Book 6: Chapter 22

The Jiol Forest Kingdom’s royal villa was currently turned into Luuty Rigas’s house.

It was a bit too big for Luuty alone, so a majority of the rooms were unused.

In one of the few rooms that were utilized──the room that she used as her bedroom, Luuty opened her eyes.

「Nn……」

While wrapped up in her warm bedding, Luuty turned her eyes to the outside of the window.

The sky was still dark, and the moon was floating in it.

Dawn was a long way off.

After somehow understanding that, Luuty rolled over so as to turn her back to the window.

Across from the shelves that were tightly packed with books, there was a small desk and chair that she habitually used.

A magic light was floating there, and a blond haired man was silently flipping through the pages of a book.

Seeing the books that were piled up on top of the desk, Luuty closed her eyes while thinking “I need to clean that up tomorrow……”.

「……Nn!?」

A blond haired man?

Feeling an intense out of place feeling, Luuty pushed her bedding aside and jumped up. Then she pointed the wand that she kept under her pillow for the sake of when she needed it at the man.

The ball of light that was above the man’s head rose up to the vicinity of the ceiling while increasing its brilliance.

After a little while, when the ball of light lit up the entire room, Luuty came to understand the identity of the one who was there.

「……What are you doing?」

While glaring at that man──at Sancreed, Luuty called out to him.

「You mean me?」

「Is there anyone else here other than you?」

After Sancreed nodded, he placed the book in his hand down onto the desk.

「That’s true……I was just reading a book though.」

After thinking about things better, Luuty would usually shelve books properly before she went to sleep.

In other words, the books on top of the desk were ones that Sancreed had pulled out.

「I suppose that is true. So, where might this place be?」

「It seems to be your room but……what’s wrong, are you still half asleep?」

「Like・I’m・saying! I’m asking you why you are here despite knowing that this is a woman’s bedroom! No, before that, how long have you been here!?」

At the same time she shouted that, Luuty threw her pillow at Sancreed.

Sancreed easily caught it and threw it back at the top of the bed, then nodded with a “fumu”.

「Right, it’s because the books in this room were the most interesting ones……Also, well, I thought that it would be wrong of me to use a room of my own accord without the home owner’s permission. So I remained in place that was within your sight. As for how long I have been here……Fumu, I feel like it might have already been quite long ago.」

Seeing Sancreed calmly answer her right to the very end, Luuty swayed and flopped onto the bed.

「Are you alright? Are you not feeling good?」

「Do you have any self awareness that it’s your fault?」

When Luuty glared at Sancreed, Sancreed made a face that said he found it to be wholly unexpected.

「What are you saying that I did?」

「Let’s see. You have no delicacy. Plus, you have no common sense, no manners, and no consideration. Also, erm……」

「I see. Now that you mention it, I shouldn’t have visited during the night like this.」

「Before that, this place is a woman’s room.」

Being told that, Sancreed raised his voice as if he had finally understood.

「Ahh, so that’s what it was. But, I’m not scum that would lay a hand on their friend, you know?」

「That isn’t the problem here. Listen, at normal times, the thing called the difference between men and woman is huge. There is a need to always pay mind to that, you know?」

「But, the difference between the sexes has no connection to friendship. Wouldn’t acting while being concerned about the differences between men and women be discrimination?」

「I won’t deny that concept itself, but listen up, okay? It isn’t that sort of problem. It isn’t about what the people themselves think, I’m talking about what the surrounding people would think.」

Listening to Luuty’s explanation, Sancreed placed his hand at his mouth so as to think.

And then, when he slowly stood up from the chair, he started to carefully survey the surroundings.

He opened the door and gazed at the corridor, and then finally looked outside from the window.

After turning around to Luuty, he amiably smiled.

「Be at ease, there is no one within the vicinity.」

「……That’s enough already. I’ll thoroughly lecture you tomorrow.」

Luuty breathed a sigh, and brushed up her hair.

And then, sitting on the bed, she made a yawn.

「To begin with, what did you come here for at a time like this?」

「There is the Temple Knight of Wind man, right? I want to meet with him.」

The Temple Knight of Wind.

That person was currently the most famous person in the Jiol Forest Kingdom, and was Luuty’s student from when she acted as the Edius Adventurer’s School board chairman in the St. Altlis Kingdom.

He was the son of the St. Altlis Kingdom’s Albania Duke House, and had the impression of competing with his classmate Kain Stagius in one way or another.

His name was Nefas Albania.

If she wasn’t mistaken, he was currently in a relationship with the leader of the Jiol Forest Kingdom’s Heavy Equipment Chivalric Order, Elriol……or so that was how it was made out to be.

