Episode 196
"Take care... on your way."
"......"
As I was about to leave the house to visit Isollet's place, Arianne and Alice saw me off at the front door.
"Alice, why so quiet?"
When Alice only bowed her head without saying anything, I tilted my head and asked, and she spoke in a trembling voice while keeping her head lowered.
"Master... please take care... on your way."
It seems she tried to resist the influence of the 'Curse of Subjugation' I placed on her... It was impossible, of course, but it was quite unexpected that she held on with sheer mental strength alone.
"Both of you, take good care of the house."
""...Yes.""
Leaving Alice and Arianne behind, I stepped out the front door to be greeted by bright morning sunlight.
"Tch."
In the past, I would have at least felt warmth from it, but now it only feels like the gaze of the Demon God, putting me in a bad mood.
"Hey, Frey."
So I was hurrying toward the carriage that was waiting for me when Irina, who had been following beside me, spoke up hesitantly.
"That girl, Alice. I think you need to be careful of her."
"Hm?"
"...Just now, she tried to attack you."
Hearing those words, I answered with a smile.
"I saw her flinching too. Naturally, I was prepared. Besides, she can't attack me in the first place because of the 'Curse of Subjugation'."
"Then, did you also know that I've been suppressing her with magic all this time?"
"...What?"
I had been trying to reassure her with a relaxed demeanor, but upon hearing Irina's serious words, I had no choice but to drop my composed expression.
"She's among the highest-grade assassins of the Moonlight Family. She may be weaker than Serena, but she's not an opponent you can ever ignore..."
"Are you okay? Irina?"
I know that Irina's mana circuits haven't fully recovered, yet she used such continuous magic without even the help of a scroll. I'm worried about her condition.
"Don't do that from now on. I'll handle it myself."
"...Ah, understood."
So I took her shoulder and gave her that instruction, and Irina lowered her eyes and answered.
- Twitch, twitch
"But... when will these ears disappear?"
At the same time, the twitching ears on her head looked extremely cute, so I reached out and stroked them while asking.
"Heeek! Ah, ugh... that's..."
Startled, Irina trembled all over and started speaking incoherently.
"W-well, that's strange? Why won't these go away... eeek!?"
"What's wrong? Why?"
"N-no... maybe it's a side effect, but they're a bit sensitive..."
I was looking at her with a puzzled expression when Irina, whose face had turned bright red, suddenly stopped speaking and began to ponder.
"Um, Frey."
After a moment, she spoke while fidgeting with her fingers.
"I-if you like them... you can touch them as much as you want. I-I made them to show you in the first place."
Hearing those words, I nodded and continued to touch the soft, fluffy ears, and Irina began to tremble.
"Um."
After touching her ears for a while, Lulu, who had been standing quietly beside me, spoke to Irina in a low voice.
"Me too... please make ears for me."
"What? No. This isn't something just anyone can do."
"B-but...!"
"If I say no, then it's no."
However, Lulu, who was firmly rejected by Irina.
"Do you know how hard I worked to discover this identity? With this, I can somehow win against Klana..."
"Wow! It looks even more amazing when viewed with the Magic Eye!"
".....!?"
Suddenly opening her Magic Eye, she started raising her voice while staring at Irina's ears.
"The mana structure is really peculiar! It's like... well... Transmutation?"
"What?"
"The manifestation that appears when performing transmutation... ugh!?"
But for some reason, Lulu fell silent before long, and Irina, who had been glaring at her piercingly, broke into a cold sweat and started talking.
"Yes, yes, that's right. I made it by applying transmutation. You're so smart?"
"Transmutation... ugh... puppy... you..."
"Hm? What did you say, Lulu?"
"..........."
When Irina asked again, Lulu, who was about to say something, fell into silence, and so the brief commotion seemed to come to an end.
".....Hm?"
Behind me and Irina as we started heading toward the carriage, Lulu, who had been glaring at her with a very dissatisfied expression while exhaling, suddenly tilted her head.
"T-this is strange?"
After saying that, she looked at Irina for a long while.
"The mana arrangement is completely different from ordinary people..."
She began muttering to herself in a low voice.
"Um, everyone? Aren't you going?"
"Let's go, Lulu."
"Ah, yes!"
When I and the coachman urged her, she came to her senses and started approaching the carriage.
"Lulu, transmutation isn't something anyone can do. Ordinary people absolutely can't do it, you know?"
"...Grrr."
Thus, I boarded the carriage while trying my best to ignore the strange tension between Irina and Lulu that had started unfolding behind me.
"I wonder if Isollet noona is safe..."
Muttering that, I was about to order the coachman to depart when I frowned.
"...What is this?"
I can feel someone's gaze.
.
A few hours before Frey left the mansion.
"What is this... what the hell..."
A massive information guild located in a back alley.
"No way, no way really..."
Rosewin, who had holed up in her room in the basement of that place.
"He's not coming...?"
Muttered with a shameful expression.
"...Tch."
Although her personality wasn't particularly good, she was quite confident in her skills, and she had personally carried out Frey's request.
It had truly been a long time since she had both pleased the Order, had conversations with the Pope, and even secretly infiltrated the Order at night.
