Chapter 4

The red room is a sort of gathering place, just as Hazel said.

Didnt I tell you before, the Seisakoku people believe that their gods power doesnt reach belowground. So we reversed its purpose, and use this place as somewhere to discuss matters. And if theres no necessity, the soldiers will never step in here. Because to them this is an ominous place. But to people against the emperor, this is the ultimate hiding spot.

As were listening to her experiences these past seventy years, a few shinzoku arrive, staying put once they find their shelter. Their outfits are all simple and tattered, wearing threadbare slippers and clothes on this cold land, shivering in the cold. Thankfully the temperature belowground is a lot warmer than on the surface, and theres also torchlight for illumination in the room, so it should be more comfortable than running around in the night.

Some of them bring in bags with a little simple food, and others bring rolls of low-quality paper. Maybe maps or some sort of blueprint.

Josak has his arms crossed over his chest, standing guard by the stone door, and scaring the newcomers into staggering back a few steps. But they dont attack us, giving me the impression that the slaves in Seisakoku are all rather well-tempered. I had the same feeling when we were on the boat, maybe its because theyre not violent by nature.

Whether thats a good point or a weak point, Im unable to conclude.

There are also amongst them some people who ran here out of curiosity to see the black-haired group, but they all backed away, nodding obediently once Hazel barks a loud order.

Seems like not only is Hazel senior in age, shes also the leader of this faction.

But after five more people enter the room, I cant help but offer her a suggestion. Because even I feel a little awkward.

UhmShould we introduce ourselves or something?

The gazes make me feel very uncomfortable. But thats no wonder, after all their leader brought in unfamiliar foreigners, anyone would find that suspicious. Besides even though they look worn and their clothes tattered, they are after all the mazoku envoy who were supposed to have talks with the emperor Yelshi. I dont know if anyone here knows the exact details, but just hearing a foreign language must be enough to make them feel uneasy.

Because the way we look must seem really suspicious to these people, right? Not only are our hair and eye colors completely different from them, were also speaking an unknown language.

Your Majesty is my guest, not some suspicious strangers. I planned on waiting for everyone to arrive before making introductions But to be honest, even I dont know how to explain this.

Maybe because shes getting up there in the years, the wrinkles in Hazels brow seem even deeper, her expression hesitant to speak.

Even if I know youre not the enemy, I dont have enough conditions to prove that youre on our side. After all, I cant even tell what your motive is, right?

Motive

Under the many golden gazes and Hazels red-brown eyes, Im suddenly at a loss for words.

There are many motives for this trip, but theyre too complicated to be explained at once, and its hard to determine whether the talks with the brothers, Saralegui and Yelshi, can progress any further. Besides that, even more importantly, not just Hazel, but all the citizens in this country dont even know theyre actually brothers!

Our reason for crossing the ocean, was to witness the restoration of bilateral ties between Seisakoku and Shou Shimaron. But it was always to witness a third party, with absolutely no plan to interfere with the discussions between the two countries.

Be it from Shin Makokus or Dai Shimarons point of view, Lord Wellers words are extremely neutral and impassive.

But some unforeseen circumstances interrupted the discussion, so we had no choice but to leave the Shou Shimaron king, Saralegui behind as we excused ourselves.

I see, there were unforeseen circumstances

Hazel touches her forehead with a cracked finger.

But you seem to have retreated under fairly dangerous circumstances, huh. Dont tell be you werent attending peacefully? Forget it, Im not suspecting your identities, just worried that you and the Shou Shimaron king arent here for something as simple as restoring relations, and have a more sinister motive. For example

Just then the stone door opens, and she glances towards it. It seems to be an old acquaintance of hers, just raising a hand in lieu of a greeting.

You may be searching for something extremely of use, and can be made into a weapon.

I grip my fist tightly, damp sweat breaking out across my palm.

Youre talking about the Box, arent you?

Because Your Majesty is the king of the mazoku, and you said so yourself that the dangerous Box was created by you guys, right? If so, it wouldnt be weird for Your Majesty to come retrieve it personally. At the very least you would know more about using it than an outsider who just happened to accidentally come to another world.

If only that was so.

I cant help but sigh inwardly, my voice becoming stiffer. Whod have thought that after cancelling the summit with Saralegui and Yelshi, I would have to confer with the local underground leaderHazel Graves, instead. But just this sort of scheming and testing each other out is already getting to be too much for me, I dont even have time to catch my breath.

My so-called scheming, is only to mumble senselessly and try to throw them off their game.

