by Funa
However, humans were different. As their senses of smell were generally not very strong to begin with, they were lacking in such safety mechanisms. Mile, a human herself, had raised her sense of smell to beyond that of a beastperson’s, and then, utterly defenseless, breathed in with all her might, absorbing all the scents around her…including Reina’s contribution.
“Is she all right…?” asked Pauline, her eyes full of worry. She prodded Mile, who was still twitching on the floor, with her foot.
Mavis, who had been watching silently, finally opened her mouth to speak.
“Well, anyway…”
“Anyway?” parroted the other two.
“Let’s eat. It won’t taste as good if it gets cold.”
The food had been laid out on the table without them noticing it. Out of courtesy, the innkeeper and his wife had tried their very best not to look Mile’s way, their faces taut…
“Why didn’t you wake me up?!”
By the time Mile finally came to, it was already the next morning. She had missed out both on dinner and on playtime with Faleel. She was livid.
“You were sleeping so peacefully, we didn’t want to disturb you. Anyway, let’s go ahead and get some breakfast.”
In truth, the other three had slept the afternoon through, so by the time evening came they were wide awake. Likewise, Faleel has slept all through her kidnapping, and was, by then, wide awake as well. Together the four of them had played the night through. Hearing this, Mile screeched in anger, but there was nothing that she could do about it now. All she could do was seethe and grit her teeth.
***
Three days later, when they popped in at the Guild as usual, the members of the Crimson Vow were called to the guild master’s office. Perhaps they were finally going to learn the results of the interrogation.
“First of all, your reward. Please take this,” he said, taking two leather sacks from his drawer and placing them heavily on the desk.
Normally, the Guild used cloth sacks to save on expenses, but on more momentous occasions, or when a congratulatory mood was to be conveyed, they used leather, which felt more special. Today, they were receiving not just a payment for a job but a “special reward,” so leather was the obvious choice…although Felicia was known to hand out leather sacks with reckless abandon, something that was no good for the Guild’s bottom line.
“This is your bonus from the Guild, and this is your bonus from the palace. Unfortunately, some of the criminals were ones that we couldn’t sell as slaves, so there’s a separate amount from the palace’s own coffers to compensate. And because even the enslaved criminals couldn’t be given a lifelong sentence, just a set term, the price was less than usual. They aren’t bandits, and they didn’t kill anyone, so their servitude will have a limit, seems like. A few exceptions escaped even that much.”
The exceptions that were mentioned probably referred to the mages, who could not be left unmonitored to the life of a slave, though perhaps there were some other extenuating circumstances, such as an intervention by some noble or person of influence on one of the criminals’ behalf. Either way, it was really none of the Crimson Vow’s concern. They were neither in a position to interfere with the administration of justice, nor interested in doing so.
Felicia, standing just behind the guild master’s shoulder, took the two sacks and handed them to Mavis, who, as usual, appeared to be the leader of the Crimson Vow. Felicia seemed to have made the unilateral decision that anything to do with the Crimson Vow was to be within her purview and her purview alone, and of course, since there wasn’t a soul around who would dare argue with her, the other guild employees simply accepted this as the natural order.
“Thank you so much!!!” they said all at once, bowing their heads courteously. Mavis then accepted the bags, and, as per usual, handed them straight to Mile to be stowed away, without bothering to look inside. Obviously, they would investigate the amount later, but this was not the time or place for such things.
Why was that? Well, it just didn’t look as cool.
“So then, what were the results of the investigation?” Mile asked boldly, voicing the question on her mind.
“Ah, well, there were both countrymen and foreigners among the group, ranging from middle class to lower upper class. They’re all fellows who fell under the influence of some heretical cult from somewhere. Apparently, the teachings originally came from some country to the east, but none of them could pinpoint just where.”
“To the east…?”
The Crimson Vow had arrived here in the Vanolark by heading west from the Kingdom of Tils, the land where Mavis and Pauline were born and where Mile first became a hunter, and then further west still, through Mile’s home country of the Kingdom of Brandel. As a result, they might conclude that this cult could not be from a neighboring nation, but somewhere much farther east still—in the completely opposite direction from the way they had been traveling. Heading back that way would be a huge hassle.
Well, all our current problems have started right here, so I guess we can worry about the east another time…
Mile was not terribly concerned.
“Plus, well, what they were really after was the summoning of a god, or rather, ‘conducting a ceremony to welcome the god’s descent.’ They claimed that they had no intention of harming the girl but merely using her a vessel for their god, so it was ruled to be not an attempted murder, but merely a kidnapping. It doesn’t fall under slave trading or illicit trafficking, either.
