The Case of the Washed-Up F-Rank Adventurer Who Maxed Out His Agility by Relying on His Worthless ‘Flee’ Skill and Accidentally Became the Strongest in the World. He Can’t, However, Escape from the Yandere Beauties. - Chapter 34
Chapter 34: The Old Man Introduces His Daughter
As I stood there, captivated by the noblewoman, the butler beside me bowed his head in a deep, flustered bow.
“Emma-sama! My sincerest apologies! To have sullied your ears with the chatter of such a lowly person…! I shall dispose of this vagrant at once…!”
…Huh? Emma-sama?
It was only then that I realized the noblewoman standing before me was the very same Emma-san I had come to see.
The Emma-san I always saw at the guild was certainly beautiful, but she tended to wear clothes that were more functional, or one might even say plain.
This was the first time I had ever seen her so elegantly dressed up.
Her natural beauty, further polished by the lavish dress and jewelry, made her seem like a goddess straight out of a story.
I couldn’t help but stare, dumbfounded at the sight.
“Shuzou-san. Welcome.”
Emma-san gave my stunned face a small smile, then curtsied with the deep elegance befitting a noblewoman.
Every single one of her movements was so refined, driving home the fact that she and I lived in completely different worlds.
“Ah, n-no… Emma-san, good evening. Um… ah… thank you… for the invitation.”
I hurriedly, awkwardly bowed my head, still in my tattered clothes.
Her overwhelming beauty and noble air only made the shabbiness of my own attire stand out more, deepening my embarrassment.
I never dreamed that Emma-san would greet me so dressed up.
I thought this was where I was getting fired, so what was with this reception?
Wait… maybe it’s because this is the end…
This might be Emma-san’s own way of being considerate.
“…!?”
Meanwhile, the butler, who had been watching our exchange, was frozen with an expression of pure disbelief.
“Wha…? This vagrant… is someone worthy of a personal greeting from Emma-sama…? Th-Then… no, it can’t be… this man is today’s esteemed guest… which means he’s Emma-sama’s… f-f-fiancé…!?”
The poor butler must have been terribly confused.
He was just spouting incoherent nonsense.
Just then, the smile vanished from Emma-san’s face.
She turned to the butler and spoke in a quiet, yet ice-cold voice.
Even from the side, I could tell it was brimming with rage.
“Sebastian. You are dismissed, effective today. Your behavior toward my esteemed guest was… utterly… utterly… insolent!”
“W-Wha…!? E-Emma-sama!?”
At the sudden declaration, the butler’s face went pale as a sheet.
I was shocked too, and looking at Emma-san, I couldn’t stop myself from blurting out,
“H-Hold on a minute, Emma-san! Isn’t that going a bit too far…?”
“His… the butler’s judgment was perfectly natural. Looking like this, anyone would think I was a vagrant. It’s not his fault.”
Emma-san looked at me, surprised, as I desperately defended him.
Honestly, this was clearly me overstepping my bounds.
Whatever reason Emma-san had for firing her butler was her own business.
It wasn’t something an outsider like me should have commented on.
But in this case, he was frankly not at fault.
It was clearly my responsibility.
All he did was try to keep a suspicious person away from his master… away from Emma-san…
And the only one to blame was me, for showing up in an outfit so obviously inappropriate for the occasion.
Emma-san was silent for a moment.
But eventually, she let out a small sigh.
“…If you insist, Shuzou-san, I will let it go this time. However, Sebastian, there will not be a second chance.”
With that cold declaration, the butler, trembling, bowed his head deeply once more. “Y-Y-Yes, my lady!”
I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
The guilt of getting a hardworking man fired because of me would have been hard to bear…
Still… I really shouldn’t have come dressed like this…
Meanwhile, Emma-san, for her part, didn’t seem to mind my attire in the least.
She really is broad-minded… or just kind, I guess.
…Although, she showed the butler absolutely no mercy…
Just then, Emma-san turned back to me.
“Shuzou-san… I am terribly sorry. Even though I was the one who invited you, I’ve caused you such trouble… and what’s more… you had to stop me from making a hasty judgment…”
She bowed her head deeply.
“Wh… n-no… it’s nothing like that…”
“You are absolutely right, Shuzou-san. My earlier judgment was rash. The fault in this matter lies with me, for not properly informing Sebastian about you. To push the blame for a master’s mistake onto a subordinate… it’s truly shameful. It’s just… I thought you were being insulted, Shuzou-san… and I just saw red… but… of course a man like you would never be bothered by such a trivial thing…”
…Um… did I say that…?
No… more importantly… this is…
Honestly, Emma-san’s words weren’t really registering.
That was because she had moved quite close to me, and my eyes were involuntarily captivated by the far-too-deep valley visible in her dress…
Just then, Emma-san turned her bewitching figure away from me.
D-Damn it… did she notice my lecherous gaze…?
I started to panic, but…
Apparently, that wasn’t it. It seemed Emma-san had finally noticed Fel, who had been standing silently behind me, watching how things played out.
“By the way, Shuzou-san. Who is this young lady…?”
For some reason, Emma-san’s voice was tinged with a faint note of caution.
I was at a loss for how to explain.
Saying “she’s an orphan I picked up yesterday” just sounded weird.
As I searched for the right words, Fel, who was standing next to me, spoke up in a cute, ordinary little girl’s voice—a complete one-eighty from her earlier haughty demeanor.
“…I’m this person’s daughter.”
“Wha-!?”
My voice and Emma-san’s overlapped almost perfectly.
