Chapter 31
In the place where endless darkness had settled, the only thing one could rely on was the golden orb rising from beneath one’s feet.
Yet even that small hope would soon vanish into the darkness if one did not take a step.
If one stopped walking, darkness would rush in at once, seize anyone who had lost their way, and eventually make them forget where they were, who they were, or even that they were alive.
The goddess’s subspace was such a place.
Blanc stopped and stared blankly at the ground beneath his feet.
The light that had cascaded down like exploding fireworks vanished like an illusion the moment he stopped walking.
“Be careful. If you get lost, it’ll be a headache.”
Fulcare, who had been walking ahead, urged Blanc onward.
A fist-sized orb was drifting in circles around him.
The archmage had said it was a kind of guide given only to those invited into the goddess’s subspace.
After walking for quite some time, a pure-white space suddenly spread out before them.
Startled by what felt like suddenly arriving in another world, Blanc took a step back, and the surroundings instantly grew dark.
When Blanc stood there blankly for a long while, unsure what was happening, an arm suddenly thrust out from the pitch-black void with a ‘Tsk’ and pulled him along.
He forcibly took one step in the direction the arm led him, and the dazzling white space that had startled him reappeared.
“If you lose me, I’ll leave you behind.”
Fulcare stood at an angle as he looked at Blanc.
After following the black orb for quite some time, they came upon a man sitting on a chair that had popped out of the floor, with two people hunched before him.
“Hey, who’s that behind you?”
The red-haired man waved at Fulcare.
“His Highness the Prince.”
Ah, the man nodded, then bowed respectfully to Blanc.
“My name is Laurent Marcel de Morris. I hold no official position; I’m with the Imperial Family’s Shadow Unit.”
Blanc had once heard that an excommunicated paladin had also joined the Imperial Family.
‘Come to think of it, Fulcare, Iseria, Laurent, and Theodore. All four of them….’
Weren’t they all companions of the hero whose name was no longer even mentioned? Raimond, too, was a knight who had made a great name for himself during the Demon Realm War.
‘How does Vieta know these big shots?’
Though he had once been an imperial prince, Blanc had no connection to the four of them except Raimond. The more he thought about the fact that an obscure fixer had ties to them, the stranger it seemed.
“Lo…, no, I’m Blanc. Please stand up.”
Once Blanc gave permission, Laurent grinned and rose to his feet.
*
The Empire’s future crown prince, whom Laurent was meeting for the first time, looked weak.
His mana did not flow smoothly, and he had the physique of someone who had never held a sword in his life.
Laurent had no idea what Blanc had been doing, but he gave off a sour smell, and his clothes were badly wrinkled.
It was a truly pitiful outfit for someone of the Imperial Family.
‘He’s hopelessly lacking compared to Gavin.’
Though Blanc’s appearance was disappointing compared to his expectations, Laurent trusted his friend. The archmage might be softhearted, but he was not the sort of person to accept just anyone as one of his own.
After forming his own impression of Blanc, Laurent opened his mouth.
He wanted to know who the people lying there were, where they belonged, and what their purpose had been.
If Fulcare could use magic to investigate traces left behind, and Iseria could read people’s innermost thoughts through plant-based hypnosis, Laurent, an excommunicated paladin, could force people to open their mouths by staring into their eyes. The ability had the drawback of taking an enormous amount of time to use, but it was perfectly suited to interrogating culprits.
Laurent called this ability Confession.
“I also checked a few things about the client, but that part is definitely sealed, so it wasn’t easy. Still, I found out a few things.”
As Laurent explained who had commissioned the job, he glanced at Blanc now and then. He wondered how the prince would react upon learning that someone from the Imperial Family had tried to harm him.
Contrary to Laurent’s expectations, however, the prince remained surprisingly calm.
He’s got some guts, at least.
Pleased by Blanc’s attitude, Laurent grinned and gestured. The two people lying on the floor began turning white in an instant.
“Why them?”
“There’s nothing to be gained by letting you hear any more of the conversation. I feel like simply killing them, but since I can’t, I’ve confined them in this space. Besides, I don’t know what information we might need to obtain from them later.”
Seeing Blanc stare at him in surprise, Laurent added an explanation.
Once the two had completely transformed into marble statues, Laurent continued speaking.
“You said there was something resembling an imperial emblem with an X over it in the picture the captain drew, right? So I asked whether these Kardu fellows were also behind the elf disappearances, but it doesn’t seem that way.”
“Then there really is a third party controlling the elves.”
A crease formed between Fulcare’s brows.
