Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Revealed in the Sunlight #2
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Narmi had been grabbing my head and saying something since earlier.
“There’s a protective spell. Don’t you know what it is?”
According to Narmi, there was an incredibly powerful spell in my head that surpassed the grand magical barrier of the citadel or something like that.
It didn’t feel real, and I couldn’t believe it, but there was no way Narmi would lie.
If someone had placed a protective spell in my head, there must have been a good reason for it.
Probably either my mother or my father—the one who fed me the antidote to seal my mana circuits. They must have wanted to hide my true identity.
If there hadn’t been that mental protection and Narmi had peered right into my head and memories, she would have shouted, “You’re a descendant of Angmar!”
When I thought about it that way, whoever had placed the protective spell in my head was clearly a wise and clever person.
“Ugh, I can’t break through it right now.”
Narmi flopped down on the bed like a hacker giving up on breaching a sturdy firewall. It was just my analogy, but it fit perfectly.
“You really have no idea? With a grand incantation like this, there’s no way you wouldn’t know, Theo.”
Narmi asked me again, as if she couldn’t give up. Well, it was only natural to be curious if there was an enormous spell jammed into someone’s head.
If I casually visited a friend’s house and saw a massive bank vault sitting there like it belonged in a bank, I’d definitely ask, “What the heck is in there that needs a vault that big?”
But in situations like this, I had to respond this way.
“Hmm. I’m not really sure. Actually, my memories from the past are pretty hazy in a lot of places.”
“Really?”
This was half lie, half truth. I had no idea what Theo Gospel did before I possessed him, so that was the truth part. But I did have some knowledge about mental protection spells, so that made it half lie.
“Hmm…”
Narmi smacked her lips like she was disappointed, but soon let out a big yawn.
“Well, we’ve got plenty of time from now on. Alright, let’s sleep.”
And with that, she slowly closed her eyes. The way she talked about having plenty of time ahead suggested she still had no intention of letting Mirna Draco back out into the open.
Various thoughts crossed my mind, but my body was exhausted.
For now, let’s just sleep.
* * *
When I woke up in the morning, Narmi was sitting in a chair far away, staring at me. There was something chilling and cold about her eyes.
“You’re up first. Did you sleep well?”
“Not well at all. Theo Gospel. You need to explain what exactly is going on here. Why were you and I lying in the same bed, sleeping?”
“Pardon?”
Her reaction was so different from what I’d expected that I realized she wasn’t Narmi—she was Lady Mirna.
“Lady Mirna. Have you returned again?”
“Returned? What are you talking about?”
I’d been worried that Mirna would find out I’d slept with Narmi, and now my vision started spinning. But I somehow wracked my brain for a quick improv.
“I thought you and Lady Narmi had fought, so you couldn’t come out for a while.”
“Narmi…?”
The Draco lady furrowed her brow.
“Narmi? And who might that be?”
“Lady Narmi. Narmi von Draco. Lady Mirna’s twin younger sister.”
“I’m an only child. What on earth are you saying?”
Mirna snorted as if it were some offensive joke.
Mirna doesn’t know about Narmi? What the heck is going on? Could Narmi’s existence have vanished into thin air overnight?
Or was all of this just my imagination?
That’s what I was thinking, wearing a serious expression,
“Kuheheh-.”
When the red-eyed lady in the chair suddenly burst out laughing. That’s when I finally understood the situation.
“Lady Narmi, isn’t this prank going a bit too far?”
“But it chased all your sleep away, didn’t it? Right?”
“Well, yes, but I was really worried. I thought Lady Narmi had disappeared from the world, and that Lady Mirna didn’t even remember her.”
At my stern scolding, Narmi stopped laughing and looked sheepish, glancing at my face.
“S-Sorry. I didn’t think you’d get that mad. It’s just a prank I sometimes pull on Dad or my relatives…”
“Please be more careful from now on.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Narmi gave a cheerful reply, but her free-spirited nature was like a rubber ball that could bounce anywhere.
If I had to endure another one of these nymph-torturing pranks, I might lose a few hairs. At least it had chased away my morning drowsiness.
That’s when Narmi spoke up.
“I talked it over with my sister.”
“With Lady Mirna?”
“Yeah. We decided to take turns, one day each. Not day and night.”
“Oh.”
So they’d switched from shift work to alternating days? Either way, it was a relief that the sisters had reached a compromise. Just then, a wave of tension washed over my mind.
“Did you perhaps tell Lady Mirna about us, too?”
“No way!”
Narmi replied more brightly than ever.
“No need to share everything with my sister. Let’s keep it our little secret for a while.”
“I see.”
That worked for me, too. As I nodded at Narmi’s wise decision, she spoke as if she’d made a big resolution.
“And now’s the time to reveal that I exist.”
“Reveal Lady Narmi? You mean let other people know about your existence?”
“Yeah! I even told my sister.”
Well, that’s a big deal.
* * *
“No way, so you’re saying you’re Narmi?”
