A woman with scorching hot hair waited between the transitions on Zenobia's side.
　The woman wore a well-tailored white blouse, and her red hair looked stunning.
　I hadn't seen her in months, but she still looked as stiff and shrewd as ever.
　However, she does not seem to be slightly sluggish.
　That's just the way it is.

　If the words of Hans, the butler I'm holding in my arms, are true, Zenobia seems to be in crisis right now for the first time since its formation.

　I asked bluntly, "Miss Julia's life is in danger.

''Is it true that Miss Julia's life is in danger?

　Eltria, the head of the Trade Federation, stares straight into my eyes and nods slowly.
　It looked like she didn't want to affirm it, but she's a merchant with realist's rights.
　She stated the facts simply and simply.

''Well yeah, you're right. I'm afraid so.'

　Eltria assured her that.
We could stand around and talk. I can show you the house.
　And he recommended it.

　I'm certainly not so drunk as to hold a swarthy man in his fifties forever, either.
　I left Hans, the steward, in charge of Eltria's servants and followed her.




　Eltria's mansion was as opulent as ever.

　Anemone, the elf he had brought with him, was

I've never seen such a magnificent house!

　He rolled his eyes.

'My mansion in Ivalice is a shack compared to this, right?

　I joked back to her that she was.
Yes, sir.
　I answer immediately.

''Well you're an honest girl,''

　Like Anemone, she looks up at the Eltria mansion.
　Well, her impressions are certainly right on target.
　The head of the Trade Federation, Eltria Octave, is the richest merchant in Zenobia.
　His residence is commensurate with his wealth, and is no different from the villa of a royal lord and nobleman.

''No, maybe more than that.''

　I've seen a few villas of royalty and nobility, but there are probably only a handful in this other world that could build a mansion of a more magnificent make than this one.

　I wonder if we could see that if we took over Leasas?
　As I was thinking about this, I was led into the guest room of Eltria's mansion.
　They suggest I sit on the couch.
　I obey.
　I hand over my robe as recommended by Eltria's maidservant, but there is no problem.
　I came to Zenobia as a Human.

　I left the Robe of Immortality and the Mask of Change in Ivalice.

　I'm sure you're not going to have any problems dressing up as a demon, since Eltria's true identity has been exposed, but it's still best to avoid having demons wandering around the human city.

　By the way, I also ordered Lilith to cover her tail and have her wear her hat deeply so that her horns are not visible.
　However, she's the type to open her mouth wide and talk, so when she speaks, you can sometimes see her fangs.
　It would be easy to order this girl not to talk, but impossible to get her to do it, so I won't point it out.

　The other problem is the brown skin characteristic of the whores (Sakiyubas), but it's more common among humans from the south and not so noticeable.
　On the way to the mansion, I saw several brown-skinned people.
　They seem to be from an island city in the Southern Ocean.
　To begin with, the maid who brought the tea is also brown-skinned.

''There won't be any problems.''

　He muttered this in his mind and looked at the master of the house as he sipped on the tea that was served to him.
　She sipped on the tea as well, and then broke off the conversation.

'You've heard from Hans that my Zenobia's, or rather my daughter's, is in danger.

　I reply.

'Yes, of course, even if you don't put it into words, you'll know right away that you're in a pickle if you come to me in a blood soaked bandage.

　I ask the truth with a bitter smile.

''Just before Hans-dono fainted, he said that if we don't do anything about it, we'll have to sacrifice Miss Julia, is that true?''

　In the meantime, I reaffirm the meaning of Hans the Butler's last words.
　'Eltria, unfortunately,' he says bitterly.

'Sacrifice is disconcerting, and it's a prehistoric, or rather demonic, thought.

　Sacrifice to a god or an evil god.

　It's a ridiculous idea for someone who has memories of a previous life, but this world is a different world of medieval swords and magic. The fact that there are actually alchemists who sacrifice living creatures and indulge in magic makes it even worse.

　My beloved former boss, Cephiro, also sacrifices sheep's heads at night and conducts dubious experiments.

　It is the same in the human world.

　The number of dubious sorcerers who sacrifice life, perform secret arts, and perform miracles should not be so different from the sorcerers of the demon race.

　It's just--.

'And yet I thought that was only in sorcerer's circles. I've never heard of a merchant being a realist, even giving his life to the temple of the goddess of commerce, Ammenica, though he may donate to her temple, but I've never heard of him giving his life.

　Eltria answers that question with clarity.

'It's a land merchant story.

　She continues as she says this.

'We Zenobia merchants are often merchants and sailors at the same time. Do you understand that?

