The assigned room was at the back of the second floor.
“But… seriously, what’s up with this mansion?”
After his conversation with Dominica in the courtyard, Toru had taken another walk through the mansion. And as expected it was on the smaller side but the structure wasn’t particularly unusual. It was a common layout for a noble’s mansion. Saboteurs like Toru’s group, who sometimes took on assassination missions, had a basic knowledge of such house structures.
But—there was one odd point.
It showed no signs of use. The walls and pillars looked as pristine as if newly built with no scratches or marks—but every floor was uniformly covered in dust. It was as if, right after construction, no one had lived here, and it had been left abandoned.
Perhaps Dominica hadn’t even set foot in any room besides her own.
Given that she’d said she no longer cared for fame or wealth, it wouldn’t be surprising if she thought any place that kept out the rain and wind was enough, with everything else irrelevant.
But even so—
“…Something’s… nagging at me…”
Muttering, Toru opened the door to the assigned guest room.
As expected of a noble’s mansion, even a modest one—the guest room was quite spacious. It was big enough to fit the entire abandoned house Toru’s group had lived in back in Del Solant. There were no decorations whatsoever, but it had a bed, a candelabra, a writing desk—all the essentials for staying overnight.
But like the rest of the mansion, it hadn’t been used in years.
Dust was piled up evenly, and the air felt stagnant. Opening a window briefly wouldn’t clear it out—the room carried the distinct, musty smell of a ruin.
In the midst of this—
“…”
Toru frowned.
The area around the bed by the wall was strangely clean. It was as if that spot alone had been meticulously cleaned. Toru could understand the urge to spruce up the bedding, excited to sleep in a proper building for the first time in a while, but still.
“…Akari.”
“What is it, Anii-sama?”
Akari, standing beside the bed, responded.
“Can I ask you something weird?”
“Of course, Anii-sama. For a question from my beloved Anii-sama, I’m prepared to answer anything no matter how embarrassing—from the color of my pantie to my cycle days.”
For some reason, Akari clenched her fist tightly as she spoke.
She was clearly getting fired up over the wrong thing.
“Is embarrassing questions the premise here?”
“You specifically asked if you could ask, so I assumed it was something embarrassing.”
“What the hell would I do with knowing someone else’s underwear color?”
“Are you not interested, Anii-sama?”
“At the very least, I’m not interested in your underwear color.”
“I see. The contents matter more than the underwear.”
“Nobody said that!”
“By the way, I’m not wearing any right now.”
“Wha—?”
“Kidding.”
Akari said, expressionless.
“What I wanted to ask is about is this.”
Sighing, Toru pointed at the bed.
The bed itself was perfectly ordinary. The canopy gave it a distinctly noble flair, but there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the bed itself.
“Why are there two pillows side by side?”
“Because someone put two side by side.”
“Who did?”
“Me.”
“Planning a pillow fight or something?”
“If you want to, Anii-sama, I won’t stop you, but two pillows might be a bit short on ammo.”
“…”
Toru glared at Akari with narrowed eyes.
But far from looking guilty, she met his gaze with a bold, unapologetic attitude.
“You might have forgotten Anii-sama, but we’re siblings burning with forbidden love, chased from our hometown, fleeing from family pursuers—a lovey-dovey pair.”
Akari spoke in a tone like she was lecturing a slow younger sibling.
“Don’t say ‘lovey-dovey’…”
“Kidding.”
“Of course you are.”
“Only half.”
“Make it all!” Toru growled.
“Anyway, we can’t let that dragoon cavalier get suspicious, so I propose we thoroughly play the part of depraved siblings here.”
That’s why sharing a room and sleeping in the same bed has its inevitability, Akari insisted.
“We don’t need to keep up that monkey act in a private room like this!” Saying this, Toru looked around. “By the way, where’s Chaika?”
“In the next room.”
Akari pointed at the wall.
“There are a few things I want to discuss. Which room’s better for that?”
“Probably this one as It’s technically set up for two.”
Recognizing the serious topic, Akari answered promptly.
“By the way, I checked thoroughly, and there’s no sign of speaking tubes or any hidden mechanisms in this room. Probably the same for the next one.”
Akari said.
When staying in an unfamiliar place, the first thing to do is check for traps or devices—a habit, or rather an ingrained practice, of saboteurs. In extreme cases, an assassin could be hiding under the bed, and speaking tubes for eavesdropping or magical surveillance devices, if cleverly hidden, wouldn’t be noticed without deliberate inspection.
