Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

Not long ago, Sizemore and Dacascos had a short tour of the ancient tombs.

“I’m not complaining or anything, it’s just that this team seems a little too basic.”

Maybe it’s just him, but it feels as though the horse he’s riding on isn’t very motivated either.

“We can’t help it—The moment we discover the other search teams, we have to take them to His Majesty as soon as possible.”

The men were left behind at the water source to rebuild the village, while they chased His Majesty’s group from the back, and finally caught up with Yuuri and co after experiencing those impactful events. As soon as they rendezvoused, though, they were sent on this mission.

Their mission is to leave the front that’s currently in stalemate, and look for the other search teams that separated after landing in Seisakoku. If they found the others nearby, they were to lead them to the battlefield as quickly as possible.

In others words, they’re in charge of reception.

s.h.i.+n Makoku’s highest commander Yuuri nods as he says,

“That’s right, it’s an SOS.”

“Huh? Does milord mean the sisters that only get along with the Seisakoku?”

“No, I’m talking about a help signal you send out when in distress. When you’re stranded on an uninhibited island, you should find a way to tell the s.h.i.+ps or planes in the distance where you are, right? That’s why you use a smoke signal or a mirror to reflect light and ask for help.”

With that Dacascos finally understood, that His Majesty’s target was his head.

That’s why bright-headed (even though they’re completely reluctant about it) Dacascos and Sizemore temporarily left their king’s side, setting out on a journey to lead their reinforcements here.

“Actually, His Majesty really didn’t need to be subtle about it, he could have just said our s.h.i.+ny heads would help in the desert, and we would have immediately accepted the mission…”

“Mn, this should be a sign of His Majesty’s compa.s.sion. After all, when he saw the thinning hair on my head, he even praised me by saying I’m like a baby bird, calling me very cute.”

But their worth as signal lights is quickly diminis.h.i.+ng, from the moment the sun sets completely to the time when the moon rises into the sky, they are completely useless. Because their heads can only reflect the light, and not emit their own light like stars.

“We have to return to them quickly once the sun sets, after all it’s better to have more fighting power. Even though I, Sizemore, am better at naval battles, but I still won’t lose to a regular soldier on the land, even unarmed I can take on two or three enemies. I won’t let anyone make fun of me by calling me a tuna out of water!”

“Of course. Although I’m not that experienced in battle, running errands is my main job. I can help everyone tidy up bones, harvest flesh pieces. If I could bring a sample of the living dead back, Lady Anissina would definitely praise me!”

Rather than running errands, that’s bordering into scientific search.

“So do we go back now? Or continue on His Majesty’s important mission? It’s so hard to choose between the two.”

“Mn, that’s right. We still have important business at hand, so we must make a decision before nightfall.”

But to the one people call ‘Master of the Seas’ as well as ‘the Scary Monk on the Sea’—Captain Sizemore, this dry land really is torture.

“Just the issue of my dry skin alone seems unresolvable, I’ll probably never live in the desert until the day I die.”

“Oh~~ That’s right, that’s right, you can use this if your skin is dry. I bought this at the port on the way here when I found out we were going to the desert. Use this, moisturizer! It’s a new item from the Queen’s Inventions, though it’s meant for the ladies.”

“Oh, thanks a lot.”

“Here you go.”

Sizemore accepts Dacascos’ bottle, dripping a few drops onto his hand and rubbing them onto his face, directly connected to his scalp, without checking the color and smell first. For some reason, the spots covered in the medicine burn painfully, and immediately turn red and swollen.

Sizemore screams in a way completely unlike himself, and then grabs a stunned Dacascos by the collar,

“W-w-w-what is this!? Is this really moisturizer!?”

“That’s what it says on the label.”

“Something so dangerous technically shouldn’t be circulating on the market…”

Anything invented by Lady von Karbelnikoff “Mad Scientist” Anissina, has an eighty per cent chance of being dangerous. But regular consumers don’t know that, and buy her failed products happily. Even though the final product is very safe, the truth is the ones they bought are all failed products. Those pa.s.sionate devotees are really very scary.

Sizemore also believed in its quality because of Her Majesty the Queen’s guarantee. That’s why he can’t believe he’s suffering like this, and hurriedly checks the bottom of the bottle. There is indeed the name of the producer there, written in a bright red color that brings to mind the founder’s hair, “The Quin’s Invention”.

