Rose heads to the barracks building where the prisoners are being held, accompanied by Gin.
Major Toma has brought in a new comrade: Captain Zoan Van Zapp.
Captain Zapp, a capable pragmatist, will assist Clifford.
This will also provide Clifford, who has been handling all internal affairs, with some relief.
“Gin, have the prisoners been properly housed?”
Gin chuckles, finding something amusing.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just… calling them ‘prisoners’ sounded very much like a princess.”
“Is that not allowed?”
“Please continue to be so. The prisoners have been housed.”
“There is someone among the prisoners I wish to meet.”
“Major General Simon de Biron’s son, Lieutenant Colonel Robert de Biron?”
“No. It’s Lieutenant Colonel Biron’s subordinate, Sergeant Gideon.”
“Why would you want to meet such a low-ranking person?”
“You’ll understand when you meet him. Let’s go.”
Sergeant Gideon has a request for me. However, I won’t know if I can trust him until I meet him.
The barracks building, temporarily used as a prisoner of war camp, was guarded by the Knights of the Rose Cross.
They salute upon seeing Gin and me.
“The Princess wishes to visit a prisoner. Please grant us passage.”
“It will be brief, please.”
“If you require a meeting, I will escort you. For Lady Rose to enter the detention facility…”
“Just let us pass. If Gin is here, no one can harm me.”
Pushing past the hesitant knights, I enter the barracks building.
Sergeant Gideon’s room must be here.
When I knock, a grumpy voice replies from within.
“I’m not here. Come back another time!”
“If you’re not here, there’s no problem entering. Gin, please.”
Gin unlocks the door and enters the room first, and I follow.
“Ah, it’s you!”
“I am Stinrose Ringvolt, Supreme Commander of the Rose Cross. You must be Sergeant Gideon?”
“Y-yes, but… why would a princess like you want anything from me? Don’t you have business with the young master?”
“Hey, you! I know you have no upbringing or intelligence, but don’t you even know how to speak to a princess of this nation?”
“Don’t ask something impossible of a servant like me. I can proudly say I have neither education nor status.”
“I have a few things I wish to discuss with you. Is that acceptable?”
Sergeant Gideon snorts in response.
“I’m a prisoner. What choice do I have but to accept? More importantly, is the young master alright?”
“Depending on your answer and attitude, he might not be alright.”
Gin, don’t threaten him.
“What do you want to know! Spit it out!”
“Teacher Baxu said that Sergeant Gideon fought to the very end protecting Lieutenant Colonel Biron? While his two companions fled without a second thought.”
“Those ungrateful brats! How dare they abandon us and run off! I won’t forget this, I swear!”
Sergeant Gideon stamps his foot in frustration. He must have been deeply hurt to be abandoned by those he considered comrades.
“Do you know the saying ‘a barking dog seldom bites’? That’s what that was.”
“That’s enough, Gin! Be quiet! Sergeant Gideon, why didn’t you run away? Were you a vassal of the Biron family?”
“That’s part of it… but I owe the young master a debt.”
“What kind of debt?”
“He saved my younger sister when she was gravely ill. It probably wasn’t much money for the young master, but he did save her. Whether it was a whim or him showing off, I have to be grateful, right?”
“To be so loyal despite that ugly and vulgar face. I’m slightly impressed.”
“Mind your own business! Do you want me to make you do the ‘kama-horu’?”
Kama-horu?
“Gin, what does ‘kama-horu’ mean?”
“Uh, um…”
“Gehyahyahyahyah! As expected of a princess. ‘Kama-horu’ means, a man… standing up between a man’s buttocks!”
… I didn’t know. Or rather, I didn’t want to know!
“How dare you say such things to the Princess! You scoundrel!”
Gin dangles Sergeant Gideon in the air, and he thrashes about. I’ll leave him be for a while.
… Is it time now?
“Gin, that’s enough.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Hah… hah… You’re surprisingly strong for someone so delicate. I thought I was going to die.”
Gin is a compatibility candidate, you know. He’s slender but incredibly strong.
“Sergeant Gideon, let’s make a deal.”
“A deal? What kind?”
“If you’re a soldier of the Alliance, you know of Kenrou, right?”
Sergeant Gideon’s face freezes.
“K-Kenrou! What happened to that man!”
“So you know Kenrou Kanata directly?”
“… he gave me a hard time not long ago.”
… I suppose it was his own fault.
“I want you to deliver something and a message to Kenrou. If you agree, I will arrange for your repatriation in a prisoner exchange.”
“Really?”
“Yes, of course. If I couldn’t return, I wouldn’t be able to deliver it, would I?”