“Got it. I’ll go get her.”
Saying this, Toru stepped back into the hallway.
“—Good person.” Chaika said. “Dominica Škoda.”
“Well… that’s probably true.”
Toru crossed his arms and sighed.
This was right after he’d fetched Chaika from the next room and made a certain proposal.
“Very kind.”
Chaika said, tapping the bed.
Indeed, as she said—Dominica had been good to Toru’s group. Of course, she didn’t know their true identities or purpose, but even so, her hospitality was excessive for mere passersby. Normally, you wouldn’t let strangers, whose identities were only self-reported, into your home.
“Maybe she’s kind because of you, Chaika.”
Toru said.
“Mui?”
“She lost her sister during the war—or right after, anyway. You can probably see it from this room, that thing in the courtyard.”
Toru pointed at the window.
Needless to say, “that thing in the courtyard” was Lucie Škoda’s illusion.
“I’m saying she might be seeing her sister in you. You’re about the same age, right?”
“…Indeed.”
Looking down at the courtyard from the window, Akari nodded.
“She seems to blame herself for not protecting her sister while she was off at war. Because of that… she’s lost interest in things like honor, wealth, or power in grief. Or maybe her indifference to those things is part of it.”
If she’d given up on everything, thinking it all irrelevant… then she probably wouldn’t care if strangers entered her home. The same went for their identities.
“But, Anii-sama. When did you hear all this?”
Akari said, returning from the window.
“Earlier, in the courtyard.”
“As expected of Anii-sama.” Akari crossed her arms and nodded, visibly impressed. “You have a natural talent for coaxing women into letting their guard down.”
“Is that praise or an insult?”
“Of course it’s praise. To insult my beloved Anii-sama—”
Shaking her head dramatically, Akari suddenly clapped her hands as if realizing something.
“No. Wait, Anii-sama. If you actually like being insulted, then I, the unworthy Akari Acura, am prepared to devote my entire being to berating you relentlessly.”
“Just shut up already.”
“Of course, if needed, I can also tie you up, hit you, step on you, or kick you.”
“Shut up. Please, just shut up.”
Toru growled.
“But to think that Dominica Škoda loved her sister so much.”
“I said shut up. Don’t lump it in with your weird nonsense. It’s normal love, normal.”
Dominica’s love for Lucie was surely pure familial affection.
At the very least, it wasn’t the kind of love that involved berating, tying up, hitting, or stepping on… or so Toru thought. Wanted to think. Well, the details weren’t his business.
“Anyway.” Clearing his throat, he forcibly steered the conversation back on track. “As Chaika says, it’s true that Dominica Škoda isn’t a bad person. She has no stake in our affairs. Being kind to unrelated strangers makes her a decent person, sure but...” Toru pointed at Chaika’s nose.
“Have you forgotten, Chaika Gaz? That dragoon cavalier is probably one of your father’s killers.”
“…”
In an instant upon hearing that, Chaika’s expression darkened.
Yes. Whether she still has the “remains” or not, Dominica was a key figure in the Gaz Empire’s capital defense battle and likely one of the “heroes” who directly killed Arthur Gaz.
“…”
Chaika’s face grew visibly gloomier.
Being confronted again with a fact she’d deliberately avoided thinking about, she was likely sinking into belated melancholy. She looked down, tightly clenching her hands on her knees.
“No, uh, I mean…”
Toru panicked. He hadn’t expected her to take it this hard. He’d meant to sharpen her resolve, but… this made it seem like he was bullying Chaika.
“It’s not like you have to hate her or anything…”
“…”
“Ugh, damn it, Ain't now I looking like the bad guy here!?”
Feeling awkward, Toru turned to Akari for help.
“I see.” Akari nodded grandly, arms crossed. “So this is how to rattle Anii-sama. Well played.”
“Don’t just stand there admiring it!”
Toru shouted, at his wit’s end.
To him—
“…Apology. Toru.” Chaika said with a slightly stiff smile. “Toru. Think. Hard. Not bad.”
As usual, Chaika’s continental common tongue was a choppy string of words, hard to parse—but essentially, she meant, “Toru thought hard, so he’s not bad, right?” She was trying to comfort or reassure him in her own way.
“Uh…”
Toru scratched his cheek.
