Chapter 11
It feels as though someone is calling me so I raise my head, but the problem is no one in the tent called my name. What’s up with this? I keep having this ominous feeling. But I don’t have that ability to sense these things, so it must be my imagination.
“…ri…”
Save—me—That is a cry for help, and at the same time a carefree voice that stops for long periods of time in between. It sounds pretty fun, actually.
“But that’s not my imagination!”
That’s Saralegui’s voice. I kick aside the chair and get to my feet, curling up the entrance to the tent, and pull the Shou Shimaron king who almost overshot inside. Thankfully his pursuers didn’t notice, but he sprawls onto the mat covered with sand and fats, throwing a tantrum at my rough actions.
Conrad and Wolfram understand the situation so they’re not surprised, but Adalbert seems to be very taken aback. He probably didn’t think other than me, the Shou Shimaron king would also make a big fuss even in the desert.
The thing in the corner of my vision suddenly disappears, turns out the living thing that looks like a caterpillar rolled off the bed. What’s going on? Don’t tell me it doesn’t like showing its face in front of prestigious guests? What a shy fella.
“Sara… Why are you dressed so nice and cleanly?”
Maybe Saralegui accepted their services to bathe and change before joining the banquet, because his light and floaty hair is really clean, his skin really moist. He’s wearing simple and clean clothes, there’s even an ornament in his tied-up hair, though it’s a not-so-cute piece handmade from animal bones.
“Ah—Perfect, is Yuuri willing to hear me out? Those guys are just too much.”
“Wait a sec, right now you should be in front of the equestrian tribe chief, announcing that the water supply in the desert belongs to Yelshi, right!? Could it be… they found out you’re a fraud?”
“Really, Yuuri, do you think my acting skills are that bad?”
“You couldn’t have… purposely made a mistake?”
“Am I that untrustworthy?”
He looks around him, then starts making a fuss because he doesn’t get the answer he’s looking for, before finally and reluctantly getting to the point.
“I wasn’t found out, the people here believe I’m Yelshi from the bottom of their hearts. Besides, those guys who only know how to train in combat from day to night in the desert, would never be able to see through my acting skills.”
“Then why did you have to escape here?”
“It’s precisely because they think I’m the real thing, that’s the big problem.”
Saralegui shakes his head lightly, his tied-up hair falling down.
“They believe I’m Yelshi, without a shred of doubt, that’s why I had no choice but to run away. Because those guys plan on holding His Majesty the Emperor hostage, and asking for a ransom from the Seisakoku government.”
“Eh, isn’t that an obvious act of treason?”
“That’s exactly right.”
While standing, my head starts to feel dizzy, as though my brain is starting to lack oxygen.”
“Sara… You’ve finally been betrayed by your people…”
“Not me, y’know, Yuuri!? It should be Yelshi, right?”
Ah, that’s true, I got a bit mixed up. It’s Saralegui impersonating Yelshi who got betrayed by the equestrian people, citizens of Seisakoku, but this has nothing at all to do with the people of Shou Shimaron. The really unlucky one is the Emperor of Seisakoku Yelshi, who nearly got held for ransom while he himself has no idea about this.
“Anyway we have to hide Sara first. If this goes on and Yelshi is assumed as kidnapped, then wouldn’t it be Yelshi’s substitute who’s held for ransom?”
“Well, I don’t want to be locked inside a tool cabinet.”
He really knows how to think for himself. I look around the room, but we are in a simple tent, after all, there’s nowhere at all to hide. The only place to hide should be underneath the bed, but that spot is already taken, two eyes sparkling through the pitch black darkness.
“Ah~~ Really! Adalbert, move the bed aside, quickly—”
“Your Majesty.”
Conrad’s tone sounds hesitant, the hand reaching out for my right shoulder wandering up and down helplessly. It’s rare for him to look so lost.
“I told you so many times, don’t call me Your Majesty.”
“Sorry. Yuuri, your eyes…”
“Eh? My eyes?”
And then Wolfram asks in a hoarse voice, “Can you see?” Hazel only raises her eyebrows, and finally Saralegui says in his usual tone,
“What, your eyes are okay now?”
“It’s true! I can see!”
I can see.
Wolfram’s blonde hair and emerald eyes, Hazel’s wrinkly hands and strong mouth, Adalbert’s buff muscles and butt-shaped chin, as well as Saralegui’s golden eyes. No matter how many times I blink, my vision doesn’t turn blurry, it’s not just shadows, it won’t disappear without a trace anymore.”
“I’m not dreaming, right? I can see… What are you doing, Conrad?”
“Your eyes are okay now? Is it true?’
