Chapter 26 - Setting Up The Board

Thrusting a sword into the floor wasn't a particularly efficient action.

It not only created conditions that made it easy to be caught off guard by an opponent, but also wasted strength and time unnecessarily.

However, the reason Loraine thrust her sword into the floor is because even if she does this, even if she does such a thing, the result won't change.

"..."

Top-grade Sword Expert.

Although its magnificence had been overshadowed by the name of Sword Master,

Excluding the Sword Masters, of whom there were only three and who were bound by all sorts of restrictions... it was a title referring to the strongest existing at the present time.

In other words, being a top-grade Sword Expert meant that no matter what experience the opponent had accumulated or how many there were, it was no different from a war machine that could single-handedly change the entire course of battle.

So, leaving the back to Loraine, I decided to hammer Elisia's head and was about to raise my hand high when…

"...We need to calm down a bit," Elisia said, taking out a new artifact from her chest.

"Let's talk again after our heads have cooled."

"Is there really a need to talk again? I have no intention of listening to whatever you bark out."

"That's something we don't know. Just as you brought warmth to the North, I might be able to bring something similar to you."

With those words, mana spread in all directions, and Elisia's figure began to blur.

It seemed she used an artifact to manifest instant teleportation magic.

Of course, I had no intention of letting her go like this.

I swung my hammer towards the barrier again and said, "I don't need it, so fuck off."

As I finished speaking, the moment the hammer touched the barrier, it seemed to reach its critical point and could no longer withstand, bursting open.

Watching the mana barrier of the shield burst like glass shards, I looked at Elisia's expression.

I saw her looking at me with considerable bewilderment.

I wondered if my warning reached her.

I put the hammer back in my chest as I watched Elisia's disappearing figure.

"..."

In the subdued atmosphere, I calmly sat down in the interview room chair and declared the end of the first interview.

***

"Damian..."

When I returned to the lodgings, the first thing I saw was Siren fidgeting anxiously.

It seemed she had received word of what had happened earlier from Loraine.

I saw her waiting for me with her hands full of bandages.

"Are you okay?"

Then she approached me, examining my body here and there, showing concern.

I was grateful for her worry and was about to pat her head, but…

"Now is not the time for that."

She shook her head with a serious expression, then forcibly pulled me and sat me down in a chair, saying, "I'll treat you."

Then she put bandages on the back of my hands, face, and... feet? I didn't know why she put them on my feet, but she did.

Seeing this, I told her the truth, bewildered, "I'm not injured anywhere."

"Is that important right now?"

Then what is important? I don't really know.

I was about to give up on communication, but I felt I should ask about this, so I wiggled my foot and asked, "But I'm really curious, why are you putting them on my feet?"

"Your feet hurt when you walk, don't they?"

"...That's right?"

Understanding wasn't really a necessary item in living in this world.

What was important was tolerance, consideration, and love.

I gave up on thinking and fell into contemplation for a moment.

Now, shall we think about the aftermath?

Actually, there was nothing much to clean up.

If we just pass over this without saying anything, it would remain as a trivial emotional fight “between people”, but the moment someone publicizes this, it would spread into a fight “between families”.

So both the Carsaril family and the Wintreaven family would probably try to ignore it.

Moreover, in any case, there are no deaths or injuries.

So there was no reason to touch on it and publicize it.

Therefore, the families would judge that it was best to hush it up and move on, so there shouldn't be any problem, but...

As always, the problem was Elisia.

No matter how I think about it, she doesn't seem like she'll just let it go.

Of course, since she wanted something from me, she'd try to change her course to persuade me rather than take revenge.

But it was certain that her method wouldn't be a conventional one, so I had a lot to worry about.

So, deciding to prepare for this, I contemplated my next moves. 

"Young Master, would you like to go out for a change of mood?" Loraine suggested an outing.

Actually, I had a lot to think about, so I was going to refuse at first.

But the moment I saw Siren staring out the window in the lodgings, I felt guilty and found myself agreeing without realizing it.

Besides, she suggested it for my sake.

It was also awkward to refuse and embarrass someone unnecessarily.

***

I followed Loraine, who was munching on snacks beside me, and Siren, who had the Sun Spirit perched on her head, and opened my mouth.

"So, is there anything you want to do?"

"Yes."

Unexpectedly, it was Siren who answered the question.

Siren looked at me intently and then told me an important fact I had forgotten about.

"So when are you going to name Myeongmyeong-i?"