“Probably, I’d say. Now that they’re finally able to live comfortably, long-buried resentment is beginning to stir—or perhaps they’ve grown greedy and want to rule the continent. Either way, it’s not welcome news. They’re the sort who would have fled with their tails between their legs when the Empire was fighting the Demon King.”
Having finished speaking, Laurent shrugged.
***
“Uuugh.”
After stepping outside, Vieta stretched beneath the warm sunlight. On the seventh day after leaving Contium, they were stopping in the city of Bingsho to resupply.
The Kingdom of Madak lay to the west of Bingsho, while Ahan lay to the south.
“Today is Ladies’ Day!”
Laura, who had been waiting at the main entrance of the lodgings, scampered over as soon as she saw Vieta.
Laura said she knew the city inside and out and had even deliberately arranged her leave to coincide with Vieta’s. Vieta had not refused Laura’s suggestion that they spend the day together.
Laura was planning to leave for her hometown as soon as they arrived in Ahan’s domain.
That made their leave in Bingsho the last chance she would have to spend time with Laura.
Laura took Vieta to a clothing shop in the city center. Its interior was not as luxurious as the boutiques frequented by nobles, but it was still a fairly neat and well-organized store.
“What do you think?”
Laura came out wearing a scrap of cloth masquerading as a garment and asked Vieta what she thought. Vieta found herself sharply turning her head away from Laura’s voluptuous curves.
“What, are you embarrassed? Don’t be. Vieta, you should pick something out too. How about this?”
Laura chose one of the garments hanging nearby and held it out to Vieta.
“Huh? It’s fine. I have enough clothes as it is.”
She wants me to wear something like that…?
Vieta’s eyes quivered.
“Don’t always wear those manly clothes. Come on. The weather’s getting hotter anyway, so it would be good to have something ready.”
Embarrassed, Vieta hurriedly tried to stop Laura, but once Laura got fired up, she was not the sort of woman to back down easily.
Laura even borrowed a measuring tape from an employee and began measuring Vieta herself. At Laura’s uninhibited touch, Vieta’s face flushed red.
“Hmm, this should do.”
Holding the paper on which she had written Vieta’s measurements, Laura diligently searched through the clothes displayed on the racks. Unlike clothing stores on Earth, where each garment came in multiple sizes, they first had to find out whether there was anything that fit those measurements.
“Would you like to try this one on first?”
Laura placed a bright-red garment in Vieta’s hands. It was much more modest than what Laura was wearing, but compared to Vieta’s usual clothes, it was still an exceedingly daring outfit.
“Come on. You’ll look really pretty.”
Pushed along by Laura’s insistence, Vieta eventually entered the changing room.
Left alone, Vieta looked at the garment in her hands and imagined what she would look like wearing it. With its plunging neckline and her thighs and upper arms exposed, she could not find the courage to put it on no matter how she thought about it.
‘Should I just say it doesn’t fit?’
As Vieta sighed softly, the image of Laura choosing clothes suddenly came to mind.
Though it must have been a bother, Laura had carefully measured her with a tape and then searched for clothes that would suit her.
‘If Fulcare had chosen it, he would have thrust it at me without a second thought….’
Laura was the first ordinary friend Vieta had made after coming here. She had become close to Vieta simply by working alongside her, without asking about her past, origins, or abilities—someone who saw Vieta as she was and accepted her ordinary self.
Since Laura had put so much effort into it, Vieta muttered as she fumbled her way into the dress.
*
“Wow, it suits you so well.”
When Laura clapped and cheered, the other women in the shop glanced over and began voicing admiring exclamations one by one.
It was an overwhelmingly positive response, but Vieta found her own appearance so unfamiliar that she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
“Why didn’t you dress like this from the start?”
“…Isn’t it strange?”
“Not at all. The color of your eyes goes perfectly with the color of the clothes. You have to buy it.”
After making a satisfied face, Laura began seriously choosing clothes for herself.
“What do you think? Is this better than the one before? I do like this color a little more, though.”
“It suits you.”
The one Laura had picked was somewhat more modest than the earlier outfit. Just as Laura had chosen Vieta’s clothes with care, Vieta answered sincerely.
“That’s all? You’re so curt, just like my husband.”
A husband, all of a sudden?
When Vieta blinked, clearly not understanding what Laura meant, Laura burst out laughing and led her to the mirror.
“Vieta, when you compliment someone, you do it like this. You can use it on men, too, so learn it well.”
Vieta looked at the mirror. Reflected in it was a woman in an unfamiliar outfit, her face flushed bright red.