Translator: Reflet

Editor: Weasalopes

「We pretty much ain't got nothin' more to do in terms of healing.」

　Whether it be from medical interview or Mio's palpations, the results gave Hiros.h.i.+ the confidence to declare Elena's state. After a week of healing in the hot springs, Hiros.h.i.+ and the others had returned, immediately finis.h.i.+ng Elena's examination.

「Right. Which means I no longer have any purpose in staying here.」

「Right.」

　Elena murmured dejectedly, and Mio nodded with a similar expression. Though they had been there only for a short time, she had grown quite fond of the soft-spoken girl.

「Well, I think it's up to Lay to decide.」

「Even so, I doubt that he could postpone things very much. Besides, since he instructed us to finish up the bathing and come back, that means that everything is ready for Aearis and I.」

「True…」

　Hiros.h.i.+ agreed with what Elena had said. Elena coming back meant that Aearis would also be returning to the palace.

「So how far should we tag along with y'all?」

「Not really sure myself. I think you would at least be meeting with Father……」

　Elena made a disturbed face as she said that. Hiros.h.i.+ and Mio had sour expressions. There was the simple fact that they weren't familiar with etiquette, so that would be a drag, but more troublesome than that:

「From everything I've heard, there doesn't seem to be any a.s.surance that we'll come out in one piece.」

「Yeah, I unfortunately can't deny that.」

　Mio's comment and Elena's reply demonstrated just how troublesome their situation was.

「If Father, Layotte, and the High Priest did their parts well, then at least on the surface, there shouldn't be anyone who condemns you as criminals.」

「However, even if you 'n Elle don't bring up any issues, we don't know that there aren't other ways to fabricate cases against us……」

「Though it's true that the monarchy allows plenty of special privileges, n.o.bles can't just go around and fabricate crimes and felonies. The administration of justice here isn't that rotten. To add further, as long as there is no clear sign of having affronted or slandered someone, you can't be convicted of lese majeste or defamation. I at least guarantee that.」

「On the flipside, if they come up with compelling evidence, we could be made criminals at any moment.」

「Yeah, cause it feels like that sorta bunch would at least perfect that. Besides, if they're liable to even practically make up defamation accusations, that in itself is scary.」

　Clearly getting that Hiros.h.i.+ and Mio did not trust the imperial court nor the government, Elena found herself sighing, unable to argue.

「It's quite vexing to be utterly powerless in this regard, despite all that you've done for me…」

　The fact that she roped these generous, life-saving people into a totally unrelated political war, unable to do anything to be of use to them…To Elena, who was possessed by a strong sense of duty, this reality was harsh in many ways.

「Well, either way, we're probably totally on the mastermind's radar, so it's not like we have any option other than to give it our all and jump into the fight.」

　As Elena was lamenting at her own powerlessness, Haruna had just returned with some tea, giving her words of console. Incidentally, this was at about the same time that Hiros.h.i.+ was discussing defamation.

「Mark's probably already been there since savin' Elle.」

「If anything, it would be weird for him not to be marked, right?」

　Even a.s.suming their ident.i.ty had been known fairly recently, it wouldn't be odd if their very existence was detected from when they had struck down the piaranocks. The only reason why their opponent had not acted was probably because it was unclear as to whether Aearis was alive or dead, and they had feared bringing unnecessary trouble upon themselves.

　In actuality, just like the case this time, it was possible to deduce that their opponent had laid traps in the event that they were saved by unbelievably good luck. The skink lizard's tail had told them as much. The only potential flaw in their planning was that they hadn't envisioned Hiros.h.i.+ and Haruna being high-cla.s.s enough to break through all the traps they had encountered.

「Anyhoo, the biggest problem right now…」

「Sensei, this would be fatal in your case.」

「Heck, I don't even want Hiros.h.i.+ to go to any public parties. It would suck if something similar were to happen to the time when we saved Elle-chan.」

「There's that too… But even before all that gynophobia business, stuff like personal connections, bargaining… I can't do nothin' in regards to those things.」

　On top of his helpless fear of women, Hiros.h.i.+ was also no good at interpersonal relations.h.i.+ps. Even if he were to engage with only males, being forced to bear the brunt of negotiations, he wouldn't know what kinds of promises he'd be forced to make.

「That's where I think Tatsuya and I will have to do our best. Makoto-san states her opinion all the time, so it doesn't seem like she'd be suited for the kind of situation where you need to put on airs, and then with Mio-chan, before we even address her personality or the way she speaks, her age just isn't going to cut it.」

「I'd probably just be treated like an extra. So I expect a lot from Haru's beauty and Tatsu's handsome aura.」

「Although it's not like I have confidence in that field……」

　Judging solely from physical characteristics, it was true that Haruna had a seriously attractive body to males, but to the astonishment of many, she had no further skill in that area. There was of course the fact that she dressed modestly, but the overlying cause was probably that she was inclined to talk about food. She ate as much as the average person, but that was exactly why she had an uncanny pa.s.sion for cuisine.

