We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Ys Family’s Conspiracy
Once breakfast was over, a unpleasant time awaited Amira.
She had to entertain Girdia, an arrogant noble and the lord of this land.
However, I don’t think it’s about sitting by his side drinking from early in the morning. I wonder what Girdia intends to make Amira do?
Yufilia and Nina, with their royal sensibilities, had said things like, “You should say what you don’t like,” but it’s impossible to say it.
Even in the Armēdo Kingdom, where social stratification was loose, commoners never dared to openly defy nobles. It would be difficult to defy the lord of the region you live in, in a Divine Race’s Country which has an even stricter social hierarchy than that human kingdom.
After all, for Alex and Amira to oppose Girdia would mean the entire village rising up.
Alex’s family wishes to one day serve the Emperor as Fighting Gods. And the villagers strive to be loyal retainers of the descendant of a Fighting God.
Those who wish to serve the Emperor would want to avoid rebelling against the country ruled by the Emperor, of course.
Therefore, Amira, even against her will, has no choice but to accept Girdia’s demands and go to the reception.
However, if that’s the case, Amira might really become Girdia’s concubine as things stand.
So, something must be done. That’s what I think, but I still can’t come up with a good plan.
We can’t just act on our own.
For now, all we can do is bet on Alex’s persistent negotiations.
Even so, we won’t just stand by and watch the situation unfold.
“Luiseine, for your future, rest your eyes for now. Madrine, stay by Amira’s side for me.”
“Let’s go with Mist’s plan. If a priestess is there with the excuse that Amira might fall ill, even a noble of the Divine Race should not refuse.”
“If anything happens, we will protect you immediately. Amira, if Girdia makes any unpleasant demands, please pretend to be unwell.”
Amira showed a slightly troubled expression as she listened to our unconventional plan, but she nodded in agreement.
“Then, Sefina and Laira, go to Alex’s house under the pretense of helping out.”
“Yes, sir! I will do my best to meet Elnea’s expectations.”
“So, I should find something that could be Girdia’s weakness? If Girdia has been staying at that mansion for the past few days, there might be something left behind.”
“Finding Girdia’s weakness is important, but be careful of Magrud.”
“Oh, is the bodyguard named Guen alright?”
Sefina smiled, wondering where my information source for this morning was. I avoided directly answering, but replied with a meaningful smile.
“Then, we will play with Priscilla-chan.”
“Then, we will babysit Priscilla-chan.”
“Both of you. That’s the outward appearance, but don’t forget your mission, okay?”
Yufilia and Nina plan to take Priscilla-chan and Nimia around the village.
It would be best to hear the situation from the Village Chief, Grandfather, but still, we want to confirm it with our own eyes. What kind of situation is this village in, now that Girdia, who seems likely to abduct Amira, has arrived?
It’s unlikely that they would defy Alex and the others’ intentions and rebel, but they must be resentful of Girdia, who came to take their precious Amira. I want the three of them to investigate the villagers’ movements.
“So, what about Elnea?”
In response to Mistral’s question, I proudly replied!
“I’m going to look around the village too. However, while Priscilla-chan and the others will move openly, I will do so discreetly.”
Even so, it’s not that I’m wary of the villagers. We are simply trying to stop Girdia’s tyranny. So, my discreetly looking around the village is also aimed at investigating Girdia.
“I’m curious. Even with Guen and Magrud from the Imperial Honored Mansion guarding him, it’s still unnatural for a Divine Race member not to have even one attendant or servant from the Heavenly Race.”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen any, have I?”
When they brought us here. Even after arriving at the village. Among the escorts and servants accompanying Girdia, I didn’t see any Heavenly Race members. Isn’t that strange?
The Heavenly Race people live even in this small border village and sincerely serve Alex and the others, the true masters. Yet, for a nobleman like Girdia, who acts haughty, not to have a single follower is bizarre.
“I think there must be a reason. Is it because of Magrud’s strong influence, or does he hate the Heavenly Race? And even the Imperial Honored Mansion, wouldn’t they think it’s a hindrance for other races to stand out over the Divine Race, and thus exclude them as a nuisance, even if they are Heavenly Race servants?”
The Village Chief, Grandfather, nodded at my thoughts.
“Even the extremists in the Imperial Honored Mansion wouldn’t go that far. Besides, the lives of the Divine Race are supported by the Heavenly Race.”
The Heavenly Race far outnumbers the Divine Race in terms of population ratio. Grandfather taught me that while the Divine Race has a long lifespan, the intervals between births are longer, making it difficult for their population to increase.
Come to think of it, the Mimicho Race also has a small overall population, right? I wonder if having a long lifespan makes them less hurried about having children?
“When he was appointed lord and visited this village before, he brought many Heavenly Race retainers with him. This time, only Divine Race guards.”
“There must be a reason for that, right? Perhaps they are hiding Heavenly Race members outside the village, and I intend to investigate that.”
“If anything unusual happens, please let me know.”
The villagers cannot openly provoke Girdia. That’s why we are acting. If we, outsiders, make a mistake, we’ll just be glared at as “those human brats.” And, no matter how disliked we are, it will be over once we finish our business and leave the village and this country.
Therefore, we, who are unencumbered, have decided to investigate Girdia’s surroundings in place of Alex and the villagers.
Meanwhile, Mistral is scheduled to wait at the Village Chief, Grandfather’s house. Since the homeland of the Dragon Race, Dragon Peak, borders the Divine Race’s country. Mistral cannot afford to take conspicuous actions and worsen relations between Dragon Peak and the Divine Race.
