Chapter 116: The abduction incident, part 1
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
◆Lyla◆
Lyla had received news from Roland that Meiri’s adventuring would be placed on hiatus. She had also been invited to join the little princess for that time period.
「Let’s take a walk today!」
Ever since it was decided that she was allowed to keep the tsunorabi, the room adjacent to Meiri’s had been refashioned into a living space for it.
Meiri lifted the light brown rabbit and hugged it tightly, which Lyla looked at with apparent boredom.
「Man… do I really have to take care of this girl all the time…?」, she muttered, scratching the back of her ears with her hind legs.
Despite her constant whining, she knew that she would have spent each day sleeping if not for Meiri’s adventuring, and found that she was already making relatively good use of her time.
「What should I name it, Lyla-chan?」
「It’s not my pet. You can name it as you like.」
「But you’re good at naming things, aren’t you?」
「Simply usakou will do, then. A lowly monster like it is fit for little more than serving as emergency rations for one lost in the forest.」
[T/N Note: usakou — Untranslatable derogatory word for a rabbit. Take my word for it.]
She inevitably recalled how delicious the tsunorabi they had caught when she visited Roland’s childhood home had been.
「It’s yummy, though… no inferiority there whatsoever…」, she said, looking at Meiri.
「Rabbit-chan isn’t an emergency ration! I won’t eat it! Since you mentioned usakou, though, how about I remove the u? Sako-chan… Sako-chan!」
The tsunorabi tilted its snout towards the little princess, who rubbed its cheek against hers.
「Ehehe, it’s so fluffy, warm and cute… it responded, so Sako-chan it is!」
「Perhaps you have already forgotten, but am I not fluffy, warm and huggable?」
「Yeah, I know –」, was the halfhearted reply she received.
Deflecting Lyla’s advances, Meiri fit a collar around the tsunorabi and tied a cord to said collar.
「Shall we go for a walk, Sako-chan?」
As the little princess began to walk, the rabbit also started bouncing along on its four legs.
「Hmph…」
Its tail was round and light brown. It had stubby legs, soft fur and the way its butt twitched…
「Guh… I don’t want to admit it, but it’s cute… I want one…」
Finally admitting defeat, Lyla followed behind the victor with her tail between her legs.
In order not to draw unnecessary attention, she had made it a point to speak only in front of Meiri when in her feline form. Walking within the confines of the castle, they reached a courtyard where Meiri released her pet and began playing tag with it.
「Ara, what are you doing here, Alias-sama?」, inquired Luno, poking her head out from the window as she happened to pass by in the corridor.
「I’m playing with Sako-chan… my rabbit!」
「That seems fun」, said the attendant with a gentle smile.
Since she was usually one of those who dropped Meiri off and picked her up, Lyla was used to seeing her by this time.
「I have something good to feed that tsunorabi, Alias-sama.」
「Eh, really!?」
「Of course. It’s a secret from Leyte-sama, okay?」
「Okay, it’s a secret!」
「Please follow me, then. I’ll show you to the place.」
「Did you hear that, Sako-chan? There’s good food waiting for you!」
Turning a somewhat deaf ear to her owner, the rabbit was grazing away at the neatly-trimmed lawn.
Good food…? For a tsunorabi that’s perfectly content with eating even weeds? I can’t believe my ears, she thought, thinking back to her own past. Many attendants tend to fawn over their princesses — perhaps she’s one of them. After all, currying favour early makes the princess more likely to listen to you when she throws a tantrum. It’s kind of a manipulative gesture, but it is what it is.
「But is she that kind of person, I wonder…」, mused the Demon King, comparing her to the side of Luno that she knew.
Using the shade provided by a flower bed to approach Meiri, she darted into the princess’s skirt.
「Hya — oh, Lyla-chan? What’s up…?」
「Keep quiet.」
Ignoring Meiri’s surprise, Lyla snuggled under her clothing and scurried up her back.
「Your claws… ow…」
「Bear with it for a little.」
Luno was still calling out to the little princess.
