I’m sorry that the update interval is still not stable……
When I pointed that out, Erika’s eyes blinked.
And then, she averted her gaze.
[Let’s see…]
Returning her gaze to me again…
[Are you bothered by it?]
[I was just a little curious… If it was just because of your personality or if there was some deeper reason behind it.]
Maybe it wasn’t just me that was curious about it.
However, no one asked her about it until now because they’re also being discreet.
[I had always been alone in this place, and there wasn’t anyone to smile for. Before I knew it, I forgot how to smile.]
Her gaze dropping down to the floor, Erika’s freely swung her long, plump legs.
[—-is the reason that I would have normally said. The truth is that……]
The swinging of her legs stopped.
[One day, I’ve decided. I’ve decided that I would never smile while that goddess who stole this mistress was acting as she pleases while she has that smile on her face…… I’ll make sure that the next time I’ll smile is when Vysis is beaten beyond recovery.]
[And you’re saying “Don’t make me laugh” instead in those times that you hear something that brings a smile on your face huh.]
Erika lightly poked my thigh with the tip of her toe.
[That’s right.]
“Stopping” a “smile” from spontaneously rising on her face.
Don’t make me laugh.
I’m not sure if those were really the original meaning of those words but……
Maybe it’s something like a resolve that Erika has set for herself.
(T/N: The original word used by Erika is 笑止. It means “Don’t make me laugh” or “how laughable”. But Touka thinks that she used that to stop (止める) a smile (笑み) from appearing on her face.)
[You won’t smile as long as Vysis is walking around this world while swinging around her arms all around the place huh.]
Pulling her leg back, Erika crosses her legs again.
[What do you think? It’s just as deep as you may think it is, but that’s also as simple for a reason as it can be, isn’t it?]
That also means…
[The reason why you’re regularly collecting information with your familiars isn’t just to know about what’s going on in the world……]
[I was also hoping that I’d get to hear about the day when “Vysis makes her exit from this world”.]
I see.
[I’ve already heard you say it many times before but…… you must have really disliked that sh*tty goddess.]
Looking out of the window, Erika stayed silent for a moment.
Her bluish-purple eyes doesn’t reflect the appearance of Seras and the others who are outside.
What they’re reflecting is probably something that is out of her sight—-
The world outside the Demon Zone.
[This mistress had intended to make this place my final home. But despite that—- I’ve also thought that it might be too soon. After meeting and talking with all of you, I thought…… Perhaps, I still want to enjoy the outside world.]
However, as long as that piece of sh*t is around, she won’t be able to enjoy her life huh.
*Thonk*
Erika climbed down from the windowsill.
[And that’s going to happen only after my contract with the Sacred Tree ends. That’s why, it looks like I won’t be able to enjoy the outside world with Touka, the human.]
She might eventually enjoy it with the long-lived Seras and Liz.
However, I might already be dead at that time.
[I guess you’ll have to put up with using a familiar to roam the outside world with me.]
[I’ll do that. Even though it might be quite disappointing.]
[Well, I guess I’ll get to see it while I’m still alive huh.]
[What is?]
[Your smile.]
What I meant is that—– I’m declaring to her that I will be crushing Vysis.
And Erika, with her arms folded in front of her, glared at me with her half-closed eyes.
[Those words you said just now—– You’re being too conceited, Touka.]
[Fuunnnn…… It’s good enough if I could make people think like that.]
[Well, how should I say this……, ……]
Erika placed her right toe on top of her other toe.
Then, with her gaze lowered, she said.
[……, ——-Thanks.]
[…………….]
[? What’s the matter? You have an unusual expression on your face.]
[Hmm? No, errr, well……]
Well, that should be obvious why.
It’s just that I’ve seen something really unusual.
It was only for a second, but it was the first time I’ve seen it.
To be honest, I’m a little surprised after I saw it.
Hehhh…
I see.
She may have said she won’t smile but—–
[You could still get bashful huh.]
I thought that not only has she stopped smiling, she also stopped other emotions from showing her face.
Placing her hands on her hips, Erika bent forward.
[I–still– have– emotions. Or rather, come to think of it……]
The faint residue of embarrassment disappearing, Erika’s eyes glared at me.
[Isn’t it just you who have never seen me being bashful before?]
[……………..]
Now that she mentioned it, it might really be as she said.
▽
Afterward, Erika showed me some magic tools again.
If there are things that I think would be useful, I can take them out as I please.
[It’s my thanks for the Japanese Sake.]
—is what she said.
