Villainess
Villainess
The next morning.
I had already taken out the 50 gold coins Adel had requested and placed them in a pretty case.
'What kind of case was this used for before?'
It must have been material used when making clothes—since Helsi had been pulling out all sorts of things like an assistant, I didn't really know where anything was.
I almost woke Helsi up, but stopped myself.
I didn't remember buying anything that shouldn't be discovered, and the items I had brought from the lab were all used up except for money and books.
So the case must have been nothing special either.
That's why I just brought it along...
The negotiation venue I arrived at, guided by the maid Marisa had sent, was an ordinary restaurant where all the tables had been cleared out and decorated to look like a banquet hall.
Marisa, who was already seated, invited me to sit across from her.
When I took my seat, Helsi and Hati sat down to my right and left respectively.
The three of us were wearing similar clothes, so if not for the food laid out on the table, we would have looked like students entering an interview room.
In that state, I placed the case on the table.
"I've brought the investment funds for now."
At my words, Marisa looked at the case.
There was no change in her expression, but her response was slow, which struck me as odd.
"They must all be gold coins."
"Yes. Rehingel gold coins."
"You said 'for now'—does that mean you want to add more conditions?"
"No. It's just that I haven't heard your answer to the offer I made yesterday."
Marisa leaned back in her chair and stared into the air.
Had she still not made up her mind?
I was wondering if my proposal was really that difficult, trying to put myself in her shoes, when Helsi whispered to me.
"By any chance, was that box in the bag?"
"Yeah."
"Ah..."
Helsi, startled, opened and closed her mouth before lowering her head.
'So she bought it for herself to use.'
Just as I was wondering whether to swap the case even now—
"I'll give it to you. Our family's letter of credit."
Marisa, speaking with a refreshing tone, turned to look at the maid.
Then, as the maid approached, she took out a key from her bosom and handed it over.
"Prepare it."
"Understood."
The maid, having received the key, went outside.
Marisa suggested we eat, and we shared more detailed stories over the meal.
It turned out that the hotel manager and Marisa had been moving with excessive urgency because of their tight schedule.
We observed the maritime training at the dock,
"How are the third-round candidates doing?"
"They can all fire at least as well as new recruits now. Once they finish the landing training starting tomorrow, they'll be eligible for marine support."
We also checked supplies in the warehouse,
"Sort the detonation magic stones by type and store half of each separately. If we secure an occupied territory, we'll forward-deploy them immediately."
"Will we go by land?"
"Place them in Warehouse 2 so we can respond either way."
They even showed us the ship we would be boarding.
"It's a state-of-the-art high-speed vessel. Still in active service in the navy."
The ship we boarded was a medium-sized ironclad about 30 meters in length.
"Originally, it was intended to be used as my command ship, but it should be more than adequate as a mage's mobile vessel."
According to the explanation, mages deployed to the battlefield seemed to receive rather exceptional treatment.
A fast and sturdy ship, capable of escaping separately in an emergency, was assigned exclusively to them.
And they were given command authority over nearby soldiers to ensure their own safety during combat.
With such a position offering such special treatment, it was only natural that time was needed to verify their abilities.
"To keep faith, I did not conduct any separate background investigation. Instead, could you show me directly?"
At Marisa's words from the bow, I nodded.
'It's fortunate the demonstration site is over the sea.'
If I spread my blood beneath the water surface, I could easily disguise it as explosion magic.
Kwakwakwakwang!!
Seeing the water pillar I created, Marisa slowly widened her pupils, then gave a faint smirk.
"Excellent."
It was the first smile I'd seen from her since meeting her.
A strange smile—as beautiful as her voice,
as beautiful as her eyes,
but too hollow to feel bright.
Three days later.
Marisa and the militia commanders gathered at Brighton Port under the summons of the Security Force Commander.
The mage, who could be considered the commander of a mobile vessel, was also included in the summons.
At the entrance of a large building inside the port, where top-class carriages stopped one by one.
Getting out of the carriage and looking around, the atmosphere resembled a super-luxury hotel from my original world.
The only difference was that all the staff were soldiers.
In stark contrast, the gathered people all looked like noble ladies attending a ball.
The advisors and mages each brought were like dance partners.
Since everyone had two or more partners, each individual looked like the heroine of a romance novel.
So how odd must we have looked, a group consisting only of children and women?
