CH 306

While walking around the castle, I’m looking for the maid earlier this morning but I can’t find her. I pass by other servants, but that specific maid doesn’t seem to be there.

“Where did the maid from this morning go?” I asked.

“Ah~, Isuzu? If it’s her, she’ll be attending to me, so she won’t be around the palace like this,” Mikoto said.

I wish she could have said that sooner. I asked her to tell me where she was, and Mikoto said she would show me and started walking. I’ll follow her.

I arrived at Mikoto’s room. I had been shown it the day I arrived here.

“Ah, ita, ita,” Mikoto said. “Isuzu! Do you have a moment?”

“Ha-Hai!” Isuzu squealed. “I didn’t see anything!”

Ah, I see, I see. This person. When I untied the rope that bound Mikoto this morning, she saw it… According to Mikoto, it seems that her name is Isuzu-san.

“Actually, this morning…” I said.

“Ah… I’m going to be tied up because I saw it!” Isuzu cried. “And then you’ll do this and that to me! Aaah, oyurushikudasai! Anything but that?!”

“O~i…” I grumbled.

Isuzu-san was writhing by herself while muttering something disturbing. Somehow demons are just eccentric people as a whole…

“Isuzu-san, please listen to me,” I said.

“Ah, so you’re trying to hold this embarrassing secret over me to keep my mouth shut! Aah, oyurushikudasai!” Isuzu squealed.

It’s no use… she doesn’t listen to me at all… I wonder if it’s a common characteristic of demons to have such intense beliefs. Come to think of it, Mikoto, Charakusai, and Subaru all make assumptions about something.

“Isuzu, you have to listen properly…” Mikoto said.

“Ha-Hai! I’m listening properly!” Isuzu said, straightening up and going quiet.

What was it about Mikoto speaking? I’m curious, but how is she now? There is something more important than that.

“Let’s clear up the misunderstanding first,” I said. “Mikoto and I don’t have a hobby of tying people up with ropes.”

“Hai! I didn’t see anything!” Isuzu said.

Yeah. She doesn’t believe me. It’s not that she doesn’t understand or believe what I’m saying, it’s just that she’s pretending it didn’t happen, right?

“Please listen carefully. Mikoto attacked me, so I tied her up. We weren’t doing that sort of play,” I said.

“Haa….” Isuzu whimpered.

Now it seems she is trying to listen to me. It doesn’t matter if she agrees or not. After that, when I explained quite a bit, she began to reply as if she believed me for the time being. I don’t know if she really believes it or if she’s pretending to understand because I’m being particular about it…

“You know if you wanted to do that, Floto, we could do that,” Mikoto said.

“Mikoto……Isuzu-san has come to believe in me, so please don’t say anything that will mess things up again,” I said.

“Fufuu… it’s okay. I thought that was the case from the beginning,” Isuzu said.

Isuzu-san… You’re saying something very convenient, aren’t you? At first, you definitely thought we were playing like that, right? Well, it’s fine, but…

When I talked to her, she seemed to understand Mikoto’s personality well, and when I told her that if Mikoto tried to attack me, I would tie her up to stop her, and now Isuzu understood. She seems to think that way about Mikoto even though she hasn’t seen her in years…

“Isuzu has been my maid since long ago…” Mikoto said. “Aah, sou, sou. She has a connection with you, Floto. Isuzu was the one who arranged for that tea when you asked.”

“Ah~! Then you’re the one who sent Ito Charakusai and the tea trees?” I asked.

“I did not send them, exactly, just arrange for their exportation, but… I received Mikoto-sama’s letter and made preparations accordingly,” Isuzu said.

I see……. when I asked Mikoto if she could bring the tea trees to the Kingdom of Ploiss, I was told that she would contact her subordinates in her home country, and that ended up being Isuzu-san.

“Thank you for your help, it was a great relief,” I said.

“Ie, ie,” Isuzu said. “I just pushed that eccentric Oji-san on you instead, so… aah! Please pretend I hadn’t just said that!”

This person is interesting, isn’t she….? It doesn’t make sense to tell me what you have to keep hidden from me and keep a secret.