“What if I betray you? What if I get back to my country and decide I don’t owe you anything?”
“If that happens, you will pay the price through the young master.”
The trick to bluffing is to smile *naturally*, but *without smiling with your eyes*.
Thanks to Kanata, I feel like I’m becoming worse and worse, but I won’t dwell on it.
“If you want to see a noble young master get ‘kama-horu’, then betray me. I’d find that more amusing. I’ll even take pictures and send them to you.”
“Wait! … Alright. But I have one condition.”
“Are you in a position to make conditions?”
“Let me hear it first. Sergeant Gideon, what is your condition?”
“After I deliver the message, I will return and become a prisoner. So, please send the young master back to our country in my place.”
“I cannot accept that condition.”
Sergeant Gideon prostrates himself on the floor and begins to beg.
“Please! He’s a selfish, arrogant, and self-centered young master, but he’s my benefactor!”
“The story about making Lieutenant Biron pay the price is false. I told him that you would return to your country with Sergeant Gideon, so it’s impossible.”
“Huh? Th-then, what will you do if I betray you?”
“Nothing. You will simply live the rest of your life as a coward.”
“… I will deliver the message. I promise. Honestly, I don’t want to meet Kenrou, but…”
“Isn’t that because of something you did with the young master?”
“Th-that’s right. Doing bad things with the young master… but that’s irrelevant! What do I need to do!”
“Please return this pendant to Kenrou and tell him, ‘The next time I see you, I’ll slap you.'”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, that’s all. Ah! I have one condition.”
“What is your condition?”
“Never bully the weak again. Do you understand? If you break this promise… you will die.”
“Don’t say scary things with such a smile! You’re joking, right?”
“Fufu. Who knows?”
“That look on your face is serious! It’s serious, isn’t it!”
Sergeant Gideon begins to tremble.
“Sergeant Gideon, who cherishes his family, please think for a moment when you’re about to act violently towards someone. That someone is also someone’s family.”
“O-okay. I’ll try.”
“I hope that after you return to your country, you will live a life unrelated to the army.”
“That depends on the young master.”
“You’re loyal in strange ways. I can’t tell if you’re a good person or a bad one.”
“Containing contradictions is human nature. Well then, farewell.”
“… Farewell, Princess.”
I bid farewell to Sergeant Gideon, whose expression had softened slightly, and left the barracks.
“Princess, Princess and Kenrou have gone…”
“What kind of relationship do you mean? I’ll tell you over some tea.”
Tasshe was waiting for me when I returned to my private room in the Palace of Athena.
“Kikki (It’s snack time!)”
“Yes, yes. I’ll make some tea now.”
“I’ll make it. I want to drink some delicious tea after a long time.”
“… What do you mean by that?”
“Uh, um. I’m troubled. The tea the Princess makes isn’t very good…”
“Meaning, it’s bad?”
“It’s not bad. It’s… well, it’s drinkable…”
“… How is that different from ‘bad’?”
“Ta-Tasshe, help me make the tea!”
“Kiki ♪”
Tasshe jumps onto Gin’s shoulder as he rushes into the kitchen, as if trying to escape.
Despite my pride, Gin’s tea was several levels better than mine.
“Mmm, this is truly *delicious* tea. It’s different from mine, isn’t it?”
Gin offers a wry smile as he places a crushed cookie into Tasshe’s mouth, who is eagerly awaiting it.
“Princess, please stop sulking. I will teach you how to make tea.”
“Very well. Let’s settle this.”
“So, what is your relationship with Kenrou?”
“First, I was kidnapped…”
I tell Gin about the events in the Witch’s Forest.
“I see. Such an incident occurred.”
By the time I finished speaking, the tea had grown completely cold.
“What kind of relationship do you think Kanata and I have?”
“I can only say it’s a strange relationship. I thought Kenrou was an unusual man, but it seems he’s a true eccentric.”
“But he’s kind?”
“However, he’s not *just* kind. The eyes when he told me, ‘I will show no mercy if we meet on the battlefield,’ were dry and held a cruel glint. Yet, he worries about you and sent me to you. He’s a man I don’t understand.”
“I agree that he’s hard to understand. What is he?”
“For now, let’s pray we don’t meet on the battlefield. I’ll remake the tea.”
With that, Gin stands up, holding the teapot.
Praying not to encounter Kanata on the battlefield, huh. It’s not just about praying; it’s something we should avoid strategically.
Even if the motivation is personal, the strategy is sound. Kanata is a member of the Alliance’s strongest unit, the Asura Unit.
