Arc 7, Chapter 76 - 'Chance Meetings at the Imperial Capital”

Arc 7, Chapter 76 - “Chance Meetings at the Imperial Capital”

It was while Rem was strolling through the mansion where she was held under house arrest, that she noticed a certain woman.

In the heights of the battle at the Fortress City of Guaral, in order to treat a wounded Flop O’Connell, Rem had been abducted from the city along with him―― taken, to the Imperial Capital, and placed under house arrest in what was probably one of the most magnificent mansions in the city.

However, while it was called house arrest, Rem still possessed relatively ample freedom.

She was not confined to cramped rooms or prisons, nor was she subjected to excessive violence or verbal abuse. While it could have hardly been called tranquil, it was possible for one to say that the treatment she got was mild.

Food was prepared for every mealtime, and a time for bathing was also available. In some ways, it was definitely a better place to live than in the village of the People of Shudraq.

However, even though she was not imprisoned, she still could not go outside the mansion, as the Soldiers responsible for security―― the private army of Berstetz Fondalfon, kept watch, reminding her of her limitations.

In any case, leaving aside the topic of whether she was more free than not, the situation at hand was not one she wished for.

Naturally, she had made Kuna and Holly experience some inadequacy, and it would not be surprising if she were now the object of Priscilla’s indignation, having left as she pleased.

Above all, how would the people that had left for the east react upon their return?

Louis, Medium, and the boy named Natsuki Subaru――.

???: [――Ah.]

And, it was while Rem was lost in her own thoughts that brought her heartache, that she heard a painfully feeble voice.

Upon turning her face toward the direction of the voice, she saw an unfamiliar figure in the garden in the center of the mansion―― one likely used more as a courtyard for the purpose of mounting and dismounting flying dragons, than for preserving a lush green landscape.

Although she had not met all of the Soldiers and servants working in the mansion, she could tell at a glance that the person was neither of these.

For the reason, was because that very person did not walk on their own feet, and sat in a chair with wheels attached.

???: [Kuh, ugh...]

She was a fair-skinned woman with unruly dark-brown hair, which was parted in two on either side of her head. Her long-lashed blue eyes flickered, and then she put strength into her slender shoulders and leaned forward.

What those trembling arms were putting strength into was the wheeled chair she was sitting in―― specifically, the wheels of her wheelchair. They possessed large rims, which the person sitting in the chair could turn by hand to move forwards or backwards.

However, it seemed one of the wheels had got caught in a ditch in the corner of the path and, unable to get out, she had been stuck there.

???: [――――]

Biting on her thin lips with force, the woman strenuously tried time after time to turn the wheel.

Still, her slender arms did not provide the necessary strength, and the wheel just wiggled back and forth fruitlessly. If she were to raise her voice and call for help, someone would have rushed to her, and yet she did not.

She did not want to rely on anyone. Rem felt a sense of kinship with such obstinacy. Of course, she did not know due to what emotional state she was like that, but――,

Rem: [――I’ll help you.]

???: [Ah...]

Unable to leave her be, Rem walked over to the woman stuck in the ditch, and called out to her from behind.

Immediately rolling her eyes, the woman looked over her shoulder and gasped at Rem’s presence. But soon her look became one of embarassment, chewing on her lips as she went silent.

Rem, once again feeling a sense of kinship to her reaction, placed her hand on the back of the wheelchair.

The back of the wheelchair had handles on either side, so that a person standing behind could push it. And so, putting her hands there, and pushing it,

Rem: [One, two aaand three!]

Rem put her strength into it, the wheel bounced with a bang, and the wheelchair escaped from the ditch in which it was stuck.

Using her hands, the woman stopped the wheelchair which had moved slightly forward with too much momentum, then abruptly spun the wheels on the spot and looked back toward Rem.

And then――,

???: [...Who asked you, to do that.]

And what came, was a very particular greeting.

Rem: [――――]

Reflexively, Rem’s eyes went wide and blinked in surprise, as she was taken aback by the woman’s words.