Whether you believe it or not, Ill just be honest with you. We At the very least, Im not here to grab the Box, and besides we didnt expect it to be in this continent anyway. And

I raise my head to look at Conrad, he says to me in a completely monotonous voice, It should be Inferno on the Tundra. Thats right, the Boxes names are Winds End, Ends of the Earth, and the one we just knew is here, Inferno on the Tundra.

I never once thought of using Inferno on the Tundra as a weapon.

Should I believe everything you say just like that?

I know no one can suddenly believe someone they just met. But we mazoku created those Boxes to seal away that power, and definitely not to be used by other countries or races. Even if I know the location of the Box now, to be honest Id want nothing more than to leave it there untouched. If only I could sign a pact so that no one could abuse it. Like Dai Shimaron or Shou Shimaron

I pausebecause I remember the boy kings crime.

If you can guarantee that it wont fall into Saraleguis hands, and you wont abuse it, then I wont enquire about its whereabouts any further.

He once gathered criminals in the name of experimenting, and caused mass destruction to Caloria. Its as different as possible from Anissinas ideals, which is to enhance everyones strengths.

Really?

She uses those hazel eyes, just like her name, to stare at my face. Since shes smaller than me, naturally shes looking up at me. But the reason I feel such discomfort is her eyes. She has the eyes of someone who can see through everything, appraise everything.

Dont make the mistakes I made, owning a precious Box with incredible power. According to the records that survived, it may even be on par with Germanys newly-designed bombs. Thats a terrifying thing that combines fusion and fission, strong enough to destroy a city. Once you have that much power in your hands, can you resist the temptation to use it?

We wont use it. And to make sure it wont be used by others, I hope to hide it somewhere deeper, somewhere it will never be found.

Hazel stares at me, falling into a silence that lasts five whole minutes. I feel as though in that time, shes been looking deep within my heart. And then her expression softens, turning back to that of a kind old lady.

No offense, but I always thought that Little Sorry, His Majesty here looks a lot like a Japanese person from Earth. If a country like that got such a brutal weapon, I really wouldnt know what would happen to the world.

a country like that

Nothing I can do about it, Hazel Graves world history knowledge stopped at 1936AD. Back then the whole of Japan was under military rule, and America hadnt joined the war. Not only that, the World Wars havent even started. She doesnt know how the 20th century ended.

International politics sure are complicated--

Yeah.

Conrad, who knows a bit about the world after that, says as though to comfort me, all dejected. But I rather hope someone could comfort me with something like, Youre doing a wonderful job.

Hazel, who has no idea why Im upset, apologizes with a laugh,

So sorry, I actually did something as stupid as judging a book by its cover. Its because I havent seen any black-haired and black-eyed people in a long time. But Your Majesty looks very honest, and extremely adorable to boot, it must be easy for you to win over the ladies. Youre worlds away from a certain Asian friend of mine.

After that she turns solemn again, the gentle old grandma image disappearing in the blink of an eye. This should be Veneras expression.

And more importantly, you are the king of the mazoku, the only existence that can oppose Shimaron. I hope youre trustworthy, or everything weve done to this day, will never come to fruition. The reason we keep on escaping on boats, is so that the outside world can know what this country is like now, thats why we need to transmit the information to the other side of the ocean. Do you know what kind of wrecks our comrades had to ride across the sea in?

All that I know. Ive come into contact with them before. To be honest, that was a very rash move.

Thats right, its basically suicide.

They actually let those people ride those old ships no better than fishing vessels across those rapid torrents. And most of them drifted to Shou Shimaron, where eventually only the kids were taken away, and rest deported back. I rub my chest through my clothes, my heart aching from the uneasy feeling. That was when I got this letter from the twins I befriendedthe letter that Jason and Freddy wrote. Moreover, this letter is also filled with Zeda and Zushas wishes and hopes on me.

In fact, behind that thin piece of paper, theres probably many, many more, tens of thousands of people and their wishes.

Even so, we have no choice but to set sail, because someone has to lead the advance. Weve been doing the same thing for more than thirty years now, but weve confirmed that Shimaron land is off limits. Surely you are also aware what fate awaited our comrades who drifted to Shimaron. But on the other hand were not sure about any other countries besides Shimaron, because we have not the slightest clue about them. I figure theyre either completely ignored, or exploited as ready-made labor.