“Quin…?”[1]

So it’s a fake.

“W-what do we do now, Dacascos!?”

“C-c-c-calm down, Captain! You just went a bit red, changing from the monk on the sea to the lama on the sea, that’s all!”

“The lama on the sea--!?”

“That’s right, the lama on the sea. Its position on the sea chart is higher than the monk. That’s wonderful—Lord Captain, this is an evolution, y’know--!”

“Don’t try to get away with it!”

“Just relax, Lord Captain, I also have here a folk remedy for healing coa.r.s.e skin.”

Dacascos carefully takes out a fingernail-sized stone that s.h.i.+nes with a brown glow from his pocket.

“What is that? A bone?”

“It’s a tooth.”

“Dacascos, don’t tell me you’re only now becoming an adult?”

“No, this isn’t my tooth, I picked it up on the s.h.i.+p. My old mother back home told me, if your skin suddenly becomes coa.r.s.e, you may be able to heal it by wis.h.i.+ng on a tooth you found by accident. This is Lilit Latchie Nanata Micotan’s family remedy, pa.s.sed down the generations.”

Putting aside the fact that it ‘may be able to heal’, Dacascos’ habit of collecting things came from his mother after all. And then he puts his mouth close to the tooth he picked up, chanting what sounds like a spell,

“Now I pray to the fairies in the springs of paradise, heal the Captain’s coa.r.s.e skin! Heal the Captain’s coa.r.s.e skin!”

“Dacascos…”

Although the two of them were thrown together as master and follower abruptly for a last minute job, Sizemore didn’t think Dacascos would work so hard for him, and can’t help but be deeply touched.

“But Dacascos, what does a tooth found by accident have to do with coa.r.s.e skin?”

“Heal the Captain’s coa.r.s.e skin… Because of that, Captain! Heal the Captain’s coa.r.s.e skin… After all, when you find a tooth by accident, you can’t help but say, ‘Eh, it’s a tooth… eh, it’s a tooth… coa.r.s.e skin… coa.r.s.e skin.”[2]

“Mn~~? Eh, it’s a tooth… eh, it’s a tooth… coa.r.s.e skin… coa.r.s.e skin…”

A chill suddenly rises in Sizemore’s chest.

Before the wish to the fairies is transmitted, his previously scalding face has already cooled down drastically.

But it seems that wish didn’t reach the paradise where the tooth fairies reside, but a completely different place.

The experiment lab from h.e.l.l where the devils reside.

Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina is busy as a bee in the lab in the middle of the night, while Greta sings a song behind her.

“Oh dear, what an unfamiliar song.”

“Yuuri taught it to me. It’s called ‘To Steal and Pick Up’, apparently it’s very popular among children.”

Even though the lyrics may not be accurate, but seeing the little girl sing happily with her hands on the table, n.o.body would say anything to break the atmosphere. As for Anissina, who has no interest whatsoever in famous songs from a different world, she makes some black tea for the girl and herself instead.

“Greta is staying up a lot recently, huh.”

“Anissina’s been staying up for many days in a row—”

“It’s okay for me, the Poison Lady has a different biological clock from regular people. Just like meat and vegetables, when night and day all feel like day. For more details, please read ‘Oh Night Fog, The Poison Lady Again Tonight’, expected to be published the year after the next.”

“Although I don’t really get it, but wow--!”

No matter how evil the villain is, they wouldn’t want to do anything bad once they’re liked by a child. Even Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina, with scary names like the Red Devil or the Impenetrable Surveillance Monitor, can’t help but consider making useful things instead, so close so close.

“Speaking of which, what do you plan on doing with those puzzle bones? Don’t tell me you want to make a trap house at a 1000:1 scale?”

“No.”

There’s a set of ‘Happy-Happy Bone Puzzles’, adapted from ‘Oh! Stack the Bones High’, on the table in front of Greta. That is indeed a toy she likes, but she’s carrying it around with her not because she wants to play with it.

“I was wondering if we’d hear any more information from it.”

“Oh—”

As a human girl, Greta experienced hearing bone-statics for the first time a few days ago. What His Majesty Yuuri calls bone-statics, is actually an ability the kotsuhizoku and kotsuchizoku use to communicate and transmit messages between themselves. There are many things people still don’t know about their biology, and bone-statics are just one part of it. What is the logic and the principles behind the transmission? How large is the area of reception? Such questions are innumerable.