Meanwhile, the woman averted her eyes from Rem, chewing on her lips,

???: [I would’ve been fine without help for something that trivial. I mean, what do you think you’re doing, when you need a cane yourself? Y-you should rather worry about yourself.]

Rem: [Ummm... Thank you for your concern.]

???: [I’m not worried or anything! Are your ears perhaps not working properly? If not, then I guess the problem’s in your head, yes it’s rather in your head.]

Rem belatedly realized that those stammered words were apparently meant to be a cutting remark.

Her tone was harsh, but since the subtle sense that she was not accustomed to such speech hung in the air, she lacked the talent to deal damage with such sarcasm.

Frankly speaking, from Rem’s point of view, after encountering Priscilla, the difference in the potency of this woman and Priscilla, was about the same as that between a puppy and Mizelda.

???: [N-now, get lost. I don’t have the free time to be concerned about... about you.]

Rem: [If you don’t have any free time, does that mean you have some role to fulfill?]

???: [A role...! Y-yes, that’s right. I have a proper role. Unlike you...]

After having been asked a question in return by Rem, the woman answered, her cheeks stiffening. As she answered, she scrunched up her thin eyebrows and looked Rem over top to bottom as if scrutinizing her.

Then, she brought her right thumb to her mouth, chomped at it ever-so-slightly, and,

???: [...A face I haven’t seen, and a presence I hadn’t noticed. Who are you?]

Rem: [――. My name is Rem. Because of some circumstances, I was abducted to this mansion.]

???: [Abducted...]

Rem: [Yes. Hmm, may I ask for your name?]

In order to approach the woman biting her nails and muttering, Rem asked for her name.

She thought that, perhaps, the likelihood of receiving an unfriendly rejection was higher.

???: [――Katya.]

However, surprisingly without reserves, she―― Katya had introduced herself as such.

Rem did not know if it was due to some ulterior motive, or if she had named herself reflexively while she was lost in thought, but Katya seemingly deliberated as she continued to bite her nails.

Katya: [By abducted, do you mean that you’re a hostage too?]

Rem: [Hostage... That may very well be the case. It does not seem appropriate to request that I play such a role...]

Unmistakably, Subaru was probably the only one that would worry non-stop over Rem’s disappearance.

Of course, she felt the Shudraqians and the O’Connell siblings would be anxious as well, and Priscilla might at least move an eyebrow, but that would not affect the overall situation.

Rem’s existence would only affect the overall situation, when Subaru affected the overall situation.

However――,

Rem: [I wouldn’t expect that person to go that far.]

To Rem, it did not seem likely that he could do it, nor did she think that he should.

In a short time, she had been shown, time and time again for a short period, a figure resisting and resisting earnestly with their lack of ability as he was tormented by absurdity. His figure, as he kept on shouldering the burden of having to do everything by himself.

Rem could not stand it at all. It was not because she disliked or hated him.

It was still difficult to verbalize why that was, though.

Rem: [――――]

Katya: [...Hey, don’t just go silent on me?]

Rem: [Ah, sorry. I was just lost in thought... Katya, what are you to Berstetz?]

Called out to by Katya, whose eyes had sharpened, Rem apologized for her silence, then posed a question.

Since she was in this mansion, there was no doubt that Katya also had some connection to Berstetz. However, it was difficult to imagine their relationship.

If she were someone with fighting strength like what Madelyn possessed, or if she were to look like an Imperial Soldier, the relationship would be obvious, but Katya’s appearance made it difficult to establish any sort of connection.

If there was anything that came to mind――,

Rem: [Berstetz’s daughter or grandchild, perhaps?]

Katya: [A relative of Prime Minister-sama? Oh, stop it you. In the first place, Berstetz-sama isn’t married, and supposedly doesn’t have a family. I’m not that big of a deal.]

Rem: [Is that so? That’s surprising.]

“Surprising?”, Katya said as she tilted her head, but Rem shook her head as to gloss over her words’ true meaning.

