A Righteous Female Knight Never Compromises!-Chapter 46 : “How cute you looked while eating…”

{Chapter 46} “How cute you looked while eating…”
"Mm! This tastes really good!" Mimicking the ordinary people around her, Louise grabbed a handful of still-warm potato chips and stuffed them into her mouth, nodding repeatedly.
"Would you like to sprinkle some salt on them?"
"Sprinkle salt? Sure..."
Watching Louise explore the nuances of this ordinary fried snack, Anna shrugged and didn't say much.
Although Louise's wide-eyed curiosity was endearing, Anna's mind wasn't on her at the moment, it was on the simulator.
[After some discussion, you and Louise decided that going along with the plan would be difficult. The secret room had been ransacked by you, and the other party would surely be on high alert by now.]
[But at least you could pretend not to know and continue to let things unfold. Maybe there was still a chance?]
...If you knew it would raise suspicions, why did you take everything?
Anna silently complained in her heart, but she also felt uncertain.
Because, truth be told, her first instinct upon seeing those items really would have been to stash them all in her spatial ring?
If the simulator hadn't pointed it out, Anna wouldn't have realized the consequences of her actions.
[After making the decision, you immediately headed to the inn where Atala and Helga were staying. There, you met Helga, who had just returned from the Adventurer's Guild after helping Atala register as an adventurer.]
[You got straight to the point, revealing what you had just done and explaining in detail how Atala had been deceived, based on the letters you found.]
[Both Helga and Atala were shocked, and Atala was especially moved that you didn't hold her attempted assassination against you.]
[You then explained your and Louise's plan and asked for Helga and Atala's help.]
[Helga and Atala agreed without hesitation.]
[After that, you spent what seemed like a peaceful day.]
This simulation of Day Zero was unexpectedly long...
[Day One: As you were leaving work, you saw Helga, Louise, and Atala walking toward the knight headquarters.]
[Louise directly brought up the issue of the monster rampage. Since you had already uncovered the mastermind the day before, you all wore expressions of "I knew it."]
[After ing to Philsey, he decided that the matter could be investigated the next day and sent you all away.]
[Day Two: You, Louise, and Helga headed into the forest. After some maneuvering, you successfully faked your death, while Atala took a fake head back to .]
[After reuniting with Helga and Louise, you all hid outside Alfon's mansion, watching as Atala carried your "head" inside.]
[It wasn't long before Atala emerged, giving you a meaningful glance in your direction before walking off as if nothing had happened.]
[You quietly followed Atala.]
[After turning down several streets, you saw Atala enter an alley near the red-light district.]
[You quickly followed, only to find Atala surrounded by several figures in black cloaks.]
[You joined the fight.]
[You defeated Adventurer John.]
[You defeated Adventurer Robert.]
[You defeated Adventurer Carl.]
[You defeated F-rank Knight Allen.]
...Huh?
Seeing this familiar name, Anna's attention was fully captured by the simulator.
Allen... If it was the same person, he should be a knight from the border knight corps, a seasoned slacker who knew all the tricks.
When Anna first joined, he had given her some tips on how to slack off, advising her not to work too hard.
He was one of the few people in the otherwise cold and distant knight corps who could actually hold a conversation with Anna.
And yet... he was involved in all this?
[After recognizing him, Allen, who was kneeling on the ground gasping for breath, immediately pulled out a small knife and tried to slit his own throat.]
[But Louise interrupted his action with a shield bash, and Allen's suicide attempt failed.]
[After Helga used magic to restrain Allen and the other adventurers, you pressed Allen for answers about his involvement in the matter.]
[But Allen remained silent, refusing to say a word.]
[Louise decided to take Allen back to her place, planning to use some unconventional methods to get him to talk.]
[The other adventurers, after interrogation, claimed they were just hired thugs and had no idea what was really going on.]
[But one of the adventurers mentioned that Allen had once said if they did well, a powerful figure would reward them handsomely and even recommend them for positions in the capital.]
...There's a powerful figure involved too?
This layer upon layer of intrigue was making Anna's head spin.
At first, she thought Alphonso was the mastermind, but then the mastermind blew himself up.
Then she thought following Atala would lead her to the real mastermind, only to find yet another underling of the mastermind...
But Allen... a powerful figure...
If the powerful figure Allen mentioned was also someone from the knight corps... Could it be Philsey?
That didn't seem likely... From what she could see now, Philsey didn't seem to be heavily involved in these matters...
Wait.
Thinking back to how she had fainted on the spot after confronting Philsey the first time and ended up being sold into slavery, and how she was blown up by Atala's explosive arrow on her way home after confronting Philsey the second time... Anna began to feel that Philsey might not be as uninvolved as she seemed.
...For now, she'd have to see if Louise could get Allen to talk.
"Anna Senpai, aren't you going to eat?"
Since Anna's attention was entirely focused on the simulator, to an outsider, she looked like she was just sitting there in a daze, which puzzled Louise.
"Ah, it's nothing. I'm just waiting for the main course. I like to eat, but I don't like to overdo it."
"Is that so? But we haven't even ordered the main course yet?"
...Oh.
Anna had completely forgotten.
Hurriedly calling over the server, she ordered a few filling dishes, then secretly wiped away a nonexistent sweat.
"So, Senpai, what were you thinking about that made you so distracted?"
Louise propped her chin on her hand, looking at Anna. Her question carried a hint of faint complain.
Anna blinked a few times, then quickly put on an embarrassed expression.
"Actually... I was just thinking how cute you looked while eating..." Scratching her cheek, Anna's lie came out smoothly. "I just... got a little carried away."
"Eh... R-really?"
Seeing Louise flustered and looking even more adorable, Anna breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
But with all these daily lies to Louise, Anna's initial guilt was gradually fading away…