Chapter 3: This World Is Full of Mysterious Things

Members of the Cineraria Family were turned away at the checkpoint into the Silva Frontier Territory.

I’d heard that from a Family member in advance, so I’d already considered and decided how I would behave at the checkpoint.

“—Good afternoon. I’m merely a passing member of the Cineraria Family, Crow Amaryllis, leading candidate for the next underboss. I heard that something strange appears to be happening on the frontier. I’d like to speak with the lord.”

As I released my mana gently, I gradually placed pressure on the knights and territorial soldiers guarding the checkpoint.

Naturally, entering the territory while pretending to be an ordinary civilian would be easy, and using magic would reduce the trouble even further. However, that wouldn’t tell me anything about the current situation. I thought that openly declaring my identity and observing their response would make it easier to predict what was happening.

Perhaps unsettled by my mana, the territorial soldiers shrank back completely, while the knights dispatched a messenger with tense expressions.

Yes, yes. Don’t panic. Remain calm.

“You said your name was Crow. What is your purpose?”

“Dialogue with the frontier count. Ah, I have no particular intention of becoming hostile. I’ll withdraw my mana now… but unless I do something like this, no one will believe a child like me is an executive in the Cineraria Family.”

As I suppressed my mana to a moderate level, life finally seemed to return to everyone’s faces.

Even I thought I was behaving like a muscle-brained yakuza.

“I’ve heard that members of the Cineraria Family are being turned away at this checkpoint. However, we have no idea why. We can’t begin deciding what to do about it until we’ve heard an explanation.”

“…Understood. I will convey that to my lord.”

Phew.

Speaking in an arrogant tone was slightly tiring.

I was courteously guided into a luxurious reception room inside the checkpoint—or, as it was in practice, a detention facility—and discreetly locked inside.

I secretly tested the tea and baked sweets they brought me with an analysis magic tool, but they didn’t appear to contain poison.

I spent one hour, then two, relaxing as I waited. I didn’t mind because all I had to do was sit there, but I wondered whether the knights who remained on guard the entire time were having a hard time.

Even when I appeared to be doing nothing, I was actually using Parallel Thought to train my skills constantly. Since I had a knight-doll magic tool inside the Library, I could read books as well. I never particularly suffered from boredom. I was also drawing plans for the battle-axe magic tool Penne had requested, so I had a surprising amount to do.

I’d been waiting for approximately four hours when—

“You have finally appeared, ringleader of the villains! Now that I am here, you will no longer do as you please!”

The speaker was a girl with golden hair arranged in soft drill curls.

She looked approximately my age. Light armor covered the dress robe of a magician, and she held a long staff in her right hand. A female knight who appeared to be her attendant stood behind her, so she was probably… or rather, unquestionably, a young lady of noble birth.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Crow Amaryllis.”

“How do you do? I am Judith Dandelion, the youngest daughter of Dalton Silva Dandelion, lord of the Silva Frontier Territory. I am eleven years old. Please remember me from this day forward.”

“Thank you for such a courteous introduction. I don’t understand noble etiquette very well, so I apologize if I behave rudely.”

At my words, she smiled faintly.

“I do not mind. Nobles concern themselves strictly with etiquette only when dealing with other nobles. Forcing minute formalities upon commoners would itself be tactless. Besides, I detect nothing especially rude in your bearing.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Thank you.”

“You are quite welcome. Um… What were we discussing again?”

The girl who’d introduced herself as Judith tilted her head to one side and pondered.

“Lady Judith. You came to exterminate a villain.”

“Ah! That’s right.”

After the female knight reminded her, Judith seemed to remember and raised her staff.

Was she all right?

“That was close. You almost deceived me. As the lord’s daughter, I have a duty to protect the people of this territory, even at the risk of my own body. I will never submit to a villain, no matter whom I face.”

“Admirable. That’s wonderful. You’re a model noblewoman.”

When I applauded, Judith began fidgeting with embarrassment.

Among the many nobles who rested on their authority and behaved selfishly, her refusal to submit to evil was a splendid attitude for a noblewoman. I would praise her honestly here.

“Th-thank you. No, well, my father and brothers always tell me not to do anything dangerous… and I fail constantly.”