Then again, it seemed as though it was mostly Elriol’s one-sided feelings, but seeing as how he couldn’t free himself from them, it might only be a matter of time before Nefas falls to her.

「Him huh……Just what kind of business do you have with him?」

「Yeah, I wanted to ask about a Human with the name of Seira. I heard that Nefas would know about her.」

Luuty also recognized the name 『Seira』.

She was the daughter of the St. Altlis Kingdom’s Necros Duke House, and she was also a student of the Edius Adventurer School. If she remembered correctly, she should have not gotten along with Nefas.

「Haa, about her……However, once again, why?」

「It’s for the sake of my objective.」

Hearing that, Luuty thought.

She didn’t know what this objective that Sancreed mentioned concretely was.

Luuty had already lost her connection to the Adventurer School, but if it was something that would affect her former students’ safety, she couldn’t turn a blind eye to it.

「……May I ask about what that objective is?」

「Fire Charge. I wanted to ask about the meaning of those words that she was said to have said.」

「Haa……」

Sancreed answered her readily, but even after hearing it, Luuty didn’t understand the meaning of it.

But, it looked like it wasn’t a dangerous objective.

It was unclear if Nefas would know about that Fire Charge or whatever, but if it was like this, it wouldn’t be a problem even if she were to let them meet.

「That’s fine. I will introduce you to him tomorrow.」

「That really helps me out.」

Seeing Sancreed lower his head so obediently, Luuty made a wry smile.

Just when she thought that this man did things that were lacking common sense, he would be courteous and tactful over strange things.

If she were to put it into a single phrase……He was truly a “strange man”.

「More importantly, please go back already for today. I’ll guide you there once tomorrow comes.」

Luuty’s demand could be said to be reasonable, but Sancreed’s movements came to a complete halt.

And then, after closing his eyes as if to think about things for a short while……he once again sat down in the chair.

「……I won’t interrupt your sleep, so can’t I stay here?」

「You obviously can’t.」

「……Got it. In that case, could you lend me a different room somewhere? I will stay there until morning.」

How fishy.

Seeing Sancreed’s all too suspicious behavior, Luuty turned skeptic eyes towards him.

That was clearly the attitude of a man that was hiding something.

「……Sancreed, tell me what it is honestly. If you don’t, I will drive you out with force.」

「……I made Fainell mad, see. At the very least, it doesn’t look like I can go back tonight.」

「What in the world are you guys doing……」

Being able to easily imagine that scene, Luuty placed a hand on her forehead.

Sancreed had most likely unmindfully made a slip of the tongue, and said something unnecessary.

The reason why Luuty didn’t stubbornly try to get Sancreed to leave this place was because if by any chance Fainell came chasing after him, she thought that he might ask her to mediate between them.

「……Make sure that you properly apologize to Fainell, got it?」

「Yeah, I know. I will estimate the time her anger has settled down a bit and apologize.」

Sancreed averted his eyes from Luuty’s look of amazement.

He was aware that he was saying something extraordinarily pathetic.

However, it couldn’t be helped.

To hold an angry Fainell down by force, even within the entire Zadark Kingdom, they would have to be as strong as Raktor.

Seeing Sancreed make such a complicated face, Luuty made a wry smile.

When she looked at Fainell and Sancreed, they made her feel as if the strife between mankind and the Mazoku in the past was some sort of joke.

……Even now, she remembered.

About the time when they received an attack from a Mazoku that called itself the Sword Demon, and lost one of her first companions──Ria.

The Demon King Gramfia and his subordinate Mazoku that she fought against together with the Hero Ryuuya, they were without a doubt evil.

However, what about Vermudol.

Right now, were the Mazoku of the Dark Continent, which was now called the Zadark Kingdom, an evil that needed to be destroyed by mankind?

The answer was of course, nay.

She even thought that the current relationship between the Jiol Forest Kingdom and the Zadark Kingdom was proof that that answer was correct.

「It can’t be helped. Please use some random room somewhere. I’m going to go back to sleep.」

「Yeah, that really helps.」

Saying that, Luuty crawled back into bed.

……That’s right, Vermudol’s group surely wasn’t evil.

The other countries would understand that as well someday.

Once that happened, true peace would surely come this time.

A world where they would no longer have to lose anyone would come.

「……Good night, Sancreed.」

「Yeah, good night.」

After Sancreed answered like that, he gently placed a hand on the door.

He quietly opened the door so that he wouldn’t interrupt Luuty’s sleep and──

「……Luuty. Sorry but please wake up right away. It’s an emergency situation.」

「It’s a nice night, isn’t it, Sancreed. Don’t you think so, huh.」

Seeing Fainell’s figure on the other side of the door, Luuty breathed a sigh.

It seemed that she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.