What's going on?

　As I said this, I stepped between the three women and Mr. Hirgis.
　Then the most flamboyant of the three women stared at me.

'What is this all of a sudden?　Who are you?

　From the atmosphere, this flashy guy seems to be the leader.....
　Compared to the other two, his outfit is more flamboyant, but more than anything else, I get the impression that he is used to leading people.
　Is his age...quite a bit older?

　Mr. Hirgis opened his mouth, keeping his gaze down.

''Probably passing by. I heard a voice, so I'm sure he was curious to see what's going on--'
''No, I'm a friend of his. There was a strange vibe in the air... but... what's going on?

　While asking questions, I looked at Hyrgis-san behind me.
　She was standing by the wall, as if she had lost her place in the world.
　.............
　I mean, now, Hyrgis-san.
　You said me as if I was a stranger.
　
　However, we can't just leave her alone.
　The air is clearly not calm.
　I'm glad that you're concerned that I won't get involved, but there's no way I'm going to leave Hirgis-san here.

"Hirgis-san, what happened to you--
Tsk.

　I was about to throw a question at Hirgis-san when the leader woman's blatant tongue lashing reached my ears.

''So what........what house are you from?''

　A probing gaze turned to me.
　Home?
　Home?
　.........Ah, so 'house' in this case means you're asking for a family name as a nobleman.

No, I'm not a nobleman--
What?

　'Oh no,' the leader put her hand over her mouth, as if to say.

'No, you're lying.　How can you be in Cirrus Baths if you're not a nobleman?
'Huh?　It's not like Cirrus Baths is a facility for the nobility only, is it?

　That's what I've heard from Ira-san........

''Are you a squire of some nobleman?''
No, I'm not a squire, but... if I may say so, a citizen?

　Perhaps it's because she knows I'm not a nobleman, but the leader's eyes change to look at something dirtier.
　And an expression of utter dismay appeared on her face.

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one. Give me a break, I feel dizzy.
Are you all right, Lady Elisabeth?

　A crony-like person runs up to the wobbly leader woman.

''Oh, you must be tired of talking to the lowly one ... poor thing.''

　Then she stared at me with a look that even a tramp would look at me.

''You ... you know who and what you've done to!　This is the Duchess of Troia!　This is........I can't complain about anything they do to me anymore!

　The Duchess of Troy?
　Oh, I see.
　So you're VanShtos-san and Bashkata's mother.
　You know, the one that doted on Vashkata........
　And Makina-san's headache, the otherworldly version of a monster parent.
　Ugh...................I've come across a troublesome one.
　Ummm.
　

Well, excuse me for that, Duchess of Troia. Well, we're done for now. Let's go, Mr. Hirgis.
Yeah, yeah...

　I took Hirgis-san's hand a little too forcefully and tried to leave.
　Then.

Wait.

　One of his cronies stood in front of us.

'You think we can leave without any blame?
I'm sorry, sir. Please step aside.

　So.

What are you guys?　I don't think you're kidding but... are you two in love?

　A sneer, laced with contempt, flew in.
　It was the Duchess's.

'Pfft, no. Give me a break. Her face is alright but I wouldn't want to die to be in love with a man who has commoner blood in his veins. Commoners' blood is inferior to that of the commoners. May I have your attention, gentlemen?

　The duchess twisted her lips into a languid arc.

'Everything in this world is determined by family and bloodline.

　The Duchess begins to lecture her cronies.

She says, "Those of good family background will be rich and blessed with many opportunities and the promise of a wonderful future. And - look.

　The duchess indicated me with a taunting look.

'That's the common man. Poor, deprived of opportunities, able to only fantasize about a wonderful future........ I'm sure they spent a lot of money to come here too.　And besides, did you see that?　I'm sure he thinks he's just dashing in and rescuing his girlfriend, but.......well, that's just miserable, isn't it?　When they find out it's me, they run away with a big smile on their face without saying a word back...that's the common man. How do you guys like that?
No. Such a wretched man.
I wish I didn't have to do that. If you're a man, you must be at least as good as Master Sogut or Lady Diares.
You guys...

