlaid with ancient stained glass, the metalwork artwork adorned with precious stones is displayed in the glass case, and even the specimen of the monster's head and the coat of arms representing the ancient family all exude the splendor of the times in the soft light of the large central chandelier.

"I don't know what to say...... It's almost the same thing we've seen in picture books in the past, and I don't know how many centuries of memories have accumulated in this land. Frick could barely speak, "Is this what an old family should be? ”

As he looked around, he didn't notice that Akuli, who was standing beside him, had an indescribable expression, as if he was recalling a scene from his memory. The place where they stood was completely illuminated by the light, but the shadows cast from the surrounding decorations obscured her face just right.

Their luggage had been delivered to the guest rooms by the servants, including notes taken during the investigation with Akuli and books in ciphertext left by William Coulter. The servants were clearly well-trained, but when they stood in front of them, they always had a sense of objectivity.

In fact, if Frick were to judge, the servants who worked on the manor were all of remarkable stature and appearance - except for the coachman who brought them, perhaps. But for some reason, their faces seem to be shrouded in a fog, and it is difficult to make a deep impression.

"You have had a hard time, and I have learned from Curt about your attack at the Gate of the North, and they have made it their target. Sir Urs Leinster did not change his condescending posture, and Frick was almost accustomed to his grotesque rhetoric, "If you don't mind, a little preparation is needed before the dinner, so please wait a moment." ”

"I'm really tired of you, you've gone to great lengths to prepare - that means you've caught those who dare to come to you, right?" Aculi wasn't interested in the next dinner, but instead saw the ruined porter turn her attention to the direction of the enemy.

"Don't rush it, Akuli Aura Saganya. ”

Sir Raven's face showed an inscrutable expression: "The dinner will be ready in a few minutes, and we can probably enjoy a hearty dinner and rest well before considering what to do." Although there are only a dozen men stationed at this stronghold, they are all men of outstanding combat ability, and you can rest assured that you will stay here until anything new happens, and study the ciphertext left behind by William Coulter. ”

"You say the new situation...... That means you've repelled at least two of their attacks, and you've let them know that this manor isn't an easy stronghold to take down - in other words, you're waiting for things to change and their plans to take a turn of sorts, right?"

"No, I'm just saying that our crows live a very secluded life here, and very little information about this manor is known to the outside world. Although the enemy's initial attack will be repelled several times by us while it is unprepared, it will inevitably change our fortifications in the future. ”

He took a shallow breath and said to Akuli in a tone he had never seen before: "Thou shalt think so, and I hereby lean down to ask for thy help, for I am sure that the defences which I have set up before will be breached by them, and thy strength will be needed to help them—and as for Aculi Ora Saganya, daughter of Rollanir, thou shalt take the opportunity to recharge thy strength and wait for the time to come." ”

"You know I hate that guy's name, right?" Akully's throat hissed strangely at Uls Leinster's request, and her eyes turned strangely blood-red, but in a matter of moments, the signs of her anger quickly faded.

"I see, that's why you want him to bring me with you...... You're trying to use him as a bargaining chip to let me protect your research results, right? You're really the same as before, you're a sanctimonious and despicable villain—I really want to bite you in the throat. ”

"Don't mind, I can promise you that day will not be long before that day comes...... While everything is going according to plan, I will compensate you accordingly. He nodded, then clapped his hands and called the two servants, "For now, let these two take you to the guest room." ”

Frick couldn't get into the tension between the two, and because he didn't know about Acully's past relationship with Sir Leonster, he couldn't join in the conversation. It wasn't until the two servants who were about to take them to the guest room appeared that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Acully still had a somewhat unpleasant expression on her face, she seemed to accept Sir Leinster's request, only to give the old raven who had bowed her head a vicious look. But as she walked up to Frick, he heard her whisper a Majin word he didn't understand, and it sounded like she was insulting Uls Lyernst in the worst of terms.

But at least she didn't show her murderous aura on the table...... This is perhaps the biggest concession she has shown for Acully. As they walked out of the hall with the servants, Flick caught a glimpse of Curt standing to the side, and he put on a relaxed look, but Frick didn't see any difference in his usual life.

In the upper part of the mansion, which has accumulated a strong pasture, there is a square verandah with a balustrade, which can only be accessed by a staircase that spirals upwards. Two long corridors lead through the building through the cloister, passing through a section of corridor lit with electric lights to reach the guest rooms.

Perhaps for convenience, Frick and Akuli's bedrooms were arranged on the same side, with a door in the middle. The rooms appear to be much newer than those in the middle of the building, with brightly coloured wallpaper and new lighting tools somewhat eliminating the gloomy impression of the big house.

There was perhaps a figure of speech better than the word "gloomy" to describe the feeling of the manor, but Frick could only come up with that word for now. After the two servants had taken their leave, Aculi had remained silent, as if he had been infected by the atmosphere.

"To be honest, I thought Leonster's estate would be a place to relax, but it seems that I don't have the freedom to rest yet. ”

To dispel the awkward atmosphere around him, Frick broke the silence: "I thought I could get used to this kind of life, and eventually find traces in the Northlands, and maybe start a journey similar to his past adventures - but now I always feel that something is wrong. It's no wonder that I felt uneasy when I first set out, even though I was biologically his offspring, but I was essentially a different person from him, and I should think about 'my own' countermeasures instead of blindly chasing the illusions of the past. ”

He did not deliberately divert the conversation from the direction of Acully's dispute with Sir Leinster, nor did he ask her directly about the relationship between her and Urs Leinster. It's not that he's not interested, but he's sure that even if he asks, he won't get an answer again.

This is about you, but now is not the time to tell you—he can even guess what tone Aculi will say. His instincts told him that this was not only about the difficulties they were facing at this time, but perhaps also related to their unknown father.

Aculi claimed to have a close friendship with his father, who had helped him in his adventures in the end of the world, and who naturally knew a lot of things that Frick didn't know. She hadn't talked much about that time over the years, except for the occasional words of thanks.

Of course, he tried to get to the bottom of it, but Aculi didn't respond, telling Frick that she had chosen to remain silent because it wasn't the right time to reveal everything. After all these years, Frick has also stopped chasing after him, because he knows that this direction will not work.

Like William Coulter, she is bound by a "covenant" that makes it difficult for her to resist. Even though Akuli surpassed most of the Empire's mages in his magical attainments, the covenant lingered like a curse, restricting her every move.