“I’m Diane. Warmaster of the Schultz clan.”
“Yes, she clearly is some manner of war leader,” Elisabel commented, upon hearing Diane’s rather absurd title.
Diane all but shrieked in response. “Elisabel, daughter of the traitor, Shayla! You’ll never be forgiven!”
“Traitor? My mother was kidnapped! And then forced to—she did not wed the duke of Filsand of her own free will!”
“Forced, you say? If it were me, I’d bite out Darmund’s windpipe, shred it into tiny pieces, and kill myself before he could impregnate me with a wretch like you. If she couldn’t even do that, then it’s because she betrayed her people for the sake of a comfortable, decadent life.”
There was silence. Elisabel bit her tongue, glaring at Diane, and said no more.
Her mother Shayla had indeed been forced into marriage with the duke of Filsand, but after she’d given birth to Elisabel, she’d lived a comfortable life. From the perspective of the Schultz clan, who’d been driven from their lands to live in poverty, it was only natural they would call her a traitor. Furthermore, Elisabel had the empathy to sense those feelings in others.
“It seems that your objective was to capture Elisabel,” I pressed. “Why?”
“Well, personally, I wanted to kill her. But we’re here on the orders of the magemaster. I have no idea what his plans are.” Even ignoring how rude she was, Diane’s answers were awfully honest and straightforward. Apparently, Reyha had scared her… Or maybe she was showing us respect?
“And who is the magemaster?” Elisabel demanded. “The orders weren’t from the patriarch?”
“The magemaster is the magemaster. Even the patriarch doesn’t argue with him.”
“Does that mean…” Judging from their exchange, this magemaster was some kind of authority in matters of magic. What’s more, that power might have allowed him to dominate all sorts of other matters as well. It might not be considerate to say so, but that kind of might-makes-right hierarchy was exactly what I’d expect from barbarians.
“Well, I’m very sorry, but we can’t give you Elisabel,” I said. “We’re happy to let you all go, so please go back quietly to your…fortress, was it?”
In this land, Diane and her team were rebels. If we released them on the spot and they attacked a Filsand village or caravan or something, I’d feel pretty guilty about it, to say nothing of any possible harm to my reputation. But Diane spat contemptuously on the ground at my suggestion.
“Don’t be a fool! Even if I promise to go home, I can’t speak for the adjutant. If he’s in a bad mood, he might just curse and kill us all. I won’t be able to stop the warriors, either.”
“Adjutant?” I wasn’t familiar with this term. Of course, I knew what the word meant, but I sensed a special meaning here. As I tilted my head to one side in thought, things suddenly grew dark.
“She’s talking about this guy.” There was a wall next to me— or rather, Lade’s enormous bulk, casting a correspondingly enormous shadow.
“Urph!”
Lade threw a bald, middle-aged man to the ground next to Diane. I’d seen him standing alongside her earlier, when I put everyone to sleep. He was easy to remember, since the tattoos on his face made him look like some kind of out-of-place punk rocker.
“Wh-what are you doing?!” the man quickly stood up, screaming. “What is this?!” Unlike Diane, the top half of his body was restrained, tied with a rope.
“Is this your ‘adjutant’? Even you, the warmaster, must do what he says?”
“More or less.”
Personally, I couldn’t see any sense of respect in Diane’s eyes for this man.
“We are the proud clan of Schultz, descendants of the ancient divine kingdom. I am the adjutant to the magemaster! He who controls the mightiest powers of conjury! Untie this rope at once and hand over that girl! Hand over the daughter of General Darmund!” The middle-aged man included a clear self-introduction in his hollering. It seemed that the term “adjutant” meant that he was an aide to the magemaster. That meant that it was more important to persuade him than it was Diane.
“Wait a second,” Clara snarked, looking over at Lade. “Why did you suddenly decide to help us? Normally, you won’t do anything.” She had a point. I found it a bit strange myself.
“I wasn’t helping,” Lade grated. “I just found a daemonist.”
“Huh?!”
Lade’s reply surprised everyone.