Chapter 724: Mother Wants To Show Off Sometimes
When I went through the portal, I found myself standing at what looks like the edge of a cliff overlooking a field below.
At the end of said field was a walled castle and behind it was a sprawling village with an even bigger farmland spread behind it.
Gathered in the field was a military encampment and they were obviously preparing to siege the castle at the end of the field.
Soon enough, I heard the soft sounds of footsteps and turned to see everyone else stepping through the portal to join me on top of the cliff.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Ufufufu~ That is Thuos Port Town, my little one~ Now Mama will be going to meet little Justi so stay up here with the others, ok?”
I squinted my eyes at the field below, “I don’t think I would be able to hear much from up here though?”
“Ara ara~ Silly me~ Mama shall fix that! Mary?”
“Right away, Madam.”
The head maid created another portal and disappeared inside it for a few seconds before reappearing with a… Is that what I think it is?
“Are those bunny ears?” I asked, looking at the headbands that had bunny ears on them.
“Ufufufu~ Yes they are my little one~ These are enchanted to help you hear far distances~ There you go! There’s one for everyone!”
… Ok yeah, sure. Let’s just use it.
Not because I secretly wanted to see everyone with bunny ears, oh no! Why would you ever think that?
Just curious… We don’t happen to have bunny outfits as well, do we? Why am I asking? Just out of curiosity of course! Why would you think it would be for any other reason but that?!
Ahem… I took one of the headbands and gave the others a look which prompted them to take one from Mary as well.
They immediately put them on and.. Ahhhhh~ They’re all so cuuuuute! Ehehehe~
Oh right, sorry. I need to put mine on as well. There you go.
Hmm? I think I just heard some weird moaning sounds from somewhere? Is Lisa horny again? Oh wait, no, I think it’s just the headband’s effect kicking in which made me pick up some weird sounds.
Umm… How do I use this?
Let’s see… I want to hear those two soldiers I see hanging around one of the tents over there, do I just think about it and–
“– that’s why I think she’s cheating on me dude.”
“And right as you got sent to accompany the King on this as well? Shit…”
“I know right? Why else would she suddenly be so happy all of a sudden? Fuck… She’s definitely kissing someone else…”
“That’s messed up dude…”
Ok, I didn’t need to hear more of that. I already know how it works now and that’s enough for me.
I turned to look at the others, “Does it work for you girls?”
They all nodded.
Mother giggled and put on her [Mask Of Impossible Identity], “Ufufufu~ Then Mother shall go now. Be careful, my little one~”
She gave me a kiss on the forehead before walking towards Mary, the Trasif already creating another portal for them to step through by the time she reached her.
As soon as the portal closed, I turned my attention back to the field and found a portal opening up at the centre of the camp. Mother appeared from it and walked into the largest tent which I assumed must be where King Justinia was.
I focused the artefact there, wondering if I would be able to eavesdrop on them despite them being inside the tent.
There was silence for a moment before things suddenly snapped back all of a sudden.
“Madam Nilm, I apologise for calling you back while you are busy…”
“Ufufufu~ It’s alright~ I got something nice in return for that~ What has that Off-Worlder done now?”
“He has already sent a letter demanding a duel with me in an hour’s time. Just the two of us in the field and we will fight until one side is unable to continue.”
“Ara, ara~ It seems like this Off-Worlder is really serious about it. Is it to the death?”
“No, we will be using wooden weapons instead.”
“Ara? I would have thought this Off-Worlder might want to try and kill you.”
“That was what I thought as well and I think he might have some skill that might allow him to kill me even if we’re using wooden weapons.”
“Ufufufu~ Is that why you want me here?”
“I’m afraid so, Madam Nilm…”
“Very well then. Shall I participate in the fight in your stead?”
“There’s no need for that, Madam Nilm. I will deal with this myself.”
“Nonsense, you silly little girl. You will not fight this duel. Who does this upstart think he is to demand the King herself to fight him when he is just a nobody? Not even the Count would be able to make this request either.”
“But this would besmirch my dignity and honour, will it not? People might think that I was too cowardly to face this traitor myself.”
“Ufufufu~ And what do you think people will say if they knew I was sent to face the Off-Worlder instead?”
“I… I suppose… Overkill?”
“Ufufufu~ And?”
“That… I guess I’m taking the threat seriously then?”
“Ufufufu~ Little Justi is so smart~ Now they will know that you will take such threats seriously so the others would had ideas of taking advantage of you would think twice after this~”
It feels weird to hear Mother speak like that on such a serious topic. But I guess there’s a reason why King Justinia trusts Mother so much.
That was when King Justinia spoke up again, “Aster is here, isn’t she?”
“Ara, ara? Whatever could you mean, little Justi?”
“You brought her here and you just want to go out and fight that Off-Worlder to show off to her, don’t you?”
“Ara? I don’t know what you are talking about, little Justi~ I’m doing this as a favour to you, am I not?”
“Sigh… Alright, please help me, Madam Nilm. I will leave the duel in your hands.”
“Ufufufu~ Just leave it all to me Justi~”
… Remember the part I said about Mother being serious and all that? Yeah, I take that all back…
I turned to look at the girls behind me and I noticed that everyone aside from Odeta seemed to be really focused on listening to something in particular. On the other hand, Odeta seemed to be more interested in looking around the place instead of listening in.
“What are you girls listening to?” I asked.
Katsuki, Lisa and Delmare actually jumped at my sudden question.
Ah, whoops… I think they were listening to something near me and my voice was amplified when I spoke which must have hurt their ears.
“Sorry about that,” I apologised.
Lisa giggled, “Oh don’t worry about that~ I love the sound of your voice, Aster~ Ehehehe~”
Delmare blushed, “Me… Me too, Aster!”
Of course… They weren’t listening to something near me, they were literally listening to me.
I guess Katsuki was also affected because she was also doing that but more for security reasons?
I cleared my throat, “Anyway, it seems like Mother will be fighting the Off-Worlder herself.”
“Oh, that means it would be over pretty quickly then,” Lisa commented.
“I doubt it,” Emilia disagreed with a shake of her head. “I believe she would want to show off her power here to make a statement to the people gathered here, especially since she has been out of the public eye since forever. This would be the perfect opportunity for her t o display her powers and remind everyone why the Nilm Family has its notoriety for so long.”
I can’t even bring myself to tell them that Mother simply wanted to show off to me…
That was when I noticed Tiara giving me a look that told me she knew exactly why Mother chose to fight the Off-Worlder.
I guess she was trying to listen in on her father which ended up letting hear their conversation.
Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.
Instead, I decided to change the topic by asking Emilia, “What were you listening to?”
“Oh nothing much, just gathering potential blackmail materials and stuff.”
Ok… Sure… She even said it so casually like she was just listening about someone else talking about their day or something.
“Mistress, they’re starting,” Katsuki told me.
I turned back to look at the field and sure enough, I found Mother and the King leaving the tent.
And as though it was arranged ahead of time, the gates of the castle slowly opened and a single person stepped through the opening to march towards the field while armed with a wooden sword and shield.
As for Mother, all she had was a single wooden longsword that she had just grabbed from the side as she was heading towards the field with the King.
Hmm… The Off-Worlder looks normal though? Why did Mother say that his existence is an affront to all Off-Worlders?
Oh well, I guess I will know soon enough.
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