It was quite strange to ask what name to give while already calling it Myeongmyeong-i.

But it wasn't particularly wrong, so I asked the spirit on Siren's head, "Shall I give you a name?"

"Myeong!"

"Do you have a name you want?"

Siren was the first to answer that question.

"Myeongmyeong-i makes myeong myeong sounds, so it's right to name it Myeongmyeong-i," Siren said this proudly, as if stating obvious common sense.

As soon as the spirit heard this,

Pak!

It quickly hit her head, expressing refusal, like a cat throwing a nyan nyan punch.

"..."

Was it shocking that it refused?

Siren got hit once on the head and then slumped down dejectedly, hanging her head low.

I clicked my tongue at Siren and said, "No matter what, calling it Myeongmyeong-i is a bit much."

Besides, later it would change into human form like Fenrir, and if we gave it a name like Myeongmyeong-i, it might cause embarrassing situations later.

So I was telling her to give it a different name, when…

"Then how about this?"

Loraine pointed to a flower and came up with a pretty good idea.

"How about the name Daisy? For reference, daisy is a flower that blooms during the day, so isn't it nice as it's related to the sun?"

It didn't seem bad, so I nodded and asked the spirit if the name “Daisy” was okay.

"Woaaa. I like it!"

It seemed to like it very much, changing into human form and nodding its head vigorously.

As I was stroking Daisy's head with my finger as it was excited, I suddenly discovered an interesting scene in the distance.

A scene of someone trying to drive away a stray dog but getting attacked in return.

The moment I saw that scene, I thought of a way to overturn the board Elisia would set up.

Counterattack.

In other words, I should go kill Dale before he came to kill me.

***

Teleporting added to the headache.

Usually, it wasn't a big problem as it could be resolved by sitting in a chair for a while, but in Elisia's case, a headache was added on top of the considerable headache she was already experiencing, so she started vomiting as soon as she was teleported to the street.

Ueeeek.

She hadn’t eaten anything in particular, so no vomit came out.

But that didn't mean nothing came out, so a sour and disgusting liquid enveloped her throat, accompanied by pain.

She wanted to sit down and rest for a while, but given the situation, she forcibly raised her body and glared ahead.

...I need to go to Dale right away.

Damian's hostility was stronger than she had expected.

Of course, she had predicted to some extent that his hostility would be strong, but she didn't expect him to attack with a hammer while she was begging for forgiveness, so she realized that its magnitude was greater than expected.

It's okay. This much is manageable.

Although it exceeded expectations, it wasn’t to the extent that it couldn't be handled.

So, thinking that she just needed to cover it with something else, she grabbed her staggering legs and moved forward.

It wasn't such severe pain, but she frowned, thinking it was unnecessarily irritating.

Like that, the moment she reached the lodgings secured by the Northern side, she could see Dale about to go out.

Thinking it was fortunate that their paths didn't cross, she spoke to him, "...Sir Dale, would you mind accompanying me for a moment?"

He seemed flustered by her sudden appearance and request for company, but perhaps because she had shared emotional exchanges with him, he nodded without much difficulty.

She acted out a bright smile to him and said, "Thank you. Let's walk for a bit."

Her stomach was turning due to insufficient recovery, and the headaches seemed to intertwine, spreading tremendous pain in her head.

But to create the board, she had to endure this, so she acted as if nothing was wrong and moved her feet towards the “nearby vagrant area”.

People driven to the edge with nowhere to go due to demons or monsters.

Of course, it was ironic that their conditions were better than the worst in the North, but that wasn't important now.

She deliberately showed Dale people with the pain of war and spoke somewhat seriously, "What do you think about peace, Sir Dale?"

"Peace? It's difficult to explain, but..."

He, still unsullied like a commoner, showed empathy for those suffering and gave an answer, "Isn't it what this world needs most?"

It was a ridiculous answer.

Peace was something that changed according to perspective, changed according to environment, and changed according to individual values.

The answer that it was the most needed thing was truly an answer that someone who didn't know anything about the world would give.

But she suppressed her true thoughts and smiled lightly at him.

"Huhut."

"Um... was my answer not good?"

"No. It was very like you, Sir Dale. And I like such Dale-like words."

"Ah... thank you, Grand Duchess."

"Elisia."

"Yes, Elisia..."

Looking at him, kind and easy to use and discard, who didn't know what to do.

Her only thought was…

...to recommend Dale as a hero to the Church and the Imperial family.