　As if he couldn't keep quiet, Hirgis-san showed a rare glimpse of anger.
　But

Don't worry, Mr. Hirgis, I've been doing this a long time.

　I chuckle.
　Well, I don't care what they say about me.
　As long as Hirgis-san can escape from this place, it's fine.
　If you get involved with him in a strange way, he seems to be a troublesome person.
　It would be good luck to get away with it.
　I smiled an appropriate, affectionate smile.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it is a good idea to get out of this situation.　I mean, yes, I am. With the little money I've earned from working, I was finally able to bring this guy to the Cirrus Baths, which I've always admired. So........I just want to have a little fun.

　The duchess snorted in a good mood, satisfied with my poor performance.

''Huh, too haphazard. Fine.........I'll allow you to use this Cirrus Bathhouse for today or so.

　It's not your thing," I complained inwardly as I tried to walk away from Hirgis' hand.
　The cronies beside me are looking at me like I'm an idiot.
　To be honest, it's not a good feeling, but it's better than getting into a bad fight.
　Well, that's how--

'Oh, yeah. I was just telling you earlier, but don't let that sub-human there get soaked in hot water, okay?　Because the water is unholy.

　I stopped in my tracks.
　I felt my mind rapidly freeze.
　Then I turned around slowly.

"What did you ... say to me?
What is it ... what is your problem with me, the Duchess of Troia?

　As if pressurized, the Duchess steps back.

'What's this about the hot water getting dirty?'
What's with the........the.......defiance.........

　I let go of Hyrgis-san's hand and turned my feet towards the duchesses who huddled together in some kind of fright.

　Sub-humans.
　I've heard of the position of those called sub-humans in various countries before.
　But I don't think I've ever been conscious of Hirgis-san being a 'sub-human' before.
　Even in the school, I occasionally see sub-race people.
　But the fact that he is a 'subhuman' doesn't cause me to have any special feelings.
　As I recall, Hyrgis-san was a race called the Gamur race.
　She has ears and a tail like a dog.
　But while I sometimes found them to be cute features, I never felt negative emotions about them.

　Well, humans and sub-races...........................to be honest, I don't really care.
　What matters is the fact that that woman said terrible words to Hyrgis-san.

''I'm sorry, but--I can't let those words flow, as expected.

　I don't care what they say about me.
　I'm used to it and I'm not that interested in it.

　But I can't stand it when people say bad things about the people around me.

　
　I don't know why, even for myself.
　Still, the words just now made me irresistibly angry.

　And -- my arm was grabbed from behind.

It's a good thing. I'm just a chaperone. It's not that I came here to soak in hot water.

　Hyrgis-san, who grabbed my arm, said with a flat face as usual.
　However, that hand grasping his arm was trembling slightly.

''..........''

　And.

　This person hasn't called my name since a while ago.

　And even though there is a high possibility that the Duchesses' attitudes will change if I bring it up, Hirgis-san never mentions Cecily-san and Ira-san's names - the Arkwright family or the Horns' names.
　In other words, Mr. Hirgis is afraid of causing trouble for them.

　I know about the influence of the Trojan dukes, too.
　That Makina-san is also a difficult person to deal with, because I've heard a lot of complaints from the person himself who is having trouble dealing with them.
　In this St. Renowthread, five dukes have great power, and one of them is the Duke of Troia.

　So I can understand Hyrgis-san's feelings of not wanting to cause any trouble just because of the other party.
　I realized that feeling halfway through, and I also dared to keep Cecily-san and the others' names hidden.
　....................
　I understand.
　It's better to get it over with, that something will be resolved peacefully.
　A type like the Duchess would probably forget about the other party as soon as she satisfied her self-esteem on the spot.
　On the other hand, she is the type that is troublesome if you go out of your way to hit a nerve and cause resentment.

　But.........I just couldn't forgive her for what she said earlier.
　But...　

