Chapter 39: Magic Stone Princess – Last Part (2/2)
“Princess!”
Kahlua and the maid who were left behind rushed over in a panic to Meiya who was sitting on the floor.
Tears of fear had formed in her eyes.
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“Annoying! Annoying! Annoying! I definitely won’t forgive that woman!”
Meiya rode her airship for a bit more than a month to get back home.
However, her anger toward Snow did not settle at all.
She is the world-famous Meiya Dragoon.
The Dragon race were very prideful, but she was even more prideful.
Grumbling in her own bed, she scattered about in frustration while holding her pillow.
Sitting up, an evil face was reflected.
“I wonder how I should snatch away that revolver…… Should I make necessary preparations behind the scene and put pressure on the magic association and magic school? Or perhaps I should hire a first-rate thief to steal it, then…..”
While she was considering a few ideas, knocking sounds resounded.
A maid entered when she called out.
“Excuse me. A merchant is here claiming to have brought Lute, the one who made those magic tools. What should I do?”
“…. Sigh. Another one.”
Even though the increase in the number of merchants who visit her was caused by her own request for information and goods… there has been two merchants who intrude on her to try and swindle her in the past.
They brought a child slaves of fitting characteristics, claiming them to be the magic tool’s creator, Lute, and trying to wangle out a reward money.
However, since the children they brought couldn’t make an S&M or AK-47 when given magic liquid metal, they were seen through before long.
Meiya asked her childhood friend, the Dragonian Kingdom’s first prince, to throw both swindling merchants into jail on the account of attempted fraud.
Such a stupid trick wouldn’t work; it was a threat as such towards other merchants.
Yet this is already the third time.
Another fool who doesn’t learn has come.
“….. Since they’ve come all this way, I’ll meet them to distract myself. Bring them to the parlour.”
“As you wish.”
The maid bowed and returned to meet the merchant and his companions.
Prey for Meiya to relieve her stress on came at just the right time, and she stood up from her bed with a twisted smile on her face.
While Meiya was changing and fixing her appearance with the help of a maid, the merchant and his companions were made to wait in the parlour.
Only the merchant was sitting on the sofa. A blond girl and black-haired boy was standing behind him for some reason.
Meiya had two male servants holding long spears and following her from behind as she made an appearance in the parlour.
With a pompous attitude as if she were the queen, she sat down on the main sofa.
“It is nice to meet you, Meiya-sama. I am a slave dealer working for the Rano Slave House. It is to my understanding that Meiya-sama is currently showing interest in a certain magic tool. As a matter of fact, one of the slaves we are dealing with happens to be its creator, so I brought him over.”
The merchant introduced the black-haired boy standing behind him.
Needless to say, his name was Lute.
The blonde girl beside him was Chrisse Gate Vlad, a vampire of the Demon race.
The girl kept shifting her eyes with a frightened expression as she hid behind Lute.
Meiya’s eyes were captivated by that girl… by Chrisse.
The girl’s attire, hair, and so forth were all dirty from her long journey, but overall was still as lovely as a doll. It made Meiya want to keep her as a pet. Meiya unintentionally licked her lips.
And then, the black-haired child who claimed to be Lute spoke of the circumstances that led to his becoming a slave.
The S&W and AK-47 were taken away from him when he was deceived by some fake adventurers, and he was then sold as a slave. The proof of that is the mark of slavery tattooed onto his arm.
At present, he had been bought for Chrisse by her father and serves as her blood bag-cum-butler… and so his explanation went.
Meiya was impressed.
Their setting was detailed, and the story was told with such zealousness. A very realistic performance.
If this was the first time she heard such a story, she may have believed it.
Meiya recrossed her legs and slackened her lips in provocation.
“I see, I understand. If he really is Lute, then he should be able to answer any questions regarding the S&W and AK-47, right? If, for example, he’s a fake, then…”
The two men behind Meiya struck the floor with their spears threateningly.
Startled, Chrisse trembled like a small animal.
The black-haired boy agreed while covering her behind his back.
“That’s fine by me. I will answer any question.”