But the reality is that they can communicate through the bones, and the bones also transmit some sort of signal.

No one knows if it’s a coincidence or her natural-born ability, but Greta can actually hear those signals. When she was playing with the Happy-Happy Puzzle Bones, she heard the bone-static transmission from a veteran gra.s.s kotsuchizoku (those kotsuchizoku who leave s.h.i.+n Makoku on spy missions and lie on foreign land have the word ‘gra.s.s’ added in front).

From then on, this heap of Happy-Happy Bone Puzzles never left Greta’s side.

Greta even bathes and sleeps with these puzzle bones, kept in a white pot and wooden box. If Yuuri saw this after coming back, he would definitely sob, “Let them rest in peace.” After all, this is way too unlucky to the j.a.panese.

Tonight, the girl is still observing Anissina’s poison experiments as she pours the bones onto the table.

The scallop-shaped bone piece she heard the signal from a few days ago is the closest to her, but even if she plasters it to her left ear, all she can hear is the background noise from a cemetery.

Greta taps on the bone piece with her index finger while staring at Anissina’s hands—her left hand is bringing the black tea to her lips for a sip while her right hand is busy mixing medicines. Normal people would just praise her for her dexterity, but to Greta, who respects anything and everything the Poison Lady does, her graceful, dignified, delicate yet brave actions merit more than even a hundred praises turned to a thousand.

To this day, the girl still can’t decide on her future target.

Although there are two charismatic living examples for her to follow, she’s very conflicted over who she should recognize as her master. Should she be the Poison Lady? Or the Demon Sergeant? It’s because these two paths are both cool yet beautiful, they’re both wonderful even if they’re completely different.

Greta pouts, mimicking Lord Weller’s personal ducky while she continues knocking on the scallop-shaped puzzle bone. Just then, she hears something that’s neither the ‘To Steal and Pick Up’ she’s humming nor the sound of dirt-colored poison boiling.

“Mn?”

It’s like a song or a cry, or more like a spell.

“Mn?”

The girl picks up the bone piece and puts it by her little ear. It’s true, there really is the sound of someone talking from this puzzle bone.

“Anissina!”

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s bone-statics again!”

Hearing Greta’s words, the Poison Lady also puts the bone piece offered to her to her ear. But all she hears are groans like ‘woo—woo—’ and the sound of wind in the cemetery.

The mad scientist immediately rushes to the room next door, taking out a large metal object about the size of a carriage wheel.

“Is that a pot?”

“No, this is a new and improved version of the high performance receptor ‘BS-kun’, the super high performance receptor ‘BS-kun, Present!’. It won’t rust even if the floor is covered with snails and centipedes, and can correspond with digital ground waves. Even though it’s this price and this size, there’s even an intelligent response function. Once we connect this to the bone piece… Jack, this is amazing!”[3]

The voices from the bone piece becomes clearer, and there’s a man’s aside, “More and more things are corresponding with digital ground waves these days.”

“Oh dear, Kusanagi spoke. I forgot that I once installed an immediate voice broadcast through digital ground waves. Right now I just have to temporarily turn it off…”

Suddenly Anissina kicks the ‘BS-kun, Present!’ hard. The voice broadcast disappears immediately, returning to something like the sound of the wind in a cemetery, only this time there are voices mixed in as well, and so the two of them perk up their ears to listen.

Heal... tain’s coa.r.s.e… skin…

The spell, repeated over and over again, becomes clearer and clearer, the only problem is with the contents of what they’re hearing. Not only are the contents unlucky, they’re also really strange.

“Meet coa.r.s.e skin—”

“No one would want to meet that, right?”

Greta’s expression is all tense too.

The sounds keep on coming as they clear up, and it sounds like two travelers. Unlike last time, this time the kotsuchizoku aren’t just reciting poetry to themselves, receiving the conversation nearby instead.

“Meet coa.r.s.e skin—meet coa.r.s.e skin—”

“But Dacascos, can this folk remedy really heal coa.r.s.e skin? I feel the reason behind it should be this item from the Quin’s Invention.”

The Poison Lady and Greta can’t help but join in their conversation,

“The Quin’s Inventions!?”

“Even if you meet coa.r.s.e skin, it can’t be healed, y’know!?”

