Chapter 189 : Chapter 189
Chapter 189: Queen's Invitation (4)
“I met the Succubus Queen last night.”
“──!?”
I reported it as calmly as possible in my own way so as not to startle them, but as expected, everyone showed a startled reaction.
Especially Lily, who was the most startled, ended up dropping the breakfast── bread she was just about to put in her mouth from her hand.
“Pardon, pardon me......?”
“Su, Succubus Queen, you......”
Meanwhile, Ibi, who was sitting opposite Lily, immediately turned her head sharply to look at me.
Stopping the knife that was cutting the hard bread abruptly.
“Sh*t, you bastard, surely...”
And the tip of that knife, for some reason, was increasingly pointing toward me, not the bread.
“...Di, did you do it?”
“Would I have done it...”
Depending on the answer, it seemed I was almost about to be sliced instead of the bread.
But it was understandable.
“Su, if it's the Succubus Queen...”
As could be seen from Miki immediately starting to check Lily's reaction upon hearing the story, it was already a known fact to everyone in our party that Lilith might be Lily's biological mother.
So... having such an impure(?) affair with a comrade's mother... might be something that goes against ‘human way of thinking’ or moral values.
“What do you take me for...?”
However, I don't really know why they still don't realize that I'm a person who wouldn't commit such immorality.
“Do I really look like a person who would touch a comrade's mother without any principles?”
“You do.”
It was an immediate answer without a shred of hesitation.
Wondering if there might be any other opinions, I looked around at the other companions, and Toric was quietly nodding his head.
Miki avoided my gaze without a word, and even Rine, who used to always take my side, was somehow avoiding answering right now.
“......Is, is that so?”
This is the world's fault.
No, it's the fault of some bards who instilled the wrong perception in people that all bards are dissolute.
Isn't it your fault no matter how you look at it...?
On the other hand, Lily did not join the procession of surprise criticism(?) toward me that started with everyone's concerted effort suddenly.
Because ever since she was startled upon hearing my report a while ago, she had been wearing an expression that she couldn't understand well the whole time.
“Tha, that person...?”
Not only was she surprised by the fact itself that I met Lilith, but.
“Exactly, when...?”
More than that, the question of ‘how’ I met her seemed big.
Because.
“Last night we were together, continuously...”
She must have thought there was no ‘opportunity’ for that.
So Lily, who was muttering as if she couldn't understand well, flinched mid-sentence and covered her mouth as if to block it.
She seemed to have belatedly realized that it was a remark that further fueled the misunderstanding(?) about me that was barely being resolved.
“Ah...”
Well, she already spat it out though.
“.......”
Sure enough, as soon as she heard that muttering, Ibi, who reacted with a start again, had already started glaring alternately at Lily and me with narrowed eyes.
Slightly lifting the knife again, which she had lowered to cut the bread after hearing my explanation.
“...Did you do it?”
“I said I didn't...”
Yesterday, because Lily's power was almost depleted, it just took longer than usual.
...And no matter if she possessed the blood of ‘Beginning’, bloodsucking for that amount of time was somewhat burdensome for me too.
So Lily nursed me, saying she would take responsibility even though I said I was fine when I complained of dizziness after it was over.
But such Lily was also not completely recovered although she recovered a lot, and since she was likewise in an exhausted state... so well... somehow, when I opened my eyes again, she was also sleeping beside me together.
......To be blunt, we slept together in my tent.
But that only meant literally sharing the same sleeping place, not the meaning generally accepted.
So there was absolutely nothing to prick my conscience, let alone that knife.
However, since it ended up like that, from Lily's perspective, hearing that I met Lilith even though she was (physically) beside me all along, she naturally had to be surprised.
“...She approached me through a dream.”
Letting out a short sigh, I continued speaking before the strange misunderstanding deepened.
“It seems an existence of the level of a Succubus Queen can interfere with an opponent's dream even without being nearby.”
“Ah, through a dream...”
“...So you mean, in a situation where you are spending the night with a nun by your side, you even met and seduced that nun's mom in the dream?”
“Why on earth does the story turn out like that...?”
What kind of person are you, you tremendous trash?
And strictly speaking, far from me seducing her, I was rather the one being seduced, but this is something I absolutely shouldn't say out loud no matter how unfair it feels.
No joke, I might really get stabbed.
And honestly, even if I were Ibi, I would stab first and see.
“...Anyway. I received an invitation to her castle.”
“Invitation?”
“To the Succubus Queen's castle...?”
I nodded.
“We have now become chased by the entire Demon King's Army.”
Even if we wanted to go straight to the Demon King's Castle, we still needed ‘preparation’ to catch the Demon King.
Not only our preparation, of course, but also the preparation of our ‘allies’ at the wall.