Once before, at the time Berstetz and Rem had met face-to-face, he had explained the reason for his own rebellion against the Emperor―― that was, his distrust of an Emperor that would not produce an heir. From Berstetz’s standpoint as someone working for the nation, the Emperor’s actions would seem like a dishonorable dereliction of duty.

Rem had been satisfied with that logic, even if it was difficult for her to sympathize, having been dragged into it.

However, the fact that Berstetz had started a rebellion for such a reason was unconvincing when he himself, just like the Emperor, did not have a family.

Of course, she believed Berstetz had his own reasons.

Rem: [But, if you’re not either of those, why are you in the mansion?]

Katya: [...You’re an unperceptive woman. I asked if you were also hostage.]

Rem: [――. Does that mean, that you’re a hostage as well, Katya-san?]

With Rem returning with a question, Katya begrudgingly nodded, the bitter look on her face unchanging.

Katya, too, was being held captive in the mansion as someone’s hostage. ――Slightly surprised at that fact, Rem spun around and surveyed the mansion.

A spacious mansion amidst the Imperial Capital, a mansion enveloped in a majestic atmosphere.

However, there were probably many other secrets lying within, of which Rem and Katya, as well as the injured Flop, were a part of.

Having confronted Berstetz directly, Rem recognized the old man as someone of great intellectual stature, a formidable wall standing in the way of Abel’s attempt to regain the imperial throne.

However, Rem’s imagination and speculation would probably never be able to wholly gauge just how dreadful Berstetz could be, should he be willing to scheme and target his enemy’s weaknesses.

Rem: [Your family must surely be very worried about you having been taken hostage.]

Flop: [Unfortunately, the person I really want to give my remarks to is someone else, someone who’s got the same face as you. But still, it truly looks very much alike... I helped Husband-kun do Village Chief-kun’s makeup, it looks just like his bare face.]

Vincent: [――. The matter of the Fortress City has reached my ears, so you were a part of that scheme too? I can only imagine that you have all tried to besmirch the Emperor’s rule in some ungodly fashion. It was an act of barbarism, and one beyond measure.]

Flop: [Is that so? It was a fun venture. And most importantly, there were no casualties.]

Vincent: [That is just a justification based solely upon the results.]

Flop’s cheeks relaxed, and he thought about the plan for the fortified city that he, Subaru, and Abel had collaborated on.

It was a plan that Flop had found astonishing, but it was the funniest of all the plots in which Flop had ever been involved.

Everyone involved in that operation had certainly wished for its success.

Flop: [Miss Taritta and Miss Kuna did, and I did, as well. ――That’s why I can’t unravel it.]

Vincent: [――――]

Flop: [Husband-kun, His Excellency the Emperor-kun... I wonder why he, who I still don’t know how to call, was ousted from the Imperial Throne and put in that position.] 2

Flop looked at Vincent, cutting him off, “More to the point”.

He looked towards the usurper of the throne, whose expression did not even waver, his face a mirror image of the Emperor’s.

Flop: [Just why did you and your people have to make our rock-solid Empire quake, why did you have to raise this disturbance?]

Vincent: [――. You are quite the talkative man, are you not?]

Flop: [It’s a tool of the trade. I’m a merchant. Also, my dear sister often compliments me on my good looks. That’s another tool of the trade.]

Vincent: [I see. In that case――]

Flop had a toothy grin on his face; Vincent nodded at his words, composed, before suddenly grabbing Flop’s face with his outstretched hand and pulling him closer.

Forced to lean forward, his wounds sore, Flop moaned out a “Muggh”. However, Vincent paid no heed to his cries of pain, but stared at Flop closely.

Vincent: [I can take your face and mouth right here and now to atone for your disrespect.]

His voice slid coldly into Flop’s eardrums with an intimidating quality that went down from his head to his body and froze his heart.

For a person who would not shut his mouth like Flop, disrespect towards the Emperor was considered to be unforgivable, yet Vincent’s reply was level-headed with a hint of resentment.

