I Pulled Out the Excalibur

Of course, Dieta doesn’t like such stories.

She’s long past the age where she could find charm in fairy tales that simply line up good scenes without considering the context. But that’s only when such stories are encountered as fiction.

…When you pull a fairy tale into reality.

Why…

Surprisingly, Dieta had to admit that her heart was racing. Thinking about herself, confined in the ducal family’s villa, and the handsome “knight” who came to rescue her without considering the consequences.

‘He’s not exactly a knight, but he’s handsome nonetheless…’

Dieta gazed at Najin with dazed eyes.
His face wasn’t clearly visible under the robe, but from below, she could somewhat make out his features.

…Was he always this handsome?

Was it the situation, her dazed mind, or perhaps the moonlight and starlight acting as a filter? Najin seemed more handsome than usual, making Dieta gulp down her saliva.

Her heart raced inappropriately for the situation. Probably because she was startled. With that thought, Dieta huddled herself a bit more. The night wind was quite cold. Her body kept shaking, making her dizzy.

With such lame excuses, Dieta clung tightly to Najin’s robe. Under the brilliant moonlight, the escape drama continued for a while.

“Let’s take a break here.”

Far from the villa,
In a small cave within a dense forest along the boundary of the territory, Najin entered. After gently setting Dieta down, Najin took off his robe.

“Proper pursuit can only start after dawn anyway. Even if they’re good with night vision, grasping the situation and regrouping will take some time. At the very least, we have time to catch our breath.”

After all, the knights don’t know where Najin fled to or where he’s heading. Najin was already skilled at masking his presence and disrupting his tracks.

“So, let’s rest for a bit.”

Najin glanced at Dieta.
He could run through the night without any problem, but Dieta wasn’t in the best condition. She was sweating cold and looked pale.

Najin handed his removed robe to Dieta.

“Wrap this around you.”
“Eh, me?”
“It’s cold. I can bear it, but it will be tough for you.”

Najin glanced at Dieta.
Her attire was thin and flimsy, not suitable for the weather. Dieta slowly nodded and wrapped the robe Najin offered around her shoulders.

“I’m afraid I didn’t bring anything to treat the ankle… It’s not something a potion can fix, so we’ll have to postpone that.”

Najin muttered while rummaging through his adventurer’s bag. Then he pulled out a rolled-up blanket and an ore lamp from the bag. He spread the blanket in front of Dieta and gestured for her to lie down.

“Try to get some sleep. You look tired.”
“…I’m still okay.”
“Don’t be stubborn and rest while you can. We’ll have to run for our lives once dawn breaks.”

Muttering so, Najin struck the ore lamp with his fist. The lamp flickered upon impact. Soon, a twilight glow filled the cave.

Only then could Dieta properly see her disheveled state. Her pajamas, clinging to her sweaty skin, revealed her body’s outline and her hair was a mess. Though she couldn’t see her face, it was surely stained with tear marks.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Dieta tightened the robe and wiped her face with her sleeve.

“Are you very cold?”
“Eh, no? I mean, no, I’m fine…?”

Dieta hiccupped.
She wasn’t really cold. It was just the heat rising to her face. But to Najin, Dieta’s tightly gripping the robe’s hem seemed like she was shivering from cold.

And her face seemed oddly red.

Could she have caught a cold? After all, she had been injured, without proper meals or sleep for days. It wouldn’t be surprising if her immunity had hit rock bottom.

‘Is your head dizzy? You can’t even maintain eye contact.’

Dieta’s spinning eyes and her ears turning bright red. To Najin, Dieta appeared simply as a patient, but the reality was a bit different.

Thump, thump, thump.

Dieta pressed down on her wildly beating chest and bowed her head. For some reason, it was hard to meet Najin’s gaze. Avoiding his eyes, Dieta crawled under the blanket.

Why am I acting like this?
And why is my heart racing so wildly?

She had lived her whole life wearing masks, focusing solely on growing the trading company. So, the feelings Dieta was experiencing now, with her mask off, were utterly foreign. Dieta pulled the blanket over her head without even recognizing what this feeling was.