Conrad kneels on the ground and pulls open my eyes to examine them, telling me to move my eyes like an optician in the hospital. He shouldn’t be joking around, but I still feel a bit put-out having to make these movements. Still, I’m really happy to see those brown eyes shining with silver light again. Although I never moved abroad, I still feel as though I’ve come home.
I can finally come back to reality. No matter what troubles I get into, I’m ecstatic just as long as I can come back. Regaining is a lot better than losing.
Alright, with this my body is finally back to normal, my palm and shoulder don’t hurt anymore either. Right now I’m full of a ‘Whether it rains water or spears, I’ll do what must be done!’ attitude.
“Thank goodness.”
A voice like a parent’s, and the way he puts his forehead on my shoulder, make me feel moved too.
“You’re exaggerating, Conrad.”
“I’m not exaggerating in the slightest. If your eyes never got better, I really won’t know how to apologize…”
“It’s not as though it was your fault.”
The fit senior citizen Hazel laughs.
“Your Majesty’s bodyguard is overprotective like a godfather.”
She doesn’t know the complicated way I was born, so I can’t tell her “he even gave me my name”.
“But what on earth is this…?”
Looking at Wolfram, who’s staring at me non-stop, I really am beside myself with happiness. Really, you’re still very cute! Since you always have such a valiant attitude, I assumed you matured quite a bit in the time we were apart, but to think you still have the beauty of an angel. Though it’s true I can still sense you’ve definitely become manlier.
Right now I’m in such a good mood I just want to praise everyone and everything, I want so bad to praise everything these eyes can see. If I were to wax poetic now, the first line would be ‘everything I see tonight is beautiful’.
“With this you can relax now, huh.”
Adalbert crosses his thick arms in front of his chest leisurely, lightly leaning on the table.
“Not only have you found your comrades, your stomach is full, and after your emotions relax, your brain doesn’t feel like it’s in danger anymore… Or I should say, deep down in your heart you believe the danger has passed, or the feeling that ‘I don’t have do everything myself anymore’.”
“When you say ‘myself’…”
Before I can finish talking, Wolfram bumps me with his arm, and even says indignantly,
“You feel at ease just after a good meal, don’t tell me you were just malnourished? Yuuri… How could you be so mean?”
“No, how’s that possible!? How could a few days of malnourishment make my vision deteriorate so drastically?”
“What~~”
Of everyone on the scene only Saralegui speaks the most rudely.
“What a shame. This way Yuuri won’t ask me for help anymore.”
“You… Now isn’t the time to say these things, is it? You can barely take care of yourself… Oh, right, you had better hide right now, or make a run for it as fast as you can!”
“Even if I hide I’ll be found soon enough. On the other hand, I wonder how much Yelshi is worth in ransom? Yuuri, how much do you think Shin Makoku would pay for you?”
“Wolf, Conrad, Hazel! In any case we have to get the horses back, and get ready to leave the tent! You too, Sara!”
I feel there’s not much point in listening to Saralegui talk any further, so I grab his neck and walk outside. I came up with the childish plan so I have a responsibility, that’s why I must protect him properly.
We didn’t bring any large luggage anyway, so we just need horses. Hazel pulls open the cloth at the entrance slightly, peeking at the situation outside.
“They’re searching in the opposite direction, so if we want to escape we had better do it now.”
“Do you need my help to move this disobedient brat king over there?”
I thought the person who spoke was Conrad, but it actually turns out to be Adalbert. If Sara were lifted by that muscleman, he would surely look like a little birdie on his shoulder. But there’s no such need, and having been treated as luggage Saralegui doesn’t seem too happy with it either.
“There’s no such need, he can walk on his own. Isn’t that right, Sara?”
“Is that so? Then go for it, you guys, I plan on staying here and living the easy life of a messiah for a while longer.”
Adalbert keeps sitting on the table and waves us goodbye. But the right hand he just raised is beaten down by someone, and his chest grabbed.
“Look at you, are you still a mazoku like this!?”
That person is Wolfram.
This image should look hilarious normally, right? After all there’s a huge difference in their body sizes, it looks like a cicada grabbing a large tree. But right now Adalbert is pressed down by Wolfram’s presence, so no one notices the difference in size at all.
“Right now there’s nothing we want more than another person who can fight, and you want to back out?”
“Hey, what are you doing? I gave up my identity as a mazoku long ago…”
“The king is in danger, and it’s one thing for you not to offer to help, but you actually want to keep living all carefree on this shinzoku land that never did you any good!?”
“Hey hey hey, it’s nothing to do with me.”
“Wolf, don’t be like that, we can’t force him.”
