It was obvious from the young man’s perplexed face that he didn’t know why he had to do such a thing, even as he carried the Paladin in his arms. The Paladin, too, wasn’t sure how to take the sudden close situation, and all he could think to do was apologize.

 

“I’m sorry, Young Lord, for my current lack of strength.”

 

The young man’s face wriggled uncomfortably, and he began to quickly walk, seemingly in an attempt to hurry to wherever they were headed to, so that he could escape from the position he’d placed himself in sooner rather than later.

 

“...It feels weird for you to call me that after saying you want to be with me. Just call me Sien, darn it!”

 

“Ah, yes, Lord Sien-”

 

“Nope! Just Sien! Sien!”

 

“...Yes, Sien.”

 

“Good!”

 

The triumphant grin on his face looked like that of a cat that had just successfully stolen a fish, and it made the already confused Paladin all the more befuddled. This was hardly what he’d expected the monster, no, Sien, to be like once he got here. From what he’d briefly seen on the battlefield, he’d expected the same maniacal man who had gleefully annihilated all of his troops to greet him. He’d been ready to have to prove himself worthy somehow, get stabbed a few times for the monster’s sadistic pleasure, or maybe be taken to be tortured for information somewhere until it was proven that he wasn’t a spy. He certainly hadn’t expected to be fed and carried home like some kind of wounded maiden or pet.

 

“Hey, you too!”

 

“Hmm?”

 

The Paladin was snapped from his musings by Sien’s call and expectant look.

 

“You gonna tell me your name too or what?”

 

…For a moment the Paladin wasn’t sure what to say.

 

If he counted the time up until he’d been killed on the battlefield, then it had been over 16 years since anyone had referred to him by his name. Even before he’d been offered as a test subject to offload his lesser-noble family’s burden, he still couldn’t remember people talking to him very much and referring to him by name, so it was hard for him to dig through his memories and find the correct name to tell. In the end, he just decided to say the name that he thought sounded like it might be the right one.

 

“Ritter... It’s Ritt.”

 

Yes, from now on he wasn’t a Paladin anymore. After all, he’d ran away before they could complete him, hadn’t he? From now on, he would live here simply as a man called Ritt. Hopefully ‘Ritt’ could be happy in a way that the ‘Paladin’ would never be able to be.

 

“Ritt, huh?”

 

Sien tilted his head left and right a few times, muttering it over and over to himself.

 

“Okay, I shouldn’t forget it now!”

 

The accomplished look on his face was like that of a child, confident that he’d gotten something right. Ritt, who had always had a soft spot for children and those younger than him, couldn’t help the small gentle smile that peeked onto his face when he saw it. Sadly though, the expression on Sien’s face quickly melted away for some unknown reason, instead being replaced by a very pointed stare towards Ritt’s mouth, until they made it to their destination.

 

~~~

 

“Heyyy! You useless people! Show up and do your jobs!!!”

 

Moments after Sien’s scream, dozens of people flocked to the entryway of the large stone fortress they’d entered. They bowed with impeccable manners, hiding their inquisitive looks towards Ritt in Sien’s arms. Sien barely paid the servants that were lined up in front of him any kind of real attention as he spoke commandingly up into the air.

 

“Some of you, I don’t care who, get this man into some proper clothes and put together a meal. Make it something filling, because he’s starving! You have 20 minutes!”

 

It was much harder for the servants to hide their confusion after hearing such completely-unlike-him orders coming from Sien’s mouth. They watched on in bewilderment as their typically crazy and callous master gently conversed with the mystery man, even being considerate and asking if it was okay to let him down before doing so. It was like the world had suddenly turned on its head.

 

However, when Sien abruptly turned a violent gaze onto them and threateningly asked what they were waiting for, they all quickly sprung into action, knowing better than to test the fiend in front of them. Thankfully the mystery man cooperated with them and seemed kind, if not equally as confused as them, so it didn’t take them very long to comply with their lord’s orders. It was a bit tricky to find nice enough clothes that fit the man’s tall and rather muscular body, but that also meant that they could get away with conversing with him without looking like they were wasting time.

 

Finding out who this man was and his relationship to their lord was of utmost importance!

 

“Excuse me, Sir…?”

 

The confused Ritt batted his eyelashes at the maid who suddenly spoke to him. Even when they had hastily stripped off his clothes and scrubbed him down to clean him, they’d barely conversed with him, so any of them suddenly asking his name was quite surprising to him.

 

“...It’s Ritt.”

 

“I see. Sir Ritt, we’re sorry for the delay; The clothes are proving harder to find than we’d expected. They should be here shortly, however.”

 

Ritt nodded vaguely in understanding. They’d at least given him a small robe to cover up his shame while he waited, so he didn’t mind if he had to wait for a while. He felt little awkwardness being served like this, having spent so many years being forced to stand or lay still while the mages washed and fiddled with him. Even after he’d been released from the tower, he was given servants and treated like a proper noble. Perhaps he had never learned to properly converse with them, but their presence wasn’t something that made him feel bothered at all.

 

What was bothering him was the fact that Sien had mentioned that there would be food. He was trying his best to keep his expectant tummy in check until it was time, lest it sing an opera for the servants here. He was no longer starving thanks to the small handful of berries that Sien had given him, but such a miniscule amount of food was nowhere near enough to truly stave back his deep hunger.

 

The maid who’d spoken gathered her courage, having been the one who was selected from all the other servants to spearhead this information gathering. She knew quite well that if this man happened to be a noble or from the family of a wealthy merchant, then he might realize that her probing him with questions would be considered quite rude. However, this was a necessary risk that she would need to take; If he was ignorant and answered all of her questions, then that would be perfect, but if he grew angry and pointed out her mistake, then at least it would be an important clue towards the man called Ritt’s true status.

 

“You look fine, but is your body alright, Sir Ritt? Your clothes were in a terrible state, and the lord had to carry you in.”

 

“Mmm… My arm might be a little stiff, but I should be fine.”

 

Ritt answered truthfully, conditioned from the years of informing the mages of how his body was faring. Still, he withheld the fact that he was currently massively weak due to his hunger, his pride too great to admit to how weakened he actually was.

 

“Ah, I see. Then do you think you’ll be staying long enough for us to call a doctor who can check on your arm? We don’t keep one on the premises, but if we call then one should be able to come from a nearby town.”

 

Ritt’s head slightly tilted at the fact that a noble’s residence, like this one seemed to be, was without a personal doctor on the grounds. From what he remembered, every noble who could afford to made sure to keep a doctor close to them, for a variety of reasons. Still, with how powerful Sien was, he was able to rationalize it easily, and quickly forgot about the doubt.

 

“Well, I hope to be able to stay here for a long long time, if Sien will permit me.”

 

The small wishful smile that Ritt made when he spoke made the maid’s well trained eyebrows imperceptibly rise for a moment. From what she’d gathered so far, their lord had brought in this man, this ‘Ritt’, while carrying him. And what’s more, Ritt didn’t have a single clear wound on his body, meaning that even though Ritt’s clothes were in tatters, their lord, who had a tendency for violence and maliciousness, hadn’t been the one to harm him. Their lord usually smiles, so that wasn't terribly odd, but he wasn’t as rude towards Ritt as he would typically be while he spoke, and had even been quite gentle with him. And now, like the icing on top of a cake, Ritt had just told her that he hoped he would be staying for a long time, and had even been smiling as he said their lord’s first name!

 

The maid was certain that she’d just stumbled onto a massive discovery!