Chapter 71
The Demon (1)
The reaction to the priest robes was decent. Worden particularly liked not only the overall performance but especially the insulation function.
“Isn’t it a bit… too much?”
Winter voiced a slight regret regarding the design.
“Which part?”
“I’m rather modest, so…”
For modest Winter, the priest robe I had brought seed a bit excessive. The dull black color and the golden ornants.
“Certainly.”
It seed to suit Winter’s pale face well, yet she looked thoroughly burdened.
“Why~ I think it’s fine. Will you make one for too~”
“You’re not even part of our Order.”
Canis, who had arrived at so point, also reacted positively. With her aristocratic tastes, she especially liked the black and gold color combination.
“This one’s for . Yours should be different.”
Even so, I was, in na at least, the Cult Leader. I didn’t mind wearing the sa clothes as other Believers, but in this case Winter strongly insisted otherwise.
“That’s right. Other Believers only need the symbol, but Cult Leader is different.”
Modest Winter, uncharacteristically, emphasized authority. Worden did not object much either. In the first place, he probably had no particular thoughts about it.
“Davi~ you’re not interested in that kind of thing anyway~”
“That’s true, but it’s still necessary. Even if you have separate everyday clothes, you need at least one outfit that shows that kind of authority.”
We roughly nodded. Persuading Winter, who wore a firm expression, would have been troubleso.
“Then~ I’ll get going~”
Rarely, Canis stood up first. She was good at entertaining herself and could spend a long ti in one place even if no one paid attention to her.
It was curious, but I figured she must have sothing to do.
“No one’s~ trying to stop ~”
Saying it in a deliberately cheerful tone, Canis left the chapel. Worden had no interest to begin with, and neither did I.
Winter made a slightly pricked expression, but after seeing Canis’s beaming face, she let out a sigh. She had realized it was a joke.
“Davi~”
“What. Do you want to stop you?”
Canis, who had stepped out of the chapel, opened the door again and reappeared. Frowning at her restless behavior, I asked cynically.
“No~ not that~ but we have a guest~”
Canis did not seem genuinely disappointed at all.
Instead, she guided a tall woman into the chapel behind her.
“It’s been a while.”
“A-ah, have you been well?”
The Vice-Commander appeared, her black hair tied back neatly, dressed plainly. Instead of her usual uniform, she wore comfortable clothes.
As always, she greeted us with a gentle smile, and Winter was the first to respond brightly.
“Are you not working today?”
“It's a vacation that cos once a month.”
The Vice-Commander wore an incomparably happy expression. For a working person, a vacation held that much value.
However, what was questionable was why she only had one vacation per month—and why she had co here on such a precious day off.
“A vacation that cos once a month.”
“That’s right.”
“It must be quite precious.”
“I didn’t have any vacation for the past three months.”
For so reason, I felt a pang of sympathy. The position of Vice-Commander of the Imperial Knight Order was indeed a busy one.
However, the Imperial House was not that inflexible. Even so, it was a good workplace with decent working conditions and pay.
“You must be very busy, Vice-Commander.”
“Hehe. It’s thanks to Student Davide.”
The reason she was busy enough to seriously consider desertion was because she was the Imperial Princess’s confidante. Recently, the Imperial Princess must have given many orders.
Moreover, under the identity of the Imperial Princess, she had secretly participated in the recent desert expedition. The Vice-Commander’s hardships afterward must have been indescribable.
A wave of pity washed over .
“Just in case I’m mistaken, is it Her Highness the Imperial Princess?”
I went straight to the point. I wanted to let her rest even a little sooner.
The Vice-Commander widened her eyes briefly, then curved them into a gentle smile.
“As expected, you’re quick-witted. Yes, that’s correct.”
At the ntion of the Imperial Princess, the atmosphere in the chapel turned cold. Winter looked worried, while Canis’s eyes glead almost burdensoly.
“What do you intend to do this ti? Will you refuse?”
The Vice-Commander asked with a face full of amusent. I let out a small chuckle and replied.
“As a citizen of the Empire, how could I possibly refuse the summons of Her Highness the Imperial Princess?”
“Hehe. How mischievous.”
The Vice-Commander’s smile deepened. I rely shrugged.
“I wished to enjoy so tea with Student Winter, but it seems that won’t be possible.”
“A-ah, it’s alright. There will be many opportunities.”
At the Vice-Commander’s regretful tone, Winter also looked disappointed. I watched the naturally ford bond between the two with curiosity.
“That’s right. There will be many opportunities.”
With a slightly bitter smile, the Vice-Commander rose from her seat. I stood up as well.
“Shall we go then? She has been waiting eagerly.”
“Surely not for soone like .”
“That, we cannot know.”
With a aningful smile, the Vice-Commander led away.