“Wait a sec, you kamaitachi[4] over there! No, I mean, you two!”

Seeing Gwendal barge in and squeeze in between the two of them, the girls are a little miffed. This is a late night experiment limited to girls only, it’s rather clueless for a man to run in here at a time like this. Even though Lord von Voltaire is a little scare, he continues anyway,

“That’s not what’s you should be focusing on right now!”

“Because this bone piece mentioned the Quin’s Inventions, y’know!? That must be something a man made! It must be a man!”

“Really, it doesn’t matter if it’s the Quin or the Niuq![5] Didn’t you hear that? Just now, from this piece of bone, I really heard the word ‘Dacascos’!”

If the person he’s talking to was his subordinate, he would definitely have grabbed their chest and yelled, “You useless thing!” But that person now is Anissina, so he really can’t do something so terrifying.

“Dacascos is Günter’s subordinate, if we heard his name, that means this bone piece is receiving a conversation between the search team members! There could be other important intel, listen carefully, the two of you!”

And so the three of them stand in a line in front of ‘BS-kun, Present!’, perking up their ears and listening intently to the conversation.

“Ah, Captain! It seems to be slightly better, the red swelling is slowly fading!”

“Really? But rather than the tooth fairy’s blessing, I think it’s more likely because of that cold joke just now.”

Tooth fairy? The three eavesdropping on the conversation exchange glances. From the way Dacascos calls him ‘Captain’, the person talking to him should be Sizemore. To think that burly Master of the Seas is actually a devotee of the tooth fairy.

“You misunderstood, that wasn’t a cold joke. Thank goodness we believe in the tooth fairies, and pray so devoutly—Heal the Captain’s coa.r.s.e skin—”

“But it’s so rare for us to come looking for the other search times, and yet we haven’t found a trace of them at all. The way this is going, I bet we won’t have any results by nightfall. Why don’t we just end the mission here, isn’t it better to return to His Majesty’s side?”

“That’s right—Although there’s His Excellency Wolfram and His Excellency Conrad, as well as that Grantz with him, it’s still better to have an extra pair of hands.”

“Mn.”

That means Wolfram has successfully rendezvoused with them—the oldest son heaves a sigh of relief, thinking, ‘Thank goodness.’

But how did Conrad end up operating together with His Majesty as though it’s only natural? No, because that little brother couldn’t possibly betray His Majesty for real, so it’s understandable that he would support the monarch secretly. Judging from his position, though, he should be a member of Dai s.h.i.+maron, is it really okay for him to join the Maou’s forces now?

“His Excellency Conrad has to protect that king called Saralegui at the same time, too, the poor thing. I think it wouldn’t be enough even if he had three heads and six arms.”

“Hahaha, where would he get so many arms—”

I see, that’s how it is.

The king of s.h.i.+n Makoku and the boy king of Shou s.h.i.+maron have the same interests right now, so as the amba.s.sador of Dai s.h.i.+maron, he has to protect both of them at the same time.

Gwendal hmphs with displeasure, while Anissina tsks discontentedly as well. Greta is grinning from ear to eat, because it’s been a long time since she heard her favorite Lord Weller’s name.

“But that person called Hazel seems rather reliable.”

“Oh~~ You mean Venera? That’s true.”

“On the surface she looks like she’s from the same generation as my mother, but she’s sprightly for her age, not only are her movements agile, she’s decisive when they stumble into incidents as well. As expected of the leader who led all those slaves to oppose the Seisakoku emperor, she’s really worthy of respect~~”

Thank goodness that Dacascos is here, seeing as he’s so fond of narrating the current situation.

Deducing from their conversation, His Majesty Yuuri should now be moving with the forces opposing the emperor of Seisakoku, looks like he interfered into something bothersome again. Gwendal mutters in a low voice, “That’s a regular occurance.”

“By the way— Gwendal, what are those pajamas you’re wearing?”

Lord von Voltaire, sighing with his fingers on his brow, only remembers what he’s wearing when Anissina mentions it.

On top of the long pale yellow nightgown, there are even five fried egg b.u.t.tons. The indoor slippers he’s wearing are pale pink bunnies with eyes and ears sewn on. He seems to have gone to bed early, because there’s even a nightcap with ta.s.sels on his head.

The biggest problem isn’t his cute pajamas.