I plan on stopping Wolfram, but Conrad stands in front of me, and my mind suddenly says ‘crap’. Because in a manner of speaking, the relationship between these two is worse than anyone else.
“Adalbert.”
Conrad shouldn’t go to the extent of hitting people, but I’m still really worried he’ll say anything harsh. To my surprise, Lord Weller just says one line in all seriousness,
“We need you.”
“…Alright.”
The man who was just yelling about how he gave up his identity as a mazoku falls silent for a while, then raises his head and says determinedly,
“Alright.”
The same answer.
The tent is completely empty, the soldiers chasing the mazokus all moving out, so the equestrian tribe village falls quiet again. Just then, the caterpillar hiding under the bed finally crawls out.
He doesn’t care about the sand on his body, rolling around left and right until he eventually loosens up his bonds, and his arms are finally freed. Nigel Weiss Maxine sighs as he shakes his beard. Treated as the messiah’s accessory, although the position seems extravagant, the truth is the life of a mermaid is far from easy.
But this is the wish of his beloved father.
Maxine’s blushing expression is extremely cute, but it can’t be seen through his beard.
This is how Adalbert asked Maxine, “Rather than those vulgar limbs, you’re better suited looking like a mermaid.” In truth, what he actually said was, “So how, now you’re utterly helpless. You’re better suited looking like this.” Maxine’s strongest suit is misunderstanding others.
But his suffering is worth it, because his appearance is too seductive, so the equestrian people really admire him. But there’s an unforgivable idiot, who looked at him and said he was a caterpillar.
Maxine is angry. Damn, that cocky Maou brat, how dare he keep staring at me. And once you have anything to do with that brat, it’s never anything good. When His Majesty Saralegui barged in, he nearly thought he would faint from the shock.
He finally managed to start over again in the second springtime of his life as a mermaid, but if that ’Majesty found him then it’d be all over. He would definitely be taken back to Shou Shimaron, and keep suffering from that inhumane treatment, stomped under others’ feet.
This is all the fault of that Maou brat who brought His Majesty Saralegui. The next time he sees the brat, he’ll make him into mermaid rolls, and then throw him into a lake of stinky moss.
But Father… Maxine hurriedly covers his mouth. Crap, he can only call him Father when they’re alone together… But Adalbert left him here alone, what on earth happened? It’s probably because Adalbert has to handle his private matters, and doesn’t want to put Maxine in danger. But you’re not supposed to think like that with family, plus Adalbert obviously knows that Maxine won’t die no matter what.
Of course, although he had quickly darted under the bed and avoided Saralegui’s gaze, now he doesn’t know what to do next.
Adalbert said he already fed the luggage over there just now, but the truth is the equestrian people handled Maxine’s meals, it’s just that they forget sometimes. But he suspects that those equestrian people in charge of feeding him forget to give him food on purpose, just like today, when they only brought a bowl of soup, without bread or a main dish. And when those equestrian people bring food to his mouth with a spoon, they always wear an expression of disgust.
That’s envy, it must be envy towards the mermaid. Maxine firmly believes that’s the reason, but the true reason is probably the food scraps on his beard.
But since he’s the messiah’s accessory, how should he live without the main host?
Mn, he should start by understanding the enemy.
It’s a rare chance for Maxine to stretch his limbs, the bones in his arms and legs making disgusting noises, and then he stands up with a ‘hey!’. First he must investigate this village thoroughly; the stakeout is so he can plan the actions he must take for his life from today onwards. Since he was carried here as a mermaid, he hasn’t taken even one step out of this tent to this day.
Just like the old grandma just now, he peeks out of the entrance, and confirms that there’s no one outside.
And then he tiptoes out of the tent, to avoid being seen, crossing past the densely-packed tents. Thankfully the ground here is hard with some sand, so as long as he steps lightly, his footsteps are barely audible.
This green tent has not only sounds of conversation, but also an indescribable aroma. Although Adalbert’s cooking is wonderful, this is a completely different smell. It’s cooking that doesn’t add anything to the ingredients, bringing out the original taste directly. Although it’s just simple roasted potatoes, Maxine is hungry.
The two things he can’t deal with most are an empty stomach and women.
Maxine hesitates, and finally decides to pull open the entrance. To fill his stomach, he has no other choice.
“Oh dear!”
There are about ten people sitting around a campfire, all their gazes moving to Maxine. Twenty eyes on him at once shocks him into putting down the entrance cloth.
T-this is!
They are all women inside, young and old women sitting around the campfire and roasting potatoes as they chat. And they’re all shinzoku, so to him they all look identical. Nigel Weiss Maxine is panicking.
Is this the legendary women’s tent?
