A Story of a Noble Lady Who Was Ravaged by an Incurable Disease and Covered in Bandages All Over Her Broken Body; After Healing Her, She Turned Into a Stunning Beauty and Started Desperately Courting Me

Chapter 19: The Guild Master of the Royal Capital’s Adventurer Guild

Right after I parted ways with Skuld, I stepped inside the adventurer guild building.

—Ding-dong♪

“Excuse meee. I’m here to report a completed request. I’ve got the herbs from the gathering quest I just took in my bag, so could you check them please?”

“Yes, good work out there. I’ll take your bag to verify everything, okay? And could I also see your adventurer license?”

“Sure thing. Here ya go.”

I went up to the adventurer guild’s reception desk and handed over the herbs I’d gathered along with my adventurer license card to finish the request report.

“Thanks for showing your license card. I’ll check it right away… oh? Your name is Setsuna Kisaragi, sir?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Is there something wrong with my name?”

“No, no, nothing like that at all. Actually, just a little while ago, the master of this royal capital adventurer guild said they wanted to talk to you, Setsuna-sama.”

“Huh? The royal capital’s guild master wants to talk to me? But I don’t even know the guild master here… what could it be about?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I wasn’t told what the guild master wants to discuss, so I don’t know the details… Would it be possible for you to head to the guild master’s office right now? I’ll make sure to properly finish checking your gathering request while you’re gone.”

“Okay, got it. If that’s the case, I’ll head to the guild master’s room now. Where is it?”

“Thank you. The guild master’s room is at the far end of the second floor. I’ll contact the guild master with the communication stone right away, so please just go straight up to the second floor, Setsuna-sama.”

“Gotcha. Thanks a lot.”

So for some reason I had no clue about, I’d been summoned by the royal capital’s guild master. I headed up to the second floor where they were waiting.

I reached the room at the back of the second floor that the receptionist had mentioned. The plate on the door said “Guild Master’s Office.”

—Knock knock

“…Yes?”

“Uh, sorry. The receptionist downstairs just told me to come up here. My name’s Setsuna…”

“Ah, yes, I got the message from the staff downstairs a moment ago. Please, come in.”

“Okay, thanks. Excuse me…”

—Click

I stepped right into the guild master’s office. Inside stood a single woman. She looked about mid-twenties. She had long, wavy red hair and sharp, narrow eyes—an unbelievably beautiful woman.

“Thank you for coming to the guild master’s office on such short notice. I’m Rufus Scarlet, the guild master of the royal capital adventurer guild. Pleased to meet you.”

“Ah, y-yeah. Thanks for the polite greeting. I’m Setsuna Kisaragi. Nice to meet you too.”

The woman in front of me—Rufus—gave a courteous bow as she introduced herself. She had this really dignified, composed aura around her.

Compared to Douglas—the big, hearty old-man-type guild master back in my rural town—the vibe was completely different. This kind of atmosphere was probably…

“Um, so, Rufus-san. I know it’s super rude and kinda clueless of me to ask this right after meeting you, and I’m really sorry, but… are you, maybe… a noble or something?”

“Yes. That’s correct. The Scarlet family is a count house that has produced famous knights and warriors for generations. My siblings and I are all part of the royal capital’s knight order or guard units, working to keep the city safe and secure.”

“I-I see. Yeah, I figured.”

So just like I thought, Rufus turned out to be a noblewoman. Something about her vibe reminded me of Alicia or Gilbert, and yep, I was right.

Plus, the Scarlet house keeps producing knights and warriors generation after generation. Which means this Rufus is probably a seriously strong woman too.

—

Chapter 20: A Request from Rufus

“Um, so I was told by the staff earlier and came here, but what exactly do you need from me, Rufus?”

“First, the first matter is about Alicia. Setsuna, thank you so much for healing Alicia’s body.”

“Huh? About Alicia? Oh, wait—does that mean you know Alicia, Rufus?”

“Yes. The Scarlet family and the Duke Elfemina family have been close for generations. So Alicia and I have played together many times since we were little, and I’ve always treated her like my own little sister. Thank you so much for saving someone that precious to me. I can’t thank you enough, Setsuna.”

“I see, that makes sense. Well, I only did what any healer would do. But thank you for those warm words of gratitude, Rufus.”

Rufus bowed his head deeply and thanked me politely, so I answered with a smile on my face.

(Still, it feels like lately I’ve been getting thanked by all sorts of nobles.)

Because of all the manga I used to read, I had this image of nobles as “villainous nobles” or “villainess ladies,” but ever since coming to this other world, I haven’t met a single bad noble. If anything, they’ve all been really kind people.

I guess it makes sense that the nobles around the kind-hearted Alicia are all kind-hearted too.

“And for the second matter, would it be all right if I talked a little about Alicia’s illness… or rather, about the curse magic placed on her?”

“Ah, so you already know that Alicia’s condition was caused by curse magic, Rufus.”

“Yes. I heard the details from Gilbert the other day. Right now we’re quietly investigating who put the curse on Alicia.”

“I see… Wait, the investigation is secret? You can’t do a big public search?”

“Normally I’d want to, but if the culprit’s motive is a grudge against Gilbert or the Duke Elfemina family, making the incident public could provoke them. They might come back with something even worse than the curse. So we decided to keep the investigation as low-key as possible. On the surface, we’re saying Alicia’s body was just sick and that a high-ranking healer managed to save her life.”

“Ah… I get it. Yeah, if we announce it as a big incident, there could be some danger. In that case, it’s probably smarter to investigate quietly so we don’t poke the culprit too much.”

“Yes. That’s why the search for whoever asked for the curse on Alicia is being done in complete secrecy. Setsuna, could you please keep everything about Alicia’s curse confidential from now on?”

“Yes, understood. Of course that’s fine.”

I firmly agreed to Rufus’s request.

“I’m relieved to hear that. If any new information comes up, I’ll let you know right away, Setsuna.”

“Got it. Still… it’s scary to think there’s someone out there who would do something so awful to Alicia.”

“It really is. Personally, I don’t want to believe anyone could do such a terrible thing to Alicia… but as long as there’s a possibility, I, as a member of the Scarlet family and as someone who’s like a big sister to her even if we’re not blood-related, will definitely find the culprit. And if you happen to get any new information on your end, I’d really appreciate it if you could report it to me… Would that be okay?”

“Of course, no problem. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know, Rufus. Oh, right. In that case, how about we swap magic power with our communication stones?”

“Ah, yes, that would be good. Let’s see… Here’s mine.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll give you mine too—could you pour your magic power into it?”

“Understood. I’ll borrow it for a moment.”

So the two of us poured magic power into each other’s communication stones.

“…Whew, all done. Now we can contact each other with the communication stones anytime. If you get any new information about Alicia’s case, feel free to reach out whenever. I’ll always be ready to listen.”

“Yes, got it. I’ll contact you right away if anything comes up. Looking forward to working with you from now on.”

“Likewise, pleased to be working with you.”

— Squeeze…!

With that, I gave Rufus a firm handshake. And just like that, a new contact was added to my communication stone.

Right now it’s only Skuld and Rufus, but I’d be happy if the list keeps growing from here on out.