Putting the embarrassment aside for now…
“So, you’re against this plan, right, Chaika?”
“Muu…” Chaika let out a troubled groan.
“As things stand, it’s the most reliable option…”
Toru’s proposal was—to “slip her a dose.”
In plain terms, poison her.
Suppose… they confirmed Dominica had the “remains.” Then—what should they do? That was the issue.
Of course, there was the option Chaika suggested of relying on Dominica’s “good person” side and honestly negotiating, asking her to “hand over the remains.”
If Dominica had no interest in worldly wealth or power, the remains’ value as treasure might not matter much. She might hand them over easily.
But… if asked, “Why do you want Emperor Gaz’s remains?” what could they say?
To the world, “Emperor Gaz was the root of all evil in the warring era” was a strong belief. And whether a retired dragoon cavalier would remain a “good person” in front of the Forbidden Emperor’s daughter… was highly uncertain.
And if she refused to hand over the remains.
(At that point, taking her down would be even harder…)
Dominica would undoubtedly grow wary of Toru’s group and defeating a wary dragoon cavalier was likely near impossible, surprise attack or not.
Even using indirect tactics… against someone who’d become near-hermitic after “losing her beloved family,” Toru couldn’t imagine what could unsettle her.
So… rather than taking risks, Toru proposed striking decisively now, while she wasn’t on guard.
However whether poison or drugs would work on a dragoon cavalier was still unclear to Toru.
The self-repair ability derived from armored dragon magic—did it extend beyond surface wounds to internal organs or nerves? With so few dragoon cavaliers and their abilities treated as military secrets, information was a mix of truth and falsehood, unclear at best.
To be certain, “dosing with a massively lethal amount of poison” would be the right move.
Even if it didn’t kill her, a neurotoxin should immobilize her for a while. Unless her head was cut off, a dragoon cavalier wouldn’t die—but that meant, conversely, complex parts like the brain either took time to restore or couldn’t be restored at all.
“Well, we’re just saboteurs afterall.” Toru said with a sigh. “We don’t choose means for the sake of the goal, but the goal itself isn’t ours.”
“…Toru?”
Chaika blinked her purple eyes.
In a clear, unwavering tone, Toru declared:
“If I had to say, my goal is to fulfill your wishes, my master.”
“Toru… I…”
Chaika looked at Toru with a complex mix of surprise, joy, fear, urgency, and other emotions. Toru spoke deliberately coldly, suppressing his own feelings as much as possible.
“So, if you don’t want to—if you’d rather be a ‘good person’ like Dominica Škoda than achieve your goal of ‘collecting the remains,’ we can’t stop you.”
Gaining something means losing something.
Even if it’s an act of reclamation.
Time, money, honor, friendship, love, trust....something is always spent.
“I’ll think of my own methods, but whether to adopt them is your right as our employer.”
“…”
Chaika looked at Toru with a hesitant expression, then at Akari.
But Akari merely nodded silently, indicating she shared Toru’s view.
“Well… I’m not saying you have to decide right away.”
Facing the downcast Chaika, Toru looked off in a random direction.
For some reason, he found it hard to meet her eyes directly now. As a saboteur, whose creed was to master mind, skill, and body as tools, he was truly half-baked.
“We probably don’t have much time. Those knights might catch up to us soon.”
“…Understood.”
Chaika replied, brows furrowed, still looking down.
However—
(Well, expecting an immediate decision here is probably too much.)
Toru figured that Chaika’s hesitation was akin to a kind of “illness” that afflicts warriors before or after their first battle.
Be it warriors, knights, or saboteurs—those who live by fighting are all the same.
Until then, they train thinking only of killing or destroying an abstract “enemy”… but on the battlefield, facing a living, breathing, bleeding “enemy,” their resolve and determination can vanish in an instant. Even the skills carved into their body through grueling training can fail to emerge.
Of course, not everyone reacts this way but the high mortality rate in first battles likely stems from this shock, which prevents them from performing at their full potential.
Yes. The enemy isn’t a symbol or an object. It’s a living human.
It’s obvious, but knowing something intellectually and feeling it through your senses are different.
For Chaika… the attack in Del Solant was likely her first “reclamation.” At the very least, it was where she first obtained a piece of the “remains.”
If so, she probably had little real sense of what it meant to take something from someone—to oppose someone. The lord of Del Solant had tried to kill Toru’s group without hesitation, so she could act without guilt.