Please, just bear with me. Do this for me.

　Hyrgis-san should have told me this.
　I clenched my fists tightly and bit my teeth.

''Hmph.........................Finally, you remember who you're dealing with, don't you?

　The Duchess has room to spare again.

'Oh, by the way, I didn't catch your name, did I?　Of course you'll teach me, won't you?　I'll have to thank you for today's help later on. Well if I'm not teaching you here, I can easily find out--Gyah!

　And then someone else...

　He kicked the Duchess in the face.

'Belonging is a way of weighing up the strength and weakness you gain from it. Hahaha, so 'status' can sometimes be a synonym for weakness, then.

　The duchess fell forward in a haphazard manner.

'Ah.'

　I cringed when I saw the person who had kicked the Duchess to the ground.
　Shaking with humiliation, the wife raises her upper body.

"You want me to.........kick........?

　Her face was flushed with indignation, and Mrs. Dixon turned around with a devilish look on her face.
　Her lips were quivering in humiliation.
　Her cronies were stunned as they opened their mouths like idiots.

　The man who had kicked the Duchess to her feet without any hesitation had a wicked smile on his face and looked down supernaturally at the woman he had kicked away.

''I consciously put my foot out, it's like I'm not sorry--some hapless duchess.

　He bowed so reverently with a brownish earnestness that

Rokia?

　That's right.
　It was Rokia. In her lodging clothes.

What are you, what are you doing?　Here, this me, kick me, this me, this me, the Duchess of Troia, wah, me...!

　A dry smile escaped from the back of her throat as Rokia bent down in front of the duchess with her bottom still on the floor.

'Funny you say that, woman. So let me ask you one thing, is there a law in the world that says you can't kick Teme?
...you'll be sorry.
Huh?

　The duchess's voice was strangely dusky.
　Her voice was rich with a mixture of resentment and hatred.

''The foolishness of taking on me here I will make you regret it, I promise. I've learned that face you can't escape.
Well, you can make me an enemy, but what's the point of you?　Don't tell me it's a bunch of your dirty little cronies who are bowing down to your title?
I am the Duchess of Troia.
So?
I have more power than you can imagine. If you apologize later I will never forgive you.

　Then Rokia put her hands on her knees and stood up.

'She says some incomprehensible things ... ah, I see.

　Rokia put her fingertips to her temples and laughed, showing her sharp teeth.

'You don't have enough imagination, do you?　Kukuk ... poor thing.
You're the one who's not imaginative enough.

　'Haha,' said Rokia, her eyes peeled back as she laughed.

'I don't know.　So let's let the imaginative Duchess Samma imagine that, shall we?　There is a place in the world called the apocalypse. It's a very, very frightening place. How horrible is it that even I can't get close to it because of the horror of it?

　Bullshit.
　You're a full-fledged native.

What are you talking about?　This is St. Reno's Red.

　Clenching her teeth, the duchess turned more hatred towards Rokia.
　But Rokia was nowhere to be found, and she continued to talk.

''Yes, this is the Kingdom of St. Renowthred. Yes, this is the Kingdom of St. Renowthred. It's a very, very beautiful and peaceful place. Well the Trojan Duchess of Troia, who lives in such a peaceful, blah, blah, blah kingdom, got lost in the apocalypse one day by some mistake. Here's the problem. Will Duchess Sama repeat herself there like a fool?　I am the Duchess of Troy, after all. No one in the apocalypse knows the name of the Duchess of Troia. Well, what do you think?

　Suddenly Rokia bent her upper body and with a sinister smile stretched across her face, she brought her face close to the tip of the Duchess' nose.

''Nah, what nonsense.......this is St. Renowthread. It's not like that unholy place.''
I'm saying, for example, what if the man in front of you is a resident of the apocalypse? It's really an admirable lack of imagination. You are a nobleman, indeed.
Oh, you're from the apocalypse?　You're a fool. In the first place, you know I'm a duchess, and as I recall earlier, you were too afraid to approach me--
''Oops........Despite the fact that Duchess Sama has power, apparently she doesn't have the ability to detect a lie as a lie. Kukuku, the ability to detect a lie is important, right?　At least it's more versatile than location-dependent house names.
Patsy the Impostor!　You're a badass grifter who can beat people up with the right words!　You ... people!　Call the people!

