Volume 9, Epilogue
Volume 9, Epilogue
Part 1
A tavern in the royal capital.
I was facing a person in a private room set up with partitions.
Next to me, my partner Luxion, radiating a deadly energy, his red lens glowing mysteriously.
[Master, when do I have permission to attack?]
“Who said anything about that? I told you we were going to have a talk today.”
The person on the other end of the line is also in trouble.
Herring’s partner, Brave, looks at us with bloodshot eyes.
[Buddy! Be careful not to get poisoned. I’ll be poisoning all the food!]
“Isn’t that just because you want to eat?”
It was hard to believe that the restaurant was surrounded by a bustling atmosphere after the commotion throughout the capital not long ago.
Not many people pay attention to us in the crowded restaurant.
In the first place, we chose this restaurant because it had a partition so that people couldn’t see us from the outside.
I cut out to Herring.
“Now, let’s have a heart-to-heart talk. What made you think I was suspicious in the first place? You were spying on us on the day of the entrance ceremony, right?”
Herring answers my question as he sips his drink.
“There was no hero named Bartofalt in that Otome game. Do you understand what this means?”
I can guess everything by his testing tone.
“Are you a reincarnated person?”
I guess he thought he was right about my reaction, so Herring continued to speak.
“My purpose is to protect Mia.”
“The protagonist?”
“Do you know what a guardian knight is? In the empire, it’s a knight who protects women of high rank and status, and I volunteered to be Mia’s guardian knight.”
“Thanks to that, I was suspicious of you too. There’s no such thing as a guardian knight in that otome game, right.”
“It’s a long-established system over there.”
I talk about Mia-chan’s situation.
“Did you follow her because she’s the Emperor’s illegitimate daughter?”
“Do you know that much?”
“I don’t know. Marie is the one who knows.”
“That fake saint, huh”
Herring said she was a fake and held his forehead with his hand as if his head hurt.
He also told me that the Empire had heard rumors about us.
“Your rumors have reached us, too. There was no such hero as a fiend knight in that otome game. And the fake saint didn’t appear either.”
“Is that why you suspected us?”
It’s true that even I would be wary if there were someone who wasn’t supposed to be in the place we were going.
Herring’s worry was understandable.
I leaned back and was amazed at Herring’s cautiousness.
“Just make contact with us! On the contrary, you even got in the way, that’s the worst part.”
It was Brave who didn’t like what I had said.
[You two are the worst! Immigrant ship Luxion ―― It’s the worst weapon the old humans have left!]
Luxion, who had been called the worst weapon, seemed to be getting pissed off and talked back to Brave.
[I am an immigrant ship entrusted with the hope of the old humans. The worst is not me, but you, isn’t it?]
[When it comes to combat, you’re no better than a highly maneuverable battleship, but the other specs are the worst! I’ve fought a ship of your type before, but never again.]
Such a strong demonic armor Brave doesn’t want to fight the same type of ship of Luxion, huh.
However, Luxion’s red lens glows.
[――So you’re saying that you attacked the same ship that fled into space? Attacking a ship carrying non-combatants, that’s just like new humans.]
[Are you saying that?]
Herring and I look at each other and shrug, stunned at the two of them getting so riled up.
“Luxion, that’s enough. The conversation isn’t progressing.”
[It is futile to build a mutual understanding. Master, allow me to annihilate the relic of the new humans.]
“I told you it was no good, right.”
Herring is also trying to convince Brave to do the same.
“Kurosuke, it’s a long time ago? Besides, I want to save Mia now.”
[――Aa~, you’re right.]
Save Mia-chan?
Speaking of which, Marie told me something that caught my attention.
She was originally a very active and energetic girl, but for some reason, her body was getting weaker and when she did strenuous exercise, she would have seizures and start suffering.
I was curious about the setting, which was so far removed from that otome game.
“The protagonist ―― Is Mia-chan’s body weak?”
Herring was handing Brave a drink. Brave glared at me as he sipped his juice through a straw.
“She was fine until last year. But sometimes she has trouble breathing. Although she has been examined by the best doctors in the empire, the cause remains unknown.”
“You don’t know the cause?”
“If you give her magic power, the seizures will be relieved, so the healing magic itself is working. But we haven’t been able to treat the root of the problem. They say it’s getting progressively worse with no signs of improvement.”
“Did you let her study abroad in such a state?”
“I wanted her to rest, too. But ―― There’s an important event for Mia over here.”
“Event?”
Marie also said that Mia-chan had started to get sick last year, but I didn’t expect it was an unexplained illness.
On the other hand, it seems that the villainous princess has been freed from her sickly setting and is in good health ―― what’s happening?
Herring speaks about Mia-chan’s important event.
“There’s an awakening event in the middle of the game. Apparently, there are ruins in a dungeon in the royal capital, and if she touches them, Mia’s abilities will awaken.”
