ch61-ch80 · 075-ch74

Chapter 74: Doubts

"Alright, thanks Melkid. I think I can move now."

Even though we were in the middle of talking, Papa pushed himself up, still holding his stomach.

"Papa, you still look a little pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'll go home and sleep some more. Things are getting pretty noisy over there too."

Down at the park below the building, there were patrol cars, ambulances, and fire trucks—and it looked like TV crews had arrived too.

There was that flashy explosion sound, and all that dust. I wonder if everyone managed to get to safety?

"What should we do with them? Leaving Berdigri aside, I think Fuchsia would understand if we explained the situation."

"No, let's keep Ai a secret from Fuchsia too. For her own safety."

Safety? What does that mean?

"Even if Fuchsia learned about Ai and decided to side with us, she might be controlled again. As long as that risk exists, we can't keep her near Ai. If she's going back there, she'll be safer not knowing anything."

"I see, so she won't be silenced! ...Though she might get thrown into another dimension like me."

"No, I'm not sure about that. Fuchsia has a twin brother. The two of them have a strong spiritual bond through eiyōso, so if his sister were thrown into the dimensional rift, he would probably notice."

At Charles-san's explanation, Papa made a slightly troubled face.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm... Yeah, I was just wondering what to do. I think it's best to part ways with Fuchsia here. We should take that man with us, though. He seems to have a rather problematic temperament to just leave alone."

Mm-hmm, so black-haired Fuchsia-san, please go on home, and the delinquent-looking guy gets temporarily detained.

Wait, huh? Where's Charles-san?

"Then let us proceed, Princess! Rock-san! Pentaankool-sama!"

"Hey, what about me?"

Right, don't forget about Melkid.

...No wait, this blonde beauty is totally acting like one of the gang now!

Even though there were all those misunderstandings, wasn't she seriously fighting Papa just a little while ago??

"Then let's go."

"Yes, let's."

Oh, nobody's questioning this. Okay, I guess that's just how it is.

　　―　◆　―

The Victory Memorial Hall in Pareto, the capital of the Ceylo Kingdom.

Underground, beyond just the chapel, there were various facilities and rooms.

In the center of one small, sparsely furnished private room, a long-haired black-haired man sat with his hands forming a seal, his expression stern.

But then, slowly, he released the seal, took a deep breath, and relaxed the furrow between his brows.

"...Lilac, is it finished?"

The voice came from behind the man—it was Grandine, the overall coordinator of Underz. Today she wore a black dress that emphasized her body's curves, radiating her usual bewitching allure.

The black-haired man called Lilac turned around and gave a light bow.

"It failed. My sister is alive, but she appears to have been knocked unconscious."

"I see. That's a shame."

Grandine didn't particularly scold him. She simply sat on a wooden chair in the corner of the room and crossed her legs.

Her legs visible through the dress's slit would normally attract attention from the opposite sex, but Lilac didn't seem particularly interested.

"...Grandine-sama, why did you give such an order earlier?"

"Order? ...Ah, you mean having her pretend to target Lord Lime. It went well, didn't it?"

Lilac is Fuchsia's twin brother.

He had remotely controlled Fuchsia, aiming her short sword at Chartreuse—as a trap to stab Rock. Originally, he had no intention of actually stabbing Chartreuse.

"Certainly, we succeeded in creating an opening in the Black Knight... But why would the Black Knight protect Lord Lime?"

Lilac's eiyō technique 'Two Minds, One Body' is a technique that shares vision between twin siblings... at least, that's what his sister Fuchsia believes. But in reality, when necessary, he can remotely control her—something Fuchsia herself doesn't know.

However, even though he can control her, the only sense they can share is 'vision,' so Lilac had no way of knowing what kind of conversation the Black Knight and the others were having.

"...I don't think it's that strange for someone to instinctively move to protect an old acquaintance in crisis."

"But for someone who fled even after killing the White Hero Lord Satchio, to save Lord Lime who appeared as an assassin... it doesn't make sense."

"Who knows? Maybe he's weak for beautiful women. Men are like that."

Unconsciously saving a woman in distress. If you're a knight, I suppose that could happen.

But would he really use that once-in-a-lifetime chance—when he had just started remotely controlling her—for a command based on something that 'could happen'?

Lilac couldn't shake the feeling that Grandine had some kind of conviction—'If it's the Black Knight, he would definitely do that.'

And he also knew, through that unique twin sense, that Fuchsia's life had not yet been taken.

Maybe it was just to obtain information. But somehow, he had a feeling she would return safely.

'...Is the Black Knight truly a great criminal?'

There was no one here to answer that question.