My wandering gaze falls on Josak, who got some yellow cube-shaped thing from a woman, and is pointing at his mouth to ask if it is edible. That shinzoku lady tears it into strips with her slender fingers, bringing it to his mouth with a smile. They obviously cant understand each other, but he still managed to mix with them in such a short time. Hazel seems to have seen the same image, her expression softening slightly.

Just as we were sending people out to sea, the war got more and more intense. We heard that Shimaron even split into two, that info was leaked by the merchants who visited Dejima. At the same time we also know about the forces opposing Shimaron. I was really very surprised, Shimaron obviously hasnt colonized as much land in these past hundred years as Rome or the British Empire. But since this continent is sealed off, the environment only allows us limited intel, thats why we feel as though the whole world belonged to Shimaron. Just thinking that monopoly of the world has fallen into Shimaron hands, and is divided into the kings of Dai and Shou Shimaron no less, fills my comrades and I with despair.

The spy is chewing the food he requested, all carefree. Even if its boring because you cant understand English, Josak, youre such a glutton. But I still force myself to bring my attention, which nearly got sidetracked, back to Veneras topic.

But Shimaron didnt win the war, did it?

Its another countrys business, but Hazel is still laughing so happily her shoulders wont stop shaking,

Do you know how I felt, when I heard that some countries didnt bow to the pressure, and can even fight back? I felt that the world was so big. Thinking that, other than Dai and Shou Shimaron, there might be other places that wont oppress the victims, even dreaming that if that country knew about our situation, would they stand up for us as peacemakers? So I start harboring hope But, hope is such a troublesome thing.

Hazel opens her palms skywards and shrugs her shoulders, the foreigner pose I always see in the movies.

At the end I couldnt stop it.

Stop what?

Stop the boats from going out to sea.

Why has it come to that?

I grip my hands and loosen them again, flustered, wiping the sweat on them on my thighs.

So youre saying that, though all the shinzokus know how reckless setting sail on such rickety boats is, they still wont stop trying to escape its actually all because of us because Shin Makoku was at war with Shimaron? If the mazokus had surrendered without a word like the other countries, then you guys might have given up sooner, and there wouldnt have been so many needless sacrifices?

Thats not what I meant, Your Majesty.

Looking at Hazels deprecating expression, I bite my lip wordlessly.

I just wanted to say, the country that defeated Shimaronn gave us hope.

Hope.

Hearing that simple word, I remember one of the reasons Im standing on this land.

Venera, hope, save.

Thats right, we at least, I wasnt here to find the Box, and not to stop Seisakoku and Shou Shimaron restoring their relations either. Im here to fulfill the wish Jason and Freddy wrote to me in their letter, and save them. I said before I would take responsibility for their lives, because I promised them.

If were talking about hope, it should be you, Venera.

I purposely avoid her real name, using the name people praise instead.

You motivated those who were treated as slaves, mistreated, and had no power to object, letting them know that they can lead completely different lives, and taught them the way to change their current situation. Not only did you teach them, you even led them into concrete actions, didnt you? The one who gave the people of this country hope, isnt Shin Makoku who signed a peace treaty with Shimaron, but Hazel Graves.

Jason, Freddy, Ive come here looking for you, just like we agreed. What are you actually hoping for? How do I save Venera, this symbolic existence?

The reason I came to this land even after being separated from my comrades, is to fulfill my deal with my friends, those twins. Those two wanted me to save Venera. Jason and Freddy are two girls, around twelve-years-old, do you know where they are?

Jason and Freddy those names sound familiar did those two girls ask Your Majesty to save me?

I dont know if its because she has no clue about the twins whereabouts, or because this has to do with her own safety, but after Hazel ponders over it seriously for a few minutes, she says something that sounds like fortune teller,

Those names dont sound like shinzoku names, they shouldnt belong to the slave class, right?

I think they were taken from here shortly after they were born, and were raised by the foster care organization overseas. Maybe the people there gave them those names. Their majutsu No, houjutsu is really strong. Like they were born with houryoku. Wait a sec, according to what Saralegui said

According to what Saralegui said, no matter how high a status youre born into, any child without houryoku will be treated as a slave, not even one of the queens twins can be exempted. On the other hand theres Jason and Freddy, they have powerful houryoku, and unlike other houjutsu users, they dont need to rely on houseki to display astonishing destructive force. I cant match up to the tip of one of their toes, even.

Since they possess such scary attack power, its highly likely that they dont belong to the slave class. That means Im trying to save kids who are different from the people here, in that they have better surroundings and facilities? And so Im at a loss, unsure of whether I should say that out loud.

