Their reason for doing so was that the one selling the insidious monster-repelling amulets was none other than a young girl. What’s more, perhaps because they’d so suddenly barged in, the girl looked utterly terrified.
“Ah… Ah…”
Having tumbled out of her chair in surprise, the girl scrambled to a corner of the room and pulled her hood over her eyes. Furtively looking in their direction, her eyes shone with terror.
“Bruce, is there any chance that you…?”
Could he have gotten the wrong person? Turning around, she glared at him as if to ask what was going on. Bruce, shuddering under Mira’s gaze, nevertheless straightened himself up and said, “Nope, nope, no way,” vigorously shaking his head. He then took a hurried step forward and, leaning in, asked the girl, “You were the one selling the monster-repelling amulets, weren’t you?”
Bruce’s gaze had suddenly turned deadly serious. Seeing this, the girl answered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” vociferously denying the charge.
Whatever the case, the girl seemed to know something. Convinced of this, Bruce pointed to the robe hanging on the wall as evidence.
“But you do know something, do you not? That robe over there is the very one the seller of the amulets was wearing…” he continued.
The robe in question wasn’t a normal one; it was instead a magical tool inscribed with anti-recognition magic.
Looking closer, one could see a small paw mark stamped on the sleeve of the robe. The mark had been left by Bruce’s Cat Sith. Therefore, Bruce added that there was no doubt about it; the seller had indeed come to the very cabin they were in.
When he declared this, a clear change came onto the girl’s face.
And it wasn’t a look of contempt or frustration that one might feel when they were caught in a lie. Rather, it was one of fear.
“Allow me to jump in,” Mira said, having recognized the change that’d come onto the girl’s face. Bruce then stepped back.
She figured that rather than having an adult man speak to the girl, things might go more smoothly if a fellow young girl like herself were to speak with her.
Of course, Meilin was a young girl as well, but she wasn’t really one for things like negotiating, so she simply waited where she was.
“It looks like we startled you. Sorry about that. But we’re actually in a big hurry. So, would you just hear us out for a minute?” Mira said, once the men had stepped back far enough.
The results were immediate. Perhaps because Mira’s appearance gave off such a different impression, the girl clearly became somewhat calmer. She was still pretty shaken up, but the fear had receded from her eyes.
“Okay…” the girl mumbled, nodding her head despite still looking down.
“Great, are you ready, then? We haven’t come here to do anything bad to whoever was selling the amulets, but rather, to warn them about how dangerous they are…” Mira began, before asking if she really didn’t know anything about the amulets, and whether or not she knew anything about whoever was making or selling them.
However, the girl still looked rather apprehensive. She made no attempt to answer, perhaps because she had a reason not to.
“Actually, the crystal used inside the amulets contains something holding an ancient curse, which is extraordinarily dangerous,” Mira continued.
Figuring that the girl’s resolve wouldn’t waver simply from trying to convince her, Mira decided to switch tactics. And instead, she decided to appeal to the young girl’s conscience.
So, why exactly were the monster-repelling amulets so dangerous? Most people didn’t know about the Monster-Ruling God or history stretching that far back, and so it wouldn’t be easy to convince her with any of that. However, it’d be quite easy to get the girl to understand if she simply said that the amulets contained an ancient curse.
“…!”
The effect of this was readily apparent, as a look of visible dismay came onto the girl’s face.
Not failing to notice this change, Mira began to feel there was indeed some chance that the girl had been either tricked or coerced into selling the amulets from the get-go.
“Oh yeah, come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself yet, huh…” Mira said.
With the girl wavering, now was the time to strike. Her gaze focused on the girl, Mira had come up with a plan to encourage her to lower her guard.
Naturally, it was much easier to trust and feel comfortable speaking with someone you knew, rather than a complete stranger.
This was even more the case should you recognize the person’s name. And so, in such a situation, her status as an adventurer very much came in handy.
“My name is Mira. As you can well see, I’m an adventurer. Lately, people have taken to calling me the Spirit Queen,” Mira said gently, showing the girl her adventurer’s license and telling her about her nickname.
And, sure enough, just like Mira had expected, the effect of doing so was very clear. The girl seemed to have heard of the Spirit Queen, and Mira could tell that the suspicion that’d been on her face had lessened.
Mira then took a step forward.
“So, perhaps this will do for proof. Will you try touching my hand?” Mira said with a smile, then, walking closer to her carefully so as not to alarm her, she held out her right hand.
Surely this must’ve been a tall order given they’d only just met. However, now knowing that Mira was the Spirit Queen, the girl, though somewhat puzzled, obediently held out her hand.
Mira and the girl’s hands met, and right then…
“Hello, my lady. My name is Symbio Sanctius, and I’m the Spirit King! Miss Mira is a good friend of mine!” the Spirit King said, jovially addressing the girl the moment she and Mira had touched.
The fact that the Spirit Queen had a connection to the Spirit King was a rumor that’d spread alongside that of Mira’s nickname itself. Therefore, by showing her that the rumors were indeed true, Mira could earn even further trust from the girl.
“…!”
Surprised by this, the girl then began looking around the room as if to see where the voice she’d heard had come from. While she was doing this, she realized that the mark of the Spirit King, from which his power poured, had appeared on Mira’s body.
It was a somewhat distant-feeling aura as well as a warm-hearted affection.
The girl must’ve felt the Spirit King’s power, as the look on her face went from one of shock to one of peace and comfort.
“By the way, the people you see behind me are my merry friends, so you can just relax. I know one of them scared you earlier, huh? I promise I’ll give them a talking-to about that later, so do you think you could forgive us?” Mira said with a smile. She joked around with the girl, who was gradually loosening up.
The girl then answered, “Okay…” having seemingly forgiven Bruce.
However, hearing this exchange, Bruce didn’t seem as if he could keep himself together. A look of fear passed over his face that rivalled the one the girl had worn only moments before.