187: The Auction Resolution, Part 1

"Weiss-kun, do you want some fruit?"

"Yeah, thanks."

In the courtyard of House Friede, Carta and I were having a fruit-themed tea party. Right in front of us, Belk and Meryl were busy trying to beat the life out of each other in a sparring match.

"Take this! Spinning Slash!"

"Too many openings."

His swings were as wide as ever, but it looked like he’d actually made a slight improvement by imbuing the tip of his blade with the fire attribute. If that actually landed, it would do some serious damage. 'If' being the operative word.

Meryl dodged with a look of utter boredom and blasted him from the side with a Mana Cannon.

I couldn't help but feel a small smile tugging at my lips at the peaceful—if slightly violent—sight.

"Sigh... Honestly, being above ground is just the best, isn't it?"

"Ha! Hearing words like that come out of your mouth is like watching a deleted scene I never knew existed."

"Deleted scene? I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I certainly never imagined I’d end up behind bars."

"I bet."

After the dust settled, the four of us were all rounded up and arrested together. It was a real bonding experience. To be fair, half the room was already tied up in ropes by the time the guards arrived.

"Even so, your father is amazing, Weiss-kun."

"Yeah... I was pretty surprised myself."

We were tossed into a cell just like everyone else, but once our identities were revealed, the chaos that followed was nothing short of legendary.

The House of Wiore is famous for their business ventures, and Carta’s little flight over Noblesse was already the talk of the Royal Capital. Then you had Belk, who’s basically the Royal Family’s personal right hand, and Meryl, the prodigy from a lineage of Court Mages.

Oh, and then there was me. Weiss Fancent.

The people we’d tied up, on the other hand, were the city's power players. Just imagining the headache the authorities must have had trying to figure out how to handle this mess made me want to crawl into a hole.

Normally, I should have been the one to take the fall for everything. I knew that, and honestly, I was prepared for it. That’s why I didn't change my story. I stood tall and told them exactly what I’d done: I’d known about the auction, and I wanted to tear the whole thing down. From the perspective of the investigators, I was a godsend. I was practically begging them to pin the whole thing on me.

Considering how the Original Story usually goes, it wouldn’t have been surprising if they’d just thrown the book at me without a second thought.

"It seems you handled the situation well, Weiss."

I was ready for the worst, but then the most shocking thing happened. To my absolute surprise, the one who actually came to pick me up was my father, Agate.