The thoughts that crossed her mind, “Could it be…?”

But Dieta quickly shook her head.
She told herself she couldn’t possibly feel such emotions, let alone be such an easy woman… No, isn’t it natural for the heart to flutter a bit in such a situation?

A strange denial and rationalization.

Inappropriately, with her heart still fluttering, Dieta closed her eyes.

Just before dawn.
The early morning when the twilight of dawn is about to break.

Blink.

Dieta opened her eyes. She wondered if she could sleep with her heart racing and ankle throbbing, but contrary to her worries, she slept soundly. Rubbing her eyes, Dieta looked across.

There was Najin, holding his sword, leaning against the cave wall with his head bowed.

Had he been guarding her all night like that? Blinking her still drowsy eyes, Dieta stared intently at Najin. How long had she been watching him when

“Are you awake?”
“Gasp.”

Najin, whom she thought was asleep, lifted his head.
Startled by the sudden voice in her ear, Dieta shuddered.

“Were you awake the whole time?”
“I don’t sleep much. I was thinking it’s about time to wake you up, but you’re already up.”

Najin exhaled long and stretched his shoulders.

“You’ve probably sorted your thoughts out after a night’s rest. Do you have any plans in mind?”

Pasion, the knight, said.
Dieta had prepared measures, and if he played the role of a messenger, she would surely navigate through the situation. It turned out he just brought her along, but it probably didn’t make much difference.

“Thanks to you.”

Dieta smiled.
Just as Najin said. After a good night’s sleep, her mind started functioning normally. Still, it was hard for Dieta to meet Najin’s gaze directly, so she slightly lowered her eyes.

“I’ve come up with quite a few methods.”

“Such as?”
“It’s a bit complex and involves a tiresome battle of justifications, but we can overturn the situation. I didn’t want to resort to this measure, but… now that it’s come to this, we have no choice.”

Dieta sighed deeply.

“My trading company is one of the top three in the City of Opportunities, Cambria. It’s a large-scale trading company. Normally, when a trading company of this size is targeted by a ducal family, there’s bound to be backlash.”

However, there wasn’t much opposition in this case. There’s no significant reason for that.

“The reason there wasn’t much backlash this time, the reason the opposition wasn’t strong… it’s because I belong to the Arbenia family. The ducal family has a justification. Who would say anything if the ducal family swallows a trading company raised by its own child?”

Dieta smiled bitterly.
The name Arbenia. She hadn’t been able to let go of that name, which still held some sentimental value, and now it was holding her back in this way.

“Then the solution is simple,”

She said.

“We just need to inform the Central Guild, and even more importantly, the Cambria Foundation, about the entire situation. And while we’re at it, I might as well change my surname during this opportunity.”
“What happens then?”
“The Arbenia ducal family won’t be able to swallow the trading company anymore. They would have to be cautious about touching me, considering external perspectives.”

Osman had confined Dieta knowing this fact. If he pushed the situation to the point where Dieta couldn’t take any action, even the Foundation couldn’t do anything about it.

“It’s ultimately a battle of justifications.”

And then, Dieta continued.

“The Foundation’s justification won’t be inferior to that of the Arbenia ducal family.”

The Cambria Foundation.
A foundation formed by several nobles to preserve the tradition and uniqueness of Cambria, the city where King Arthur’s journey began. And the legitimacy of the foundation was guaranteed by the Emperor himself.

No matter how high and mighty the Arbenia ducal family might be, they can’t directly confront a foundation backed by the Emperor.

Above all, the justification is on this side. If a trading company of significant size in the city is swallowed up in this manner, and if such a precedent is set, it would tarnish the reputation of the Cambria Foundation.

“Moreover, the Foundation views me quite favorably.”
“What do you mean?”
“How diligently I’ve been paying my taxes. Tax evasion, book manipulation, false listings… I’ve never played such tricks on the Foundation. Of course, you might say that’s expected.”