After talking with the fascinating Isuzu-san for a while, it turned out to be a pretty good time. Thinking that the emperor’s schedule will soon be free, I start moving. I can’t just talk to Isuzu-san all the time.

Shortly after returning to the guest room, I was summoned to him. Apparently, I was just in time. ……You don’t think they came to call us many times before we returned to the room……? No, I don’t think so.

I was called by the emperor, so I went to a place like the upper room again. Subaru was there, but Takeru was nowhere to be seen. Has the matter with him been settled?

“My apologies for keeping you waiting,” I said.

“Ie,” Emperor Sumeragi said.

Face-to-face with the emperor, the discussion begins. But before that, they had something to report to me.

“I would like to tell you about something we’ve learned,” Emperor Sumeragi said. “It concerns you, Flora-dono.”

“Haa…” I said.

“It involves Takeru…”

It seems that the Takeru matter has roped me in. They seem to have been talking about why Takeru attacked me.

Takeru was talking to me with specific terms like “walking disaster”. Do I remember hearing that somewhere? Yes, when we first arrived, the emperor and the others were waiting for us and said things like, “Because of the curse, today a disaster will come from this place.”

So did Takeru know about the curse and thought I was dangerous and came to eliminate me? Actually, it seems that was not the case.

Apparently, the sorcerer who told the emperor that a disaster to come out of Heavenly Fall room had been threatened by Takeru. So what was this calamity, specifically? Apparently, the disaster was not a misfortune for this country, but for Takeru himself.

If you explain it in chronological order, it seems that Takeru’s curse caused a disaster to come from the Heavenly Fall room, aimed at him specifically. So, in order to get rid of that disaster, or rather, for the emperor and this country, Takeru threatened the sorcerer and made him say that anyone who came out of that gate would be a disaster for the entire Demon Country.

As a result, the emperor and the others met us while waiting at the exit because of the sabotaged wording of the prophecy. If we had been killed there, it would have been exactly what Takeru planned, but in reality, we were welcomed into the country without being killed.

Knowing that, Takeru cut in when Subaru and I were dueling and tried to kill me, the cause of the disaster.

So far so good. Then why am I a disaster for Takeru? It seems that what came out after the investigation was a number of Takeru’s wrongdoings. Evidence of his secret activities up until now, slush funds, bribes, even assassinations of people in the way, and extortion of merchants, all sorts of discoveries have come out of the shadows.

Apparently, if the curse is allowed to play out, House Caan will trade with this country, and information will flow from merchants, sailors, dockworkers, etc., and they will hear about Takeru trying to interfere with business and extorting profits from them. It seems that Takeru will lose his position if we end up cooperating with the Demon Country and he loses his iron grip.

And in order to avoid that, he plotted to get rid of me, so his evil deeds were exposed and he eventually lost his position.

As a result of the curse, he interfered with me because I was a hindrance to his plans, and as a result, he was investigated for his suspicious behavior, and his evil deeds were exposed. In the end, just like the curse, I will be a walking disaster for Takeru and will cause his fall. It’s kind of like an egg-or-chicken story.

Takeru acted because of the curse, and as a result, the curse played out as said. Did it really happen because he had heard the curse, or because the curse accurately predicted the future?

Either way, Takeru would have fallen sooner or later. It was decided that it would be handled in a way that involved me in this case. That’s all there is to it.

What will happen to Takeru will be decided by the Demon Country, so it has nothing to do with me. They won’t tell me that. That they gave me this much information just now is that I was at least involved with Takeru, so I was told up to the point that it was relevant to me. After all, it’s probably because of Takeru’s fault that the incident in the Heavenly Fall room played out the way it did. Either way is fine, but…

With that, the Takeru Case was settled. It’s probably still not settled in the Demon Country in general, but that’s the end as far as I’m concerned.

“Soredewa, let’s move on to the important matters, shall we?” Emperor Sumeragi said.

“Hai,” I said.

I think that Takeru’s case was important enough, but… there is a clause that this emperor is trying to clean up by saying that it was not a big deal.

“First… Flora-dono will marry Mikoto,” Emperor Sumeragi said. “Are you agreeable to it?”

