Chapter 672 – The Sound of the Heart and Self-Advocacy

000

Selena Regent, who was giving a speech in the East, disappeared.

When a masked duo appeared in the park, she used her magic to take them away.

Naturally, inside Asteris, there was an uproar over her disappearance.

Her kingdom’s army, whose mission it was to guard her, was heading to every corner of Asteris to find her missing Selena.

Naturally, several soldiers came to the Dark Dragon Store run by Herti, but fortunately, the employees of the store persuaded them that ‘such people did not come here’ to prevent them from entering, so the soldiers had no choice but to turn around and walk away from the mansion.

If there was an uproar, it wouldn’t just be the kingdom’s army.

If something happened inside Asteris, it was the Eastern country that had to take responsibility.

Although they were not directly responsible, first, it was an incident that occurred inside the territory they managed.

In a situation where the details of the incident were not properly known, the Eastern Bureau said that it would cooperate in searching the surrounding area using government forces.

＂I think it is ─.＂

When Artis, who had heard the story from outside, spoke like that, Lila kept her mouth shut for a moment, as if she was thinking about something.

According to Artis, it was at the park that Selena disappeared with her twosome.

Speaking of her park, she remembers what she-Diora had said to Cleon yesterday.

‘It’s definitely those two people…’

After coming to the most plausible conclusion based on various circumstances, Lila thought for a moment about what to do, but she soon decided that if she made a hasty move now, she would be noticed, so she did not leave the house and went to Cleon.

＂? What’s wrong Lila? Are you okay?”

Although it is clearly a topic that Lila is interested in, Artis asks her something strange when she shows her subtle expression.

Laila lifted her head up and said, ‘Huh?’, And she quickly responded by waving her hand.

“Ah, yes, it’s okay. Well, the title of royal wizard isn’t just a decoration, it’ll take care of itself. We just have to be careful not to let sparks fly here.”

＂That’s right…＂

When Artis nodded, as if there was truth to Lila’s words, Amelia looked at Lila with worried eyes.

It was not only Lila who heard the conversation between Cleon and Diora, but also Amelia, who was also present.

[Don’t worry. Because Cleon seems to be safe now.]

[I feel that too… But is it really okay?]

Amelia looks worried as if she can’t help but be worried.

To Amelia, Lila nods her head and answers like this to appease her.

[Cleon is not a fool either. You probably know that if you get rid of Selena now, the relationship between the Eastern Kingdom and the kingdom will be completely strained. If you’re that worried, how about sending your voice via imprint? I am thinking of preparing a familiar and sending it out.]

[I’ve been doing this since a while ago… But I don’t get a reply, probably because of the distance. If not… Am I busy?]

Amelia was not yet used to communicating using her imprint, so she spoke thinking that the cause might be herself, but when Lila heard her keyword ‘busy’, a bad premonition suddenly passed her by.
‘S face hardened.

[No way, Cleon… Doing something like that with Selena-]

＂Yes!?＂

Amelia gets up from her seat and leaves without realizing it.

Of course, it wasn’t Leila – Leah, who had been quietly drinking tea in the eyes of Artis, suddenly raised her voice and got up from her seat.

In a way, it may have been natural for Artis to drop the lollipop he was holding in his hand.

＂Oh, sorry, sorry. It’s nothing.”

“It’s nothing… The two of us just exchanged a lot of eye contact. Do you think they can read it all because they are like-minded colleagues?”

＂Oh, well, that is…＂

She slyly asks what she’s talking about so loudly, but while Amelia is wondering what to say to her, Lila steps in and intervenes.

“Now. I admit it’s fun to tease Amelia, but she should stop. Because it’s time for that kid to be in his prime.”

＂No, I think it’s you, Laila, that it’s time to be more sensitive… In terms of age, Leah is still about 10 years old…”

“Wow, it’s noisy! Don’t worry about such trivial things, but quickly analyze what kind of artifact or object it is!”

When Lila lifted her finger while saying that, there was a magic tool in front of Artis that looked like a portable firearm that she had used to protect her younger Emma.

