48
Chapter 48
I am human.
I am a traveler who loves believing in the world's rumors.
I am a gossip who loves to dress up his words with flair.
That is who I am. Starting from this very moment.
"Woof woof. I'm a baby beastman. Save me."
Sigh, that damn Aru's acting hasn't improved one bit. I really need to put her through some acting lessons soon.
Though I'm not sure if someone in the middle of puberty would quietly accept such training.
"It's as if I'm looking at a fairy sculpted from moonlight! If I could, I would be the knight to kneel before you and kiss your hand! Though I am but a mere traveler! Hahaha!"
I've never seen anyone who dislikes compliments. Especially if the recipient is a woman and the praise is about her looks. That is why I decorate my words so lavishly. It also helps lower their guard by making me seem frivolous.
For your information, when dealing with men, it's better to praise their muscles or their sword.
"...."
Beatrice doesn't react. Why? I thought she'd at least give a shy smile, but her expression looks slightly disgusted.
"Only for tonight."
Moving slightly aside from where she had been blocking the door, Beatrice spoke stiffly.
"Are you letting us in? Thank you! I shall carve this grace into the very bones of my family so that distant descendants may remember it! May blessings dwell upon your future path!"
"...."
The more I exaggerate, the more Beatrice's face seems to wither, but should I keep going?
"Then, if you'll excuse us! Please forgive my dear friend and me if we're a bit noisy!"
"Woof? Us, friends? Since when?"
"Ahahaha! My precious friend, Aru, seems to be in a strange state today! She must have suffered too much from the heat and is feeling dizzy! I must lay her down immediately!"
That damn Aru, I'm never doing a joint act with her again. To think a sidekick is this terrible at acting. Even a passing dog would do better than her. If I told Aru, she'd probably growl and ask if I dare compare her to a mere dog.
But....
"...."
Why is that woman just staring at me?
After leading the conversation this much, shouldn't there be some kind of response? Does she enjoy these awkward silences?
It can't be helped. I'll keep talking. Don't forget. I am currently a chatterbox. A clumsy, ridiculous gossip who might attract hostility, but won't attract suspicion.
"What a wonderful scent! It reminds me of the apple pie my grandmother used to make when I lived in the Corinth region as a child! Who is the chef behind this enchanting and delicious-smelling dish!"
"Me."
"Hahaha! You were a lady who cooks as beautifully as you look! I suppose the saying that beauties are great cooks is true after all!"
"Woof woof? I can't cook?"
"Aru, you're not a beauty! What would happen if this lovely lady heard you say that!"
"Woof... I'm pretty...."
"My apologies, Lady! My friend has suffered severe heatstroke and is talking nonsense! I really must find a place for her to rest! Lady, do you have any spare room?"
"Figure it out."
Wow, she's seriously terrifyingly taciturn.
'Who are you,' 'Me,' 'Figure it out'... Is that all she has to say to guests who've found her in a place as treacherous as the Demon Beast Forest? At this point, I'm starting to wonder if she's actually mute.
In the next moment, if she hadn't reacted to the intentional 'growl' of my stomach, I probably would have believed it.
"I was just about to have dinner."
Beatrice spoke bluntly.
"Care to join?"
I answered immediately, without a second thought.
"I'd love to! Oh! To be treated to a meal by a lady as beautiful as you! There is surely no traveler in the world more blessed than I!"
Twitch.
Beatrice's expression darkened once again.
That's three times already.
In this short conversation, her face has stiffened three times. It wasn't just a blank look; she looked genuinely uncomfortable.
Does she have some complex regarding compliments that I'm unaware of? I need to find out. A complex is a mask used to hide a weakness. To make Beatrice my second sidekick, identifying and exploiting that weakness is essential.
Just as I became a family figure to Aru a hundred years ago by touching upon her longing for family. I'm suffering through Aru's puberty right now, but once this phase passes and she matures, I'll finally move past the hardship and walk a path of roses.
...I have to. Why else am I putting up with this? I'll go insane if all this patience turns out to be a waste of time.
"Then, please come ins... Wait."
"Hm? What is it?"
"...There is a pond behind the house that serves as a bath, so wash yourselves first. Both of you look far too ragged."
"A bath! I was feeling quite grimey, what a blessing! Are you truly an angel descended from heaven, my lady? I can almost see a brilliant halo shining behind you!"
I only just got some dirt on me, so I didn't actually feel that grimey, but to look like a castaway, I had to accept that suggestion.
I started to strip off my clothes immediately, but then paused momentarily as if remembering something.
It was a calculated hesitation.
