60. Listen well, you chaotic fairy! (Monthly tickets at the beginning of the month～)
First, let Kephir strike a loud blow against the person I confirmed from the script as “secretly watching Leif’s movements,” without revealing her identity. Immediately after, I grabbed Leif’s hand and quickly made my escape, avoiding being seen by any unnecessary onlookers.
Finally, dragging the completely oblivious Leif along, I ran wildly until I confirmed our surroundings were safe, at which point I stopped, panting heavily. As for Kephir, who I left behind, I didn’t need to worry; she probably had no idea how many strange contracts she had drawn up on me and would soon catch up.
What I cared about more was… the young lady before me, the only daughter of a powerful noble family in the Rosian Empire—Miss Leif.
“While I was still clarifying the rumors, why did you suddenly pull me away and run!?”
Leif, who was far more physically fit than I, wasn’t out of breath. Instead, as soon as I stopped, she immediately let go of my hand, her face filled with complaints as she questioned me.
Then, her mind finally caught up, and she widened her eyes in surprise.
“Wait… wait a minute, Oghild!? You shouldn’t be in the capital! Why are you here!?”
Upon saying this, she shivered and immediately turned to run, seemingly misunderstanding something on her own. “Ah! Could it be that you’re sent by Ivan Leiti…?”
【Leif thinks Oghild is an assassin sent by Ivan Leiti!】
“An assassin, my foot!”
I quickly grabbed Leif’s arm and pulled her back. “If Ivan Leiti really wanted to kill you, would you still be alive to see today’s sun? Do you know of any secluded places nearby where we can talk? Take me there.”
After a pause, I looked at Leif and delivered the line I had prepared long ago.
“I came here specifically to find you. Consider yourself lucky; Ivan Leiti has already forgiven you halfway.”
Having just arrived in the town that belongs to the Siberian Leif family, encountering Leif directly was indeed a pleasant surprise. Thanks to this, I even saved myself the trouble of “transforming back into the villain Oghild and sneaking to meet Leif based on the script.”
Then, under Leif’s skeptical guidance, we traversed a good part of the town. Eventually, we found a shop in the increasingly quiet surroundings and sat down, where we were soon met by Kephir, facing Leif’s suspicious gaze together.
“This is a residential area for ordinary townsfolk; there can’t be many who know me here.”
Leif glanced around, and this was indeed true. Just as it appeared in my script, she was clearly the “boss” of this town, yet there were hardly any Rosians around who recognized Leiti. Everyone was simply enjoying the slow-paced life that was different from the capital of the Rosian Empire, fitting well with the icy atmosphere of Siberia.
Once she confirmed her safety, Leif’s attitude relaxed slightly.
“You two showing up here and talking about ‘forgiveness’… what does that even mean? I’ll tell you, although this is my family’s town, it’s not safe at all right now.”
If it were truly safe, nothing would have happened. Don’t think I wanted to come to this freezing place with Kephir for a date where even a kiss wouldn’t warm us up.
I exchanged glances with Kephir.
“It’s just the literal meaning of ‘forgiveness’; Leiti has already forgiven you… well, halfway.”
“What…”
“Why are you panicking? As the person involved, don’t you know best? Your escape and Leiti’s plans are merely due to a misunderstanding between you two, and now that Leiti has calmed down a bit, such misunderstandings can’t possibly last.”
I bluntly stated what Leif feared the most. But in reality… most of what I just said was a lie; Leiti wasn’t as “calm” as I portrayed. However, I had to say this to gain Leif’s cooperation.
“However, this requires you, Miss, to cooperate with us a little. After all, you fled here right after the unexpected incident during the ‘negotiation,’ missing the best opportunity to explain things to Leiti clearly. At this point, the danger may not be the misunderstanding between you and Leiti, but…”
“Exactly!”
Rather than my admonition, it was Leif, who suddenly stood up, looking more anxious. After calming her down so she wouldn’t draw unnecessary attention, she sat back down with an expression of barely contained “displeasure” and finally revealed the reason for her earlier agitation.
“Because our rescue… our ‘organization’ is now completely off-kilter!”
At the same time, the script revealed: 【The rumors in the town were initiated and spread by members of the ‘Rescue Organization’!】
This also made me realize: the dangerous rumors I heard upon my arrival with Kefer were not mere gossip, but genuine “slander,” and it had escalated to the point of threatening the very stability of the Rosia Empire.
“Simply put… the organization is now completely unrelated to me.”
Reyeve gritted her teeth and then revealed a name I couldn’t ignore, “It’s probably… all the doing of that woman named Ruth!”
【The chaotic fairy Claudilus is involved.】
Bingo! That fairy was indeed not idle; I had hit a jackpot I had no desire to claim.
Afterward, with visible reluctance, Reyeve hesitantly shared her recent experiences with me and Kefer. Her ordeal could be summed up in one sentence: she had been sidelined after fleeing here. Following that, the fairy Claudilus and a group of extras who were not genuinely interested in “reform” began spreading brutal rumors about Ivan Reti within the city, attempting to incite the people in Reyeve’s territory to confront her directly.
As for the duped extras, they were not worth mentioning; Claudilus was undoubtedly trying to undermine Reti, and then… look for an opportunity to sabotage Zeus. The misunderstanding between Reyeve and Reti had reached a point where it had to be resolved. And the key…
Was right in Reyeve herself.
“Reyeve.”
Once she finally calmed down from her feelings of resentment, I spoke up, “I understand your intentions are for the betterment of the Rosia Empire. But now is not the time to quibble with Reti; if you don’t want any internal strife in the Rosia Empire, then set aside your grievances with Reti and clarify the current ‘misunderstanding’ first.”
This time, the young lady did not argue back with me, acting like a proper contrarian.
Instead, she lowered her head deeply, her tone considerably weakened.
“Thank you…”
Don’t thank me; after all, your misunderstanding has affected me and Kefer as well. I’m doing this merely to resolve the dangers in Reti’s script. Moreover…
Kefer, at that moment, turned my head to face her, forcing me to look only at her.
Let’s wrap this up quickly! My boss Kefer here can’t wait any longer…
“So… what should I do next?”
“Of course, I have a plan. Reyeve, this is your family’s territory, and I have connections with your parents, so next… I will teach you how to perfectly leverage your identity as a noble lady to do something useful for the Rosia Empire. Instead of demeaning yourself to play at ‘reform.'”
“Listen carefully, first do this and that…”
——
I’ll draw Nilu’s pillow later; right now, I’m working on other illustrations. I should be able to start by next week at the latest.