A young girl mingled in the crowd of people coming and going.
　At first glance, the young girl, who appears to be a lost child, passed through the crowd as if she didn't exist and entered the chapel, reaching the priest.

'--Oh, this is unusual. Are you praying alone, young lady?

Yeah, he told me to go and glue myself.

It is a wonderful thing to do. Our God is also more than ever pleased with us. Bless the devout congregation.

Yeah, thanks, Daddy's wife.

　And the girl also disappears.

(So it's always the same?)

　He called out in the shadow of the building he had arrived at.

'How is your starry-eyed friend?'
　A voice spills out from between those shadows.

'I thought there was no movement,'

Yeah.

　Then Lesia disappears again.
　We walk through the unmaintained and miscellaneous back roads through the standing buildings.
　Clarice is the only country in the Seven Kingdoms that openly receives support from the Holy Land. Despite the never-ending conflicts, the people's way of life remains calm.

　What they lack in wealth they make up for in plunder, and what they lack in hunger they fill with religion.
　They may not be wealthy, but there is not much anxiety or dissatisfaction among them.
　There is a darkness behind the lives of these people.

'Oi!　Which way the f*ck did he run?

Send people around. Do not let them get away!　Find it, find it!

　A violent voice reverberated.
　Lethia's hearing, which was far outside the realm of humanity, caught everything accurately.
　The sound of the footsteps of a weak person fleeing. Multiple beasts chasing it.

''Oh look, things are so disturbing.''

Hey, hey, hey. The beast is out of here. Somebody better get it.

Whose is this?　You could at least manage it better.

　A girl runs away from a wave of people, hurting her bare feet, and continues to run single-mindedly. None of the spectators who watch it do not care for the girl. They only look down on the girl with contempt and curious eyes. None of them question the scene. The poisonous liquor of religion takes away their thoughts and creates a distorted common sense.

　Hearing them, the girl flees into the alleyway again. She wanted to avoid the public eye as much as possible.
　The people who live in this place do not see the girl as a person.
　This is because there is a thin layer of hair on her skin and her ears and tail are sticking out.

''Huh ... hah ... hah ...''

　The escape of a slave was too serious a sin.
　Grabbing her would be more horrible than death.
　But still the girl had escaped. Surely that must be because it was not courage or a once-in-a-lifetime gamble, but simply because she was at her limit.

　The girl was not even wearing clothes.
　There was only a pompous collar on her slender neck. That was all she was allowed to wear.
　While naked, he continued to run frantically.
　At the end of the life-threatening escape, Lesia stood in front of the girl alone.

'Retreat!

　But Lesia didn't move.

'Move it!

　With a look of panic, Lesia lightly flushed the clenched fist that was unleashed without hesitation and lifted her body with a flourish.
　Although the difference in body size is considerable, Lesia held up the girl as if she didn't feel the weight.

''Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!　Let go of me!　Let go of me!　No!　Oh no!　Please!　Please, please let me go, please let me go.

　I put my hands around the girl's limbs as she screams like crazy and lift her up in a princess hug and put my hand in her mouth.

''Ugu, fugu!''

　The girl was biting at her hand, trying to bite it off, but Lesia's little fingers still didn't falter from being exposed to the strong beast's jaws.

''Please calm down, you will be found if you make a noise, right?

　The girl has turned pale and is so upset that she is about to faint at any moment, Lesia calls out as gently as possible to the girl.

It's not a good idea to have a newborn baby. Te........
　Tears spilled out endlessly.
　The tears were the only thing that touched Lethia's hand as if they were the last resistance.

'It's fine. You have worked hard enough. Now go to sleep.

　When Lesia held out her hand, the girl who had been making a lot of noise continued to make a soft sleep.

''--Hina.''

'Yes, yes, Lady Lesia. Again, your usual bad habit.

Shut up, sir. I'll leave it to you.

Yes, sir, but I'm gonna handle it, and I need you to do your job just right, Princess.

　Without a sound, the girls disappeared, leaving only the voices of rough people behind.



　Lethia stroked her own neck and spat it out into the void.