Even as he contemplated what it meant――,

Flop: [...If you mean that I should watch my mouth, it might make more sense to take away my voice.]

Once again, Flop looked back at Vincent with an ugly look on his face, which was still being gripped, giving an answer that was likely to provoke him and make him even angrier.

For a moment, Vincent’s dark eyes narrowed at Flop’s answer, but the emotion that passed within was swept away without being expressed overtly.

Vincent batted one of his eyes shut, letting go of Flop’s face. His look was one which Abel, whom Vincent mimicked, used to do often when observing other people.

Vincent: [I made it clear that it was to be understood which of these is more important, mine whims or Madelyn Eschart’s wishes. However, then there would be no avoiding her defection nor rebellion. Is the attitude you have one of reading this far?]

Flop: [Huh? Oh, ah, I see. Miss Madelyn would get angry for sure if I die. That’s not good for you either... I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but surely...]

Vincent: [――――]

Flop: [If I, as a prisoner, had risked my life to try and get one over on His Excellency the Emperor-kun, I could’ve at least encouraged Miss Madelyn’s defection. ――Unfortunately though, I can’t do that now.]

At Vincent’s suggestion, Flop reassessed the value of his life.

With Madelyn’s interests now focused on himself, if Flop’s life were to be taken away unnecessarily, it would be difficult to tame the bestial danger she would pose.

If Madelyn were to defect from Vincent, the rebellious Abel side would have an advantage.

It was understandable that Vincent would suspect that he was provoking him due to that.

Vincent: [I hear that you will not yield to any threats and that you will not hesitate to risk your life. It is just as Berstetz said, you seem to be some kind of ill-begotten misfortune.]

Flop: [It seems that I’ve been put in such a position unknowingly. Now, what do you think, Fake Emperor-kun? I’m very difficult to deal with!]

Vincent: [I hear there was a healer girl who was brought here with you. If you care about that girl’s well-being, you shall refrain from unnecessary words and behavior, and remain quiet.]

Flop: [I’ve been completely shut down!]

With Rem being used as a shield, Flop suddenly had no more moves to make.

But there was probably no helping it; he had to get Rem back home safely, no matter what it took.

Besides――,

Flop: [I myself can’t decide what I should do.]

Ultimately, one could say Flop’s position had become the same as Madelyn’s.

Should he, like Madelyn, join the rebellion she was part of, and then plot viciously to eliminate Abel, whom they had ousted, and slowly make him pay for his crimes?

A merchant whose only merit was that his little sister complimented him on his goodness.

Vincent: [Even without Madelyn Eschart, Berstetz shall not do you any harm. Bear in mind what your position is and make sure you spend your time here without stirring up any discord.]

Vincent declared that with his eyes fixed upon the silent Flop.

From what he said, Flop understood that he was trying to end this face-to-face meeting. That Vincent had determined there was nothing to be gained out of Flop, or that he had served the purpose of this discussion, and having thought as much――,

Flop: [Fake Emperor-kun, why did you come to this room?]

Vincent: [――――]

Flop: [It’s hard for me to imagine, having never rebelled, but still trying my best to realize the power of my imagination here, I reckon the position of His Excellency the Emperor must be rather busy. Even though things are already tough, when there are people like His Excellency the Emperor-kun, who keep acting wildly without giving up, it’s no wonder your business knows no bounds.]

Flop was not saying that his usual peddling was easy, but when there were loads of products that fit exactly with the buyer’s needs, one’s business was incomparable to the usual.

The position of the Fake Emperor would never be held secure while the real Emperor was still alive and well.

Under such circumstances, why had Vincent bothered to specifically visit Flop?

Well――,

Flop: [Perhaps you were wondering how His Excellency the Emperor-kun was doing and wanted to hear it from me?]

Vincent: [Hypothetically, if I were a usurper, as your nonsensical nickname implies, it would be in poor taste, would it not? I would be attempting to find out what happened to the person I had ousted from the ones in that person’s vicinity.]

