"...... What are you planning on doing with me, ah?"
So asks the princess who had led the Shulz on many raids against Filsand, Dianu, with obviously ostentatious bravado while sitting cross-legged on the ground.
Her hand restraints have been removed, but of course her Divine Sword is still confiscated..
"First of all, the outfit you have on is hardly appropriate for a girl your age, don"t you think?"
"Oh shut it, Ossan!"
I couldn"t help but to chide her on that, but as expected, I was curtly refused.
Though I suppose it"s only natural for my values to be at odds with that of a young teenager her age.
"...... The next time you show disrespect to my lord, I"ll pull out your tongue alright, little girl?"
"Ugogo?!"
"My lord is not "ossan." According to human standards, call him an elder."
"Ca-, can"t breathe……"
Leiha must have considered Dianu"s words verbal abuse, as she appears like a shadow behind her and begins choking her. For now, let"s just have her calm down so I can have a proper conversation.
"Leiha, enough."
"Yes, my lord."
"Geho, geho."
"I don"t have any particular plans to do anything to you. Once you answer my questions honestly, then I don"t mind letting you go."
To prevent this heartwarming scene from developing any further, I address Dianu again.
At that, she sits properly with her legs to one side, most likely due to now understanding how scary Leiha can get.
"...... I did lose the duel, so I can"t complain even if you kill me. Whatever I know, I"ll freely tell you."
"Umu. Much appreciated."
As I"d thought, Dianu has an honest personality. I secretly return the ESP Medal that I"d been holding within my sleeves to my pocket.
Of course, I have no guarantee that she won"t lie to me. If she ever begins acting suspiciously or becomes reluctant to answer a question, then I"ll consider using it……
♥♦♣♠
In the end, Dianu proved willing to cooperate to the end, and answered all my questions honestly.
I learned that my name and the claim that I am connected to the Shadow Demons was information that she"d received from a person called a "Mystic."
I also learned that this "Mystic" is in a place called "Garden of the G.o.ds," located south of another place the Shulz calls their "fort."
"Uumu……"
And that the Duke of Filsand used to be a Feldian general named Damund, and that he had seized Filsand from the Shulz, which is what led to the unending fighting from then on.
This is only the testimony from the Shulz side, so I am sure there is some exaggeration, but…… all in all, it"s a pretty terrible story.
"...... Has that Mystic ever prophesied about the appearance of Shadow Demons or their nests before this?"
While I am silently mulling over what I"ve just heard, Leid, who has been silently standing behind me the entire time, suddenly cuts into the conversation. Well, since this is about Shadow Demons, I understand his interest.
"No, this was the first time."
"......"
Leid"s handsome face that is at odds with his large body briefly distorts into a frown. It seems he thinks this suspect. In fact, I do too.
"Then there is need to meet that Mystic directly, is there not?"
"That does indeed seem necessary. But only after we properly escort Elizabel to Filsand and complete our negotiations."
My reply was intended to rea.s.sure Elizebel, who has been peeking from within Leid"s shadow. But the one who responds first is Dianu.
"More like, what"s up with her! The fact that she has the same face as me means that she"s the daughter of my Aunt Sheira the traitor right? You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, figh-…… gofu."
So it seems she had indeed figured out Elizabel"s ident.i.ty. Her face is dyed with rage in a split second and she tries to leap at Eliabel, but Leiha restrains her firmly.
"Traitor, you say? My mother was made a captive! And then she was forced…… she didn"t marry the Duke of Filsand because she wanted to!"
"Forced? If it was me, I would have torn Damund"s throat to shreds and killed myself long before I gave birth to you! The fact that she didn"t do that means that she betrayed her brethren for the sake of a life of luxury!"
Aside from fiction, this kind of weighty scene of carnage rarely takes place in modern j.a.pan. Now that I understand the circ.u.mstances of both sides to some degree, I"m hesitant to take any side.
Claura and Irudo also have sad looks on their faces.
Leid sends me one of his rare eye signals, which I interpret this time to mean "pull those two apart." But……
"She, she also stole Aniue from me!"
(T/N: Apparently Elizabel calls her first stepbrother "Aniue" and her second stepbrother "Nii-san.")
"Hah, that spineless young master? If it"s him, he"s probably getting thinner in his cell at Garden of the G.o.ds!"
"Killing my kind Aniue without any mercy and…… eh?"
…… Even when there are two people who could never fully understand each other, as long as they sit down together and talk, something might change. In this case, it may be if they both come to learn of that fact.
"Hold on, I heard that Elizabel"s brother — Balzard, was it? — was killed by the Shulz. Is that not true?"
"We haven"t killed him! I dueled him and won, so I captured him! We sent your side a missive!"
"How can that be? I"ve never even heard any mention of such a thing…… was the missive from the Shulz purposely smothered?"
The two girls with same faces yet opposite auras are now sharing the same look of puzzlement.
"...... It seems that I will need you to accompany us to Filsand after all."
So I told Dianu.
♥♦♣♠
After that, during the rest of the trip, Elizabel and Dianu continued talking with each other.
About trade, about Shadow Demons and the alliance, about the hostilities between Filsand and the Shulz. Also about the "proclamation" that labeled me as Shadow Demon.
Getting to talk with her father used to be Elizabel"s one and only wish, but now saving her brother Balzard has been added to the list. Dianu"s intent to resume to fighting against Filsand after her release still hasn"t changed, but she agreed to cooperate with me because she had lost our duel.
As for me, as it became increasingly clear how much more complicated my task is than I had expected, my stomach felt heavier day by day.
Regardless of whether I help the Filsand or the Shulz, I would still end up with a bad aftertaste. Of course, I have the option to keep myself completely uninvolved in their conflict, but……
In the end, we reached Filsand before I could come up with an answer.
This enormous fortress city that faces a bay seemingly gouged into the coastline.
Even greater in size that Lelis, with innumerable ships of various sizes busily coming in and going out.
At the tip of the narrow and long peninsula that maintains the shape of the bay is the castle where the Duke lives.
"In cases like this, we adventurers use the phrase "first defeat the guardian before worrying about the trap on the treasure chest.""
So says Claura while giving me a light pat on the shoulder as I look up at the Duke"s castle with my hand pressing down on the area near my stomach.
To get started with Disqus head to the Settings panel.
Chapter 84: Same Face,
Separate Paths
Volume 4
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