69. Reunion (1)
69. Reunion (1)
- 1 -
Three days had passed since we arrived at Mozarkar, the mining village where the Clamel family had been hiding. On the morning of the fourth day, we decided to depart for Sonyataff.
"Take good care of Ran, Axe."
- Deolgeok!
We decided to leave Axe in Ran's dungeon.
He would send the confined nobles through the inter-dungeon gate, and afterward, guard Ran's dungeon and assist in her growth.
Given what she had already shown, this was an investment that would yield great returns.
"For the time being, focus on your growth, which has been postponed. Axe will help you clear the surroundings, Ran."
"I am grateful for your boundless grace, my lord. I, Ran, shall grow swiftly and become a woman who does not hold you back, my lord."
When I said that just before leaving Ran's dungeon, Ran—the two-tailed fox yokai—bowed deeply, her eyes once again looking ready to spill tears.
Whatever her original personality might have been, she still gave that bow with her whole heart.
"What's important is that you must not let your heart be broken, Ran."
"There is no chance of that. The most important thing in my heart is my love for my lord...!"
"Right... I look forward to what you will become."
In the end, since she showed no intention of rising on her own, I took her hand, pulled her up, and once again had to straighten her clothes.
... Could it be she's doing this on purpose?
"Who is this 'my lord,' this 'my lord'..."
- Tak.
With a glance, I signaled Shue—who was radiating disgust—and Eve—who was openly displaying her displeasure—to restrain themselves. I retrieved Eve and the troops into the shadows and left Ran's dungeon.
From here, it was less than two days by carriage to Sonyataff, the western gateway of the Kingdom of Haisen.
Those following me as I departed Mozarkar were Eve and Shue, plus about half the troops I had brought with me when I left the dungeon.
"Don't go trying to eat people, all right?"
"What kind of kid do you think I am?"
... And the golden-haired vampire woman Serica, along with the two maids who attended her.
- 2 -
"Rita!"
"Serica. I'm surprised you came in person."
"Of course I had to come! They said you found my core!"
I reunited with Serica less than an hour after contacting her through Shue.
She must have been so impatient that she came out to Ran's dungeon in person, so I had to come out personally as well to receive her.
And the Serica I saw again...
"You've gained some weight."
Had a face much healthier than before.
Right after she lost her dungeon core, she had lost a lot of weight because her power had been blown away by overload, but now her cheeks were appropriately filled out, and one might say she possessed a cuteness befitting her appearance.
"What?! I gained weight?! Really?! Oh no!"
"I meant that you've gotten much cuter, Ran."
"Ah... really? Hehe."
Serica, who laughed so easily, seemed to have brightened just as much as she had grown healthier.
I had wondered if she might not be treated well by her family because she was a bastard child, but had there been no such incidents as I had imagined?
Or could there be some other reason that I didn't know about?
"What's this? Why is this dungeon so shabby? It's not your dungeon."
"There were circumstances. It's the dungeon of someone I took in, Ran."
"Ah... really? Now that I look again, it has a nice, modest charm!"
"..."
When I emphasized 'someone I took in,' she immediately changed her opinion about Ran's dungeon, which showed she at least had some desire to get close to me.
Hmm. There's no solid evidence just yet.
"My lord, this young lady is...?"
"Ran. A greeting, please. She is Serica, the youngest of the Marquisate of Baritra, Ran."
"Hello! Are you the owner of this dungeon? Then you must be Rita's maid! Let's get along well."
"...Hello. I am called Yuran."
As the brightly greeting Serica reached out her hand, Ran, who had glanced at me once, took that hand in hers.
She was still smiling, but to me—who knew the faces she made when looking at me—it was a face that felt somewhat incongruous.
'Is she disliking her?'
Considering the attitude she showed toward me, it was probably jealousy.
She had an adorable side too.
"Anyway, you said you found my core?"
"It's still just a possibility for now... but yes. I did find a lead."
Having finished her greeting, Serica approached me, casually clasped her hands together, and spoke while moving her arms about.
She really didn't look like someone who had been deeply wounded by people emotionally.
... But just because she wasn't suffering hurt, that didn't mean one could assume she was loved.
