NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45
Chapter 45
“Hey, Cecili.”
Covering her long horns with magic and hiding her face with a hooded coat, Seere called out to Cecili. They had already arrived in Chelinno and were heading to the Adventurers’ Guild where Eri would be.
“Yes, Your Majesty. What is it?”
“A little while ago, the teacher said that the Pope brought a woman to his chamber.”
“Yes, he did.”
“What does that mean?”
The innocence in Seere’s eyes as she asked this question was truly pure. Although she appeared to be in her mid-teens according to human standards, she was still only twelve years old.
Cecili was quite flustered, having not been this way for a long time. It was the first time since Nahun had sneaked out without Seere that Seere had rejected pudding.
She was so flustered that her eyes trembled, her ears perked up, and her tail fur bristled. Thankfully, her ears and tail were hidden by magic, keeping her feelings concealed.
“What… what do you mean by that?”
Flustered, Cecili asked in a very strange way. Seere tilted her head at Cecili’s reaction.
“It means I need an explanation.”
“What kind of explanation do you want, Your Majesty?”
“Bringing someone to the chamber means you sleep together, right?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
Upon receiving Cecili’s affirmation, Seere looked even more perplexed.
“Is sleeping together a bad thing?”
“Huh?”
“It’s not common nowadays, but I used to sleep with you or Rea sometimes, right?”
“That’s… because you were younger. And isn’t there a difference between opposite genders and the same gender?”
“Opposite gender? You mean different sexes, right? But I occasionally slept with the teacher too. Was that not okay? It might be a little awkward to sleep together now that I’m older, but… is it really something to cause a commotion over, like those judgmental folks?”
“Th-that’s….”
Cecili seemed quite troubled about how to explain this. Now that she thought about it, while Nahun had taught Seere etiquette, knowledge, combat training, and magic, he had never given her any sex education.
‘The head maid….’
Cecili had never seen Rea do that either. So Seere did not truly understand the meaning of a man bringing a woman to his chamber. She was merely taking the words literally, interpreting each one by its dictionary definition.
“Hah.”
“Cecili?”
There was no choice; she had to bear that responsibility herself. With a sigh, Cecili narrowed her eyes and quietly pulled Seere to a secluded corner.
“Come here, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm?”
As Seere followed Cecili into the corner, she quietly whispered to her.
“Actually, the phrase ‘bringing someone to your chamber’ can be seen as a metaphorical expression.”
“A metaphor?”
“Yes, so the original meaning is….”
Cecili whispered into Seere’s ear. Seere listened attentively, but soon began to blink rapidly.
“…Huh?”
“…That’s what it means, Your Majesty. Originally, it’s a reproductive act to create a child, but it’s also an act done for pleasure.”
“Oh, isn’t the child brought by a dragon?”
“No.”
“That’s a lie! My father told me that!”
As Seere raised her voice, Cecili gestured for her to lower it. Then she quietly informed her of the truth.
“That was because you were too young, so King Seir made excuses. All life is born from the union of a man and a woman.”
“…U-union?”
“Yes.”
Cecili answered and pulled away from Seere’s ear. Seeing Seere’s cheeks blushing bright red like the sunset, Cecili couldn’t help but chuckle. She looked grown-up, but in moments like these she still appeared to be a child.
“Now you understand what it means when the Pope brought a woman to his chamber?”
With embarrassment, Seere nodded slowly. Cecili smiled, finding her adorable. After their brief sex education, Cecili pointed to the street and said.
“Let’s go, Your Majesty. We’ll be late.”
“Ah… okay, I got it.”
Maybe it was the shock of learning something new or perhaps Seere’s uncharacteristic innocence toward such matters. With her head down, Seere followed Cecili.
*
What Cecili told me… could it really be true? I want to believe it, but Cecili doesn’t seem like the type to lie about something like this. She wasn’t even lying in her eyes.
Father said that if two people in love hold hands while sleeping, a dragon would bring them a child.
But that was actually an excuse for the young me, and the truth was….
‘A man and… a woman….’
Just a moment’s thought brought an unexpected blush to my face. My heart raced, pounding faster. I don’t even know what this feeling is.
It feels like a cloud of questions is forming and spreading in my mind. My thoughts are obscured and foggy… I can’t think of anything.
‘…Ah.’
Suddenly, I remember an obvious but new fact.
The teacher is a man, and I am a woman. So… does that mean…?
*
“Ah.”
Eri was able to recognize Seere and Cecili immediately upon waiting at the Adventurers’ Guild. In fact, it might have been more strange if she hadn’t noticed them.
‘…Isn’t it too obvious?’
Even with a hood, their appearance was hard to hide. With bright white hair like clean eyes, sea-like clear eyes, a prominent nose, and a pretty face that was both mature yet still retained a youthful charm— it was impossible for Eri, a woman herself, to not notice them.
The male adventurers loitering in the lounge, flipping through request forms, were already eyeing them. Even those who usually couldn’t be bothered to speak to Eri had their attention snapped away.
“Se…”
Eri was about to call out to Seere but hesitated, not knowing their status. Instead, she approached them directly.
As Eri got closer, Seere noticed her and acknowledged her.
“Oh, a human.”
