Chapter 997 – Interview!

000

What Zita was reading out loud was a critical hit weapon not only for Kanon, the author, but also for Cleon, who was the motif of the text, and Herti, so it had to be freed from her hands right away.

However, it seemed like she wanted to read more of what she had just read, as her eyes were sparkling.

It wasn’t until we somehow reached an agreement that she would let me read it later that she seemed to calm down a bit.

And when she cries and shouts like that in the mansion, raising her voice, it may be natural that even sleeping people wake up.

＂Ugh. Berlin, what’s going on…?”

When Maybelle, who was awakened by her commotion, appears, Bayerlin, who was among the commotion, is the first to notice her and responds.

＂Ah, sister, sister. Sorry, it was loud, right? I’ll make it quiet right now…”

As she said that, Beirlin was about to do something.

“Ah! It’s Mr. Cleon~”

Do. Maybelle is walking towards us unsteadily, speaking in a relaxed voice and looking half-awakened.

Just like when we first met her, she was wearing long black clothes that stretched down to the floor. Although her body was an adult, her mental age was that of a girl in her early teens.

Although she may have been an older sister to Beirlin, she ended up acting like a child in front of her adults, including Cleon.

She stumbles into her room, aiming straight at Cleon, then puts her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes again.

＂Cool…＂

And, the quiet sound of breathing coming from her mouth.

Apparently, although she was awakened by the commotion, her mind still seemed to be half in a dream world.

Cleon let out a sigh of relief as he felt the commotion from just a moment ago calm down in an instant due to her appearance and actions.

＂Maybelle. I’m sorry, but wake up. I am a guest to you.”

＂Ugh…＂

Maybelle shook her head with her head buried in Cleon, making a childish voice.

She was separated from her parents when she was young, and since then she has been on her own, so it is not understandable that she would want to rely on an adult.

The gaze directed at me by those around me hurts…!

In particular, Herti hurts the most even though she can’t see clearly in front of her…

Moreover, when you look in that direction, you hear a ‘clacking’ sound like her teeth clashing.

As Beirlin shed her bloody tears, she was looking this way.

＂Everything will be okay if you are…＂

“No, it doesn’t look good at all…”

Cleon took Maybelle away from him and gently shook her shoulder to stop her bleeding.

Only then did she suddenly open her eyes once again.

“It’s only about 11:30 yet…”

“Ah… I heard from Berlin that it happens at noon, but I know. As I said before, there is someone who came to see you.”

When Cleon said that and looked at Noctis, Noctis nodded, cleared his throat, and instantly made a reporter’s smile while speaking.

＂Excuse me, Maybelle! This is Noctis from the Eastern Newspaper…! I made an appointment for an interview a week ago, do you remember?”

“Ah~ Mr. Noctis… Yes, of course I remember. The interview was today, right? So at 11 o’clock…”

Maybelle was looking at Noctis with her saggy voice, not sure if she was nodding or bobbing her head.

＂Huh? But…”

“Yes…! I only said 11 o’clock, but I didn’t decide whether it was 11 o’clock at night or 11 o’clock in the afternoon…! I thought it was 11pm, but Maybelle thought it was 11pm…!”

When Maybelle tilts his head as he remembers her, Noctis strikes the player and explains the situation, raising his voice while bending his waist 90 degrees.

“I misunderstood the time! Sorry!”

Seeing Noctis telling her it was her own mistake, Maybelle blinked her eyes, then shook her head.

＂Oh, it was normal for humans to be active during the day, not at night…! Sorry, all the people I know work at night…”

Ilenudo and Herti both work until quite late hours…

Needless to say about Cleon, it was true that the surrounding humans were active as late as the vampires.

‘Oh, is this perhaps our fault?’

And Cleon will think for a moment.

“Hey, if it’s okay with you, I’m thinking of moving up the appointment and interviewing you from now on… Would that be okay?”

Normally, this is a request that a reporter should not make.

I made a mistake in arranging a time with the interview subject, and asked to advance the interview time due to my own circumstances. It was a mistake to the point that I might have to re-apply the title of “Patch-up” That I had just gotten rid of.

Therefore, Noctis was thinking of giving up and retreating if Maybelle shook her head.

Despite her kind appearance, she is also a vampire.