'Yes, well, this Zenobia is an important transit point for the island cities to the south, aka the Spice Islands. There must be a lot of sailors here.

As a matter of fact, I used to sail on a ship once. My steward, Hans, and I used to sail around the five seas.

I've heard so many stories of your heroics from Lord Hans.

　According to her, it was Eltria herself who revived the once-defunct Octave family, and it is said that she commanded a large sailing ship, travelled the dangerous waters, scavenged large quantities of rare spices and elixir materials, and sold them to become the founder of the Octave family and the middle generation.

It is said that sailors are more superstitious than one might expect from a boatman. You can't bring dogs on board, you can't bring hoops on board, and you can't bring baked goods on board. When I was a captain, some of them said you can't have a live girl as a captain.

What do they all mean?

Neptus, the god of the sea, is in the shape of a cat, so dogs are not allowed on board. Besides, it is a custom for sailors to carry cats on board their ships to protect the grain they carry from rats.

The cat hunts rats, you know.

　Eltria nodded.

'I can still understand that much, but the reason why you shouldn't bring a ring to the ship is too ridiculous. Do you understand that reason?

Come on, you can't imagine.

'The reason is that it's bad luck. It reminds them of a hole in the bottom of a ship.

'I see. .........that's also superstitious.

'No, I don't mind if you call it distinctly ridiculous. I'm aware of that. And the same goes for the baked goods. You can't bring them aboard the ship just because you think it will make us laugh.

　'Haha,' said Eltria, letting out a thirsty laugh.

'The reason for that is that the confectionery is squeaky clean. The reason for that is because the confectionery is squeaky clean and the sailors don't want to have to deal with it. That's why they're strictly forbidden to bring them on board.

　Sati's face paled as she heard those words.
　It is probably, but last time I got on the boat, I brought a cookie with me.
　Of course, that's not why the sea was hurting.
　In other words, it's a complete superstition, but it seems that a sailor is still a firm believer in superstitions.
　Eltria, perhaps because she was a former sailor, added in a tone of defense for them.

'But, well, it's not hard to see why they feel the way they do. It's like living side by side with sailors and death all the time, you know. One of the professions with the highest mortality rate here in Zenobia is that of a sailor. It doesn't matter if it's superstition or good luck. I can understand why you'd want to rely on it.

　And I agree with you.
　Even in a previous life, being a sailor is a dangerous profession.

　A large tanker could capsize at any time, but a small fishing boat could capsize at any time, and in fact, every day a boat goes missing somewhere and many lives are lost.

　To begin with, being a sailor is a highly paid profession. There are captains who make more money than the captain of that mercenary group. They are paid well because the profession of a sailor is so dangerous and lucrative.


　Even in a previous life, there was a time called the Age of Discovery.

　When the fleet of ships that left from the Portuguese city of Lisbon, the precursor of this era, finished going around the world and called at a port of call, there were only a few ships and sailors left in the fleet. But the spices that were loaded on that ship in large quantities were worth dozens of times more than the gold they had carried when they left port.

　So they made enough profit to buy a fleet of ships again and again.

　It is said that the people of the Age of Discovery were also very superstitious, and people who live next to death may be tempted to clutch at straws.


　--It's not hard to understand the feeling, but now, what relationship does this have to the matter of Miss Julia being sacrificed?

　I decided to ask that.
　Eltria answers willingly.

'The sea god Neptus lusts after the blood of a pure-blooded maiden every twenty years, this is one of the lore that has been handed down in Zenobia since ancient times.
'You mean that every twenty years he killed a maiden and threw her into the sea?

　Eltria nodded slowly, but quickly added a few words.

'Of course, this is ridiculous. That was a long time ago, and there is no indication that the ritual has been performed in the last hundred years or so. As far as I've been able to find out, though.

'Then why would Miss Julia be sacrificed?

　To my simple question, Eltria answers with a finger.

"It was him...

　Eltria points to my rear.
　At the end of her white fingers was a painting.
　I'm going to be the first to admit that I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it.
　I looked at the painting and blurted out.
　I looked at the picture and blurted out the name of the creature in the picture.

The Sea Serpent?

　Eltria didn't say 'correct', but rather spoke out.

The time of the legendary sea serpent's activity and the time of the maiden's sacrifice just happened to coincide. That's why my daughter was chosen as a candidate for the sacrifice.

　Eltria concluded with a look and a gesture that said, "You're in trouble, aren't you?
　That would certainly be troubling.
　I took pity on Eltria and quickly began to think of ways to solve the problem.