Book 6: Chapter 19

Demon King Castle Second Floor, Ichika’s room.

That room, which was newly made by Ykslaas who was in charge of the repair work, did not have that many features, and the door with a simple design was always tightly locked.

Rokuna and Lemon were walking through the corridor that that room was connected to.

It was a corridor that should have had no one in it up until now, but before they knew it, Ichika, wearing black maid clothes, had appeared before the two of them.

Lemon was surprised by the sudden event, and hid behind Rokuna.

On the other hand, Rokuna talked to Ichika with a face that looked like she was used to it.

「As usual, you just appear all of a sudden. Well, it’s fine since I had some business with you anyway.」

「I had come here since I predicted that you would. There is nothing to be surprised about.」

「To begin with, being able to predict that is……No, whatever. Here.」

When Rokuna said that, she handed over a bundle of documents that she held under her arm.

「It’s the stuff that you asked for.」

After Ichika accepted the documents, she expressionlessly nodded.

She understood that it would probably be a swing and a miss this time as well, but she was honestly grateful that Rokuna would sincerely move the intelligence unit to investigate things for her.

「……Is that so.」

After thinking that Ichika would look through the documents later, Rokuna breathed a small sigh.

「But still, I was wondering what kind of guy it was when you expressly told me to investigate them……but as I thought, it wasn’t a normal person.」

「Eh?」

Ichika unconsciously said that at Rokuna’s unexpected words.

Maybe being satisfied from seeing a rare reaction from Ichika, Rokuna grinned and turned around.

「Well, all of the details are written in there. Be sure to read it.」

Lemon chased after Rokuna who said that and walked away.

Only Ichika remained in the corridor that returned to silence.

「……」

Ichika dropped her eyes onto the documents that she received from Rokuna.

It was an investigative report on a certain person.

Thinking that that person was already no longer living, if she could at least know about their final moments……that is what she thought when she made the request.

That person’s name, was Reina.

Called the legendary Maid Knight, she was also Ichika’s──No, 「Ria」’s, the life that she had before she was Ichika, shishou.

This time’s report, it was something that gathered Reina’s information within the Canal Kingdom.

The current Canal Kingdom was in a civil war situation due to the antagonism between the First Princess and the Third Princess.

It seemed that Rokuna had the intelligence operative try and slip in with that confusion, but similar to how things were up until now, it seems that they were immediately discovered for some reason.

As long as the intelligence operative couldn’t slip in, the information would end up being suspicious as they were only considerably fragmented rumors that were gathered, but it seems that Rokuna had carefully examined that and consolidated it in her own way.

Ichika flipped through the pages of the document, and her hands stopped in the middle of looking through a couple of pages.

「This is……no, but……」

Reading through the contents of the document, Ichika quietly muttered that.

She thought “could it be”.

However, she couldn’t think of any other possibility.

「This is unconfirmed information, but there is a rumor that a blue haired Maid Knight made contact with the previous king, punched him in the face, and escaped……」

In the investigation report, it was concluded that this was an event that the Third Princess side had arranged in order to trap the First Princess camp which had the previous king assume position as their leader.

They thought that it was a strategy in order to give the impression that the previous king and the First Princess were people corrupt enough to receive punishing strikes from the legendary Maid Knight and that the Third Princess was justice.

But, Ichika knew.

The person known as Reina, even if the other party was a king or the head priest, if she thought they were annoying, she would send them flying and run. She was a person that would easily do that.

That is why she thought “could it be”.

Since more than a hundred years had passed since the Hero Ryuuya’s era, she shouldn’t be alive if she was a normal Human.

With trembling hands, Ichika flipped to the next page.

There, the story of an intelligence operative who succeeded in making contact with a person who was thought to be that Maid Knight was written.

That intelligence operative also had no choice but to immediately depart the Canal Kingdom, but even so, within the information that they had gathered in that small amount of time, it was said that they had met with a person who appeared to be Reina.

They were mostly unable to converse, but it seems that that person said this.

In the event that there was a person searching for me, if that child answers what the menu they ate on the day we first met was, then I shall meet with them, is what she said.

On the report, there were scribblings saying that it was some sort of code, but that wasn’t the case at all.

That person, she wouldn’t do such a troublesome thing.

She would always take an insinuating attitude, but in truth, she was a person who was just as she appeared.

「Reina……」

Ichika muttered that.

There is no way she should be alive. However, she couldn’t think that it was anyone but Reina herself.

「……Are you, there right now……?」

Tightly hugging the document, Ichika made a distant look.

As if she were envisioning the distant Canal Kingdom.

After a bit of silence, Ichika’s ears came to hear the footsteps of someone walking through the corridor.

After suddenly noticing that sound and raising her head, Vermudol’s figure as he was approaching her entered her eyes.

「Vermudol-sama……?」

Ichika’s room was the only thing at the end of this corridor.

In other words, it meant that he had business with Ichika……however, when Vermudol looked at Ichika, he slightly knitted his brow and sped up.

Vermudol, who came making a *katsu katsu* footstep sound, stood in front of Ichika, and peered at her face.

「Ve, Vermudol-sama? U, um……Did you need something?」

「……No, it seems it was just my imagination.」

After saying that, Vermudol suddenly relaxed his lips.

「It looked as if you were crying. I wondered just what in the world had happened……Well, forgive me.」

Noticing that he worried about her, Ichika also expressed a small smile.

However, she immediately noticed that Vermudol’s gaze had turned towards the document that was in her hands.