Maybe, when she gets angry, she might be even scarier than Beirlin, who was that scary.

However, contrary to Noctis’ expectations, Maybelle moves her head vertically.

“Are you okay. Anyway, I don’t have anything else to do.”

At that moment, Noctis’ expression noticeably brightened, and his eyes became as sparkling as Zita’s pure eyes.

It was almost like there was an illusion of a halo shining behind Maybelle.

＂Thank you! It won’t last long!”

The reason she was able to say that was because several of the items she had prepared to question Maybelle were revealed in the process of entering this mansion.

To tell the truth, Noctis felt the scent of an incident, or should we say that something was hidden behind the scenes, when the mistress suddenly appeared in the long-abandoned Asteris Western Pavilion.

I guess he is like that too.

No matter where you look, a mysterious beauty who doesn’t seem to be a resident of the Eastern Country has taken over a mansion with a story.

And that too, as a public official of the Dark Dragon Company.

Even if you try to dig up information about her, very few people know about her.

Somehow, I was able to get an appointment for an interview by finding her shop in a quiet place where she sometimes haunts – a tea house during the day and a bar at night.

At that time, she also heard Cleon’s name.

And as a result, we learned that her identity was a vampire, not through her interview, but through Cleon, who knew about her.

To that cowardly boss-

‘Maybe he’s a spy from a foreign country! There have been a lot of strange incidents recently, and I will look into them!

I said this confidently.

I couldn’t help but feel ashamed that the premise was already wrong…

＂If it were an interview, the room we were first shown to would be better than this place. Kanon, you have to start writing now.”

＂Ugh…＂

When Herti said that, Kanon’s automatic reflex was to make a groaning sound.

However, everyone would agree to that and leave Kanon’s room and return to the living room in the mansion.

“Oh, that’s right. Canon.”

Cleon didn’t forget to turn to Kanon and call her name before leaving her room.

＂Yes…?＂

When Kanon responds with anxiety when Cleon suddenly calls his name.

“I forgive you for using me as a model, but I will not forgive you for one thing.”

Gulp, Kanon’s throat rang.

Kanan must also look a little nervous.

“Uh, which one is it?”

When Kanon asked, Cleon answered with a small sigh.

Why did he have to say something like this? This expression was clearly visible.

“Using me as a lolicon.”

＂──＂

At Cleon’s answer, Kanon widened his eyes, and there was silence for a moment.

“Hehe, hehe… Of course~ I never thought of Mr. Cleon as that kind of person~!”

Kanon continued to nod his head while letting out a wicked smile.

Is this what a proud elf looks like?

In any case, Cleon seemed relieved by her answer and turned his body to walk in the direction the others had gone first.

Squeak, boom.

Once the room door was completely closed, Kanon sighed heavily.

“Thank goodness, Kanon. In a way, what Cleon asked for is something that is natural and common sense.”

＂Ah, uh, yes… Ugh…”

Kanon gave a not so cool answer to his sister’s words, and he slowly opened the drawer of the desk where the manuscript he was writing was placed.

There were numerous scrap manuscripts that were put together to relieve stress whenever the main manuscript was not progressing.

＂… Hehe, hehe…＂

＂… Canon, you-＂

Kanan looked at her sister with an expression of disbelief, and Kanon took out a few sheets from inside and asked Kanan for a favor.

“Uh, sister. Could you dispose of this for me…? If possible, don’t let anyone find out, especially Mr. Cleon…”

Seeing her sister asking for a favor with her face turning pale, Kanan was at a loss for words, but she sighed louder than Kanan had just moments ago.

＂Haa…＂

… Did she tell her sister whether to come or not?

I felt that way, and it was something I had no choice about.

001

The interview between Noctis and Maybelle, which took place after being guided to the drawing room, which was the room they were shown to when they first entered the mansion, was conducted in earnest and more seriously than Cleon had expected.

Noctis asked her the questions she had prepared, sentence by sentence, with a serious expression on his face, just like when she told Cleon about her dream.

Maybelle, when she was asked such a question by Noctis, she would have answered her question in the way she could.

Of course, Maybelle couldn’t answer everything she knew.

For example, it was about his younger brother Berlin.

The name Berlin itself was a well-known name even in Eastern countries.

