Jack of All Trades, Party of None

“This is really strange. First Mr. Orun had to leave suddenly on urgent business, and now even Sister Ru is heading off somewhere. What do you think, Log?”

Sophie, who was riding in the carriage with me, asked.

Indeed, the current situation didn’t add up.

If only the master had urgent business, that would make sense.

If there was trouble in the territory, it wouldn’t be strange for the master, who can handle anything, to be called to assist.

But even Sister Ru leaving suddenly was unnatural.

Sister Ru had just told us she was going to the Royal Capital with us.

Yet, she suddenly got off the carriage, which was clearly odd.

Could something serious be happening without our knowledge?

“Well, she did say she’d catch up with this carriage soon. Let’s believe her words. She’s one of your comrades, right?”

Before I could speak, Lord Abel answered Sophie’s question.

True, Sister Ru said that, but how exactly would she catch up to the carriage?

With the help of fairies or spirits, maybe she could move faster than the carriage?

“Exactly! Sister Ru said she’d be back soon, so let’s wait for her return!”

Caroline agreed with Lord Abel’s words.

Though the situation was puzzling, there was nothing we could do right now. So, like Caroline said, all we could do was wait for Sister Ru’s return.

Sophie seemed to have come to the same conclusion as me. Although she looked dissatisfied, she said nothing more about it.

After that, the four of us chatted for a while.

Because Lord Abel was the son of Count Edington, I was nervous when we first met.

But after these past few months, I realized he was easy to talk to, so I wasn’t as nervous now.

I had thought nobles were all scary, so I was really surprised when the Edington family treated us kindly.

While we were talking, suddenly a short, sharp scream came from outside.

At the same time, the carriage we were riding in shook slightly and then came to a stop.

“Hm? What’s going on?”

Carol nonchalantly pulled back the curtain to look outside, and we saw the soldier who had left with Roirus as Lord Abel’s guard lying on the ground.

(Huh? What’s that red puddle around the soldier?)

As I pondered this, Lord Abel suddenly shouted,

“Everyone, stay still!”

He activated a ring-shaped magical tool on his right hand, and we were enveloped by something like a magic barrier.

Immediately afterward, an explosion occurred inside the carriage.

Though protected by the magic barrier, the blast’s force tore the carriage apart.

We were thrown outside.

Thanks to the master’s training, I managed to take the fall without trouble despite the chaos.

Looking around, I saw many red puddles scattered about.

I heard something fall nearby and turned to see Lord Abel collapsed, badly burned all over.

“—Lord Abel!”

Only then did I finally grasp the situation.

Sophie and I quickly cast healing magic together.

He managed to survive, but Lord Abel was barely conscious.

“To think… he did this to protect us…”

“Fred, what are you doing? No one’s dead.”

“Huh? That’s strange. I thought this was a complete surprise attack, but maybe trying not to stand out backfired.”

As we treated Lord Abel, voices of a girl and a boy came from a little distance away.

They still sounded young, possibly our age.

Curious, we looked toward the voices.

There stood two children dressed in bright red clothes.

As expected, both were about our age.

“...Eh, why—?”

Carol’s voice next to me was filled with confusion I had never heard before.

Looking at her, her face was pale and her body trembling.

“What’s going on…?”

Sophie looked toward the two who must have attacked us, her expression showing disbelief as if she’d seen something unbelievable.

Following Sophie’s gaze, I looked at the two again.

This time, I clearly saw their faces: they were identical twins.

That alone wouldn’t surprise Sophie so much.

But when I looked closely, I felt the same confusion.

Because despite differences in build and hairstyle, their faces were strikingly similar to Carol’s.