Chapter 117 Shall I

I was in. There was a big hall. So giant and royal. My eyes couldn't number all the chandeliers, paintings, or other decorations of this site. People were present here. Maids stood on duty. Royal guards patrolled the hallways. Noblemen moved around and ruled as kings under the bigger king.

This place wasn't my stop, but now, it would probably be tough to go around this place without being unseen. So I waited, waited, and waited… up till I found a way to go. Skillfully, I managed to slide from one vase to the other; decorating vases with blooming flowers was popular here, it seemed; and at last found refuge in a moving jar that a maid was transporting around by means of a chariot.

Infiltrating was quite the gymnastic, even when you were a bizarre monster. I got further deep into the castle. Somehow, at some point, navigating through the endless corridors and hallways around the palace, I stumbled upon quieter halls and corridors.

And that's when I met "them." The older brother and the younger one. All the noblemen and women of this place were dressed a certain way, following a code, having all more or less the same attire—these two were different as, with the way they dressed, they reeked even more strongly of ease and wealthiness. The air around them reminded me of a certain third princess. If I saw people like her, I was on the right track.

People like her, right. So both an idea and a question flashed through my mind: Who were these people, then? Curious, I stopped around a corner, my body was condensed into a ball the way a super tiny slime was. Observing them using "Mana Perception," I depicted a young prince with his older brother. The young one kind of looked like he was constipated while his senior looked more passive and cool.

Her name came up.

"Elina, Elina, Elina…!" the younger of the two spoke, somewhat angrily. "Goddamn Elina!" Squinting and glaring, a heavy frown crept up his face where it settled for quite long.

"I know, I know." The two of them were having a discussion, it seemed to me. When I walked by, they were silent, but before long, they cut their silence and spoke again. More precisely, one of them did. "...But let her do as she pleases, hey."

"Hm!" A foot was stomped on the ground. "You keep saying that, but you really think we should just… let her, Brother?! Do as she pleases? The fool!"

The two men stood there, one of them was dark with fury and a frown, and the other, the older one, though he wasn't as angry and displeased as his younger brother, did also appear quite upset at the named Elina. Who were they to Princess Elina? Siblings? Well, you don't say.

"...In the end, she's still our sister. She's younger, dumb, and inexperienced… but she's still the daughter of your father. I get you're pissed off, eh. I am, too… but whatever, kid."

What was it with the dumb Elina? Had she done something wrong? Why was the younger lad so pissed at her? It aroused my curiosity. Of course I'd stay and overhear the two boys' discussion.

"Right, Brother?! …She first has the heroes summoned without bothering to receive permission… not for Father's sake and approval, but for her own benefit… and now, fucking 'that'? She… recruits 'that'...!" After a silence, the older brother simply scoffed, and the younger brother continued. "No but seriously! We were the ones to tell her about it and give her the idea… but how in the world does the woman actually go and… gets herself 'that'?! Without notice?! No preparations?!" Again, dark with fury, he stomped his foot on the ground. "If my sister so desires to make things right… the goddamn vixen only has to marry into that old count's family and be done with it!"

Jeez, so I would have to personally scold my noblewoman, wouldn't I? If she didn't behave to the point of pissing people off so much, no, I couldn't let her.

"True enough, I was the one to bring the possibility about the lass pullin' 'that'. Still can't believe she did it. But anyway. ...You do need to vent a little, don'tcha, kid?" The older brother added that the heroes were approved of by their father anyway and that they still had the demons' threat to take care of. "Benelloan, was it?" Apparently, he had his own guys investigate the aftermath of the war, there, in the Great Forest of Benelloan, and things weren't looking pretty.

"True Demon Lord or not, this isn't of my concerns, at the present moment, Brother. Also, what is that about an absolute need to vent? I do not! Why are you acting so cool and composed anyway, Brother? I'm talking about Elina's case: show it pisses you off, too…!"

"Sure," the mature cool guy said. "It pisses me~" With as cheery and light a voice as he had, it didn't look like he was so angry at all. If anything, maybe he found his younger sister's case amusing.

"The woman should know her place! She should! I understand we're related by blood… but… argh. The little selfish cheeky fool… Whoa. She doesn't realize, does she? To what point the news she brought to Father from the battle for Ladafar was utterly ridiculous! A failure! Give me a thousand men, I would have brought the demi-humans down in a day! Sure, she may have won anyway… but who wouldn't against the filthy orcs? I shan't of course mention the impressively huge number of casualties among the soldiers, ha! Doesn't she see she isn't suited for this? And Father laughed at her giving his approval! 'Go, my daughter, and see for yourself what true warfare is!' he said! At such a sensible time! What are we, buffoons?! To let his daughter just… Argh, devil take it!"

"...I know, I know. But what can we do? Y'should just relax, kid."

"But no!"

"Look, as you say, Father gave his approval. …Just let her do what she pleases, I tell you. Till she fails. That's all there's to your issue, kid."

"Putting aside the two incredible failures staining our name: The failure of her campaign and the unlawful and tactless strategy to have summoned the other-worlder heroes yesterday aside—now she goes on and pulls 'that'! All the brothers already know it! 'My new powerful asset who shall secretly serve under me and me alone,' she goes on saying to her maids! Blah blah blah, yapping away at the castle's folks! She brags about it to her personal maids, but does she not have a reason to know to keep her mouth shut? The fool! She goes and gets herself an 'irregular soldier,' as they say! She must have picked the first filthy demi-human she found out there! It couldn't be a monster-type, they aren't any good if not high-level! My sources are valid. You can trust me—"

"Oh, believe me, I've heard 'bout it, too… It'll sure be a pain, but we'll have to make sure the info doesn't leak outside of the circle."

"You can trust me, right. Caught red-handed. Seriously. Already leaking her own little secret here and there…"

Okay, what? I didn't expect to have my "name" come up in their conversation, too. So I was famous already? …No, not so much. If the boy's sources were as valid and sure as he said they were, I guess he would have known Elina the fool didn't recruit a demi-human under her, but indeed a high-level monster-type.

"I could go on and on, hours on end, complaining—no, exposing her for her own foolishness until dawn! The oracles and philosophers have spoken! We are facing a crisis! Thus, she summoned her heroes! …But now, she pulls 'this'!"

Shall the monster stand up and tear off the head of the young prince's shoulders?