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Having experienced it once, I stepped calmly into the light without being dazzled or flustered like before. And—

“Ugh!”

“Kyaah!”

The stepping stones that had been there just a moment ago vanished, and my feet were floating in mid-air. It was only natural that I would suddenly tumble head over heels. If there had been nothing, I might have managed to keep my balance somehow, but while flailing around, I collided with something and fell headfirst.

“Ugh…”

I smashed my face into the ground as I fell. In the process, I felt a sharp pain in my nose and mouth as they hit something, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be anything as hard as rock, so it wasn’t excruciating. When I lifted my head and looked around, the first thing that caught my eye was Emma, who had gracefully landed on the ground, unlike me. The way she was staring at me as I rolled on the floor was quite painful to endure. Please don’t look at me with those eyes.

As I scanned the surroundings a bit more, I caught a glimpse of the blue sky. It seemed I had definitely escaped the labyrinth.

“Ah… ugh…”

Hearing a small noise from below, I lowered my head to look and saw a familiar face. Bright red hair, just like Emma’s, whom I had seen moments ago.

“Anne!”

I couldn’t believe how happy I was to see her after only a few hours apart. I was even more thrilled than when I hadn’t seen her for a week before coming to her mansion. The circumstances surely played a part in that.

However, unlike me, who was blooming with joy, Anne was staring blankly with wide eyes. It dawned on me that I was sitting on top of her. Being in a woman’s body, even with the lighter weight, it must have been quite a shock to be suddenly pinned down like that. Especially since I was wearing some equipment as well.

I quickly got up and reached out my hand to help Anne up. But Anne did not take my hand and remained sprawled on the floor. Just as worry began to swell that she might be hurt somewhere, she suddenly sprang up on her own without grabbing my hand.

However, her expression, once blank, now looked flustered and restless as if her soul had left her body. While she was avoiding my gaze, she was desperately trying to look away.

Ah… maybe she’s sulking because I sat on her. Honestly, it was just an accident with no malice intended, so I hope she lets it slide.

“Um… I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

Since I did mess up, I decided to check on her state alongside my apology. But instead of answering, Anne briefly covered her mouth with her hand and then swiftly moved it to her chest where her heart was. Did my sitting on her hurt that much?

Anne’s face was as red as her hair, and she remained silent.

“Lady Emma!”

At the sudden shout, I turned my head to see Dylan running over to Emma. With some newfound free time, I looked around and noticed knights and soldiers on one side, while on the other were Ian and a group of adventurers I had never seen before.

Only then did I start to understand why Anne was so embarrassed. In front of everyone, particularly her loyal retainers and complete strangers, I had just made a fool of myself by sitting on her. It was easy to see why she would feel humiliated.

Just because Anne doesn’t come off as a noble doesn’t mean she’s completely unashamed. Although she might have some rebelliousness, she is still undoubtedly a blooming young lady.

“Thank goodness! Lady Emma! Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah, not particularly. But how about you? Did anything happen while we were gone?”

“Miss Anne faithfully fulfilled her role as the acting head. We set up camp here in advance, and through Sir Ian, we sent back the previous adventurers while bringing in new high-ranking adventurers.”

Ah, that’s how Anne was out here all alone. By the way, acting head? Even though she looked like such a little girl, hearing that made her seem all the more reliable. Of course, she only looked cute because of her small stature, but still, it was a fleeting impression.

“How much time has passed?”

“It’s noon the day after the head disappeared. We were just about to dive into the labyrinth.”

“Thankfully, we avoided any overlap. We dealt with the orc settlement, and since that’s all wrapped up, maybe we should head out now.”

“Yes, understood.”

After finishing the conversation with Dylan, Emma walked toward Anne.

“Alright. You did well. It seems you haven’t forgotten your role. I’m proud of you as your mother and as the head, Anne.”

Emma said this while reaching out and patting Anne’s head. Although it was the relationship between mother and daughter, from the outside, it only looked like a little girl accompanying a little girl in a head pat. Anne, still blushing, nodded her head deeply with her eyes downcast. Seeing that, Emma chuckled softly and withdrew her hand.

“Alright! Let’s head back now! Clean up!”

At Emma’s shout, the soldiers began to take down the tents they had set up and put out the campfire. Amidst this, one of the adventurers called out loudly.

“Now that we’ve come this far, what do we do about us?”

“Do you think I’d ignore your contributions? Has House Klain ever been petty about rewards? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re well compensated, so just head back.”

“Please, don’t say that. The Count treating us adventurers well is something we all know here. It’s just this guy who got embarrassed asking about you, so please understand.”

The chat between a noble, representing a house, and a mere adventurer shouldn’t be happening. However, neither Emma nor the other retainers seemed to mind stopping them. In fact, they were even sharing smirks.

“Well… did my blundering make you spend more money?”

Given they were high-ranking adventurers, it would undoubtedly require quite a large sum. Feeling like I was causing Emma trouble, I brought it up cautiously, but Emma patted my back and said.

“There’s no need for you to worry about that. At times like this, we’ll just ask for a bit more support from the crown. We’re getting adventurers’ trust without taking a loss, and they get paid decently for a walk, so it’s a win-win.”

Technically, it was all taxes collected by the crown, but in the first place, House Klain had done enough work to earn that kind of support. As Emma said, I should stop worrying about unnecessary things. Just because I was worried didn’t mean I could repay her.

“Shall we head out now?”

“…Yeah.”

I quietly tried to speak to Anne, who was standing beside me again. Thankfully, her face, which had turned red with embarrassment, had returned to its normal color, but it felt a bit strange to see her acting more timid than usual.

Unlike before, when she was sulking, now she looked as if she was trying to gauge my reaction. She must have realized that my sitting on her was just an innocent accident with no ill intent, and now she felt unnecessarily self-conscious. Honestly, Anne is too innocent sometimes.

Seeing Anne this meek was a novelty, but she looked much better bright and lively, so I wrapped her in a hug. If it were Yuli or Selian, they probably wouldn’t let me act like this due to embarrassment, but since Anne was someone who would often hug me first, I felt somewhat safe.

“Oh, did our Anne worry about her big sister that much?”

I said to her in a slightly teasing, tongue-tied tone as I hugged her. However, contrary to my expectations, Anne’s reaction was not what I anticipated. Normally, she would slip out of my arms and shout, “Who’s your big sister!” But instead, she quietly nodded her head in my embrace.

Who are you! Where have you hidden my Anne?!

I looked around, but aside from Emma, I didn’t see anyone similar to Anne.

This won’t do. I need to check if the Anne in my arms is the real Anne. I loosened my grip around her and pulled out my secret weapon, specifically designed for her. If it’s really Anne, she should react just like her; if not, she’d have to reveal where the real Anne is hidden.

Anne looked up at me with her adorable face and wide eyes, but I had no intention of letting her off easy.

“Give me back our Anne!”

“What?! Ugh!”

With no understanding of the situation, Anne looked at me wide-eyed, and I began to mercilessly tickle her sides, instantly transforming her earlier shy demeanor into one of pure joy.

Wham!

And then Anne delivered a perfect body blow to my side.

Hmm. This is definitely Anne. I sacrificed a rib to reclaim her, so isn’t that a good trade-off?

 

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