Chapter 211: The search, part 4
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Translator: Denryuu; Editor: Ryunakama
Elvi was still out cold.
Dee bound her with a spell, then taught me how to do it.
「It’s called ‘Bondage’. Lewd, eh?」, she said with a smile.
It was a spell I had never heard of before. We dumped the shackled Elvi onto the nearby bed and laid Rodje, who was also unconscious, next to her.
「What do we do about Lylael-sama…?」
「I think you fought a fake.」
「No wonder. I did find her abilities underwhelming when we fought.」
The vampire peered at the tip of the spear and sent it back to wherever it came from.
「Remember how she said that she doesn’t want to come back to us?」, she asked. 「Can we take it that it didn’t come from Lylael-sama herself?」
「Nope. I suspect that it’s what she truly wants.」
I had learnt from the faceoff with my own doppelganger that his beliefs and thought processes were identical to mine. Thus, the guilt that the fake Lyla felt most likely reflected the sentiment of the real one. Still, I was hoping that I was wrong, and the two Lylas could think independently — in which case there would still be hope.
I sighed.
We heard a ruckus coming from the entrance.
「Heroine-sama, I implore you! Please come at another time!」
「It’s fine, I’m telling you! I already told El that I’d be dropping by! I’ll make sure that none of you get into trouble, so just let me enter!」
Loud footsteps followed, which stopped when the door was flung open.
「El –! I know you’re here… ah… Roland and Co. has already arrived.」
「You sure took your time.」
The princess looked around the room that we had already tidied up.
「Where’s Lylael?」
「It appears that she wasn’t here after all.」
「Goodness gracious.」
Her expression let slip that she had wanted to fight her.
As far as I could see, Lyla would have the upper hand in a one-to-one standoff with Almeria. The latter did have one thing going for her, though, and that was her mental acuity. I had drilled several defensive techniques into her before the Aimee fight. If she could successfully marry those with her own offensive techniques, her chances could actually be decent.
Since Almeria had arrived, I patted Elvi’s cheek to wake her up.
「You’re an idiot, El. You know you’ll never be a match for him.」
She flicked her finger at her friend’s forehead.
「I thought there was a remote possibility that I could…」, muttered Elvi, who was still limp.「Though I knew there was no way I could beat him without a plan, at least.」
「Did that sword give you the confidence to take him on?」
The Holy Knight glanced at the sword that was propped up against the corner of the room and nodded.
「I believe in justice, and I acted according to my beliefs. I have no regrets. Do what you want to me.」
「We’re not gonna do anything to you.」
Almeria looked at me for affirmation.
「Mhm. There’s no point in doing so」, I replied. 「But I’d like to know where you got that sword from, and how the fake Lyla came to be with you.」
Dee filled the princess up on the details.
「Lylael-sama was here. But she was a fake, and she’s already melted away.」
「Melted?」
「Yup. Hey, ‘Bastion Girl’. Did you think you could do anything to Roland-sama with that sword of yours? Is that ‘justice’ to you?」
Dee’s words were spot on, and I could sense the slight anger in her voice. Why had Elvi acted alone? The cautious person that she was, she should have informed the relevant militia while keeping all of it under wraps.
「The sword was handed to me by a man that appeared after my visit to your house.」
A man?
「But who’s that?」, asked Almeria.
Elvi explained that she wasn’t really sure, then continued with her story.
「He introduced himself as ‘Van’. According to him, the sword was a prototype that he wanted me to test. And an attractive sword it was. Once I had tried it, it felt as if an unbelievable power had been granted to me. It made me overflow with confidence.」
It had given her power, but also a hubris that could have been fatal — truly a magic sword. Yet, had I not been her opponent, she could have won by a landslide.
Perhaps Warwick could learn something if we handed it to him.
「Why did he give you such a weapon?」
Good question, I thought.
「No idea」, replied Elvi. 「He told me he was from my kingdom, but he spoke with a southern accent. He had somehow gotten wind that I was bearing the responsibility for the assassination of the late King Reubens.」
As the highest-ranking commander in the kingdom, the blame had naturally fallen onto her shoulders. It was understandable for someone like her to wish to clear her name. If she was able to capture the Demon King, then she would be lauded even more highly than Almeria, the current heroine.
In other words, this ‘Van’ had manipulated her via her natural inclination toward justice.
「Wait a minute」, I said. 「Isn’t the whole assassination still a classified matter? How did he know about it?」
「You’re right」, said Elvi, coming to her senses.
Just where had Van learnt about it…? I doubted that anyone would have accidentally let word get out. Another possibility was that a third party had intentionally leaked the information — almost certainly my doppelganger. He understood Elvi’s predicament, knew how to take advantage of her character, and was also the man behind the regicide.
「That Van asked if I was from the Heroes’ Party, then said that he was looking for a swordsman to test his creation.」
She was an excellent guinea pig in that regard.
This mysterious person was not only affiliated with my doppelganger, but had also crafted a magic sword. He had known that handing a fake Lyla over to Elvi would lure me to rescue the former. Could he have been killing two birds with one stone, testing both of his creations with one ploy?
I’ll be damned, I thought. We played right into his hands.
「What happened after you executed the first doppelganger?」, I asked. 「What if he, too, has melted away?」
「Van almost certainly created the fake Lylael, then. I see」, said Elvi. 「I haven’t asked him much, but I’ll find out later.」
「Please do. Do you know where the real Lyla is?」
「Sorry. I have no idea…」
All the signs pointed to Van having some sort of creation ability.
「May I borrow that sword?」
「Sure. Do what you need to.」
Let’s see if it has any secrets to reveal.
◆Rodje◆
The elf awoke with a start.
「Ly…Lylael-sama!?」
She was in a wholly unfamiliar dressing-room.
「Ah, elf-dono. You’re finally awake.」
「Hm? You’re that ‘Bastion Girl’ from the Heroes’ Party. But why am I lying here? I was trying to enter… and then… wait! Where’s Lylael-sama!?」
「We still don’t know. As for Roland and others, they’ve already left.」
「W-When…!?」
「I’ll send for some tea.」
「…Sorry to trouble you.」
Rodje lowered her head. Receiving a cup of tea from one of Elvi’s attendants, she sat there, alone, drinking it in sips.
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