Of course, rather than ‘fame’, it is ‘notoriety’.

The same name as one of the Black Giants, executives directly under the emperor who became infamous during the war with the Empire.

I couldn’t tell you that Maybelle’s younger brother, Berlin, is a clone of Berlin, a character from that history.

The Black Giant and the Demon Sword Emperor, including Berlin, are evil men of such a scale that it is difficult to find a precedent in history.

Of course, the Berliner here has shed the shadow of his past existence and has become his true self-

It’s been a while since I returned to the way I was when I was a child living with Maybelle, receiving the teachings of a clan that wanted to live with humans.

Nevertheless, Maybelle knew well that there was no change in the fact that she had to hide it.

Anyway.

Cleon sits a little away and watches Noctis and Maybelle talking.

And, sitting next to Cleon, Zita’s eyes are just as sparkling.

“So what do you think, Zita? Do you know what a reporter does?”

“Yes! Reporters are people who ask people questions and record them!”

Zita tells exactly what she saw, and Cleon responds to her words with a smile.

“What. I guess it’s half right.”

＂So, what is the remaining half?＂

Herti answers Zita’s questions on her behalf.

“It is also a reporter’s job to convey the information he or she has organized to others. But there is responsibility involved. If the information you spread to people is wrong, people will accept the wrong information. Because through that, ‘misunderstandings’ may occur.”

“That is a serious responsibility!”

Zita’s eyes sparkle.

Then, she will ask Beylin, who was quietly listening to the three people’s story.

＂So… What on earth is this guy? He has human appearance, but he doesn’t feel human at all. It’s a strange magical power. Above all… There is no smell of blood.”

Cleon flinched at Bayleen’s words, and after Zita ‘sniffed’ her own body, she ‘sniffed’ her nose against Cleon’s body.

“You have no sense of smell.”

Cleon is making a joke without even realizing it.

“Wow, that’s right…”

And she was surprised by that.

“… Well, think of it as similar to you.”

When Cleon says that, reluctant to give a detailed answer, Berlin answers.

“… Did you pick up something strange again? What should I say… That part resembles that guy.”

When Bayerlin said that, Cleon’s body flinched and her expression slowly crumpled.

＂Ahaha! The teacher’s expression is just like that elf from before!”

＂Heh.＂

Berlin also burst out laughing at Cleon’s face.

Hertie, who was quietly listening to the three people’s conversation, opened her mouth as if a good idea occurred to her.

“Yes! Zita, what is it like to be a journalist? If you want to know about people, get a job researching people.”

When Herti says that, Zita blinks her eyes.

“It’s not a bad idea. Because Zita’s curiosity is strong.”

＂Umm…!＂

When Cleon said that too, Zita crossed her arms and seemed to think for a moment, then she answered.

“Surely…! I think being a reporter is a job that suits me!”

Zita seems to have gained confidence from the two people’s words, and her boundless positivity sparks a fire with her own potential.

Then she got up from her seat and approached the place where Noctis and Maybelle were being interviewed.

“Now, wait a minute, Zita?”

＂Please look there, teacher! My first time working as a reporter!”

And Noctis and Maybelle, who knew nothing, were talking as if the interview had just ended.

“… You must have been in a lot of trouble. When she woke up, she found that everyone in her family was gone except herself.”

“Yes. But even after that, there were many people who helped me… Huh?”

While exchanging such heart-warming stories, the two people’s eyes turn to Zita who approaches.

“Now that I think about it, this is my first time meeting you! Are you by any chance Cleon’s new acquaintance?”

“Yes! I’m Zita! I am studying humans with the help of my teacher!”

Zita answered Maybelle’s question like that, and she held the fan and paper in her hands as if imitating Noctis and asked Maybelle a question.

“I also have something to ask Ms. Maybelle!”

“… Is that an imitation of me?”

When Noctis sensed something uneasy about her and asked that question, Zita smiled and nodded.

Maybelle would look at Zita like that and nod her head without any caution.

“Yes, what is it?”

Then Zita asks her a question with her smiling face.

“Did Maybelle also have a ‘hot night’ with her teacher?”

Ah…

I should have expected it.

Cleon thought so.

She had to see Baylin collapse next to her, her brain destroyed.

＂Berlin-!＂