So for a while, we needed a place to hide our bodies even for a moment.
“...Does that mean she proposed to hide us there?”
“Yeah. She said she would guarantee our safety.”
“No, obviously that's a trap.”
Lily retorted as if asking what nonsense I was talking about, and that reaction was actually too natural.
It's a story too good to be true.
Anyone would hear it as words with an ulterior motive.
“I think probably not.”
“What...?”
But her proposal was sincere.
It was neither a trap nor a shady proposal with some hidden motive.
No, actually there is a motive.
Just that that motive is not something intended to harm us, but.
“How are you so sure...?”
“Because she asked me to bring Lily safely.”
“...!”
It was a motive of wanting to hide the fact that there is an existence she truly wants to protect, but cannot reveal fully due to her position.
“Does that mean...”
In other words.
“Lily is, really the Succubus Queen's... child...?”
It was practically a story that what had been regarded as one ‘possibility’ until now was finally confirmed.
For a moment, silence continued.
Everyone had an expression finding it difficult to speak up hastily first.
Because they were looking at each other, especially Lily.
Naturally, Lily appeared very confused.
Because a highly probable story and a practically confirmed story are, well, different.
The time has come to really accept the fact that the mother who gave birth to her is not only alive but is even a Corps Commander of the Demon King's Army and the Succubus Queen.
No matter if she was preparing her heart, as expected, it's not a fact that can be easily accepted right away.
“So I want to discuss that proposal once.”
Eventually, only after I carefully broached the subject again.
“...If, that story is true, it sounds like a good proposal for us to accept.”
Toric, like a ‘veteran’, spoke calmly first.
“It will be an arduous march to the Demon King's Castle. If we can save our strength by avoiding meaningless clashes... as expected, it would be the best.”
“I... am of the same opinion as Toric.”
Then Miki chimed in.
“My father taught me repeatedly that the best fight is the fight you can avoid....”
Like that, although everyone was saying the ‘strategically’ correct things, the reason hesitation could still be heard in their voices was of course because Lilith's proposal was still suspicious, but.
“.......”
Above all, it must be because they care about Lily, who has been silent since a while ago.
‘Strategically’, it is right to accept.
But sometimes, there are problems in the world that go beyond such strategies.
They knew that well.
“......Hey.”
Since this was the same for Ibi too, she broached the subject with a very cautious tone unlike usual.
“You know, I'm saying this because I've also been burned by a guy called dad whom I met after a long time after he aban... me...”
Just seeing Ibi, who would have just spat out whatever she thought without hesitation usually, carefully choosing every single word now,
“...Just because you met an existence connected by blood, it doesn't necessarily lead to a good result.”
I could tell well that she was saying this out of genuine worry for Lily.
“Well, my family was particularly trash-like, and maybe finding another family like that in the world is a harder case, but...”
Considering Ibi's personality, it wouldn't have been strange at all if she had spoken much more directly.
“...In your case, it might be a little different. No, surely it will be different. Where in the world would there be two pieces of trash like Kain?”
Just in case Lily might be expecting a meeting with ‘family connected by blood’, while trying somehow not to crush that expectation too much.
“Anyway... that, what is it? Just because blood is connected, there is no need to... force yourself to meet.”
She appeared to be struggling to give advice so that Lily wouldn't have to go through what she ‘experienced’ again.
“You know what I mean, right?”
Ultimately, the one to decide whether to accept this proposal or not had to be Lily, the person directly involved in the ‘condition’ put forward by Lilith.
It was a story that depended entirely on Lily's will.
So if Lily said she didn't want to, we couldn't accept this proposal.
And since everyone understood that fact, it was a situation where they were looking at Lily.
“I will follow your will, Lily.”
Saying they would follow her will entirely.
Naturally, even if it meant risking some... no, honestly speaking, immense danger of being exposed to the pursuit of the Demon King's Army in the future, because they cherish Lily that much.
“...Thank you, everyone.”
Then Lily, as if understanding everyone's hearts well.
“I am, truly a blessed person.”
Looking around at each person one by one, she showed a gentle smile.
She appeared genuinely moved that everyone gathered their opinions with one heart and one mind without any disagreement, saying ‘we won't do what you dislike’ even if it meant being chased by the entire Demon King's Army.
“──I will accept. That invitation.”
And because of that, she couldn't put us in danger just because of her complex feelings even more.
“If she wants me, I will try meeting her.”
“Will you be okay?”
“Yes, I am okay. It is just, meeting the mother who gave birth to me in person.”
Lily said, showing a bright smile once more as if to reassure us.
“And even if that meeting leads to a bad result... for me, I already have a family called you guys.”
As if offering a prayer, gathering her two hands modestly.
“That alone is enough for me.”