While the academy is in the midst of its heated schoolwide tournament, Count Gold had just left the mansion of a certain noble family.
He meets his vassals at the gate and they exit the estate.
“Hurry up! We’re going to miss Sir Haruto’s game!” Flay, the red-haired maid, demands. Her ears and tail are hidden.
“If the finals are all you’re planning to watch, we still have time,” said Gold.
“Hrr… I suppose there’s no need for Sir Haruto to even step in to fight other than to go against Charlotte’s team. Setting that aside, why didn’t you let me inside the mansion?”
“I asked you to change your clothes. This was a formal meeting; it’d be improper of me to take along a vassal in maid’s attire.”
“Hmph! This work uniform is the one outfit Sir Haruto praised me in. I refuse to wear anything else!”
The truth was that her presence would’ve stirred unnecessary quarrels, so he’d used the clothing excuse as a cover.
“And? How’d it go?” asks Flay with her arms crossed.
Count Gold chuckles at her haughtiness and answers, “Very well. The information Shiva provided was very helpful in cornering them into submission. Their lips turned blue and they spilled everything.”
“Yup, my master is amazing as always.”
Gold lets out a smile at Flay’s triumphant grin, but quickly grows stern.
“The groundwork has been laid. All that’s left is to lure out that she-fox.”
The fact that Queen Gizelotte had been funneling illegal funds to the Church of Lucifyra had been confirmed. Plus, she was one of the masterminds who staged the insurrection in the capital in hopes of overthrowing the government.
He’d learned about her long list of crimes, both major and minor in scale.
Count Gold was considering forcefully removing her from power, but given her countless acts of villainy and the evidence linking back to her, he’d be able to drive her to the wall with a more straightforward approach.
“Although, I know firsthand how strong that woman is. Even worse, she’s obtained the powers of…the Devil Lord, was it called? Seizing someone like that would result in great loss.”
“…”
Flay can’t find any words. She must have some resentment toward the queen who’d defeated the Demon King. Despite that, she doesn’t volunteer to face Gizelotte.
“I may have to rely on Shiva again,” sighs the count.
“My master had his mind made up from the start. There’s no reason for you humans to feel any guilt.”
She speaks as if to imply Shiva and the queen have history.
So Haruto knew about his origin… That boy is very sharp, after all.
Whether Flay told him or he figured it out on his own…
Either way, Haruto knew and accepted the fact that he was abandoned at birth, yet he grew up to be a very positive boy. Gold couldn’t be prouder to be called “Dad” by him.
The day of the battle is nigh. Worst case, it could even be today.
“Well, then, I’m heading to the royal castle. I trust your protection. Not for me, but for Haruto and Charlotte.”
He’d gathered more than enough evidence to drag down Queen Gizelotte from her throne. Even if Gold himself were to be eradicated, there’d be no way to stop the floodgates that are bound to open, which is why the ones who need protection are the youth of the next generation.
My two children must live on.
“Hmph, Sir Haruto and Charlotte need no protection. Just let me do my job, Gold. Although it is unfortunate that we’ll have to miss out on the tournament finals.”
Gold smiles at Flay’s boldness.
She continues, “Now that that’s settled…”
Gold tilts his head in confusion as Flay spins around and says, “Child, what are you doing?”
The little girl with the white hair and dark complexion had been squatting and staring intently at the ground.
She’s the child who was discovered wandering deep in the ruins. I believe her name is Mel, thinks Gold.
Haruto had rescued her during his Olympius Ruins expedition test. Today, she’s chosen to follow Flay around for some reason.
“What is this…?” Mel asks, pointing to the ground.
Flay looks at what’s under her finger, but only sees the cobblestone road.
“I don’t see anything?” says Flay.
“I know this,” responds Mel.
“If you know what it is, why’d you ask─what do you see, anyway?”
Mel, uncertain of how to put it into words, furrows her brows, and grows quiet.
“Urh…” she groans.
She then picks up a rock and uses it to scratch the spot she was just pointing at.
“What are you doing?” asks Flay.
“Leaving a mark.”
“For what?”
“To tell Mama. So she can erase it.”
“If you’re going to erase it, why mark it in the first place?”
Flay’s question doesn’t stop Mel from scratching the pavement.
Gold, who’s been watching their interaction from behind, realizes something.
“Perhaps it’s not the mark itself that she wants to have erased, but what’s under it,” he suggests.
“Which now begs the question of what that is,” says Flay.
He ignores Flay while he ponders.
Something that can’t be seen… A magic circle of some kind.
The hunch quickly sinks into Gold’s mind as a heavy weight.
Mel is sensing something so dangerous that she feels the need to tell Haruto immediately and have him destroy it─although Mel herself doesn’t seem aware of its gravity.
A spell so well-hidden that not even Flay’s sense of smell or mana detection skill can pick it up… It’s highly likely to bear a dangerous effect, Gold surmises.
A magic circle that summoned Elder Ghouls had appeared in the capital previously.
This one could be something much more terrifying than that… A tinge of fear shoots up Count Gold’s spine. We must destroy this circle immediately─no, wait. This can’t be the only one, and here of all places…
“─Hey, wait! Where are you two going?” he calls out.
Flay unleashes her nails and marks an X where Mel is scratching.
Seeing the help the red-haired maid has offered, Mel stands up and wanders off.
Flay replies to Gold while she chases after the little girl, “Seems like they’re all over the place. It’s a hassle, but we’re gonna have to mark each one.”
Despite her whining, she marks each spot Mel points to with an X.
“Have you figured out what they are?” asks Gold.
“Nope!” Flay answers. Her nonchalance is almost admirable.
She continues, “I don’t know what these are, but if this is what the child wants, I shall oblige. Sir Haruto has ordered me to ‘care for her.’”
Flay gestures toward Mel and says to Gold, “The child appears to be having fun, does she not?”
Mel is, in fact, giggling and prancing this way and that. Each time Flay marks the spot she points at, her smile blossoms even brighter.
Gold looks at Flay, who’s grinning at the little girl.
“Having fun, indeed,” he chuckles.