"You seem to be adjusting well to your family."
"Adjusting, my foot! I'm dying of boredom. It's nothing but loads of culture and education stuff every day. I told you in the communication too!"
Right. She had told me.
But she had never once talked about any other 'close existence.' There had been talk about the maids from time to time, though.
"It's because you have to learn the things you need as a noble, and you have to acquire them quickly in a short time."
"I know. I know, but..."
Suddenly, Serica looked a little downcast.
The arms that had been moving about energetically were now still.
Before that silence could become awkward, I opened my mouth and stroked her hair.
"You'll do well. Just as you have been doing so far."
"... Okay."
"You're much prettier now than before. Your gait, and your face too."
"Really? Am I really prettier?"
"Of course."
"Hehe. Ah, right."
Serica, whose expression had been gradually brightening into a smile, suddenly frowned as if something had occurred to her and returned to the main topic.
"We should talk about my dungeon core."
"We should."
"Where is it? Is it far from here?"
"About two days away. If we go, come back here, and then return, it'll take a little over five days."
"Oh...!"
With her eyes sparkling, Serica let go of my hands and approached her maid to ask something.
Mixing in wheedling and stubbornness.
The maids wore troubled expressions, but in the end, they nodded, and one of them disappeared beyond the gate.
Was she going to report something?
I could tell right away what that report was about.
"Can I come with you too?"
"You? Weren't you saying you have a lot to study?"
"I just got permission!"
It looked more like she had gone to get permission rather than having received it.
Her attitude—as if she believed her opinion would absolutely be accepted—was awkward for me, but it wasn't something I had a particular reason to oppose.
Serica was a powerful talent, strong enough to become a high-rank Dungeon Lord on her own. If I brought her along, safety would be improved.
That is, only if she followed my orders well, of course.
"If you listen to me well, I'll take you with me."
"Really?! I'll listen well!"
"Instead, if you don't listen, I'll punish you, Ran."
"Punishment... I don't like punishment."
"What will you do, then."
Serica, who had been pondering for a moment with a finger on her lip, eventually nodded, though her face wasn't entirely bright.
"I will. Don't make it too painful."
"I'll have to think about that."
"Aaaang! You don't like it when I'm hurting either!"
Exhibiting something somewhere between aegyo and a tantrum, Serica clung to me.
"Fine. I'll make it light. Let's go together."
"Aja!"
Wondering for a moment why this child showed such friendliness toward me, I accepted her just the same.
That was the reason Serica ended up accompanying me.
- 3 -
"There's an unfamiliar girl beside my lord..."
Watching Serica cling to Libertas to her heart's content, there was one woman in the corner radiating intense jealousy.
It was none other than the Lord of this dungeon and Rita's first subordinate Dungeon Lord, Yuran.
"There wasn't a kid like that before...? What's going on...? That brat?"
- Tak. (Only now are you looking this way?)
"She changed her hair color and acted coy... I wondered if her actual personality had changed too... but it's the same as ever..."
Those next to her were Rita's retainers, Eve and Shue.
"Is that what's important?!"
- Dalkak. (Because I was beside her, the master's stabilization happened quickly.) Tak. (More work was needed.)
"So that's why that kid gets to cling to her? Then that's a bad thing...!"
"Making a fuss... The master's forces are growing. Be happy..."
Unlike Yuran, however, those two still seemed indifferent. It was because they knew their master's treatment of Serica hadn't gone beyond the level of a 'close younger sibling.'
It might move beyond that someday, but at least not right now.
All the two of them had to do was be happy that their master's influence had grown.
Yuran did not agree with that opinion.
"You two have been here longer, so of course you'd be happy! Ran has only just gotten the chance to catch my lord's eye...! Rivals are just going to keep increasing from now on...! There's no way everyone would leave such a charming person as my lord alone!"
- Dalkak. (That is true.)
"I agree with that... but what can you do about it...?"
Both nodded as if agreeing that Libertas was charming.
Of the two, Shue raised one eyebrow and posed a question to Ran.
"... I'm going to catch my lord's eye quickly. I will absolutely, quickly share her bed."
And that answer was something the two hadn't anticipated.