“Of course, kidnapping is a pretty grave crime on its own, and the victim was not a human but a beastgirl. There were also some apparently affiliated nobles and merchants who came to put pressure on the Crown. I suppose it doesn’t look good for them to have their dependents labeled as felons or heretics…”
It was all a big, fat lie. Back at the clearing, the men themselves had said that Faleel had been intended as a sacrifice. They would never use what they considered to be an inferior life-form as the “vessel” of their beloved god.
However, this was not something for Mile and the others to decide. They had already given their own testimony, which had most certainly included the word “sacrifice.” Plus, if the sentencing had been made with political considerations in mind, there was nothing that a group of mere C-rank hunters could do about it.
“Is that so…?”
Mile swiftly gave up hope of learning anything further. On top of all that, there was no telling how much of even what the guild master had told them was true. Asking anything more was pointless.
Of course, everyone else was merely glad that the matter had been settled. If the kidnappers had been punished, and they were assured that nothing like this would happen again, then that was good enough for them. Even if some bigwigs had stepped in, it was not as though the perpetrators were getting off scot-free. They were still receiving proper punishment due to abductors of a young girl. They had just dropped the whole “cultist” part.
Even the ones who escaped the fate of servitude were not being entirely acquitted. Whether it was serving a term in jail or paying an exorbitant sum in bail, they would be punished one way or another. Plus, an investigation was sure to be launched into all their cohorts who had not been present, as well.
Honestly, it was only to be expected that the standard procedures would not be followed when those apprehended were people of influence. And besides, they would be under scrutiny from there on out—if not from the authorities, from those nobles whom they might be troubling and their dependents.
Evidently, the Servants of the Goddess had already received their reward and their update. As far as the two parties were concerned, the matter was now closed.
“Well then, let’s go find a normal job to do today!”
“All right!”
And so, they headed back down to the first floor to see what was on the job board.
***
Rustle, rustle.
Late that night, when everyone was sou
nd asleep in their rooms, one person remained awake, still slinking about.
Naturally, it was Mile. Thanks to the sound and vibration barriers she had erected, no one noticed as she shuffled about on the top bunk of her bunk bed.
Though she had previously been sound asleep, the nanomachines had sent vibrations through her eardrums to murmur a morning wake-up call to her (though it wasn’t exactly morning). The phrase they used was a peculiar one.
GOOD MORNING, MILE. IT’S TIME FOR YOUR DAILY BRIEFING…
Of course, Mile had instructed them to say this. And then, quietly, she replied,
“Okay! Let the ‘Super Secret Agent Gambit’ begin!”
Once again, Mile had something strange up her sleeve.
After stepping out into the hall and closing the door, Mile released her barriers. If she kept them up, the others wouldn’t be able to hear thieves or invaders, which was a bit of a problem. For the same reason, using sleeping magic on them was out of the question. No matter how low the risk was, she would never put her companions in that sort of danger.
Then she slipped quietly out of the inn. Her destination? The palace. Where else?
As she neared the palace, she put up light, sound, and vibration-blocking barriers, and, just in case, she cloaked her scent as well. It was the palace, after all, so it was not entirely out of the question that there might be personnel with a beastly sense of smell in their employ. Even if the probability was fairly low, it was better safe than sorry. If she were caught, she would be in big trouble.
After making certain that her barriers were impenetrable, Mile snuck inside.
Hidden as she was, she could have walked through the front door without incident, but that wouldn’t be any fun. And in truth, her head was running wild with thoughts like, What if the guards actually can see me? and What if my barriers suddenly collapsed right in front of them? She could not bring herself to be calm.
Thus, just on the off chance of something going wrong, she decided to move about as though she had no barriers at all. Furthermore, she was wearing not her usual garb but a clever disguise so that her true identity would not be revealed, even if she were caught.
She wore a mask upon her face and a headband with cat ears. As for her outfit, she wanted desperately to wear the sort of leotard that your typical female cat burglar would wear, but as she had never actually come into contact with the genuine article, she did not know enough to recreate one. Besides, when she considered how thin the material would be, she lost her nerve. Instead, she settled on something she was far more familiar with—a school-issue swimsuit like the ones from Earth.
Of course, such an article had never been proven combat-ready, and as a result, she was relatively nervous. Her bloomers would never fit underneath it, so she had to go without. At least to the people of this world, who had no concept of either leotards or swimsuits, she judged there was probably little difference between the two…which was true. Considering that both were equally absurd—equally shameless—it really made no difference which one she chose.
Location magic! Tell me where those criminals are…
Indeed, it was time for her to harvest a word or two from those kidnappers herself—that is, to speak to them directly, and in her own way.
They had probably already been through the wringer in terms of interrogation, including torture, but given that she couldn’t buy what she had been told, their story as it stood was meaningless to Mile. So, it was time for some one-on-one, face-to-face questioning.
Honestly, it was a big pain.