◇






　Two days had passed since I infiltrated Clarice.
　The Hylia Chamber of Commerce is still profitable in its own right, and even though it is a branch office, it has a fairly large store in this city.
　The products are mainly salt and marine products brought from Sidonis, but they seem to be spreading their trade widely from daily necessities to armor and protective gear as well as food products.
　Duran was staying in one of the rooms he was given, in the form of a hiding place.

Uncle, I'm going to play with you.

　Sure enough, Nero immediately began to say so.
　No, should I praise him for holding it together for two days here?　

''I thought you were supposed to be quiet...''

Because Nero says I shouldn't be out of the house, I haven't exercised in two days, my uncle doesn't have time for me, and I don't have time for him.
　That's what Nero says, but Duran really doesn't want to show Nero, the beastly man, how deep this city is. If we walked out, we might invite a commotion from here.

''Go play with Claudia or something.
　That being said, Claudia looks up from the book she was reading and says to Nero.

''Would you like me to make you a cup of tea?
　In contrast to Nero, Claudia's voice is bright. She was enjoying her current situation to the fullest.
　In addition to the wealth of foodstuffs that the Hylia Trading Company stocks, valuable books are also being brought into this large, useless room.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

''Buu, I don't need all that bitterness.

You're a very young man.

I'm not a kid!

Don't stick it out, just put some sugar in it. Put some sugar in it while you're at it.

'Yes, Sir Knight!　Gladly!

　I feel some resistance to having the princess serve the original princess, but it can't be helped because Claudia's hands are those of an expert, and it tastes a lot better than Duran's putting in, so it can't be helped.

''You're as good a hand as ever,''
　A somewhat relieving scent rises up.
　Claudia's cheeks colored slightly as she honestly admired it, but she smiled happily.

''Lesia-san taught me a lot of things, it's part of my bride training.

Well I hope you find a good match.


　With a blatant slump of her shoulders, Claudia moved her hand and placed the fully steeped tea in front of Nero and Duran.
　As she was about to pick up the cup, a small hand, not Duran's, interrupted her.

'Yes, it is delicious, sir. You've improved your skills again, you can become the maid of the princess shama anytime with this, Master will give you the drumstick.

　Nero and Claudia looked at Lesia, who hadn't made a sound, didn't open the door, and broke in before she knew it.

''You, when... or rather, when would a maid intercept something served to a guest, normally?''

I'm here!

　An irresistibly angry, interminable voice sounded depressing.

'It's awful, Miss Lesia!　The tea I made for the knight--

'--Uhmmm, that's right. I admit that I've gotten better at this, but I'm still blue, Claudia. But he's still blue, Claudia.

　Lesia says, sounding strangely pompous.

''What do you mean by that?

This is enough for ordinary people, but not for important people.　What we offer our loved ones has to be distinctly different and special from the rest.

Special?
　Gulping, Claudia's throat made a sound.

'That's right, there's only one trick: hand them over in the form of your own love.
　Duran felt a chill run down his spine for some reason.

''Gu, specifically--''
　With a thud, Claudia shook the table and asked for a lesson.
　Lesia, as if to say that she had been waiting for it, announced exaggeratedly.

''A drop of bodily fluids as a hidden flavor, gouged........!　It hurts!　What are you doing, Duranshama....

'Don't feed them the wrong knowledge, what are you going to do if the naive princesses take it seriously?

'You're out of your mind!　I am neither naive nor a princess.

Don't let him in?

You can't go in there.

　Let's just ignore the fact that there was some unnatural pause.
　Duran sips his tea again.

'So, when do you think you'll be able to execute it?'

Three nights from now, as planned. The day before the inauguration, we will go ahead as planned.

Hey, what does that mean?
　Nero asked with a small tilt of his head.

'Apparently the festival celebrates the day that the Election marks the beginning of the year.

Some say it marks the beginning of the world. Or as some people call it, the Eikokusai.

　Lethia tells him that, and as if a switch was flipped, deep hatred is in her eyes.

''And well, that doesn't matter - please make sure to cultivate your wisdom for the day--''

　Saying that, Lesia appeared suddenly and abruptly disappeared.
　It seems as if she wanted to hide her own deeply distorted face.


　Claudia says, as if somewhat intimidated.

''--Well, but from the look on that guy's face, I'm sure he's not a good one.