I have not heard anything from Marie about the awakening event.
“I don’t know about that”
“Even though it’s a pretty important event?”
I was a little pissed off when Herring looked at me like ‘Eh, you don’t know about it?’.
“I’ve only played the first game of that Otome game! How much of that otome game have you played?”
Even though you’re a man, is what I wanted to say but this line would come back to boomerang on me.
And it is not certain that Herring’s previous life was a man.
Choosing his words carefully, Herring tells me why he knows that Otome game.
“I watched my little sister play it from her side. She’d happily tell me what the story was about, so I remembered it too.”
“You’re on good terms with your sister? Unbelievable.”
As someone who had a sister named Marie, I didn’t want to believe it.
Selfish and self-indulgent, a little sister is an enemy to a big brother.
When I give him a blatantly disgusted look, Herring forcefully brings the conversation back.
“――Well, there is an important event for Mia. In terms of the game, it raises her status, and I want to see if maybe we can use it to treat her illness.”
Hearing that, Luxion pours cold water.
[It may not lead to a cure. At worst, it could worsen her condition.]
“Oi”
When I stopped Luxion, Herring looked down.
Apparently, that possibility is also taken into consideration.
“That’s exactly as your partner says. I’m thinking about the worst case scenario. That’s why I was ordered to investigate in the kingdom. He wants me to gather any information that might lead to Mia’s cure.”
If he can give orders to Herring, he must be a very high-ranking person in the Empire, right?
After all, Mia-chan is the emperor’s illegitimate child.
It means that the empire considers Mia-chan important enough to go to the trouble of preparing a guardian knight.
This part is also different from that otome game.
I look sideways at Luxion.
“Is it possible for you to heal Mia-chan?”
When I asked him if he was able to treat her, Herring looked up and stared at Luxion.
I guess he is hoping for the technology that Luxion has.
[――It’s hard to say without examining it. However, it is definitely more dependable than the demonic core that is there.]
The way Luxion competes with Brave is somewhat very human.
Perhaps Brave was furious, his surface was prickly.
[There is no way I can entrust the important Mia to you!]
“Are you throwing away the possibility of being cured like that? It’s a thought I don’t understand. After all, a demonic core is no good. “
I grab Luxion to stop him from starting another fight, and Herring grabs Brave as well.
I guess we both have a hard time with our partners.
“Well, we’ll examine her next time, I’m relieved that you’re not going to antagonize us. Because I don’t want to fight you again.”
When I said that, Herring frowned for some reason.
“I don’t want to fight you either. That armor is crazy, to begin with.”
It’s rude to call Arroganz crazy.
“You were stronger than me. I did my best, but my weapon was broken, my ammo was out, and I was getting impatient.”
“Don’t be stupid. You have no idea how much cold sweat I had to break out when you kept changing weapons and attacking me.”
The Arroganz are characterized by their use of a wide variety of weapons, but to me, who has dealt with them all, Herring’s words sound like sarcasm.
“You’re the coward. I thought I was going to be killed.”
Then Herring swung his fist down on the table.
“I was almost killed! That the last move is your Special Attack? Because of that, Kurosuke was also wrecked.”
“I was panicking because I hit it with full power and it didn’t do much damage. I thought, “I can’t win this one”.”
“I told you I almost died! And I was thinking of holding back.”
“You gotta be kidding me! That’s was holding back?! I thought I’d be killed!”
Herring and I were making a lot of noise when the waitress came to our private room. Both Luxion and Brave were so cautious that they ducked under the desk and hid.
“Ano~, I’d appreciate it if you’d be a little quieter.”
Both Herring and I apologize to the seemingly apologetic waitress.
“I am sorry”
“I will be careful”
As the waitress left, we sipped our drinks to reflect on each other and calm down a bit.
“Let’s talk about this another time. You guys came to study abroad because you want to help Mia-chan, right? There is no other purpose, right?”
When I confirmed Herring and Brave’s purpose, they both nodded at the same time.
These guys get along great.
“Right”
[If only Mia was okay, we wouldn’t be coming to this country]
Let’s leave the disgruntled Brave alone, this way we have no reason to fight.
Just knowing this alone is enough for me.
“Then it’s no problem for us either. I can help you with the ruins, and I’ll lend you a hand if you need anything.”
I walk up to him, and surprisingly, Herring’s nervousness begins to falter. Then he looks at me curiously and asks.
“Is it okay?”
“What?”
“No ―― I thought you, who was called fiend knight, were a man of worse quality.”
Herring is apologetic to me and tells me some gossip about me before I came to the kingdom.
“Because the rumors going around the Empire said you are heartless.”
“You can’t rely on rumors. What kind of rumors, by the way?”