「What is that?」

「Ah……Yes. I had requested a personal investigation to Rokuna. This is the results of it.」

「Personal? You did? That is quite……So rare things do happen.」

Ichika held out the document in her hands to Vermudol who was making a surprised face.

「It is an investigation report saying that the person who was my……or rather, the shishou of the previous me might have been found.」

「Your previous……in that case, if I remember correctly……Ria, was it?」

「Yes. And then, Shishou’s name is Reina.」

Going *Fumu*, Vermudol nodded.

That person called Reina, he had seen her when he connected with Ichika’s Life Seed.

And then, even in the suspicious book called The Maid Knight Legend that he obtained in mankind’s territory should have had that name in it if he remembered correctly.

If he remembered correctly, she was the person called the origin of the Maid Knights……that is what he felt it said.

Then again, there was no guarantee that the Reina mentioned in that book was the very same person though.

「That Reina, is it possible that she’s actually half Sylphid?」

「At the very least, I feel that her outward appearance was the spitting image of a Human.」

「Is that so……In that case, could it be that things such as immortality or eternal youth magic exists?」

「Who knows. I at least do not know of any.」

If the Maid Knight known as Reina really was Human, it was very hard to think that she was still alive.

In that case, it would mean that she was something that wasn’t a normal existence.

Vermudol fell silent, and flipped through the document.

「The menu they ate on the day we first met……This is……」

「A message aimed towards me, I assume. It’s because, Reina knew that I had lived through different lives several times.」

Naturally, she would have learned that Ria who with the Hero Ryuuya had died.

In that case, the fact that she would become someone different from there was naturally within Reina’s expectations.

「Still, the Canal Kingdom……huh.」

At the present time, there were no diplomatic relations between the Zadark Kingdom and the Canal Kingdom.

Honestly, at present, it could be said that there was no country that was more mysterious to them than the Canal Kingdom.

They didn’t know by what method it was through, but it was a country that could discover all of the Zadark Kingdom’s intelligence operatives.

Going even further, the Canal Kingdom was currently in the middle of war.

He couldn’t possibly send Ichika to a country like that.

「……Jeez. Why the heck is your Shishou in a place like that.」

「It is because she is a person of freedom. She would whimsically go to places that seemed interesting to her.」

Seeing Ichika speak nostalgically, Vermudol displayed an indescribable expression.

He hadn’t met her directly, but he couldn’t help but feel that she would be a person that is hard to deal with.

「……Do you want to meet with her?」

「It would be a lie if were to say that I did not want to meet with her. But……in truth, I am thinking that I would like her to meet you, Vermudol-sama.」

With those words, Vermudol made a face that said he found that expected.

He didn’t think that it would be something related to him.

「With me?」

「Yes. If possible, I am thinking that I would like that person to be your strength as well, Vermudol-sama……but I would not mind even if she refused that.」

Saying that, Ichika smiled.

「Even with that, I would be able to tell her that my current self is living at the side of such a splendid master, and that I am this happy. That is why this is……my own personal matter.」

「……Is that so.」

If they were to do something in the Canal Kingdom that was in a state of civil war, that would definitely turn into a political issue.

That would give an opportunity that the St. Altlis Kingdom, which was displaying disquieting movements, could take advantage of, and depending on the situation, even the Cylas Empire that continued their wait-and-see stance might turn into an enemy.

That was a development that Vermudol couldn’t say he desired.

Things that would become hindrances to the path of peace that they had slowly but surely started going down should be avoided.

「Sorry, Ichika. If the situation allowed it, I would like to sent you to the Canal Kingdom right away but……」

「No, it is fine. This is a personal problem of mine after all.」

Ichika said that and shook her head sideways.

And then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, Ichika opened her mouth.

「Come to think of it, Vermudol-sama. Did you not have some sort of business with me?」

「Nn? Ahh, it isn’t really anything that could be called business though.」

After saying that, Vermudol turned his gaze towards what was beyond Ichika──towards the door to Ichika’s room.

「I bit of time has passed since this castle was restored……but then I remembered that I had never seen your room before, see.」

「Eh……」

「I was told by Ykslaas, who saw my room, to learn to decorate my room a bit more…… If it’s your room, Ichika, then it would be simple and sturdy, right? I thought I could use it as a reference.」

After Ichika shook her head sideways once again at those words, she suddenly spread out both of her arms.

「You cannot. Like that, you would be wasting Ykslaas’s kindness. Within that remark, the meaning of telling you to go and look at wide state of the castle town should be included. Besides, you would not learn anything from making only a single room your reference.」

Vermudol nodded at Ichika’s words looking convinced.

「Mu……That is, also true. Sorry, it seems I was thoughtless.」

「No problem.」

After seeing off Vermudol who took his leave, Ichika secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Certainly, just as Vermudol said, Ichika’s room was a room that perfectly suited the phrase simple and sturdy.

But, she couldn’t allow Vermudol to see her room right now.

As for why, it was because a doll that she bought in a moment of delusion had decorated the top of a shelf.

Incidentally, there was a caricaturized animal plush toy enshrined on the bed as well.

It wasn’t like Vermudol would say anything from seeing those, but even so, Ichika didn’t want him to see them.

She wanted to stay being the 「perfect and reliable Ichika」 a bit longer.

「……I am sorry, Vermudol-sama. It was not a complete lie, but I deceived you a bit.」

Ichika lowered her head towards the direction that Vermudol had left in.