Capital of Ista, Tiamalia.
The last metropolis remaining in Ista, it faces the inland sea and was once known as a major trade town.
Yes, it was once known as such.
With Augusta in the north, and the pro demon beast people in Rilu Maal to the south, protective walls were put up in order to guard against attacks from the two and they"re now known as a walled town.
Nevertheless, even though it"s on the verge of falling it is the only place left in Ista that can repel the demons, the reason it can keep its outward appearance of being a metropolis is due to the pract.i.tioners of the Salia Faith from Seneka, and the standing army dispatched from Folkus.
After all, there is no such thing as amicable relations between human across borders.
It was due to the result of all of humanities motives intertwining, the other countries couldn"t permit the dermit it would become if the demons took Ista, thus Tiamalia is just barely able to continue to this day.
Within that dangerous peace they maintain, the humans living inside look towards the wall for rea.s.surance, and they gradually forget about the outside menace.
「But, I thought you"d be able to enter, Purichan」
「No no, don"t say anythin stupid. My senpai"s who thought the same thin tried attackin from the sky, I ain"t know what it was but they were shot down by some weapon an came back cryin」
「So they came back」
It"s like a skit.
「Even when it"s like this it looks like this, this is an important place ta humans, if it falls then lots a other places will be in trouble, don"t look down on their defences. Though that"s somethin I heard from Aromsama」
「True. The pro human group from Rilu Maal too, if Ista falls then they"ll all join the demon side」
Within the human territories, Ista is the only one who could be said to adopt a pro beast people like measure, so if Ista falls, there"s a good chance that the beast people who are still discriminated by humans will join the demons, at least that"s the general expectation.
However, it is due to humanities foolishness that they have not yet changed the way in which they treat the beast people.
It"s only reasonable.
It"s not like you can just change all of a sudden, right.
They aren"t being sincere.
But Evsan also said it, it"s something like a psychological disgust, and you can"t just get rid of that all of a sudden.
Well, I still love them. Beast people too.
「By the way, would it be fine to say that Purisan"s race are beast people」
「We"d say we lean more towards the demon side. Well, either is fine isn"t it?」
「Hee」
You became a bit smarter.
Are harpies on the demon side, in the end a clear distinction between demons and beast people is unknown.
「Well, who cares about that」
「Haa」
「How"re ya gonna get in?」
「How am I gonna get in」
We look up at the really tall building, and were stumped.
「If only Alice was here, we"d easily be able ta get in with illusion magic」
「That girl, Aromsan sent her to secretly watch us right? On the off chance that someone leaked that she was with us to Diablo, then she"d lose her standing」
「….. Hmm, yer really thinkin of Alice」
「How cute, are you jealous」
「Idiot, don"t get conceited」
Even thought she says that, Purisan strongly tightens her small legs on my shoulders.
How cute, this att.i.tude too.
Well, Tisama said that this jealousy is a side effect of the contract, the fact that she won"t be so clingy like this soon is quite lonesome.
「Well, Purisan"s also like that. We"ll manage something…… wait, wouldn"t it have been fine to be like that from the beginning?」
「No way, it"s cramped. And also, us transforming to humans is taboo. I didn"t really wanna show it」
Right now, in order to enter Tiamalia, Purisan has completely changed from her bird form.
Well, thanks to her magic there wasn"t much weight, and if she was in this form from the beginning then I wouldn"t have been able to see that so it wasn"t a bad thing for me.
Rather it"s more like a prize.
This form also has its own cuteness,
Having two flavors in one.
Harpies are a magnificent race.
Above all, she is naked right now.
The clothes she was wearing is now in my hands.
There"s no such thing as a mysterious magic that would disa.s.semble it and store it away.
How wonderful.
Please let me see when you turn back.
For scholarly reasons, of course there is no other motive than that.
Since she"s still attached to me right now…… I"ll make sure to see it at night too.
But, it seems that when the side effects end that the memories of that time won"t be lost, what should I do, well she"ll probably forgive me since she"s pretty indifferent with me watching.
Un, she"ll forgive me.
「And, let"s go back ta the topic. Look, what"ll we do?」
「Of course we"ll go straight ahead. There"s nothing else we can do」
「…… Are ya an idiot?」
「Well, please look. I"ll show you that I"m a useful man」
I ostentatiously walk to the gate that the soldiers are stationed at.
――――――――――
Ga.s.shan. Iron bars were shut in front of me.
The soldiers brought me to a room that was just like the one I had in Augusta.
No, I"m sorry to bother you, I tried talking to them like that but I was ignored.
They didn"t even greet me, they definitely hate me.
It must be their upbringing.
「Ya really are an idiot」
Purisan who was watching from a distance calmly enters the prison.
「How strange, I thought they"d easily let me pa.s.s」
「A barbarian in a fur pelt, without a permit, and coming from the demon territory empty handed. If ya were the gatekeeper what would ya do?」
「What a suspicious fella, I"d throw him in jail!」
「That"s a fact. If it was me then I"d kill him on the spot」
「How dangerous. That"s not good, for a girl to be so tomboyish」
「Yer head"s full of flower aint it」
How rude.