When I’m interested in my rumors, Herring is hesitant to tell me, but he tells me.
“Don’t be mad, okay? I heard a rumor that you beat the prince of your country in a duel. Now that I think about it, though, that’s impossible.”
――Is it a duel with the Five Idiots? Herring says it’s impossible, but I’m actually doing it.
“It’s a mistake”
“That’s right. You wouldn’t beat a prince out of a stone, would you.”
“No ―― it was the five targets from the first game that I beat up.”
“Ha?”
Luxion gives a detailed explanation to Herring, who doesn’t understand what I’m talking about.
[Master beat five nobles, including Julius, in public. The five of them were powerless before the overwhelming performance of the Arroganz.]
I remember those days, and I feel nostalgic.
“That was refreshing”
[Yes]
When Luxion and I say that, Herring rushes to check on the next rumor.
“T-Then, what’s the story regarding the Republic? Is it true that you picked a fight with one of the six noblemen?”
It was a mistake to pick a fight in the Republic of Arzel.
“Wrong”
“T-That’s right. I guess you don’t fight with people when you’re studying abroad, right.”
To Herring’s relief, I explain the situation in detail.
“If I had bought the fight that was sold to me, I would have just made most of the six nobles into enemies. By the way, I’m not the one who caused the collapse. There was a coup d’état, and when we moved to suppress it, the Republic simply collapsed.”
Brave, who was at Herring’s side, speechless, was tugging at his clothes with his small hands.
[Buddy, this guy is worse than the rumor]
It was Luxion, whose loyalty was high only today, who was offended by Brave’s words.
[I don’t like what I’m hearing. Do you really think this is the end of Master’s cruelty? You haven’t heard any rumors yet about how bad he is.]
“All right, you shut up.”
I thought I had awakened his loyalty, but apparently it was my misunderstanding.
Herring looks at me and pulls away.
“I didn’t expect it to be as worse than the rumors.”
For some reason, he seemed to be even more wary.
.
When I came back to the school, I was caught by Marie, who was waiting for me.
“You’re late! The curfew has already passed! Could it be that you’ve been drinking?”
I guess I smell like it because I was in a tavern, but I’m basically not interested in alcohol.
“I won’t drink until I’m 20.”
“That’s a stupid answer. It’s already legal over here.”
“I live according to my own rules. So, what do you want?”
Marie had tears in her eyes as she showed her attitude that I wanted to cut the silly conversation and get back to my room.
She clasped her hands together and told me how serious she was.
“Aniki, you know. ―― Erika is my daughter!”
Hearing Marie’s story, I yawn.
Luxion, who was by my side, was worried about Marie.
[Unless she was drunk, it’s a memory disorder, isn’t it? Marie, did you hit your head hard?]
“I’m not drunk, and I didn’t hit my head!”
I laugh at Marie as she yells at Luxion.
“If that were the case, you’d be even more seriously injured. In the first place, Princess Erika is Milene-san’s biological child, not your daughter. It would be disrespectful to treat her as your daughter.”
As I say this, Marie throws a low kick to my shin.
“Ow!”
Marie stared at me, my eyes tearing up from the pain.
“What does that mean?”
“No, ano, I meant that it’s not good to be heard out in the open――N-No offense.”
I don’t know why I was speaking politely, but the current Marie had a power that could not be denied.
Seeing me apologize, Luxion looks amused.
[It sounded like you had other thoughts in your tone?]
“Do you have no intention of protecting your Master?”
As I’m about to continue my conversation with Luxion, Marie claps her hands and turns our gaze to her.
“Just listen to me!”
We reluctantly decided to listen to Marie’s story.
Marie had a really serious look on her face.
“She’s my daughter, but a daughter from a previous life. In other words, Erika is aniki’s from a previous life.”
“――Ha?”
I couldn’t believe it for a moment, but I had heard before that Marie had one daughter.
I’d heard she was a gentle girl, not unlike Marie, was that her?
“No, why my niece? R-Really?”
“I’ve confirmed it, so I’m sure.”
“When did she die?”
“She said she lived to be about sixty, so why do you care?”
“She’s two years younger than us”
She died decades after us, but she was reincarnated two years after us?
I was confused, but it was the same with Marie.
“I also don’t know the details. I’m pretty sure it’s her.”
Luxion briefly explains what we’re wondering.
[It’s pointless to discuss this topic when Master and Marie are in the same grade. Isn’t there a time requirement?]
We don’t know much about reincarnated people either.
How did we get reincarnated in this world ―― there’s no way to know.
After all, the next thing I knew, I was living in this world.
Luxion is interested in reincarnated people.
[However, it would be very interesting to see if there are any rules. Let’s continue the detailed investigation.]
More than that, what I’m more concerned about is Erika.
“Is my niece a villain princess?”
What’s going to happen now?