There were limits to her ability to analyze on her own, so in this case, she thought it would be better to hire the help of her expert and left it to her…

All Hara did was drink tea, eat cookies, and chat while sucking on candy, without doing any analysis. It seemed like her client, Lila, would also reach the limit of her patience.

Then, Artis sighs at Laila’s words and responds by tapping the magic tool in front of him with his index finger.

“Strictly speaking, this is different from my major era. Since it is an object close to a relic, I will analyze it, but what should I say… There is no element that makes my heart sing like this.”

＂’Jiing~’?”

When Amelia tilts her head and asks her what she means, she speaks while lightly shaking the lollipop in her hand.

“Okay. For example… The feeling you get when you see someone you fall in love with at first sight. One side of my chest feels tight, my face turns red… And my lips become slightly dry, and my throat becomes dry.”

She speaks proudly of Artis as if he were her predecessor in life, but she has never experienced anything like that with a human.

Then, Amelia, who listened quietly to the story and blinked her eyes, soon spoke.

“… Isn’t that ‘Kongdak’?”

A living room engulfed in silence for a moment.

Artis looks at Amelia with her slightly surprised face, then smiles and talks to her.

“Is that the part you’re worried about? Moreover, seeing that she said that, Princess Amelia also told someone…”

“Oh!? Well, it’s not like that!? Hey, over there! Please forget what you just said!”

The lodging where the group stays ends up being noisy.

Looking at those two people, Lila let out a sigh, opened her hand slightly, took out her own familiar that was hidden inside, something like a small jewel butterfly, and sent it to Cleon.

001

＂Falling!?＂

When Selena suddenly raised her upper body and spoke like that, she was already on the ground.

To be exact, I was lying down a little while ago, and it was in that state that I came to my senses.

What I remember is the story of the woman among the masked duo who instilled distracting thoughts in herself so that she could fail to control her magical power-

A man who flew in and saved himself just before he hit the ground and was crushed underneath.

＂… Why?＂

Only pure questions welled up and lingered in her mind.

Of course, it was clear that the two were colleagues of some kind, and if the woman’s purpose in preventing her from using magic was herself, then why did she go to the extent of throwing her body under her?
I didn’t know.

However, since it was true that I was safe thanks to this, I started to think that it was what is commonly referred to as ‘internal division’.

And such a man and woman – if you think that the man and woman were not visible in the mask of the duo –

＂Ah, I woke up☆＂

A woman’s voice coming from behind.

The slight emotion in her words felt different from just before, but it was the voice of the woman who had been pushing her earlier.

Then, Selena tries to raise her magic within herself, but-

＂Ugh…!＂

The magic engine screams, and the magic power is not gathered.

That means that not much time has passed since the previous crash.

In her case, if she lost control of her magic because she was thinking too much, she would have at least an hour before she could use her magic again.

It’s like an aftereffect left behind by a magic organ, so there’s nothing I can do about it.

In this case, it was impossible to run away from them.

Those two will chase after you and use flight magic to follow you.

＂Are you okay?＂

When the masked man, Cleon, approaches her, asks her a question, Selena hesitates for a moment, then answers by raising her hand to her mouth.

＂Oh, of course~! Thanks to you supporting me from below, I didn’t get hurt at all. Even though we faced each other as enemies, are you praising the kind heart that saved me?”

Although she was speaking as much as she could as Selena normally did, Cleon could sense a little anxiety mixed in her voice.

She was not invincible to the extent that she could still adopt the same infinitely positive attitude as before.

“Well, we were the ones who dropped it.”

When Cleon said that, Diora next to her also burst into laughter, saying ‘Ahaha ☆’.

However, Selena, looking up at the two people, hesitated for a moment, but then she took a deep breath and spoke to the two people.

“So? The reason you kept me alive instead of killing me was to dig up some information? Oh,~hohoho! Sorry, I won’t answer anything! Because, I am the daughter of a duke and a court wizard! A not so gentle opponent-＂

While she was saying that, Cleon took off the mask she had been wearing on her face.

To tell the truth, I wanted to take off the Exiled Church’s mask a while ago.

Then, seeing Cleon’s face revealed there, Selena looked at him with her mouth open for a moment.

