Chapter 64 (1/2)

I woke up to a world of white.

Well, it was the inside of a white building.

This wasn’t my room at Leon’s estate, at least.

Lying in bed, I looked to the side, just in case, and confirmed it.

Leon wasn’t there. Neither was the chair.

A mood I couldn’t quite describe came over me.

First thing after waking up, my feelings and memories were steadily coming back to me. I didn’t know what happened after I blacked out, but Arc definitely got Palmira and me out of that place.

If that weren’t the case, there was no way I’d be waking up in a place like this. We had definitely been in a bad spot. Maybe I would never have opened my eyes again.

Thinking about it that way, this was still probably better.

But Leon wasn’t here. There wasn’t even a trace of him.

To tell you the truth, I don’t have the faintest idea what’s true and what’s not.

If you asked me whether Lucien was evil, I wouldn’t be able to say. If he is, then would sharing his goals make Leon evil too? I don’t know that either. And Arc, who seems to be against him, is he in the right? I’m drawing a total blank on that too.

What’s connected to what, and how is any of it related to me?

And, what should I do?

Right now, I don’t know a d.a.m.n thing.

Leon. d.a.m.n it, would it kill you to talk to me?

If he’s right, if he’s not mistaken, then wouldn’t it be fine to tell me? So why the h.e.l.l hasn’t he? Does he have a guilty conscience?

Well — it’s fine already, even if he’s not right. Even if he’s making a mistake. Even if he feels guilty.

So, Leon. Please.

Tell me — what’s going on with you?

–

–

“Hey, looks like you’re awake.”

Precisely because of what I was thinking about, the fact that it was Arc who opened the door to the room and called out to me left me immensely dissatisfied.

It must have shown perfectly on my face. His expression immediately collapsed in dejection.

“You don’t have to look that disappointed, do you…? I’ll apologize for the electric shock, so. Won’t you cheer up a bit?”

“Master, you did such a thing?”

Arc apologized, talking about something I didn’t really understand.

Before I could make sense of it, the familiar person who followed him inside fixed her glare on him.

Miss Patsy. She came too?

It was the Brellwandy Adventurers’ Guild clerk. Miss Patsy.

Hey wait, if both of them are here, who’s running the guild right now?

“For now, here.”

Miss Patsy came over to me, a simple white robe in her hands.

I wasn’t really following, but was she telling me to put it on? I raised the upper half of my body off the bed.

“Ah… — eh, what?”

The moment I lifted myself up, the blanket thrown over me slipped off, and it was only then that I realized.

I was naked. At least, I wasn’t wearing anything on top. I checked with my hands, but at least I managed to keep my underwear.

In a haste, Miss Patsy gently draped the robe over me.

As she did, Palmira entered the room holding a gla.s.s on a tray, and said, “It’s okay, I undressed you.” …No, that’s not what I meant.

“You could do with a bit more modesty, Chris… Here.”

Dissatisfied, I took the gla.s.s from the proffered tray. It was filled with ordinary water, and I gratefully drank it down.

“…Phew, thanks. Palmira, you’re okay too?”

“Yeah. You fainted, but after that, we were able to escape with Arc’s magic.”

“Speaking of which, ‘electric shock’? What was that all about?”

Hearing the word ‘fainted’ reminded me.

At that time, Arc had been casting a lightning spell at the same time as the teleportation. Which he then used on me. What the h.e.l.l did he do that for?

I looked at Arc.

No, that’s not the only thing. There’s a whole lot I have to ask this guy.

“Yeah. So the truth is, well. When your body is conscious, it’s practically impervious to all magic, right? That’s why I had you go to sleep with an electric shock before teleporting you. Alright, I knocked you out, but it was a pretty dangerous situation. If I hadn’t, I would’ve ended up escaping and leaving you behind by yourself.”

‘Well, I’m glad it all worked out.’ Arc smiled, saying something only he’d believe. I wasn’t terribly amused.

“Okay, wait just a second. My body is impervious to magic? Or — wait, why do you know something like that?”

Strange.

That was news, even to me. Why would he know about it?

“Ah, I see. Should I go over that, then…? Well, I wonder if it’s alright for you to hear this from me? I don’t know, but for now, why don’t we go to the dining room? Now that it’s come to this, I’d better have everyone know, I guess. I a.s.sume there are plenty of blanks to fill in, too.”

Speaking of increasingly unsettling things, Arc quickly left the room.

“Then, let’s get you changed.”

“Y–Yeah.”

Miss Patsy picked up the basket placed nearby and held it out to me. There were clothes inside. Not my dress, though. I wonder where it went.

–

–

“Ah…”

On the other side of the door, which apparently led to the dining room, I found a line of several familiar faces.

Arc, of course, and Regnum. Irene. Then, Aira. Regnum aside, even Irene and Aira are here? Why?

And Leon… wasn’t.

“Big Sister.”

The moment she laid eyes on me, Aira rose from her idle seat on a chair and dashed over to me.

She was wearing the maid uniform, but what about her duties at the mansion?

“Aira, why are you here?”

“I don’t really understand myself, but Miss Irene brought me here…”

Here I was, thinking there was some significance behind it, but to my surprise, Aira herself didn’t know the reason. What was Irene’s purpose in bringing her here?

She was sitting in a chair with a slightly huffy expression.

“Why are you here, Irene?”

“Because I live here.”

That came as quite a shock.

I’d figured out it was someone’s home on my walk over here. Though, of course, it would be a disservice to compare it to Leon’s mansion.

And this was within the walls of the capital. Well I’ll be d.a.m.ned, Irene. Maybe she was a member of the privileged cla.s.s.