Josak flicks his finger beside my face, whispering to me, It looks like theyll feed us, you know.

Why dont you take this chance to catch your breath, Im sure Young Master is hungry as well, right?

As for the woman who was standing by his side just now, shes fumbling around her sack with a friendly smile. The problem is they already have very little food as it is, and yet they are still willing to share some with foreign strangers theyve never met before.

What kind of expression should I wear to tell them, Im not here to help you?

Its Hazel, though, who ignores my hesitation and suddenly yells,

Its the returnees!

Eh?

Those two are returnees from abroad. When it comes to those who returned from the other end of the ocean, to differentiate them from the slaves who mostly dont understand the outside world, thats how we call them. If so, when I do my rounds normally, I may have seen them once or twice.

Hazel says all that at once, and even laughs self-deprecatingly,

After all, I was originally the old lady who pulled the manure cart.

Theres already a high school baseball boy as Maou, a resistance leader who transports organic fertilizer is nothing surprising.

But, if those two children really are returnees Im sorry, theyre being held at a very scary place.

Theyre being held!? But theyre not criminals or rebels, for all you know theyre not even slave-class children, right!? According to the value system in this country, arent children with high houryoku members of the elite?

What shes saying makes me feel rather uneasy. The girls Im looking for arent pets or livestock that have to be chained up, their movements restricted.

Thats only for good citizens whove never left the country their whole lives, whilst returnees dont have it so well. If theyre really clueless, then they wont harbor any suspicions about the current system, and theyll be able to swear loyalty to the gods and the ruler. But once theyve known the outside world, then its impossible for them to not notice the problems here, so theyll be even more troublesome than simply the slaves.

Troublesome!

Hazel scratches her hair with her dry hands, shaking her head in despair,

Thats why the returnees are isolated, and held in specialized facilities. To prevent them from teaching the people around them, and thus bringing a bad influence. But those places are called facilities in name only, and in reality theyre just concentration camps in the middle of nowhere. Theyre just like prisoners, its no different from being incarcerated in prison.

Oh my god!

Those facilities are scattered all across the country, one of them isnt too far away from Yelshiurad. Every twenty days theyll send supplies over there. The supply cart isnt pulled by me, but by oxen. Since I never opened the covers, I dont know whats inside, but judging from the smell, it doesnt seem to be the prisoners food. Maybe its the personal necessities of the officials who work in such an isolated area.

Hazels tone is full of sympathy. Because of me, those two girls are in a situation even worse than that of the people here.

When Im in charge of helping transport the supplies, Ill try my best to get around there a bit more. Because there are a lot of people there who failed to get away and got deported back, so I have a responsibility towards them.

Her voice is mixed with pity and pain, clenching her teeth and speaking slowly to maintain her cool. But I cant listen to her talk calmly anymore. It feels as though the ground underneath my feet has turned to sand, and my body is starting to sink downwards. Just keeping my balance takes a lot out of me.

Its all me.

I spread open my hands to hold my trembling cheeks, the cold pale red houseki stuck on my little finger now plastered to the corner of my eyes. Im extremely angry, hating someone from the very bottom of my heart, but I cant let out my emotions so easily.

Because, all the responsibility is on me.

I was the one who put them in such a terrible place

No, Your Majesty.

Conrad grabs my shoulders, helping me finally dispel that feeling of falling. But words of regret start forming in my mind,

If only Id stopped them back then. Forget stopping, at the very least I should have investigated the political state of Seisakoku and the shinzoku culture before sending them back If I had convinced them to wait until then, this wouldnt have happened.

This isnt your fault.

I shake away his hands, turning to him, but suddenly my whole body just falls towards the wall. Hazels expression changes abruptly, staring directly at the stone wall behind me. That time, I still had no idea what Id done.

No, I should have just followed them here. Back then Id said so proudly that I would be responsible for them until the end, but at the most important moment I handed them over to someone else to handle. I shouldve personally sent them back, I should have seen them obtain their happiness with my own eyes! Thats right, what about the other kids that were with them? Dont tell me those kids have met such misfortune as well

This isnt your fault!

Young Master?

Josak, having sensed something amiss, rushes over here. He glances at Conrad, at the same time putting his hand on his sword. Looks like Conrads still under suspicion, if I were him, Id surely feel terrible about it.

Thats why I said, Young Master, you should catch your breath first and eat something. If you talk about these serious things on an empty stomach, youll stand until you get dizzy and finally youll faint, you know.

Its not because Im hungry, sheesh.

