NOVEL NEXT Chapter 64 - Chapter 64: Marie's Dilemma
Chapter 64: Marie’s Dilemma
(Marie’s Perspective)
Now that I’ve sworn under the name Marie Boaro, I must fulfill my promise to Bonus. The other party is Saverio De Savoia, the lord who rules over this entire region. Even though I’m a former noble and a former soldier, one wrong move could cost me my life. And while it’s common for a lord’s exclusive mercenary to hide information from the lord, it’s generally considered a serious offense. It’s one thing if it’s just my head on the line. But if that happens, Bonus and the others will also be in danger. Then, I won’t be able to keep my promise… Concealing the existence of the hideout shouldn’t be too difficult for now. The problem is how much to disclose about Bonus and the others. It’s impossible to explain this incident without mentioning them completely.
“Oh… What should we do, Elizabeth?”
“Mee~”
Speaking of Elizabeth… Is there any better vehicle in this world? No, it’s disrespectful to call her a vehicle.
“I’m sorry.”
“Mee~?”
I don’t feel any movement at all. Nevertheless, the scenery flows smoothly and pleasantly. I couldn’t have imagined enjoying the wilderness of the Hell’s Cauldron with such a pleasant feeling a little while ago. And above all, the touch of this…
“Marie, maybe it’s time to come back to reality?”
“…I know.”
“Well, I understand how you feel, but you’ve been acting suspiciously since earlier.”
“If Azir says that, maybe it’s the end for me.”
“…Marie, you’ve changed recently.”
“Yeah.”
Have I changed? Certainly, something has been odd since I met Bonus. In general, that man always appears in front of me with what I want, disturbing my heart. Like a demon. But well, demons don’t have such absent-minded faces. And I don’t dislike absent-minded men. Rather, I like Bonus. A sharp person without a moment’s rest on the battlefield kills many enemies, but they also kill just as many allies. Such individuals are hailed as heroes on the battlefield. But I hate them. In other words, I hate myself. So, I like absent-minded men. When I look at Bonus, I don’t think he could defeat enemies properly. But on the other hand, I feel like allies would somehow survive. Well, this time it actually happened.
By the way, I also like cute and beautiful things. Terrifyingly, Bonus always appears with cute and beautiful things with his absent-minded face. And he brings along those ridiculously sweet chocolates that melt both body and soul… He might really be a demon after all. I have to be careful.
“Is Marie really okay…? She’s been muttering to Elizabeth while rubbing her face against her since earlier…”
“I’m fine.”
“…”
Even Elizabeth does the same. She makes me feel weird with her demon-like feel…
No, this won’t do. I have to think about how to explain Bonus and the others to Lord Savoia before we arrive. Fortunately, I’m currently a favorite of the lord. But I don’t like the lord.
There are several reasons. But the main one is that he’s a powerful magician, and I can’t use magic at all. Well, as a noble myself, I can see magical power. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t use magic. Humans who can’t use magic are not treated as proper nobles. As a result, at the age of 12, I was forced to become a noble’s concubine or join the military, and without much hesitation, I became a soldier.
Of course, I could have chosen a different path now, but at the age of 12, there was nothing I could do. Looking back now, it’s frustrating.
“I wonder how old Kuro is.”
“Gyua?”
Watching Kuro skillfully stand on Elizabeth’s head and enjoy the scenery around, I think back to myself at that time. I was probably about Kuro’s size at the age of 12. Well, back then, I was frail and much weaker compared to Kuro.
Then, for ten years, I lived in the military, experienced many wars, and naturally thought I would end up buried on the battlefield. But in the tenth year of summer, I easily left the army and went to the frontier. Come to think of it, I wonder how that superior who had an abnormal obsession with my buttocks is doing now. I had endured it for quite some time, but when he touched me when I was irritated, I ended up cutting off his private parts. He was bleeding so much, yet he managed to survive. I had thought I would be executed, and I was fine with that at the time. But in reality, I wasn’t killed; I was just expelled from the army. In the end, my family must have intervened. Right after the incident, my father told me to leave the central area as soon as possible and go to the frontier. Looking back now, what a ridiculous life it is…
I happened to have talent with a sword and was hailed as a hero, but I ultimately hated war and probably wasn’t suited for it.
Well, because of that, I was warmly welcomed by Lord Savoia, who was short of manpower. Thanks to that, I’m treated very well. And Lord Savoia is quite compassionate for a noble, and as a magician, he’s decent. But there’s an asymmetrical tension between magicians and non-magicians, like between carnivores and herbivores. Of course, herbivores can also kill carnivores, and magicians don’t actually prey on us. Besides, I can see magical power and I’m fast with a sword. Decapitating a magician isn’t that difficult. But still, when facing a magician, I feel a unique sense of fear, like facing a natural enemy. It’s impossible not to have an aversion to such an opponent.
“Gyua~!”
“Oh, you’ve arrived already…”
“It didn’t seem like we were in a hurry, but we got here pretty fast.”
Before my thoughts could fully come together, we reached the Triangle Rock. I wonder if my thoughts will come together during the journey to Savoia.
“Kuro, Elizabeth. Thank you.”
“Gyua gyua!”
“Mee~”
“Well, let’s go. Say hello to Bonus for me.”
I feel the urge to hug them. But I have to change my mood. I’ll really be in trouble if I let Bonus and these kids get me down. If the me from my military days saw me now, what would she say? Would she just laugh it off as nonsense? I change my mood and start walking away from them. Azir said I’ve changed, and maybe I have… become a bit… worse.
“Have you come up with a good explanation for the lord?”
“No. Why?”
“Well… you were smiling, weren’t you?”
“…Yes.”