Chapter 1010 – We Are Dishonest

000

“Ah, I understand… Then, from now on, our newspaper will focus on Ms. Zita’s performance… Ugh. I feel like a journalist who has somehow surrendered to capital.”

Noctis and Herti were discussing for a while.

In the end, it was Noctis’ side that raised the white flag.

“With this, the relationship between Dongbang Newspaper and Amryong Trading Company will become even stronger, so I’m sure the president will like it. I’ll come visit you formally later, so would you please tell him?”

“Well, if you do, the boss will like it, but…”

Noctis bowed his head while saying that.

Well, there is no one in this eastern country who can beat Herti in a business consultation, so it may be a natural result.

Meanwhile, Zita, who had already entered magic power charging mode, was falling asleep while sitting on a bench and receiving a lap pillow from Cleon.

“Once the consultation is over, shall we take Zita to her house? What about the furniture we talked about?”

“Hehe. Actually, I already thought Zita would like the house, so I told her to move it on time. The store’s porters would have finished their work by now.”

As expected, there were no gaps in Herti’s work.

“Zita, wake up. You should go home and sleep.”

“Uhm… Hmm… One more song…”

When Cleon grabs her shoulder and shakes her, she reacts differently than when she got out of the cave yesterday.

He really was in a dazed state like a human and was talking in his sleep instead of waking up.

“Oh my, it looks like I’m singing even in my dreams.”

Herti smiled and found Zita cute, but Cleon’s body trembled slightly when he saw her, remembering what happened last night.

“… Does adamantite dream too…?”

Either way, in order to move Zita, who was giving birth, it seemed like it would be necessary to carry her on her back like she did yesterday.

Finally, Cleon let out a sigh and carefully stood up from her seat, placing her on her back like a backpack.

Noctis looked a little surprised as he watched Cleon easily carry Zita on his back while making a noise.

No, her gaze was directed towards Zita’s huge, soft lump of fat (artificial) against Cleon’s back.

“Hmm, Cleon. What does it feel like to carry an unconscious girl on your back?”

Cleon will respond to Noctis’ voice, which seems a bit prickly.

“Huh? … I feel like my back’s defense has surpassed its limit.”

“Defense!? Is it also bulky!?”

Cleon’s intention was that ‘since the adamantite golem is hanging on his back, he is invulnerable to attacks from her back’, but Noctis, who did not know her situation, did not hear that meaning.

“Woohuhu. That’s an interesting analogy.”

Even Herty, who knew the situation, laughed.

“We’re going to send Zita back to her home like this… But what do you want to do?”

When Cleon turned to Noctis and asked a question, she answered while smiling.

“I’m going back to work, too. The coverage I was planning to do today has been completed perfectly, and I have some additional news to share! Tomorrow’s newspaper sales will definitely be worth seeing!”

In her conversation with Herty, she was pushed aside in many ways, but she still said that it was a good thing that she was able to pick up an article with a strong topic.

“Then, are we disbanding here today?”

“Yes. A lot of things happened today, but it was still fun! It felt like we went to report as a group. Hehe.”

When Noctis smiles innocently, Cleon also had accidents big and small thanks to Zita, but when she looks back like this, she welcomes the daily life of being involved in troubles that she can laugh about.

As for Seth… I may need to hold a meeting with the group.

“Then, see you again in the near future.”

Hertido says goodbye to Noctis.

Noctis turned around and ran towards the newspaper office, but-

“Oh, I see!”

He stopped walking and headed towards Cleon once again.

Seeing her actions like that, her Cleon would stop moving and look back at her.

Is there something I want to say?

“Mr. Cleon, I heard from Mr. Artis! I heard that you will soon be joining the expedition to the Dragon Mountain Range?”

“Ah, ah. Rather, you also met Artis…”

Cleon responded with a little surprise that her feet were wider than he thought, and Noctis responded with that bright smile.

“I decided to go along too!”

“… Ha?”

Cleon was unable to respond to the words that came out of Noctis’ mouth for a moment, and it took him some time to understand them.

Still, she didn’t understand as time went by, and only a short, elastic sound came out of her mouth.

“Oh my…”

Herti also reacted as if Noctis’ words were unexpected.

“I feel like a war correspondent! Mr. Artis said that there would be a great discovery of the century.”

“Wait, that’s why…? It’s too dangerous-“

“And, I thought Cleon would understand why I’m going.”

“…!”