“Then it’s decided. The first…. do you know what the S&W and AK-47 are made of?”
“Magic liquid metal obtained from metal slimes.”
“Correct…”
“Tell me the name of the ammunition used by the S&W and AK-47.”
“9mm .38 Special rounds and 7.62mm x Russian shots.”
“Correct.”
Up to this point, he had simply answered according to the memo written by “Lute” on how to handle the magic tools.
メイヤは足を組み直す。
Meiya recrossed her legs again.
“Then, next, could you confirm the current conditions of the S&W and AK-47? Of course, if you are their creator, then it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Yes, that’s all right.”
The black-haired boy answered in no time.
”It seems he has quite the confidence to try and fool me,” Meiya muttered in her heart.
Meiya told a maid to bring the S&W and AK-47 from her workshop.
The S&W and AK-47 were placed on the table.
しかしこれからはメイヤを騙すためだけに、他の商人が持ち込んだ真っ赤な偽物。
However, this is the point where the other fakes who had tried to deceive Meiya met their downfall.
持ち主ならすぐに分かるはずだ。
The real thing would’ve immediately understood.
He, who is a fake, would probably just vaguely touch around and say that there were no problems.
At that time, Meiya would reveal that the thing in his hands was an imitation.
Imagining the bewildered expression he’ll have on his face then made her float an evil smile.
“Now then, it’s fine to not restrain yourself and pick them up.”
“Then please excuse me.”
The boy separated from Chrisse who was behind him, squat down beside the table, and picked up and analyzed the S&W and AK-47.
“…… These are fakes. The cylinder is firmly fixed in place, and the barrel’s rifling isn’t there. The AK is also off. It’s too light, and the trigger can’t be moved. The magazine, too, is stuck and can’t be taken off…… Uh, could it be that you don’t actually have the real S&W and AK-47?”
“……………………………………… huh?”
Meiya was speechless.
She felt it… her very soul was trembling.
“C, c, c, c, c, could it be… t, th, th, the real Lute-kamisama?”
Lute agreed while being startled by her barely chewed out stuttered words.
”Yes, that’s so, but…. is there a problem?”
“I’ve been wanting to meet you! Kami-sama!”
Meiya blew off the sofa with vigor and went on her knees at Lute’s feet.
Taking his hand, she kissed it over and over and over again, and finally, she even kissed his feet.
“Wha!? Pl, please stop it! It tickles!”
Apart from Lute who was showing his resistance, everyone else was frozen stiff, unable to react at this sudden turn of events.
Being deeply moved and excited, Meiya turned around to face the slave dealer with a flushed smile filled with delight.
“How much is Kamisama!? I’ll buy him at the asking price!”
”Uh, well… as we explained earlier, Lute is her… Chrisse-ojousan’s slave.”
“Oh, right, there was something like that!”
Meiya edged up to Chrisse and started negotiations.
“I beg you, Chrisse-san! Sell Kamisama to me! I’ll pay ten times the price you paid for him! No, I’ll pay 100 times the amount!”
However, even though ojou-sama was shaking fearfully, she strongly shook her head.
She wrote on her mini-blackboard and thrust it toward Meiya.
[It’s impossible for me to sell off Lute-oniichan… to sell off family. I don’t want to lose anyone anymore….]
“Ojou-sama… …”
Chrisse’s words struck Lute at his heart and deeply moved him.
He cleared his throat to change the mood, and started negotiations with Meiya.
“To be honest, we have a favor to ask of Meiya Dragoon-sama. For that reason, I would like to explain our circumstances. It may be a bit long, but… will that be fine?”
“In that case, by all means, stay at my house today! Moreover, it’s almost time for dinner, so allow me to arrange a meal! Ah, before that, you must be tired from your journey. Your garments also seem to be worn out. If it pleases you, would you like to take a bath to heal from the fatigue? I will also prepare a change of clothes!”
Her breathing rough, Meiya excitedly urged Lute with peremptory force.
It took all he had to simply say, “O.. ok. Thank you for the hospitality.”
Meiya handed over the promised reward to the merchant from the Rano Slave House and gleefully took Lute and Chrisse to her residence.