An Unexpected Identity
Hearing Medeia's words, a flurry of thoughts crossed my mind. Kazar Uplain was the second male lead of the rofanso—meaning, he was supposed to be a male character. Yet, the person standing before me claiming to be Kazar Uplain was a woman.
Either this woman is lying to me, or... Kazar Uplain was actually a woman all along.
"...I was under the impression that Kazar Uplain was a man."
"Excuse me? I've lived my entire life as a woman, though?"
Come to think of it, even Seldas's intelligence report only referred to her as the 'descendant of the Uplain family' without specifying a gender.
Could the reason Kazar appeared as a man in the game be because...
In the game, she must have disguised her gender as male to assassinate Count Seirel. After killing the count, she would have slipped out of the county undetected. No one would have ever suspected Kazar as the culprit. After all, the assassin was a man, and Kazar was a woman.
It's not an impossible theory.
This would explain why her character lacked screen time and why she was never an option for the main male lead. Her actual gender was female.
But then, a sudden question arose. Why did Kazar continue to live as a man even after leaving the county? Since this was something that happened in the future, I couldn't exactly ask her directly. How frustrating.
Pushing my questions aside for now, I forced myself to remain calm and spoke. "My apologies. I made an assumption."
"No, it's fine. Information brokers can be wrong sometimes." Kazar offered a faint smile as she cleared the teacups. Then, she began to speak in detail about Count Seirel.
"Count Seirel is a truly vile man."
"Vile?"
"He is incredibly lecherous." Having finished clearing the cups, Kazar sat back down across from me and continued. "If he takes a liking to a woman, he'll frame her for a crime to drag her away, or even resort to outright kidnapping. I'm sure I don't need to spell out what happens after that."
I nodded. He really was scum. What a lunatic.
"I've been sexually harassed by him quite a few times myself."
"What a disgusting bastard."
"Right?" Judging by the fire smoldering in her eyes, she had accumulated a massive amount of resentment over the years.
"So, what's your plan?"
"There's a banquet being held tonight."
"You plan to assassinate him there?"
"Yes."
"That sounds a bit reckless."
Kazar let out a soft chuckle. "I can use Gender-Reversing Magic."
"...What? Change your gender?"
"Yes. Though it's impossible to change back."
So it wasn't just a simple disguise, but a literal magical transformation. That explained why she had no choice but to live the rest of her life as a man. The mystery was finally solved.
"Once you change into a man, what then?"
"I'll approach Count Seirel under the guise of presenting a highly lucrative business proposal. Aside from women, he's also obsessed with money."
"And then?"
"Then he'll surely take me to a private room where we can speak confidentially."
"And you'll kill him there and escape?"
"Yes."
It was a surprisingly plausible plan. Since guests at the banquet would only see Count Seirel leaving with a man, no one would ever connect the incident to Kazar Uplain. After all, Kazar Uplain was a woman.
And then she fled the county without ever looking back. She had sacrificed her very identity, permanently changing her gender, just to protect her family from backlash while saving the people of the county. Adapting to an entirely new body and life couldn't have been easy.
If they had such a compelling backstory, they should have included it as a sub-quest. Useless, trash developers.
I spoke up. "I don't think there's any need for you to use that magic."
"Pardon?"
"I'll just go in, kill him, and come back out."
"Isn't that the definition of reckless?"
Not really. I was a complete outsider, a slave from the Duke's estate. There was no way they could trace the culprit back to me.
"Just trust me. Do you have a partner to enter the banquet with?"
"No. I was planning to go alone."
"Then take me with you. And prepare two masks."
Kazar tilted her head. "Why two masks?"
"One for when we enter, and another for when I kill him."
Her eyes widened in realization.
"That way, you won't be suspected since we entered together, and I can take care of the Count. I'll handle the finer details of the plan, so you just need to get me through the door."
Kazar asked, "But how do you plan on killing him?"
"I'm planning to do it with my bare hands."
"Won't that take some time?"
"I'll take care of it. Just follow my lead."
She narrowed her eyes, giving me a skeptical look. "And if you fail? The fallout will be massive."
"I won't fail, so don't worry."
"I can tell just by looking at you that you're strong, but..."
Truth be told, I was slightly concerned myself. Although I was growing accustomed to the power of a Sword Master and learning to control it, assassination was a different beast entirely. I had to account for the blood splatter. In the game, Kazar had used magic to carry out the assassination, so she didn't have to worry about such things. But I relied on Aura, which required close-quarters combat.
"Hmm..."
"Wouldn't it be better if I did it after all?"
"No, I'm doing it."
"You're surprisingly stubborn about the strangest things."
There was a very specific reason I was being so stubborn. If Kazar turned into a man, things would get complicated. Just as she had with me, Somire would undoubtedly take an interest in Kazar. If that happened, Kazar might end up drawn to Somire, fulfilling her destiny as the second male lead. Therefore, it was best to keep her living as a woman and eliminate that possibility entirely.
I asked her, "Do you happen to have a pen?"
"A pen? I have a quill." Kazar rummaged through her cluttered room and pulled out a feather quill. "But why do you need a pen?"
"Hand it over." I took the quill and channeled my Aura into it. Instantly, a faint blue light enveloped the pen. "This should work."
"Don't tell me you're planning to throw that?"
"Yes." Kazar's jaw dropped, completely speechless.
"Let's go outside. I want to test its power."
"Alright..." We stepped outside, and I stood before a nearby tree. Once again, I channeled Aura into the quill, tensing the muscles in my arm to their absolute limit.