“There’s even an animal in your stomach!”

His Excellency Lord von Voltaire Gwendal’s nightgown has a pouch, and a little animal pokes its head out from inside. Those long ears, matched with those big brown eyes, are really very cute. When its gazes meet with Greta’s and Anissina’s, it ducks back into the pouch bashfully.

Has this man finally started rearing marsupials?

“Mn, this? This is a possum, Hide-in-Tummy Baby… No no no, I was worried it was unhealthy to sleep with the bed as cold as it is, so I rear it to stay warm.”

“But it’s so rare, and so cute—”

Greta and the baby possum stare at each other, and it’s love at first sight for her. Although she’s tends to prefer rare animals, she also like cute ones.

“These pajamas with a pouch are also really cute.”

“Do you think so? Then after a few days I’ll make one set for you to put on your dolls.”

“Hidey’s parents aren’t suspicious diplomats, are they?”

“It’s called Hide-in-Tummy Baby! It’s an orphan, abandoned by its parents.”

Only the baby possum’s ears and eyes are poking out. Since it was simply too cute, Greta can’t help but cheer out loud.

Watching them, Anissina leaves the receptor with a smile, turning around to investigate doc.u.ments about the habits of marsupials and whether or not they’re poisonous. Gwendal also reaches his slender long finger into his pouch, rubbing Hide-in-Tummy Baby’s back.

Just then, they hear a terrifying fact. Dacascos’ one line freezes the air in the room in an instant.

“But I really got a shock, seeing Gurrier show up on the enemy side—”

“What did he say?”

The truth is, Gwendal didn’t plan to speak.

Be it as a warrior or an administrator, Lord von Voltaire could face an emergency at any time. People in high positions must maintain their composure, and must never let their political opponents find any weak spots. Even he regards himself as good at controlling his emotions.

He doesn’t realize that he spoke, but the people beside him understand why he would put his confusion to words.

Because Dacascos’ words are just that surprising.

“I really don’t understand how it turned out that way, I thought Gurrier would never turn traitor.”

“Mn, and he’s even holding His Eminence hostage. A scene like that is too much even for a man like me, a veteran trained on the sea.”

“Gwendal, where are you going in the middle of the night?”

Anissina doesn’t just watch and let Lord von Voltaire leave the room after hearing that conversation.

“I want to set sail to search for His Majesty Yuuri.”

“Didn’t you send out search s.h.i.+ps a few days ago?”

“The situation now has changed, I want to increase the manpower. I plan on taking a high-speed boat myself and catching up with the team we sent earlier.”

“Wolfram and Günter have already gone along, and now you want to go too?”

“Anissina, you should understand what this situation is, right!?”

Gwendal turns around, gripping his fists agitatedly. The possum, frightened by his tone, quickly jumps out of the pouch and escapes to a corner of the room.

“It looks like Conrad is by His Majesty’s side, well, that’s okay, I could even say that’s good news. But once we heard that His Eminence has been taken hostage, and one of country’s finest soldiers Gurrier has gone to the enemy side, that’s not a normal situation anymore. It counts as an emergency, so it’s only natural to send more forces there!”

“I’m not berating your judgment.”

Lady von Karbelnikoff leaves the receptor, drinking her cold black tea calmly,

“I’m asking about this country. If both Lord von Christ and yourself are away, who’s to protect this country? Don’t tell me you want to ask the Bielefeld bunch? Or that Stoffel you hate the most?”

“Don’t joke with that!”

Her words bring back nightmarish memories, and Gwendal’s frown deepens. In order to cut down that man’s position, he put so much time and effort into it, he sacrificed so much. That is the person Gwendal would die rather than admit he’s related to.

“Then what do you plan to do? His Majesty left a heavy responsibility on your shoulders.”

“I-in that case…”

He grabs the black tea from the experiment table and takes a drink without thinking whose cup that is, and the stone that seemed to be stuck in his throat loosens considerably.

“I-I’ll hand it to you.”

“Me?”

Lady von Karbelnikoff raises her eyebrows slightly, tilting her head and swinging her flaming red hair,

“Our clan is only good with business, and I personally am only interested in majutsu and poison studies and literature and increasing women’s social standing and increasing the quality of daily life and martial arts fighting and observing Lord von Voltaire, yet you want to trust the country to me?”

