Chapter 6: Standing in Front of the Lion’s Cage (part 1)

It had been a few days since we'd returned from to the royal capital Parnam from

Van.

Right now, I was beneath Castle Parnam in front of the dungeon. With only

candlelight for illumination, it was gloomy. While you likely could infer this from the

fact it was inside the castle, a lot of people of high status had been put in here. Most

of the inmates were political prisoners.

I was in that underground dungeon, facing a certain individual across a set of

iron bars.

After some silence, I spoke to the person in the cage. "This is our first time

meeting in person, I believe. I am the provisional king, Souma Kazuya."

"It is an honor to meet you," said the beastman. "I am Georg Carmine."

With those words, the former General of the Army, the man with the face of a

lion, Georg Carmine, bowed his head deeply.

While I was seated in a chair, Georg sat directly on the dungeon floor like a

general from the Warring States Period might sit when greeting his master.

"I congratulate you once again on your recent victory," Georg said, his head still

bowed.

Georg had been imprisoned here a few days before our return. Up until then, he

had been under house arrest at his former castle Randel, so he must have been

gathering information.

"Raise your head," I said. "It's hard to talk when you're like that."

"Ha ha!" Georg laughed.

I looked straight at Georg as he raised his face. He had a muscular physique and

stood nearly two meters tall, so even though he was kneeling, his eyes were at

roughly the same level as mine while I sat in a chair. On top of that, the ethos he

exuded as a veteran warrior made him appear all the larger.

Magnificent. That was the word that best suited this warrior.

What I felt while talking to him over the Jewel Voice Broadcast is nothing compared

to this... I thought.

I struggled not to be swallowed up by the atmosphere that surrounded Georg.

This feeling was similar to what I'd felt when Gaius had been closing in on me. This

man had an incredible sense of presence, and yet he was the youngest of the three

dukes. Castor was around 160, while Excel was over 500.

"Aren't the apparent age and actual age of the three dukes kind of reversed?" I

asked. "Oh, and mental age, too."

When I said that, Georg gave a hearty laugh. "You could be right. Generally, they

say that the longer-lived a race is, the longer it takes them to develop mentally and

physically. For most the long-lived races, if you take their actual age, multiply it by

around one hundred, the oldest a human or beastman generally lives to, then divide

by the longest that race live to, you get a good estimate of their mental age."

I see, I thought. In this world, where in Japan we might say "Cranes live for a

thousand years, turtles for ten thousand," they could say "Dragonewts live for five

hundred years, water serpents for a thousand," when talking about long life. (Though,

in this case, they actually do live that long.) In other words, taking Castor as an

example, 160 * 100 / 500 = 32. If I look at it that way, his impulsiveness makes sense,

maybe... Wait! Huh? Hold on?

"By that reasoning, Excel's mental age should be over fifty, shouldn't it?" I asked.

"...There is an exception to every rule," said Georg.

"Don't blatantly look away."

Apparently even Georg, who didn't seem like he had to fear anyone, was hesitant

to touch the topic of Excel's age. I could relate.

After talking carrying on with that sort of aimless conversation for a while, I cut

to the heart of the matter. "I had a lot I've wanted to ask and hear from you once we

finally got the chance to meet."

"Ask away," said Georg.

"Before that," I said, "won't you meet with Liscia?"

Georg silently closed his eyes.

It seemed that just once after returning to Parnam, Liscia had asked to meet with

Georg. However, Georg had shouted at her (or, to be more precise, he'd had the jailer

relay the message) and chased her off.

"What business does a woman who will soon be queen have visiting a convict?!"

he had shouted.

Liscia had an overly serious personality, so she'd taken those words to heart, and

never attempted to visit again. Then, as if seeking a distraction, she'd immersed

herself in work.

"She's putting on a tough face, but... I know she's not fine," I said.

"The princess and I had our last parting during the ultimatum," said Georg.

"There is no need for words between us now."