But—Dominica Škoda was different.
They met her before resolving to see her as an “enemy,” and she saved them, even showed kindness.
So Chaika couldn’t steel herself to take the “enemy” stance against her. She wanted to remain a “good person” to her.
Toru didn’t think there was anything wrong with that, In fact he thought it was human, even admirable.
And there stood...
“…”
Chaika staring at her knees with a glum expression.
“I’m not sure if it’ll suit a lord’s palate.”
Saying this, Toru placed a plate in front of Dominica.
This was in the dining hall of the Škoda mansion.
Toru’s group had invited Dominica to dinner.
The mansion’s kitchen, it seemed, hadn’t been used in years… everything from the cooking utensils to the hearth was covered in dust. Toru and Akari had cleaned it up making it somehow usable, and brought ingredients from the Svetlana to prepare a simple meal.
Incidentally… Chaika, clumsy and prone to mishaps, would likely have knocked things over and gotten in the way, so she’d been kicked out of the kitchen. She was the one who cleaned the dining hall, which, like the rest of the mansion, was piled with dust.
“Lord or not, honestly, I spent more time sleeping and eating on battlefields. I’d like to think my tongue isn’t that picky. No, this is almost nostalgic.”
Dominica said with a laugh.
Before her was dried meat rehydrated in bone marrow soup, stir-fried with vegetables, alongside fried eggs and sliced bread. It was low-effort but covered the necessary nutrients—indeed, it might resemble battlefield cooking.
“We’re honored.”
Toru bowed alongside Akari.
But—
(…Where and what does she usually eat?)
That's what the most nagged at Toru.
As mentioned—the kitchen and dining hall showed no signs of use in years. No, more than that, the dust in this mansion was like that of an abandoned ruin. It wasn’t just dirty—it lacked the air of human habitation.
“…”
Chaika, nibbling on bread and chewing silently, occasionally glanced at Dominica before averting her eyes. Her expression clearly showed unease.
She was likely torn over whether to reveal their situation and negotiate.
Of course, if Dominica handed over the “remains,” it would be a peaceful resolution but if she refused, Toru’s group would face a battle under highly disadvantageous conditions. Depending on her decision, it could even lead to their deaths. For certainty, poisoning her before confirming was the safer option.
But—
“…Mui?”
Chaika tilted her head, noticing something.
Dominica had stopped eating and was looking at her with a tender gaze.
“Oh, sorry.” Dominica said with a wry smile. “I was thinking if my late sister were alive, she might’ve been about your age.”
“…Sister…”
“Being told you resemble a dead person must be unpleasant so forgive me.”
“Not at all, not at all.”
Chaika hurriedly shook her head.
“It might sound foolish… but I wasn’t there for my sister’s death. By the time I returned, she’d already been buried so I can’t help but foolishly imagine she might pop up in front of me tomorrow.”
Dominica said.
“…Understand. Very much.”
Chaika nodded vigorously.
(This is rough…)
Toru thought beside her.
Chaika seemed to be empathizing with Dominica even more.
If she could firmly decide to “give up the remains” or “reveal our identities and deal with refusal,” that’d be fine—they could plan countermeasures for the disadvantage—but with her, she might just agonize endlessly without reaching a conclusion. Despite everything, Chaika couldn’t bring herself to impose on others for her own sake—she was, in essence, a good person.
(…Chaika didn’t get to see her father’s death either, did she?)
Though it was a sister versus a father, it was understandable that she’d relate to the situation of losing a precious family member without warning.
(…If that’s the case.)
It was highly likely Chaika would keep hesitating indefinitely.
If the Gillette Corps caught up in the meantime, they might not even ensure her safety.
“Lady Škoda.”
Toru stopped eating and spoke.
“What is it?”
“There’s something I’d like to ask.”
“What might that be? If it’s something I can answer.”
Dominica said, looking puzzled by Toru’s formal tone.
Toru closed his eyes, steeling his resolve.
And then—
“Do you possess the remains of Emperor Gaz?”
“—!?”
The one who looked at Toru in shock was, surprisingly, Chaika.
Akari, meanwhile, continued eating silently, as if she hadn’t heard Toru’s statement. Having known each other since childhood, she might’ve anticipated Toru would take this approach.
“You’re one of the war’s ‘heroes,’ said to have directly defeated Emperor Gaz. Officially, his remains were said to have been obliterated, but in truth, they were divided and taken by the ‘heroes’ as valuable, costly magical sources…”
“Toru—you.”