"But... t-there were terrifying monsters outside, weren't there? Is it really safe to go out in the middle of the night?"
I played it up, even letting a few beads of cold sweat drip. It's exactly the kind of thought a powerless, ordinary castaway treasure hunter would have. These small details are what make the act believable.
"No one can approach this area. So, wash without worry."
"Ohhh! Are you truly an angel sent from the heavens to save us! Living in the heart of the Demon Beast Forest is extraordinary enough, but to be untouchable! I simply must hear your story during dinner!"
I tossed in a suggestion for our future conversation, steering the direction of the night.
Then, I headed outside with Aru and soaked in the bath.
While we did, the sounds of cooking drifted from inside the house.
*****
Clatter.
Using a fork and knife, I enjoyed some soft bread for the first time in ages.
Gulp.
Tears of emotion well up. This is the first bread I've eaten in nearly a hundred years. Ah, it makes me crave my aunt's cooking. Maybe I'll ask Adela to send some.
"Mmm... To think a human could create such a dish! Truly amazing, my lady!"
"...Eat moderately. Don't overeat."
"How could I possibly resist such delicious food! Haha! My mouth is simply refusing to listen to me!"
"Woof? If your mouth isn't moving, how are you talking?"
The praise isn't a lie. Up until now, the tastiest food I've ever had was my aunt's cooking, but Beatrice's food is making me rethink that. Good, her strength alone was enough to make her a candidate for my sidekick, but she's a great cook too.
Beatrice didn't show a reaction like a smile, but she treated us with kindness. It wasn't necessarily fondness, but she didn't seem to have any malice either.
Crunch.
A warm meal and steaming hot food—it's probably the first time I've had this since entering the Demon Beast Forest. I stuffed the remaining bread into my mouth and asked a question.
"Gulp. By the way, my lady, for what reason are you staying here in the Demon Beast Forest? It's not exactly a place where women usually reside!"
"Being a woman is no reason why one cannot set foot in the Demon Beast Forest. Have you not heard the story of the eldest daughter of the Northern Duke Family who ran wild here a hundred years ago?"
She brings up Adela right in front of me. Hey, that demon is literally my sister, sister.
I shouldn't say that when I'm trying to lower her guard. I smoothly pulled a bottle of wine from my coat and spoke.
"Ah! I forgot something important! To hear your story, I must at least offer some wine!"
"That... it's been a long time. Wine. But how did you manage to bring wine to a place like this?"
"I have my ways! That's not the point; please accept my gift! It's a precious wine, aged for a full century!"
The moment the bottle caught her eye, Beatrice's gaze shifted. A spark of interest and longing began to swirl in her once-dry eyes.
For this very moment, I had packed the wine my aunt made a century ago into Arachne's Bag. With a pure, clear smile, I placed the bottle on the table.
"I'll get the glasses."
Beatrice stood up with a scraping sound. Her eyes wouldn't leave the wine.
I knew it. I remember reading in a biography from my previous life that Beatrice Constantino suffered severe stress during her days as a Holy Knight, which led her to drink wine frequently.
The Demon Beast Forest is no environment for brewing liquor. Therefore, since she vanished here four years ago, she likely hasn't tasted wine once. No sane person would think to pack wine while being hunted by the Church.
Beatrice returned with three glass cups and sat back down. I poured the wine until the glasses were full and spoke loudly.
"Now that I think about it, it seems rude to ask a lady I've just met to share her story first! I'll start with mine! Just to break the ice and set the mood!"
In reality, I'm just stalling for time. Until the alcohol fully kicks in.
"As you wish."
After staring intently at the swaying wine in her glass for a moment, Beatrice downed it in one go. The dark red wine slid smoothly down her throat. Her brown ponytail swayed along with the motion.
"As I mentioned before, my name is Oscar! I'm a man who travels with friends in search of modest, legendary treasures! I grew up with my grandmother in a small mountain range in the Corinth region!"
"Corinth... I heard that's a mountainous valley area."
"Exactly! There's a beautiful village inside where colorful flowers bloom in abundance! My childhood routine was running around with the local runny-nosed kids all day, and then coming home in the evening to eat the apple pie my grandmother made! Looking back, those were the happiest times."
"Childhood is a joyful memory for everyone...."
As if agreeing with me, Beatrice murmured bitterly. There's a certain type of person who reacts like that when you talk about childhood innocence. And I know what they have in common.
Cases where they were happy as children, but as they grew, they drifted further and further away from the feeling of happiness. One might argue that's true for everyone, but this is a reaction that occurs when one is almost completely severed from the emotion of 'happiness.'