No!! Its precisely because youre hungry!

He concludes, sounding absolutely sure of himself.

Thinking of things on an empty stomach, will never come to any good. Those are our ancestors words of wisdom, passed down through the generations, even His Majesty Shinou said that before.

On the contrary, when you eat too much the blood gathers in your gut and Mmph!

Stop forcing your way out of this. Listen up, Your Majesty: this is something only someone whos truly been hungry would know!

Gurrier, looking like a middle-aged auntie in his long-sleeved apron, stuffs the yellow cube thing into my mouth. The taste on my mouth is something between cheese and yoghurt, and then the turns around to face Lord Weller, moving almost automatically,

Its been tested for poison.

I know.

Although Gurrier exaggerated that its the ancestral words of wisdom, it seems that half of it is true. Ad Im chewing what seems to be a dairy product, that sense of self-hatred seems to have decreased somewhat, and what rises is a little energy to think of my words and actions just now more or less. Its still mostly the self-hatred, though.

Its depressing, that I actually made such a serious mistake in such an important part of someones life. Just thinking about that stupid thing I did and the consequences, makes me feel as though even the beasts on the wall behind me are laughing at me.

But it isnt over yet.

Theres still ninety per cent left to go in Jason and Freddys lives, I still have a chance to make it up to them.

Please tell me.

Tell you what?

Hazel, who was standing by and quietly watching me, now retorts with a question, her arms folded over her chest.

The places where the returnees are being isolated, please tell me everything you know about it. Starting with the one closest to the capital. Hey--!

I wave over the young shinzoku standing in the corner of the room, praying that the paper cylinder in their hands is a map.

I have to save them I have to!

Hazel raises her chin comically, cracking her knuckles like a tough guy.

All right, at least you got guts.

There absolutely no trace of the gentle old grandma anymore.

Looking at Little Buddy here reminds me of my granddaughter! Shes a stubborn kid who doesnt know how to give up, back then when we separated, she was about as old as you are now. Ill do my best to help you. After all, those two girls brought Your Majesty over here because they were worried about me, right?

I guess you could say so.

Theyre already in danger, but theyre still worried about others, so I can tell theyre good children who were raised right. How can I just let them be Right, lets start from here.

And with that she unfurls the paper on the ground, pressing down on the right side with her knee. The map of the entire Seisakoku is surrounded by wave symbols, looking like an enormous shell. Its a map made by the locals, but there are still obvious signs differentiating the mountainous areas and the plains. Though there are quite a few mountain ranges represented here, but as a whole, theres doesnt seem to be too many drastic changes in the topography.

I follow Hazels fingertip, moving towards the center, west, and south-east.

I know these four places: north-west of Yelshiurad, the east cliffs, opposite Dejima and

Her finger slows down when she reaches the fourth place, as though that place is even more terrifying than the previous three. I raise my head to look at her with eyes full of disbelief, and the corners of Hazels mouth lift with something like cynicism. She doesnt seem to test my patience anymore, either, and continues,

And theres one here, on the northern-most tip of the continent, surrounded by the royal mausoleums, where some horseback tribes hold the actual authority, under the pretense of watching the royal tombs.

What do you mean by hold the actual authority?

Could it be that Seisakoku isnt under an absolute monarchy? Doesnt Yelshi hold all the authority? Just as Im making to ask her, Hazels next words dispel all my doubts. What she says is this

That was the place I first landed when I came to this world, that time when I came here together with the Box.

What did you say!? T-then, that thing is there, too?

Right, its highly likely. If no one found it, it should still be sleeping in the old tombs, hibernating together with the riches of the previous emperors. I just hope that after my desperate break for freedom, no one went in there to raid the tombs.

Hazel ignores the way we look at each other, continuing to pretend that she doesnt see any of us,

But back then I was actually in an ancient tomb. Isnt that the best place to trap a treasure hunter? If that Box had a conscience, it would have a rather good sense of humor.

What a painful joke. Especially towards those of us who had witnessed the destruction of Caloria.

But I give up protesting, theres really no need to increase the number of people who know the Boxs secret anymore. Though to be precise, I lost the chance to protest, because everyones attention is pulled to a sudden, heavy sound.

Thats the sound of someone knocking the stone from outside, intense and frantic. The young man closest to it quickly pulls aside the stone door.

Venera!

