Chapter 9: Villainous Aristocrat Runs Over Kidnapper

The next day,

Father and I set off for the royal capital.

We traveled on the modified magic-powered motorcycle to the vicinity of the capital, planning to proceed on foot from there.

“Take care, Kunou-kun.”

“Onii-sama!! Have a safe journey!!”

“Yes. Take care, onee-chan, Wendy.”

My stepsisters are as adorable as ever.

“So, Father, please drive safely.”

“Yeah, leave it to me!!”

Father, wearing the Mohawk shoulder pads, said this with utmost seriousness.

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

By the way, we’re not riding together. We have a sidecar attached.

I absolutely didn’t want to ride with Father, who looked like he might drive recklessly.

Well, I’m the one who made him look like he might drive recklessly in the first place.

“Hyaaahhh!!! The wind feels amazing!!”

“…”

I envy him. I wish I could drive too.

But whenever I try to drive, Father insists on the Mohawk shoulder pads, making it impossible for me to ride.

The journey to the royal capital continues smoothly.

The wind magic to remove obstacles and the earth magic’s leveling function work flawlessly, making our journey with Father quite comfortable.

However, there was something I found really difficult.

“This is seriously amazing. We’ve covered half the distance to the capital in just a week, a journey that would take a month on a fast horse.”

“More than that, camping out is really tough.”

Looking back, life in the territory seemed much better now.

Camping out is the worst.

Nights are freezing, the ground is hard, and occasionally, monsters attack.

Father, who used to be a mercenary, seems unfazed, but for me, who knows the comforts of modern life, it’s unbearable.

I seriously think I should have made a car that could be used for camping..

“Nah, that’s not true, Kunou… The path we’ve cleared with the bike can be used as a road all the way to the territory. It’s actually quite impressive, you know?”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, it means we’ve opened up routes to the rural areas. We might even get a baron title. An easy life might be waiting for us in our old age.”

“…I suppose so.”

Even if we get a baron title, it probably won’t change our lives much.

What I truly desire is a comfortable life.

I want to lounge around in a room with the air conditioning blasting, enjoying a barbecue with Felsy and Wendy.

Yes, Felsy and Wendy.

Their absence, the lack of their soothing presence, is probably what makes this journey so harsh.

At least if I were traveling with an incredibly beautiful woman instead of Father, I could muster some motivation.

“Are you thinking something rude?”

“I was just thinking, Father, that you’re quite handsome.”

“Oh? Have you finally realized my good looks? Good, learn from your father!!”

I hope he’ll be alright. I hope he won’t fall into any traps in the capital.

People say the capital in this world has good security, but it’s nowhere near as safe as Japan.

I really need to be careful.

While lost in my thoughts, dawn broke, and we set out once again.

We sped through the depths of the forest on the modified magic-powered motorcycle.

“Once we’re out of this forest, let’s get off the bike!!”

“Sounds good!!”

However, just as the capital seemed within reach, we sensed something was amiss.

“Hmm?”

“Father, did you feel that just now…?”

A scream echoed from somewhere deep in the forest.

“A scream. A child’s, and it sounds like a girl.”

He truly was a former mercenary.

I could only discern it as a scream, but he seemed to know the age and gender.

“I’ll go check it out!!”

Honestly, I saw this as an opportunity.

Someone was in need of help.

This was an emergency. That meant there was no time to worry about formalities.

I discarded the Mohawk shoulder pads and revved up the bike!!

“Wait!! Don’t go alone!! It might be a trap set by monsters—”

Ignoring Father’s voice, I veered off the road and raced through the forest.

Hyahhoo!! This bike is amazing!! I’m a genius for creating this!! Yeaaahh!!

“Hey there!! It’s the passage of Kunou Dorana-sama!! —Ah!”

I tripped over a small stone, causing the bike to jump wildly.

But what truly sent my heart plummeting was that the jump led straight into a cliff.

“Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

I screamed involuntarily, but the sight was eerily reminiscent of a sci-fi movie where aliens soared through the sky on bicycles.

However, the real problem occurred after that.

In the spot where the bike was supposed to land, there was a man standing.

“Whoa!! Move, move!!”

I shouted desperately, but the man, engrossed in conversation with a girl in a dress, didn’t notice me.

“Lady Eleanor, please come with me to the Dark Lord’s presence. It would be in your best interest to cooperate.”

“Why, why would you…”

“I have become a follower of the Dark Lord. You are my offering. —Huh?”

The man finally noticed me, but it was too late.

The spikes I had attached to the magic-powered motorcycle pierced through the man, and the tires dragged his flesh along the ground.

A vivid, squelching sensation transmitted through the handlebars.

I slammed on the brakes in a panic, coming to an emergency stop. When I looked back, all that remained was an unrecognizable mass of flesh.

“Oh, damn it!! I’ve completely killed him!! W-well, there are no witnesses, so if I bury him here and return him to the earth—”

“Um, excuse me…”

No, there was a witness. It was likely the girl who had screamed.

Maybe I could… No, no!! These thoughts are completely villainous!!

But, what should I do now?

As I pondered, the girl approached and spoke to me.

“Um, thank you so much for helping me.”

“Huh? I, I helped?”

“Yes. I am Kerbeck… I was on the verge of being abducted by that man.”

Hearing that, my mouth hung open in shock.

Seriously? On the verge of being abducted?

“…Certainly, you seem like a well-bred young lady, but…”

The girl was dressed in a glamorous gown.

Indeed, she gave off the vibe of a young lady who had narrowly escaped being abducted.

“That man was a practitioner of Teleportation Magic, a bloodline magic that allows instant movement over great distances. However, there are limits to the distance he can travel in one go, and that’s how he managed to get from my house to here…”

“That must have been quite challenging. Um, I mean, it must have been tough for you.”

The girl seemed to be from a high-ranking noble family, so I hurriedly spoke to her in formal language.

“No, I am truly grateful for your help.”

While saying that, the girl gazed sadly at the man I had run over.

But, perhaps, she was acquainted with the man well enough to know his bloodline magic to some extent.

If that’s the case, it feels like running him over was a bad move after all.

“Um, are you okay?”

It’s strange for the person who ran him over to ask.

The girl turned towards me and nodded with a smile.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s a shock to be betrayed by someone you trusted, but it’s not uncommon.”

“Ah, is that what you mean?”

Not that it was a relief, but…

Despite claiming to be shocked, the girl who stared at me with determination seemed beautiful to me. 

No, more than that, she was genuinely cute.

I hadn’t noticed in my haste, but her golden hair reflected the sunlight beautifully. 

Above all, her vibrant azure eyes were incredibly stunning.

She doesn’t seem much older than me, but she appears much more mature, it can’t be just my imagination.

Still, there’s something familiar about her…

No, it must be my imagination.

“Hey!! Kunou!! Are you alright!!”

“Oh, Father!!”

Aslan’s voice echoed from the top of the cliff.

Later on, the noble girl and I were pulled up by my father using a rope.

Ah, I managed to recover the motorcycle properly.

I had borrowed the magic bag that my mother brought to the Dorana territory when she came as my father’s bride.

Oh, a magic bag is a convenient item that can store just about anything.

It was a gift from my mother’s brother, my uncle, to her as a wedding anniversary present.

Originally, it was meant for storing the bike after getting off near the capital…

It was a good call to borrow it from my mother.

We took the bike out of the magic bag again, and the girl rode with me.

We couldn’t just leave her there like that, after all.

We decided to take her to the capital where her home was.

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