“That’s right.”

“I really don’t understand, I know what my abilities are, but I still didn’t expect you to make such a decision.”

“I trust in your abilities.”

Anissina tilts her head again as she muses, tapping the kettle of poison lightly with her fingernail, trimmed short for her experiments, as though hastening Gwendal to continue.

“I trust in your love and loyalty towards s.h.i.+n Makoku.”

After a long, silent contemplation, Her Excellency Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina finally nods,

“Alright.”

“Thank you very much.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

Lord von Voltaire has already walked briskly out of the room, without hearing her out. Left alone in the experiment lab, an excitement she hasn’t felt these past few years rises in Anissina’s chest, and she relaxes her tightly-crossed fingers.

The new product, ‘BS-kun, Present!’ continues to receive bone-statics, but there’s no one left listening in this room.

“That’s strange—Captain, where on earth did we come from, and where are we going?”

“Oh, that’s a very philosophical question. I didn’t expect you to be this pretentious.”

“You’re misunderstanding, it’s not what you think. See, the sky is already dark, we can’t see our targets regardless of whether we want to move forward or trace our steps back.”

“…Are we lost? Does this mean we’re lost in the desert!?”

If you’re lost in the desert, all you have to do is look up and find the right direction. Anissina accidentally overhears their conversation as she’s flipping through a gentleman’s manual, and murmurs to herself, “Men of the sea couldn’t possibly not know that!”

Even if you lose your way on the sea or in the desert, it’ll be fine as long as you raise you head and look at the sky. The stars s.h.i.+ning down on everyone will definitely have a fixed position, emitting a fixed light.

Because the friend that she liked, used to say that often.

Not long later, she glances towards the furry little animal curled up in the corner of the room near the window, and immediately walks to it and picks the baby possum up. After examining its stomach, she smiles in satisfaction!

“Oh dear oh dear, the future sure is exciting.”

It’s female.

Lord von Voltaire Gwendal prepares everything at an unprecedented speed and jumps onto the boat headed for the port. During this season, it may be faster to go down the river currents than riding a horse.

It’s only halfway through the journey that he realizes he’s gripping a Happy-Happy Bone Puzzle piece in his hand tightly.

“If I can use this thing properly, it should become a somewhat convenient means of communication.”

Regrettably the bone-statics seem to work only at specific times and places, and he won’t get anything at all if he’s unlucky. That feeling is like a broadcast show from far away that you can only hear in the middle of the night.

Gwendal puts the bone piece in his pocket, and only then does he jump in shock—To think he actually forgot to change out of his pajamas.

But the next second he discovers another terrifying fact, and can’t help but hold his head in vexation. He’s always been calm and steady, but now he can’t help but yell out loud, and even wants to jump into the river.

The living thing in his pajama pouch isn’t an abandoned animal with doleful eyes, but a human girl.

c.r.a.p! The soldiers had really strange expressions just now when he was boarding the boat, could this be the reason why? Most of the soldiers don’t dare to look directly, there are even some who were about to speak then stopped. If Greta was hiding in the pouch then, it’s no wonder his subordinates acted so strangely.

Although many of the young soldiers were yelling in their hearts, “This is too farfetched, isn’t it!?”, the only one who seemed completely oblivious to it was Gwendal. Because he always mistook the heavy feeling in his stomach for the possum, Hide-in-Tummy Baby.

The girl crawls out of his pouch and crouches in front of him, so by now it won’t help even if you were to say ‘there’s way too big a difference in the weight’.

Gwendal sags his shoulders dejectedly,

“Greta… Why are you here?”

“Greta is really worried about everyone too!”

“So you’re using your skills as Trap Lady?”

“I may be the Trap Lady, but this is what Gisela taught me.”

“Gisela taught you how to stowaway?”

But openly entering an adult’s pouch and then boarding the boat without a worry while everyone is aware, isn’t really called stowing away, is it? However, Greta explains as she puts on her shoes,

“Not that, I meant switching with stone weights.”

“What?”

“Switching with stone weights! Apparently a long time ago in a warzone, there would be many dangerous traps buried underground. Your leg would be clamped horribly once you step on it, so you must light~~ switch with things of the same weight to escape.”

So it’s trap dismantlement.

“That’s what Gisela told me, she said she tried quite a few times too. The secret in it is to put the same weight’s worth in mud or stones, and it’s a job that puts your life on the line. This story’s really awesome, right?”

