Chapter 58 (1/2)

Carla

“I decline.”

Her voice was beautiful, it was the first time Ria heard Carla’s voice.

Since the voice was too beautiful, Ria missed hearing the contents.

“Eh?”

“Firstly, there’s no reason to fight with you.”

Although Carla’s voice was dignified, it was gentle at the same time. Her voice gave one a sense of security just by hearing it.

“And secondly…”

She looked around her surroundings. The crowd of people were puzzled at the sudden situation.

“I cannot fight you in this area.”

Of course, she agreed.

If Ria went all out here, unexpected things might happen.

“Therefore—”

Carla continued to speak.

“If you give a reason, as well as prepare a place to fight, I will be your opponent.”

Without neither malice nor fighting spirit, she agreed to fight.

Spontaneously agreeing to take on Ria, she said she would fight.

This was the first time she’d had an opponent like that.

“Thanks.”

Ria, who put her mask back on, went back into the crowd of people.

She rejoined with her comrades and resumed heading to the bath, as though nothing happened.

Seeing what happened, the bodyguards resumed moving before long together with making some noise.

“Carla-sama, is that really alright?”

Her female aide asked her. Carla continued looking forward.

“If you want, I could arrest her now—”

“That is impossible.”

Carla’s words were frank.

“She didn’t do that because she resented me.”

She was simply speaking the truth.

“Moreover, I have a hunch.”

“A hunch?”

Carla didn’t usually use such vague words.

“Yes, a hunch.”

Carla spoke with steady eyes, not wavering in the least.

“I think that person is the one I’ve waited for for a long time.”

Inside the crowd, there was a girl.

Amongst her noisy surroundings, she was dressed as a man nodding her head.

She was Ferna, part of the leaders.h.i.+p of [Black Cat], the self-styled secret society that everyone knew of. Her curiosity was aroused by the situation.

“This has become a bit interesting.”

“Really now?”

Turning around in a panic, she saw a face that she recognized.

“Ah, Halt-san…”

“Long time no see, Ferna-san.”

Introducing himself as a peddler, this man with black hair and eyes was Halt. Even though Ferna had met him many times over the course of working with the company, she hadn’t been able to grasp his true colors.

However, he wasn’t a bad man. His eyes were calm and he gave off a dignified air that exceeded a common merchant’s.

“Carla the Dragonslayer and Princess Ryuke Riana, the one who defeated the labyrinth huh?”

“Eh!?”

She knew about the former. However, she only knew of the latter’s name. Identify didn’t work, so she had thought they weren’t an ordinary person though.

“There’s no mistaking it. She perfectly matches to the description given by my subordinates.”

“That’s… really…?”

This young man said something that even Black Cat’s leaders.h.i.+p didn’t know about. For things concerning this continent, he might have an information network that exceeds Black Cat’s.

He says that he’s just a peddler that travels alone by wagon, but he just said that he had subordinates.

(Hasn’t he done business with Black Cat too?)

Though Ferna thought that, she didn’t voice it out loud. That man had the elegance of some country’s leader.

“Then, if those two really do fight…”

“I wouldn’t miss it!”

Ferna strongly agreed with Halt’s statement.

“If you’re also going, how about going together with me?”

“With Halt-san?”

“Yeah, if it’s Ferna-san, you could protect me from thing with your fire magic right?”

It wasn’t that Halt wasn’t confident in his physical strength, it was more that Ferna was known for repeatedly using her large-scale magic.

He wanted to have a bodyguard to join spectators.

“That’s fine. I’ve received help from Halt-san before.”

“Well then, let me know where you’re staying.”

The two exchanged contact information and separated. Ferna continued to think about Halt.

She thought about Halt, the peddler.

She thought about Ars Gahalt, the demon king.

She thought about Arisugawa Halt, the ex-hero.

The meeting of those two people, and what brought them to this continent.

The demon king that didn’t have any confidence in his own strength, she could only rack her brains.

Being able to protect yourself was the most important thing.

Moonlight faintly lit the dark night.

Ria sat at the window frame of her room, wearing a single layer of thin silk. Even so, her katana was still within arm’s reach.

“Hey… you not going to sleep?”

s.h.i.+zuna whispered from within the bed.

“Yeah, go ahead and sleep first.”

Ria answered flatly. It wasn’t her intention to invite her over, but s.h.i.+zuna felt sad for some reason.

After that, Ria went to the bathroom. She was thinking about something while submersing herself in the bath.

When they returned to the inn, Carlos brought back the queen’s reply saying that they would have an audience the next day.

Although they sent a message beforehand when they were still in the ogre village, she didn’t expect that they would have an audience so soon. That woman seemed to be quite nimble.

Ria didn’t hate people that worked so quickly. Carlos made another trip, deciding on the time.

Ria prepared her clothes, as well as remaking the group’s clothing.

When Ria asked s.h.i.+zuna’s impressions of her outfit, she thought that it was like a beautiful woman dressing herself in black themed male clothing.

The next day, when she left for the audience, she was limited in which comrades she could bring with her.

As a matter of course, Ria brought Carlos the knight.

Gig came as the ogre representative, with Maal as the beastkin representative.

She also brought Irina, who was a dragon, for five people in all.

Serge, Lulu, and s.h.i.+zuna were completely commoners and would have to wait in the anteroom.

Like this, s.h.i.+zuna felt the difference between her world and Ria’s.

“What are you thinking about?”

This wasn’t the first time s.h.i.+zuna asked that, but she didn’t antic.i.p.ate her response.