“That too is probably a form of your family’s love. Even so, I think your aspirations are admirable. If nobles submit easily to villains, the people who suffer the consequences are their subjects. I thought it was an excellent declaration.”

“Ugh… No one has ever offered me such warm words. Everyone merely tells me to remain inside the castle.”

I see.

Well, even if she possessed admirable aspirations, the people around her probably didn’t want her to expose herself to danger. Even a noblewoman with Special-grade mana could be immobilized by indirect methods.

“The fact that they worry means you’re loved.”

“Yes. I am aware of that… but I wish to do something useful for the people of this territory too. With that in mind, I’ve attempted to imitate a magician in my own fashion, but self-study has its limitations. Even when I try to apprentice myself and formally study magic arts, Father refuses permission.”

I see.

She must have been raised with great care.

“Would he object even if you learned merely for self-defense? Personally, I think that if you’re going to live on this frontier, being capable of protecting yourself can only help.”

“Well… You see, Father apparently intends to marry me to a nobleman in the imperial capital. He wishes me to live somewhere safe instead of on this dangerous frontier… However, a savage girl capable of fighting monsters is evidently not desired in the capital.”

“I see. You’ve missed each other completely.”

I could understand Judith’s father’s feelings too. He wanted to remove his daughter from the dangerous frontier.

That too was parental love.

Whether it was the life she truly wanted, however, was a difficult question.

He’d gone to the trouble of giving her his affection, yet a lack of discussion had left them misunderstanding each other. That inevitably felt like a terrible waste.

“Hmm… Let me see. Why don’t you set aside plenty of time and speak frankly with your father?”

“But… Father has never listened to what I have to say.”

“I see. That’s troubling… There’s no guaranteed method for something like this. I think you’ll simply have to proceed patiently without rushing. I doubt I can offer especially good advice, but if you’re willing to settle for me, I can at least listen.”

Before I knew it, Judith and I were sitting face-to-face, drinking tea while I listened to one concern after another about her life.

Yes, yes. Human relationships couldn’t always be settled through logic. Even at eleven, a person had many worries.

I see. In the imperial capital, frontier nobles were often scorned as savages. Her search for a fiancé was going poorly… Yet she wasn’t particularly interested in the city in the first place. She didn’t want to go to the capital when she already knew she would struggle there.

I see.

It would’ve been nice if I could’ve sharply offered advice that solved all her problems, but that was difficult. I wasn’t especially familiar with noble circumstances, so all I could do was listen.

Even so, Judith looked refreshed when she finished speaking, which made me glad. She probably hadn’t had anyone around her to confide these things to before.

“Lady Judith. It is about time.”

“Oh, Meia. Is it already so late?”

Prompted by the female knight, Judith rose with a mildly weary air.

“Good day, Lord Crow. I shall come to consult you again.”

“Yes. I hope you manage to speak with your father.”

“Thank you. I shall do what little I can in my own way.”

With a considerably brighter expression, Judith left the room.

About three knights had occupied one corner from the beginning and watched me warily…

By the time she departed, they wore remarkably complicated expressions.

Yes. I understood.

Somehow, the flow of conversation had led me to counsel her about her life, but I didn’t understand how we’d ended up there either.

I thought this world was full of mysterious things.

Before long, an elderly knight appeared.

“…Crow Amaryllis, leading candidate for the next underboss of the Cineraria Family. You will temporarily be placed in the custody of the territorial castle. You will not be confined in the dungeon, but neither will you be allowed to move freely. A meeting with my lord has not yet been scheduled.”

“Understood. However… if any member of our Family is causing trouble in the Silva Frontier Territory, I want you to tell me quickly. If a fool is behaving without honor, I want to deal with them immediately. I’ve been granted at least that much authority.”

“I understand. In any case, I will seek my lord’s decision.”

And so, I was transported to the territorial castle in Dasilva and placed under house arrest in a guest room while they postponed deciding what to do with me.

Still, this was within my expectations, and their response felt relatively peaceful. The lord’s side was probably somewhat troubled over how to handle me.

Then, around sunset, as the surroundings grew dim, we took advantage of a gap while the knight on watch changed.

“—I’ll leave it to you.”

The wavering shadow extending from beneath my feet detached itself.

Kiko, the shadow-magic user, began her covert operation.