The man yells Hazels name as soon as he comes in, rushing in and talking non-stop. After he hands over the paper slip in his hands, his now empty hands continue moving continuously, as though hes chopping vegetablesit should be a personal habit of his when he talks. His gaze tells us how frenzied he is, his huge golden eyes moving left and right behind those thick lenses. I dont mean to look down on any YUTA[1], though.

That white mold-like beard, especially, that covers his cheeks and chin, look awfully familiar

Ah!

The man, whos finished a part of what he wants to say, jumps at the sound of my voice, and when he looks towards my direction for the first time hes so shocked he takes quite a few steps backwards.

Ajira-san!?

Y-yujira-san!?[2]

This man is the translator who attended the summit. That white mold beard that stands on end whenever he gets agitated is still the same. I remember clearly the nametag on his chest with the error: Translator: Ajira, but the third words seems to be horizontally inverted.

Ah, I was right, no wonder you look so familiar.

Why is the translator Why are you, who knows translation houjutsu, joining the underground resistance!?

Surely he must be having the same thoughts as I am. Why is the idiotic guest who fell from the balcony here at the entrance to the underground maze!?

Ajira may be a citizen, but hes a great asset of ours. Because his grandparents generation were still slaves, all I gave him was a little suggestion. On that note, hes here with intel, I think Your Majesty would be interested to know.

Listen?

I pause for a while before I understand that hes asking if I want to listen to the information. He has a way of abbreviating his common language, and he speaks as short and sweet as ever. Rather than saying hes a special houjutsu user, its better to say hes good at languages.

And I reply loudly, tooonly in verbs.

Listen, listen!

Tomorrow, daytime, execute.

What does that mean?

Its an execution, Your Majesty.

Conrad replies in English with a tone that makes me feel uncomfortable. Hazel nods, as well.

W-wait a sec, Conrad, no one would make a cold joke out of this, right? No one would be that crazy, right?

An execution means to sentence someone to death, Your Majesty. Its to make an example for us to see. In other words they choose some rebels who were caught, or pick a few unlucky winners from the returnees we mentioned just now

T-theyll be killed?

Hazel, who was listening at the side, has an expression of surprise that says, how can you still not understand the situation.

Dont the mazokus have corporal punishment? But this is still too sudden, what on earth happened? There havent been public executions here for several years now. Especially after Yelshi ascended the throne, we were all still happy that his restrictions on us are so much looser than before. Could it be that hes changed his principles too, and decided to go the same way as his mother?

Faced with the leader who says such scary things, I retort her agitatedly, even making to pull her collar.

Youll save them, right? You will save them, right!?

Of course I want to, but Just thinking that it might cost other lives, I cant make this decision easily.

No way? Dont tell me youre going to just watch them die!?

Hazel, with her expression still solemn, is shaken by the shoulders strongly by someone young enough to be her great-grandson, and finally Lord Weller cant bear to watch anymore, pulling me away from her.

I know!

This is a foreign organizations problem, its not good for me to interfere too much. I just didnt think that I would lose my mind and threaten the other side.

Of course I know! But I still feel feel as though Saralegui must have influenced this.

So what do you want to say? Even if the execution was Saraleguis idea, but were still in Seisakoku, the one to make the decision is still Venera. We cant force them to save them, can we?

Lord Weller says in a voice so calm I hate it. Even this simple brain of mine can understand that, but I still cant control my childish emotions. Im so angry I kick the ground thats been here for several centuries, bringing up a cloud of dust.

In the rebound of my emotions, I even say some things I shouldnt say,

And from what position are you saying this, huh!?

Even raising some questions I shouldnt raise.

As my companion? Or as Dai Shimarons ambassador?

After a long time, Lord Weller replies in a hoarse voice,

What kind of position do you wish me to be in?

He even repeats the same thing, word for word, in the mazoku language,

What kind of position does Your Majesty wish me to be in?

I cant say a thing.

Sorry for interrupting your conversation.

Looking at the paper slip Ajira the informant passes to her, Hazel cuts in our conversation without raising her head. Although I was the one who asked him the question first, I still heave a quiet sigh of relief. Thank goodness he didnt reply.

But that short sense of relief disappears without a trace at the next piece of information. Looking at that unique writing, like still shots of a bird flying, Hazel clenches her fist tightly.

Theres good news and bad news, which do you guys want to hear first?

Good

Then Ill read out the good news first. This time there are five people unlucky enough to be pulled out, a lot fewer than usual.

How is that good news?

But out of those five there are names that dont sound like shinzoku, I have to admit, its two girls.

Hazel adds a simple comment in what sounds like a swearing tone,

Well, that sucks bad.