Thanks to that, she was able to obtain quite a lot of results.
The fact that despite 'the Order's youngest Holy Knight' being so famous, very few people had actually witnessed him.
The fact that the Order's executives, who supposedly met the Holy Knight quite often, evaded answering for some reason.
And the fact that the faint sun mana she possessed had alerted her that something was lurking in the Order's basement.
Having obtained such high-quality information.
She thought that she could easily win back Frey's heart, who was "upset" with her for the first time, by showing him these things and acting a bit cute.
He must have been aiming for that too.
For Rosewin, who had assumed he had caused this incident because he wanted to receive even a little affection from her, at least that much was true.
"Grr..."
So, while she was annoyed about why she had to be swayed by Frey, she was secretly expecting him to come visit again.
But he hadn't shown his face for a whole week.
Even though she had carefully written and sent a letter a few days ago stating that she had completed the request.
"......."
Thanks to that, Rosewin's current state was the worst.
Her pride was already cracked just from being so worked up over Frey, whom she hadn't cared about one way or another until recently, and then getting the cold shoulder on top of that.
"Annoying... seriously..."
But going to find him herself would be completely destroying her own pride, so Rosewin, who had been grinding her teeth while holed up in her room.
- Knock knock knock!
"What, what is it?"
When someone knocked on her door, she asked in an agitated voice.
"Did Frey come? Right? Is that it?"
"......."
Then the female employee who opened the door and entered began to stare blankly at Rosewin.
"See, I knew it. If it's not here, where else would he go."
"Hah."
"It's impressive you held out for a week. So, where is he now? Is he waiting outside? Then first to the reception room..."
"That's not the news."
After a while, the female employee said that to Rosewin, who had been getting worked up on her own.
"You... no, the investigation result the young lady requested has come out."
She said in a calm tone.
"...Ah."
Rosewin, who had been dazed for a moment upon hearing those words, soon put on a composed expression and started asking.
"I-is that so? I see. Then report it."
"......"
"What could he be doing that he hasn't shown his face?"
Then, the female employee who had been silent slowly opened her mouth.
"He went to another place."
"Yes, I knew he would. Certainly... wait, what?"
When Rosewin made an expression of disbelief, the female employee, who let out a deep sigh, slowly continued the story.
"You know that 'Detective Agency' I mentioned before. He entrusted the request there a long time ago."
"...That's absurd. To that shabby place?"
"Yes. I confirmed it for certain."
"......."
Rosewin, who had been struck dumb for a moment upon hearing those words, soon made a flustered expression and started talking.
"I-I knew it. So that's why he didn't come?"
"Yes?"
"That sucker, of course. But he went there to get scammed. Haha."
"That place has had a good reputation lately..."
"I knew it. Whether he's stupid or naive..."
While the female employee looked dazed at those words.
"Anyway, he's a hopeless guy."
Rosewin, who had been muttering with an anxious expression, soon stood up from her seat and said.
"Since it's come to this, it can't be helped. I'll have to go find him myself soon."
"Go find him?"
"Yes. I can't just leave our VIP getting scammed at a place like that. Yes, yes. I have no choice but to go."
Ignoring the female employee who was making an absurd expression, Rosewin muttered that and started pacing around the room.
"I have no choice... that's why I'm going."
She stopped walking for a moment, then muttered with a dark expression.
"Hah..."
The female employee, who was looking at Rosewin while clutching her head and sighing, tilted her head when Rosewin looked up at her.
"Oh right, how is he? That wretched girl."
"Do you mean Lulu?"
"Yes, that girl whose insides are completely visible."
When Rosewin asked that, the female employee, who had been rummaging through her bosom for a moment.
"...Here."
Took out a photograph and placed it on the desk.
""........""
And the silence that began to flow in the room.
"Uh..."
Rosewin, who had been blankly staring at the photo showing Lulu biting Frey's ear and chewing, and Frey making a troubled expression while posing as if trying to pull away from her.
- Crunch...!
Unconsciously clenched her fist so tightly that blood couldn't circulate.
"...What's wrong?"
When the female employee asked Rosewin in a low voice.
"N-nothing. Nothing at all."
Still clenching her fist tightly, Rosewin, who had been glaring piercingly at the photo.
"...I think I need to go find him right now."
Saying that, she began preparing to leave.
"Is he doing that on purpose? No... that's not it. He definitely has some scheme..."
"Hah..."
Meanwhile, the female employee, who had sighed for who knows how many times, headed quietly toward the door and took out a cigarette from her pocket.
"Hey! Don't smoke in here!"
"...I'll smoke it outside."
When Rosewin rebuked her, she answered in a dark voice.
"Why is my assignment always like this... Hana and Byeol are both fine, so why..."
Muttering in a low voice, she left the room.
"Hmph."
Rosewin, who was quietly packing her things in the now empty room.
"...By any chance, isn't he preparing a surprise event?"
Suddenly muttered that.
"Heheh... if that's really the case..."
With a peculiar expression, she left the room.
"...A huge success."
After a while, one carriage departed from the back alley.