Elga tapped the restaurant table with her finger. She looked like someone whose emotions were unstable. She must have been dissatisfied with the situation.
“Narmi von Draco?”
At Elga’s question, Narmi replied.
“Yeah, that’s right!”
Perhaps she didn’t like that crisp, concise answer. Elga scowled deeply. Then she pinched the thigh of me, who was sitting next to her.
An intensely nymph-torturing pain shot up my spine, and I ended up screaming.
“Hieeek…! That hurts…!”
But Elga got even angrier, regardless of my scream.
“Hey, Theo. What scheme are you up to this time? You two cooked this up to mess with me, right?”
“We didn’t scheme anything!?”
“What Narmi? It’s just Mirna’s name backward. If you wanna pretend to be someone else, at least draw a mole on your face or something, right?”
“Ah.”
Elga seemed to think this was all a joke to make fun of her. Like we’d invented a person called Narmi just to troll her.
「Calm Situation Assessment!
You gain experience from the talent 《Calm Thinking》.
All job experience +5」
I see.
From Elga’s perspective, it was understandable.
If Elga suddenly said, “Hi, I’m Gael. Elga’s twin sister,” and acted like a different person, I’d seriously wonder if she was pranking me, too.
“But this isn’t a joke. She really is Lady Narmi.”
“This squirrel-sized half-fairy brat right up to the end—.”
As Elga clenched her fist like she was about to flick my forehead, I could vividly imagine it coming down on my head with that nymph-torturing angle and force.
“Hehe, Elga.”
Aira, who had been silently sipping her teacup without a word throughout the conversation, finally spoke up. Thanks to that, Elga’s clenched fist paused before it could descend on my head.
“What.”
At Elga’s curt question, Aira said.
“How long are you going to pretend you don’t know? You already knew, didn’t you? That she’s not Mirna.”
“…You’re saying you knew, too?”
“Yeah. For quite a while now. Think about it. Have I called the Lady Draco ‘Mirna’ recently?”
Aira’s words made me pause in recollection. Aira usually uses people’s given names. But lately, when referring to Narmi, she’d been using the awkward title “Lady Draco.”
I’d thought it was a change in her feelings, but it turned out she just wasn’t calling her Mirna because she wasn’t Mirna.
“I see. So it was Narmi. Cute name. Narmi, Mirna. Mirna, Narmi.”
Aira murmured the twin sisters’ names repeatedly. Narmi awkwardly introduced herself to Aira.
“I’m Narmi von Draco. First time greeting you like this, um, Spider Queen…”
It had been easy for her to deal with Aira while pretending to be Mirna. But actually introducing herself made Narmi look extremely awkward. Aira replied lightly.
“Call me Aira. Or Your Majesty if that’s uncomfortable.”
At that casual response, Narmi seemed to relax.
“Aira, thanks, but Draco doesn’t recognize the Tarantara family.”
Like her sister, Narmi didn’t acknowledge Tarantara’s throne. But saying it right from the start made me tense about Aira’s reaction.
“Even if you don’t want to acknowledge the sun rising, morning still comes. That’s what a queen is. I’m queen to everyone, whether they accept it or not.”
Aira’s response was roundabout yet wise. The only one sitting there with a blank, uncertain expression was Elga.
Soon, Elga snorted.
“I knew she was someone else, too. I was just playing along.”
That’s a lie.
“Anyway, so you’re Mirna’s twin? Twins sharing the same body. Man, the Dracos sure have all sorts of weird stuff. Hiding it all this time. Shady bunch.”
At Elga’s words, which might come off as rude, I poked her side with my finger.
“Lady Elga.”
“What? I’m not saying anything wrong.”
As Elga shrugged, Narmi, sitting across from her, spoke up.
“It’s fine. I already knew Lady Lioness is honest!”
“Really? How much do you know about me?”
“As much as I know. You like dressing up, and you like cute or pretty things.”
“Hmm. What else?”
After that, Elga and Narmi chattered away with each other for a while.
Unlike the strict, ascetic Mirna, Narmi surprisingly clicked with Elga in some ways, and soon they were giggling together.
“Yeah, my sister’s a bit rigid. She says dipping bread in butter is irreverent!”
“That’s true. Wow, this is hilarious. She doesn’t know what we’re talking about right now, right?”
“Yeah!”
Contrary to my worries, Narmi, Elga, and Aira quickly warmed up and chatted amiably.
Whether it was because they shared the common topic of growing up as ladies, or thanks to Narmi’s sociable nature that worked on anyone, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“So, those weirdos even ambushed you guys. Duel trial’s coming up soon. Hey, Theo. You’ve decided who the great warrior will be, right?”
Elga’s conversation arrow turned toward me. They must have been talking about the recent queen assassination attempt. Everyone was talking about it these days, so it wasn’t strange.
I thought it over carefully before giving my opinion.
“I’ve got someone in mind who can definitely win, but first, I want to meet that guy in the dungeon myself.”