***
Imperial Princess, Eliza Atticus, was dumbfounded as she watched the young man entering through the door.
She knew the saying that even a king is cursed when he is absent. She was not incapable of understanding that. There was no rule that pleased everyone in governance.
“Hmm.”
Still, wasn’t this bastard sowhat problematic? Even if it was forced, this was a place to which the Imperial Princess of the Empire had summoned him.
Even if he disliked it, it would be proper to at least conceal it on his face.
“Thou. Davide.”
“Yes, Your Highness the Imperial Princess.”
“Your expression resembles that of a rhinoceros with a horn stuck in its backside.”
What a useless remark. Yet the bearing and force of the one who said it were so formidable that it could not be dismissed lightly.
“It seems I grew tense at the thought of beholding Your Highness’s noble visage. I beg your leniency.”
At the rather chilling tone, Davide quickly composed his expression. The Imperial Princess’s eyes glead.
“I ca in answer to your summo—”
“First. Sit.”
Davide obediently sat in the seat the Imperial Princess indicated. She let out a hollow laugh.
What an amusing fellow. Though they had t once before, she was still the Imperial Princess of the Empire. His calmness, like a gentle ripple upon water, was unsettling.
“Thou. Davide. It has been a while.”
“Indeed, Your Highness.”
He showed no sign of trying to receive sothing, nor any sign of trying to avoid losing sothing. A truly peculiar fellow.
Thinking so, the Imperial Princess enjoyed the refreshnts Sheila had brought out.
‘He has no fear.’
After glancing at the Imperial Princess taking the first bite, Davide also reached for the luxurious confection. It was an action that did not even consider the possibility of poisoning.
“You do not tire of it.”
“?”
The Imperial Princess, who had wondered if he trusted her, soon shook her head. That was not trust—he simply either had no thoughts or no worries. One of the two.
Most likely the latter. Through reports, she already knew that Davide had entered and exited the Poison Swamp without any protective equipnt.
“Do you have resistance to poison?”
“Not resistance. But I can withstand it.”
An Artifact, perhaps. Was that not an enviable ability? Having answered, Davide promptly placed the next confection into his mouth.
“It seems to suit your taste.”
At Sheila’s remark, Davide could not deny it. To his chagrin, it was absurdly delicious. So this was the kind of dessert royalty ate.
“This one has quite the nerve.”
The Imperial Princess tilted her head for a different reason. He read the room impeccably. He ate the dessert as inconspicuously as possible. He minded his etiquette, yet in the end did not give up the dessert.
In its own way, this was new. Aside from certain specific cases, there were largely two kinds of attitudes toward the Imperial Princess.
Either one froze to the point of being unable to react properly, or one looked down on her in pursuit of personal gain. Of course, there were various reactions, but they did not stray far from those two.
But this one was different. He had been the sa in the desert.
“…Very well. If I intend to use you, these are things I must endure.”
“If you would release , there would be nothing for you to endure.”
“I refuse. I shall cling to you like a wolf and not let go.”
At Davide’s imdiate response, as if he had been waiting for the mont, the Imperial Princess scoffed.
“There is a reason I summoned you. Can you guess it?”
“I do not know.”
“Truly?”
Davide nodded. In an instant, both the Vice-Commander and the Imperial Princess’s expressions cooled. At the sudden shift in montum, Davide looked puzzled.
“Why do you look at so?”
“It seems the ti in the desert did not hold much aning for you. For , however, it was truly an enjoyable and beneficial ti.”
“…I misspoke. It was also the most enjoyable day of my life.”
The Imperial Princess stared at Davide with a sulky look before opening her mouth.
“Help with the war.”
One of Davide’s eyebrows twitched as he tilted his head. He had expected the Imperial Princess to ask about ‘Master.’
There was no topic more important or more intense than that. Yet she brought up sothing else.
“A war, you say.”
Among the Episodes, there were a few that dealt with wars, but at this point in ti, there was only one.
“The war of the rfolk.”
“You know that as well.”
Each regarded the other as unfathomable. Davide briefly postponed the story he had prepared in advance.
“Are they at a disadvantage?”
“Yes. They are.”
She admitted it calmly. A conflict among the rfolk. A war against rebels opposing the existing royal dynasty.
He recalled the Princess he had t in the sea temple. The smooth and moist sensation was still addictive enough to remain vivid in his mory.
By now, he had grown sowhat attached and hoped the royal dynasty would win if possible. That was also why he had given the Mark to those three.
“To what extent?”
“Hmm. We have been secretly supporting them, but it seems difficult nonetheless. War is, by nature, a battle of numbers. The royal side has an outstanding strategist, but so do the rebels. In that case, it inevitably becos a fight of troop numbers—and they are at a disadvantage there.”
Of course, that made it a dangerous matter, but that alone was not reason enough to summon Davide.