"Hup!" Whoosh! With a sharp tear of parting air, the quill flew forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye. Thud! With a heavy impact, a fist-sized hole appeared clean through the tree trunk.
"...What on earth did you just do?"
"Can't you tell? I threw a pen."
"No, I mean, how do you even use Aura to achieve something like that?" I didn't know either. I just did it, and it worked.
"You're not planning to kill Count Seirel like that, are you?"
"How else should I kill him?"
"Unbelievable..." Kazar stared, unable to close her gaping mouth.
"Well, that solves the method. All that's left is attending the banquet." I looked at Kazar and continued, "Is there a place around here where we can get masks?"
After some time spent wandering around the county, we managed to purchase two masks from a local shop. One was a cat mask adorned with navy-blue fur. The other was a rabbit mask that instantly reminded me of Franche.
"When does the banquet start?"
"It should be starting soon."
"Do you have clothes to wear?"
"I have mine, but I don't have any men's formal wear."
"Hmm." Wearing my Ducal Guard uniform was out of the question. Did I need to buy a suit? But suits were expensive, and I didn't have any money on me.
"Kazar. Do you have enough money to buy a suit? I didn't bring any cash."
"...Are you seriously asking me to buy you a suit because you're broke?"
"Yes."
Kazar let out a heavy sigh. "You really have no shame, do you?"
"Well, I can't exactly wear this uniform. It'll blow my cover instantly."
"My younger brother might have some old clothes. I'm not sure if they'll fit you, though..." Kazar took the lead. "Follow me. We'll head to my family's estate."
As we walked, I asked, "Is your family well-off?"
"I told you, didn't I? Unless you're the Count's family, everyone here is destitute. It doesn't matter if you're a commoner or a noble. It's all the same."
The Count must be bleeding the territory dry. Then again, parasites like him existed in every era. After walking for quite some time, we arrived at Kazar's family home. It was a modest, small manor.
"Come in." We stepped inside. There were no servants, nor any sign of her family.
"Is no one home?"
"My brother and parents went to work at the Count's estate."
Since they were rural barons, they likely had to handle all sorts of chores for the Count. It certainly didn't seem like Count Seirel did any actual work himself. I wonder if they're being overworked. Well, that was a problem that would solve itself once Count Seirel was dead, so there was no need to dwell on it.
"Here's the suit." Kazar brought out a beige suit. "Try it on. We need to check the fit."
I tried on the jacket first, but it was a bit tight. My physique was a little too built for it.
"This should do."
"...You're not going to rip it, are you?"
"I'll be careful."
"I'll wait outside while you change." Click. Kazar closed the door behind her. I shed my uniform and slipped into the beige suit. It was snug, but not to the point of restricting my movement.
"You can come in."
"How is it? It's not going to tear, right?"
"It's a bit tight, but it won't rip."
"...Please be careful. My hands were shaking when I bought that suit for him."
Were they really that poor? They seemed worse off than the commoners in the Duke's territory.
"If it rips, the Ducal house will compensate you, so don't worry."
"...I suppose. To the Descartes family, money is nothing." She would probably faint if she found out I was actually just a slave.
"By the way, why is your neck wrapped in bandages?"
"I got hurt during training."
"As expected of the Duke's estate, the training must be brutal." No, it was just to hide the slave collar.
"When does the banquet begin?"
"Not long now. If we head to the Count's estate now, we'll arrive right on time."
"Let's head out then. Are we taking a carriage?"
"Pardon? We can't afford a carriage ride to the Count's estate. We're barely scraping by as it is."
Wow. They really were struggling. Left with no choice, I walked alongside her. On our way to the Count's estate, Kazar asked,
"Can't you at least tell me who I'm supposed to teach magic to?"
"The young lady of the Descartes family."
"The Lady uses magic?"
"No, she's going to start learning now."
"Hmm, magic isn't easy to pick up." Kazar stroked her chin. "You need an innate talent for mana, not to mention the mathematical skills required to solve magic formulas."
"That won't be an issue. I've already verified everything." In the game, Franche used Dark Magic. That meant she possessed an innate talent for mana. As for her ability to solve magic formulas, I could nurture that step-by-step. Everything was falling into place.
"But is there a reason it has to be me? Surely the Duke's family could hire far more prestigious tutors."
"There are deep complications involved. You'll understand when the time comes."
"You really love keeping secrets, don't you?" With her help, Franche would have no trouble mastering magic, and I could eventually launch a massive business venture utilizing Kazar's talents. Everything is going according to plan.
I asked her, "How much further?"
"We're almost there." Looking up, the sun was dipping below the horizon. It was the perfect time for a banquet to begin. After walking for a while longer, night fell completely, shrouding the world in darkness.
"We've arrived." The scale of the estate was on an entirely different level compared to the buildings I had seen throughout the county. The sheer extravagance was staggering; statues lined the path leading to the mansion's entrance. The gardens were so vast they could easily rival those of the Duke's estate.
"Now I see why the people of this county are so impoverished."
"Right? Anyway, let's go in." Kazar showed her family crest and invitation to the knights guarding the entrance. The knights bowed and opened the gates.
"This is it."
"Yeah." I slipped on the cat mask, which covered the upper half of my face. As we walked into the mansion, I whispered to her, "The moment we enter the hall, I'm splitting up. I need to track down Count Seirel."
"Alright. What should I do?"
"Enjoy the party."
"Pardon?"
"I said, just enjoy the party." Kazar stared at me blankly, utterly bewildered. I gave her a smirk and lightly toyed with the quill in my pocket. Killing a mere count is child's play.