As soon as Miya had explained the situation with the intruder, Sebas teleported us to a spot halfway down the mountain path. We began running down the path and came up to the others in no time.
“We’re here!” I announced.
The group turned, faces brightened with relief. That’s when I realized that there wasn’t much tension or wariness on their expressions when they were regarding the intruder, who must have been just on the other side of the crowd. I spotted Hudom among them, who Miya had said was the one in charge of speaking to the stranger. Overall, the group just looked...confused. I didn’t have to wait long until I caught a glimpse of the man of the hour, because the group parted as I approached.
Sure enough, the intruder wore lavish clothes that indicated noble status. For whatever reason, though, his head had been sheared close to the scalp. He was leaning against the curb, visibly out of breath. I was about to be concerned for his health when the man huffed out a laugh.
“Magnificent. Truly magnificent! This texture... This weight... Like the altar of Vaughtecion Temple— No, methodical construction like this reminds me more of the Zepherion Ruins. Oh, how is it possible that these are here...?” The man was nuzzling the curb with his reddened cheek, with no regard for his expensive-looking clothes getting dustier with every movement. In fact, he didn’t even seem to know we were here at all. He was just...enjoying the curb.
“A pervert?” Yes, that felt like a good summary for this stranger.
“Yes, a purrvert!” Miya confirmed.
“He’s been like this the whole time.”
“I’ve tried talking to him a few times, but I don’t think he knows we exist. It’s not like he’s trying to sabotage the construction in any way, so we decided to hold out for your arrival rather than forcibly get his attention,” Hudom explained.
“Thank you for bringing me up to speed.” That still left me without a solid idea of how to deal with the intruder. At first, I had suspected some agent of malicious intent who wanted to sabotage my or the Jamils’ work here. If that were the case, the curb-nuzzling made no sense, even as an attempt to catch us off guard. His excited mumblings so far were complimenting my craftsmanship, so there was a chance he was a friend and not a foe...
“Oh? Is he...?”
“Do you recognize him, Sebas?”
“He is dressed quite differently from when I last saw him, but I believe that is Mister Perdor Beckentein.”
I’d heard the name before, about a year ago. He was a well-known architect who had been tasked with designing the colosseum that would be the centerpiece of the new city, and was also the person who had put out the quest for acquiring treant materials. I’d been told that he was...particular.
“Allow me to speak to him first. If that is Mister Beckentein, there is little to no chance that he intends to harm anyone or the work being done here. As it stands, he is the trespasser and I the duke’s butler. Even if he attempts to cause a political stir, it will not stick,” Sebas said.
“Thank you for doing that,” I said.
Sebas quietly approached the man and put a hand on his shoulder. The trespasser looked annoyed at first, but once Sebas called him by name, he seemed to remember who he was. He rose with the grace that was becoming of a noble, but his composure only lasted a second.
Now, he began looking left and right like a lost child looking for his parents. “Ethan? Where are you, Ethan?!” he cried out. Perhaps Ethan was the name of his attendant.
“Have you seen anyone else around?” I asked the group.
“No one. We had done a quick search of the area,” Jeff said.
“I would have heard the rustling of clothes or footsteps if there were anyone else around. That would have almost been preferable,” Welanna supplied.
“I agree... Does that mean that this ‘Ethan’ is still outside the mountain while the pervert got past the hexed rope? How...?” Just as my mind began to race about how this man made it up here, a loud crack came from the foot of the mountain.
“Sounds like it’s coming from the start of the path,” Cilia assessed.
“Does it sound like an Ethan?” Hudom asked.
“I can’t tell that much, but there is someone shouting. If this man is a noble, he certainly has more than one guard with him. The one yelling down there may be a keen-hearing beastkin like me. That would explain how he heard the noble calling for ‘Ethan.’ My guess is the sound we all heard came from the second intruder crossing the barrier. The shouting is getting closer and closer, but not linearly...which means he is following the path,” Cilia said.
“Maybe he thinks his master is in danger,” Miya suggested.
“Maybe... That shouldn’t be a problem. He can’t doubt our intentions if we keep away from this guy,” Welanna said.
I’d only heard the loud crack, but Cilia must have heard more with her rabbit ears. Her keen ears, combined with years of experience processing the auditory information, allowed her to assess her surroundings in a far more insightful way than I could have if I had simply cast a spell that boosted my hearing now. Seeing her in action gave me renewed admiration for her skill.
Just then, I saw a peanut-sized silhouette appear farther down the path. He must have noticed us too—the figure rapidly grew closer until I could make out an armored man and his face that was contorted with fury.
“Ethan, I’m here!”
“Master Perdor! Are you unharmed?!”
“I am. Sorry to always— Huh?”
Keeping the momentum of his magic-boosted sprint, Ethan threw himself between Perdor and us, glowering in our direction. “Who are you?!” he bellowed.
“Ethan, they’re with Duke Jamil—”
“Stand back, my lord! It isn’t safe!”
“E-Ethan? What’s the matter? Why are you so furious?”
Ethan ignored his master, looking ready to draw the sword on his belt at any moment. Naturally, we were also bracing for combat. Tension in the air became a live wire...and my eyes met Ethan’s.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
Wait. He’s not glowering at us... He’s glowering at me. “Try to stay calm,” I told our group. “My curse could be causing this.”
“Oh, right.”
“Completely forgot about that. It doesn’t affect us anyway.”
“I’ll go back to the dining room. If it is the curse, you’ll probably have a better shot at a civilized conversation without me,” I said.
“Aye-aye. We’ll take care of this situation,” Miya said.
“Master Takebayashi, if a civilized conversation is indeed possible, I shall invite them to the cottage. Could I ask you to have beverages ready to serve them?” Sebas asked.
“No problem.” Using Space magic, I quickly excused myself from the standoff.
Perdor was attempting to calm his guard down, and he seemed more reasonable than I had thought at first. Even Ethan looked like he had enough sense left to know he didn’t stand a chance against our whole roster of adventurers in combat. His temper could have very well cooled as soon as I was out of the picture. If worse came to worst and Ethan picked a fight, the adventurers wouldn’t break a sweat in detaining him.
For the first time, I felt like I’d gotten a real taste of my curse. My guard had been down, working in this isolated location surrounded by friends. All I could do now was try to think up a way to mitigate the curse while I prepared the cottage for the pair of unexpected guests.