「Come on, Alias-sama!」
When Meiri went to join her, she took the lead, guiding her and the rabbit down the corridor.
「What kind of food is it?」
「If I reveal it now, I’ll get scolded by Leyte-sama. I can hear it already — ‘Alias should be the only one to take care of her’. I’ll explain when we get there」, explained Luno calmly.
Lyla looked out from her hiding place to ascertain their current position. Nobody else could be seen in that lonely corridor. The place seemed a little gloomy, because they had just been under the sun or otherwise. As she concealed herself under Meiri’s garments again, she noticed that something had gone terribly wrong.
The little princess’s knees had given way.
Someone caught her just before she fell to the ground.
「…」
「What do I do with this rabbit…」
But there’s no one else around… Luno must have done something…
「…and this cat hiding in her clothes?」
Shit.
Lyla’s entire body stiffened. Speaking with barely any emotion, Luno’s voice was worlds apart from what she was familiar with.
「Eh, the poor princess. Guess I’ll bring them along with her.」
Cautiously lifting the princess she served, she continued walking.
The jig was up less than ten seconds after they arrived.
「That’s a paddlin’ if you stay in there.」
Lyla quickly bailed from her hiding place and found herself on a bed. She leapt onto the floor and scanned the surroundings. It was quite a ramshackle room, and the air smelled faintly of mildew. The bed Luno had laid Meiri on appeared rather old. Perhaps the tsunorabi was still hungry, for it scurried towards the dusty bed and sniffled.
Looking out of the metallic window grilles, she could just make out the castle in the distance. We must have come a long way, she thought. If magic had been used, even the magicka-sapped Lyla would have known. However, she had detected nothing throughout the entire journey.
Who on earth is this ‘Luno’, she wondered. The attendant she knew would never have been able to pull off something like this. This lady, who was supposedly ‘Luno’, cracked her neck and turned around to look at the two house pets.
「What do cats and rabbits eat? Eh, never mind. My job is done anyway.」
Spinning a bunch of keys around her index finger, she left the room, locking the door behind her.
「Could this be the abduction Roland was talking about? I have to let him know –」
「Aha! I was right!」
「!?」
Lyla jumped at the sudden voice and tried to lie low. Looking in the direction it had come from, she saw ‘Luno’ peeping through the grilled window in the door.
「I knew your aura was a little off. Even I could tell that you’re not just a normal cat. So, who are you? Someone from the castle? The princess’s escort?」
「…And you’re a doppelganger.」
「Hmph. Eh, I won’t do anything violent… or anything bad, so don’t try to be funny, okay? Nobody’s gonna die.」
「Why did you kidnap this child?」
「I wanted the money. But what about you? Why are you a cat? Are you using magic? A skill? Could you have possessed a cat? Or transformed into one?」
「I am not obliged to speak to a kidnapper. Get lost.」
「C’mon now, don’t say that.」
Lyla felt something ethereal flowing around her, and guessed that ‘Skill Reader’ or some similar magic was being used. She was defenceless against any form of ‘Appraisal’, and her true identity would soon be revealed.
「…Weird. You’re a cat due to neither skill nor magic」, said ‘Luno’ with a hint of boredom in her voice.
Realising that it probably wasn’t ‘Appraisal’ after all, Lyla allowed herself a single sigh of relief.
「You don’t have a skill, but you’re still a talking cat. You’re not human, are you?」
「…」
Lyla glanced at Meiri. It seemed like Roland’s ‘Shadow’ had yet to be detected. While this kidnapper no doubt went about her day with alacrity, she was clearly unacquainted with higher order demon magic.
「Cats can talk now… no, maybe you’re some cat-like monster that can talk. And yet, I can’t feel your magicka at all. That means you’re a cat that learnt to talk. Pretty amazing, honestly…」
The colour of her pupils changed.
「Fear not, for the woman I impersonated just now is still alive. Seeya, strange kitty.」
With that, the lady who was once ‘Luno’ checked that the lock had been secured and left.
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