Cui Ciyou came back to his senses. Roxy shifted slightly in front of him.
She hesitated before speaking, her voice barely above a whisper:
"Um... Ciyou... back at the carriage station, you mentioned being an 'Auxiliary Defense Knight'... was that true?"
Cui Ciyou smiled inwardly at her question and answered casually:
"Of course it was. I have the appointment Philip signed himself and the documents granting me noble status right here. Want to see?"
As he spoke, he deliberately made a show of reaching into his clothes to pull out the documents.
Roxy hurriedly stopped him. "N-no... there's no need. I... I believe you."
"I was just... just a little... surprised."
"There's nothing surprising about it."
Cui Ciyou's explanation sounded perfectly reasonable and logical.
"Recently, there have been... small-scale monster uprisings throughout the Fitoia Territory, caused by the phenomenon known as 'magic power stagnation.'"
"And Buena Village lies on the southernmost edge of the Fitoia Territory, very close to the dangerous 'Defense Belt' used to hold back large-scale monster tides."
"Philip thought of me because I happen to have an ability like Magic Nullification. Since I'm also a retainer of House Boreas, he gave me the title of Auxiliary Defense Knight to make it easier for me to act."
Finally, Cui Ciyou delivered the finishing touch, summing it all up in a casual tone:
"So this trip to Buena Village is strictly official business. We really are just heading the same way."
Holy shit... even I didn't know I was this good at making things up!
Drawing on the territorial defense documents he had previously seen at House Boreas, Cui Ciyou spun his lies without missing a beat.
Then he couldn't help silently applauding his own talent for improvisation.
Cui Ciyou hadn't told her the truth at all.
He hadn't