“I think little children shouldn’t know things like that… Anyway you got me.”

“Yayy—Can Greta become a worthy Demon Sergeant--?”

“Mn, you can definitely become a worthy Demon Sergeant… Wait, a worthy Demon Sergeant? Greta wants to become a sergeant when you grow up?”

And a Demon Sergeant, too…

“That’s right, recently Yuuri wanted me to reconsider my future, he said I can be whatever I want, but the only thing is I must give up becoming Poison Lady. So I was thinking, it should be pretty nice to become a Demon Sergeant—”

Faced with the girl who has already decided her future goal at ten years old, all the blood drains out of Gwendal’s face.

“I-isn’t there anything else you want to become? Such as a bride, or a princess etcetera.”

“Anissina once said, only ‘weak’ men like Gurrier…”

Greta doesn’t continue, feeling as though it’s best not to mention Josak. That isn’t a problem children can interfere with— The young girl who has experienced cruel things, stops talking as soon as she understood that fact.

Instead, she reaches out her slender arms towards his tall figure. Gwendal bends down, so Greta’s arms can hook around his neck.

“Don’t worry, Gwendal, it’ll definitely be fine.”

“You’re right…”

The little boat carries the girl and the adult, heading down the shortest path to the navy port.

But there are also people in this world suffering from a lack of means of communication and transportation.

In a port hospital in a certain country, the nurses from the day and night s.h.i.+fts are exchanging their positions.

“Oh right oh right, be careful of the patient in room one oh eight.”

“Oh dear, wasn’t he in the regular ward yesterday? Did something happen?”

The lady nurse getting ready to go home puts her hand to her mouth and whispers,

“Apparently he pulled out his own hair, and then used that hair to knit things.”

“Goodness, then he really is slightly sick.”

“Exactly, when the head of department came to stop him, he even said, ‘As soon as I finish knitting this, I can go to a foreign country as I wis.h.!.+’”

“Eh, does he want to go vacationing overseas that badly?”

“Who knows? We tried to stop him quite a few times, too, there’s already a coin-sized round bald patch on his head, too. The patients around him all found him disgusting, that’s why we moved him to the muscle ward.”

“I see.”

The young male therapist taking the night s.h.i.+ft is just flexing his biceps, it’s as though they can hear the sound of muscles vibrating.

“If he does anything dangerous, the muscle therapist would stop him with his body, huh?”

“Of course, leave everything to the muscle therapist!”

The therapist winks, patting his thick arm bound in leather belts. As expected, he puts one’s heart to ease.

“Besides, wasn’t that person transported here directly by boat because he used up all his stamina?”

“Exactly, huh.”

“Then he must be some stowaway, who was chased out in this roundabout way after he was discovered. But he looks out through the window and into the distance, he’s always muttering, ‘Today, His Majesty’s white pigeon would definitely…’, y’know.”

“Oh dear, who’s this His Majesty he’s talking about?”

The nurse who just ended her s.h.i.+ft lowers her voice,

“It must be his delusions!”

The night s.h.i.+ft muscle therapist grips his hands tightly, resting his chin on his hands,

“How scary~~!”

“That patient has always been hugging the pouch made from his own hair tightly, and keeps on waiting for a white pigeon that will never come.”

“Is that so… And he’s so pretty too, how simply pitiful.”

But their topic of concern immediately leaves the special patient, moving on to discussing where they’d go for their next vacation. “Oh yeah, speaking of overseas vacations, do you want to go to Hildyard next? I’m saving up money to ‘meet the king’, y’know!”

This is the story of the man, Lord von Christ Günter in a foreign port city.

Come, pigeon, fly here quickly!

Jump up↑ In Chinese it’s from 女王 (female king = queen) to 女玉,玉 meaning jade XDJump up↑ Apparently ‘Eh, it’s a tooth’ sounds like ‘coa.r.s.e skin’ in j.a.panese… orzJump up↑ Apparently it’s a line from Days of Our Lives, a long-running American soap. ( up↑ It’s a famous j.a.panese yokai, but I have no idea what the relevance is here… ( up↑ I don’t know how the h.e.l.l to translate this anymore, basically it’s女玉 vs玉女. Funnily, 玉女 (jade woman) makes more sense
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