And, upon seeing her black eyes, black hair, and slightly cold face, a voice like “Tee-ing!” Rang out in her head.

“You! It’s Cleon!? Right!? An adventurer suspected of kidnapping Princess Amelia and running away!?”

She never even thought that the person she was looking for would come to her.

Cleon thought about her words for a moment, but then she shook her head.

“It’s true that it’s Cleon, but I didn’t kidnap Princess Amelia.”

“All criminals say that. … One of the two people was you – the other was…”

＂Uhuhu~! Then shall I reveal my identity?”

When Diora, who was quiet, took off her own mask, her red hair fell down.

And while looking at Diora, Selena will talk.

“Red hair and excellent magic skills… You are ‘Lila Flamewatch’.”

＂…? Oh, no! I am not Lila…!”

When she said something that seemed like she was misunderstanding something,

＂I understand… You knew that I came to look for you and tried to hit the player!? Scary criminals!”

“I’m not listening…”

When Diora muttered as if she was tired of her attitude, Cleon stood in front of her as if to block her and spoke to her Selena.

“First… I’m sorry for appearing in front of you like this and starting a fight. Let me apologize I couldn’t help it, because if you were in a state where you could use magic, you wouldn’t have agreed to the conversation.”

＂…＂

An unexpected apology.

And, the fact that we cannot deny what he said.

At the sound of her voice coming out of his mouth, Selena closed her mouth for a moment, brushing her long blonde hair behind her and speaking.

“Bird, I guess you’re a more polite person than I thought…? I heard that they are vicious Lolicon criminals… The kidnapping of Princess Amelia was also caused by the wall called Lolicon-“

“I don’t know anything else, but that’s a 100% lie and false rumor.”

As Cleon said that, he raised his lowered head and looked at her.

Selena could see in her eyes that she was a little embarrassed by Cleon’s attitude and his words.

Was there something called the ‘image of the criminal’ that she was drawing in her head?

Anyway, when she saw Cleon, who was far from her expectations, Selena thought that maybe she was, but then she realized that she was the court mage of the kingdom and that she must carry out her palace duties. Shaking one’s head

“Well, so? No matter how much I apologize and speak politely, I cannot admit to the denial of the charges!”

“Ah… Of course. But this is probably the minimum condition needed to talk to you.”

While saying that, he sat in front of Selena who was sitting.

At that time, Selena saw blood stains all over the robe he was wearing.

“Wait a minute, wasn’t there that blood stain earlier?”

No matter how much it bothers her, when she asks that question, Cleon scratches her cheek.

“I was so focused on catching you that I forgot to deploy a shield to protect myself. That’s when I got hurt. It’s okay, the wounds have already been treated with her healing techniques.”

When Cleon pointed to Diora, Diora whistled and looked in this direction with her hands clasped.

＂… Why, so much…＂

“I told you, right? There is a story that needs to be told.”

At Cleon’s words, Selena looked at him with a confused face and asked a question, saying that she really didn’t know.

“What on earth do you want to talk about? … If I hear that story, does that mean I will believe you?”

“Whether that will happen or not… I can’t judge for myself. But at least- it will help save ‘a girl’.”

＂…＂

Selena couldn’t ask who the girl was.

Is it Amelia, who is said to have been kidnapped – or is she talking about another child?

But one thing is clear – the impression she felt while talking to him like this.

It was true that he was not a villain of extreme evil as rumored.

“… Great. Let’s hear the story of how this happened. But keep in mind: Because all you have to do is listen! If I think it’s not worth listening to, I’ll cut you off right away, so be prepared! Oh, hohoho!”

Therefore, she gave him a chance to talk in order to take some time for her magic organs to recover.

Cleon sighed in relief at her words and then smiled slightly.

“… Thank you so much. So – where should I start talking.”

Cleon thought about it for a moment, then she nodded.

Clearing herself of her own charges, she must have felt that in order to convince Amelia of her innocence, she must convey to her the most basic part of herself.

Cleon met Selena’s eyes and quietly opened her mouth to say this.

“Selena Regent. Do you know about ‘Saint Princess’?”