According to the story that was explained to me, Green and Blue were on vacation visiting the royal capital of Nav Kingdom.
Between Arteaga Empire and Nav Kingdom there's a small country. So, it was unlikely that they live close enough to just drop in for a quick visit, but do they both have good enough jobs to be able to support themselves even if they take long vacations?
Thinking that, I glanced up at Green and Blue, and Green heard my question.
"What's the matter, Fia?" (Green)
"No, it looked like you two were taking a long vacation, so I was wondering if it was okay for you to take that much time off work." (Fia)
"Oh, that's okay. Thanks to Fia's help, we were able to take over the family business. All we have to do is have Red work hard while we have fun."
"I see. So the eldest son, Red, is not with you, is he?" (Fia)
...Poor guy. I don't know if he's a greengrocer or a fishmonger, but Red is working alone these days. Oh, now that I think of it, they said that they come from a good family, so it's possible that their family runs a trading company or something... but it doesn't seem like it. They seem to be good at physical activities... Hmm, I denied it earlier, but maybe they're adventurers in the Empire after all.
As I was mulling over this, my eyes met with Captain Clarissa, who had been listening to our conversation in silence.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! We didn't introduce each other!" (Fia)
This is bad, this is bad. Come to think of it, this is the first time that Green and Captain Clarissa have met. I should have introduced them. Thinking that, I quickly introduced each of them.
"This is Captain Clarissa, a knight from the kingdom. She is the captain of the Fifth Knights, responsible for guarding the royal capital. ...And these are Green and Blue, who went on an adventure with me six months ago. These two are brothers." (Fia)
Captain Clarissa had been listening to my introduction in silence, and when it was finished, she held out one hand to Green and his brother with a smile on her face.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Clarissa. I never thought Fia-chan would have such beautiful friends. Fia-chan seems clueless about love, but... maybe a girl like this will be blessed with a wonderful man." (Clarissa)
"……Thank you"
Green and Blue were praised by Captain Clarissa, but they were surprised that they only responded by saying thank you in a cold, expressionless manner.
What?! I thought these two were shy and blush easily, but they suddenly became so cool. Ha! Could it be that they're being defensive towards the overly cute Captain Clarissa and trying to look cool so they don't feel embarrassed?
While thinking that, I thought, "No, if that's the case, then it would be too sad for them to blush every time without even realizing it," so I gave up on the thought.
I didn't seem to notice that the two were acting cooler than usual, and Captain Clarissa continued speaking to them with her usual smile.
"By the way, are you two foreigners?" (Clarissa)
"...Why do you think so?" (Green)
In response to Captain Clarissa's innocent-looking question, Green answers cautiously. On the other hand, Captain Clarissa gave a funny reply with an equally innocent look on her face.
"Because of my job, I know the faces of all the important people in the country. But I don't recognize you two at all." (Clarissa)
"Captain Clarissa... well, I don't think Green and Blue are important people. Well, that's just my guess..." (Fia)
As soon as I spoke my mind, Green and Blue stiffened up in shock and both ran their hands through their hair.
Captain Clarissa, who was casually looking around, had her lips curved in an interested expression.
"...I see, so Fia-chan's word is absolute? The moment Fia-chan said that the two of them were not important, the guards surrounding them were removed and they started to act like they were not important. ...Their loyalty to Fia-chan is a bit excessive, but it doesn't seem like they're doing any harm." (Clarissa)
"Captain Clarissa, did you say something?" (Fia)
Once again, I couldn't hear the lowly muttered words of Captain Clarissa, so I asked her to repeat it.
...Maybe Captain Clarissa is the type of person who mutters to herself. If so, it would be rude to ask again and again.
"Hehehe, it's been a long time since I've met someone so intriguing. Unfortunately, it seems you're already so engrossed in a certain young lady that you don't even notice me. Perhaps... you've come to this country to meet that young lady?" (Clarissa)
Neither Green nor Blue responded to Captain Clarissa's question at all, so I wondered if that was rude to the Captain, but then the Captain smiled as if he had understood something, so I was surprised. Green and his brother didn't seem to move an inch, but perhaps they were replying with something that I was the only one who couldn't read.
"...Hehe, that's disgusting. I thought something like that was impossible, but to think that you would really visit this country for such a purpose. I just want to ask you one thing. You won't ignore Fia-chan's wishes and force something, right?" (Clarissa)
While Captain Clarissa smiled faintly, with a warm yet chilling intensity, Green spoke expressionlessly.
"I will never take any action that goes against the Fia's wishes or harms Fia." (Green)
"…I see. I think I should be satisfied with that for now. If you are important people, then going any further seems too dangerous for either of us. Besides… it looks like real guards have arrived." (Clarissa)
Captain Clarissa smiled as if satisfied, but before that smile had even disappeared someone called out to me.
"Lady Fi!" (Curtis)
"Curtis?" (Fia)
Although I thought our meeting was supposed to be in the evening, I couldn't mistake that voice, so I turned around and called out his name.
Sure enough, it was Captain Curtis as I had expected —— although he had taken off his knight's uniform and was dressed like a mercenary in his plain clothes and sword —— who came running up to me and stood between Green and his brother.
"C-Curtis, what's wrong?" (Fia)
Not only did he not respond to my calls, but depending on how you look at it, his behavior also seemed wary of Green and his brother, which confused them, so I asked him again, but Captain Curtis still did not respond.
On the contrary, he stood in front of me with his back to me, as if he were a high wall protecting me.