That must be about Gallon-san.
Are you dissing Gallon-san?
Aah, but what should I do. Tisama, save me!
――――I, don"t lend my powers at times like these, do your best ――――!
How useless!
Tisama"s super inconvenient!
Does a contract with you have a cooling off period?
I hear a somewhat devious cry but I ignore it, for now I have to think about how to peacefully get out of here.
・What I have on hand: The coat received from Gallon-san, and shoes. The waist cloth from Aromsama. Purisan"s clothes (sniff sniff).
That is all.
・The things in the surroundings: Iron bars, stone wall, stone ceiling, stone floor.
That is all.
Q. Is there a possibility of escape?
Ａ．Impossible.
「Pu, Purisan, save me! Can"t you do something!?」
「Well, I might be able to take the key for here」
As expected the last one I could rely on is this bird!
I don"t need someone like Tisama!
Gusu Gusu, I hear a sniffling but I ignore it, I want to rely on Purisan, but a reliable woman can"t spoil a man, she had such an expression on that bird face of her, and she says.
「Weren"t you gonna show me yer a reliable man? First do that, then I"ll do somethin」
It was a more annoyed face then expected, but I ignore that and keep clinging on.
「Sorry, I got way too conceited! I"m the third most useless existence in the world! Have mercy on me!」
By the way, the one who"s second is Tisama.
In the center of the jail, with a shout filled with love I asked for help, but Purisan didn"t bother listening to me.
「Ya know, I"m supposed to be watchin ya. If I help ya too much, then Aromsama will kill me」
d.a.m.n it, turns out the compulsion from Tisama"s contract is nothing!
This Tisama is a failure, good for nothing!
I hear a sorrowful sob buzzing in my ears but I ignore it, I have to make a plan in order to escape.
……Fuun.
It"s called a metropolis but it turned out to be the countryside, even if it"s the country I was born and raised in, it"s just a weak country that was forced to yield by the pressure from Seneca.
There was something on the chest of those guards that I recall…… Rather it"s a very familiar mark, I"ll try doing it that way.
「Oii, guard-san keeping watch, can I have a moment?」
「Don"t speak in such an easy-going tone, you suspicious person」
The guard approaches while saying that.
「Actually, I am a believer of the Salia Faith. I was unlucky and was caught by the demons, but by some small mercy, I was able to escape during the trip to Augusta」
「………」
「Therefore, is there any way you can look over this」
「…… Is there any proof you have to back what you say」
「I haven"t received a license to teach it, but I have pride in being a pious believer. After all, if there is any verse from the scriptures that you want me to recite then please ask」
「…… Second chapter first verse of the canon?」
Word for word, I finish reciting it from memory.
「Third chapter second verse of the apocrypha」
「A third chapter does not exist」
「…… Wait a moment」
Saying so, the guard separates himself from the iron bars. The sound of the footsteps gradually getting future is heard.
The Salia Faith"s symbol is a cross with snake heads coming from both sides, and the body of the snakes are wrapped around it. The soldiers that have the symbol attached to their armor are at the top of the Salia Faith, so they must"ve gotten a lot of support.
As a result of getting aid from them, a rule of not obstruction Salia believers was placed. But it"s not like there are crimes being committed.
In the end, from the reaction from others it looks like this is a fortunate thing. Nevertheless, you mustn"t let your guard down.
――――……Those filthy words of the Salia Faith, they mustn"t come from your mouth, Nine. As the one by my side, be aware of that――――!
Aree-, I thought I heard something.
I"d love to hear the words of someone that is helpful, but did someone say something just now?
That type of person isn"t here?
I felt like I heard the shirek of a crying child but I ignore it.
To survive in this cold world, you must be realistic.
Even if it"s your parents, if they are useful then use them, and it doesn"t have to be said about those that aren"t.
….. Still, well, I"m only doing this in order to be helped by the Salia Faith.
I myself don"t like that symbol of theirs.
Maybe it was the appearance of that symbol that accelerated Tisama"s allergy to the Salia Faith.
That showy snakes on that symbol are somewhat in bad taste, but it seems that it has a history of being connected to the G.o.d of medicine in the past.
But that doesn"t matter.
However, the reason I wasn"t able to learn about this from the old men and women of Nile Village, is also because of that symbol.
In that village, a snake is equivalent to G.o.d.
I can guess the reason for it.
Surely, because Tisama is a lamia…… half human and half snake.
The Ungiving Forest that Tisama lived in, and Nile village which was closest to it.
If there was some connection with her, it wouldn"t be strange for there to be a deep sense of holiness towards snakes.
To begin with, this town"s name is『Tiamalia』, the country Ista itself may have a legend that"s connected to Tisama.
…… Nevertheless.
My G.o.ddess that"s still crying, she is still the same incompetent crybaby as always.
The reason I"m incompetent must be because she raised me, I"ll leave it at that. Even though the world had changed a lot in these past 7 years, Tisama has not changed even the tiniest bit from the past.
It"s a bit calming.