Dieta shrugged her shoulders.

“In our industry, paying all your taxes makes you a fool. But, it’s better to be seen as a fool by the Foundation. The fact that there hasn’t been a single complaint in the five years I’ve grown this scale is all thanks to me being a diligent taxpayer.”

So, if she asks, they would listen.
Dieta was confident of that.

“But there’s a small problem.”

Dieta sighed.

“Informing the Central Guild would delay the situation, and I need to directly visit a noble family associated with the Cambria Foundation… and that too, the higher-ups. But just showing up won’t necessarily open doors for me.”

She smiled bitterly.

“Currently, I have no means to prove myself.”

No badge, no trading company master uniform, not even a messenger bearing the trading company master’s name. All that was present was Dieta, merely a girl.

“So, it seems we’ll need to stop by Cambria first, but Duke Osman won’t just stand by and watch. He’ll try to block the way by any means, complicating things.”
“About that,”

Najin, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“Which noble family is at the core of the Cambria Foundation? What’s the name of that family?”

“The Count Ostrum, the Count Kloeppsch…”

The three noble families at the heart of the Foundation.
Among the most renowned families, Dieta last mentioned.

“And, the Duke Trebache.”

Trebache.
A name familiar to Najin. As Dieta spoke, Najin smiled.

“Then it seems we won’t need to make a detour to Cambria.”
“What do you mean…?”

Najin pulled out a letter from his belongings.
It was a letter he had kept deep in his bag. Dieta’s eyes widened upon seeing the seal on the letter. After all, it was the Trebache family’s emblem.

As if to say it’s too early to be surprised, Najin unfolded the letter and handed it to Dieta.

It was a letter personally written by Duke Edelmar of the Trebache family. It stated that Dieta was welcome to visit anytime and would be treated as an honored guest if she visited the duke’s residence.

“How did you…?”
“The Demon Knight subjugation. I met a knight there. I got connected while delivering his last will.”

Gilbert, a knight of the Trebache family.
Najin hadn’t expected the connection made during that conversation to be of help in this way, but the invitation now proved to be quite useful in the current situation.

“Really…”

Looking at the invitation, Dieta burst out laughing.

“You’re a unique person, really.”

“Still, I can’t deny that I made an inefficient choice. It would have been better if I stayed captive in the villa. I’m sorry. I judged wrongly at that moment.”

That single emotional outburst.
Dieta felt a bit embarrassed about her past self, who had asked to be taken out of this cage surrounding her.

Of course, thanks to that, she could rest and felt good. She couldn’t deny that she was happy to experience her heart racing, but…

It wasn’t a rational decision.
She knows it wasn’t a decision her usual self would make.

“I was a bit emotional. There could have been a more rational, efficient, and better way…”
“People can’t always be like that, can they?”

Najin cut off Dieta’s words.
While packing his gear and preparing to erase their tracks, Najin looked at Dieta.

“Who can always move efficiently and rationally? Sometimes you just have to go for it, be emotional. It’s tiring to always chase efficiency.”

Najin smiled.

“And you know,”

Najin bent his knees and showed his back to Dieta, signaling her to get on. Dieta, somewhat flustered, brushed her hair and cautiously got on Najin’s back.

“Who says this isn’t the best option?”
“Eh?”
“Isn’t it the best if we reach our destination this way? Better than being confined in a villa and treated like that, isn’t this better?”

As Dieta wrapped her arms around Najin’s neck, Najin stood up. In an instant, with a whoosh, Dieta clung tightly to Najin’s back.

“Isn’t it?”
“Well… That’s true.”

Whether it’s the best or not can only be known after reaching the end. Najin was saying that if they reach their destination this way, that would be the best. In front of such a refreshingly simple logic, Dieta couldn’t help but laugh.

“Are you confident? Escaping with someone on your back doesn’t seem easy.”
“It’s not that heavy… besides…”

Najin chuckled.

“Escaping is my specialty.”

Having been chased more than once or twice.