Soon, myself, Lacius, and the chief of Kun were in a conference room with a round table carved with strange symbols. Dear Mr. Beaten-to-pulp, who was placed on top of it like a sacrifice and was tied up, was wriggling and moaning ‘Ugh’ as if he were in pain.
Without batting an eyelash, Kun’s leader stuffed cloth into Mr. Beaten-to-pulp’s mouth, silencing his cries. Then he turned to me with a look that was a combination of annoyance, anger, and exasperation.
“Tell me whatever you want in exchange for handing this over.”
He was truly a male lead material since he only acts nice when he was in front of Daphne. One of the male leads’s qualities is to be a gentle sheep only in front of the female lead, so it didn’t offend me even if he was rude. But Lacius didn’t seem to think so.
“Be polite, or I’ll take that thing back.”
A faint rage floats in the calm voice. It seemed that he didn’t like the fact that the chief of Kun was talking to me so casually.
“Ha, do I need to remind you that you are in my territory? It’s already mine; you don’t get to take it back. I’m already doing you a favour by offering to pay you for it.”
“You sure have a long tongue. Maybe I should just cut it into pieces.”
“Where would you like to try it?”
“You’re still a petty provocateur, even now that you’re chief. Kun is so strong that even a child can sit in the chieftain’s seat.”
Bzzt. Sparks fly and fly.
I squeezed in between the two men who look like they were ready to rip each other apart.
“Whoa, whoa. Stop, both of you!”
This is not the time.
I pointed to Mr. Beaten-to-pulp who was rolling his eyes anxiously and opened my mouth.
“It must belong to Fata-Morgana.”
“Fa, what?”
I asked looking for a hint of recognition from him, but Kun Geisha’s reaction seemed innocent. I explained carefully again.
“Actually, Lacius and I are on the move after receiving intelligence that a group called ‘Fata-Morgana’ is residing in the desert.”
I said explain, not tell the truth. I continued, inwardly praising Lacius, whose facial muscles didn’t twitch at my lie.
“All that we know is that they’re a human trafficking group, and that they primarily use canaries. Daphne mentioned that there’s been an increase in canaries lately, is that true?”
“There is.”
“Right? They kidnap wizards and enslave them. The arson just now must have been aimed at Daphne.”
Grit. Kun Geisha gnashed his teeth. As if the faces he had shown so far were nothing more than a joke, Kun Geisha’s expression now was terrifying enough to make him look like a devil. Feeling a bit of remorse, I pointed at Mr. Beaten-to-pulp.
“It’s not yet clear whether this guy is from that group or not. But what is clear is that he hid in a corner and tried to launch an additional attack.”
—To me.
I looked at Kun Geisha with a complicated and pitiful expression.
“Our goal is to dismantle the group and rescue the kidnapped wizards. We should join forces if possible. I really hate to see anything happen to Daphne.”
Well, it’s not all lies. The half-truths were just bait to set the hook, because the only way to investigate the vastness of this desert was with the help of the desert people.
“Is this a new war?”
That’s when Kun Gaisha, who was grinding his teeth, spoke up. He looked straight at Lacius. Then, Lasius, who had been silent, calmly jerked his chin.
“This time, we’re on the same side.”
“Ah, that would be boring. It would be more fun if it was against you.”
“Same here, but I’m getting too old to swing a sword just because it makes my blood boil.”
“Don’t talk like an old man. Age doesn’t matter when a warrior carries a sword.”
“It just means that the weight to protect has increased. But you won’t understand that.”
Ugh. I sighed deeply, filled with the meaning that I was tired of men’s typical battle of nerves.
‘But anyway, at least things turned out the way I wanted them to.’
Living worrying about your life is not very pleasant. For me to live in peace until old age, I have to endure a bit of trouble now.
I checked the sleeping Daphne’s situation once more and came out triumphantly. The chief of Kun and Lacius said they were going to interrogate the suspicious Mr. Beaten-to-pulp, so all I had to do was rest.
“Are you doing something adorable behind my back?”
But as soon as I left the chief’s house, I was caught—No, someone put an arm on my shoulder.
“You’re avoiding only me. Should I praise you or scold you?”
Whoosh. The warm breeze carried a neutral cologne scent, tickling my nose.
The smooth hands with no wrinkles at the joints, enough to be used as hand models right away, speak of elegance, and the heavy ring of the royal family put on them reveals the nobility of the owner’s status. Add to that a slightly husky voice and a pronunciation that couldn’t be more elegant, so there was no need to look back at who it was.
It was Her Highness, the princess, whom I thought I had evaded well.
* * *
I was caught and taken to princess-unnie’s quarters. Then, in the end, I had to repeat exactly what I had said to the chief of Kun.
“That is really interesting. Where did you get that information from?”
“That’s a secret. Secrets make things more interesting, don’t they?”
“That’s a cute answer.”
Princess-unnie rolled her eyes, smiled, pinched my cheek, and let it go. I kept checking to see if she was in a bad mood, but luckily there was no sign of that. However, she seems to be thinking deeply about something.
“It’s okay if a war breaks out at this point. The wizards will end up as a responsibility of Terran.”
Since the battle will take place in the desert, Terran will not suffer any damage. But what if we could also get the wizard imprisoned there?
‘It’s a really great deal.’
It would be an understatement to call it a profit if they were picture wizards. It would be a national achievement. And they will feel grateful to the Terrans, who will provide them with a place to live and a status. In turn, they will help the princess in her reign. I pursed my lips and grunted.
“Ah, I was going to present only the results after everything was over. What a pity.”
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