His tied-up hair shakes non-stop. By the way, since he has long hair, his hair style is cropped upwards.
No way, he can’t stay near here. He feels… it’s very likely he will lose his life.
Once you get involved with women you will definitely lose your life, that is the lesson young Maxine learned with his own body. And their eyebrows are three times thicker than a man’s.
Following his lesson, he quietly leaves the tent with the overwhelming aroma. Although his heart is reluctant to leave the roast potatoes, but no matter what he doesn’t want to barge into that mound of women.
Tragedy strikes him anyway. While making a petite noise, a petite body rushes at him, catching him through the thick canvas.
“Gah--!”
“Ponytail!”
“Ponytail!”
Completely disregarding the fact that Maxine screams out loud from the impact to his ribs, the two petite young girls hug him tightly with every last ounce of strength they have. That floaty almost-white blond hair, those slender limbs, those golden eyes, and those identical faces, it looks like they’re twins. These are all classic shinzoku traits, but that’s not the main point—these two look very familiar, extremely familiar.
But logically speaking, on a land so far away from home, there’s no way he would bump into someone he knew. Maxine starts denying, but the two girls won’t let him go.
“Ponytail, do what?”
“Ponytail, cropped hairstyle?”
They use their unique accent to ask, while attacking his stomach and legs. This is their way of getting their feelings across.
“J-Jason, Freddy… Mm-guh!”
“Ponytail--!”
Their favorite Ponytail (nickname) still remembers them, the girls delightedly use their fists to knock those ribs that are already hurting like hell. Basically he hadn’t gotten any plumper, so he can hear the sound of them hitting his bones directly.
That’s right, the more he remembers it the more he feels they’re painful memories. It was the same back then.
Back then Maxine had bought the girls with money, he planned to use the twin girls as powerful houjutsu users. At first he should have been their owner, but they ignore him when he sends them on errands, and if he makes them go to bed early they will stuff thistles into his pillow, and if he asked them to practice their houjutsu they will use him as their target.
But since they’re important firepower, Maxine took very good care of them. Sometimes he would make scarfs for them, sometimes he would make aprons. When he did everything he could to finally put them on good terms with each other, the Maou suddenly came visiting, and even took the girls he worked so hard into raising away.
“Damn, it’s all that Maou brat’s fault!”
The girls stop suddenly, two pairs of golden eyes staring at the bearded man in front of them.
“The Maou is here?”
“Ponytail, Yuuri came?”
“Who cares if he’s Yuuri or Furi, in any case that Maou I hate deep in my bones was just here in this village.”
Jason and Freddy suddenly cry out in shock. Crap, if this goes on they will only cause a ruckus, and the soldiers on guard will also gather here, so Maxine hurriedly stops them.
“Wait a sec! Wait a sec wait a sec! On the other hand, how did you guys end up in this sort of place?”
“Caught here.”
“Right, caught here. Maxine, know the detention facilities?”
“Don’t know, don’t know.”
“By the equestrian people.”
Although it’s really hard to understand, but based on his super translation skills, it should be “we were caught and brought here by the equestrian people when we were at the detention facility”. It’s extremely common for them to use shinzoku with offensive houjutsu as firepower, and if the targets are kids, it’d be even easier.
“But the food here isn’t bad.”
“That’s right, very delicious. All thanks to the messiah and mermaid.”
Well of course, Adalbert has been commanding the kitchen these past few days. But Ponytail doesn’t know whether he should confess that he’s the mermaid.
The girls ignore him as he hesitates, having a discussion of their own then saying to Maxine together,
“Know where Yuuri is?”
“What? How would I know something like that.”
“Ponytail, take us there.”
“Why are you asking me!?”
The twins look at him tearfully, lacing their fingers in front of their chests,
“Because Ponytail is really friendly, the adults here aren’t gentle at all. As expected, Ponytail is still gentler.”
“Because Ponytail, is just like Papa.”
Just like Papa? Like Papa? Like Papa?
To think that they would reunite in a foreign country, and then he’d have to face something like this before they even exchanged greetings? Maxine’s head starts hurting, but is that because of the girls’ overenthusiastic show of feelings? Or is it simply hunger? No one knows, but thankfully Jason pulls something out of her pocket, making his dizziness disappear in a flash.
“Ponytail, this is for you!”
“As long as you take us, it’s yours.”
“Mgh…”
Jason and Freddy maintain the same position, keeping the momentum to land more hits by repeating the same words.
“Because Ponytail, is just like Papa.”
Having been bought over by roasted potatoes despite already being an adult, Nigel Weiss Maxine mumbles to himself:
To my dearest Father, although this is rather sudden, you have granddaughters now.
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