　On top of that, Haruna never based any of her actions off of how she thought men might view her. Of course, since she did have a firm sense of shame for her gender, she wouldn't do anything reckless either, but since she had no intention of being popular with males, she did nothing that would be seen by most females as flirting, or appealing to men. This was probably one of the main reasons why Layotte felt that she was lacking in the femininity department.

「Actually, I think it would be better for you to try and hang around young ladies who are upright in all they do. After all, anyone who gets bewitched by the glamor of a girl and her outfits will just get in the way in this situation.」

「Umm, is it me, or is someone demanding something ridiculously difficult from me？」

「It wouldn't be difficult for someone like you.」

　Haruna found herself smiling wryly at Elena and her stamp of approval.

「Well, we can leave the negotiating to Tatsuysan, right？」

「In a sense, Tatsu is pretty specialized in that area.」

　Tatsuya, who had worked in the engineering business in j.a.pan, knew all about how to ease his clients' unreasonable requests into the realm of possibility. It was all in a day's work for him to push back at unreasonable demands with his own unreasonable demands, so in the case this time, it was the perfect chance to show just how much of a wiz he was with knowledge.

　And then there was Mio, who should normally be trying the hardest out of all them. Appearance-wise, age-wise, and even personality-wise, she didn't even have what it takes to socialize with a tanuki. She was more like a thief that specialized in treasure hunting, possibly an even more obvious target than Hiros.h.i.+.

「At any rate, it's dependent on our next agenda, so there isn't any point deciding all the particulars right now.」

「Yup. Just gotta wing it.」

　As they were discussing those things, a bell rang, signalling the presence of two visitors they knew very well.

「And we got another "speak of the devil" moment here.」

「So for now, I guess we can't just be all nonchalant like we've always been…」

「If anything, we've been TOO nonchalant till now.」

　A wry smile escaped Hiros.h.i.+ and Haruna's faces at Mio's interjection. Needless to say, they knew full well.

「Well, the whole case is at its climax. May as well put some backbone into finis.h.i.+n' it.」

「Backbone！」

　Reaffirming their resolve, they all headed down into the reception room. The biggest story thus far in Farlane began to accelerate toward the end faster and faster, little by little.

「Owowowow！」

　Haruna's screaming could be heard from the guest fitting room in Wulls Castle.

「My ribs！ MY RIBS！！」

「It is befitting of a lady to be prudent. Please, do show some restraint.」

「D-Don't be ridiculous！」

　Her shoulders kicked, the corset was squeezed over her hips to the point where her ribs were groaning in protest. Haruna strained to revolt as her breath grew fainter and fainter. Makoto had already given up the prospect of complaining, with faraway eyes that looked like dead fish. Meanwhile, Mio was looking at them like it wasn't her problem. After all:

「This child-size corset is quite easy to get into……」

　This was because Mio had things easy with the soft children's corset.

　As Mio didn't even have enough muscle in her body to be considered healthy, she didn't have much of a waist to be constricted by the normal corset. The thickness of her hips was under the height requirement, and her height hadn't even reached that of an average child, so there was never any chance of any adult corsets fitting her. Looking at her overall appearance, although she had indeed left the toddler stage, even a j.a.panese person could not deny how bad her growth was. It would be a lot more effective to fill her with padding to create protrusions, rather than constrict her in a corset.

　Makoto was the same in the protrusion department, or lack thereof. Though she had a fairly well-shaped waist, it was a bit thicker than the ideal shape, and even wearing splendid clothes, it still looked like she could use some padding despite her body's constriction. Now, when it came to Haruna, her physical appearance and body type would always be ideal, so the sight of someone like her with all of her a.s.sets being forcibly stuffed into this was just disastrous.

　Furthermore, this shouldn't even have to be said, but Haruna and Makoto had waists far thinner than the majority of waists in the world. In Haruna's case, for example, even without a corset around her, her thin waist was in the perfect, precarious balance where it was one step away from being sickening to look at, had it grown any thicker. Honestly, they didn't have to go to all this trouble to bind her naturally beautiful silhouette, but perhaps it was best to just accept it as the difference between common sense and aesthetic sense.

「T-This is just temporary sewing. Was there really a, need to bind it so tight……？」

「This is precisely because it is temporary.」

　Haruna was about ready to become teary eyed at this unapproachable clothing expert. Maybe not for Hiros.h.i.+, but in her case, it was rare for Haruna to be trapped in this sort of predicament. However, neither of them exactly had enough willpower left to convey their feelings about this. After all:

「We already get this strained in the hip area, and now there's this freakin' false bottom……」

「I really should have gotten yours, Haru……」

　She said this because in order to make her dress line as exaggerated as possible, they had shoved a staggering amount of padding into her chest area. The term "exaggeration" was truly acceptable for how far they went.

　Still, Mio was in a much better position, with there still being some wiggle room in her shoulder area or flank area. With Makoto and her dress open at the breast, she hadn't even been given an option in the first place. After all, there was not enough flesh to cover her shoulder and flank areas, so she couldn't fool anyone.