CH 393

“Kuoon!”

“Is it this way, Ash?”

Ash, who was riding on my back, put his arm out in front of him and pointed in the direction. I’m sure he remembers either Ornob-san or Dasha-chan’s scent. As we rounded the corner on the third floor, Makina opened her mouth, thinking he was a reliable guy.

“Hmm, do you hear anything?”

“For me, it’s ……”

I was about to leave when I heard what sounded like a scream in my ear.

“No!”

“S-Stop it!?!”

“Be quiet, okay?”

“What was that?”

“It’s Dasha-chan, Ornob-san, and Helena!? Don’t tell me it was one of Darva’s men is after them?”

“We’ll talk later. Let’s go!”

We went through the corridor at once and entered the room where we heard the voices.

“Ornob-san! Dasha-chan, are you alright?”

“Helena!”

Makina and I step into the room, weapons at the ready as we go in. There was a–

“No, don’t take my dad!”

“Ohhhh …… T-This is troubling …….”

Dasha-chan hugged Ornob-san and cried out, while King Afmand and the others stood there with confused looks on their faces. 

W-What kind of situation is this ……? As I was thinking this, King Afmand noticed us and shouted in relief that the atmosphere had changed.

“O-Ohhhhh! Lars-dono! You’re here! If you guys are here, that means Geiri and the others are ……?”

“Yes, we have them in custody, along with the main suspect, Darva. Fath, the Thunderbolt, and Basleigh, the Minister of Reflexion, are keeping an eye on them. And what’s happening here is ……?”

Abol-san, his aide, lowered his shoulders and answered my question.

“The man who was with you, Ornob-san, is Helena’s father. He is the husband of her mother, Kriida-san. So we found Ornob, who we were looking for a while ago, and brought him here, but as soon as the child woke up, she started crying like she was on fire.”

Then Helena turned to us, laughing and patting Dasha-chan’s head.

“It can’t be an emotional reunion anymore, huh♪ Come on, don’t cry.”

“I’m glad you’re alive, Ornob …… So remarried and had a baby, didn’t you? That’s right, it’s been seventeen years since then. ……”

“W-What!? No, this child is not mine!? Anyway …… do you know me? What do you mean, you’re alive and well ……?”

“What? It’s me, Kriida, you know? Have you forgotten? This is Helena, your child and mine.”

“Children …… I’m always a slave …… guh ……”

“Daddy!”

Ornob-san, on his knees, began to groan with his head in his hands, and Dasha-chan left Helena’s hand and ran to her. He was sweating profusely, and his face was pale.

“It seems that Ornob-san has no memory. When he came to, he said he only remembered living as a slave.”

“No way …… Hey, it’s me? I’m sorry …… that you had to go through that much pain after you let me go ……”

“Uh-uhhhh ……”

Ornob-san held his head and looked up at Helena’s mother. He looks like he’s thinking about something, but he’s in a lot of pain and his eyes are getting unfocused. “I feel like he needs to rest or it could get dangerous”, I said to King Afmand.

“We’ll talk about it later, but right now, we need to make sure everyone is okay. Also, I would like to talk to Aiatsubus and Geiri, is there somewhere I could do it?”

“Geiri ……”

“What’s wrong, Mom?”

Helena’s mother sassily pales at my words and Helena puts a hand on her shoulder. Did something happen? Before I could ask that, King Afmand thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Let’s see, let’s go to the dungeon where we kept Geiri. We can go there without being seen. Of course, I’ll go with you. I have to ask you about the treasure. Abol, please let Ornob rest. Will Lars-dono come with me?”

“The treasure ……? Okay, then tell me the location of the dungeon.”

Abol-san nodded, and King Afmand walked off to follow him. I was about to go too, but I called out to Makina and Helena.

“I’ll take care of the rest over here, Makina should stay with Helena. Ash, can you stay with Helena and Dasha-chan?”

“Kuoon!”

“Aha♪ Ash, did you come to help me?”

“Kuon!”

“Well, I’m worried about father, so do you want to come with me?”

“Y-Yeah. ……”

Helena stroked Ash, who responded cheerfully, and held Dasha-chan in her arms. Dasha-chan, confused, hugged Helena tightly and burst into tears. And then, Abol-san started to speak in a panicked manner.

“H-Hey, Ornob, are you okay with moving?”

“Uh, Uhm …… Geiri…… I, I want to talk to him too …… can you take me to him too?”

“Did you remember something?”

“I’m still …… not sure …… but I do remember Geiri, the former king …… the one who captured me and made me a slave.”

Then Helena’s mother nodded with a determined look on her face and walked off, lending her shoulder to Ornob-san.

“Mom?”

“‘I’m coming with you. I’m not going to let you carry it alone this time.”

“Y-Yeah …… Thanks ……”

“…… Then we’ll all go. Abol, I’ll leave things to you here. My …… no, call me only if you need my authority.”

“Yes, sir!”

King Afmand started walking again, and we followed him. The halls on the first floor are slowly calming down, most of the bodies have been removed, and they are clearing away the debris from the walls I blew up and the wreckage of the carriage.

As we begin to descend the stairs, Basleigh-sensei and Reiss wave at us.

“You’re back. Aiatsubus has fainted, but she’s still alive. She seems to be completely immobilized by Sephiro-kun’s power. And this lack of a right hand seems to be a problem.”

“The fact that she doesn’t bleed suggests she’s not human, I wonder what she is?”

And then Reiss opened her mouth.

“Well, they smell suspicious, the Chief Priests. In the meantime, I’ve confirmed that all of the trees of the Qliphoth have turned to ashes. Now we just have to figure out what to do with her, but, Retzel, is there anything you can do?”

“Let’s see. I think it’s best not to kill her first. If she dies, I don’t know what the logic is, but it seems that Apollos will know that she’s dead.”

“We’ll worry about that later, I’m going to take these guys to the dungeon. Geiri, you’re going to tell me about the guy who owned the Jack-of-all-Trades.”

“…… Hmm, you should just  kill them sooner–!? Oh, you’re Kriida!? So you’re back …… I see, so you met Ornob ……”

“Geiri: ……”

“Uh-guhhhh …… Geiri ……”

“Let’s hurry. I’m worried about Ornob-san.”

I said, and they all nodded, carrying the unconscious Aiatsubus and dragging Geiri to the dungeon.