However, Mistral can spring into action at any time if something happens. So, he will be waiting with Luiseine.
Also, Yunyun chose to wait.
“Rin, assist Elnea. If anything happens, run immediately to inform me.”
“I have no choice. Elnea, don’t cause any trouble, okay?”
“Y-Yes…”
Rinrin, who can disappear her form and presence, will act with me, and if anything happens, she will return immediately. Then, she will cooperate with Yunyun to convey information to everyone else. It’s a wonderful team effort unique to our family.
As the conversation concluded, Amira slowly began to move. It seemed to be time for the unpleasant reception.
And so, she left the Village Chief’s house, accompanied by Madrine.
The weather was clear and warm, but the mood was gloomy and heavy. That must be Amira’s current state of mind. As Amira stepped outside, Girdia and his party also emerged as if on cue.
And then, he immediately started to curse.
“Not coming to greet me, what kind of upbringing did you have?”
No, no. We want to retort, “What kind of environment did you grow up in to have such a personality?”
“Well, that’s fine. Amira, you will guide me around the village.”
Apparently, it’s a morning stroll. After breakfast, a leisurely walk, what lazy nobles in the Divine Race’s country are like. Even human nobles are busy with public duties in the morning and customer service and personal matters in the afternoon. No, perhaps Girdia just wants to walk around his territory and flaunt his power. And perhaps he wants to show the villagers that he will make Amira, whose speech is sealed, his concubine. What a wicked Divine Race member.
And Magrud from the Imperial Honored Mansion, who has a wicked, or rather, a twisted ideology. Magrud is by Girdia’s side, acting as his bodyguard. He seems to be doing his job properly as a guard by standing between Alex and Girdia, who came out of the mansion. However, while Magrud was present, the other bodyguard, Guen, was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps Guen is in charge of night patrol, and Magrud is in charge of daytime patrol. Girdia, who is accompanied by several Divine Soldiers, still has no Heavenly Race members in sight. It seems there is a secret regarding the Heavenly Race. Even the Village Chief, Grandfather, didn’t know about it, so is it Girdia’s personal issue? I intend to investigate that.
“Hey, let’s go. Hurry up and guide me.”
Girdia started walking without regard for Amira’s convenience. Amira hurriedly went to Girdia’s side. Even against her will, she has no choice but to comply with the lord’s tyranny for now. Magrud directed a blatant, unpleasant smile towards us, who could only watch this unreasonable scene.
“Wait. We can’t let Amira go alone.”
Just then, Alf, who couldn’t stand it, rushed out of the mansion.
“You’re a nuisance!”
Magrud, the bodyguard, raised his fist. Alex quickly caught it.
“Please wait. Girdia-dono said he wanted to see the village. However, as you know, Amira cannot speak. Therefore, we need someone to interpret Amira’s intentions. Alf here can be of service to Girdia-dono.”
Magrud clicked his tongue at Alex’s words, but since Girdia reluctantly gave permission for him to accompany them, he didn’t interfere further. And so, Girdia and his party left the mansion grounds and headed towards the village where fields spread out. After seeing them off, we moved to our respective roles.
“Alex-sama. Amira-sama has requested that we clean the mansion. May we begin now?”
Alex showed slight surprise at Sefina’s words, but he soon seemed to understand my intentions.
“Is that so? Then, please do so. It has become rather messy, so I’ll entrust the cleaning to you.”
“Cleaning is something I’m good at. Please leave it to me.”
Girdia left some of his Divine Soldiers at the mansion. Surely, it was to keep an eye on Alex and the others to prevent them from plotting anything in his absence. With the Divine Soldiers watching, we treated Alex, a member of the Divine Race, with politeness. However, at this point, we had already called the Alex family by their surnames yesterday. Perhaps such an attitude was noticeable from the start, and Magrud took notice of it. This is something to reflect on. From now on, I will be careful.
“Um. Priscilla wants to find her mother?”
“We’re going to look for clues about Priscilla-chan’s family.”
“We’re going to look for Priscilla-chan’s mother.”
Priscilla-chan, what a wonderful act! Of course, Alex knows this is a lie. Nevertheless, he smiled as usual and gently petted Priscilla-chan’s head.
“You should ask the villagers about it. Many of them have gained experience by venturing out in their youth. They will have a lot of knowledge, so I believe it will be helpful to you. Also, they know about you, so they should cooperate.”
Alex must have told the villagers about his adventures with us. That’s why the villagers know about us. Come to think of it, the Heavenly Race man who discovered us also said something similar.
Yufilia and Nina, who have identical appearances as twins. And Priscilla-chan, a Mimicho with long ears, and Nimia, a young dragon with pink-tipped fur. Those who heard our descriptions from Alex should recognize us immediately.
“Well then, I’ll go out for a bit too. As a token of my gratitude for letting me stay, I’ll go hunt some beasts.”
“I’m looking forward to it. However, be careful. This is a border region, and not only monsters but also magic beasts may be lurking. When hunting, it is safer to tread lightly and avoid attracting unnecessary attention.”
“Yes. Thank you for your advice.”
In other words, Alex is warning us that there are hindrances lurking around the village, right? Is it the Heavenly Race soldiers we suspected, or something else? We can investigate that now.
“I’m off.”
With a farewell from Mistral and Luiseine, I set off with Rinrin, who had disappeared her presence and form.
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