Mile’s plan was an absurd one, which, honestly, the men had no reason to go along with. However, Mile was never bothered by such little things. She was not in Japan, and she was not on Earth. Compared to that, all this was essentially trivial…at least in Mile’s book.
All right, there they are!
Thinking that she might find herself in just such a situation, Mile had committed the criminals’—and particularly their leader’s—body language to memory, and with that information, she was able to track them right to where the men were being held. Naturally, it was not some important part of the palace, but an outbuilding constructed specifically for the containment of criminals.
Hm. They’re separated into groups, a few in each. Well, I guess that makes sense. No one here would be stupid enough to put all those dangerous mages together in the same spot. Plus, it lowers the chance of them corroborating each other’s testimonies or scheming behind the guards’ backs!
And so, with her barriers still up to protect her, Mile crept into the building.
“Good evening, gentlemen!”
“Wh-who’s there?!” the kidnappers replied uneasily as the two soldiers who were stationed as lookouts suddenly fell into a deep sleep.
There were five men in this particular area, including the leader. It was only natural that they would call out in such a panic when suddenly addressed by a formless voice.
“A robber…”
There was no way that Mile could neglect to use her practiced phrase now.
“A-a robber?”
“Ah, no. I was just pretending to be a robber…”
If they thought that she really were a robber, the conversation could never proceed, and so she quickly corrected herself.
So that they could speak normally, she decided that it was time to reveal herself. No one would ever speak candidly to someone whom they couldn’t actually see, after all. And so, she released the barrier.
“My name is Lady Cat’s Eye!”
The name was a mix of several manga characters, and of course, it was a tribute to Faleel.
“Wha…?! I-It’s…”
“A flattie!” cried three.
“A pervert!” cried the other two.
Horrendous. Both reactions were equally horrendous.
“Wha-wh-wh-wh…”
Mile was shaken at the utterly unexpected reactions and burned red in the face with anger. However, it was not as though they could help it. In this world, ladies wore bloomers. Compared to that, a swimsuit, with its stretchy, form-fitting fabric and high degree of exposure was about as close as one could get to being totally naked.
“A catgirl, is she?! I tell you, those beasts have no sense of decency…”
“Obviously! Can’t expect a beast to understand virtue!”
“Honestly, have you no shame at all?”
“Whatever. I’m not interested in seeing some skinny little girl in the buff.”
“Hm. That’s not a bad look…”
So went each of the men’s appraisals. The last one was probably the worst!
Nngh… I can’t allow this. Forget my reputation—I’m giving catgirls a bad name! I’ll have to change my name… I can’t be responsible for something like that.
Mile whipped the cat ears off her head and stored them away.
“Huh? She took off her ears?” the men were stunned.
Mile thought quickly and then announced her new name: “You may call me Little Evil God!”
“What the heck is thaaaaaaaat?!”
A few minutes later, once the men had finally calmed back down, Mile introduced herself properly.
“Now then. I am the last survivor of the gods that came to this world from another in the distant past. After our companions retreated, those of us who valued our pride too much to flee in such a cowardly manner remained in this world. In the final battle, we persisted, blow-to-blow with the denizens of this land, and were nearly destroyed. Yet on the brink of death, I was sealed inside a holy barrier where I slumbered for eons. And then, when I sensed that a gate had been opened to my home world, I awoke…”
As far as the men were concerned, they had already been captured and said all that they had to say. As a result, there was really no point in anyone from the palace trying to deceive them, and even if they were, it wasn’t as though they didn’t know saying anything more would get them in a lot of trouble.
At any rate, it was absurd to think t
hat this girl might be a spy or official from the palace. No such official agent could possibly exist. They were far more unassuming and reserved. Such a figure would be ridiculous even for a Miami Satodele novel…
Plus, given the fact that she had snuck into the building and knocked out the guards, it was clear that she was someone who was hostile toward the Crown.
Considering these points, the men’s tension began to ease, though they were still not convinced that she was a “god from another world.”
Mile then conducted a demonstration.
Twist, twist.
With her finger alone, she twisted the iron bars.
Fwoom! Sparkle!
Fire came from her mouth and strange beams of light from her eyes.
And then she took on her “Goddess” form.
The men prostrated themselves on the floor of the cell.
From there, they answered her questions frankly, though it was unclear whether it was because they truly believed that she was the final survivor of the ancient gods or simply because they were understandably frightened of this strange entity that had broken into the building and could twist an iron bar without effort—which had to mean she could easily wring their necks as well…
As far as Mile was concerned, the reason didn’t really matter, as long as she was able to learn the truth.
What the men were finally able to tell her was the following:
The closest country to the east was the Kingdom of Brandel, Mile’s home country. Further east still than that was the Kingdom of Tils, where Mavis and Pauline were from. (Because Reina had grown up as a traveling merchant, she had no idea what either of her parents’ home countries were or even where she had been born. For some reason, her father had never told her.)