Cleon couldn’t finish what she originally wanted to say and had no choice but to keep her mouth shut.

This is because when she said, ‘If you were Cleon, you would understand,’ scenes from her past flashed through Cleon’s mind.

A boat with two people in the night sky with fireworks blooming.

What we share is a secret story and a promise related to an oath someday.

In order to fulfill her calling, she took the opportunity even though she knew it was dangerous.

If that were to be said, it was impossible for Cleon to even tell her to stop following him.

“… Okay.”

Even as Cleon said that, her head was tilted horizontally.

As if your inner thoughts are revealed through your actions.

“Ahaha, if you answer like that, I don’t know if you understand or if you don’t.”

Noctis just laughed at Cleon’s answer.

Then, Cleon and Herty had no choice but to quietly watch her walk away while waving her hands.

It was Herty who opened her mouth first.

“She is also embracing her situation in many ways. It is definitely a secret that she cannot share with many people.”

I express something similar to sentiment and look back at Cleon.

“But, it’s a secret you share with Cleon, right? Really, Cleon, aren’t you holding on too much of the secrets of the women of Asteris?”

“Haha… It just happened to be like that…”

Cleon scratched her cheek while saying that, and Herti sighed as if she was joking.

“… And most of those people are desperate.”

Those words felt a little heavier than other times.

“Ah…”

There are girls who entrust their dreams to Cleon.

They have something that must be accomplished, that is, a ‘mission’.

When the opportunity to achieve that dream approaches, they struggle not to miss it.

“… But obviously, the most desperate thing right now is…”

It wasn’t Noctis, and it wasn’t himself.

Surely, in this Asteris, he is going to run as fast as he can towards his dream-

I’m somehow struggling towards a goal that I think I can reach if I stretch out my hand.

It was none other than ‘Artis’.

Recently, Artis felt like something was moving quickly, and it wasn’t just his mood.

Such as recruiting Melusine, who was not originally planned, or accepting Noctis into the investigation team and having him follow the reporter.

It is clear that she is making more solid preparations for her fail-proof expedition.

The reason why I can’t shake off the feeling that she suddenly became impatient is probably because she began to show such tendencies after meeting her own father.

I wonder if it was because she realized something in her conversation with him…

Or on the contrary, maybe she’s missing something and acting like I don’t know.

‘Artis… Are you okay?’

“…”

When Cleon put that name in his mind and looked worried, Herti moved next to him as if standing in front of Cleon.

Then, Cleon lifted his black hair, which seemed to cover half of his slightly squinted eyes.

When a gentle touch touched his forehead and eyebrows, Cleon tried to pull his body back slightly due to the unfamiliar sensation.

“Hey, Herty?”

“Uh-huh. As expected, I can only see it blurry.”

As Herty said that, she puffed out her cheeks as if she was dissatisfied with not being able to see Cleon’s face.

“But, even in the blur, Cleon’s face… For some reason, I can clearly feel the ’emotions’. Joy, embarrassment, etc… That’s what I thought about while looking at Cleon today.”

At her words, Cleon wipes his face and thinks, ‘Me?’

“… I often hear that you have a blunt expression.”

“Huh? No way! Even I, who don’t often see people’s faces, know that!”

Herti responded as if she couldn’t believe Cleon’s words, but Cleon responded with a small sigh.

“Isn’t that something Herti knows unusually well…”

“Hmm, then shall we leave it that way? It feels a little more special that way.”

Hertie would talk like that wasn’t a bad thing.

“… But Cleon? Everyone will notice the look on Cleon’s face when he’s worried about something, even if it’s not me.”

“… Is it that much?”

At Cleon’s words, Herty would nod her head.

“Yes. It’s true. You have a more honest face than you think.”

“… This is the first thing I learned.”

Cleon shrugs her shoulders while saying that.

“Really. The person who listens to our concerns and throws himself into solving them, why doesn’t he talk about the concerns he is holding on to?”

“Ugh…”

At Herti’s words, Cleon had no choice but to keep his mouth shut, as if he had nothing to say in return.

“If you have concerns, isn’t it better to share them with everyone? I hear this from Calia all the time, so I have no choice but to say it if I get caught.”

“… Yeah. That’s right.”

It would be a good idea to talk about things related to Artis, especially with everyone.

Four Dragon Mountains…

Whatever awaits there, it will be the greatest gateway to leaving this Eastern country and returning to the Kingdom for a decisive battle with ‘Adam’.

