3 bar menu

Volume 4 Chapter 11-1: Secret Meeting

That night, I decided to stay at the village chief’s house. My purpose was surveillance and gathering information.

As a guest, Azul and the woman referred to as “Jii” were staying in guest rooms, while the rest of their retinue were sleeping in their carriages.

The guest rooms at the village chief’s house were made for soldiers and were designed for multiple people, but Azul and Jii wanted private rooms, so there weren’t enough rooms. We offered to arrange additional rooms outside the village chief’s house, but they declined.

I lay in my bedroom, closed my eyes, and focused on the wind’s mana. [Perception Expansion] was a magic I’m good at. Within a radius of 300 meters, I could obtain visual and audio information in any space with air.

Peeking at a woman was against etiquette, but I needed information. It seemed that Azul and Jii were both relaxing in their rooms.

「What kind of authority and information does that young lady have?」

Thinking logically, Azul’s actions today seemed irrational. First, she threatened to unilaterally stop trade, which was possible because it fell under Erin’s jurisdiction. But then, she went further by threatening to ban all commercial activities in Erin for anyone who had traded with the elves. This was an extreme economic sanction.

Furthermore, if we didn’t want that to happen, she demanded that Erucy come under Erin’s protection, provide technology and that I, as Erucy’s chief, become her subordinate. She even inquired about our intentions regarding the use of force, which could be interpreted as a declaration of war.

If this was Azul acting on her own, it could be seen as the mayor of Erin, a city that was just a part of the Choline Kingdom, starting a war with Erucy without authorization, which could lead to sanctions from the homeland. However, if Erucy was considered a settlement that didn’t belong to any country, it could be argued as within the scope of autonomy.

「Even so, it’s not wise to provoke an opponent with considerable strength. She should know we defeated five thousand Imperial soldiers.」

In the first place, doesn’t she have any sense of danger? It’s possible that we have no intention of letting Azul return safely. We have the option to massacre everyone here and claim that Azul and her party never arrived. Later, we could dispose of the bodies in the mountains to make it look like the work of bandits or beasts.

This time we didn’t take immediate action because the negotiations could potentially benefit Erucy.

There’s also the option of brainwashing, but that’s just a form of magic that involves giving pleasure and pain in a certain pattern and is less effective on individuals who can separate their emotions from their actions.

The people of Bell Erucy and Nettle members accepted that magic easily because they already had a sense of gratitude and affection towards me. However, it might be noticed by others who don’t share such sentiments.

「Hmm hmm hmm, that was a lovely bath.」

Jii was happily speaking to herself in her room. She seemed delighted as she wiped her body with the bucket of hot water Kuu brought. She had changed into the comfortable nightwear provided by us.

I had been fixated on her attire, but Jii was actually quite attractive. She was in her late twenties, with a well-toned body, although not particularly large breasts. Her chestnut-colored hair was wavy and reached her shoulder blades.

「That Cyril-san, he’s cute. I wish I had a little brother like him. Oh, but, on second thought, no, no. Despite appearances, his personality is just not right. I wouldn’t want any private dealings with him.」

It seems she had a rather negative impression of me.

「I wouldn’t mind being called ‘Onee-chan’ by that cute face if I could overlook his personality. But he was surrounded by such young girls, mostly in their teens. Is he a lolicon? Hmm, but they’re about the same age, so maybe it’s normal. It might be impossible for that child to understand the charm of an adult like me. No, He’ll surely fall for me! Because I’m still young, and oh, a mirror!」

She noticed the mirror that was provided in the room.

That mirror was the prototype of one I made for Lucy and Kuu. It was taking up space in the workshop, so I had it moved to one of the empty guest rooms. It seems that when Yukino was cleaning the rooms, she mistook it for one of the ornaments and left it behind.

「That’s impressive. It’s a perfectly smooth glass with no imperfections, covered with a thin layer of even silver. How can something like this be made? I can’t even imagine the process. Well, I’ll report it and let my lady think about it. But more importantly…」

With a sly smile, Jii stood in front of the mirror.

「I have a mirror here, so I should try a few things.」

She took a hairband from her belongings.

「Since Cyril-kun is a lolicon, I guess I’ll have to change my image a little.」

She began styling her hair with the hairband. The end result was what’s commonly known as twin tails. Twin tails in one’s late twenties. It looked rather ridiculous.

「I thought this hairstyle was a bit childish, but I can make it work! Frederica is too cute. I’m so young that I can fit right in as Cyril’s wife! No problem at all!」

I had to restrain myself from making comments.

「My hair is so shiny, not to mention the firmness of the skin, compared to those girls… Well, I guess I can’t compare myself to them. Not only in terms of age but also race! Well, it’s not about appearance; it’s about what’s inside! It’s about the IN SI DE!」

I wanted to tell her not to try so hard to look younger. I agree that what’s inside is more important. Personally, I think the ratio of appearance to character should be about 40 to 60.

After posing alone in front of the mirror for a while, Jii suddenly became serious and untied her twin tails. She tidied up her appearance.

I heard the sound of someone knocking on Jii’s door.

「I’ve been waiting for you, Ojou-sama.」

She immediately adopted a serious tone. It was a complete change from her earlier behavior. She must have sensed that Azul was coming, she has some impressive sensing abilities.