Now, I just have to build a rapport based on that. No matter who you're talking to or what the subject is, building common ground is indispensable.
"I was just your typical country boy from the mountains! Simple, pure, and naive—the most common kind of village child! But you know that classic trope? The simple country boy who admires urban civilization, heads out without knowing any better, and gets burned badly!"
"Are you saying that's what happened to you?"
"I think I was fifteen? A peddler from the city stopped by our village! That peddler laid out various fascinating city goods before the villagers and introduced things we could never see in the countryside! Being completely ignorant at the time, I felt a great curiosity for that highly developed civilization!"
"Hmm, that's understandable. That's the age for such things."
Beatrice was gradually drinking more wine than bread. Under the lamp light illuminating the shroud of night, her flushed face glowed softly.
"I harbored a dream with a pure heart! I wanted to go to the city and become a free merchant, traveling here and there just like that trader who first gave me a dream! I even received a small sum of money from my grandmother for that goal and set off with the merchant! But guess what? As soon as we left the Corinth mountains and reached the city, the man scammed me and stole every penny I had! A small but precious sum that held the dreams of a young boy!"
Squeeze!
I clenched my fist tightly, speaking with focused intensity. My strained hand trembled slightly.
Recalling those days, my heart fills with rage. Sigh, that bastard of a merchant. If I ever meet him, I'll kill him on the spot. Of course, I've never actually met such a merchant.
"Oh dear."
"I should have returned to the village, but there wasn't even a guard to help! Because that merchant had taken everything! In the end, after tasting the bitterness of the city, the dreamy boy found himself stuck in a city he now despised! I had no choice; I had to survive!"
The intoxication is setting in. I continued, pouring genuine emotion into my words.
Beatrice is becoming more and more immersed in my method acting.
"I became a miner working in the pits! Compared to other factory work, the pay was decent! But it was far from easy! I'd go into the mines and swing a pickaxe all day in total darkness, over and over... And whenever we stumbled upon something like a Goblin Cave, it was an absolute disaster! It was a continuous cycle of days where simply existing was agony!"
" existing is agony... Everyone has periods like that. Looking at you now, it seems you've overcome those days wonderfully."
"Hahaha! Thank you for the compliment! Actually, rather than overcoming it, it would be more accurate to say I escaped! After earning just enough for travel expenses, I fled the mines and returned to my hometown in Corinth! It was a full five years after I first left the village!"
Beatrice nods at my words. Aru, feeling warm and full, is nodding off as sleep washes over her.
In truth, it's because of the sleeping pill I mixed only into Aru's glass while pouring the wine.
"To think you had such a story... I hope that merchant was struck by divine punishment."
"Haha! I'm sure that would be great, but I've already forgotten all about it! I'm even grateful that the simple country boy was turned into a proper young man! Anyway, after that, I became more interested in the mysteries of nature than urban prosperity! Just like Aru here, I gathered some like-minded friends from the village and set off on a journey!"
"You haven't lost your sense of romance. I envy you."
"It was like that until then! But now that I've ended up in the Demon Beast Forest and lost all my friends except Aru... Well, haha. Honestly, these days, I don't feel much of anything. I'm pushing through the forest with Aru with the sole desire to survive, but there's no end in sight. I keep seeing flashes of my friends being torn in half by monsters... What would I even do if I went back now?"
"...That is a truly sad story."
Beatrice's gaze turns toward me. The deep red flush of intoxication makes the atmosphere at the table heat up.
Is what's in that gaze intoxication? Or is it pity?
...No, it's sympathy. Beatrice currently feels a sense of kinship and sorrow for me. It seems the story I quickly fabricated after seeing her reaction to happiness worked.
"Haha... My goodness, I feel like I've just brought down the mood of the drinking party."
"No, I enjoyed it. It was a short but impressive story."
Slurp.
I swallow the wine while stealing a glance at Beatrice's face.
Now, I've done enough. It's your turn to step up. Tell me your story.
"Uuuugh... so sleepy...."
Thump.
Overcome by the power of wine and sleeping pills for the first time in her life, Aru collapsed onto the table. The disruptor is gone. The terrible actor has exited the stage.
Now, bring your story onto the stage. I'll be your only audience, Beatrice.
"In return... I suppose I should tell you my story. Since you desire it so much, I shall tell it once...."
With a face reflecting sympathy, Beatrice opens her cherry-red lips. Her voice is languid from the alcohol. This is the moment I've been waiting for.
I mustn't let my guard down. The person before me is the strongest Holy Knight of this era. A monstrously powerful warrior who drove out an entire nation single-handedly.
From here on, I will find the point of attack within Beatrice's story.