In that case, it was strange that he was handling the related matters on his own.

“Thank you, Herti. Let’s talk about it.”

“Hehe. Please do that… Ah. Please call me too then.”

Herty smiles at Cleon’s words and nods his head.

Even so, he immediately seemed to emphasize himself, perhaps because he felt like he would be talking in a place where he was not present.

Then, Herti walks one step ahead toward the direction of Zita’s house.

“Okay, then let’s go back, Mr. Cleon. If we continue like this, Mr. Cleon, the mark of Zita’s chest will be left on his back like a stamp.”

“Well, it’s okay because it’s not that heavy.”

Cleon responded to Herti’s joke and began to move his steps.

001

As Herti said, people had already moved most of the furniture into Zita’s house, and there was a nice bed in place.

Since the environment was more than enough for one person to live in, Cleon must have let out a little exclamation as he looked around at the furniture.

“Mr. Cleon. First, it’s a girl’s room, right?”

While Herti confirmed that Zita was properly asleep on the bed, she lightly pointed out Cleon’s behavior.

“Ah, ah… That’s right. Sorry.”

At Herty’s point, Cleon also cleared his throat and lowered his head.

“Hehe, I’m just kidding… Zita herself doesn’t think there are that many memories or secrets that shouldn’t be seen in this room yet.”

But Herti will stand up while saying that.

“… After I became able to see, I think Herti got better at teasing me for some reason.”

“Hehe. Is it because I can see more? It’s fun to see Cleon’s reaction.”

At Cleon’s words, Herti smiled while covering her mouth with her hand.

At her actions, Cleon shakes his head as if he can’t win.

“I left a note asking you to come back to the store tomorrow morning. Shall we go back for now?”

Cleon nodded his head at Herti’s words, and when the two left Zita’s house together, a familiar person was standing outside the house, waiting for them.

“You are here as expected, both of you.”

A woman’s voice with a business-like tone mixed in with a slightly urgent nuance.

The woman with her black hair down and her bandages covering her not-yet-healed wounds was Calia, who was also Herty’s secretary.

“Kalia? What’s going on?”

“Y-ow.”

“Even to Bahamut.”

At Herti’s voice, Bahamut at Calia’s feet also asserted her own existence.

“… Actually, Cleon-sama has some business… A messenger came to the Chamber of Commerce a little while ago…”

“To me?”

When Cleon points his finger at her unexpected name, Calia nods her head.

“I think you know that the kingdom will leave Asteris tomorrow morning.”

“Ah, I heard it directly from them.”

Cleon would nod his head as if he had already heard what Calia said.

“By now, you must be enjoying your last dinner before departure at Jinmidang…”

“Yes. However, the envoy from the kingdom’s army contacted me to say that Miss Selena, who had been away for a while, has not returned.”

“Haa…?”

Cleon reacts a little worried to her words.

“As a bonus, Sir Drake was also away to provide protection.”

“… You mean they both disappeared at once?”

“Yes.”

Cleon thought about something for a moment after hearing her words.

Even if the two disappeared, I don’t think there’s any need to worry that much…

One is an elite court wizard, and the other is the kingdom’s strongest knight.

“… So, did you get a call from the kingdom asking you to find it for me too?”

“Yes… I guess Selena’s mother has already announced that there is no need to catch Cleon even if we find him.”

“That lady…”

No, it’s definitely more convenient that way, but…

“… Okay. Then, I’ll look for it too. Well, I don’t think you need to worry about anything.”

“Yes. I feel the same way, but since you are a distinguished guest, I think it would be better to find out before something happens. I’m sorry for causing you trouble, Cleon…”

Cleon shakes his head at her words.

“It’s just a request to find someone. It’s the most basic request an adventurer receives. Then, I’ll come back.”

Cleon said that and walked straight towards the city.

Herti said nothing for a moment while looking at Cleon’s back.

“Hmm… Selena and Lord Drake suddenly disappeared… No, it’s Miss Diora…”

“Why are you doing this? Herti.”

Calia asked Herti a question after seeing her strange reaction, and Herti answered with a grin.

“No. The fact that you disappeared before leaving makes me feel like something is telling you to ‘look for it’.”

“…?”

Calia looked like she wasn’t sure what she said, but Herti just looked at the city where Cleon had gone with a smile on her face.

“A girl’s mind is complicated.”

“… I wonder if I’m no longer a girl because I’m older… (Gloomy)”

“Hey, Calia is still a girl!?”