Looking up, I saw that the castle and the temple were enveloped in a remarkably bright light. The castle’s warm glow seemed to illuminate the entire city. The image of a lavish party going on inside popped into my head. The temple had fewer lights that had a pale, phosphorescent blue hue. This created an air of serenity and holiness. What could be going on inside the temple, was a mistery to me. Maybe the saintess and the priestesses were offering prayers, or maybe they were simply cleaning the place. As I observed my surroundings, I pushed through the crowd and continued walking. It was now the middle of the night. I ended up in a place away from the center of the city. Because of that and the late point in time, few people around, and everything was quiet. It seemed like everyone had gone to bed. Well, I suppose that was to be expected. It was 2:00 a.m. after all. The liveliness of earlier felt like a distant memory. The streetlights that illuminated the road were gradually being turned off, and I could only see a short distance in front of me. The city had been pretty efficient in this way. They’d probably decided in advance which streetlamps needed to be lit. As I walked down the quiet streets of the city, the clacking sound of my armor was particularly loud. “If I rode Shien down these streets no one would notice, right? Just kidding though.” “Hey, you over there. What are you doing out this late?” Just as I was joking around, someone called out to me from behind. When I turned around, I saw a guard in knight's armor, a sword hanging from his waist. The security in the royal city was very good because there were many knights and guards patrolling the city throughout the day. Even drunk men passed out on the side of the road were safe. “...I'm just taking a walk,” I replied. Wait, do I look like a suspicious person? A full-body armored man walking alone in the middle of the night... Yeah, if I were the guard, I’d definitely call out to me, too. “Don’t try to lie to me! I just heard you say 'no one would notice, right?'” From the tone of voice it was clear the nervous-looking guard was wary of me. You’re only listening to the parts that fit into your world view! What about the part where I said, “Just kidding though.” ? What bad timing. “I was just talking to myself! I’m not doing anything shady!” “Then tell me what you wanted to do that no one would notice.” “I was simply wondering if I could shout loud enough right now to wake everyone up? As no one is here and I’m a fast runner, no one would know it was me, right?” “Don’t lie to me. I heard you say, ‘If I rode... no one would notice, right?’” “You heard everything, didn’t you? Why are you being so mean to me?!” That bastard just casually lied to me. Thanks to him, my plan to get out of this easily had gone up in smoke. If things had gone as planned, I would have to simply listened to a stern warning and that would be it.

“I really didn't hear anything else. Come on, now spill the beans already.” “……” What should I do? This guard was only listening to the words he wanted to hear. If I told him a cheap lie, he might call in reinforcements and arrest me. If that happened, they would probably take me to an interrogation room and make me take off my helmet. I can't think of anything that doesn't sound perverted to fill out the sentence “If I rode... no one would notice, right?” But even the truth would sound like made up stuff at this point. Could I simply knock out this guard and run away? If all went well, no one would ever know. He’d probably just think it was a dream or something. While I was mulling over such troublesome plans, the guard said something outrageous. “What’s wrong? If you don’t come clean already I’ll report that you said, ‘If I rode on a pig naked through these streets, no one would notice, right?’” “Hey! That's not funny, you idiot! If you do that, they’ll brand me a pervert and kick me out of the capital!” “You dare call me an idiot?! If you’re not a pervert, then spit out the truth already!” He changed his speech manner now. Treating me like a crime suspect. What should I do? At this rate, this guard was going to brand me a super pervert... Huh? Wait a minute. It’s dark out, and I haven’t even given him my name yet. I could just turn around and run away. He could do nothing about that. “…Show me even the slightest bit of suspicious movement and I’m going to blow this whistle and call for backup. It’s dark out, but I can still recognize that gray full-body armor you’re wearing, you know?” The guard slowly backed away from me, then put the whistle he was wearing around his neck in his mouth. It seemed he’d caught on to what I was trying to do. How could this guard be so good at cornering me? I’m a dullahan, so I can’t change my clothes! My cover would be blown in an instant if he saw me again. And I probably would not be faster knocking him out than he could blow his whistle. I can't believe I've gotten myself into this mess over a simple stroll at night. What should I say to get out of this? ...Wait a sec. “Come on, spit it out!” the guard said in a harsh voice, trying to deal the final blow. In response I said with a despondent tone in my voice, “I’m an adventurer, and I’ve got a crazy mage in my party...” “...?” “She’s a terrifying mage... And she’s really rough with people. She’s been treating me like a monster, probably because I’m wearing full-body armor all the time. I get hit by her magic a lot.” “I-I’ve heard about her. She’s a wicked mage who wipes out monsters and her companions alike… Could you really be her partner?!” The guard’s eyes widened in surprise, and I nodded, as if to say, “Yes, that’s right.” “Indeed. She got me into her debt by lending me, a sorry country bumpking, this armor. Now makes all kinds of demands to me for paying it back. That's why I thought it'd be safe to complain about her here, where there's no one around to listen. I mean, she's really scary.” “O-oh! I see! I’m sorry I doubted you. You’ve been going through a lot, haven’t you? As guards, we can’t do anything unless there’s an actual crime commited, but if you have any evidence or something happens, you can count on us. I’m usually at the guardhouse, so if you mention my name, Makarov, they’ll let you in.” The guard apologized profusely, his voice choked up with tears. That was easy. “Thank you... Macaron,” I said. “... It’s Makarov.”