- Tak!
"We agreed... not to make a move... until everyone was gathered. Did you forget...?"
"Hmph. This is why wolves who are only loyal are hopeless."
"What is that supposed to mean... you sly little..."
Ran sneered at Shue.
The two had not been on good terms since the past.
Though they had gathered because of their feelings for one person, the intensity and direction of those feelings—and their positions—differed, and there was also a difference in their personalities.
Even so, there was a bond between them, something of a bond. A bond close to love-hate.
That was plainly revealed in Ran's next words.
"What does that matter? If the master's first time is going to be taken by some other woman and not either of you, I'd rather not care about any promise or whatever. If that happens, I'd rather die. You two feel the same, don't you?"
"Uh... well."
Words laced with jealousy and anger, ground out through clenched teeth. At that, even Shue had nothing to say and closed her mouth.
And her words received unexpected agreement.
- Tak. (That is something I agree with.)
"Evangeline?"
"Right. You feel the same, don't you."
From Evangeline, who had been the quietest.
However, Ran nodded with a hollow laugh, as if she had expected that agreement from the start.
Because she had psychological proof that Evangeline would naturally do so.
"Because you acted all demure but were the first to warm the seat before anyone else."
- Dalkagdalkag. (That was not my intention. And I wasn't in a position to care about such things.)
"... Anyway, Ran is absolutely not going to stand by and watch that happen. You two do whatever you want. My lord - !"
Having said that, Ran quickly moved away and wedged herself between Serica and Libertas, and the two watched the sight of her clinging coquettishly, her eyes curving both seductively and endearingly.
"Tch... but Evangeline..."
Shue, who had been watching that scene while clicking her tongue, cautiously gauged Evangeline's mood and opened her mouth.
It was because something among what Ran had said earlier had piqued her curiosity.
"Are you really going to do that...?"
- Dalkak. (No.) Taktak. (If I openly make a move, she'll clearly distance herself, so why would I do that?)
"Aha."
That answer was quite surprising.
Words so shrewd that it was hard to believe she was the one who always honestly guarded Libertas's side like a knight.
But Shue only let out a sound of admiration, not looking as surprised as one might think.
"You were always like this. I had forgotten..."
- Tak. (Anyway, she is someone who values 'firsts,' and I have no need to be hasty.)
There was a reason for Evangeline's composure.
She knew well that Libertas valued the 'first soldier' and the 'first one by her side' more than anyone, so she knew that even if Libertas looked at others, she wouldn't withdraw the attention she gave to her.
She also knew it was the same for the 'first mercenary' or the 'first Dungeon Lord,' but...
She knew that nothing was valued more than being the 'first one by her side.'
- Dalkak. (Above all, my lord's embrace is wide.)
"That's... true. Wait."
Shue, seeming to reach the same thought, nodded, then recalled something and clenched her teeth.
"Then... if Ran steps up like that... it means things are getting urgent for me...?"
- Dalkak. (That might be so.)
"What do you mean 'might be so'... I should start thinking about it..."
Biting her nails and baring her fangs, Shue's eyes chased the figures of Ran and Serica.
Though she didn't show it outwardly, Shue also wanted to claim as many of Libertas's 'first' titles as possible.
She couldn't be satisfied with something like just the 'first mercenary.'
'They say it's not good to rush in.'
Despite their attitudes, Evangeline remained composed. Even with her arms folded.
Because.
'The master has probably realized that we love her now and is preparing for a conversation, and there's no benefit to complicating that preparation.'
It was because she had accurately guessed Libertas's current state.
And above all...
'I've already earned her favor once; there's no reason I can't earn it a second time.'
She had experience.
The experience of rising from the position of the most shunned summon to the most favored one.
However, there was one thing that even she, though she knew it, had failed to consider.
'... Eve is always in the back.'
That was the fact that, in the end, the person Libertas was most concerned about right now was also her.
It was a concern formed through a convergence of complex reasons, but it was a fact that she was the one most on Libertas's mind.
'Surely it couldn't be... no, there's no way...? Could it really be...?'
And that was scheduled to come back as feedback Evangeline hadn't anticipated.