　The cronies who had been watching the situation with a smile on their faces came to their senses.

Ha, yes, Elisabeth-sama!　Somebody--Goof!

　One of his cronies got punched in the gut by Locia.

"Here's the thing," he said. I'm a crook and a terrible demon king. I beat people for any reason, and sometimes for no reason at all. Whether they are strong or weak, I hit them. Rightly or wrongly, I hit people. I have all the discretion to do so. That's why I'm the Demon King - that's what I am. Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!

　Rokia lets out a high-pitched laugh.
　The beaten crony couldn't seem to breathe and fell to his knees as he held his stomach with his eyes peeled back.　
　Rokia sneered at his other crony.

''-- You know what I mean?''

　The remaining cronies nodded their heads repeatedly without words.
　If you make even the slightest noise, you'll face the same thing - they seemed to understand the meaning of the words immediately, just from the earlier word released by Rokia.

''To use violence against a weak woman........what an outrage!　You shouldn't be ashamed of yourself!

　The duchess turns on her fangs.
　But her voice is still subdued, perhaps because she is afraid of the same thing.

''Oh?''

　Rokia narrows her eyes and responds with a huff.

'What?'
'Against!　Against the ways of man...!
That's right. But in my case, it's the right thing to do-overwhelmingly the right thing.

　The Duchess looked at Rokia with a horrified look.

''This, this man ... is completely insane ...''
Don't worry. Not as bad as you.

　The duchess bites her nails with a grin.

''You will be punished you will be punished, you daredevil, and I will show you what happens if you disobey me...''

　The duchess's face was twisted with shame and hatred.

By the way, Duchess of Troy.

　I thought I was approaching the Duchess as she slid quickly up to her, and Rokia whispered something in her ear.
　And.

I'm not sure...

　Then, the duchess's expression was clearly different from the previous ones.
　Her face turned pale at first glance.
　When Rokia left, the duchess slowly opened her whitened lips.

''Where........where did you get that.......?
You know what?　This is also power. Violence isn't the only kind of power.
'Well, wait ... that's not ... that's not ...'
'Yeah, just so you know, you can't just send an assassin to keep your mouth shut, can you?　You're a maid, you know. Do you want me to name you all now?　Besides if you make such a move, I'm afraid I'll have to be quicker than you. And more importantly you won't be able to stop me from revealing the secret, will you?　Well, I'm going to kill them all. The whole clan I'm going to kill them all with my pride.

　The duchess, whose desperation darkened, grabbed Rokia's arm as if she was squirming.

''What do you want...?　Money?　You, for that ... for me ...
No. You just happened to be passing by here. You know what?　I'm not interested in you. So nothing is going to happen to you if you don't behave. The peaceful world of the Duchess of Troy will continue to exist. And from now on, as the Duchess of Troy, you can continue to wield your power as you please. But you should only choose your partner.
Okay, okay, I'll give you your hand--
That's why you're way off, man. The one person you need to be careful not to make an enemy of is that guy.

　Rokia and the Duchess looked at me at the same time.

'You'd better not make an enemy of that guy. He's much worse than me.
..........

　Huh?
　I'm a vicious person?

You should be grateful that he's tied to a 'place'.

　After uttering something unfamiliar, Rokia said to the Duchess as if to give her advice.

'What you should have most in hand is your imagination. At the end of the day, this will be your greatest weapon. And in this case, it is the future of the people in front of you that you should use your imagination to look at. If you have the ability to see what will happen to the people in front of you in the future, you can always use your power.
The ability to see through...
You don't have to do this today. Get out of here, you stupid b*tc*es.