Dominica frowned, fixing her gaze on Toru.
She was surprised, but her face showed no anger or hostility yet.
“…Suppose that’s true.”
After a brief pause, Dominica said.
“How do you know about it?”
“I had someone close to me connected to the Gaz Empire.”
Toru answered.
He paid attention to Dominica’s eye movements—she didn’t glance at Chaika in particular. At least, she didn’t seem to realize Chaika was the “Taboo Emperor’s daughter.”
However—
(The lord of Del Solant seemed to recognize Chaika. But Dominica doesn’t seem to know her face. Both are ‘heroes,’ so… what’s the difference? Was Chaika not at her father’s side when he was killed?)
“I see.”vDominica’s voice interrupted Toru’s thoughts. “So...if I had those ‘remains,’ what then?”
Dominica narrowed her eyes.
Even now, there was no sense of hostility or killing intent from her, she didn’t seem offended either but her gaze was strikingly calm and cold—simply assessing Toru’s group.
“Could you hand them over to us?
…If they really existed, they’d be worth more than gold.”
Even high-quality magical sources were expensive, but if it was the Forbidden Emperor’s remains, their rarity would attract buyers who’d spare no expense. Trading human corpse (TN : remains) as magical sources was banned in many countries… but with enough money, that could be overlooked.
“I know it’s an unreasonable request.”
“Why do you want them?”
Dominica asked, her gaze piercing.
Toru hesitated for a moment.
Of course, he could string together plausible lies. But what Dominica was asking wasn’t likely about minor details. Like the question he’d posed to Chaika, it was a fundamental one—namely, “What’s your purpose?”
“There’s someone important to me.” Toru said firmly. “It’s to fulfill their purpose.”
“…!”
Out of the corner of his eye, Toru saw Chaika’s eyes widen as she turned to him.
“So it's not your purpose?”
“Fulfilling their purpose is my purpose.”
“…Hm.”
Dominica nodded—and the next instant.
The tip of a sword was thrust before Toru’s eyes.
The sharp point and Toru’s forehead—only the tiniest distance, perhaps the thickness of a cloth or paper, remained between them.
“…!”
Chaika jolted, half-rising in shock, and Akari tensed slightly… but Toru, with the sword aimed at him, didn’t flinch at all.
Because Dominica showed no killing intent.
That said, if she had shown killing intent, it’s unclear if he could’ve dodged. He hadn’t even noticed when she “generated” the sword.
(TN : Like, probably coming out of thin air, so generated sounds better I guess?)
“As I thought you didn’t seem like amateurs.”
“You saw us fighting the two-headed dog Freya, didn’t you anyway.”
Toru shifted his tone. There was no need to keep up the act anymore.
“Honestly, that fast, huh? I’m shocked. No spell chanting either?
You didn’t even flinch right now.”
The sword edged forward slightly—the sharp tip pressed into Toru’s forehead.
It hadn’t cut, not yet. It was just sinking into the elasticity of his skin. But the slightest tremble of Dominica’s hand would tear his skin apart and gush blood.
“Your sister seems to have some skill as well. Assassin—no, not quite...nor a knight or warrior. So...mercenary, or perhaps saboteur.”
“Saboteur.”
Toru answered, not looking at the sword pressing into his forehead but meeting Dominica’s sharp gaze beyond it.
“But if you’re saboteurs—wouldn’t it be better to poison me or something, kill me, and search at your leisure? I heard you’re jack-of-all-trades who thrive on cowardice and villainy.”
Dominica said, withdrawing the sword.
“There’s a reason. We’re in kind of a hurry, see.” Toru shrugged. “Of course, I’ve got no hobby of picking fights with dragoon cavaliers for no reason. So I’ll ask again, If you have the ‘remains,’ can you hand them over? For someone like you, who’s lost interest in worldly power or wealth, they’re probably useless, right?”
“…”
Dominica stared at Toru for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Chaika.
Her clear, crimson eyes reflected the silver-haired girl.
“…U?”
Chaika flinched, shrinking back… but perhaps to show she wouldn’t let Toru bear the burden alone, she mustered her courage and met Dominica’s gaze.
And then—
“I do indeed have the ‘remains.’” Dominica said and then she declared quietly. “But I won’t hand them over. If you want them, defeat me and take them, you dogs of the battlefield.”
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