“Eh? Ah… hai… soudesune…” I said. “I and Mikoto will be married. Even if those around us oppose it, even if the system itself does not allow it, I am certain I will marry Mikoto.”

I stare straight into Emperor Sumeragi’s eyes as I say so. You’ll be disqualified if you fumble here. In front of the other person’s parents, it is unforgivable to be confused and unclear. Even if it is not allowed by the system, even if it is not legally recognized, it clearly shows that I will absolutely stick to her. That’s what’s important.

“Umu… yakarou,” Emperor Sumeragi said. “Then, you, Flora-dono, will be a yome of this clan, is that correct?”

“Hai,” I said.

Instead of me moving into this clan, Mikoto will be able to move into House Caan, but even so, from my parents’ point of view, I will still be their daughter-in-law. Not wrong at all.

“And House Caan will protect the Heavenly Falls in the Kingdom of Del. Is that correct?” Emperor Sumeragi said.

“Hai,” I said.

The Heavenly Fall has much to give me as well. It’s a pity that I can’t go anywhere else, but it’s still wonderful to be able to trade with the Demon Country so conveniently.

“Dewa, let’s get into the specifics, shall we?”

“Hai!”

After that, the discussion proceeded quite smoothly. It would be rude to say that the emperor is quite skilled, but he does seem to be quite smart. He seems to be thinking of securing influence over the Kingdom of Ploiss and its surroundings by having the Demon Country and its royal family become my backers.

It’s a profitable story for me, and in terms of the situation over there, it’s the same as being able to cross over with the Kamaal Alliance. The current Hulk Sea trade interests will be fixed to the Kamaal Alliance. If we could fight from now on, we could have taken it away, but if we cooperate, it will be difficult for us to cut into their interests.

Certainly, in that sense, it has become difficult to fight against the established foothold of the Kamaal Alliance, but it is also helpful for us to have less to deal with in the Hulk Sea now that they’re partners. Besides, just as we can no longer take away their concessions over there, the other concessions we have now are guaranteed.

Since House Caan family is expected to have considerable trade between the Knighthood and the Knight’s Nation, demand is quite large even within our affiliates and territories alone. There are enough profits and jobs even if you don’t take away the foothold of the Kamaal Alliance.

And when both sides agree and cooperate, it means that they will be able to send goods to each other and even visit the other’s sphere of influence. If traffic between the two sides becomes more active, new business opportunities will arise. If we can build a relationship of coexistence like this rather than fighting and stealing each other’s profits, it would be better.

It’s not like I want war. Rather, until now, I had no choice but to deal with it violently because I was roped into it by force. If the story can be concluded peacefully like this, I think it would be better than violence.

“Soredewa, we will leave the details to the working-level consultation later, and we will be glad that the leaders were able to reach an agreement this time,” Emperor Sumeragi said.

“Hai,” I said. “This was also due to your wisdom, Emperor Sumeragi.”

It seems that there is no custom of shaking hands here, but for the moment we seal our agreement with a handshake.

“-!?” I went.

“Fuu… worry not,” Emperor Sumeragi said. “I won’t take a piece of you and devour it.”

The moment I held his hand, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of my heart being clutched tightly. This emperor… is absurdly strong…

I remember what they said. This country is a meritocracy. In other words, the emperor is effectively the strongest person in this country. I wondered how he was able to stop my mother when I heard he had clashed with both my parents many times… but there are others out there. A monster like my mother…

“Doushita? Is something the matter?” Emperor Sumeragi said. “Why are you smiling like that? Are you happy to meet a strong person? Though I suppose you are the daughter of ‘Bloody Maria’.”

“Ie, it’s nothing…”

Even as I say that, I can’t stop my cheeks from puffing up. If I fight now, I will definitely lose. I am sure of that.

I might be able to do it if I can escape. Run away with all your strength and be cowardly, anyway. In that case, I might be able to run away with my life.

But it is absolutely impossible to stand, fight, and win. At least with the current me, I can’t beat this emperor. The ability is different from Subaru. Is this… a true demon…?

My body trembles on its own. I’m about to put words into my mouth that would start a fight.

The world is really big… To think that there really are other monsters like my father and mother… I can’t take it easy. More… I need to get stronger, if this monster is my enemy, then I will match them…