39. The Decline of Customs in the Great Yīng Empire
The entire journey was made uncomfortable by the black-clad woman’s script that “only focused on me.” I felt like a little bird caught in a spider’s web! Fortunately, this endurance for the sake of “fishing” finally came to an end before we reached the “Elven Ruins.”
Under the night sky, the seemingly endless ruins had been transformed into a “resort” by Adéve. This elf’s claim of “I have no interest in treasures” was indeed true. Everything was ready, and after enduring a night with Kephiel, who insisted on barging into my room under the pretext of “I need to protect you because that woman is dangerous” and sharing a bed, the next day was our time to “set off in search of the Forest Fairy!”
The “treasures” prepared by Louis IV were to be brought here in advance by Adéve and hidden away, creating a sense of “there really is a ‘scent’ of treasure in these ruins.” Could such a seemingly simple and coincidental trick really fool that black-clad woman!? What if she pulled out some “big move” at the last moment!?
I had no time to think further; after all, this was an adventure to help Kephiel eliminate the “mysterious BOSS interfering with her script,” and… there was no time to wait.
At this moment, Kephiel and I were waiting at the entrance of the “Ruins Resort,” while two orcs and the black-robed woman appeared somewhat “unnaturally” on the orc side. According to the plan, Adéve, who was supposed to lead us, lazily walked out.
Then… upon seeing Kephiel, she clicked her tongue without any regard for appearances, frowning as she questioned Kephiel in front of the two orcs from Austria-Hungary and the black-robed woman.
“Woman of the Great Yīng Empire, what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing? Of course, I’m here to…”
Before Kephiel could finish her sentence, Adéve interrupted her. The rivalry between Adéve and Kephiel had been ongoing throughout the journey. I had been trying to find ways to make the two women a bit more “peaceful” and help Kephiel out of trouble, but Unfortunately, this was Adéve’s Prussian Kingdom, and this elf was utterly unruly.
“You don’t need to be here! I called O’Keefe to help me identify antiques, and it doesn’t matter if the Austro-Hungarians come along. You’ve been tagging along this whole time, so let’s just say you ‘re a bodyguard. Everything else about the exploration is confidential, so a person from the Great Yīng Empire like you shouldn’t meddle in it~”
As expected, today’s argument was quite intense. If Adéve had spoken seriously, she might have had some persuasive power, but at that moment, she had changed out of her uniform into a pretty little dress, with her long golden hair flowing. She looked more like she was going on a “date” than “looking for treasure,” and this little thought was directly exposed.
It would be strange for Kephiel to agree to stay here.
Of course, the big shot wouldn’t make any “jealous” remarks, as Kephiel was very concerned about her image, but the look she shot over clearly conveyed: I’m so jealous; if you go with her, you’ll lose me~
“Kephiel, we’re in the Prussian Kingdom. It’s better to listen to Adéve if you have any instructions. Why don’t you just stay here…”
Wait? After this is over, we can shake off Adéve, and then you can date or do whatever you want; I have no objections~ Whatever you say goes!
Before I could voice this forced solution, the script appeared, and I clenched my fists in silence, suddenly calming down from the earlier “battlefield” atmosphere.
【The mysterious woman wants to stop Kephiel from staying put!】
As the script appeared, the black-robed woman also seemed to “kindly” intervene!
“Your Majesty Adéve, we wouldn’t mind if Miss Kephiel joined us as well.”
Kephiel wanted to say something, but I stopped her with a glance!
“And, indeed, there is a certain ‘magical aura’ here. For us, having an additional strong member in our team would mean one less unexpected event~”
There was no hint of “sarcasm” in her words; she simply hoped for Kephiel to join.
At first glance, there seemed to be no problem, but I couldn’t feel at ease at all.
After all, in the black-robed woman’s script, there had always been content about 【seriously injuring Kephiel】! If this dangerous content had previously existed in an uncertain and ethereal manner, then the black-robed woman’s recent “hope for Kephiel to join ” was like adding the final piece to this script’s puzzle!
In other words, at some point in the near future, she would definitely pose a threat to Kephiel! And if I didn’t intervene, Kephiel’s safety would truly be at risk!
Indeed, the earlier argument between Kephiel and Adéve was something I had arranged in advance; they might have genuinely wanted to argue, but all of this was part of my plan to draw out the black-robed woman’s intentions. Yet now that the plan had been revealed, I hesitated. Would letting Kephiel stay here avoid her dangerous script?
In my moment of hesitation, Kephiel had already come to my side.
Seemingly demonstrating by hugging my arm in a provocative manner towards Adéve, in reality… she was giving me a “reassurance” guarantee.
“Did you hear that, Adéve? They said it’s fine for me to follow along.”
“Hey! Don’t act all lovey-dovey in front of me, this is Plouce! Not your declining Dainty Empire!”
Although I had fiercely let out a “dragon’s roar” towards Kephiel, Adéve suddenly squeezed over and grabbed my arm, as if that was her intention all along.
【Kephiel is hinting that Euclid should relax.】
【Adéve is hinting that Euclid should relax, and by the way… is feeling jealous.】
That last sentence is unnecessary!
I took a deep breath to adjust my emotions. Fortunately, my current appearance resembled that of a scumbag who had “fallen for someone,” which didn’t raise any suspicions from the other party. Although I still didn’t understand why this woman in the black robe…
【The mysterious woman is very angry!】
“Well then, it’s decided. That… this envoy, your two orc companions behind you, have no objections, right?”
“Them?”
The woman in the black robe glanced at the two orcs behind her, then smiled slightly.
“They won’t have any objections, right, Gerolum, Gu Erdan?”
“…”
The response from the two orcs, who might have sought revenge on me in normal circumstances, was silence. It’s strange, these two orcs had scripts that wouldn’t be surprising if they were to kill me, but their current silent attitude, combined with their script at this moment…
【The mysterious woman commands Gerolum to kill Euclid!】
【The mysterious woman commands Gu Erdan to kill Euclid!】
Yet, at the same time, it gave me a familiar feeling amidst the tension. If I remembered correctly, the previous cowardly supporting character 38 had also instantly transformed into a killing monster with a similar script, but in terms of emotions and logic, this was all very strange.
Unless… this woman in the black robe has some way to make them “obey”…
If that’s the case, then I definitely couldn’t back down, because the matter of the treasure being stolen, which I had completely forgotten, was also related to this woman’s methods!
“Then let’s move forward! Since this is a confidential operation, it’s just us few, everyone must be careful.”
I put on a smile, tightly grasped Kephiel’s hand, and led the way in.
—