　The Duchess stood up with a slow movement, showing caution towards Rokia, and walked up to her cronies.

'Let's go ... we've been playing around a little too much.
'Don't play with fire, Duchess?　If you're not careful, you could lose your only 'power', you know?
-Oh!

　Kicking, the duchess regretfully snorted at Rokia.
　However, she seemed to quickly stifle her flared emotions.
　It must have been ingrained in her mind that there was no benefit in fighting with Rokia.
　A complicated-looking wife turned on her heel and left with her anxious-looking cronies.

　After they had disappeared, I thanked Rokia.

'I don't know what it is, but... you've helped me, Rokia.

　'Kudos,' chuckled Rokia, chuckling in amusement.

'You're kidding, right?　Without question, an honest thank you popped up without any question.
What?
Seeing what I just did, don't you feel anything?
No, because you helped me.

　What is this guy talking about?

You're just as scary as I thought you'd be, my friend. Well, I guess I haven't been blinded by it either.

　
　Well, he's saved my life, that's for sure.
　We should be grateful.

''But, why did the Duchess back down so easily?　Though I got the feeling that things had gotten weird since Rokia gave me something in my ear.
No matter how careful you are, a secret can never be completely hidden. The taste of unfaithfulness is honey, but if your stomach is searched, it's poison.

　Ah, I see.
　You mean ... adultery?

Pain and fear are the only medicines for fools. But it's not too bad if you can do both. The real threat is someone who doesn't give a shit about pain or fear when it comes to their goals.
"...why are you looking at me there?

　Rokia put her hand on my shoulder.

I'm sure you're not going to be able to find a way to make an enemy out of that guy, so I thought I'd do you a favor. It's a shoddy way of doing things. But that's to be expected. After all, my top priority was to see the look on those stupid girls' face.

　With a look of amusement on her face, Rokia lifted both ends of her mouth.

'For me personally, it was quite a fun game.

　With that, Rokia left.
　His figure disappeared as soon as he turned the corner.

　Left behind, Hyrgis-san and I looked at each other once.

''For now, is it correct to say that it's all settled in the round?
You know that guy?
Hmm, well, I'm pretty sure I know him.
Yes.

　They are silent to each other.
　Let's see.

So, shall we go back to our rooms?
Yeah.

　But as soon as they started walking together, Mr. Hirgis stopped.

"Hirgis-san?

　I looked at her and saw that she had stopped and placed a loosely clenched fist between her breasts.
　She seemed to be hesitating in some way.

What's going on?
Uh, Blackbeard.
Yes, sir.
Thank you for that. For saying that to me earlier, like that.

　Oh, you weren't sure if you wanted to thank me or not.
　But.

No, but as it turns out, the biggest contributor is Rokia, and I'm not very useful.

　But Mr. Hirgis shook his head in denial.

''That's not true........no.

　When he stopped, Hirgis squeezed his hand on his chest.
　Then, looking embarrassed, she quickly averted her gaze.
　Since she is usually a woman of few words, she may feel embarrassed to say thank you.

The next time something happens, I'll be there to help you.
..........

　Hirgis-san shrugged her shoulders and lowered her gaze as if she was somewhat at a loss for a response.
　Huh?
　Hirgis-san, it seems like your expression doesn't seem to be floating....................oh, I see.
　Maybe she is worried about the thing that happened earlier.
　.........
　Oh, good.
　That's right.
　Let's make a casual appeal here so that Hyrgis-san can bathe properly without worrying about what happened earlier.

"Mr. Hirgis-san.
...What?
I believe it's time for that mixed bath we've all booked after this, right?
"?　Eh, yeah.....
I'm looking forward to seeing you-- mixed bathing with Mr. Hirgis!

　But Mr. Hirgis turned his face down and fell silent.
　She is clasping her hands in a fuzzy grip around her stomach.
　Huh?
　Is your face red?

Hi, Mr. Hirgis...?
"Euch.

　Huh?

Blackberry ... euch.

　I thought her mouth was tearing up a bit as she muttered that.