The Japanese Sake was of course, transferred from my leather bag,
This is the food that was transferred after I used it last night.
It seems like the brewery is from Yamaguchi Prefecture.
I’ve never tasted it before, but I knew about their name even as a high school student.
I had looked up their label online at some point and looked up how to read the kanji.
And Erika seemed like she’s quite taken by that sake—-
[I like you, Touka.]
—That she said that while clung unto the bottle of alcohol without any hesitation.
[You really like alcohol huh.]
But well, with that…
In return for the sake, I was told that “I could take anything” again.
[By the way, you don’t have any Gem of Teleportation left, do you?]
[They’re especially rare, you know. It has already been a long time ago since Erika got it.]
[It would have greatly improved the amount of strategies we could use if we could freely use them……]
It isn’t just for emergency evacuation.
I think we can also use it for surprise attacks.
[Do you have any ideas where they might be available or how to get them? You once said that they were on the level that they could even enter the Magician Guild’s treasury……]
[I don’t think that Magician Guild would have some of it though.]
Is that so.
[In that case, how about the treasury of a country somewhere?]
[Let’s see…]
Erika put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes.
[For instance, I heard that Jonato Principality possesses a lot of valuables that are called “Sacred Relics” that only the Queen and the Saint are allowed to touch.]
It seems that only those two people are basically allowed to come near the treasure room.
[As for the other places…… I heard a famous story about the Mad Emperor of the Mira Empire actively collecting valuable antiques. They were stored in a huge underground treasury in which Mira calls as the “Great Treasury”. There’s a chance that there might be an unused Gem of Teleportation there.]
It is said that there are many ancient magic tools with unknown effects.
There might also be some cases where the effect can only be activated once.
It would literally be a waste if they were to use up that one-time usage just to check its effect.
Therefore, these unused items began piling up.
[They can’t just recklessly use it huh.]
[That’s why many of them are abandoned until they found a record about them with details about it.]
[I see.]
[I suppose it’s partly because they also want to keep it as a trump card for their country.]
[What about the other countries?]
[Other than them, I’m sure that Alion would have a particularly large collection of magic tools.]
Well, I suppose.
[Jonato and Mira seem to have always been evasive in their own ways, but the other countries seems to have given such items to Alion as a “gift”. That means—-]
[That the Magician Guild belongs to the Goddess, along with all the valuables they possess.]
In short, that sh*tty goddess is extorting them off their magic tools.
However, Jonato and Mira are said to be moderately avoiding having to “present” their own treasures.
The two countries are geographically separated from each other by a distance.
I wonder if that has something to do why?
[How about those people who could be personally owning them?]
[I don’t know.]
Erika shrugs her shoulders.
[As expected, even Erika wouldn’t know much about those who personally collect them. If I were to guess one who have done so, I’d say it’s this Erika Anarveil.]
I look at her collection in front of me.
[For those who were personally collecting them…… It’s certainly hard to imagine someone with the same collection as you.]
Thereupon, I asked Erika to tell me a few stories about the Faraway Country.
Now then—
When we were done talking, I spent most of the time with Liz until dinner.
About 60% of that time was spent alone with Liz.
When Erika and I walked out to meet up with Seras and the others…
“It sounds like Liz has a lot to tell you, including her thanks for everything until now.”
Or so, Eve whispered to me.
If you ask me, Liz and I hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to each other alone lately.
Liz talked about a lot of things.
I tried my best to listen while she talked to me.
I also answered some of her questions.
Most of the questions she asked were trivial though.
To put it in another way, they’re peaceful questions that won’t hurt anyone’s feelings.
To say that we had a peaceful time would be an understatement.
How should I say this…
I felt like I’m a little more relaxed too.
You could say I felt lighter.
Thanks to that, I might have had a nice break too.
And like that—- I realized that dinner time is getting closer.
Standing up from my seat…
[Thank you, Liz.]
I thanked her.
[N- No! It’s me who’s thankful instead…… Ah—– It’s just that I may have been talking too much. However…… for listening to all the things I’ve said, thank you very much…… Touka-sama.]
Saying that, Liz’s eyes and cheeks broke out a smile filled with shyness.
[—–I was happy that I was able to talk about a lot of things with Touka-sam today. Really.]
Compared to earlier, the expression she currently had looked a little more refreshed.
It’s different.
From the expression she had back when we first met.
I’m glad.
I’m glad that she was able to make this kind of face.
I wholeheartedly think so.
Feeling like my lips naturally relaxed…
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