Flop: [The importance of gathering information is not so different in commerce or in battle, I guess. If we assume that, I don’t think it’s in bad taste to try to find out what’s going on with your opponent.]

Vincent: [――. Even if that were the case, you are misguided. I have seen with my own eyes how that person is doing without needing to hear it from your mouth. We even exchanged a few words.]

Flop: [Is that so...]

A painful evasion after having hit the mark.

Flop took Vincent’s answer as not having been such a frivolous statement.

What the circumstances were that he saw Abel in person and exchanged words with him, Flop had no room but to imagine, but he could not believe it to be an outright lie.

Although he was also concerned about Medium, Taritta, and Subaru, who were supposed to be by Abel’s side, it seemed unlikely that he would be able to get an answer by digging deeper into the matter.

At the very least, he could not have done anything to Abel when meeting him face-to-face.

If he could have, it would not have been odd for him to have declared victory immediately. He found it hard to believe that he was tasteless enough to bother to come to do that; however, it would have been equally tasteless for him to continue this discussion while withholding that fact, and it did not seem to be either.

In other words, Vincent was not here to converse with Flop.

If so, there was only one possibility that came to mind.

Flop: [If you didn’t want to ask me something, is it because you had something you wanted to tell me, maybe?]

Vincent: [Troublesome, I believe that was Berstetz’s evaluation of your position, however, even if you look at it from my point of view, your way of being is one that falls into the troublesome category.]

Flop: [Am I to take that as a compliment? It’s more positive for my mentality to think so, so I’ll just take it as such.]

Flop reckoned his words were what made Vincent stop in his tracks as he was about to take his leave.

Flop: [――――]

Frankly, Flop did not know whether stopping Vincent in his tracks here was good or bad for him.

If Vincent’s plan were fulfilled and the usurpation of the Imperial Throne were brought to completion, Abel would surely be forced out from his position in the Empire, but also in this world.

Was that what he really wished?

Was that what he wished for the person who was involved in the death of his precious “close friend”, Balleroy Temeglyph? Was that what he wished for the person who had taken everything away from him, for him to lose his life?

Flop: [Until now, I never knew what I wanted...]

Trying to think if there ever was a time, Flop quickly reconsidered his thoughts.

He did not need to recall anything. Before he had met Balleroy and the others, he had spent all his time trying to protect Medium and had no desire for anything else.

He was the same as he had been then. Then, the answer and the way he arrived at it was the same as then, too.

???: “You guys can choose what you wanna do.“

He remembered that blunt voice pushing Flop’s back like that.

So, rather than being swept away without knowing anything, Flop wanted to choose to set out walking knowing something.

Flop: [Can I ask you something, Fake Emperor-kun? What is it that you have come to tell?]

Flop asked him point-blank, interrupting the Fake Emperor busy in his usurpation of the Imperial Throne.

In response to his question, Vincent’s lips curved with a slightly different impression than the man Flop knew, and spoke.

That it was――,

Vincent: [――The Great Disaster, regarding the reason for the destruction it brings.]

Notes:

1 Because of the many different ways Flop addresses a certain character in this scene, we have decided to review the way we translate his ways to refer to Subaru, Rem, Louis and Abel. These changes have already been applied to previous chapters’ translations as well. The changes are as follows:

- Subaru: “Mister” changed to “Husband-kun”, “Sir” changed to “Husband-san” (latter only on Chapter 23)

- Rem: “Missus” changed to “Wife-san”

- Louis: “Niece-y” changed to “Niece-chan”

- Abel: “Mr. Chief” changed to “Village Chief-kun”

2 Flop is flip-flopping a whole lot on what to call Abel and Vincent. Here, it so happens that he uses the same name for Abel, as he does for Subaru, “旦那くん”. The term “旦那” has two connotations: it is used by wives to refer to their husbands (such as Regulus’s wives, who called him “旦那様”, in context “Husband-sama”), but also by people to refer to someone of higher standing (such as Frederica towards Roswaal, who also uses “旦那様”, in context “Master-sama”).