“If you talk like that, Your Majesty, you’ll get caught.”
When Cecili pointed out Seere’s tone, Seere contemplated for a moment, then recalled Eri’s name.
“Eri?”
“Right now, I go by Eli.”
“Oh, I see. Eli.”
Seere nodded as if she remembered. Perhaps because they drew attention, the three gathered together at the guild, and Eri felt the weight of their gazes.
Feeling the stares, Eri quietly suggested, “Shall we go outside for now?”
“Hmm?”
“I think it’d be better to do so. It’s too… unpleasant here.”
Seere tilted her head, but Cecili agreed with Eri’s suggestion. It seemed Seere didn’t quite realize the lecherous gazes from the others.
“There’s a restaurant nearby that serves delicious food. How about we go there to chat?”
“Delicious food? Sounds good.”
As Seere, Cecili, and Eri left the Adventurers’ Guild, the male adventurers who had hoped to strike up a conversation with them were left disappointed.
Of course, among them, there were some who were determined to take action. However, upon seeing the adventurers’ rank badges attached to their gear, most of those thoughts were abandoned.
The three stepped into a nearby restaurant, finding a secluded table where they could sit. Eri immediately posed the most curious question.
“How should I address you two?”
“Oh, our aliases?”
Seere took out her identification card and said, “It says this name, but I don’t know how to read it in human language.”
“Me too.”
Upon hearing Seere’s and Cecili’s responses, Eri tilted her head.
“Didn’t Nahun tell you?”
“The teacher didn’t say anything at all.”
“Um….”
Eri couldn’t understand why that was the case, but she decided to tell them the names written on their identification cards.
“Your Majesty’s name is ‘Sera.’ And Cecili’s is ‘Sylvia.’”
“It doesn’t feel like it’s that different from my real name.”
“Nahun probably instructed them to use names that are as similar as possible to avoid confusion.”
“The teacher?”
Seere smiled brightly. Just thinking of Nahun made her feel good, and a smile naturally arose. Eri, who had earlier received an enigmatic comment from Seere, felt a slight shiver at that smile.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. But Your Majesty, when we’re with others… is it alright if I call you by your name instead of ‘Your Majesty’?”
“Oh, you mean the alias?”
“Yes… I’m not trying to presume to stand on equal ground with you or anything like that, but….”
“Sure, go ahead.”
It was surprisingly easy to get her permission. Eri widened her eyes in surprise. Noticing her expression, Seere said, “Did you think I wouldn’t allow even that?”
“Oh, no. I didn’t think that.”
“I have homework given to me by the teacher, so I’ll work hard until it’s finished. Cecili… no, Sylvia, call me however you’re comfortable.”
“How could I do that? I probably won’t have much to say anyway, so I’ll just act like a quiet person.”
“Sure, do as you like.”
Thanks to the easy acceptance from Seere, Eri felt much more at ease. She wanted to discuss the mission that Nahun had asked of her. Before the food arrived, she carefully spread out a map on the empty table.
“There’s a village about 2 kilometers west of Chelinno.”
“Here?”
“Yes. This is where the Order of the Holy Knights will be making their next movements.”
“What are the Holy Knights?”
“They are a military group that carries out the orders of the Pope of the Holy Kingdom and the Grand Cathedral.”
“Oh, a legion? That’s a pretty unique name.”
“All members hold the title of Holy Knight, which is why… but that’s not important; the reason they’re going there is to root out a demon spy.”
Seere’s gaze, which had been devoid of emotion moments ago, slightly changed. Her once dry expression now sparkled with interest.
“So, we can find out how they handle things and how they identify those spies?”
“Yes. It seems the Order is short on manpower, which is why they receive a lot of help from local adventurers. We will be joining those support members to head to this village.”
“I understand.”
Seere grinned, finding it amusing.
“When do we leave?”
“The Order has to make a request to the Adventurers’ Guild. They’ll probably arrive around tomorrow, so we should get a message from the guild this afternoon.”
“Oh, really? That’s not long.”
Eri finished laying out the plan and then glanced slightly at Seere. She needed to understand what Seere was thinking. This was to prevent Seere from acting in ways that didn’t fit their disguised identities.
“Your Majesty, what would you do if the Order suspects that we’re from the Demon World?”
So, she asked to hear Seere’s opinion. Seere replied simply.
“I’ll just kill anyone who knows.”
“…I see.”
Eri thought it was a pointless question and swallowed the bitterness that was about to spill out. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her thoughts as she recalled a certain man who always smiled brightly at her.
“Yes, that’s fine. But we must not get caught being from the Demon World. If we’re going to eliminate them, we must leave no survivors.”
“I know.”
Without the use of magic and by only using swords, there was no way for people to differentiate Seere—whose appearance was concealed by magic—whether she was human or the Demon King.
“Also, there’s one more thing you need to be cautious about.”
“Another thing?”
“All Holy Knights can use divine power. Keep that in mind.”
“…Really?”
A smile appeared on Seere’s face upon hearing that Holy Knights could utilize divine power. Rather than being anxious, she seemed excited.
Seir von Debata’s only remaining bloodline, Seere von Debata, said with anticipation for the next day.
“I’ll be careful.”