As we entered the building, the soldier acting as doorman asked with a bewildered face.
"Isn't the commander coming?"
Marisa shot him a cold look and answered.
"I am the commander."
The soldier flinched and stepped back.
"I apologize."
Inside was a large hall that truly looked like a ballroom.
People stood around tables placed here and there, asking about each other's recent news or introducing the commanders they had brought.
"Our commander is a 5th-grade mage who also participated in the Battle of Harundi."
"Oh my. So you only have one commander?"
"Because there's no need for more. How many grades are the mages in Doris-nim's group?"
"Well, since our unit is quite large, we hired three 7th-grade mages."
"Oh my. With 7th-graders, you must be quite uneasy."
"That can't be. Our commander was a former colonel."
Listening to this almost-war-of-words disguised as small talk, someone approached Marisa as well.
From the voice alone, I thought it was a young boy.
"Huh? Adel? You're Adel, aren't you?"
It was that clear and cheerful.
But when I turned my head, what entered my view was a tall, slender young man who must have been around 190 cm.
Quite handsome.
Moreover, his clothes were extremely luxurious.
The people around him also looked markedly different from the members of other groups.
Two officers in proper military uniforms.
One woman with a plain impression wearing an academy uniform I had seen in newspapers.
Though I said plain, the woman in the academy uniform was quite beautiful.
Distinct features, gentle eyes, a slender figure, and a slightly timid expression.
Her mere appearance made the other noble ladies seem like villains, and her team was well put together.
A leader who looked like a prince, and two handsome officers each with different personalities.
The composition was so perfectly like a romance novel that the noble ladies gathered in the hall felt like extras.
So I was surprised.
No matter how I looked at it, these seemed like a completely different category of people from Marisa—but not only the prince-like figure who had spoken first, but also the heroine and the sub-male leads behind him all came over warmly to greet her.
"How have you been? Are you okay?"
"I never thought I'd see you here. It's really good to see you."
"Did you graduate from school? Or did you transfer? What happened after that?"
Marisa replied with a faint sigh.
"I apologize."
Then, with a decisive lack of hesitation, she walked away.
"We still have matters to discuss, so excuse us."
As I followed her, I glanced back—the four who had spoken were standing with blank faces, looking at each other.
They seemed not to have expected Marisa to react like this.
It meant Marisa's personality had changed quite a lot...
'Why did it change?'
I tried to ponder it, but the surroundings darkened and a spotlight turned on.
The person who began speaking under the spotlight on the central staircase, which could be used as a stage, was a fairly high-ranking elder of the Security Force.
After passionately speaking about love for the country and love for the soldiers, he tried to hastily gloss over the most important issue of post-war interests—but was met with a barrage of questions from the audience and handed the baton to a young general.
Fortunately, the elder had only tried to skip the interest issue because he wasn't well-informed.
The audience seemed very satisfied after hearing the young general's explanation.
"The method of utilizing the militia like investment funds is quite innovative."
"It's a shame we couldn't choose our investment targets more carefully, but this way there will be less confusion."
Perhaps because they were all learned people.
When the person who would manage their investment funds finished his sharp explanation, they even gave a standing ovation.
What followed next was an ordinary social gathering.
The government had prepared luxurious food, drinks, and services for the first-class citizens who had generously contributed large sums for the country—but it seemed nothing special to the people gathered here.
Food gradually cooling.
Musicians sitting blankly after being asked to play quietly.
The people still in the hall were at least enjoying the services provided by the government.
Most had opened tea parties in rooms they had rented at their own expense.
Marisa, while pretending to choose tea, walked around the hall eavesdropping on conversations, and seemed to have reached the same conclusion as me.
'No nutritional value.'
She immediately called a soldier to ask if she could leave, then headed for the exit without hesitation.
But just before going outside, someone called out to her.
"Adel!"
One of the four from earlier.
A handsome black-haired man in a military uniform.
He approached Adel with a serious, tense face and made a suggestion.
"Since it's been a while, let's catch up. I rented a room on the second floor."
Marisa's reply was very businesslike.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have time for personal conversations."
The man flinched in surprise, then his face grew even more serious as he lowered his voice.
"So you'd listen if it's not personal? Our story."
His face was so earnest it looked almost desperate.
When an acquaintance you haven't seen in a while approaches like that, their intention is one of two things.
A very difficult favor,
or a scam.
Either way, it was an interesting situation.