Was Davide’s value enough to turn the tide of war? At least he himself did not think so.
“As you know, I am but a novice with no experience in war, and my grades in related classes are disastrous—”
“Oh. I don’t believe that, Davide.”
Davide realized that his reason had begun to give up on sothing.
“That aside, how exactly am I supposed to help in a war…?”
Better to move straight to the question. He went directly to the point. The Imperial Princess gracefully tilted her teacup and gestured to Sheila.
“At the Sea Temple, you accepted three individuals as Believers, correct?”
“Yes.”
“They are making remarkable contributions in the war. Ah, of course, excluding the Princess.”
Davide nodded. He quickly grasped what she was implying. Perhaps pleased by his perceptiveness, Sheila’s smile deepened.
Naturally, the Imperial Princess’s expression, watching this, grew slightly strange.
“So, you are saying that the abilities gained by becoming Believers of the Anaye Order are of great help in the war? Is that it?”
“Correct.”
“And so you want to go there personally and increase the number of Believers.”
“That is right. You are quite adept at turning your head.”
Only then did the Imperial Princess rejoin the conversation. Davide stroked his chin, sinking into thought.
If the number of Believers increased, it was naturally a thank you for him. The question was how long he would be bound there. Davide did not take it lightly.
‘It is still too early.’
At a glance, it might seem that I could simply go, appoint Believers, and return. But war was never that simple.
If I went, it was obvious I would get entangled sohow—or be made to entangle myself. Then I would only waste ti and suffer needlessly.
Well, extracting compensation during that process would not be bad, but the issue was ti.
“That works out well. I happened to have sothing I wished to propose.”
I took a docunt out from my coat.
I was busy in my own way. I had just finished Episode 3.
There was not much ti left before the grueling ordeal known as the pilgrimage, so I had many things to prepare. That was why I presented an alternative.
The Imperial Princess, unable to hide her curiosity, quickly examined the docunt. Her rigid expression gradually turned subtle.
“Military bombs?”
The contents of the docunt were simple. I wished to sell military bombs exclusively to the Imperial Knight Order. It detailed the background of their creation, the thod, and even their effectiveness.
“How peculiar.”
Judging by the way I presented it at the perfect timing, she seed to think I had prepared it in advance.
This eting had implicitly been ant to question the arm of the Master I had handed over, in exchange for a long-term mission.
“Davide. You truly are amusing.”
She had deliberately brought up another topic to probe , and yet I was accepting even that.
The Imperial Princess handed the docunt to Sheila and looked at .
“If the contents of this docunt are true, this is quite a useful item. And you intend to supply it only to the Imperial House?”
“Yes.”
“You could amass far greater wealth.”
“Money gathers itself anyway. I judged it better to avoid regulations and troubleso matters instead.”
Sheila let out a quiet exclamation of admiration. The item written in the docunt was the glass marbles that frequently appeared in my battles.
They caused an explosion of electric current, dealing significant damage and inflicting status effects. On top of that, the glass fragnts caused secondary damage. A fairly decent weapon.
Moreover, they were small and light, making them highly portable.
“Indeed.”
She had assud it was an ability related to the Order because of the electric current. To think it could be mass-produced and used by anyone.
“Certainly, if sothing like this spreads across the market, it would be troubleso.”
The Imperial Princess found it rather comndable. It was the kind of weapon rcenaries would go mad over. Not revolutionary, but accessible and endlessly versatile.
If I put it on the market, I would make a fortune—yet I had chosen the Imperial House instead. Naturally, she could not help but question my intent.
“Thus I am curious. Davide. Why do you wish to distribute it only to the Imperial House?”
With her straightforward nature, the Imperial Princess asked directly. After a brief pause, I scratched my head.
“I am well aware of its efficiency. I also know the kind of fools who would go mad over it. If that happens, the Imperial House would surely suffer significant damage.”
“Hmm?”
“For example, an item created by the Order might eventually be used to attack the Imperial House. If such a situation arises, Your Highness would have to step forward. I wish to avoid that. Above all, I have no hobby of being struck in the back by sothing I made.”
After hearing that far, the Imperial Princess glanced at Sheila. Sheila nodded, answering in her stead.
At this point, there was no need for Davide to go personally. If this were continuously supplied to the rfolk, the tide of war would change.
A situation beneficial to both sides. It was sowhat suspicious and not entirely trustworthy, yet letting go of sothing so advantageous right before their eyes would also be a problem.
“I shall trust you this once.”
“…I do not believe I have ever spoken falsehoods.”
“Is falsehood the issue? That sly attitude of yours, even the source of your information—it all irritates to death.”
“Not trusting is also one th—”
“Silence. I have no hobby of being struck in the back.”
At her reaction as though I would undoubtedly betray her, I wore an aggrieved expression.
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